Chapter 189

Chapter 189

A thin wisp of smoke rose, swirling around the stalactites and stalagmites.

Xie Man walked through the ruined city gates, his eyes scanning the desolate streets.

In the distance, faint cries of battle echoed, indicating that sporadic skirmishes still raged within the city. However, the outcome was already decided, and it wouldn't be long before the war was completely over.

The conquest of Hammerfire City had been surprisingly easy.

The dwarves had built their walls from sturdy obsidian rock, reinforced with molten ice iron to significantly enhance their resistance to elemental energy.

They had also equipped the walls with various siege engines, including ballistae and catapults, making their defenses among the most formidable in the entire underground world.

Unfortunately, they faced the unstoppable might of the golem army.

The attacks from the ballistae and catapults had little effect on the golems' hardened bodies.

The walls, too, couldn't withstand the massive charge of the golems.

Under the relentless assault led by the Adamantine Golems, Hammerfire City's proud defenses crumbled in less than half an hour.

Without the walls to impede them, the golem army marched forward, swiftly defeating the defenders of Hammerfire City.

Now, most of Hammerfire City was under the control of the Star Alliance.

The Sigil Knights were clearing out the remaining pockets of resistance, and it was expected that they would soon have complete control over the entire city.

Leaving the cleanup to the Sigil Knights, Xie Man and Athir led the wizard apprentices straight to the palace at the heart of Hammerfire City.

To improve their expansion efficiency, the Star Alliance's forty-two second-tier wizard apprentices were divided into two teams. One team, led by Xie Man and Athir, and the other by Cole and Ethan, each commanding a portion of the golem army to conquer native tribes and city-states.

Hammerfire City was the seventh city-state that Xie Man's team had conquered in the past six months.

The dwarf king had already died in the battle at the city gates, and now they were headed to the palace to claim the city's wealth.

They charged into the palace without any resistance. When they opened the treasury and saw the array of rare metals and gold coins, the wizard apprentices couldn't help but draw in sharp breaths.

"We've hit the jackpot!" one of the apprentices exclaimed excitedly.

The others also wore broad smiles.

Their contribution points from the war depended not only on the size and number of conquered city-states but primarily on the value of the spoils.

The higher the value of the spoils, the more contribution points they would receive.

Xie Man was also quite pleased.

They gathered all the spoils into his spatial ring and then thoroughly searched the palace to ensure nothing was missed. After that, they began to arrange their accommodations.

After capturing Hammerfire City, they would stay for a few days to wait for the rear forces to take over the city-state and to replenish their supplies before moving on to the next destination.

Xie Man found a study and prepared to write a battle report.

Periodically, he would write a report summarizing recent battles, which would eventually be compiled and sent to his teacher.

Athir sat beside him, chatting idly.

"I heard there's a crystal ball at Starlight Academy that can test mental and physical attributes. I'd love to see it."

"Once we conquer Spiderweb City, we can return to the academy and see it for ourselves," Xie Man said with a smile as he wrote the report.

They had been away on campaigns during the academy's open periods and had yet to see it for themselves. They could only hear snippets of information from the apprentices who traveled back and forth between the battlefield and Dragon Forest.

However, this wouldn't last much longer. The Star Alliance's front lines were now less than five hundred kilometers from Spiderweb City. If all went well, they should be able to capture it within a year.

Then, with the war on a temporary hiatus, they could return to the academy.

"I heard that the three new instructors at the academy were once in the same wizard organization as our teacher. It's called the Forest Hut, I think?" Athir's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "I wonder what kind of people they are?"

Xie Man pondered for a moment. "Anyone who was in the same wizard organization as our teacher must be highly skilled and knowledgeable."

"True," Athir nodded in agreement.

Anyone invited by their teacher to serve as an instructor at the academy was certainly no ordinary individual.

"With instructors to guide them, future students will have an easier time learning."

"Too bad we missed out on the good times."

"That's not entirely true. When we first arrived, there were few people at the base, and we could still exchange contribution points for our teacher's guidance. It wasn't so bad," Xie Man said with a smile.

Athir thought about it and realized he was right. Back then, they could also seek advice from Lord Amy.

Later arrivals didn't enjoy such favorable treatment.

Currently, Lady Amy is obsessed with the game of treasure hunting in the underground world, leaving her with no time to pay attention to anyone else.

She only exchanges a few words with Su Nan, Xie Man, and Cole when they happen to meet.

Many of the new apprentices now only know Lady Amy by reputation and have never seen her in person.

"The latest round of aptitude tests concluded a few days ago. I heard that quite a few people passed this time. The academy will likely see a significant influx of new students this year."

"That's good news," Xie Man said with a faint smile.

With the teacher's ascension to wizard, the Star Alliance's growth has visibly accelerated.

Especially with the founding of the Starlight Academy, a new era has undoubtedly begun.

From now on, wizard apprentices will become more active on the Starlight Continent, participating in more events and becoming known to more people, rather than remaining mere legends.

The current state of the underground world is a powerful testament to this.

The Star Alliance's territory has expanded to cover most of the southeastern region. Even in the most remote corners of the underground world, the name of the Star Alliance has been heard, along with the formidable reputation of the wizard apprentices.

In the near future, this situation will likely be replicated on the surface world.

Despite the current calm on the surface, Xie Man is well aware that the transactions of the Stardust Empire purchasing large quantities of supplies from the Star Alliance have never ceased and are even increasing, clearly preparing for the next war.

In the not-too-distant future, the Stardust Empire will likely launch a new war, unifying the entire southeastern region.

A dominant empire ruling the southeastern region of the continent would also align with the Star Alliance's interests.

At that time, the teacher might even allow the Star Alliance to provide assistance.

Xie Man was lost in thought when he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

A wizard apprentice walked in.

"Captain, the Magic Rune Knights have made a new discovery. You should come and take a look."

Xie Man's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

What could a dwarf city-state have that would be so important to the wizard apprentices?

Curious, Xie Man put down his pen and left his study, heading to the central square of the palace with Attila.

Near the entrance of the square, a group of dragon goats strolled leisurely.

These powerful and elegant creatures have scales that range from reddish-brown to bright gold, with large wings extending from their shoulders, spanning over nine meters in flight.

The Dragon Goat Knight Corps was formed during the Star Alliance's pause in expansion and had yet to prove its strength on the battlefield.

It wasn't until more than half a year ago, when the Star Alliance resumed its expansion, that the Dragon Goat Knights had the opportunity to display their power.

Their impressive performance amazed many.

In the underground world, very few armies can withstand the combined charge of nearly three hundred legendary knights.

During the previous siege, after the walls of Firehammer City collapsed, it was the Dragon Goat Knight Corps that broke through the dwarves' final line of defense, securing victory.

Such a stunning performance has made Xie Man very eager to see the future of this army.

Once the Dragon Goat Knight Corps reaches a small army's size, it will undoubtedly become a formidable force that strikes fear into the hearts of enemies.

Shifting his gaze from the dragon goats, Xie Man turned to the crowd in the center of the square.

There were over a dozen fully armed knights, led by one of the deputy commanders of the Magic Rune Knights, Cole, who also commands the Dragon Goat Knight Corps.

"Sir Xie Man, Sir Attila."

Seeing Xie Man and Attila approach, Cole immediately stepped forward to greet them.

Although he has ascended to the rank of legendary knight and holds the position of deputy commander, he still treats the two outstanding students under Su Nan with respect.

"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Cole."

After exchanging pleasantries, Xie Man got straight to the point and inquired about the discovery.

Cole pointed to a dwarf sitting on the ground, bound in chains. "We found this guy in the Firehammer City dungeon. According to the guards, he escaped from a city-state that was overrun by dark elves and was subsequently imprisoned by the dwarves."

"I thought we might get some intelligence from him, so we brought him out of the dungeon, and it turns out we did get some useful information."

Hearing that it involved dark elves, Xie Man and Attila's expressions became more serious.

Xie Man turned to glance at the gnome.

Perhaps he had suffered greatly during his escape, or maybe he had been tortured by the dwarves, but the gnome's clothes were tattered and barely provided any cover, his body was dirty, and his face was visibly gaunt, filled with panic.

Both dwarves and gnomes were part of the so-called "Stone Kin," skilled in working with stones, mining, and metallurgy.

The dwarves were renowned for their metal forging, with many excellent blacksmiths in their ranks, and the weapons and armor they crafted were highly sought after in the underground world.

The gnomes, on the other hand, were mostly adept at intricate mechanical engineering.

However, despite being of the same lineage, the relationship between dwarves and gnomes was strained, often leading to conflicts and disputes.

It was not hard to imagine a gnome fleeing to a dwarven city and ending up in prison.

Xie Man turned his gaze back to Kolyn, giving him a questioning look.

Kolyn didn't beat around the bush, his expression grave as he said, "According to this fellow, the dark elves have intensified their attacks over the past year, conquering multiple city-states. The region within a three-hundred-kilometer radius of Spider City is now under their control."

Xie Man and Athel immediately furrowed their brows.

They had known about Spider City's military campaigns against neighboring city-states for several years.

While they were surprised by the dark elves' unprecedented unity and lack of internal strife, Spider City was still far from the Star Alliance, and their military actions were minor, so the alliance hadn't paid much attention.

However, they hadn't expected Spider City's territory to expand to such an extent.

By this logic, they were not far from Spider City's domain, and advancing another hundred kilometers might lead them into a clash with Spider City's forces.

Xie Man furrowed his brow in confusion. "Spider City shouldn't have the strength to conquer so many territories. What's going on?"

Kolyn glanced at the gnome and whispered, "According to him, it's because the dark elves have a very powerful monster. Just one of them was enough to rout their city-state's army!"

A monster?

Xie Man's mind raced through the exotic beasts typically kept by dark elves, but none of them could possess such formidable power.

Frowning, he turned to the gnome, looking down at him.

"What did the monsters you saw look like?"

Recognizing the inquirer's high status, the gnome dared not hide anything, swallowing hard and stammering, "They, their lower bodies are spiders, and their upper bodies look exactly like dark elves. They move very fast. Many of my kin didn't even see their movements before their heads were cut off!"

The gnome's face betrayed his terror as he recalled the scene.

Half-man, half-spider monsters?

Xie Man frowned, deep in thought, but couldn't make sense of it.

Athel was equally puzzled.

"Let's just write this in the battle report. If it's the teacher, he might know what these creatures are."

Having made up his mind, Xie Man ignored the gnome and turned to Kolyn. "Captain Kolyn, I think we need to send more scouts to investigate the situation ahead."

"Absolutely, I'll see to it right away!" Kolyn nodded emphatically.

If what the gnome said was true, they would soon face a formidable enemy.

Gathering as much intelligence as possible before the battle would be crucial to their success.

After Kolyn left with the gnome, Xie Man and Athel returned to the study.

Tearing up the previous battle report, Xie Man thought for a moment before starting to write a new one.

This time, Athel didn't interrupt, sitting quietly and waiting patiently for Xie Man to finish, seal the report, and then speak.

"Should we request reinforcements?"

Xie Man thought for a moment and nodded. "According to Carolena, the teacher recently created a powerful high-tier puppet, which he plans to deploy on the battlefield. Just in case, I'll write a request for one."

Based on the gnome's description, the half-man, half-spider monsters were at least Fourth Circle Legendary, possibly even higher, while the strongest puppet in the frontline golem army was a Third Circle Legendary Adamantine Golem.

While a human wave tactic could be used against such monsters, Xie Man believed it was best to have a backup plan.

Seeing that Xie Man had everything under control, Athel didn't say more.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end