"It's fine. As long as you didn't rob that Wang family merchant, you're safe. We're all bandits — as if anyone here hasn't robbed something."
"Haha, I checked the route — it shouldn't reach me!"
"Looks like there are still a few strongholds left up ahead. So pitiful, just wait for death. To those brothers down the line — my condolences!"
"......"
Han Huohuo took one casual glance; the forum comments really were an eyesore.
He was the most wronged of all.
The people before him had robbed huge amounts of supplies, while by the time it reached him, he'd only taken in three bandits. This was a disaster out of a clear blue sky.
【Barbarians wipe out Flying Cloud Ferry Stronghold, Lord dead. War lasted 7 seconds!】
......
Holy hell!
Are you even a man? Holding out for all of 7 seconds!
Why don't you go buy a block of tofu and brain yourself with it!
Sweat ran down Han Huohuo's face. What kind of guy is this — can't he buy me a little time? A collapse a thousand miles in an instant, way too fast.
He stuck up all ten fingers in contempt!
He hurried to check his resources.
Without realizing it, he had 120 black stone.
Without hesitation he immediately recruited 6 Floaters, then used the rest of his iron to recruit 30 giant mechanical wolves.
Forget expanding production — survival came first.
Then he summoned back the 5 giant wolves from the black stone mine. Upon receiving the order, the giant wolves immediately raced back at full speed. Not a single soldier could be wasted now!
Huh?
Only now did Han Huohuo notice that his wood and stone were enough to upgrade the Main Base again.
He wasn't sure whether a Tier-3 Main Base would have a bit more defense.
【Upgrading to a Tier-3 Main Base requires 10,000 wood and 5,000 stone. Confirm upgrade?】
"Confirm!"
A rumbling sound!
Then Han Huohuo discovered the Main Base upgrade would take another hour to complete! And the barbarians were nearly here.
Damn it, the Tier-3 Main Base wouldn't be ready in time!
"Chief, a stronghold up ahead is on fire — there are battle cries over there!" the watchtower began to report.
A glance at the scrolling broadcasts told Han Huohuo that camp was already finished — held out thirty seconds at most.
"Except for the workers mining black stone, all other workers — retreat to the Main Base!"
The black-stone workers were too far off, and workers moved very slowly, nothing like the giant mechanical wolves' running speed, so there was no fast way to pull them back to defend.
With the barbarians about to reach the gates, recalling the black-stone mechanical workers was too late.
The workers nearby mining wood, stone, and iron — a dark mass of them — dropped the resources in hand and all came running home, quickly reaching the Main Base.
This was Han Huohuo's second defense, with no moat, no proper wall, no arrow towers — only a crowd of workers, a few dozen giant mechanical wolves, and twelve Floaters!
Who knew whether these barbarians would throw spears or shoot arrows? There was a big boulder in the camp, and being deathly afraid, bandit chief Han Huohuo hid behind it.
The earth began to tremble.
The whole stronghold shook.
There came a low, growling roar of beasts.
"Report, Chief. The barbarians have charged in — thirty-some of them, riding giant wolves, wielding great axes, led by a woman!"
No wonder they were so fast.
So they were wolf cavalry!
Han Huohuo put the workers at the very front to block the stronghold gate. Not knowing the barbarians' attack power, he had the workers absorb the first wave.
The workers' combat power was poor anyway, but their defense was decent.
Only thirty-some wolf riders, but the commotion was no small thing — dust billowing everywhere. Those giant wolves rivaled his own giant mechanical wolves, over a meter tall, enormous as young calves.
Astride them sat burly barbarians, faces painted with colorful patterns, looking utterly ferocious.
Strangely, the barbarian leader at the front was a woman, who didn't look all that fierce — more like a normal human.
She raised the great axe in her hand, a voice that didn't sound human coming from her mouth.
"Roar!"
The charging wolf riders all halted instantly and, mimicking the female leader, raised their great axes together.
"Roar! Roar!"
All of it the sound of war cries.
To command soldiers with war cries alone — this woman was a bit much?
Han Huohuo poked his head out from behind the rock just in time to see the barbarians brandish their axes, then suddenly hurl them into the camp together.
Holy crap — they're ranged axe-throwers too!
The huge axes came whistling through the air, spinning like cartwheels. Terrified, Han Huohuo hurried to pull his head back, and a great axe struck the rock he was hiding behind, lodging straight into the stone, the boulder rocking from the impact.
That was too damned terrifying!
Han Huohuo sucked in a cold breath.
The first volley of axes ended.
He checked the casualties: the first wave alone had killed 29 of his mechanical workers. Which meant that apart from the axe thrown at him, every other axe had killed a mechanical worker.
Now he finally understood.
Why some Lords held out only a few seconds — turned out the first volley of axes split the Lord himself in two!
So brutal!
He watched the barbarians draw out yet another axe from who knew where.
These great axes seemed endless — too damned unscientific.
Han Huohuo finally realized that trading ranged volleys with these barbarians was far too costly. These barbarians were terrifying; he couldn't fight this way.
"Charge — get in there and take them on!"
The gate opened, and countless mechanical workers, with 35 giant wolves mixed in, surged out together!
Over a hundred machines!
A dark mass too, which actually stunned the barbarians. The most troublesome Lord they'd met had only ever played hide-and-seek with them — this was the first time they'd run into a Lord who counter-charged them.
Not bad!
This Lord had decent strength and very quick reactions — the moment he realized the barbarians were a ranged force, he charged down without the slightest hesitation.
A glimmer of approval rose in the female barbarian leader's eyes.
Finally, a halfway-decent opponent!
Her fighting spirit began to surge!
She threw another volley of axes, taking out a dozen-some workers, but the giant mechanical wolves had thick health; an axe didn't kill them, and they still charged down savagely together.
The mechanical army and the barbarians finally tangled together.
The barbarians' great axes were no longer for throwing but swung as melee weapons, and they began harvesting mechanical workers.
"Floaters! Get in — focus fire on that woman for me!"
The Floaters hidden in the dark suddenly appeared and fired lasers at the female barbarian all at once!
The female barbarian was shocked. This guy's so sneaky!
He'd even been hiding a ranged unit.
She was the only warrior wielding a spear, and had just flung several mechanical workers aside when a dozen-some giant wolves suddenly appeared around her, surrounding her on all sides.
Then the lasers came!
To catch the thieves, first catch the king!
That much, Han Huohuo understood!
The mechanical workers tied up the barbarian soldiers, leaving the leader fully exposed within range of the giant mechanical wolves and Floaters!
Even a hero can't fend off a pack of wolves!
The female barbarian leader flung thirteen giant mechanical wolves aside in succession with her spear, each crashing down into scrap and ruined iron — truly ferocious. Han Huohuo figured that the bravest warriors of all the ages amounted to no more than this.
But Han Huohuo was too cunning, and the attack was too sudden.
The giant wolves had completely tied the woman down, and the Floaters suddenly opened up in a salvo!
By the third salvo, the woman was finally shot down.
The giant wolf she rode was also swarmed by the giant mechanical wolves and finished off outright.
"Roar~"
A wail of grief.
Sheets of blood-colored light suddenly vanished from these barbarian axe-throwers!
At first Han Huohuo hadn't noticed these blood-curtains, until he saw them disappear, after which these barbarians seemed to weaken.
Without their leader, the barbarians didn't seem so strong! Perhaps it wasn't the axe-throwers who were powerful, but that woman!
Good thing he'd taken her out first, or the outcome would've been hard to call!
"Kill!"
The Floaters began cleaning up the barbarians one by one.
Mechanical parts littered the ground, rolling everywhere. Eighty percent of his mechanical workers and seventy percent of his giant mechanical wolves had been wrecked.
These thirty-some barbarian axe-throwers were ground down alive by Han Huohuo's mechanical army.
In the end, it was the Floaters who were fiercest at clearing the field!
The advantage of a ranged force was on full display.
Too nerve-wracking. Thank goodness he'd killed that female barbarian at the very start, or the result would've been hard to say!
Han Huohuo let out a breath, stood up from behind the rock, and saw that the boulder he'd hidden behind had been split open by a great axe.
These barbarians' attack power was just too high!