Chapter 158: Golem Legion Formation, Holy Fist
“What are the details of the forces in Giant Eye City?” Su Nan asked, pulling his gaze away from the map.
Cole lowered his head and replied, “According to the information we currently have, we estimate that the number of Eye Demons in Giant Eye City is no less than a thousand. Among them, there are at least five legendary-level Eye Demon variants. Additionally, there are no fewer than twenty thousand Slaves."
The Eye Demon excels at using Spiritual Power to control other creatures, turning them into their own Slaves. To the Eye Demons, Slaves are merely expendable; once they are gone, they can simply control another batch. As a result, Eye Demons are notorious for their cruel treatment of Slaves.
With over a thousand Eye Demons controlling only twenty thousand Slaves, this estimate seems a bit conservative. Su Nan suspected that there should be at least thirty thousand Slaves in Giant Eye City. Of course, the creatures that can be controlled by Eye Demons are not particularly powerful, usually consisting of species like Kobolds, Lizardmen, and Ogres—common cannon fodder in the Underworld.
After pondering for a moment, Su Nan made a decision. He spoke in a deep voice: “Red Widow will be the commander, and you two will serve as vice commanders. Lead a Small Golem Legion to attack Giant Eye City. I will also provide you with an additional Mithril Golem. Take down Giant Eye City within three months. Is there a problem?”
After Base relocated to Long Lin, the importance of Base Number 1 and Base 2 greatly decreased. Su Nan reduced the garrison forces by more than half, incorporating all the vacated Puppets into the Star Alliance. Subsequently, he also integrated and reorganized the Golem Legion, mainly dividing it into military corps.
From lowest to highest, the divisions are squad, company, banner, company, and corps. Among these, the number of Puppets in the first four formations ranges from 10 to 500, with the primary types being Stone Golem and Double-Bladed Puppet. Notably, each banner formation includes one Elite Stone Golem, while each company encompasses five Elite Stone Golems and one Steel Golem. For the highest-level corps, the number of Puppets starts at 5,000, and they are bound to include Second-Ring Legend-level Puppets. Based on their number and strength, corps are further classified as Small, Medium, or Large.
Small Legion comprises ten Companies, totaling 5,000 members.
In addition to the Elite Stone Golem and Steel Golem corresponding to each Company, it also includes two Higher Stone Golems and one Elite Double-Bladed Spider.
Alongside numerous first-level Puppets, a Medium Legion will also feature an additional Mithril Golem.
Similarly, five Medium Legions can be combined into one Large Legion.
Beyond the Large Legion, Su Nan has a concept for an Army Group.
However, this is currently just an idea; after all, the present Star Alliance is far from capable of forming an Army Group.
In fact, not to mention an Army Group, it doesn't even have one Large Legion or Medium Legion.
At the moment, the Star Alliance only possesses two Small Legions.
It's not that Su Nan does not wish to form more legions; rather, his ambitions exceed his current strength.
Establishing a Small Golem Legion requires about seven hundred thousand Gold Coins.
The Puppets that make up the two Small Golem Legions have been gradually accumulated by Su Nan over time.
He cannot form a third Small Golem Legion quickly, let alone Medium or Large Golem Legions.
The reason for establishing a higher-level organization is simply to prepare for future army expansion.
Xie Man and Cole had already learned about the recent changes in the army organization of the Star Alliance from A'Tier, and they agreed without hesitation upon hearing this.
One Small Golem Legion, along with one Mithril Golem and the first-level powerhouse Red Widow, is more than enough to conquer Giant Eye City.
Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright, you've worked hard during this time. Take a few days to rest, get familiar with the new Base, and then deal with the preparations for sending troops to Giant Eye City."
"Yes, teacher."
After Su Nan waved his hand, Xie Man and Cole respectfully withdrew.
Once they left, Su Nan's gaze returned to the map.
Within a radius of three hundred kilometers of the Star Alliance, the only true city-state is Giant Eye City; the rest are mere tribes, not worth worrying about.
As long as Giant Eye City is captured, the area within three hundred kilometers of the Star Alliance can be developed at will.
Such a large area should make finding a few mines relatively easy. As for attacking Giant Eye City, as Su Nan had decided earlier, he did not intend to take action himself, but would leave it to his subordinates. The establishment of the Star Alliance was precisely for situations like this. Giant Eye City would serve as a trial run; if it goes smoothly, future issues with the City States in Small can be resolved by his subordinates. He could focus on the bigger picture.
"Taking down Giant Eye City and securing the Silver Mine they possess should be sufficient to gather the Mithril needed for refining the Secret Puppet." The thought of soon being able to refine Puppets at the Fourth Circle Legend level ignited a fire within Su Nan's heart. Calming himself, he turned to another stack of documents.
These were reports submitted by the six Knight Academies. Next year, during the Xia Long Moon (June), these six Knight Academies would welcome their first graduating class. Taking inspiration from the Dragonheart Knight Academy, the Graduation Exam for the six Knight Academies would also be held in Underworld, and the format would not change significantly. Su Nan was unconcerned about this matter, as the Graduation Exam would be arranged by Karolina.
What truly required his attention was the Magic Pattern Construct equipment for a total of three thousand graduates, including two thousand nine hundred and seventy sets of First Level Magic Rune Constructs and thirty sets of Second Level Magic Rune Constructs. Producing such a large number of Magic Pattern Constructs would likely keep him exceptionally busy for the next year.
"Xie Man and the others can only manufacture Enchanted Weapons at best right now; they can’t even begin working on Alchemy Magic Items, let alone Magic Pattern Constructs."
"It looks like I’ll have to do it myself." With a sigh, Su Nan stood up and walked toward the Workshop. Fortunately, the Elemental Pool had already been repaired, and the operation of the Long Lin was gradually getting back on track. Aside from cultivating and increasing the Bloodline concentration for Hidden Dragon, he didn’t have any other major tasks at hand, allowing him to create Magic Pattern Constructs as well.
"I've almost mastered Spell Construction, too. The training progress should reach 100% before the second half of next year."
In the vast open field, two figures raced at high speed, their velocity like shooting stars, even faster than the finest warhorses.
Even so, the two figures continued to sprint, occasionally glancing back with alarm etched on their pale faces, as if some terrifying monster was chasing them.
Only after they had run two or three hundred kilometers, with no one pursuing them in sight, did they finally breathe a sigh of relief and begin to slow their pace.
Having sprinted such a great distance in a short amount of time, even with both of them being Legendary Knights, their Battle Qi and Elemental Power were nearing depletion, and they needed to find a place to recover as soon as possible.
They quickly discovered a hidden cave, sat down cross-legged, and closed their eyes to replenish their Battle Qi and Elemental Power.
However, the moment they closed their eyes, they sensed that something was amiss. They opened them simultaneously, shocked to find themselves back in the open field.
“What’s going on?” the taller Knight asked, his expression shifting dramatically.
The other Knight, an older man with graying temples, looked around, his face filled with disbelief. “This is where we were at the beginning!”
The taller Knight glanced around and, sure enough, saw large patches of battle marks not far away. They looked all too familiar—the marks they had left behind while fighting their enemy not long ago.
His face drained of color.
It turned out their previous sprint had led them in circles around the same spot, and they hadn't gotten very far at all.
As a member of the Holy Fist, he understood why this was happening.
Illusion!
They had both fallen into the enemy's illusion!
Whoosh!
A gentle gust of wind suddenly blew by.
The taller Knight and the older Knight felt a presence and simultaneously glanced toward their left front. They gasped as a woman suddenly appeared in the previously empty wilderness.
She was a slender, tall figure clad in a gray robe.
Her skin was fair, her hair smooth and soft, and she exuded an elegant aura, reminiscent of a noblewoman.
Just the sight of her figure would have moved most men, yet that allure faded once they beheld her face.
Aside from a pair of bright blue eyes, her face bore no other features.
Dancing water droplets circled around her, with faint cyan wind currents appearing and disappearing intermittently.
“Iro!”
The tall Knight gritted his teeth, spitting out a name with an expression that blended hatred with an even deeper sense of fear and dread. They had believed they had escaped this woman's grasp, but instead, they found themselves ensnared in an Illusion, realizing all their efforts had been in vain.
"You two have worked hard," Iro said, bowing gracefully to them. The beautiful gesture at that moment was laced with a heavy dose of mockery. Instantly, the faces of the two Legendary Knights grew incredibly dark.
"Haha, how ugly!" a voice rang out from a dozen or so meters away. A flame materialized out of thin air, rapidly growing into a humanoid figure of fire, with a male face faintly outlined in the area where a face would be. His mouth opened and closed as he spoke, sparks flying and leaving small scorch marks on the ground.
"Two laughable fools, toiling away for so long only to realize they've fallen for an Illusion. I watched from the sidelines and nearly laughed my lungs out." He turned his head to Iro, sneering, "In my opinion, you're far too cautious. Just kill them directly—why waste time on their strength?"
Iro remained unfazed, the gentle breeze swirling around her carrying a sweet, feminine voice. "After all, these two are Second-Ring Legendary Knights. A head-on fight to kill them would require considerable effort; this approach is better."
Seeing the two of them chatting as if they were mere playthings, the tall Knight and the elderly Knight felt a surge of anger that turned their faces ashen. Yet, despair crept in as they recognized their true lack of ability against the two standing before them. One Level Three Wizard Apprentice was already enough to give them a headache—not to mention two! And these two were exceptionally strong, even among Level Three Wizard Apprentices.
"You Eternal Life Society are going too far! Do you really think our Holy Fist will allow you to trample us at will?" the tall Knight said through clenched teeth.
"And if we do?" The flame humanoid's mouth curled into a sneering smile. "Just a mere organization of Legendary Knights, yet you dare to meddle in the affairs of Wizards. I don't know whether to call you audacious or simply ignorant."
"If you know what's good for you, hand over the Key of Evans and the Star Tower, and I might just grant you a quick death!"
The tall Knight snorted coldly. "Don't think I don’t know anything; even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Only a complete fool would trust the reputation of the Eternal Life Society!"
The flame humanoid was not angered by this; instead, he laughed heartily.
"You’re right; you've finally shown a bit of intelligence."
"Then there’s no need for further nonsense. Once I kill you two, I’ll extract your souls and interrogate them at my leisure!"
The moment the last word fell, the flame humanoid's form erupted violently, transforming into countless waves of fire that surged forward like a torrent towards the two Knights.
The tall Knight and the old Knight exchanged glances, grim smiles appearing on their faces, but their expressions quickly hardened. They advanced instead of retreating, fearlessly bracing for the incoming flames.
Both understood they were doomed that day, so they abandoned all thoughts of escape and resolved to fight to the death.
Boom!
The sound of explosions echoed continuously across the wilderness.
Blinding flames and dazzling Battle Qi radiance intertwined.
The battle lasted only a few breaths.
The two Knights, already exhausted, were no match for the Eternal Life Society's Other: Wizard Apprentice. Iro didn’t even intervene, and the flame Other: Wizard Apprentice easily finished them off.
"Insolent fools who overestimated themselves!"
The waves of flame subsided, reshaping into the humanoid.
He opened his mouth and made a sucking motion, causing two blurry, ethereal figures to struggle as they tried to escape from the charred corpses, only to be drawn involuntarily into his mouth.
"They probably didn’t know much," Iro finally spoke.
Ember scoffed. "It doesn’t matter. Once we eliminate everyone from Holy Fist, Evans will have nowhere to hide. We’ll find him sooner or later."
"I’m worried about that Hunter guy. He’s very close to Evans, and if he decides to help Evans escape, it will waste all of our efforts."
Iro fell silent for a moment, seemingly agreeing with Ember's words.
An Other: Wizard Apprentice who could escape Saulo's grasp was certainly impressive.
Just then, both of their expressions shifted, and they turned to look to the side.
In the void, a figure slowly materialized—it was Saulo.
Saulo glanced at the charred corpse on the ground and spoke in a deep voice, “Any luck?”
Ember pursed his lips. “We’ll only know after the interrogation. Don’t get your hopes up, though; these two probably don’t know the whereabouts of Evans.”
Iro asked, “What about Stone Scorpion’s side?”
“Same,” Saulo replied flatly. “Holy Fist's security is pretty tight.”
“What do we do next?” Iro inquired.
“Keep going, uproot Holy Fist completely, and force Evans to reveal himself.”
Ember chuckled at this, licking his lips as he said, “I like this kind of straightforward approach. I’ve heard the leader of Holy Fist is quite strong; leave that guy to me. I can't wait to savor the soul of a powerful one.”
“Suit yourself,” Saulo replied.
With that, Saulo’s figure slowly vanished into the distance.
A light breeze swept past, and Iro disappeared soon after.
“Two boring fellows,” Ember scoffed, transforming into flames and shooting into the sky.
Next came the interrogation of souls, a blissful time of savoring torment and pain.
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