This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 208 (Patreon)

Chapter 208 What Are You Doing?!

When the woman appeared on the magic carpet, all the mages immediately stood up and bowed slightly.

The lords, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment. Those who reacted quickly also followed suit with a salute, while those slower in response had a delayed gesture of respect.

There was silence on the magic carpet.

Because before them stood none other than Lady Suerel, one of the three Grand Archmages.

She was also the chief arbiter of the current Mossy Hills skirmish.

And when Lady Suerel uttered the words "protest is invalid," Arbitrator 09 naturally lowered his head: "Alright, alright."

Lady Suerel elaborated a bit more: "Under any set of rules, there will always be loopholes. The significance of this skirmish lies in our ability to identify these loopholes before more wars commence, and then rectify them by adding regulations and details. However, we cannot negate the essence of this battle just because there are loopholes. Because the existence of loopholes is not a problem between the opposing sides but rather our own dereliction of duty."

Arbitrator 07 immediately chimed in: "You're absolutely right!"

Lady Suerel then looked towards the lords.

Her smile remained as gentle as ever: "We also welcome everyone to point out any potential loopholes to us. On one hand, we'll make rapid adjustments to ensure the fairness of the skirmish."

The lords nodded and bowed one by one, almost swearing to report any discovered loopholes to the Alliance.

However, in practice, only the loopholes disadvantageous to oneself were likely to be reported.

Loopholes beneficial to oneself—

Could those even be considered loopholes?

Lady Suerel seemed to be well aware of this, as she didn't engage in prolonged conversation with the lords but instead gestured with her right hand.

The next moment, a grayish teleportation gate appeared at the edge of the magic carpet.

Lady Suerel spoke softly: "It might be quite taxing for everyone to watch here. On one hand, skirmishes aren't something that can be finished in a day or two, and on the other hand, everyone needs rest. So, I've prepared a rest area for you all. The rooms and supplies inside can meet all your daily needs, and the fees are not high. It's only 100 gold coins per hour. With your status, it should be more than affordable. If anyone needs it, just enter, and there will be apprentice mages inside to assist you."

After saying this, amid the lords' puzzled looks, Lady Suerel's figure gracefully disappeared.

People began discussing the topic of the "rest area" in earnest.

Their expressions weren't very pleasant.

Everyone was silently condemning Lady Suerel's blatant exploitation.

However, she was Lady Suerel, after all.

So, what was said at the tip of the tongue often turned into awkward praise.

For a moment, the atmosphere above the magic carpet became somewhat strange.

Seizing this opportunity, Arbitrator 07 asked Arbitrator 09, "What about your black dragon? Are you still going to fight?"

Arbitrator 09 put on a serious face: "No comment!"

Arbitrator 07 reminded him, "Don't get too involved. We're just observers and recorders. The outcome of the skirmish has nothing to do with us."

Arbitrator 09 couldn't help but retort, "Isn't this just my professional ethics? The outcome has nothing to do with me! But speaking of which, what's the deal with your Matthew? Wasn't he Lady Isabelle's apprentice? Why is Lady Suerel acting as the chief arbiter?"

"I knew there was a reason they didn't tell us the chief arbiter's identity earlier...," Arbitrator 07 pondered. "The first battle in the south must require a heavyweight figure, right? Lady Isabelle is indeed substantial. However, her current status is somewhat special. Besides, mundane wars are probably a bit dull for legendary mages. If that lady came over, she might just kill everyone on both sides for being too slow."

Arbitrator 09 nodded in agreement, "You make sense."

Just as he was about to say something, at that moment, he suddenly turned and looked westward.

"I have to go," Arbitrator 09 said abruptly.

Pulling out a flying broom, he hastily flew away.

Watching him depart into the distance, Arbitrator 07 revealed a pensive expression.

Beneath the magic carpet.

On the Watcher's Highlands.

A new round of construction was underway in full swing.

With the supplies from the frogmen received, Rolling Stone Town suddenly acquired a large quantity of rolling stones, timber, hot oil, and various tools.

This provided excellent conditions for the upcoming defensive positions.

The defense of the Watcher's Highlands wasn't as simple as it seemed.

The hilltops of the Mossy Hills, rather than being true mountains, were more like large mounds of earth.

And the Watcher's Highlands was the largest among these mounds.

This thing had nothing to do with being easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The defending forces on the mountain had to fend off attacks from all directions.

Considering the rugged terrain of the mountains, the mobility of cavalry was greatly reduced.

This added considerable difficulty to Matthew and the others' plans.

To cope with this situation, Rolling Stone Town mainly made efforts in three directions—

Firstly, the construction of defensive works. These works mainly concentrated on the southwest, including a large number of wooden fences, traps, iron clamps, spikes, and pits.

With everyone's efforts, the defenses on the southern side were now taking shape.

If the enemy wanted to launch a strong attack on this side, they would undoubtedly have to pay a heavy price.

The second aspect was the construction of a three-dimensional defense system. Apart from the conventional defensive works, the northwest was defended by Matthew's undead.

The horde tactics of necromancers played a crucial strategic role at this moment.

Skeletons and zombies covered every conceivable path up the northwest slope.

For the enemy army.

Such a large number of undead themselves could form a psychological deterrent.

Currently, the southeastern direction is mainly guarded by the Breaker Mercenary Corps.

In the coming days, the forces from Rolling Stone Town will also construct a large number of fortifications here.

However, due to the terrain, the slopes here are steeper compared to the southwest and less urgent.

The northeast is considered the rear of Rolling Stone Town.

Reaga has set up some camps on the slopes, with several outposts at the foot of the mountain.

Corresponding to these outposts are half of the cavalry stationed on another hill to the northeast of the town.

These cavalry are the elites of the elites, responsible for patrolling and sweeping outside in shifts.

Their mission is to occupy this hill, providing a relatively stable rear for Rolling Stone Town.

At the same time, ensure that if there is a situation where people on the mountain have to retreat down the mountain, they can serve as a cover.

The third aspect is to establish a strong early warning system.

This includes Zeller's monitoring spells, the scouts' roaming reconnaissance, Matthew's flying horse reconnaissance, and so on.

Only when these three aspects are perfected as much as possible can the defenses of Watcher's Hill be more stable.

And to achieve this, everyone is working hard.

At first, there might have been passion as support.

But as time passed, only stubborn willpower was left to push the body forward.

At night, many soldiers appeared to be quite tired.

Fortunately, the main camp has been initially built.

According to the previously assigned tasks, everyone began to take turns to rest.

The night grew deeper, and thick fog rose.

Faintly, from the southwest direction came the ancient and desolate chanting.

At that moment, Matthew felt countless pairs of eyes staring in the direction of Watcher's Hill within the vast white fog!

At this time, Zeller found him:

"The Dragon Priest has blocked my monitoring spell. I can't monitor Watcher's Hill from all directions now."

Matthew nodded.

This was expected. The enemy did possess magical abilities. Counter-surveillance spells or treasures were something they had guessed would appear early on.

Combined with the thick fog, the enemy first cut off Zeller's line of sight, which indeed posed a certain hidden danger to Rolling Stone Town's defense system.

To compensate for this, Richard and the other wanderers must increase their frequency of going out. However, going down the mountain meant higher risks.

Except for Richard, once the others were discovered, they would have no place to bury their bodies.

This even included Aebing.

As a highly capable solo fighter, Aebing was also very fragile. When the enemy came prepared, Aebing would probably find it difficult to escape into the Shadow Realm as easily as usual.

And once captured, it would only take a few seconds to be reduced to ashes.

So when Matthew ordered Aebing to go out for reconnaissance, he was especially cautious.

He would rather go out multiple times himself on his flying horse to physically scout the area than see his undead perish because of it.

However, this undoubtedly added to Matthew's burden.

Maintaining such a large-scale undead army itself was very exhausting both physically and mentally.

He also had to take on the role of some scouts.

This indeed made him somewhat tired.

But there was no other way.

Who made the flying horse, Ollie, only willing to be close to him?

At this point, Reaga quickly noticed this situation—

He found that Matthew flew out to survey the area almost every 15 minutes, immediately stopping him from doing so.

"There's no reason to put all the flying pressure on you. Rest first."

Reaga said solemnly.

Matthew shrugged:

"Except for Richard, no one else is more suitable than me for reconnaissance. I do have scrolls for dispersing fog and gust spells, but these scrolls must be saved for more critical moments."

Reaga waved his hand:

"Trust me, go and rest. I still have some tricks up my sleeve."

Saying this,

He took out a copper whistle and put it in his mouth.

Then he blew hard.

The piercing sound immediately spread far and wide.

Not long after,

A clear eagle cry came from the sky.

Then, a giant eastern eagle flew out of the mist.

It circled around Watcher's Hill and landed beside Reaga.

"Just as I told you before, don't transform, buddy."

Reaga hurriedly said.

Before the giant eagle could say anything,

The figure of Adjudicator 07 appeared in front of them again.

His expression was quite speechless.

He stared at the giant eastern eagle for a long time before he couldn't help but say:

"Druid?"

The giant eagle didn't make a sound.

Adjudicator 07 looked at Reaga with a conflicted expression:

"He's not on the registered list. Technically, I should give you a warning..."

Unexpectedly, Reaga widened his eyes:

"He's my pet!"

"Can't you bring

 pets to battle?"

Adjudicator 07 seemed to have anticipated this. His expression gradually became numb, and his tone became routine.

He asked the giant eagle:

"Are you his pet?"

The giant eagle blinked:

"I think I am."

Adjudicator 07 rolled his eyes.

But he continued to write in his notebook—

"At 9 o'clock in the evening, Lord Reaga of Rolling Stone Town summoned an Eastern Giant Eagle. Although he is a genuine druid, if this druid always remains in wilderness form, then theoretically, as Reaga said, he can indeed be classified as a pet..."

Reaga held up a torch and looked at Adjudicator 07's notes diagonally.

Then he asked eagerly:

"Approved?"

"Then I'm starting!"

Adjudicator 07 shivered:

"Just starting?"

Before Reaga could reply,

The giant eagle, Hoven, immediately let out a long cry.

This cry was extremely penetrating, almost reaching the ears of every creature in the Mossy Hills.

Half an hour later,

A group of giant eastern eagles came from the distant sky.

They flapped their wings, forming a huge wind.

The strong wind dispersed the fog.

And it also made the night vision somewhat better.

"1, 2, 3... 12."

Adjudicator 07 silently counted.

In the end,

He could only continue to write—

"The Eastern Giant Eagle summoned by Reaga has summoned 12 new Eastern Giant Eagles.

We have reason to believe that as long as he wants, he can continue to summon more creatures endlessly.

Therefore, I suggest that in future battles, summoning spells must be restricted.

Of course,

I deeply doubt that even if summoning spells are prohibited, these people can still find other loopholes.

So the most convenient way may be—To prohibit Rolling Stone Town from participating in the battle!"

.......

The arrival of the Eastern Giant Eagles greatly relieved Matthew's visual pressure.

Flying high, their vision could penetrate the thick fog, and as soon as they detected any movement, they could report back to Hoven, who would then relay the information to Reaga or Zeller.

Matthew could finally take a break.

As the night grew deeper, Watcher's Hill gradually quieted down.

Except for the vigilant soldiers still staring nervously down the dark slopes, most had slipped into varying depths of slumber.

Around 1 AM, a loud horn startled everyone!

"Woo-woo-woo!"

Along with the horn came a flurry of flames appearing in the southwest!

"The enemy is attacking the mountain!"

"There's a night raid!"

Panic spread throughout the camp, with everyone scrambling to arm themselves.

However, as the soldiers rushed out of the camp, the horn abruptly stopped.

Matthew, riding his flying horse, descended and returned with a grim expression.

"It was just a harassment."

"The horn was a feint, a group of humans sneakily approached, lit torches, waved them around a bit, and then fled. I didn't dare pursue too deeply."

Reaga nodded in understanding.

It was wise of Matthew not to pursue too aggressively.

But the enemy commander was clearly no novice.

His intent was obvious.

To disrupt the soldiers' morale on Watcher's Hill through continuous harassment!

Sure enough, just two hours after the soldiers were calmed and returned to camp, another round of horns sounded.

This time, the flames appeared in the northwest, more numerous and dense, with faint orcish roars in the distance!

Once again, the horn startled most people.

Matthew couldn't rest well either.

With a sense of anger, he flew down with Hoven, only to find the orcs had thrown torches towards the mountain before retreating.

Considering the Black Dragon still hadn't appeared, he swallowed his frustration.

Upon returning to the hill, the camp remained chaotic.

Many soldiers, thinking battle was imminent, were searching for their commanders.

Zeller had to quickly spread commands using spells to quell the chaos.

The situation was not optimistic.

The most dreaded aspect for the defenders was this relentless harassment.

The enemy only needed to dispatch a small group to unsettle the majority.

Long-term harassment not only affected the soldiers' sleep but also their combat effectiveness and morale.

This was a trouble that needed to be resolved.

Matthew and his team had contingency plans.

Facing harassment, the solution was the Special Operations Force.

Because if the enemy wanted to harass, they would not deploy large forces, and a small group was no match for these skilled individuals.

As long as the enemy dared to come, just Lumiere and Craig alone could wipe out several squads.

Not to mention Matthew himself intervening.

The awkward part was, the Black Dragon remained elusive!

The Special Operations Force lost its target and was instead distracted by the potential presence of the Black Dragon.

To ensure they could focus fire on the enemy once the Black Dragon appeared, Matthew required his companions to remain on standby in specific locations.

This made them somewhat constrained.

"Is this also part of the Black Dragon's strategy?"

Matthew was genuinely surprised.

Reality was such that even if you prepared a thousand or a hundred plans, unexpected situations could still arise.

Even if you considered yourself clever, the enemy might not be foolish.

While the forces of Highleaf had various issues, their overall commander undoubtedly possessed strategic acumen.

"If the Black Dragon learned about the Special Operations Force's existence, it's indeed possible for them to make such a decision..."

Matthew's mind spun rapidly.

Soon, he decisively modified the previous strategy:

"Pairs of two, take turns lurking below the mountain. If there's another feigned attack, confirm the numbers and immediately wipe them out."

"But be cautious, don't pursue too deeply, lest the Black Dragon suddenly appears."

Under Matthew's arrangement:

Lumiere and Leila formed one pair;

Craig and Samantha formed another;

They were responsible for vigilantly watching over the feigned attacks from the southwest and northwest.

Richard, alone, guarded the southeast.

His energy was abundant, not even needing sleep, with only Lolan being comparable in this regard.

But correspondingly, the legendary bard couldn't contribute much in this situation.

At most, he could play a lullaby when everyone couldn't sleep.

But when Lolan suggested doing so, Matthew politely declined—

He didn't want to sleep too soundly!

To complement the Special Operations Force's attacks on the harassment squads, Reaga also dispatched some reinforcements.

Afterward, there was a lull in activity for some time.

At 5 AM, the horn sounded for the third time.

By this time, the soldiers in the camp seemed somewhat numb.

Many were awakened but didn't immediately search for their weapons, instead, they questioned each other if it was another enemy harassment.

And as they leisurely got up.

A urgent report from Hoven came from the sky:

"In the dense forest to the northwest, there's a large human and orcish force!"

"This isn't a feint, the enemy's main force is moving!"

At once,

The camp erupted into chaos.

The tense Reaga and others quickly organized the troops for action.

And at that moment,

At the foot of the mountain to the northwest.

The vanguard of the orcish force had already clashed into a fierce battle with the zombie skeletons!

In the darkness,

Matthew rubbed his swollen eyes.

Mounting his flying horse, he rushed towards the battlefield.

The vanguard composed of orcs was remarkably powerful. In less than 10 minutes, they had torn several gaps in the undead defensive line.

The foremost orcs had nearly reached one-third of Watcher's Hill!

Matthew watched this scene with a solemn expression.

Just then,

A figure dashed across the ground.

It was Reaga!

But instead of engaging in conversation, Reaga charged towards the orcs, wielding his large sword high and striking down with force!

Boom!

The orc blocked for a moment.

His weapon broke into two pieces.

Reaga's sword cut through his shoulder blades and into his chest cavity.

The orc let out a painful roar.

Reaga kicked him in the chest.

The orc rolled down the slope like a ball.

And at the foot of the mountain.

More enemy vanguards engaged with the undead.

The pre-dawn fog was dense, making it difficult for Matthew to discern the specifics.

"Send in my people!"

"Pull the undead's front line towards the north!"

Roared Reaga loudly.

Matthew focused, beginning to relocate the undead front lines.

Meanwhile, behind Reaga, infantrymen who had organized quickly reached halfway up the mountain.

They formed defensive formations.

With the undead being pulled back and retreating, infantrymen from both sides faced off across a gap.

It felt as if even breathing had become as heavy as mercury!

...

Just as the two sides were about to clash on the slope to the northwest, a dark figure took advantage of the mist and chaos to sneak up the mountain from the northeast.

The Zolotendron assassin, Horns, moved as gracefully as a cat.

After evading two patrolling cavalrymen and three heavily guarded sentries, he successfully infiltrated the camp located on the northeast slope.

His movements were cautious yet elegant.

The Zolotendrons' innate abilities gave them an advantage in nighttime operations, and Horns' skills in stealth were tailored for this environment.

But even in this situation, his heart still raced.

Yes, he had executed similar missions countless times before.

But this was his first time participating in a real war.

He knew what his actions meant for the Highleaf Realm's army.

He had to succeed.

He had no retreat!

Fortunately, his actions seemed to be going smoothly for now.

Rolling Stone Town had deployed a large number of troops to guard the northwest, southwest, and southeast.

So, the northeast naturally appeared somewhat vulnerable.

They had also considered the possibility of an advanced assassin.

So, on the high points of the camp, Horns found the presence of True Sight Gems—

These were treasures capable of naturally detecting invisible units.

But for true roaming masters, the limited range and rigid mechanism of True Sight Gems were nothing more than a few extra steps.

With powerful perception and perfect control of distance, Horns slipped into blind spots from the True Sight Gems' view.

Once inside, it became even easier for him.

This was the logistics camp.

Although the logistical soldiers had also been awakened by the horn, this place was far from the main battlefield.

Their attitude was not particularly tense.

More importantly, the logistical soldiers' strength was generally low.

It was impossible for anyone to sense his presence as a high-level assassin!

Thinking of this, Horns couldn't help but smile.

He touched the poison pouch at his waist.

He was about to head towards the kitchen.

But at that moment.

He suddenly saw among the soldiers, a minotaur skeleton sitting with vacant eyes!

She was gazing faintly in his direction.

At that moment, Horns' heart tightened.

He almost thought he had been discovered!

But immediately.

The minotaur skeleton tilted her head.

Horns breathed a sigh of relief. He chuckled at himself:

"Was I too nervous?"

"I almost got scared by a low-level skeleton!"

Horns felt ashamed of himself.

So, as he passed by the minotaur skeleton, he gave her a fierce glare, muttering to himself:

"What are you looking at?!"

"Can you even see me?!"

The minotaur skeleton seemed dumbfounded, showing no reaction.

Horns felt bored and continued towards the kitchen.

Eight minutes later.

He arrived at the temporary kitchen.

He began to look for suitable poisoning targets.

He walked carefully in the narrow space.

After a moment, he saw a huge water tank.

Immediately, his face lit up.

But just as he reached for the poison pouch at his waist.

A sharp pain shot from his spine!

"Ah!"

Horns cried out in agony.

In that instant.

He looked down, only to see a sharp axe protruding from his chest!

A tremendous pain surged through the Zolotendron assassin's nerves.

At that moment.

He vaguely heard a voice of righteousness:

"What are you sneaking around for?!"

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