Chapter 712: Taking Over

Lin Feng sped towards the central city, the cold wind carrying snowflakes lashing at his face. He subconsciously squinted, reviewing the intelligence about Frost Abyss City in his mind once more.

Frost Abyss City is not actually the core of the Eternal Night Snow Mountain Pure Land.

The two sides were locked in a fierce battle, but what they were really fighting for was that giant Crimson Snow Mine.

Crimson Snow Ore can resist the erosion of the eternal night's cold; without it, flesh-and-blood races would find it difficult to move an inch in the eternal night's wind and snow.

If it weren't for this weakness, in terms of pure land efficacy alone, this place would almost be comparable to a special pure land.

Because this mine is so important, the Nightmare faction spared no expense in deploying heavy troops around the mine area.

The eastern defense line extends 100 kilometers eastward from the edge of the mining area, with five major cities lined up in a north-south direction.

In order: Cold Iron City, Frost Iron City, Central City, Ice Fortress City, Snow Fortress City.

The two adjacent cities were about 25 kilometers apart, and were connected by ice walls and moats that were 100 meters high, forming a continuous defensive line.

The trench in the blank area is 300 meters wide and 200 meters deep, with steep and smooth ice walls on both sides, making it an insurmountable barrier for ground troops.

Therefore, the focus of defense on the eastern front has always been these five cities.

Besides these five cities, there are twenty other small cities scattered between the mining areas and the front lines, which serve as transit points for supplies and encampments for reserve forces.

Pulling his thoughts back, Lin Feng probed the ground with his senses. After sensing for a while, he couldn't help but frown.

In his perception, a large number of Nightmare forces appeared, heading east, presumably to support the front lines.

But what made him frown was that these troops were all Nightmare Clan soldiers.

Could it be that the Nightmare Clan is in charge of the entire eastern defense zone? If so, wouldn't he, as the supreme commander, be rendered useless?

It's obvious that if all the generals under his command were Nightmare Clan members, how many would listen to his orders? They probably wouldn't even be able to leave the central city.

This left him speechless.

But then I thought about it again. Originally, for the sake of that plan, I couldn't wait for the Snow Mountain Pure Land to be conquered by the Blood Demon Sect as soon as possible.

He had hesitated before, though, because he felt uneasy if he failed to take responsibility and caused the deaths of many of his men.

Now it's all right, I'm not going to worry about it anymore.

The Nightmare Clan's lowest-ranking soldiers are devoid of intelligence; frankly, they are simply weapons of war, and once they die, they bear no burden whatsoever.

Once the eastern defense zone collapses, the fall of the pristine snow-capped mountains will only be a matter of time.

At that time, it will likely be like last time, with Viscount Eternal Night ordering the abandonment and the entire army retreating to the Pure Land of Undying City.

After flying for a while longer, the outline of the central city became faintly visible in the wind and snow.

When they were still two kilometers away from the city wall, thirty-two figures suddenly flew out of the city.

At the forefront was an orc, and the rest were Nightmare Apostles, each with a different expression: some were expressionless, some were scrutinizing, and some wore smiles that seemed warm but were actually distant.

The orc was nearly three and a half meters tall, with dark gray-green skin that looked like it was covered with a thin layer of rock powder.

He flew at the very front, like a moving hill in the wind and snow.

His dark gray-green skin was covered with a thin layer of frost, and his fangs curved upwards and to the left, their ends almost touching his cheekbone.

He grinned from afar, his voice so loud it could be heard from a distance: "Lord Lin! We've been waiting for you for days!"

Lin Feng greeted him with a smile, shaking hands with him: "Lord Groom, it's an honor to meet you. I was delayed by some matters on the way."

"Haha, it's alright, it's alright! It's good that we've arrived!" Grum laughed heartily, patting Lin Feng on the shoulder with such force that anyone else would probably stumble a few steps.

At this moment, a Nightmare Apostle stepped in.

He looked to be in his early thirties, with a fair complexion. When he smiled, his eyes would crinkle and the corners of his mouth would turn up, exuding a friendly and approachable air.

"Lord Lin, welcome, welcome!" He cupped his hands in greeting, his tone warm. "I am Thorne Darkblade, the deputy commander of the Eastern Defense Line. I have long heard of Lord Lin's fame in the Battle of Coldmoon City. Meeting you today, I can see that you are indeed extraordinary!"

As he spoke, he took another half step closer, lowered his voice, and spoke as if he were an old friend who had known Lin Feng for many years.

"Lord Lin, you must be tired from your journey. I've arranged your lodgings and welcome banquet. After the handover is complete, let's have a good drink together."

Groom snorted coldly from the side, making no attempt to hide it.

Lin Feng politely shook Thorne's hand in return: "Lord Thorne, you're too kind."

Thorne was about to say something more when Groom interrupted him: "Thorne, take your men and wait in the council hall. After I finish handing over with Lord Lin, you can discuss the details."

Thorne's smile remained unchanged as he cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Lord Groom."

He turned and waved to the thirty Nightmare Clan apostles behind him, then led them away in another direction from the Central City.

Groom watched their backs disappear into the distance before turning to Lin Feng and saying, "Let's go, this isn't the place to talk."

Lin Feng nodded: "Okay."

The two flew towards the central city.

The central city has only one ice wall on the east side, about 100 meters high and stretching for 20 kilometers, which connects with the ice wall in the blank area.

Inside the city walls lies a vast urban area, with densely packed barracks, warehouses, and training grounds stretching to the edge of the field of vision.

Nightmare soldiers were everywhere in the city, packs of Shadow Wolves roamed the streets, Corpse Men marched in formation across the square, and Wriggle Shadows writhed silently against the walls.

Each formation was led by a Nightmare Shadowweaver, whose dark purple cloak billowed in the wind and snow, and whose mental pulses spread silently. The city's forces were deployed in an orderly manner without the slightest chaos.

As Groom led the way, he explained, "The central city is garrisoned by ten million troops year-round, while the other four cities each garrison four million troops."

Including the reserves, the total is approximately thirty million. This number can be quickly replenished should any losses occur.

Lin Feng nodded, but didn't seem to care much.

In a nightmare world where individual skill can change the course of battle, the number of troops is never the decisive factor.

Groom continued, "As for mid-to-high-end combat power, the eastern defense line has nine high-ranking apostles, forty low-ranking apostles, one hundred and fifty-four nightmare knights, four hundred and twelve nightmare generals, and more than fifty thousand third-tier units."

Lin Feng asked casually, as if it were just a casual remark: "Lord Grum, are these all from the plane ruled by the Nightmare Clan?"

Grum's expression turned serious, and he nodded: "Yes, the Nightmare Clan is incredibly powerful. Of the more than three hundred planes under Viscount Eternal Night's command, half are under the rule of the Nightmare Clan."

In the other planes, there are fifty-two undead lords, forty-three humans and orcs combined, and the rest are races like elves, vampires, and goblins.

He softened his tone slightly: "However, there are more than ten demiplanes that belong to the sub-orc races, such as catwomen, lionmen, werewolves, and bearmen, which are also considered to be part of our Forge Alliance."

At this point, Groom became more excited: "Now that Lord Lin has joined us, our Forge Alliance is even stronger. I'm sure Viscount Eternal Night won't dare to exploit us too much anymore."

Lin Feng responded, "Lord Groom is right. Having one more ally always gives us more confidence."

He sighed inwardly. Although Viscount Eternal Night might make some concessions to prevent the alien apostles from becoming too passive and lazy, their superiors and their superiors' superiors were all Nightmare Clan.

Without a way to break the deadlock, the future looks bleak no matter how you look at it.

As they were thinking this, the two arrived at Groom's residence.

A huge villa, orcish in style, with rough stone walls, exposed wooden beams, and a high roof. Two totem poles stand in front of the door, engraved with the battle patterns of the orc clan.

There were no Nightmare Clan barracks within a 500-meter radius, making it exceptionally quiet.

After entering the room, Grum closed the door, turned around, and said to Lin Feng, "Lord Lin, you must have realized this when you saw that the eastern defense zone was full of Nightmare Clan members."

Our supreme commander is basically just a mascot, isn't he?