Chapter 177, Your Majesty, Would You Consider Abstaining?
Roger had tasked Tasika with crying, but after some consideration, Tasika believed that a multifaceted approach to crying would yield better results.
Without detailing the extent of the losses suffered by the Terra Kingdom, she only spoke of how this Imperial battle would hamper production progress for the Totem Bracelet and the troubles that the Elysium illusion had faced.
She was playing the role of a suffering yet resolute young queen; perhaps the country was not strong enough yet, but despite any amount of sadness in her heart, she had not given up hope and was always fully supporting the functioning nation.
Such a portrayal would be more likely to gain recognition among the powers than one of a simple weeping child in distress.
After all, the rulers of the foreign powers are not mindless groups of people like the masses on social media; believing in everything they see and hear.
Each step of investment at the national level must yield returns, and the underlying motive must be one of making profit.
Tasika's portrayal of a pitiful little girl evokes sympathy, but if she were to mature into a queen who never gives up, it would instill confidence in foreign investors.
Or perhaps, this is Tasika's very nature.
It is only with Roger's and the Imperial's assistance that the process of rebuilding her nation has been so smooth, allowing no chance for her to demonstrate her true iron-willed tactics.
A little girl who has experienced a shattered faith and the imminent destruction of her country has found hope in the midst of the ruins, welcoming a new life in the darkness. Her resilience far surpasses that of an ordinary monarch.
This is also Joestar's cultivation of Tasika.
By revealing to her the world's most brutal truth, if all of his arrangements succeed, even upon returning to the divine kingdom, the consolidated kingdom of beastmen that Tasika leads is sufficient to become a thorn in the empire's side.
Unfortunately, Joestar was outmaneuvered and not only failed to complete the plan, but also pushed Tasika to the opposing side of the goddess of war, willingly becoming a pawn of the empire and raising the flag of rebellion against the gods.
However, at this moment, from the perspective of the great powers, the true identity of Queen Tasika is still a secret. She is the beastman who harbors the deepest hatred for the Green Vines Empire.
Those with true insight have already sensed the potential of the Terra Kingdom and recognize Tasika's potential.
With her youth and personal strength, living for another three hundred years is no issue.
A young and talented queen who still bears a grudge against the Green Vines Empire- if she is given the chance to be cultivated...
Wouldn't she become the first line of defense against the Green Vines Empire that everyone needs?
Furthermore, now that the Terra Kingdom can obtain the simulated soul bracelet that the empire refuses to export, who knows what kind of interesting technology she will come up with next? There is no reason not to support such an ally.
As a result, the support from the great powers arrived, sending their true elites and outstanding troops bearing many precious magical items. All of them spared no expense to help the Terra Kingdom through this crisis.
The Elven Empire directly dispatched the High Priestess of Moonshadow, Miss May Moon Dancer, who served as the interpreter for the nature goddess. She brought along one hundred royal sharpshooters and the divine weapon, Sunshine Star, which guarded the Moonshadow Shrine; equal to fifty thousand elite troops.
At the same time, there was also a plan for the Elven Prince to marry Queen Tasika.
Other countries were also not to be outdone, dispatching their own elites and many national-level treasures.
In the magical world, the number of top-tier powerhouses was far greater than that of dispatched soldiers. The latter were mainly sent to occupy territory.
The support from the great powers was overwhelmingly grand, with no intention of being low-key, aiming to show off in the city of Serena.
They displayed their pageantry in such a flamboyant manner to intimidate the Green Vines Empire.
This was done in an attempt to scare off the Green Vines Empire.
Previously, the Eternal Night Empress did say she would not participate in this war, but who knows if that crazy woman would change her mind.
A woman's mouth is a deceptive demon.
Everyone thought that even if she was strong, she couldn't possibly fight against so many strong opponents alone. But in case the battle is fierce and there are losses, no one wants the falling meteor to hit their own strong ones, right?
So, if it can be solved through deterrence, then it is certainly a good thing.
So, after several strong clans discussed, they called themselves the Nine Clans Allied Forces and provided support to the city of Serena. They made a simple display of their strength on the surface, and the scouts of the Green Vines Empire brought the intelligence back to the troops departing from Naito City.
However, General Duncan, upon seeing the news, didn't have any intention of retreating, and continued to towards the city of Serena.
According to Sophia's courage, she was not afraid at all:
"Elite? I'll fight the elites!"
The Lucky Cat looked back at the legendary mages behind, the magic towers and the army of golems that they mobilized for this trip, indicating that they were not inferior in terms of strength.
With the strength of the mages, is it not a problem for a two on one fight?
With the rise of the empire's national strength and the mass production of magical equipment, the printing of magic scrolls as if they were free, the mentality of the empire's mages has also expanded unprecedentedly.
30% of the combat effectiveness of a magistrate comes from their magical ability; 70% from their wealth.
The development of magical industrialization, which was first floated up, was the magician class, and naturally their mentality is different from what it used to be.
What if the great powers supported it?
Our Majesty once defended against the combined armies of the six kingdoms. It will not be difficult for us to do it again.
...
...
In the Kambusa Desert, the Daphia Canal is under construction.
This is one of the miraculous projects of the Terra Kingdom to turn the desert into an oasis. The canal will be built partially underground, starting from the snow-capped mountains in the northern border. Through special methods to reduce evaporation, new cities will only be established at designated locations.
According to Tasika's plan, this expensive canal will be one of the highest achievements of the magical civilization of this world. It will be built in five phases, and it will eventually become a water network that runs through the entire desert, connecting the important cities of the Terra Kingdom through water transportation.
What Tasika once envied while lying on the embankment of the mysterious capital, the water transportation, may actually appear in the desert in the future.
The first phase of the canal is still under construction, with only over 500 kilometers completed, establishing a medium-sized settlement that will become a magical industrial city within two years, providing materials nearby for the massive project of the Daphia Canal.
This place is temporarily called the Dayout settlement.
General Duncan is now leading his troops towards the Dayout settlement.
Compared to the tall and sturdy rebuilt city of Serena, it is easier to attack the target of the ongoing construction, which is equally destructive. If successful, it will surely hurt the Terran Kingdom.
His choices were actually limited, with no reinforcements and limited supplies. He only had this one chance to act.
If he fails, he will have to slink back to Naituo City and face ridicule from his colleagues.
The orcs have also detected General Duncan's intentions, with the previously dispersed army and the reinforcements commanded by Tasika, all heading towards the Dayout settlement.
The strategy of stalling for time has been successful, and they have held out until the support from the great powers arrives, allowing them to take on the Green Vines Empire head-on.
The battle site of both sides should be a certain sand dune. About 20 kilometers east of the Dayout settlement, where Queen Tasika arrived first.
The camp that also has 100,000 orcs, Queen Tasika arranged for the reinforcements of the great powers to stay at the back. Asking them to wait for her orders before entering the battlefield once the battle has started.
The reinforcements were somewhat surprised. They had thought they would be used as cannon fodder to stop the first and most fierce wave of enemy attacks, but they didn't expect the queen to be so generous.
Could this also be considered as her confidence?
Although everyone was prepared to make sacrifices, not making any sacrifice left a better impression of Queen Tasika on them, naturally.
Tasika arranged for the poweful orc's to be at the front to set up a standard defensive position and constructed a new type of altar.
At that time, they would utilize the buildings to fully counteract the enemy's magical advantage.
This altar was "stolen" by their "spy" and with some modification it could amplify the shaman's power. They would carry out their first demonstration.
"You only need to hold on for half an hour, and victory will inevitably belong to Terra." Tasika mobilized the orc warriors and looked towards a small phalanx with only a thousand soldiers.
They were the Snake Tribe, and their unique beast traits were their red eyes, scale-covered tails, and their mutated claws that were especially adept at digging.
This special operations team of Snaik were outfitted in black bodysuits and carried a drum-like package on their backs. Their gaze was resolute as they saluted Tasika with a Terra military salute, "May Terra be blessed by the gods!"
The Snakes leapt into the sand as if swimming. Even if there were any magical disturbances, only slight tremors were seen on the ground. They headed towards Duncan's troops at an extremely fast speed.
This desert is, after all, the land where the orcs have survived through the ages. They will surely have some home field advantage and will be waiting to give those arrogant imperialists a surprise.
...
...
The orc army formed a defensive formation, while the Empire side decided to choose the simplest tactic:
"Frontal assault, all troops attack!"
It was not that Duncan was foolish, but facing the orcs who were impervious to provocations and not taking the initiative to attack, he didn't have any better options.
The young queen seemed to have already seen through their limited supplies and that it was impossible to continue dragging on. So there was no urgency to reclaim lost territory.
Now looking back, General Duncan also realized that these orcs were deliberately retreating, just to exchange land for time, forcing him to stretch supply line.
Originally, the territories closest to the Empire where were the orcs resided, they are vast deserts and their main population and cities were located far away from the Empire.
Unless there was another total war, it would be really difficult to deal with these cunning orcs.
"This should be our final battle, Lady Sophie." General Duncan said solemnly.
"General, rest assured. Queen Tasika herself is present, and of course our goal is to kill her with a sniper." Sophie's eyes glinted with a fierce and cold determination as she impatiently rubbed her fingers.
Merchants believe that good relationships bring wealth, but Tasika has made only enemies on her own path to wealth.
In terms of bloodline, she is considered a Kate tribe orc.
However, the Kate tribe was long ago wiped out in tribal conflict, and she fled with her family to the empire. Over generations, she already has no emotional attachment to the desert and identifies herself as an imperial citizen.
Later, she simply became a mercenary for gold coins, so anyone who obstructs her earnings, regardless of race, is considered an enemy to be dealt with fiercely !
So the empire's army slowly moved toward the defense line of the first orc legion, and the mages chanted spells, summoning magical creatures to enhance their impact.
Above the sky, the invisible Eternal Night Queen looked down on the battlefield and sighed softly, "Must we lose this time?"
How could she trust her army to fight in a battle full of traps? It was just that Roger had arranged the entire battle, she knew that some pain was necessary for the empire to grow.
But this time, Sophia brought out a large number of magicians treating them like ornaments, just like walking on the street covered with her beloved jewelry. The empress couldn't help but follow.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, the situation is under control." Roger stood by her side and comforted her, "Sophia is not a fool. She has means to save her life and will also protect the priest of the Secret Council."
"I understand, but I'm just very unwilling; is this how the era of the wizards ends?"
"The era of the wizards will never end, but instead, it will shine in new ways."
"But we always want to shine on the battlefield..."
The Night Queen looked towards Terra's defenses while Tasika projected the golden image of the Goddess of War, giving the heavily-armed warriors of the first line of defense the "Blessing of Holy War."
This is a spell that matches the power of a forbidden curse, requiring a large amount of faith power to cast. If not for those true believers favored by the little witch, they simply would not have the qualification to use it.
Tasika's ability to use this spell now shows that the Goddess of War is quite satisfied with the current Terra kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Night Queen has the power to reverse the situation, but can only watch as the Imperial armies gradually fall into bitter battles.
The "Blessing of Holy War" provides the orc warriors with a huge magic resistance, and with the constant weakening of the magic attacks by the shamans on both sides, the magic power advantage of the Empire has been largely neutralized, making many of the direct attack magic spells of the Elemental school temporarily ineffective.
Under the circumstances, the wizards could only summon more creatures and drive large-scale war golems, puppets, and other alchemical products into battle, fighting alongside the heroic Imperial soldiers as they constantly attacked the first legion of the orcs' defenses.
However, the border army was mainly composed of heavily armed infantry, whose main task was to defend the stronghold. Previously relying on magic power to crush the orc army, they were always able to beat them. Now that they were facing the attack with their own strength, they were inevitably pressed down on the line by the strong orc fighters.
Obviously, they cannot break through the defense line within half an hour.
And if they fail to break through and get held up by the orcs, the trap that Tasika set earlier will come into effect.
"Your Majesty, one minister is enough for your entourage. The Empire still has a lot of work to do." Roger carefully observed the gloomy expression on the Eternal Night Queen's face, knowing she was someone who wouldn't accept failure.
Even if the performance was a failure.
It wouldn't be good to miss this performance.
Holding her fists tightly, the Eternal Night Queen looked at the eager reinforcements of the allied forces and cursed, "The next time we meet, I won't let them leave alive."
Her figure disappeared into the air, and ultimately she accepted Roger's advice and didn't go to see the doomed outcome of the battle.
The stronger one becomes, the more paranoid they tend to be. Without any bloody lessons, they won't embrace the new era.
