Reincarnation Paradise Park

Chapter 790: Chapter 21: The Imperial Army’s Dire Situation?

The cold, eerie green phosphorus fire burns on the stone slope beneath the fortress, greatly hindering the Empire Army’s efforts to stack stones on the slope.

The stone slope has already piled up to nearly thirty meters high. The towering fortress is conservatively estimated to be thirty-five meters tall, leaving a mere five-meter difference between the slope and the fortress.

Yet, this five meters has become an insurmountable barrier. The temperature of the green phosphorus fire produced by the shattering of the Green Phosphorus Burning Bottles is extremely high. Not to mention the human body, even steel would melt into molten iron.

Although the green phosphorus fire burns for a very brief time, disappearing in about a dozen seconds, the goblins on the fortress continuously throw down Green Phosphorus Burning Bottles to prevent the Imperial Army from advancing further.

With the assistance of the green phosphorus fire, the dwarves on the fortress operate the ’City Defender Heavy Crossbows’ to launch round after round of volley fire. The Imperial Soldiers beneath the fortress suffer heavy casualties, unable to do anything but be slaughtered, as their flesh and blood cannot break through the green phosphorus fire.

What’s worse is that under the scorching heat of the green phosphorus fire, the stones on the slope begin to melt into a dark red liquid, which is lava.

The situation for the Empire Army is dire. They cannot advance, nor can they retreat. The casualties for the Imperial Army have exceeded eighty thousand. Retreating now would deal a permanent blow to morale, making it pointless to continue the war unless they replace the soldiers.

Legion Commander Carlos stands before the green phosphorus fire, watching the slowly melting stones.

Swish~

A bullet shoots towards Carlos, and with a casual swing of his sword, the bullet is sliced in half. He’s lost count of how many of those he’s shattered.

As the Legion Commander of the Imperial Side, the Contractors from Apocalypse Paradise naturally have their sights set on him. The rewards for killing Carlos are exceptionally bountiful.

Carlos doesn’t bother looking at those Contractors from Apocalypse Paradise; he just stares at the gradually melting stones.

”It should be... almost, having spent ninety thousand gold pounds. If those alchemists wish to maintain their status in the Empire, they wouldn’t provide substandard goods.”

The gold pounds mentioned by Carlos are the largest denomination of currency in the Empire, where 1 gold pound could cover all expenses for a family of five for a month.

A few days before the battle began, Carlos applied for a batch of special materials from the Empire, substances that the Empire could not produce and had to purchase from the Alchemy Association.

The Alchemy Association is established within the territories under the Empire’s rule. Still, to obtain war materials from the Alchemy Association, the Empire must pay in gold coins—forcefully requisitioning is not an option, even during wartime.

If the alchemists are angered, not to mention their various alchemical items and familiars, should relations rupture, those alchemists won’t mind relocating their headquarters under the protection of the tribes, where they would warmly welcome them.

With force not an option, purchasing was the only choice. Fortunately, the Alchemy Association is very accommodating; the Imperial Military gets a 40% discount when purchasing materials, and the Royal Family pays the original cost price.

Before the battle commenced, Carlos anticipated the current situation. He has been at war with the Tribal Alliance for too long and is well aware of the ’green phosphorus fire’ temperature.

Since Carlos has adopted this strategy, it indicates that he must have a countermeasure. He can sacrifice soldiers but won’t let them die in vain.

The height of the stone slope beneath the fortress quickly decreases, going from thirty meters to around ten meters high as the scorching red lava slowly flows down, further lowering the slope’s height.

A lava slope spanning one kilometer long forms beneath the fortress, acting almost as an impenetrable defensive line, making the Imperial Side seem as if they are caught in their own trap.

On the fortress, Minotaur Armstrong furrows his brow, unable to comprehend why the usually crafty Carlos adopts such a foolish strategy. Given the current situation, the Imperial Side is fundamentally unable to assault the fortress. If this one-sided slaughter continues, within an hour, a massive retreat would occur within the Empire Army.

Armstrong’s conjecture is not quite accurate. It doesn’t even need an hour. The Imperial Army is already experiencing dwindling morale. If it weren’t for Carlos maintaining order on the frontline, the Empire Army would have already been retreating.

Imperial Soldiers begin to slowly retreat. Although they all know that in the battlefield, death can come at any moment, this one-sided slaughter is unbearable for them.

In the central unit of the Empire Army, Su Xiao swaps out a magazine, having already sniped over fifty dwarf crossbowmen. Sniping these special units earns merit quickly. Unfortunately, after many crossbowmen died, they grew wiser, staying hidden behind the ’City Defender Heavy Crossbows’ most of the time and not exposing themselves easily except when necessary to aim and fire.

Su Xiao pulls the trigger, and a dwarf crossbowman who just exposed himself gets shot in the head. As soon as this crossbowman drops, five bullets, one arcane spell, and three arrows fly past the headless corpse, with friendly long-range units already competing to kill the enemy due to the crossbowmen’s rarity of exposure.

Su Xiao’s shooting speed is fast, but he’s not without competition. An allied mage is also shooting quickly, already having taken down at least thirty dwarf crossbowmen.

Through the scope, Su Xiao sees the vast expanse of lava slope beneath the fortress. He longs to charge onto the fortress, where there are many special units. If he can engage these special units in close combat, the [Holy Oak Tree Trunk] would be practically in his hands by this war’s end.

Given the current situation, rushing onto the fortress seems impossible. Even though Su Xiao’s physical attributes are high, he wouldn’t dare to withstand the lava head-on. Ordinary lava temperatures range from 700 to 1200 degrees, while the lava beneath the fortress, scorched by green phosphorus fire, has a hint of green amidst its orange-red, making it hotter than ordinary lava.

Su Xiao is puzzled. In the previous battle, he had experienced the power of the ’Green Phosphorus Fire Burning Bomb.’ A shield with 500 points of strength barely lasted four seconds before being burned through. Had he not been fast enough to escape the burning area, he would have been incinerated.

This is the battlefield; if Su Xiao isn’t cautious, he’ll die too.

Carlos should be aware of the power of the Green Phosphorus Fire Burning Bomb. Why choose this strategy?

As Su Xiao observes the lava through his scope, he suddenly notices a fist-sized red five-pointed star magic array appearing on the surface of the lava.

The five-pointed star magic array vanishes in an instant. If it weren’t for Su Xiao’s excellent vision, he wouldn’t have noticed the magic array blending with the lava’s color.

”A pentagram? Magic?”

Su Xiao frowns in deep thought, trying to recall the appearance of that formation and sketching it out on the ground beside him with his finger.

Soon, Su Xiao reproduces the pattern of the formation.

”Not a formation. Too many breakpoints, magic power can’t circulate. It’s more like... alchemy?”

Indeed, Su Xiao feels this is more like an Alchemy Array Diagram, not a magic formation. While an alchemy array diagram may appear similar to a magic formation, the former operates with multiple independent points rather than as a whole unit.

Why is there an Alchemy Array Diagram in the lava? Is it the work of the goblins?

Su Xiao stands up, suspecting that something like a Magma Giant might leap out of the lava at any moment.

Gulu-gulu, the lava boils. The goblins on the fortress first notice the anomaly, and their leader, the goblin inventor, rushes forward to carefully observe the changes in the lava below.

”Stop, stop throwing Green Phosphorus Bottles.”

The goblin inventor seems to have seen something unbelievable.

”Carlos, that scoundrel, a Hot and Cold Replacement Alchemy Array Diagram? And on such a scale, how many alchemists would it take to create such a massive chain alchemy array diagram? The issue must lie in those stones. We’ve been tricked.”

The goblin inventor jumps up in anger, realizing they have lost in the battle of alchemy.

”Everyone, prepare for white blade combat.”

The shrill voice of the goblin inventor spreads, leaving the nearby dwarves and beastmen confused.

”Armstrong, gather your men. Carlos is leading them to charge up.”