Chapter 75: Mobilization
As Gu Xi restored his mana, his troops were already gathering.
Sha Ya, concerned with Victoria City, had returned there via the hearthstone.
However, Luna was still present and could manage all the undead, quickly gathering them together.
After the previous skirmish and the battle with the Death Incarnation, the number of skeleton soldiers in the three combat squads had changed slightly.
[Combat Squad 1 (Level 1, unnamed, traits: Attack +5, Defense +1, XP 77/200): Leader (1/1) Level 2 Skeleton Leader, Members (23/43) Level 3 Skeleton Soldiers (23)]
[Combat Squad 2 (Level 2, unnamed, traits: Attack +4, HP +4, XP 42/500): Leader (1/1) Level 2 Skeleton Leader, Members (31/38) Level 3 Skeleton Soldiers (31)]
[Combat Squad 3 (Level 1, unnamed, traits: Defense +6, XP 184/200): Leader (1/1) Level 2 Skeleton Leader, Members (24/49) Level 3 Skeleton Soldiers (24)]
In total, there were 78 skeleton soldiers. Combined with the 50 newly transformed skeleton archers, the skeleton forces numbered 128.
This brought the troop strength to a respectable level; otherwise, leading less than a hundred skeleton soldiers would be quite embarrassing for a necromancer.
Additionally, twenty zombies had fallen in battle, leaving only fourteen. The ghosts, however, were all intact and waiting at the city gate.
As for Gu Xi's most crucial combat power in this battle, the Death Incarnation transformed into a bone dragon and was continuously flying in the sky.
When Gu Xi arrived, Luna, who was organizing the troops, quickly flew over.
"Sir, the troops are ready. Also, I temporarily selected a skeleton soldier to carry your flag. Is that acceptable?"
Luna pointed to a noticeably taller skeleton soldier standing among the troops. All his weapons had been removed, and apart from armor, he was carrying nothing else.
Currently, Gu Xi's primary battle flag was just a plain white flag on an ordinary wooden pole, without any personal insignia.
Gu Xi was still far from having his own unique battle flag.
In fact, without this primary battle flag, Gu Xi would have to wait until at least Level 5 to have his own battle flag.
For now, having a skeleton soldier to carry the flag was sufficient. He couldn't ask for more.
After handing the primary battle flag to the skeleton soldier, Gu Xi looked at the map and pointed towards the docks.
"Mobilize! Target: Boundary Tower."
As Gu Xi led his troops out of his territory, a notification sounded in his ear.
[Ding! You are entering the Dock Area. Your actions will trigger a response from the Dock Area's guards. Please retreat immediately!]
[Warning! You are entering the Dock Area. Your actions will provoke a war. Please retreat immediately!]
[…]
Gu Xi ignored these warnings. He intended to attack the Dock Area, and this just made the enemies come out sooner.
Sure enough, after three warnings, the system fell silent.
However, Gu Xi heard horns sounding from the Boundary Tower.
At the same time, waves of black phantoms emerged from the Boundary Tower, forming battle formations in the open space in front of it.
Gu Xi found these phantoms' actions perplexing.
He thought he would need to siege the tower, but the enemies came out before his troops even got in position.
"What's going on?"
"Sir, maybe the tower can't accommodate so many troops?"
Gu Xi considered many reasons but couldn't explain the phantoms' behavior until Luna's suggestion made him realize.
That might be true.
This was just a Boundary Tower, not a wall or castle suitable for large-scale troop deployment. The six-story tower had no room for the phantoms to spread out for battle.
With Gu Xi's forces approaching, the phantoms had no choice but to come out and fight.
"Seems I overthought it. Prepare for battle. Death Incarnation, take to the air.
Luna, you handle the ghosts. There are two bosses—one defensive, which you will handle with the ghosts. I'll have the Death Incarnation deal with the spellcaster when it appears."
Gu Xi quickly issued orders and waved his hand, sending the skeleton soldiers forward.
Under Gu Xi's arrangement, the skeleton soldiers of Combat Squad 3 were at the forefront, followed by the spear-wielding skeleton soldiers of Combat Squad 2.
The two-handed sword-wielding skeleton soldiers were dispersed on the flanks to prevent enemy flanking attacks.
The newly transformed skeleton archers were at the rear, calculating their attack range.
The effective range of the skeleton archers was one hundred meters. Beyond that, the arrows could still fly but with reduced power due to distance.
Unless someone had a campaign-grade weapon like a golden bow, there was no way to solve this problem.
Even the most skilled elven archers had an effective range of only 350 meters, with power decreasing beyond that.
Gu Xi knew this well and also knew his advantage.
Skeleton soldiers weren't afraid of death, so if the range was an issue, he just moved the archers closer.
Thus, the skeleton archers stayed just thirty meters behind Combat Squad 2, well within effective range for maximum power and precision.
In this position, the archers could deliver rapid volleys and concentrated fire.
This was the optimal combat position for skeleton archers.
Forming a battle formation, Gu Xi, protected by a group of zombies, watched as Luna, leading the ghosts, flew ahead to confront the black phantoms.
At this time, the black phantoms had also begun to advance, forming four phalanxes, each with forty troops.
Each phalanx comprised ten Level 3 phantoms and thirty Level 2 phantoms, led by heavily armored phantoms, advancing steadily.
Gu Xi was surprised by the phantoms' limited deployment.
He felt they underestimated him.
Only 120 troops, with just a portion of Level 3 units, seemed insufficient.
As Gu Xi pondered, an anomaly occurred at the Boundary Tower.