I Became the Progenitor Vampire

Chapter 324: Chapter 326: Battle of Gray Stone Fortress (Part 1) (5200 words) Chapter 324: Chapter 326: Battle of Gray Stone Fortress (Part 1) (5200 words) Lide stood atop the walls of what was named Grey Stone Fortress, gazing into the distance with a rather solemn expression, as if awaiting the arrival of something.

The light in the Underworld was dim and murky, as if a veil had been drawn before one’s eyes.

The wetlands in front of Grey Stone Fortress, where the waist-high twisted plants once grew, had been completely cleared by the army.

The dark, rotting ground gave off the stench of decaying plants, sickening to any who smelled it.

The wind blew in from afar and howled through the caves behind, its rushing sound like a demon whispering.

The Grey Stone Fortress where Lide was stationed served as the main stronghold; the walls stood 35 blades high and 15 blades thick, able to accommodate a vast army on its ramparts.

Every 30 blades or so, there was a tower built of grey rock that stood 10 blades tall, featuring three levels, each with densely packed shooting holes; it seemed deadly arrows could be unleashed at any moment, making it a fearsome sight.

Through the cracks, one could barely make out the Extraordinary Crossbows designed and manufactured by the Magic Industry Research Institute, set up behind each shooting hole.

These modified war machines were mostly operated by warriors of the King’s Blade; the clumsy Beastmen disliked such delicate work, as charging to the front lines and bathing in the blood of their enemies appealed more to their violent natures.

The bolts, as thick as a baby’s arm, were forged from Fine Gold mined from the dwarf hills, with grooves on their sides that not only increased their lethality but also adhered to aerodynamics. Fine Gold, a metal known for its ease of breaking yet extreme sharpness, was the best material for making arrowheads.

Due to the high cost of Fine Gold, few were willing to squander it.

But Dawn City, rich with Fine Gold mines, was never stingy in this regard.

These Fine Gold-incorporated bolts, each of perfect ★ quality, could even penetrate the thick armor of Demon Beasts.

By now, the tower floors were almost filled with these expensive bolts, apart from the pathways for personnel to pass through.

Beyond the towering walls, the sight of the catapults was equally surprising.

These catapults bore green, unusual symbols, and even their levers and various components had pointy ears, exuding a strong Goblin flair.

These odd goblin trebuchets were smaller than the usual catapults, and instead of large stones, they were loaded with Alchemy Bombs the size of a human head, featuring green symbols and pointy-eared pull rings.

Goblin trebuchets, a product of the Grey Mountain Tribe goblins, differed from regular trebuchets in that their sole purpose was to launch their Alchemy Bombs.

These downsized trebuchets, 3 blades long and 1.5 blades high, boasted an impressive launch distance of 800 blades—300 blades further than conventional trebuchets.

And the power of the Alchemy Bombs was not something ordinary rocks could match.

This was the second line of defense for Grey Stone Fortress.

In addition, behind the fortress walls stood twenty tall towers.

These towers were conveniently 10 blades taller than the walls and staggered in placement, creating an interlocking pattern with the wall towers.

These tall towers made up the third line of defense for Grey Stone Fortress.

Spellcasters.

Each tower had a team of twenty Spellcasters stationed within, capable of providing robust fire support to different sections of the walls. Furthermore, the towers were inscribed with Magic Arrays to aid Mages in replenishing their Magic Power more quickly.

Atop these twenty towers were not only Mages but also more powerful and longer-reaching Crossbows, accompanying the Spellcasters.

These perfect ★★★ Crossbows had a range of 1500 blades, 300 blades further than the standard Crossbow distance of 1200 blades, and were also equipped with perfect ★★★ bolts.

Among them, three towers in the core area each housed one Extraordinary Level Crossbow, each equipped with 20 Extraordinary Level bolts.

The sole targets of these costly Extraordinary Crossbows were to hunt down those powerful monsters.

The firepower points on the high towers comprised both high-quality Crossbows and Spellcasters.

Behind these three lines of defense, at the entrance to the Underworld, the original narrow passageway had been expanded and rebuilt into a massive channel, now 20 blades high and 50 blades wide.

This channel extended roughly 500 blades inward and originally opened into a space 1000 blades wide underground. Using this as a foundation, the construction team had expanded the irregular subterranean space to exceed 1500 blades in both length and width.

This huge area was designated for hiding troops; during the eight months Lide was away, the breeding farms had expanded to ten, and based on this, the number of Magic Language Bats had grown to 6000.

Out of these, 4000 Magic Language Bats were assigned to the Dawn Wings, 2000 paired with human soldiers to become Magic Language Knights, and the remaining 2000 served as bombing units, outfitted with the third version of the modified ammunition armor—Air Force three.

At Oli’s command, the entire Dawn Wings were in position, ready to strike the enemy with a relentless iron fist upon Lide’s order.

Next to the hidden troop chamber, the construction team had built ten storage warehouses connected by an extensive network of underground passages.

Food, weapons, armor, alchemy bombs, crossbow bolts, and various other logistical supplies were arranged neatly by strict categories, these reserves were enough to supply ten fortresses for a month.

Benefiting from Lide’s emphasis on the underworld, during his eight-month absence, Dawn City had continuously built these military facilities.

And after three years of development, Dawn City had now amassed a group of capable individuals who could be heavily relied upon.

Especially the intelligence command center and the think tank, these two large advisory agencies were often able to identify gaps and propose excellent plans.

Hence the awe-inspiring scenes that were now unfolding.

“Your Majesty, everyone is prepared.”

Beastman King Kapp, at level 18, stood respectfully behind Lide, reporting. His massive lion’s head was now protected within a solid extraordinary helmet, with only a pair of cold eyes visible.

His tone was deep and solemn.

“Currently, there are a total of twenty thousand beastman warriors stationed in the underworld, ten thousand on the front lines, and another ten thousand within the caves as reinforcements.”

Lide’s deep black eyes continued to gaze into the distance, nodding slightly without speaking.

He was waiting, waiting for the enemy’s arrival.

The tactic being implemented was not complex: lure the cave spiders into attacking by relying on the edge of Grey Stone Fortress to inflict maximum casualties on them.

The initial strategic goal was to cause as much damage to the living forces of the cave spiders as possible, to harvest enough power of death for the land of bone-burying to incubate the bronze eggs.

Of course, this was only the beginning of the plan; his ultimate goal was to seize control of the magic crystal vein.

However, the number of cave spiders occupying half the plane was terrifying, and to rashly attack would be to invite unpredictable consequences.

Dawn City did not yet have the capability to crush the cave spiders nesting within half the plane, especially without knowing how many high-level cave spiders there were.

Therefore, the role of Grey Stone Fortress was to lure the opponent’s high-level combat forces into an attack, thereby allowing the elimination of high-level cave spiders that could pose a significant threat to Dawn City’s forces, in preparation for the next step of Dawn City’s army assaulting the magic crystal vein.

Cave spiders could rapidly breed ordinary spiders en masse, but the combat force above level 15 was not so easily grown.

Grey Stone Fortress’s greatest utility, in Lide’s opinion, lay precisely in this.

But once the plan commenced, Grey Stone Fortress would undoubtedly become a meat grinder; the two forces would clash in the most direct manner possible.

On one side were the primitive and fierce cave spiders, inhabiting half the plane with untold numbers and on the other, the highly developed Dawn City, with its powerful magic scientific research and production capabilities.

Suddenly, Lide’s eyes narrowed slightly.

At the end of his sight appeared a hazy line, like a dust storm sweeping in from afar, enveloping the whole marshland within.

The air carried a nauseating smell that made one’s heart panic.

The cave spiders had arrived.

Moments later, the closer that line approached Grey Stone Fortress, the stronger the stench became, and the expressions of all the soldiers became somber as the hands clutching their swords and shields tensed slowly, their muscles standing out like forged steel.

Particularly striking was a figure in mid-air, a giant beast with the wingspan of 16 blades, clad in steel armor, dancing recklessly before the sandstorm of countless cave spiders.

Castro, the newly born king, the armored giant beast, was playing the key role in this baiting operation.

Hiss~hiss~

Upon entering a thousand-blade distance, the shrill sound like a sharp knife scraping across glass began to roar from the cave spiders’ mouths through the air.

The beastman warriors wearing dwarf armor on the city walls felt a strong pressure facing them, accompanying the chilling sound, everyone finally saw clearly what that gray line was.

Spiders, incredibly huge spiders.

Although these newly-arrived beastman warriors had seen cave spiders captured for introduction before the pre-battle rally, where they were told the weaknesses and how to kill them,

To witness the grand scene of hundreds of thousands of giant spiders running and screaming on the ground was still an innately shocking experience.

At this moment, even previously untested human soldiers felt their hands trembling involuntarily, a natural bodily reaction beyond their control.

Grey Stone Fortress was built on the edge of the underworld against the mountains, with the swampy land in front forming a vast flat area.

When this broad expanse was filled with the frightening cave spiders, the visual impact was enough to shake the soul, even the most resolute warriors would face immense psychological pressure at such a sight.

Especially since everyone was standing high up, having a clear view of this spectacle further intensified the feeling.

The cave spiders, as if maddened, screamed shrilly, rushing at Castro heedlessly.

The distance of a thousand blades flashed by in an instant, and Castro suddenly increased his speed, unleashing a burst of air behind him, and reaching the city wall in a supersonic flight.

Shush~ At the moment he flew over the city wall, the iron giant’s body suddenly turned into a mini bat.

Then, flapping its tiny wings, it flew next to Lide, holding a shattered, withered eggshell with its two sharp little claws.

The egg of the Spider Queen, the cause of the Cave Spiders’ frenzy.

Lide reached out and took the already broken and withered egg of the Spider Queen, glanced at it, and casually threw it behind the city wall.

Its life force had already been devoured by the Bronze Egg; the only purpose these shells served was to enrage the Extraordinary Ghost-faced Spider Queen.

Castro flapped his wings on his shoulder, his tone tinged with excitement.

“Master, I felt the presence of that Extraordinary Spider inside the Spider Nest…”

The way to lure the Cave Spiders was just that simple and brutal; the moment Castro approached the spiders’ nest with the eggshell, the Extraordinary Spider Queen went insane having lost all her eggs.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

Lide ignored Castro and looked at the Cave Spiders that had entered within a 500-blade radius of the Grey Stone Fortress, his voice chilly and amplified by Magic Power, ringing through the entire fortress.

“Goblin catapults, fire.”

Stationed at the city gate atop the walls, Lide commanded the most crucial point of the city wall, the frontline against the Cave Spider onslaught.

Following the military order, human soldiers behind the walls operating the goblin trebuchets immediately released the catch, and bowstrings as thick as wrists, stretched to their limit, violently sprung, catapulting Alchemy Bombs with already pulled rings from the launchers.

Bang~ Whoosh~

Carrying the sound of torn air, the Alchemy Bombs traced a high, parabolic arc, flying over the 35-blade-high city walls, drawing a long curve in the sky before crashing down with a whistling sound in the center of the onrushing Cave Spiders.

Bang~ Bang~ Bang~

A volley, and hundreds of Alchemy Bombs detonated.

Boom~ Boom~ Boom~

Like thunder explosions from the ninth heaven, the earth seemed to collapse, and the tremendous sound wave blasted across the wide ground.

Boom~

The first Alchemy Bomb exploded in the densest part of the Cave Spiders, sending sparks in all directions.

Crackle~

Five or six Cave Spiders were directly torn apart by the Alchemy Bombs, with intensely corrosive green mucus flowing out from within their bodies, sizzling as it hit the ground.

And that wasn’t all; whoosh~ the shockwave from the explosion, like an invisible giant hand, directly flung a dozen nearby Cave Spiders into the air, their sharp limbs shredded by the blast as easily as if they were straw.

The green mucus instantly made the damp ground bubble and hiss.

Bang~ Bang~ Bang~

The continuous explosion sounds were like a giant hammer striking ants on the ground, clearing a large area with each blow.

The ferocious, innumerable Cave Spiders that previously seemed unstoppable were now being suppressed.

The scene looked like something from a depiction of an Ancient scene on church frescoes, breathtaking.

But hundreds of Alchemy Bombs were far from enough to destroy the countless Cave Spiders, and those that escaped the blasts became even more frenzied.

Especially after coming close to Grey Stone Fortress and sensing the presence of the Spider Queen’s eggs, they radiated a formidable and terrifying ferocity.

Their green, oily eyes now had a hint of crimson.

Murderous intent spread.

They charged without regard for the cost.

A frenzy of attacks.

In the frontline battlefield, the first Cave Spider reached the walls of Grey Stone Castle. Without hesitation, this creature covered in fur, like a demon that crawled out of hell, began to climb up the wall.

But to the murderous-intent Cave Spider’s surprise, the rough-looking walls of Grey Stone Castle were incredibly slippery, and it simply couldn’t climb up.

Even its fur-covered limbs couldn’t find any purchase.

Lide’s lips curled slightly at the sight, for to prevent spiders from scaling the walls directly, Dawn Mage Tower had spent a huge sum of money to solidify the “Oily Skill,” a Second Circle Magic, on all the walls.

Cave Spiders could climb rock surfaces mainly thanks to the adhesive effect of the velvet on their limbs, and the “Oily Skill” precisely countered this trait.

Bang—the twang of bowstrings echoed in the ears.

Arrow after arrow, carrying the breath of death, pierced through the head of a Level 9 Cave Spider from atop the walls; this spider did not survive three seconds on the wall.

The human archers at this moment had icy cold gazes.

After several expansions, the King’s Blade now boasted a 3,000-strong army, excluding the 2,000 Magic Language Knights.

So when the winter population surged past the 100,000 mark, the King’s Blade’s human army had reached a force of 5,000.

Of these, 1,000 had been trained as archers.

And right now, Gray Stone Fortress, with the capacity for 3,000 people, had 500 archers.

They had become the most indifferent hunters before the enemy breached the walls, hunting down every invading foe.

Wuu wuu—

With the blowing of the cow horn behind them, the Cave Spiders reached the first climax of their assault.

Several, even dozens of them, started stacking up after reaching the walls, trying to pile on top of one another to scale the ramparts.

An uncountable number of Cave Spiders surged like a tidal wave, crazy and ferocious.

The 10 Gray Stone Fortresses, like reefs by the sea, seemed ready to tilt and collapse at any moment under the assault of the stormy waves.

The Beastman Warriors, clad in full-body armor, finally engaged in close combat with these Underworld creatures.

Their long spears mercilessly pierced through the Cave Spiders that had managed to climb the wall; as soon as these Underworld creatures showed their heads, they were met with the fiercest attack.

The immense strength of the stalwart Beastman Warriors easily rent the spiders’ bodies asunder, as effortlessly as killing young chicks; unless a significant number of Cave Spiders could reach the wall at once, they were nothing but fodder for the Beastman Warriors.

And at this moment, the various long-hidden defensive lines finally opened fire.

First were the towers on the walls, those arrows with fierce cold gleams, burst forth as the crossbow strings were drawn taut.

Boom—

Hoo hoo—

The deadly bolts, like the demonic roars, needed no aim for the swarms of Cave Spiders below made easy targets.

Zila—puchi—

Those sharp arrowheads, forged with Fine Gold, tore through the world like the Creation Sword, mercilessly piercing the Cave Spiders in their way.

Nothing could stop the penetrating force of the crossbow bolts.

Seven Cave Spiders in a row were blown apart by a single bolt, the last burrowing so deep into the ground after piercing a spider’s head, the tail was no longer visible.

All 10 Gray Stone Fortresses fired their crossbows nearly simultaneously, thousands of wrist-thick bolts raining down like a volley of launched spears.

Puchi—puchi—

The Cave Spiders, which had already climbed to the bottom of the walls, almost completely blocking off the ground, were instantly shredded by the bolts’ downpour.

Limbs and remains scattered everywhere, green blood flowing into streams.

The dense horde of Cave Spiders was cleared away in an instant.

This volley of crossbow fire killed at least 5,000 Cave Spiders.

Ssss—

But the severe losses did not cause the Cave Spiders to retreat; from behind them, a spine-chilling sound arose, and the previously hesitant Cave Spiders once again went berserk.

Different from the last time, the second wave of attacking Cave Spiders now included a large number of Level 10 Ghost-faced Spiders, and even Lide distinctly felt the presence of uncountably numerous Level 15 Ghost-faced Spiders…

Wuu wuu—

As the urgent horn sounded from within Gray Stone Fortress, and facing the even denser swarm of Cave Spiders, a chill went through every warrior’s heart, for the real war was about to begin…