Chapter 563: Harvest! The Happiness of Freeloaders!
Thanks to the Dwarf King’s orders, the mining speed in Black Stone Case Camp had not only accelerated greatly, but even the inventory accumulated these days was not kept in storage.
Usually, the dwarf team would transport four to six carts of coal. A cart was 500kg, and the total weight would be about two tons.
However, today’s first cart consisted of nine carts!
This round alone would contribute nearly five tons of coal to the basin!
‘According to the boiler’s current efficiency, it will consume about 2 tons of coal if it operates the whole day on full power.
‘Five tons would only last two days. It’s not close to enough!’
The transportation troops followed after the lizard carriage and headed toward the basin’s border as soon as the battle was over.
The logistics team did not leave immediately and took the snowmobiles that were prepared in advance, following behind to clean up the traces.
The 400 to 500 people wore joyful expressions, and the solemnity of war did not show on their faces at all.
‘Well, in the current situation, even if there is a head-on fight, the dwarves won’t be able to do anything significant.’
Caring too much would only make it easier to screw up.
Su Mo chuckled as he remembered himself worrying about casualties moments ago.
He turned to the screen that displayed the image from Li Hu’s camera.
The current signal range perfectly covered 40 kilometers with Black Stone Base Camp as the center and the basin’s direction as the axis.
The image transmitted from the mini camera on Li Hu was not high definition. Still, they were able to rely on the previously modeled virtual environment and the high-power integrated chips in the virtual reality, which created a miracle and still maintained the previous immersive feeling.
Su Mo followed beside Li Hu like a traveler walking in another dimension. His steps were light and his heart was filled with nervousness and amusement.
His thoughts were clear.
His plans were steady.
The people Li Hu brought were all elites in the basin. After a period of assault training, all of them had shown excellent results.
After the battle just now, even if the dwarves were to observe closely, under the tense atmosphere it would be difficult to find that these dwarves had been completely lost.
The team gradually grew close to Black Stone Case Camp.
Su Mo thought that they would have to go through a series of questioning before being allowed to enter, but unexpectedly, the city gate suddenly opened and revealed a gap for them to enter the city.
“Oh my god, it’s incredible that you guys escaped alive!
“Hurry and come in!”
The dwarf that opened the door shouted, and Li Hu quickly took a step forward and rushed inside first.
The other militiamen who had transformed into dwarves also quickly followed into the city, and they all wore a panicked expression.
Su Mo could finally observe the entire image of the interior through Li Hu’s camera this time.
Even though it was a temporary mining base camp, the dwarves did not cut corners. They were instead extremely meticulous.
The city gate of the Black Stone Base Camp had a thickness of about half a meter. The exterior was wrapped in a layer of fine iron, while the inner layer used dense and thick wood.
The door would not be able to resist explosives, but for other foreign races it would be an obstacle that was difficult to overcome.
There was another door after merely six meters inside the city gate.
This door was slightly thinner and slightly weaker. It was about only 30 cm but used ordinary thick stones. It was hard to tell what kind of means the dwarves used to construct and install it.
‘There’s a lot of bullet holes on the surfaces of both walls.
‘Those who were unaware and rashly tried to attack would definitely face a wave of heavy casualties.
The place inside the city was not modeled in the virtual reality in advance.
Relying on the pictures transmitted back by Li Hu, even with the computing capabilities of the virtual reality, the scene in front of Su Mo showed an obvious lag.
Su Mo was not in a hurry and instead had time to calmly analyze the partial picture that had formed.
There was a six-meter passage between the two doors.
Let’s not talk about the circular holes which had an unidentifiable purpose. However, there were at least 80 square holes designed on the door.
In the event of an enemy invasion, the dwarves only needed to arrange their forces behind the holes in advance.
When the opponent reached the second gate, with one shot, they could easily take the life of their enemy like a grim reaper.
Their strategy was ruthless!
As for those round holes, Su Mo approached and lay down to observe them.
A chill ran down his spine almost immediately.
The structure of the round holes was extremely simple.
A nozzle-like device was linked to an unidentifiable object and an air fan to prevent air from returning into the hole.
There was a high possibility that this device was used to release poison gas!
The dwarves would release poison through this hole when the second gate was about to fall, and even if it could not cause effective damage, it would delay the enemies from breaking through and could buy themselves some time.
‘It’s a vicious strategy. Luckily I never thought of attacking this place!
‘It seems that we have to be extremely careful when facing other foreign races. If such a small camp has these defensive precaution designs, then imagine what kind of defense mechanisms the big cities of the other foreign races will have.’
Su Mo wiped away the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead and quickly noticed that the modeling of the virtual reality was completed. He pushed his feet back and floated forward automatically.
He passed through the two doors.
The facilities in the camp were not much different from those observed from their bird-eye view.
There was a sunken mine in the middle and a stack of small houses built beside it.
Su Mo walked up a staircase on the right and into the first small room on the second floor. He saw Li Hu, who was reporting to the dwarf chief.
“Chief, I really don’t know.
“You want me to make it clear which tribe invaded us, but I really don’t have the answer to your question. I was moving ahead with my team just now, and suddenly a few sturdy branches rose from the ground, grabbing our carts and instantly flying away.
“I did as I was thought in the previous training. I sounded the alarm on the spot and did not dare to catch up and confront the enemy directly.
“After that, the enemies did not show up again, so I quickly led the team back!”
Li Hu made all kinds of gestures to express himself honestly.
Li Hu had learned 99% of Paulie’s camouflage and disguise teachings.
After Li Hu finished explaining, the dwarf chief sitting opposite him was also a little confused and glanced at him with a look of disbelief. “Are you sure you saw huge branches rising from the ground, and they only took our black stones, leaving everyone unhurt?”
“It’s true. In just a split second, they intercepted all our carts!” Li Hu nodded eagerly.
Tsk!
This time, the dwarf chief did not question further, and his eyes began to flicker with light.
After a long while, he waved his hand as if numb to the situation and motioned Li Hu to step down.
Li Hu walked to the door and kept turning back. He glanced at the mine below and swallowed his saliva, turned around, and said, “Chief, the lord is urging us. Should we still continue transporting the black stones?”
In terms of status, a mere captain of a dwarf transportation team, he would supposedly never express his opinion on such a matter, nor would he dare to even speak up about it.
Li Hu’s actions would 100% arouse the suspicion of the other party if this was a typical day.
Coincidentally, the dwarf lord had issued the latest order only last night.
Each camp had a transport volume quota. If the quota was not fulfilled, not only the chief would be punished, but even the transportation captain would also be held accountable.
This gave Li Hu the perfect excuse to speak up about it!
“Continue? How are we going to continue? You didn’t even seeour enemies’s faces! What if we get robbed again during another transport?”
The chief angrily slammed on the table, and a vicious look flashed in his eyes. It was evident he was dissatisfied with Li Hu.
This time, Li Hu did not dare to continue the conversation. He shrank his neck and hurriedly left.
“Captain! Over here!”
The entire questioning took only a few minutes.
While Li Hu was dealing with the dwarf chief above, the militiamen below also did not stay idle.
They were able to easily gather a lot of information out of the dwarf guards.
This included information about where all the residents lived before and where they usually returned to rest. They were able to collect basic information and an understanding of the dwarf city.
Li Hu descended down the stairs back to the first floor and returned to the center of the team. He sat down looking depressed but secretly tapped on the earphone on his neck and parted his lips.
“Calling Bird’s Nest, Phoenix’s mission is a success. Requesting to enter the next phase of the plan, over!”
“Roger, Bird’s Nest has received your message. The plan is in progress. Please be a bit more patient!
Standing in front of Li Hu and replying to the radio, Su Mo’s heart moved slightly, and he switched to another channel instantly.
“Tell the ents it’s time for them to attack!”
“Roger that!”
Su Mo seemed to be walking in the center of the battlefield, participating on thefront line but at the same time, he was the commander giving orders on the battlefield.
He was surprised by the usefulness of virtual reality in this warfare.
‘I guess that’s normal.
‘Compared to humans, these foreign races are living in a real primitive era state. We can easily overpower and bully them with modern technology.
‘In the future, when we come face-to-face with those Blazelanders, only then will it be a fight between immortals!’
Su Mo switched his view to reality and saw 50 ents already shouting as they rushed forward toward the outskirts of Black Stone Base Camp.
The frightened dwarf defenders on the city walls hurriedly sounded their horns.
Su Mo suppressed his excitement and took off his virtual reality gear, running out from the hut toward higher ground to observe through his telescope.
The ents were afraid of destroying the alliance if they only sent weaklings.
Among the troop of 50 ents, there were 20 Level 1 ents, 20 Level 2 ents, five Level 3 ents, and five Level 4 ents.
The team had considerable combat strength since they had several reliable companion plants.
Even though he promised to not let these ents die in vain during the alliance agreement with Zhu Ling, it did not mean that he would prioritize the safety of these ents as much as he did of his villagers.
Su Mo asked the ents to do some damage to the city walls of Black Stone Case Camp during the first wave of attacks, and if the situation allowed it, they could also kill a few dwarves in the camp.
‘Ha! These ents are wise too!
‘No wonder they agreed without hesitation after hearing my plan!’
Through the telescope, Su Mo saw that there were 40 low-level ents covering the front.
Meanwhile, 10 high-level ents in the back managed to advanceto within 100 meters of the city wall without much effort.
Very easily, the three Level 4 ents with long-range attack abilities began to fire some needle-like attacks at of the city wall’s interior to suppress them.
The other four Level 3 ents started to dig things out from the grid on their arms.
In less than half a minute, they successfully assembled a catapult-like thing.
Then, the remaining two Level 4 ents stood up and started to use their companion plants to form a plant ball that was about 150cm in diameter.
The catapult bounced violently, and the plant ball slammed into the city walls. Then a sudden roar could be heard!
When the smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated, a gap of about half a meter appeared on the city wall!
Boom!
Bang!
The ents were at ease as the dwarves did not launch any counterattacks.
The two Level 4 ents formed another plant ball again, and after they launched it toward the city wall, there was a whistling sound. The team began to retreat in an orderly manner.
They completely disappeared on the horizon almost instantly.
‘Fantastic!
‘Let’s see if this dwarf chief can still sit still!’
Su Mo’s lips formed a smile, and he strode back to the hut to put on his virtual reality helmet again.
The dimension around him began to change, and the skies darkened.
The environment dimmed and brightened, and then a battle scene reappeared in front of him.
Different from the scene observed with the binoculars, through Li Hu’s perspective, he could clearly see that the dwarves in the city were panicking in the face of a formidable enemy.
They held on to their weapons as they hid behind the inner walls of the city and trembled.
In the center of the mine, there were 3 unlucky dwarves who had unfortunately been pierced by the needles fired by the Level 4 ents.
Their whole body turned purple, and it was evident that it was impossible to survive.
In terms of innovation and infrastructure, the dwarves were ranked at the top in the New World.
God opened a path for them but at the same time closed the door to combat power.
The weak bodies of the dwarves were not as strong as the humans!
“Zach, the chief needs you to answer some questions!”
“Okay, I’ll go right now!”
He was the only dwarf who had come in contact with the enemies.
It was part of the plan for Li Hu to be called in for questioning again.
Following behind Li Hu, Su Mo went all the way up to the small room on the second floor again.
“Zach, you just said that the enemies were sturdy branches that emerged from the ground?”
“Yes, chief! The branches were probably about this thick!”
Li Hu opened his hands to roughly show an example of the thickness of the branches.
It was about two meters in diameter, which matched the Level 4 ents’ strength!
“It’s definitely the ents! We’ve never messed with them but now they have the idea of attacking us first?!”
“Oh? Chief, does that mean the one who attacked our camp was also the ents?” Li Hu acted surprised.
The dwarf chief nodded. “Yes, this group of despicable ents dare not confront us head-on. They just harassed us a bit and retreated immediately when they found that they couldn’t invade the city. They’re extremely cunning!”
“I was ready to die fighting them just now. I didn’t expect them to be such cowards! Hmph!”
The dwarf slammed the table, and his face was full of anger.
However, Su Mo, who stood beside him, noticed an expected trembling on his face.
It was evident that the dwarf chief was scared too!
“I agree! These ents are cowards that hide! I’ll definitely show the wrath of our steel knives andthat we’re not easy to mess with if I face them again!
As if provoked by the words of the dwarf chief, Li Hu also had red eyes, and he raised his hands high, his words filled with murderous intent.
“Then why don’t you take a team out and try to transport the coal mine?”
Seeing Li Hu’s reaction, the dwarf chief looked satisfied, then he quickly put an end to his actions and revealed his true intentions.
“Okay, I’ll go!”
Li Hu, like a fool, accepted without hesitation, and it made the dwarf chief’s expression more satisfied.
“However, chief, what should we do if they come to intercept us again?
“Their speed… you know, we won’t be able to keep up with them!”
Li Hu scratched his head awkwardly, and the dwarf chief did not think too deeply into the question.
“Since they didn’t hurt anyone the last time they intercepted the black stones, it means they were still wary and aren’t willing to get on bad terms with the dwarves yet!
“They also didn’t invade our camp just now, and they fled in a hurry. They probably have no intention to do it again,” said the dwarf chief.
“What if…?” asked Li Hu.
“What if…There’s no ‘what if’! If the ents come for it, leave everything and run away. We’ve so many black stones in our base camp. I don’t believe that they’ll be able to steal everything from us!”
The dwarf chief pointed angrily to the mine below, and his expression was full of rage. He accepted the rotten fact of their current situation.
Even if all the black stones got stolen, and they were unable to meet their quota, he could push the blame onto the ents.
He would not be able to escape the blame if he huddled in the camp and did nothing to try to transport the black stones.
Unfortunately, with his IQ, he would never have imagined that…
From this moment onwards, although these coal mines were still within the Black Stone Base Camp, their owners had already changed.
Seeing Li Hu striding away with a little joy, Su Mo smiled and completely relaxed.
Things were going well.
It was far beyond imagination.
The plan was to last for two to three weeks.
Everything was under control, and it was natural that there were no problems.
Su Mo stopped monitoring and reviewed the entire plan from beginning to end again to confirm that there was no possibility of any problems in their plan.
He took off his helmet, wore his coat, and walked from the hut to the coal mine receiving point.
After a few moments, he finally arrived and happened to bump into Li Hu’s transportation team that brought the second cart of coals.
He approached happily.
“Shelter leader, we’ve hit the jackpot! The coal inventory of Black Stone Base Camp is at least…
“A hundred tons!
“It won’t just be enough for the next snowfall, but enough for the entire winter!”