Chapter Six: The Fall of the City

Dragon One did not re-equip his power armor, instead continuing to push deeper into human territory. The five destroyed Marines had half of their crystal energy recovered by the SCVs. With the Black Panther slain by the old man, Shen Yi had accumulated a hundred Marines over these past few days, cementing his status as the hegemon of the Boundless Forest. Another building rose beside the barracks: a Factory. The Factory was a place to upgrade weapons and equipment. Once it was completed, Shen Yi took a tour inside and saw many people in white lab coats scurrying about.

Shen Yi wandered around, but since he could not understand any of the instruments or equipment, he simply returned to the base command hall. Looking at the Factory icon on the screen, two icons were lit up: one depicting a bullet and the other a small shield.

The descriptions indicated that one increased attack power and the other increased shield strength. Shen Yi thought for a moment and decided to boost attack power first. After he clicked the bullet icon, the screen displayed: "Researching. Research duration: Indefinite."

Shen Yi stared at the screen with wide eyes, completely bewildered by the "indefinite" status.

*Ding:* "Host may consume crystals and vespene gas energy to accelerate research."

Shen Yi checked his crystal reserves; he still had over five thousand. He had originally intended to build a Zerg base, but decided to prioritize the research instead. He casually poured one thousand crystals into the research. He checked the status again: "Researching. Research duration: Soon."

Shen Yi was too angry to speak. What kind of status was that? Could he not get a precise answer?

At this moment, the base's AI synthetic voice seemed unable to watch any longer and chimed in, "Commander, you can try converting crystals into vespene gas! The exchange rate is 10 to 1." Shen Yi realized it was over—the Zerg base would not be built anytime soon. He ordered the conversion of one hundred vespene gas to pour into the research. As soon as he finished speaking, his crystal count dropped by another thousand.

"Commander, because the researchers felt your emphasis, inspiration struck, and they have achieved a breakthrough. All units have gained +1 to firepower and range."

*Inspiration, my foot,* Shen Yi thought. *Nothing happens without money. Truly, money makes the devil turn the mill.*

A hundred Marines began returning to the base to replace their weapons. From then on, newly produced Marines would automatically be equipped with the new, more powerful, and longer-ranged weaponry.

At the same time, Shen Yi spent two thousand crystals to upgrade the main base, unlocking Firebats and Medics in the barracks, as well as Vultures in the Factory. Firebats cost 100 crystals, Medics cost 100 crystals and 5 gas, and Vultures cost 300 crystals and 10 gas. Shen Yi produced five Firebats, two Medics, and one Vulture. He used the remaining scraps to build more SCVs to speed up mining. Five thousand crystals were instantly wiped out, leaving him clean.

Shen Yi let out a long breath, thinking to himself, "Spending money feels so good."

Looking at the three steel structures in the base, a sense of grandiosity swelled within him. But then, thoughts of Sect Leader Ren, Red Dragon, and the old Dean caused him to deflate like a punctured ball. He hung his head and sighed: *Stay steady, don't get reckless.*

The little boy had been very depressed these past two days. With Dragon One gone, there was no one to teach him how to craft puppets. Before leaving, Dragon One had looked at the reluctant boy and told him that someone would eventually come to take him to meet the Commander.

Since Marines were now stationed in the village, Shen Yi would occasionally use them to chat with the little boy. The villagers were also slowly getting used to the Marines patrolling the perimeter.

***

Under the ancient walls of Ping'an City lay piles of Orc corpses—Tauren, Gnolls, Orcs, and more. Extending outward from the city walls were the Orcs killed by arrows and long-range magic. Blood stained the earth red, and several crows feasted, occasionally letting out satisfied "caws." The air was thick with the heavy stench of blood.

Wang Sheng stood atop the wall, looking at the Orcs that blanketed the mountains and plains. He clenched his fists tightly and said, "City Lord Liu, why has the Imperial Holy Army not arrived yet?"

Standing beside him was a handsome man, also wearing a look of deep concern. He replied, "His Majesty says the Holy Army can only be deployed in a total war between races. The Orcs are not worthy of the Holy Army."

Wang Sheng glared at City Lord Liu in fury. "These are only the Orc vanguard troops! The Monya Beasts and the elite Lion and Tiger tribes haven't even joined the battle yet, and the garrison is already exhausted. Tell me, how are we supposed to hold the city if reinforcements don't arrive?"

City Lord Liu, having no fight left in him, thought to himself: *If you're so capable, go tell His Majesty yourself; why are you yelling at me?*

If they did not strike fear into the Orcs at the beginning of a racial war, humanity would likely suffer devastating losses.

Seeing City Lord Liu’s frustrated expression, Wang Sheng softened his tone. "Has Black Wind Stronghold or the Tiger Head Sect been notified?"

Liu Cui-lü replied, "The Master of Black Wind Stronghold was heavily injured for some unknown reason two days ago and has not yet recovered. Sect Master Qian of the Tiger Head Sect is already on the way with three hundred inner-sect disciples and will arrive tomorrow."

Wang Sheng saw no other way. It seemed Ping'an City could not be saved. He said, "Go and escort the civilians to evacuate. I will buy you some time." Liu Cui-lü gave Wang Sheng a long look, then turned and headed down the wall to prepare for the evacuation.

Just as he finished speaking, the unique horns of the Orc charge echoed across the heavens. Looking out from the wall, a sea of black Orc heads began to move toward the fortifications. Before this bloody siege began, there was an inexplicably absurd feeling to it.

The Orcs slowed down once they reached the range of the bows. Tauren stood in the front row, with the Wolf tribe supporting in the middle, and Gnolls and other races in the back drawing their bows—a typical "meat shield in front, damage in the back" formation.

Human archers and mages on the walls began to intercept them. Suddenly, arrows and magic rained down. The Tauren were thick-skinned; unless they were struck in vital areas, it did not affect their speed. The Wolfmen held scimitars and timed their movements to deflect incoming arrows. The Gnolls in the back fired arrows while running, some even grinning wickedly as they tracked the trajectories of their shots to see if they hit their targets.

After paying the price of many lives, the Orcs reached the foot of the wall.

Wang Sheng ordered, "Pour the oil!" Large amounts of oil cascaded down the walls. As a fireball was thrown into the fray, a massive fire ignited, blocking the Orcs' path. Both sides began trading shots again. After an hour of fighting, the Orcs retreated like a receding tide, leaving a carpet of corpses behind.

Wang Sheng felt a sense of gloom. Although the casualty ratio showed more Orc deaths, the garrison could not afford such attrition. The soldiers had not slept for two days; if this continued, the city’s fall was only a matter of time. Even though he had killed hundreds of Orcs himself, it was merely a drop in the bucket.

Far away in the Boundless Forest, Shen Yi watched the live broadcast of the siege of Ping'an City. He hadn't caught the previous rounds because he had only just finished building the human satellite and launched it into orbit.

***

The siege had been ongoing for two days. Watching the battle, Shen Yi felt his heart race; the bloody scenes stimulated his psyche every second.

In real war, a life was as worthless as a blade of grass. No matter how earth-shattering one's cultivation might be, in the face of war, they were just slightly stronger ants. It turned out that "ants eating an elephant" was true—it all depended on how crazy you were willing to be.

Shen Yi could not bear to see Wang Sheng die on the battlefield, so he dispatched his only Vulture vehicle from the base toward the front lines. After all, Wang Sheng was the first human from this other world he had befriended.

The Vulture’s primary function was its rear-mounted load of ten spider mines, and its chassis was equipped with anti-infantry fragmentation grenades. Its limited-gravity suspension technology allowed the Vulture to race across rugged mountain roads.

Of course, Shen Yi didn't know about these technical details; when playing the game, he only knew that it dropped mines! And that the vehicle was incredibly fast.

The next morning, the siege had devolved into street fighting. The civilians who hadn't managed to evacuate were being cruelly slaughtered by the Orcs. The cultivators from the Tiger Head Sect never appeared.

Wang Sheng watched as his soldiers and teachers from the Magic Academy fell in pools of blood. He flicked his hand, sending ten wind blades to pierce through the dozen Tauren charging at him. Wang Sheng no longer remembered how many Orcs he had killed, and the mana within him was nearly exhausted. He didn't care about any of this; he only wanted to buy a little more time.

Just as Wang Sheng was on the verge of fainting from mana depletion, he saw an object with a silver-white metal shell rushing toward him at high speed.

Shen Yi exhaled in relief. *Made it just in time. You’ve got a real thick life, kid.*

Two Wolfmen, seeing the old mage who had killed so many of their kin collapse, ran over to deliver the killing blow.

At the critical moment, the Vulture arrived, performing a beautiful drift that sent the two Wolfmen flying. The door opened, the android soldier pulled the old mage inside, and the door slammed shut in one smooth motion. Then, they sped away.

As they left, they dropped an "egg" behind.