Chapter 128: Closing In Step by Step

Once the goblins and gnomes had completed their preparations according to the pre-arranged plan, they launched a fierce assault on the Forward Fortress, supported by the artillery fire from the open ground.

As the army surged forward, Gnisen, Adolf, and the others immediately noticed something amiss; the intensity of the resistance from Sun Licheng’s side was significantly weaker than expected.

"Order the troops to increase the intensity of the attack!" Gnisen roared at his messenger.

Soon, waves of Eastern Legion soldiers charged toward the Forward Fortress. Under sporadic artillery fire, the soldiers quickly reached the base of the walls and began attacking the defensive magic array with various weapons. Before long, the barrier flickered and failed.

"We’re in! We’ve broken through!" Adolf shouted excitedly as he watched soldiers scale the walls and engage the defensive mechanical puppets.

Gnisen was satisfied by the continuous stream of men pouring into the fortress, wearing his first smile in days. After waiting a while longer, seeing the fortress flooded with his troops, he decided the outcome was certain and prepared to move forward. But at that moment, a deafening roar erupted, and a massive mushroom-shaped column of smoke rose from the heart of the Forward Fortress.

"No!" Gnisen screamed in agony as he watched his soldiers being blown into the sky.

It took a long time before an officer, blackened by soot and fire, returned to report. Only then did the Marshal learn what had happened: Sun Licheng’s main force had already retreated long ago. The fortress had been left in the hands of immobile combat puppets. These constructs had fought the invading goblin army to the death, proving extremely difficult to handle. Even worse, once a large number of soldiers had surged inside, the puppets detonated the facility’s explosive charges, triggering a cataclysmic blast.

"Marshal, the brothers who charged in are all dead. The scene was absolutely horrific... *sob*..." Overcome with grief, the officer broke down in tears.

Marshal Gnisen sighed deeply. He finally realized that Sun Licheng’s skirmishes over the past few days had been a ruse to buy time for his escape. Moreover, the bastard had dealt him a final, treacherous blow.

At that moment, the man Gnisen was cursing, Sun Licheng, was piloting his mech across the plateau, flanked by a large number of combat puppets and various vehicles. Sun Licheng’s expression was grim. To cover this retreat, he had been forced to abandon nearly all of his heavily damaged mechanical puppets. His heart ached at the thought of those lost subordinates.

"Boss, you must live on! Not just for yourself, but for us. We believe you can achieve the world you spoke of—a world without war, where we mechanical puppets can also live with dignity." Recalling the words of the puppets who had stayed behind to provide cover, and remembering their resolute gazes, Sun Licheng’s eyes filled with tears.

"Boss, where to next?" Mr. Handy flew over and asked.

Sun Licheng pondered for a moment before replying, "We head straight for the Valley Fortress and hold our ground there. If the Valley Fortress falls, we retreat into the Underground Fortress. If the Underground Fortress falls... well, there will be no 'then' after that."

"However," he added, his eyes turning cold, "as long as we fight fiercely and bleed the goblins dry, we can still win."

That evening, in the goblin camp, Marshal Gnisen was discussing the next steps with Adolf and the others. The final explosion at the Forward Fortress had cost the Eastern Legion over a thousand lives. These were the bravest and most elite troops in the entire army. Their total loss not only pained the Marshal but also forced him to calm down.

The Sun Licheng before him was no ordinary enemy, and the upcoming battlefield—the God-Forsaken Lands, a region unfamiliar even to the Lunar Alliance—demanded extreme caution. The only consolation was that they had finally captured a steel fortress and seized a significant amount of standard Gnomish Empire equipment, which helped maintain the soldiers' high morale.

"Marshal Gnisen, the northern God-Forsaken Lands are extremely desolate. While there are few beasts, those that exist are exceptionally ferocious. For thousands of years, we have rarely ventured there, and there is no record of any tribe surviving in such a place," Adolf explained to the group.

Although legends about the God-Forsaken Lands existed throughout the world, few had actually traveled there, and the mood among the commanders remained uneasy.

"In other words, our logistical burden will be immense," Seeps remarked.

Gnisen looked at Adolf and said coldly, "The Goddess has commanded us to capture Sun Licheng. Regardless of the difficulties, we must enter the God-Forsaken Lands. As for logistics, I will petition His Majesty the King to send more laborers for transport. At the same time, I expect the Lunar Alliance to contribute even more. Leader Adolf, is that a problem?"

Adolf’s face darkened at the request, but thinking of his position and the oracle of the Goddess, he gritted his teeth and nodded firmly.

Seeing the greatest obstacle to the march resolved, Gnisen stood up and declared, "Gentlemen, we have endured great hardship to finally drive Sun Licheng out of the Lunar Alliance. Whatever challenges we face, for the sake of the Goddess, and for the glory of the Goblin Kingdom and the Lunar Alliance, we cannot retreat. At dawn tomorrow, the entire army moves out into the God-Forsaken Lands." He raised his fist and shouted, "For the Goddess! We will fight to the death until Sun Licheng is captured!"

The others in the tent stood up in unison, pounding their chests and roaring, "For the Goddess! We will fight to the death until Sun Licheng is captured!"

The next morning, the allied forces broke camp and marched north, rumbling past the ruins of the Forward Fortress. Simultaneously, waves of deer-riders, bearing their banners, galloped toward the various tribes of the Lunar Alliance, tasked with requisitioning every last bit of their remaining food for the front lines. Whether the gnomes starved to death was of no concern to the Goddess or the high-ranking officials.

Upon truly entering the God-Forsaken Lands, Gnisen realized that Adolf’s description had been far too optimistic. The region was not merely desolate; it was bitterly cold, with extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night, which accounted for the scarcity of wildlife. Looking out over the bleak wilderness, Gnisen rubbed his hands together and said to Adolf, "We must follow the river, or the troops will be exhausted before we even catch Sun Licheng."

Adolf looked grave and whispered, "The God-Forsaken Lands are full of giant black fish, far more vicious and cunning than those in the Lunar Alliance. I fear they will ambush us."

"Leader Adolf, you worry too much. We are an elite army of over thirty thousand. They are mere fish; if they appear, they will simply provide a fresh meal for our troops," Gnisen laughed heartily, patting Adolf on the shoulder before ordering the messengers to have the army march along the riverbank.

Sure enough, they had not traveled far before several massive black fish appeared in the water, causing an uproar among the troops. Just as the creatures swam toward the shore, looking for an opportunity to strike, several massive boulders whistled through the air, smashing into a giant black fish and causing a spray of blood as it was instantly killed.

It turned out that Marshal Gnisen had already deployed Cyclopes, who immediately pelted the fish with rocks to ensure the army’s safety.

The black fish were not unintelligent; seeing their companion killed, they quickly swam away, drawing uproarious laughter from the goblins on the shore. Watching his men excitedly wade into the water to retrieve the carcass, Gnisen thought to himself, "The morale is good."

Just then, a loud bird cry pierced the sky. The eagle he had sent out returned, presumably having found traces of Sun Licheng.

"Heh, Sun Licheng, let’s see where you can hide now." A cold sneer curled the corners of Gnisen’s mouth.