Chapter 328 172: Open War

"Goblins, to the front!"

Commanders in the Alliance Army ran about, shouting harshly and cracking their whips to drive the goblins forward.

The goblins shot the Commanders a look of discontent, then hefted their weapons and walked to the very front of the Alliance Army, gathering together. Meanwhile, their Clan Leaders and officers were still trying to boost their morale.

"Show some courage!"

"You are ferocious Hunters!"

"Don't be afraid! You will surely defeat the enemy!"

Standing at the very front were the Goblin Warriors. They were the most numerous combat sequence in this Alliance Army. Their builds were similar to that of a normal goblin, but their muscles were much more developed. They wore special Leather Armor made from three different types of Beast Hide, which offered decent Defense Power.

To counter the Undead, the Goblin Warriors had all swapped their weapons for blunt instruments like Wolf Fang Clubs, Hammers, Hardwood Rods, Stone Rods, and the like.

The number of Goblin Warriors was close to one hundred thousand, making up nearly a third of the Alliance Army.

Behind the Goblin Warriors was the Goblin Tribe's regular army—the Goblin Warriors. This latter group was clearly much stronger than the former. They wore Metal Armor, and although the styles were a mismatched assortment, their Defense Power was obviously far superior to that of Leather Armor. Furthermore, the weapons they used were also made of metal.

The Goblin Warriors of the regular army were larger and more muscular than the ones at the front. Their individual combat prowess slightly surpassed that of an ordinary Lizardman or a member of the Headhunter Race, and their numbers were as high as thirty or forty thousand.

Further back were the Bear Goblins and the Goblin Cavalry.

The formations of the Lizardmen and the Headhunter Race were positioned even farther back. They were clearly divided into two separate areas, each arranging their own battle lines.

The Lizardmen's basic formation was circular. They formed concentric rings, with the Lizardmen on the outside holding Shields for defense while those on the inside raised their Long Spears.

The formation of the Headhunter Race was similar to that of the Undead—a square phalanx. From a distance, it looked like a series of long rectangular blocks.

Li Ziyu stood on a Watchtower, holding a pair of binoculars he had gotten from Liu Xingxing. He gazed toward the Alliance Army in the distance, watching them shift their formations. 'They actually look like they know what they're doing,' he thought.

'Wait, what is that thing?'

Dozens of wooden contraptions were being erected. Li Ziyu's eyes bulged. 'Aren't those fucking catapults?'

'How do these Natives have things like this?'

The objects before him were quite familiar. In his previous life, Li Ziyu had seen them in many medieval fantasy war movies—contraptions specifically designed for sieges, meant to hurl large stones. Although they weren't exactly the same, they were close enough.

'I was too careless. I underestimated these Natives. I never expected them to have a superweapon like this.'

'I found out too late. If I'd known they had catapults, I wouldn't have launched that night raid yesterday. I should have saved Meteor Soul for these big guys.'

Li Ziyu was filled with regret. He had cast Meteor Soul four times last night, which had left him completely drained and weak. Even if he wanted to use Meteor Soul against the catapults now, he no longer had the strength.

The Undead under his command were currently most in need of ranged units. The range of his Skeleton Longbowmen was decent, but they were completely outmatched by weapons like catapults. They couldn't reach that far, and there weren't many of them to begin with.

The Alliance Army's catapults were frames built from logs, relying on a simple lever principle to launch stones. They had even thoughtfully crafted launch pouches from Beast Tendons, Beast Hide, and vines.

The Headhunter Race and the Lizardmen directed the Bear Goblins to haul over the ammunition they had prepared. Other things might be hard to find in the Wasteland, but stones were everywhere. They used vines to create nets, bundling head-sized rocks inside to form projectiles.

"Load the projectiles!"

"Hurry up! No slacking!"

Bear Goblins held a high status within the Goblin Tribes, but in front of the Lizardmen and the Headhunter Race, they were still just ordered around and berated. It was a classic case of the bad guys getting a taste of their own medicine.

Grunting and groaning, they lifted the projectiles and placed them into the launch pouches.

These catapults were built by the Lizardmen, so naturally, they were also in charge of firing them. Next to each catapult was a Lizardman specialized in calibrating the angle, measuring the range, and giving the commands.

They fiddled around for a while until all several dozen catapults were ready. By then, the Warriors of the Alliance Army had also taken their positions.

"Fire!"

Upon receiving word that the Lizardmen were ready, Palamede propped himself up with his axe. Standing on a hastily constructed high platform, he gazed at the Skeleton Undead's position in the distance, took a deep breath, and bellowed the order.

The command quickly reached the catapults. Lizardmen walked forward with torches, lit the fuses on the projectiles, and swiftly yanked loose the tied Beast Tendons.

The Beast Tendons went slack. Driven by the principle of the lever, the catapults sprang to life with a creaking groan. The massive arms swung, carrying the projectiles up and forcefully flinging them forward.

CREEEAK—THWUMP—

THWUMP!

THWUMP!

Dozens of projectiles were flung into the sky by the catapults, tracing a parabolic arc straight toward the Undead.

"Holy crap! Big rocks!" Liu Xingxing shrieked the moment he saw the catapults fire, covering his head and dropping to the ground.

"Fuck!" Zhang Peng cursed, hitting the deck.

Li Ziyu, however, simply watched in silence as the great stones flew through the sky, standing his ground without moving an inch.

As the projectiles flew through the air, the vines binding the stones suddenly snapped, and the rocks transformed into a sky-wide shower of stone, flying freely.

WHOOSH—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—

The vast majority of the stones smashed down into the Skeleton Undead's formation. The Skeleton Undead just stood there foolishly, neither dodging nor flinching, letting the stones rain down and crash upon them.