The Five Hundred Thirty-Third Battle
In the desert around Karnak to the west of Adus.
At dawn, the first rays of sunlight spilled over the horizon, casting a faint glimmer that dyed the eastern sky with rosy hues. The earth was awakening from its slumber, and the next wave of scorching heat was already preparing.
On the vast expanse of the barren wasteland, trenches were lined up, and sandbagged positions were filled with sleeping soldiers of the Savior Faction. At this moment of transition between night and day, even the few soldiers on night watch were yawning incessantly. They sat carelessly at their posts, completely neglecting their duties, some falling asleep wherever they could, while others gathered in small groups to play cards under the dim lights. These all-night card games were finally drawing to a close.
Although the enemy was imminent, the alert forces around Karnak’s frontlines were quite lax. This was partly due to the loose military discipline of the Savior Faction soldiers, but more importantly, the real task of maintaining vigilance did not fall upon these soldiers. Beyond their lines lay a ten-kilometer-wide zone guarded by countless undead. These undead were the true sentinels.
Thousands of undying undead patrolled tirelessly day and night across the wide desert, discovering any suspicious targets. Anything larger than a dog would be known to their positions. Therefore, for the Savior Faction soldiers on duty, remaining vigilant was not particularly meaningful.
Not only were they not alert, but they were also barely prepared for combat. With such a vast area covered by the undead alert zone, even if an attack came, they had ample time to return to their positions and prepare once alerted. Enemy artillery could not reach the positions without reconnaissance, but the soldiers on the positions could easily bombard attackers from afar using information relayed by the undead. This ensured a one-sided suppression of the enemy.
In fact, revolutionary forces from Dosa had launched several attacks on Karnak recently, but each time, before the attacking soldiers even reached the frontline, they were met with indiscriminate artillery fire from the positions, causing them to retreat in disarray. The frontline positions did not even need to see the enemy to defeat them. In such circumstances, the soldiers of the Savior Faction naturally lacked enthusiasm for serious preparation. Although their superiors repeatedly instructed them to remain vigilant and prepare, it was difficult to keep soldiers on edge under the protection of such a powerful undead alert zone.
Thus, in a rather lax state, many frontline positions of Karnak welcomed the new day’s dawn. Just then, a sharp and clear bugle call reverberated through the entire position, startling the night watch soldiers who were idly waiting for their shift to end. They immediately put down their tasks and stood up.
The night watch knew this bugle call; it was sounded only by the extraordinary beings who could communicate with the undead. When this bugle sounded, it meant that the undead in the forward alert zone had discovered enemies, and the position needed immediate preparation.
After hearing the bugle, the night watch soldiers quickly rose to do their duties: ringing alarms, waking their comrades, and rousing the entire position from sleep to enter a combat-ready state. Although urgent alarm sounds echoed overhead, the night watch personnel did not act too hastily because they knew the enemy was still ten kilometers away, giving them ample time to prepare.
Just as the entire position was slowly preparing, a sudden whistling sound pierced the sky. Some soldiers were puzzled about what the sound was when it rapidly intensified, turning into a deafening roar.
“Boom!!”
A powerful explosion erupted unexpectedly on the position. A massive burst of flames erupted from the direction of the artillery array, with shockwaves and flames spreading outwards. Dust flew everywhere, engulfing nearby soldiers and artillery instantly, leaving no trace. Soldiers further away were knocked down, screaming in pain, while those even farther were frightened into lying prone as dust showered them.
For a moment, flames erupted across the position, with shouts and curses filling the air. This explosion was more effective than all the alarms combined. Soldiers who were still in their sleep were suddenly awakened, bewildered and asking about the cause of the explosion. Most wondered if someone had accidentally blown up stored ammunition. However, what followed made them realize the truth.
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Following the initial explosion, continuous explosions resounded across the position. Red lotuses blossomed on the position and surrounding desert, with intense roaring and vibrations sweeping the entire area. Countless people who had not yet taken cover were swept away by the explosions. These blasts pounded the hearts of the Savior Faction soldiers like hammers, until they realized this was not an accidental ammunition explosion, but their own side being shelled! Being shelled by the enemy!
Realizing this, soldiers on the position hurriedly prepared to organize a counter-artillery strike, but they were already suppressed by the enemy’s initial artillery fire. Most of their few artillery pieces were destroyed, making a counter-strike almost impossible. Amidst heavy casualties, the remaining soldiers could only huddle in shelters. At this moment, the panicked soldiers’ minds were filled with confusion: how did the enemy artillery hit them? Didn’t they have no scouts?
…
Meanwhile, on the other end of the desert, over a dozen cannons were set up in a row, forming an array. Their black barrels pointed toward the sky, firing continuously under the control of soldiers. The thunderous noise echoed as they poured ammunition into the distance.
Such scenes appeared in various corners of the desert. At the edges of the undead alert zone, multiple artillery positions simultaneously bombarded distant enemy positions, breaking the silent dawn with the cacophony of gunfire.
These cannons came from various parts of Adus. After more than a week of transportation, artillery and elite troops from different battlefields and units were concentrated here to participate in the final battle of the civil war in Adus. These cannons came in various models; inferior domestic products were used to bombard ordinary enemy positions, while advanced and precise imported cannons from the main continent were used to target enemy artillery positions and frontline command posts. Due to years of war, Adus had accumulated a significant number of cannons, and the total artillery gathered by the revolutionary forces far exceeded ten times that of the Karnak defenders.
As countless cannons rained destruction on the frontlines, the numerous undead wandering in the alert zone gathered under some form of control. Ghosts, zombies, and skeletons rallied together, launching an assault on the artillery positions. They raised their firearms, charging and firing at the soldiers on the positions. However, their bullets were blocked by a rapidly forming wide ice wall, which stopped the projectiles with near-impenetrable ice, protecting the soldiers behind.
Behind the ice wall, Shadi, dressed in general’s uniform, emerged and faced the charging undead soldiers. He remained calm, raising his hand to cast a large-scale expulsion spell. Instantly, those undead not strongly controlled scattered in fear, dropping their weapons and fleeing. Some heavily affected zombies and skeletons had their spirits expelled, collapsing and falling to the ground. Other skeletons were blown apart by grenades thrown from behind the ice wall, completely disrupting the attack formation.
Seeing the terrifying undead army crumble before him, the revolutionary soldiers burst into high-spirited cheers. After witnessing the ease with which these dead could be dealt with, the morale of all soldiers surged. At this moment, Shadi shouted loudly:
“Go, soldiers of Adus! This is the final battle! For Adus!”
Accompanied by Shadi’s call, bugles signaling advance were blown, and the revolutionary soldiers marched forward, inspired. As they approached the ice wall, the solid ice before them vanished immediately. The revolutionary soldiers thus marched toward the battlefield.
Standing in place, Shadi watched the advancing troops and the artillery fire not reaching them. He breathed a sigh of relief, then searched his body and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it. Before him was a complete map of Karnak’s defensive layout, marking every frontline position and artillery firing point. Shadi’s artillery had relied on this map to suppress Karnak’s positions from the start, neutralizing their ability to retaliate and allowing his forces to advance safely.
“No retaliation… Truly accurate intelligence capability, frightening indeed…” Shadi murmured, genuinely relieved he wasn’t facing the Judge of Heaven Church.
With such detailed intelligence and overwhelming force, Shadi felt victory was almost guaranteed.
Of course, this was contingent on the enemy not having higher-level extraordinary powers intervene, which was not impossible.
…
After the first cannon blast, several directions outside the long alert zone, tens of thousands of revolutionary troops launched a pincer-like offensive towards Karnak. Battles erupted simultaneously on all sides around Karnak. Numerous revolutionary soldiers advanced into the undead alert zone, using firearms and bombs to quickly clear the path, guided by professional “Silence” extraordinary beings. They launched an assault on Karnak.
Suddenly, the vast undead alert zone was filled with battles and enemies. Multiple large forces invaded from various directions, and the intelligence gathered by the undead flooded into the city of Karnak, reaching the intelligence center composed of members of the Underworld Coffin Cult.
Due to the lack of subjective prioritization among the numerous scout undead, every detail of the battlefield was reported back, overwhelming the small intelligence center. The immense workload collapsed the Karnak intelligence analysts, rendering them unable to process the deluge of information. The entire intelligence center descended into chaos, overwhelmed by the vast amount of battlefield data beyond its processing capacity. It wasn’t long before the center was paralyzed by the workload, and intelligence from ghosts could not be accurately delivered to the frontlines, causing widespread confusion.
In the chaotic intelligence center, a large volume of feedback from ghosts was overlooked due to insufficient processing time. One of these reports read: “Twenty kilometers east of Karnak, a small flying object is moving north at high speed. It seems to be two people riding a flying carpet…”
…
In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, at a location far from the fighting, a swift shadow was flying at high speed. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a flying carpet hovering a few meters above the ground. On the carpet were two figures: Dorothy and Nephnis, both clad in robes and headscarves.
“Miss Dorothy… The fighting has already started there. Is it really okay for us not to help?”
Under the fierce wind, Nephnis gazed at the distant direction where the cannon fire roared, expressing her concern. Dorothy responded immediately.
“Don’t worry, Shadi will handle the front. Our importance here is no less than theirs. Or rather, they are a distraction, while we are the key.”
Dorothy said, controlling the beautiful carpet beneath her to accelerate. They resembled the legendary Arabian magicians of fairy tales, but unfortunately, the carpet beneath Dorothy was merely a common, non-magical rug. What truly carried them was a large square steel plate underneath the carpet, which Dorothy controlled with magnetic force to achieve high-speed flight.
Their destination was the Dead Eagle Valley within the Long Knives mountain range ahead. The towering mountains were already visible to Dorothy. By carefully selecting the time and route, they swiftly approached Rahmann Royal Tomb unnoticed.
…
North of Karnak, in the towering mountain range not far from Karnak, there was a lifeless, rocky desolate valley. On one side of the long valley, there was a huge, dark cave entrance. Before the entrance, various supplies and opened tents were piled up.
Deep inside the cave, a beautifully carved mural-covered wall could be seen. At this moment, a large hole had been punched through the wall, leading to a series of walls and what appeared to be blasted openings. Behind the last blasted opening was an extremely spacious underground space.
Six tall stone pillars were neatly arranged in two rows, supporting the entire underground space. Between the pillars, a wide, flat ground paved with orderly tiles extended. On this ground, a large “Silence” magical array emitted a faint glow. At the center of the array, a small iron cup engraved with circling skulls floated. At the end of the stone pillar rows, a staircase ascended, ending in a massive, cold, dark door nearly ten meters high.
Below the massive door, numerous wooden crates were stacked. Inside some of the opened crates, neatly arranged explosives could be seen. In front of the massive door, several soldiers carrying more explosives were walking towards it.
This scene was witnessed by Moen as he entered the underground hall. Frowning, he shouted loudly:
“What are you doing?! Put that down! It’s not time to stack explosives yet!”
Listening to Moen, some of the soldiers stopped and looked at him, responding:
“Mr. Moen, something unexpected has happened. Shadi has begun a full-scale offensive. The situation is very critical. Lord Shahab ordered us to immediately blow up the palace! It’s urgent!”
