Chapter 620: Tunnel Warfare (8000)

A dense crowd of figures sprang out from behind Matthew.

They did not attack the Cole Elf army below, but followed the passage dug last night and sneaked into the bustling mine.

Chris, who was looking forward to it, commanded a large group of kobolds, widening the narrow entrance while leading the assault force to advance quickly.

They quickly arrived at their destination under the leadership of the scouts.

The first thing they did was to place several large magic items and devices.

They are new products produced by the Gulf Territory's Magic Item Manufacturing Research Institute - detection disruptors.

After activating them, they can effectively prevent the detection of magic and are very suitable for ambushes and assassinations.

However, the Gulf Territory has no intention of disclosing this highly confidential magical item to the outside world.

The reason why Matthew made it was mainly to contain the elf mages accompanying the army of the Cole Elf Kingdom.

Even though the Netheril Empire boasts fiercely, it is called the Holy Land of Mages.

But Matthew knew very well that the elf mages of Cole Elf had the most powerful foundation and perfect system.

They also have excellent arrangements for the use of spellcasters in battle.

In order to reduce their role as much as possible, when the number of battle mages cannot keep up.

Naturally, Matthew could only use some magic equipment and props to make up for the gap between the two sides.

Equipment is also part of strength!

The same goes for money!

Immediately afterwards, the senior adventurer with very rich combat experience skillfully arranged the crossbow defense line.

In narrow and dark terrain, nothing is more lethal than a crossbow.

The miners' slaves who retreated into the passage looked at their figures in great surprise.

Sparta did not speak, but just allowed the slave warriors under his command to quickly recover their strength.

He carefully looked at these weak adventurers and found that they had indeed made a lot of preparations.

The burlap clothes were the same as the miners' slaves, but they were specially processed, and their faces were basically disguised. No one spoke, only simple and clear orders.

What makes Sparta most incredible is that they have a very strong tacit understanding with each other, and they can quickly adjust with simple words and actions.

Moreover, they know the underground mines very well, and the ambush locations they find are tricky and insidious.

The weapons and equipment on their bodies seemed ordinary, but Sparta, who was well-informed, could see the clues from the metal coating on the weapons and equipment.

It is a rare metal and is worth a lot of money!

The rarer the metal, the fewer targets they have to mine it, and the more food they give to their slaves.

This is a very powerful force!

Seeing this, Sparta's originally high-spirited heart relaxed a little.

He did not completely trust the arrangements made by the Gulf Territory.

I just want to obtain a batch of weapons and equipment, as well as extremely valuable supplies.

If the Gulf Territory just uses them as cannon fodder, then he won't lose much.

Instead, we have a good amount of resources for the rebellion, which is much better than the previous start of the rebellion.

At this moment, clear footsteps came from the entrance of the cave.

A group of cautious Cole Elf soldiers slowly groped their way in.

The tunnel where the magic lamp had been destroyed was now completely dark.

The Cole Elf soldiers in the front row held up their shining spears and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

They did not crowd into the center of the tunnel, but moved along the sides of the tunnel.

Elves have a long lifespan, and their combat experience naturally accumulates slowly from battle to battle, becoming richer and richer.

In particular, this group of Cole Elf soldiers stationed in the Fort of Glory have participated in suppressing slave rebellions many times.

Some powerful commanders have cleaned out batches of slaves.

After all, for the safety of the entire Cole Elf Factory Area, they will conduct regular "cleaning" of half-elf slaves.

It is precisely because of this that they are not only experienced, but also ruthless.

Aware of the Cole Elf's approach, Sparta recalled the plan Matthew had discussed with him, couldn't help but take a deep breath, and then shouted at the top of his lungs:

"I am Sparta! Kill them all!"

Roaring sounds came from the cave.

The expressions of some of the Cole Elf warriors changed greatly, and they had obviously recognized who Sparta was.

The leader of the Cole elf commander's heart skipped a beat. He recalled the scene of facing Sparta, unspeakable fear flashed in his eyes, and he shouted without hesitation:

"Go in and kill that guy!"

Every time Sparta appears, like a bomb, it will bring huge trouble to the Cole elves in the Canterlot Mountains.

The sooner he is hunted down and the half-elves who followed him in rebellion are killed, the sooner the rebellion can be eliminated.

Commander Cole Elf has made up his mind that all half-elf slaves in this mining area must be cleared away.

Maybe in this way, the ghost-like Sparta can be killed!

For this lingering slave, the Cole Elf hates and fears him very much.

Sparta will show no mercy to the captured Cole elves.

Some of the Cole Elf warriors were frightened, but they still braved the situation and fought in.

They all knew very well that the more Sparta rebelled, the more threats they would face.

The two sides were in a situation of a life-and-death struggle!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of breaking through the air continued to echo in the narrow space.

The crossbow arrows that flew with the sound were cold and deadly.

Even though the Cole elf warriors were well prepared, they could not prevent this sudden attack.

The Cole elf warriors were shot down by the crossbow arrows.

And most of them were shot in the head and chest, and died before they had time to struggle and resist.

The Cole elf warriors who saw this scene were filled with panic and fear, and immediately shouted at the top of their voices:

"Enemy attack, be careful of crossbows!"

"Don't hesitate, rush over!"

"Ah...!"

"Save me..."

"Kill!!"

"Shield, shield come up!"

"Where is the enemy?"

"..."

The chaotic and noisy voices rang out.

Countless crossbow arrows flew continuously.

The Kor elf soldiers suffered a lot of losses, but they showed extraordinary resilience and rushed in headfirst.

Chris, who was observing from the dark, raised his eyebrows with interest and asked Sparta, who was shocked, with a smile:

"Are all the Kor elf warriors here so tough?"

It's not that Chris looks down on the Kor elf soldiers.

Although their combat thinking is a bit rigid, their combat skills and personal strength are extremely strong.

Throughout the entire northern continent, Kor elf soldiers are outstanding.

However, the Kor elves are immortal species after all, although they have the attachment and ideas of immortal species.

Although they have excellent combat skills, they are always less than the fighting spirit of soldiers of other races who are ready to die.

Just like the Kor elf army led by Commander Tegris, because of hesitation, not only did the casualties become greater, but also led to the failure of the overall war.

If they choose to retreat in order to save other elves, it is not a problem to have 200,000 casualties.

But if it was for the sake of fighting, and 200,000 Kor elves were to die, the price would be something that Tegris could not afford.

This was indeed the case.

Although Tegris had been removed from his position as a councillor, he still controlled the army and was actively preparing for war, ready to avenge his previous shame.

The Kor elf warriors here were obviously different. They had the courage to charge forward against the crossbows, with a very resolute attitude.

This was not elf at all!

Sparta, who knew the situation, showed a disdainful sneer on his face, and said without hesitation:

"The reason is very simple. The half-elf slaves are imprisoned in this area, and the entire Kantru Mountains are a prison."

"These elves are actually jailers after the failure of the struggle for power and profit. They also cannot leave here."

"Unless they complete their tasks well and fight bravely, they can escape from this cage with their loved ones."

They are extremely cruel to their own people, which is not much different from humans.

Chris, who got the answer, just nodded thoughtfully.

Sparta was very interested in the adventurers. He watched them take turns shooting crossbows carefully and asked in an incredible tone:

"How did they train? Where can such crossbows and crossbows come from?"

Sparta had defeated the army of the Kor elves and conquered the city of the Kor elves. Naturally, he was very familiar with the weapons and equipment owned by the Kor elves.

The vast majority of Kor elf warriors have quite good protective armor.

The core parts such as the breastplate also have strengthening and solid enchantments.

In particular, their carefully crafted shields can withstand most attacks without being destroyed.

Sparta has a deep understanding of this.

But what does he see now?

A crossbow shot by any adventurer easily penetrated the magic shield of the Kor elves, and shot and killed the incredible Kor elf warriors behind.

Such amazing penetrating power means that it not only contains powerful destructive power, but also has outstanding armor-breaking ability.

In order to curb the fighting power of the half-elf slaves, the Cole elves did not produce any weapons and equipment with armor-piercing capabilities in the entire Kantru Mountains.

This is to prevent these extremely lethal weapons from falling into the hands of the half-elf slaves and causing greater damage to them.

Through this battle, Sparta, who realized how strong the production capacity of the Gulf Territory was, had already understood that the Gulf Territory's ability to provide a large amount of food and combat supplies was not a lie.

Sparta, who was a little excited, asked Chris on the side:

"When do you need us to take action?"

Chris looked at the gradually retreating Cole elf army, shook his head and said directly:

"If the other party did not take the initiative to kill us, there is no need for you to take action."

"The top priority now is that you must recruit those half-elf professionals as soon as possible according to the original plan."

Sparta, with his eyes wide open, did not see any strange emotions in Chris's eyes.

He turned his head to look at the quite excited slave warriors, noticed their weak bodies, and nodded quickly and said:

"No problem, the defense line will be temporarily handed over to you, I will take them into the mine tunnel for repairs first."

Chris looked at his wrist, nodded and continued to tell Sparta:

"You guys will encounter a fierce attack from the Cole Elf army in about a day."

"At that time, we will take the initiative to attack the Glory Castle and capture it in one fell swoop."

"The elven army without supplies and reinforcements will soon be defeated by us."

For Chris, who had an idealistic goal and realized that the situation was getting better, Sparta nodded happily.

Seeing the restless slaves, they quickly calmed down completely under Sparta's scolding.

Alice, who was directing the battle at the side, said directly with great expectation:

"It can be seen that Sparta has a high reputation in the hearts of the half-elf slaves. No wonder he needs his assistance."

Holding the ashes of the crossbow, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

He saw the Cole elf who had fled around the corner having his legs shot off, screaming and falling to the ground, with a ferocious smile on his face and replied:

"Any struggle against slavery must pay a heavy price, and no one can stay away."

"The reason why Sparta has such a strong reputation must have been gradually accumulated through leading rebellions time and time again."

"Perhaps, it is precisely because of his existence that the half-elf slaves did not completely become puppets controlled by the Cole elves."

For gray dwarves who were once enslaved by the Mind Flayer Empire, Ashes naturally empathizes with the current situation of half-elf slaves.

Seeing that he could not rush into the mine, the Cole Elf retreated very decisively.

Even so, they still left about 400 bodies of Cole Elf soldiers in the dark tunnel.

The Cole elves that rushed up retreated like a tide.

News of Sparta's reappearance soon spread throughout the entire Castle of Glory.

The expressions of many Cole elves changed greatly, and quite a few Cole elves soldiers were furious.

With their long lives, most of them have experienced being defeated by Sparta or driven away.

For Sparta, who was making a comeback at this time, while feeling fear in his heart, he also made a decisive decision.

Kill the Spartans at all costs!

Lark, the Lord of Glory Castle, roared crazily:

"Send all the soldiers out and quickly seal the entrance and exit of the mine."

"Send a message to the surroundings and request reinforcements."

"I will choke them alive and starve them to death!"

It has to be said that Lark's plan is very ruthless, but it is indeed effective.

However, none of the Cole elves thought of it.

When they blocked the entrances to the mines with uneasiness.

In the underground mines that originally had no food, tens of thousands of half-elf slaves were excitedly drinking thick rice porridge and eating white bread that they had never eaten before.

Looking at these skinny half-elf slaves, who were building defenses and digging new hidden spaces inside the mines, Alice glanced at the muscular kobolds, and suddenly a ridiculous thought came to her mind:

"Don't these unfortunate half-elf slaves have enough to eat?"

Drizzt saw her emotions and looked at the huge space that was dug out of the ground.

He watched the large pieces of ore being piled together, with unspeakable excitement and anticipation in his eyes, and asked in a rather shocking tone:

“Do we really want to build castles and fortresses here?”

Pointing to the engineering golem being transported on the rails at the other end of the passage, Alice said without hesitation:

"That's right, no matter how strong the city wall outside is, it will never be able to withstand the bombardment of Cole's elf spells and the siege of the army."

"If these half-elf slaves want to survive, they must rely on these huge criss-crossing spaces."

Soon, the golems were being excavated one after another, and under the disbelieving gaze of the half-elf slaves, they easily dug out large holes.

Tens of thousands of half-elf slaves used iron picks to knock out the metal ore that could not be dug out for many days. It was piled into a small hill before their eyes.

The whole process took no more than two hours.

When the half-elf slaves walked deeper into the mines by digging the tunnels dug by the golems.

A huge space appeared in front of all the half-elf slaves.

Tens of thousands of kobolds are busy here.

An elemental furnace emitting endless fire is constantly devouring more and more ores.

The fiery red metallic liquid flowed out from the spout of the elemental furnace.

These metallic liquids flowed into the grooves one by one and turned into standard metal ingots one after another.

Goblins wearing exoskeleton armor piled up these metal ingots and moved them onto a nearby container, and were then towed away by a full golem train.

The half-elf slaves couldn't believe that there was such a large space and a huge metal smelting plant under their feet.

Sparta looked at the golem train that was heading somewhere, turned to look at Alice who was also surprised, and asked without thinking:

"When did the Gulf Territory come here?"

Although she got some information and materials, Alice never expected it.

The territory's handiwork is so amazing, quietly digging out such a large space in the underground mining area.

She glanced at Sparta, noticed that he was a little excited, and answered directly without much hesitation:

"About three months ago, in addition to this area, there should be two more!"

3 months?

Two more?

Sparta looked at the dog-headed men everywhere, and his breathing became heavy. He said without thinking:

"Let's talk about the repaired places. We must arrange them as soon as possible."

Alice blinked, waved to Silver Fang and Gold Fang who were walking quickly, and introduced Sparta without hesitation:

"These two are Gold Fang and Silver Fang. They are in charge of all matters in this area, including the construction of cities and fortresses."

The tall Gold Fang looked at the strong Sparta and said in a generous and deep tone:

"Welcome to the underground city. We have a saying in the Bay that the establishment of every city requires the participation of everyone."

"We will register and check everyone, treat everyone's injuries in time, restore everyone's body, and build Underground City No. 1 with everyone."

Looking at Gold Fang, who is as strong as himself, and feeling the faint deterrence coming from him, Sparta's head is a little buzzing.

He couldn't figure it out.

Why did the Bay Territory spend so much money and resources to build a city from scratch in a stone mountain?

"Why? Of course, it's to find something for these Kor elves to do!"

Matthew didn't hide his thoughts and plans at all. Seeing Sparta's incredible look, he smiled and made a gesture to him:

"You must have noticed the battle just now."

"Even if the Kor elf army has an absolute advantage in manpower, they can't break through the blockade of narrow terrain."

"If you do it at all costs, you will definitely suffer huge casualties..."

Recalling the battle just now, he noticed that the adventurers killed hundreds of Kor elf soldiers with almost no damage.

Sparta, who was very impressed by this, nodded in agreement.

Sparta had fought with the Kor elf army many times and had been collecting information about them. Naturally, he was very clear about their combat effectiveness.

From the perspective of personal strength, Sparta can easily kill dozens or even hundreds of Kor elf warriors.

His combat effectiveness can be said to be extremely strong.

However, the combat effectiveness of an individual is always limited, and is restricted by physical strength, vitality, fighting spirit, and terrain.

He absolutely cannot defeat a team of more than 300 people!

And the half-elf slaves he led, because of the gap in weapons, equipment, strength, and training.

Often need more than 5 times the number to fight against the well-trained Cole elf warriors.

Moreover, the half-elf slave warriors are often the ones who suffer losses.

If he leads the combat troops, if he wants to kill more than 400 Cole elf warriors, he will have to pay the price of the death of at least 2,000 half-elf slave warriors.

Sparta just doesn't have this experience, but it does not lack vision in this regard.

He immediately understood what Matthew meant, and asked tentatively:

"Your Excellency means that we use these mines as battlefields to attract the Cole elves to attack us?"

Matthew nodded very satisfied with Sparta's understanding, and answered without hesitation:

"Yes, narrow and complex terrain, reasonable tactical arrangements and deployment, and the use of weapons and equipment can often make up for the gap in individual strength and comprehensive military strength."

Nodding thoughtfully, Sparta had already conceived in his mind the scene and picture of the half-elf slave warriors hiding in the dark corners and formally launching a surprise attack on the Cole elves.

However, Sparta immediately thought of the flaws of this situation and raised his doubts without hesitation:

"Shouldn't it be? Why did the other party come in and fight with us?"

Matthew looked at the piled stones and waved to Gold Fang and Silver Fang.

The two guys scolded the tall and strong dog-headed man next to them.

These dragon-born dog-headed men who had been transformed by dragon blood immediately made the well-fed dog-headed men move again.

The dog-headed man was busy, but Sparta was more and more confused, but he naturally did not ask Matthew, but followed his footsteps and came to the edge of the huge space.

Sparta watched Matthew touch the stone wall, noticed the light red marks on it, and immediately said:

"This is a high-quality iron ore with a very large reserve. The amount of ore mined is less than 1% of this iron ore."

Feeling the coarseness of the iron ore, Matthew pointed to the digging golem working hard next to him, and said to Sparta who looked over:

"Now the Cole elves have issued a task goal to dig more ore, so what do you think they need?"

What is needed to mine ore?

Is there any need to think about it?

A vein, mining tools, and miners.

There are many Cole elves of the second type, and you can make them if you want.

But the first and third types are different.

Sparta, who was very quick-witted, slowly widened his eyes, turned his head and said to Matthew:

"You mean, we just keep fighting with them? Anyway, they can't leave the mining area? They can't leave us either?"

Matthew smiled and nodded, looking at the busy kobolds, noticing that some half-elf slaves also started to get up and work, and said with a sigh:

"Of course. Without slaves, there will be no workers to help them mine."

"You don't think that the elegant and noble Cole Elf would wield a mining pick and run into a dark and cramped cave to dig for ore, do you?"

Sparta was a little stunned, looking at Matthew very strangely, and suddenly felt that the situation he mentioned was really possible.

In the past, Sparta believed that the Kor elves imprisoned and enslaved all half-elves.

Just to trap them here and kill them generation after generation.

Use the huge ruins of Canterlot as a rubbish dump.

But as the number of mines increases, the ore veins become wider and wider.

The tasks of half-elf slaves are becoming more and more important.

This seemed like a completely new form of punishment.

But if you think about it from another angle, isn't it because the Cole elves don't have that much labor force to mine ore, so they have to let the half-elf slaves do it?

But for half-elf slaves, this is indeed a kind of torture and pain comparable to slow death.

The more Sparta thought about it, the more excited he became. He nodded without hesitation and said:

"I will go to other mines immediately and call on them to prepare for fighting in the mines."

After saying that, Sparta turned around, faced Matthew with a solemn expression, and promised without hesitation:

"As long as the Gulf Territory is willing to accept the half-elves and provide everyone with food to survive, we are willing to become the pawns and cannon fodder of the Gulf Territory against the Cole elves."

Pawns and cannon fodder?

This determination is big enough!

Matthew shrugged his shoulders, not intending to argue with Sparta, and motioned for him to leave quickly.

There is no point in saying more now. Only after actually taking action can Sparta understand the style of doing things in the Gulf Territory.

The underground city is under construction in full swing.

The mining area above is also constantly busy.

The adventurers are working as fast as possible to dig tunnels that can be used for hiding and fighting.

What’s interesting is that the adventurers are holding digging tools, which are magical equipment they call golden hoes.

The reason why it is called this is because this magic equipment that looks like a hoe is indeed completely golden.

And its function of digging soil and mining ores is somewhat similar to that of a hoe.

Although he likes to tease, every adventurer can't put it down for this golden hoe.

The reason is simple, it is just too sharp and strong.

Hard ores and rocks in front of it are softer than ordinary clay.

With just two simple digs, a large piece can be dug out.

Ore is considered the fruit of their labor. Occasionally, the associated rare metals are mined. Can the adventurers still make a small fortune? .

Chris took the drawings and inspected the tunnels and hidden places dug by the adventurers.

Chris checked very carefully. In the next battle, they will face the powerful Cole Elf army.

Cole elves are very powerful in combat, and they can fight in a variety of ways.

Precise archery, powerful close combat, and sharp magic are all their powerful weapons.

Moreover, Chris still has a lot of doubts about the tunnel warfare tactics mentioned by the Lord.

After all, tunnel warfare tactics have only been tested and practiced in military camps in the Gulf Territory, and have not been put into actual combat.

However, out of confidence in the lord and trust in the Gulf Territory.

All adventurers, including Chris, carried out construction and excavation strictly in accordance with the plans and drawings.

Three whole days.

The originally complex and dark mining tunnel has become more tortuous and complicated through the efforts of adventurers and kobolds, like a honeycomb-like maze.

There are many tunnels and spaces hidden inside, hiding quite boring adventurers.

Many of them have begun to expect the Cole elves to attack.

I don't know if the Cole elves heard their voices, or if they were ready to attack.

The Cole elves mobilized about 15,000 soldiers and began a tentative attack on the mine where Sparta was discovered.

The adventurers captured a group of slaves, overseers, and even Cole elf scouts who were sent down to investigate the situation.

Anyone who dared to resist was killed.

Those who are caught will be sent to another excavated space for custody.

Their identities will be screened and tested after the battle is over.

This test lasted for half a day, but no effective information was obtained.

The Cole elf commander resisted the urge to attack with his entire army and sent troops one after another to investigate.

As soon as they entered, they encountered a lot of trouble.

The original tunnel was destroyed, and the Cole elves could not find their way at all.

There are various dangers and traps hidden on the flat ground.

There were large holes filled with spikes, traps hiding hidden fireball scrolls, cold arrows coming from all directions, and attacks coming from all directions.

Even though most of the Cole elves had quick reactions, they could not withstand the various attacks and were shot or killed one after another.

In just half an hour, more than 300 Cole Elf warriors fell in the unattractive tunnel.

Seeing the Cole elf commander angrily launching his army to attack, Matthew showed a faint smile on his face:

"It's time for you to taste the true power of tunnel warfare."

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