Chapter 276. Battle at the Wall.
The attack had appeared in the forest, not too far from my cavern. I rallied the available troops, sending them to man the defenses protecting the cavern entrance. Pulling the squad guarding the marketplace entrance gave me two full squads of kobold warriors to work with. Each had a sergeant, a sorcerer, two archers with crossbows, and five melee warriors with spears.
To bolster these forces, I had the mercenary squad I’d hired join them. I also would head over there once the enemy drew closer. My minions were hurrying back, and making good time, but we’d have to hold out for a while before they could arrive. Following the enemy path, I could see that they would most likely exit the forest at the clearing in front of my cavern.
The clearing was about 200 yards wide, which would give us time for some ranged fire before any enemies could make it to the barricade. When the enemy got close, I queued up for all my structure upgrades in case I was away from the headquarters for longer than I expected. After the queue was set, I left the headquarters and joined my defenders at the barricade.
I wanted to kick myself when I made it to the barricade. I’d upgraded the defenses at the entrance near the marketplace, and it was now a formidable wall with a reinforced gate for entry into my cavern. Here, at the main entrance to the cavern, all I had was the initial rickety wall to provide protection. There wasn’t even a gate, just a short barricade we dragged across the opening in the wall.
At that gap I placed one of my kobold squads. The others I dispersed along the barricade along with the human mercenaries. It wasn’t long before the enemy showed itself, and I was a bit surprised at what I saw. Trudging across the field were three squads almost identical to the human mercenaries I’d hired.
A quick count revealed the enemy were thirty strong and had the same breakdown of troops as the mercenaries I’d hired. As soon as they were within bowshot of the entrance, my troops fired. I had a total of six crossbowmen, two from each kobold squad, and another pair from the mercenaries I’d hired. After the first volley two attackers had fallen, and their return fire was ineffective, the long range and cover from the rickety wall proved sufficient to protect my troops.
Before the crossbows were finished reloading, the enemy entered the range of the two kobold sorcerers among my defenders. Their Bursts of Flame spells peppered the attackers with deadly fire. The attack also reminded me that I could cast the same spell. I had three charges of the spell and began by selecting three of their six crossbowmen.
My sorcerers had used their Bursts of Flame to hit multiple targets, seriously wounding, but not killing them. Instead, I focused each entire burst on one attacker, and the trio of flaming strikes knocked them back then set them aflame, killing the targets in seconds. Another volley of crossbow bolts fired out, and three of the attackers fell. Their return fire was again ineffective as I’d halved their number of crossbowmen, and we still were enjoying the benefits of cover.
I’d used all three charges of my spell, but I still had my wand of magic missile, which I began to target the lead attackers with. The enemy seemed to realize that they were losing the ranged battle and charged forward, trying to close the distance with us as quickly as they could. A third volley of crossbow bolts, Bursts of Flame from the sorcerers, and my magic missiles took out seven more enemies before they got close.
When they were almost at the barricade, I stowed the wand and pulled my javelin. Crackling with electrical energy, I threw the weapon at a shielded swordsman in the lead of their formation. The magic in the weapon caused it to unerringly hit the target, but the man managed to get his metal shield up in time to try and deflect it.
The javelin pierced the shield, and the arm holding it. At the same time, a burst of electrical magic was released, killing the attacker despite his successful block. Knocking aside the flimsy barricade, the attackers crossed blades with the defenders. Drawing my own sword and shield, I moved to face off against a spearman that had burst through the line of defenders and was heading toward one of my sorcerers.
He thrust toward me, and my training kicked in. Angling the Shield of Resistance, I deflected the thrust and stepped inside the attacker’s reach, slamming my blade into his chest. The sword pierced easily through the light armor my target was wearing, and with a single grunt of pain, the man went limp and died as I pierced his heart.
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The fight at the entrance was going on strong, but it looked like we had the upper hand. I cast a Health Bloom over the worst of the fighting, and I could see the kobold sorcerers were also avoiding combat and casting healing spells where they could. Atop the flimsy wall, my archers rained crossbow bolts down onto any attackers they could safely target.
Their first shots had taken out the last of the enemy crossbowmen, so we held the advantage there as well. Unsupported by magic, and losing their only ranged attackers, the enemy began to fall quickly. We were taking losses too, but if ours weren’t killed outright, there was a good chance that they could be healed and back in the fight.
I was especially impressed with the kobold sergeants. They were clearly more skilled than the human mercenaries, and used their spears with a strength their smaller frames wouldn’t appear to possess. As the last of the attackers fell, a system prompt appeared.
You have successfully fended off a mercenary attack from another competitor. Once your marketplace reaches rank 5, you may order assaults, for a fee, on the competitor directly above and below you in the rankings.
I was going to be able to do the same attacks against my competitors, but it seemed like a waste of resources. Why would I send mercenaries out to attack someone when they would do more good remaining here in my challenge zone? As my marketplace reached rank five, I could see a new tab for hiring mercenaries had opened.
Marketplace, Rank 5.
At this Rank, your marketplace can now support up to 12 trade caravans in total. Multiple caravans can only be selected for longer trade routes. The capacity for each caravan has increased, allowing them to generate more resources on each trip. Since you already possess a Rank 5 barracks, you may also seek out mercenary contracts and special equipment through your marketplace.
You have unlocked the ability to construct Improved Trade Roads. These roads can be constructed between all trading partners and confederated factions. The Improved Trade Roads increase the speed of all travelers by 10% and reduce the dangers of hostile wildlife by 50%.
Special Equipment. Please note that the available patterns offered for sale will change weekly.
1. Dwarven repeating heavy crossbow. Should you purchase this upgrade. These weapons will be installed on any existing, and newly constructed fixed defenses you possess.
2. Road Crew Contract. Hire a road crew to rapidly complete any existing road construction projects. For 48-hours, road construction in your realm will increase by 200%.
Mercenary Contracts. Other kobold empires offer the use of their forces for a fee. Once hired, these mercenaries will remain for the entire duration of the challenge or until destroyed. Should you choose to send these mercenaries to attack your competitors, the cost to recruit them will be reduced by half.
1. Kobold Skirmishers. A squad of 10 kobolds armed with slings and javelins. Especially quick and agile, these skirmishers will launch attacks on your foes and retreat out of range before the enemy can respond.
2. Prison Fodder (2). Led by cruel overseers, this mob of 20 kobold prisoners has agreed to fight instead of rotting away in a cell for the rest of their short lives. Poorly armed and trained, these kobolds are only a threat in mass numbers.
3. Kobold Dragonkin Elite. Tapping into their draconic heritage, this small band of powerful warriors have obtained many of the aspects of the dragons they share a relation to.
There was a lot here, I had more caravans available, and I added additional ones to the Shoremarch and Gavelox Trading Consortium routes. When I tried to add one to the elf and rock gnome routes, I was prevented, the system telling me it was too short of a distance to handle multiple caravans. Even better, my caravans were finally looking impressive.
Each caravan now consisted of a large, loaded to the gills wagon, as well as one of the smaller carts stuffed with goods. The number of kobolds in each caravan had also increased to ten. Most were needed to push and pull the wagon and cart, but the ones that weren’t carried packs with even more trade goods over their shoulders.
As for the newly offered upgrades, I wanted to wait until my structures were all fully upgraded before I began buying. The only thing I wanted to purchase early was the road crew, which would kickstart the upgrades to my trade routes. A quick check showed the crews were relatively affordable at a cost of about half a silo of resources. I paused new building construction until I had the resources to hire them.
The mercenary contracts were also interesting. Unlike the ones offered by the consortium, these were all from other kobold civilizations. I wanted all of them, but again, they’d have to wait until construction projects were completed. The fact I could unleash the mercenaries on my challengers at half the cost wasn’t enough to make me want to spend resources to hamper a foe.
Sending out attackers against my competitors still seemed a waste to me. I wanted every blade here in my zone to help defend us. A system prompt that appeared right after the road crew was hired confirmed that I’d made the right choice.
The first 5 competitors in the challenge have maxed out all structures and upgrades. This achievement has accelerated the time before the final stage of the challenge is unleashed. You have 10 days to prepare. Plan and work hard, for the apocalypse is coming for each of your territories.