Chapter 378: Military Preparation and War Readiness
"So, it's the Dark Forest that's going to have issues. This 'reminder' came just in time!"
Matthew's eyes were calm as he swiftly searched through his memories, quickly detecting some clues.
The Carl Plains were attacked by the orc army due to the ambitions of the Carl Family.
The remaining poison had plagued Carl Plains, leaving it in unrest.
Just as the Carl Family was preparing to take over, they were hit hard by the combined forces of orcs, trolls, and barbarians.
Not only did they lose most of their elite forces, but they also lost Carl Plains, which had just been recaptured.
After repeated devastation, Carl Plains, which was once the most important grain-producing region of the Netheril Empire, ended up abandoned.
The Netheril Empire couldn't spare the resources to reclaim it, and even when the entire empire fell apart, they had still failed to fully retake the area.
The battle at the Blood Fortress was intense, yet the capable Carl Family kept avoiding it under various pretexts, waiting to reap the benefits of Carl Plains.
When the Carl Family faced the threat of the orc coalition, the angry Third and Eighth Legions watched indifferently.
They thought that after the Carl Family suffered losses, they could come out and clean up the mess.
However, plans never keep up with changes, and both sides ended up like this!
"It now seems that the orc coalition probably came out of one of the paths in the Dark Forest."
"Even Bloodmoon City, which was attacked and exhausted its forces in the battle, became an unwitting victim."
"The lofty Arcanists never thought to lower their heads to see the people forgotten on the ground."
After understanding the sequence of events, Matthew quickly made up his mind.
Bay Territory would never avoid a fight!
After the meeting ended.
A series of new orders and new development plans were posted on the bulletin board at the city gate.
The adventurers were not much affected, instead becoming more curious.
Could Bay Territory's distinctive development plans succeed like before?
Unlike the adventurers' late realizations, the people, who valued their interests highly, saw the territory's determination for major development.
Though feeling a bit pressured, everyone was also greatly inspired.
If you work hard, you reap rewards; if you put in effort, you receive returns. There was no better place than this territory.
At the same time, new military orders were delivered to every Bay Territory soldier.
"You won't be required to memorize everything."
"However, you have the right and obligation to understand our territory and our upcoming battle missions."
After mentally preparing themselves for battle, the soldiers began a new round of intensified training.
In addition to the increased training on fighting orcs and trolls, more emphasis was put on countering large-scale barbarian assaults.
This alone spoke volumes!
The soldiers, mentally prepared, immediately became motivated.
They intensified their training, striving to improve their combat experience and personal battle strength.
Thanks to the druid greenhouses gradually becoming operational, a new variety of konjac with higher yields was developed jointly by Old Li and Elona.
The planting area for konjac had expanded a hundredfold compared to before.
Naturally, the production of high-quality nutrient solution was also climbing steadily.
However, the nutrient solution was not for sale and was reserved exclusively for Bay Territory soldiers and the Professional Academy trainees.
With the help of the nutrient solution, their training results far exceeded those of others.
This was one of the reasons why Bay Territory's overall strength was increasing so rapidly.
While the soldiers were visibly intensifying their training, other actions were much more discreet.
More and more supplies were being transported to the four major outposts of the Dark Forest.
Among them, the under-construction underground fortress received the most supplies.
Unlike the other camps that were defended in fortified positions, the outskirts of the underground fortress were less sturdy, with multiple supply routes instead.
Only the very center of the fortress, a nearly ten-meter-high wall, surrounded the busy ruby mine entrance.
Various inward-facing weapons lined the constantly expanding walls.
Seeing this, some adventurers initially felt nervous, genuinely worried that Bay Territory was preparing to target them.
Until a message spread among the adventurers, they finally relaxed.
"Does the ruby vein really lead to the Underdark?"
"Well, I don't believe it!"
"There are only three entrances to the Underdark, and none of them are in our Netheril Empire."
"Haha, don't think too much about it. Making more money is the right way."
"True, these six-armed golems are really handy."
"Indeed, though the maintenance and recharging are a bit troublesome."
"As long as they work in Bay Territory, it's fine. There's no use taking them elsewhere!"
"Makes sense. Alice's team was really bold, buying five at once."
"All of theirs have arrived, while we still have to wait half a month."
"Don't worry about it; at least we got in early and rented two six-armed golems. The rent isn't much."
"True, if it were any other territory, we wouldn't have a chance at all!"
"That's true. But have you heard? Bay Territory is preparing for war!"
"War again? There must be a mission..."
"I really don't want to join a combat mission, but I have no choice. Whether renting or buying the six-armed golems, you need a lot of merits!"
"How about this? The weaker members stay here to guard the area and learn combat skills to improve their battle strength."
"The stronger ones will join me on the urgent combat mission?"
"Alright. Opportunities to earn merits can't be missed..."
Not far away, Alice's team was having the same discussion.
Having attended the meeting and learned the inside information, Alice was organizing personnel for the combat mission.
The newcomers and weaker members stayed behind. This piece of land they had seized could not be lost—it was a precious mining area they had painstakingly found.
Alice took most of the stronger members away.
None of the adventurers complained. Purchasing five six-armed golems had drained everyone's last bit of merits, and they even owed a substantial amount.
Without merits, it wasn't impossible to survive in Bay Territory, but it would certainly affect their ability to improve their strength and develop their adventuring team.
Participating in the new combat mission was imperative!
Unknowingly, the entire Bay Territory was already prepared for battle.
March 5th.
Dark Forest.
Clear.
Thousands of Bay Territory soldiers were teleported to the frontline troll fortress through a teleportation array.
Before their departure, an even greater number of adventurers set out for the northern Gurubashi troll territory.
This time, Bay Territory decided to go on the offensive.
Matthew brought Yaya, who was diligently studying fleshcraft spells, with him and gave her a reason she couldn't refuse:
"The third wave of surgery subjects needs to be selected from our enemies."
Naturally, Matthew didn't mention that he also needed to amass Fate Points first!