The arrival of the Shaman main army caused Wei Yuan to mobilize all of Qingming's strength. All manpower, material resources, and production yielded to the impending decisive battle. Furthermore, the massive casualties that had struck out of nowhere generated a vast array of follow-up problems. Now that the Shaman main forces had arrived so swiftly, they left Wei Yuan no time to exhume the fallen.
A boundless flood of data poured into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, then transformed into countless tasks distributed below. Wei Yuan's incarnations scattered across various locations sped along like the wind. Fortunately, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World had arrays deployed at many key locations; wherever an array was stationed, cultivators could receive messages and complete tasks on their own.
Wei Yuan remained on the front lines, gazing out at the emerald military qi rolling like an ocean in the distance. Standing beside Wei Yuan, Yu Zhizhuo sighed. "It's no good. We can't make it in time no matter what. We can only set up a few fortresses in key areas; there's no time to dig a complete system of trenches and fortifications. The time is too short—you have to give me at least another twelve shichen!"
Wei Yuan suddenly said, "Dawn is about to break."
Yu Zhizhuo started, not understanding what Wei Yuan meant at first.
"The Shamans rarely attack during the day. It seems they are exhausted after traveling so far, and they plan to rest for a day before fighting again."
Yu Zhizhuo's eyes lit up. "Then I can build a complete trench defensive line!"
"You may."
"What if the Shamans attack?"
"I will lead troops out front to block them and buy you enough time. How long do you need?"
"Twelve shichen... no, ten shichen is enough!"
And so both sides got to work. Yu Zhizhuo received maximum temporary authority, allowing him to mobilize all personnel and supplies within the realm aside from the troops Wei Yuan needed to deploy.
Wei Yuan led his troops to form ranks and pitch camp behind the ruins of the defensive line. The ruins were rugged and uneven now, possibly soft dirt, possibly hiding sharp fragments. This was already the greatest terrain advantage Wei Yuan could exploit for the time being.
The Shamans were not completely idle either. Activity bustled within their grand camp as countless lower-folk slaves were lashed into working desperately to repair the demolished camp. At that moment, a battle report was suddenly submitted to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
During this great war, reports written by generals and colonels were as numerous as hairs on an ox. The first step for these reports was submission to their direct superiors, followed by simultaneous storage in the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. That one could stand out among the vast flood of reports and be delivered by the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World directly before Wei Yuan piqued his curiosity, making him want to see what was written inside.
This report had been written by a colonel who was fortunate enough to survive the great curse's strike and had taken part in the entire pursuit and sacking of the Shaman camp. The report included a summary of the battle as well as a suggestion.
The summary mentioned an oversight: after destroying the Shaman camp, they should have placed a batch of explosives inside the camp to detonate when the Shamans arrived.
The suggestion was that the Shaman main army would inevitably advance across the area of destroyed fortifications; therefore, laying a large number of pressure-activated explosives in this zone would effectively impede the Shaman army's advance.
The Shamans' bravery and morale were largely maintained by great curses. Once casualties in their ranks exceeded a certain proportion, the sustaining shamanic arts could fail, causing morale to collapse. At the very least, it would effectively weaken the Shaman military qi and reduce their capacity for prolonged combat.
However, the report did not mention that in that very area, hundreds of thousands of remains had yet to be dug up.
Wei Yuan closed his eyes slightly and pondered for a moment. Then he sought out Yu Zhizhuo and forwarded the report for him to read.
After a brief thought, Yu Zhizhuo said, "Pressure-trigger mechanisms are very simple. I can have people start producing them right now, and finished goods will be ready within a shichen. But... are you sure you want to do this?"
Wei Yuan nodded slowly.
Yu Zhizhuo sighed. "True. The living matter more."
Before long, over a thousand Dao Foundation cultivators flew into the fortification area, planting the freshly manufactured explosive devices one by one. Shaman offensives were always overwhelming, so there was no need for elaborate camouflage—just dig a hole with a shovel and cover it with dirt.
These template Dao Foundation cultivators possessed enduring stamina. In the blink of an eye, they had worked continuously for a shichen, planting hundreds of thousands of explosives. By then, the second batch of improved explosive devices had also been produced. This batch was smaller and simpler, able to be tossed directly onto the ground.
After another shichen, another new batch of explosive devices rolled out. This batch was even smaller and more numerous, and just as simple to deploy. The power of these explosives was already so small that they could not kill Shamans. Wei Yuan initially had some doubts, but Yu Zhizhuo explained that merely wounding them was enough; it would similarly delay the Shamans' movements, and an increase in wounded would place a heavy burden on the Shaman army.
Wei Yuan agreed deeply upon hearing this and felt immense admiration—indeed, the older ginger was spicier. A grand cultivator like Yu Zhizhuo, with his rigorous thinking and superb mathematical mind, could always devise clever methods.
Before the third wave of explosives could be fully placed, the Shamans launched an attack. It seemed the Shaman army had no intention of allowing Qingming to rest leisurely; thus, they dispatched several hundred thousand troops to attack, probing Qingming's firepower and responses while their main force seized the time to rest, and because erecting altars also took time.
Masses of Shaman troops charged into the former fortification zone, their pace instantly slowed by the rugged terrain, only to be struck twice over by artillery fire and explosives during their charge. By the time the surviving warriors fought their way to Wei Yuan's troops, they were in utter disarray.
Wei Yuan had deployed 150,000 elite troops before the new position. With no ready-made fortifications, each soldier had hastily dug a hole in the ground and planted a steel shield as cover. Relying on such extremely crude defenses, they began their slaughter against the Shamans.
After suffering heavy casualties, the Shaman troops breached the line and engaged the Qingming Army in hand-to-hand combat. However, Wei Yuan had placed a full ten thousand Dao soldiers within the defense. The double-barreled shotguns in the hands of these Dao soldiers were practically invincible in close quarters; with a single blast, no Shaman within several zhang was left with an intact corpse.
Relying on the toughness of his dharma body, a Great Shaman actually charged straight into the Qingming battle formation, cutting down dozens of soldiers in a single breath. Caught up in the frenzy of slaughter, he failed to notice that several dozen Dao soldiers had already surrounded him. Then the shotguns roared. Countless plumes of blood instantly burst across his massive frame; his heavy armor was blasted to pieces, and his tempered body could not withstand the shotgun blasts either. Flesh and blood were stripped away layer by layer until finally, riddled with over seven hundred shots, he collapsed with a resounding crash.
A formidable Great Shaman of the middle Dharma Idol stage was mobbed and slaughtered just like that by a group of template Dao Foundations.
After the battle ended, the Great Shaman's dharma body was taken away to be dissected and studied. In the end, over a hundred jin of bullets were extracted from his body.
After the melee, the morale of the first Shaman wave collapsed, their military qi wavered, and they had to retreat. When the second wave of Shamans attacked, they frequently stepped on mines, blowing away many warriors' shins or half their feet. Their advance slowed visibly, leaving them exposed to round after round of artillery barrage and heavy casualties.
In this manner, Wei Yuan led his army at the front, holding fast against the Shaman assault. Meanwhile, Yu Zhizhuo arranged for people in the rear to continuously dig narrow, deep holes in the ground.
Watching this from afar, the Shaman generals grew much more relaxed. One laughed, "At this rate of digging, they won't manage a decent trench even if they dig until next year..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw the humans pulling back in succession, moving away from those small holes. Immediately after came an earth-shattering explosion! The blasts extended all the way along the line, stretching hundreds of li in the blink of an eye. When the smoke cleared, a deep trench had appeared in the earth!
The Shaman generals were dumbfounded. Only now did they realize that when humans built fortifications, they no longer needed to dig.
Chapter 850