Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

Lin Miao sent Attila a necklace engraved with ornate emblems via a file transfer device.

This was an action he took because he considered the need for some kind of symbol.

On the open plain in front of the fortress, Attila, having received the necklace, raised the token and shouted as everyone watched.

Lin Miao thought to himself: Since they trust and follow me, the person I vouch for naturally has the corresponding authority.

Attila, who has achieved so much through hardship, is fully qualified to be someone who surpasses the Great Patriarch.

Seeing the cheering crowd, Lin Miao felt that a mere few hundred points were not worth regretting at all.

"In the end, we still have to fight."

Lin Miao glanced at the newly installed monitoring screens on both sides, which showed the west side where the Jill army was about to arrive, and the north side where the swarm of insects was building their nests on a large scale.

The western surveillance footage captured the enemy's silhouette—a large army slowly advancing, so numerous that even their outstretched ranks could not be fully displayed in a single frame.

Even if they came to negotiate, bringing an army of this size is hardly a sign of sincerity.

Fortunately, the scouts from Aurora also spotted them and hurriedly reported to Attila.

Attila gave the instructions to the residents as if he had been waiting for a long time, and they acted without hesitation, as if they had already been informed of the plan.

The refugees, who had not yet been settled, were ready to evacuate into the walled area at any time, while the soldiers were fully equipped and assembled.

Attila further divided his already limited forces: the main force was stationed at the pre-built outposts, while only reserves were left in the villages protected by high walls, perhaps trusting in the power of the defensive fortifications.

Lin Miao remained skeptical of their tactics: Why not put all their forces into the outposts?

He understood that they wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with a disparity in troop strength, but why they didn't focus on holding the outpost and instead left themselves room for maneuver was hard to understand. It was as if they were luring the enemy so that if the situation changed, they would bypass the outpost and attack the village directly.

Lillie is worried about the raid Attila has assigned to her. If the enemy doesn't bypass the outpost, she won't even have a chance to make her appearance, and the people in the base will be in danger.

Lin Miao understood the reason behind Lillie's worries by interpreting them.

In situations with obstacles, detouring would seem like an easy option for Gill's army, and Attila took advantage of that.

"In that case, I'll have to help out too."

Lin Miao pondered to himself that unless the battle lasted for several hours, the only assistance he could provide was a hammer and a chainsaw, which he had to carefully plan and use at the most opportune moment.

As the enemy drew near, the residents prepared for the best possible battle plan.

You can see veterans among the dwarves studying and training infantry tactics for non-horse-riding combat;

I have also stocked up on enough potions made using the Dark Souls Hunting Mode or Monster Hunter crafting techniques.

Lin Miao glanced at the shopping bag next to her. It was full of glass bottles containing medicine she had brought from Zhen Dan, which she was going to give to Li Sushang to sell.

Even though the residents made such tributes to him, he still had ample supplies in reserve.

With the continuous influx of Zerg byproducts from the north, coupled with the blacksmiths' mastery of using these materials to manufacture equipment, workshops were expanded to mass-produce specialized gear, and now most soldiers are fully armed.

What will happen?

Lin Miao was a little nervous to be honest. Just looking at Zhen Dan's side, it seemed that they were well prepared, but he could now also see the situation of the enemy.

The enemy already had a numerical advantage. Although the human organization might be slightly inferior to the Zerg, who disregarded the lives of their comrades and charged forward even with holes in their bodies, the enemy's morale didn't seem bad.

And that's not all the problems.

Lin Miao clicked the hammer, trying to smash the head of the oncoming enemy, feeling that this would definitely give him the upper hand.

But just as the hammer was about to fall, a blue light flashed, and his hammer was abruptly stopped in mid-air.

Although the block was quite difficult, and the enemy mage, leaning on his staff, was panting heavily as if he were about to die, he did manage to stop Lin Miao's hammer blow.

"Looks like he's not some nobody."

Lin Miao had seen many warriors who could block his hammer blows. He sighed and switched to a chainsaw that was more powerful than his warhammer, sawing them all into pieces. It seemed that he could not let his guard down.

Watching the enemy scream and flee, Lin Miao began preparing personal combat supplies such as coffee and dry rations.

"I'm so worried. There are ten thousand people in total. We can't possibly be completely unharmed."

While complaining and sighing, Lin Miao prepared everything from a neck pillow to dry rations to eat while sitting, completing his own battle preparations.

Suffering from indigestion due to stress, he would click the mouse and start the chainsaw and hammer whenever he had a spare moment.

This is an extremely reasonable and efficient judgment, after all, we must provide the greatest possible support before the enemy gets close.

The same applies to fighting the Zerg. Of course, even if those Zerg are split in two alive, they will crawl and continue fighting as long as they can still move, so it's not surprising that Lin Miao has become numb.

"Here we go again!!!"

"It's evil black magic!"

But Lin Miao's mouse clicks became a terrifying disaster for Jill's army.

The elite expeditionary force, fresh from its victory over Theodore, was marching triumphantly with a large conscripted army when it was suddenly terrified by an indiscriminate attack from the sky.

Because although the time was short, the giant chainsaw did indeed shred a living person along with the ground.

Unlike the Zerg, these people were violently shaken in the face of terrible calamity.

"Damn it! Don't make such a fuss! Didn't you all know this would happen?!"

"It's true," Gil's trusted lieutenant, who was leading the expeditionary force, roared through gritted teeth. Indeed, as he said, they had known this all along.

Theodore's forces had also clashed with China, and he had personally witnessed such a scene.

But hearing about it is different from experiencing it firsthand. A giant hammer and chainsaw falling from the sky are not something that can be easily ignored just because you know about it beforehand.

They didn't even know what a chainsaw was originally.

"Paul! What's going on?! Didn't you say the magicians' spells were enough to withstand it?!"

"Who could have predicted such power..."

Gil questioned the magician sharply.

It is precisely because the other party swore that they could use magic to resist evil spells that this moment is even more infuriating.

However, the actual power of the [desktop destruction] far exceeded expectations. The problem lay in the attack frequency; the limited number of mages could not keep up with the speed at which the giant hammer fell.

"Is there any point in pursuing accountability now?"

"Then what do you suggest we do! At this rate, we'll be wiped out before we even see the enemy! I heard that in Zhen Dan they call that evil magic 'divine punishment'..."

"Ha, that's utter nonsense."

The hooded mage approached the enraged Jill. As Jill described the giant hammer and chainsaw, the mage scoffed disdainfully: "Divine power must contain divinity, and paladins and priests are those who borrow this divinity. But objects falling from the sky cannot be sensed by any divinity."

The magician shook his head with almost certainty, a statement so blunt that no one, including Jill, could refute it.

"Judging from their attack patterns, they seem to need a cooldown period after each attack. Since they don't have unlimited power, we should break through as soon as possible. We will also assist in the defense."

"A hasty march will tire the warhorses... but with your help, that's a different story."

Seeing the magician's eagerness to express his opinion, Jill immediately asked a question in return.

This expedition was a mutually beneficial endeavor, and neither side had any reason to delay it.

Before they could suffer further hammer blows and chainsaw attacks, news of the enemy's movements reached Aurora's ears.

"The enemy is speeding up; they'll arrive here by tomorrow at the latest."

"Order the entire army to prepare for battle."

Realizing that the time had come to unleash the fruits of his days of preparation, Attila issued orders to his assembled troops to prepare for battle.

"Bring some more arrows!"

"Build the wall higher..."

Even late at night, the residents of Zhen Dan were still busy.

They occupied the strategically important hill as an outpost, stockpiled ample supplies, and made thorough preparations to repel any invading enemy.

Just then, Attila summoned Bruno, who was holding the staff, alone: ​​"The elite warriors, including Lillie, have retreated to prepare for a counterattack. This means we can only defend this place with a weaker force, without even the defensive towers bestowed by the gods."

"Yes."

"It has been confirmed that there are many mages among the enemy who can use magic. Your magic will be the key to the attack, so no matter what happens, do not act rashly. Wait for my order and cast that large-scale spell immediately."

Attila saw Bruno as a game-changer that could turn the tide of the battle, and Bruno, realizing the heavy responsibility he bore, nodded nervously.

At dawn that day, the scouts on the watchtower, with their exceptional eyesight, spotted a large group of people approaching in the distance and immediately shouted.

"Enemy forces detected!"

"They're rushing to their deaths without even getting some sleep? Looks like they're terrified of divine punishment."

Attila, who had just woken up from a nap, revealed a sinister smile upon hearing the report.

"Take your positions, it's time to show the defensive tactics we learned from the dwarves."

The Aurora soldiers did not ride horses; they believed in the makeshift walls erected by the transport team and planned to wage a full-scale defensive battle.

Grassland tribes have never been good at attacking or defending cities, but by taking in the dwarf survivors, the people of China have at least learned some of their attack and defense skills and the basics of infantry tactics.

"It's finally about to begin."

On the other side of the screen, Lin Miao was also watching the two forces gradually approaching. Due to excessive tension, she didn't even dare to change her wallpaper easily in order to provide support at any time.

"Chieftain! It seems they've sent a messenger."

At this tense moment, when conflict seemed imminent, the Giraffe army, which had halted its march, sent several men to the outposts held by Aurora.

To hear the envoy's purpose clearly, Attila ordered that he not shoot him.

"We are messengers sent by the great patriarch Luke, who is about to unify this land."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Attila, the great chieftain of the Cintamanian tribe who rules this land."

Attila's appearance, wearing a Sand Dragon helmet, made the messenger visibly flinch.

The envoy stammered as he finished reciting his lines: "...The Great Chieftain said that if you are willing, you can become a member of the Great Grassland Kingdom."

The content was nothing more than to make Attila submit willingly, but Attila, who had anticipated this, was too lazy to even pretend to listen.

Lin Miao could tell from the messenger's darting eyes that he was shocked by the changes at the outpost: the fortifications that were still unfinished when the spies came last time had now been transformed into a fortress-like structure covering the entire hill in such a short time.

"If the proposal is to allow the great clan chiefs to coexist peacefully, I would be willing to consider it. However, as a servant of the guardian deity, how can I submit to the command of other great clan chiefs? Go back and report."

Attila drove away the messengers while anticipating their actions.

They couldn't have been unprepared for the siege; they must have already learned through spies that the enemy had built massive city walls.

Even so, the fact that they still led their troops to press on the border indicates that they had other reliance on.

As Attila had predicted, divisions arose within the expeditionary force.

"Soldier Captain, what do we do now? Compared to those guys' proud villages, these walls are really shabby."

"Should we stick to the original plan and detour to burn their farmland and livestock?"

They weren't really there to seriously attack that ten-meter-high wall; it was just bricks piled up by laborers.

According to the usual tactics of nomadic peoples, they should have plundered the farmland and livestock outside the city and then retreated, but now they found a vanguard stronghold that seemed to be within easy reach.

Attila gritted his teeth, realizing the enemy's intention to establish a stronghold, a blatant mockery of their incompetence in siege warfare.

"To be honest, if we go all out, can we take down the fortress on that hill?"

Jill glanced sideways at the mage beside her; siege warfare and siege defense were the settlers' forte.

"Those dilapidated walls are nothing to worry about. Let them build the ladders first."

Seeing that they hesitated even at the height of the city walls, the mage sighed and suggested attacking the outpost directly.

"Hmph, so they really want to crush us first. Are they confident or just bluffing?"

Attila watched the enemy's attack formation gradually unfold and let out a sneer.

The laughter grew even louder when they saw them hurriedly carrying a hastily made ladder down from their horses.

"The battle has already begun. Just fire arrows as soon as those bastards charge. There's nothing to be afraid of; they don't have the hard shells of the black monsters, nor the strong legs to climb walls."

The soldiers of the Cinnabar on the city wall unanimously nocked their arrows. These specially made arrows, capable of piercing the armor of the Burghers, were imbued with a faint magical power, waiting for the enemy to enter their range.

Although the advancing enemy soldiers were holding up shields for defense, the defenders had already planned to shoot them through along with their shields.

"charge!"

"They're here! Fire the arrows!"

Both sides seized what they believed to be the best opportunity, and the fierce battle officially began.

The expeditionary force, carrying ladders and shields, charged forward desperately, shooting arrows as they ran to cover their comrades.

China used its city walls as a shield, and a continuous rain of arrows poured down.

Casualties began to appear on both sides, but the expeditionary force suffered greater losses, as the arrows fired from the high ground had a longer range and greater power.

"Tsk, it's time for the mages to make their move."

Of course, the expeditionary force was not without its trump cards. The first to be dispatched were the mages who had lost face for failing to effectively resist the divine punishment.

Attila, who had transformed into a bird and was circling above the battlefield, gazed at the figures of the magicians and fell into deep thought.

The strong winds summoned by the mages caused all the arrows fired by Zhen Dan to deviate from their course. Taking this opportunity, the enemy army rushed up the hillside and set up ladders on the city wall one after another to begin climbing.

Of course, Lin Miao wouldn't stand idly by. The giant hammer that fell from the sky smashed the mages who were casting spells into a pulp.

Although some managed to block or dodge, those who couldn't react in time could only turn into bloody, mangled pieces of flesh twitching on the ground along with their companions.

"Just hold on a little longer."

Attila remembered what the dwarves had said: siege warfare is ultimately about who can hold out the longest, and in the current situation, as long as they can hold on, they will win.

"Ah, when should we make our move?"

On the fierce battlefield, Bruno, who had retreated slightly, gritted his teeth, feeling agitated by the shouts and screams coming from all around him.

Because he had to conserve his strength for that decisive move, he couldn't use any other skills.

"A healing wind is blowing! It's the protection of our guardian angels!"

As the battle officially began, both sides started to reveal their trump cards.

The expeditionary force deployed mages to defend against the arrows raining down from China, and they climbed the not-so-high city walls to set up ladders.

As the soldiers charged up the ladders, a refreshing breeze, carrying healing power, restored their strength.

"The number of soldiers is being suppressed."

But Lin Miao, who was summoning healing winds, held the mouse, her expression not good.

The battlefield situation, viewed from above, was clearly unfavorable; the problem lay in the sheer number of soldiers in the expeditionary force.

After Gil unified the central tribes, the military force he expanded, along with the warriors he recruited after conquering the Theodos tribe, far exceeded that of Cintaman.

In contrast, although Zhen Dan can use magic to awaken qualified civilians, more than half of its troops have been transferred to the north, further dispersing its fighting strength.

"There's nothing I can do to help now."

The desktop destruction had been used to distract the enemy mages, but Lin Miao was helpless against the super soldiers who were charging around wielding weapons.

The people of Zhen Dan could barely hold on, using shields and other items made of special materials infused with magic to defend against the attacks.

"Bruno! Now's your turn!"

Just as the enemy was gaining an advantage by committing soldiers and more enemy troops were swarming in, Attila seized the opportunity and shouted loudly.

If Bruno's magic hits a group of enemies, its efficiency will be maximized, and a single strike can eliminate at least several hundred enemies.

"Now!"

Attila, who had just transformed back into human form from a bird, shouted as soon as he landed. Bruno hurriedly climbed the watchtower, having no time to pay attention to anything else.

He raised his staff high and unleashed the ultimate spell he had learned and been instilled with in the magic book over the past few days.

"Quick, look at that! In the sky!"

"This is impossible..."

The enormous magic circle that unfolded in the azure sky was so beautiful and magnificent that it captivated both sides for a moment.

But the two sides reacted very differently. The residents of Aurora, who had witnessed Bruno’s ultimate magic, cheered and knew that this was the key to victory.

The expeditionary force, witnessing this for the first time, instinctively felt fear and hesitated to advance.

Immediately afterwards, countless burning rockets poured down from the magic circle.

This move is also a killer move used in defense games to block swarm tactics, and it came in handy right now.

On the eve of Bruno's grand magic, the mage who had taken over command from Gil, the commander-in-chief who knew nothing about siege warfare, was satisfied with the smooth progress of the battle:

"The city walls aren't high, so there's no need to surround them. As long as we attack from both sides simultaneously and don't give them a chance to breathe, we'll definitely be able to take it down."

As he said, although the outposts hastily built by Aurora were large in scale, they were not high enough. As long as the hillside was breached and the city walls were approached, it would not be difficult to capture them.

After managing to withstand the long-range attacks from Zhen Dan, they used their numerical advantage as assault vehicles, and the offensive progressed smoothly, on the verge of breaking through the city walls.

"However, their combat strength is indeed astonishing. If, as Your Highness wishes, they establish a unified kingdom, the balance of this region will be broken."

The mage was also amazed by the fighting prowess of the grassland tribes. Even though they were not good at siege warfare, the formidable fighting power displayed by each individual still left him speechless.

"Huh?! Look at that! In the sky!"

He discovered Bruno's magic just moments before he was certain of victory.

Hearing the gasps of surprise around him, the magicians who instinctively looked up froze on the spot: "This is impossible..."

Just as grassland tribes learn riding skills from a young age, this magician is also an elite who entered a magic academy from childhood to receive magical training.

He understood magic better than anyone else, and deep down he truly despised the magic used by the grassland tribes' magicians, considering it an uncivilized trick.

While a giant hammer falling from the sky or a chainsaw-like mage is indeed astonishing, that's all; it's far from a perfect power.

But what is unfolding in the sky at this moment is something that cannot be described by words like sorcery or magic tricks.

"Forbidden spell!"

That was undoubtedly a forbidden spell, and a massive, complex, and super-standard magic whose principles were completely incomprehensible.

"Scatter!"

"Wow! It's a rocket!"

Burning arrows rained down from a massive magic circle that appeared in the sky, falling towards the heads of the expeditionary force that had dismounted and gathered on the hillside to attack the city walls.

Although some people raised their shields to try to block it, this was an enchanted attack that ordinary shields could hardly withstand.

In an instant, hundreds of people fell to the ground, screaming as they were burned by the spreading flames. The scale of this attack could not be estimated by numbers alone.

Although only a few hundred people fell to the ground, the number of people who witnessed the unknown object falling from the sky and fell into collective panic was incalculable.

"What... what kind of magic is this? I've never heard of this kind of magic before!"

"I don't know either, this is a realm that only exists in legends—the Grand Magister realm!"

"Are you kidding me!"

The magician, his eyes wide with terror, roared at his arriving companions; he himself was the one who could least comprehend the situation at that moment.

"Who...who is it?"

Taking advantage of the chaos in the expeditionary force, the mage quickly cast a vision-enhancing spell to scan the Chinese camp.

He was certain that this was a level of magic far beyond what the barbarians of the grasslands could wield, and he was desperately searching for an unknown force that was colluding with China.

"impossible……"

But what came into view was a black-haired boy being supported by a group of people. He was pale and holding a staff that clearly belonged to a magician. In terms of appearance and attire, he was a local.

"Damn it! Retreat the entire army!"

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Gilles issued a retreat order. The expeditionary force was granted a pardon and fled in panic, leaving behind mountains of corpses, like the receding tide.

Jill raised her voice in disbelief, angrily questioning the magician's representative, Paul: "Is this reasonable?! That kind of thing... can that even be called magic?!"

Paul, who hadn't expected the other party to possess a mage of this caliber, gritted his teeth and forced a calm explanation: "Please calm down. It has been confirmed that the suspected caster is unable to move due to depleted magic power. It's impossible for them to cast that kind of powerful magic again in the short term."

Jill clearly no longer trusted him: "What if another one of those guys shows up?! How are you going to handle it?"

The magician stammered, "This... shouldn't be possible."

"If we had fought on horseback from the beginning, we could have dodged anything that fell from the sky."

Gil's mind was clearly no longer on the siege. Not only him, as the commander, but also his soldiers all had expressions that said they couldn't wait to ride off into the distance.

"Those few, with their limited numbers and lack of warriors, have held out this long only because of that city wall. We might as well stick to the original plan, bypass the castle, and raid their farmland and livestock. Let them try to launch a rear attack; I'd rather die on horseback than climb the wall to my death."

Jill decided to change his plans and instead proceed with the original strategy of bypassing the castle and attacking the villages of Aurora directly.

Although it suited Attila's purposes perfectly, Gil's logic was also flawless.

"Are these guys really planning to just shoot and run?"

At dawn that day, as soon as Jill's expeditionary force awoke, they mounted their horses in unison. Without even glancing at the people on the city walls, they galloped straight eastward.

The horses of the Zhen Dan tribe, having not been ridden all day yesterday, were now bursting with energy.

Lin Miao, who had stayed up all night at her computer, rubbed her red eyes and hurriedly switched the screen when she saw the scene on it.