Chapter 110: Drone Swarm Tactics
by xennovelThe Goddess of Music, Afnora, suddenly paid a visit. Besides purely wanting to see what Yu Sheng’an was doing, she had another purpose—to deal with the Dofi Sub-Dimension.
The sudden attack by the Five Prime Gods not only interrupted Quever’s plans for the apprentice magician assessment but also disrupted the Dofi Sub-Dimension’s counterattack advantage.
With a large number of puppets supporting Quever, Dofi City was again besieged.
The gradually recovering agricultural production in Dofi City was also interrupted.
This made Afnora quite annoyed.
Although with the players’ return, the orc army retreated again, the production interruption had already made Afnora deeply resent the orcs.
She wanted to eliminate the threat of the orcs forever.
At the very least, she needed to secure a territory safe enough for the Dofi Sub-Dimension forces to form a self-sustaining cycle.
Otherwise, the Dofi Sub-Dimension, which entirely depended on external forces, could easily become targeted.
In fact, without her needing to find Yu Sheng’an, Quever had already restarted the apprentice magician assessment.
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“Remember, this is the apprentice magician assessment, not a game. Do not approach it with a gaming mindset, or no one will bear the consequences apart from yourself.”
The magic instructor’s serious voice rang out in the classroom, and numerous magic apprentices were both nervous and excited.
This year’s apprentice magician assessment almost completely overturned previous conventions.
Firstly, it was no longer independently held by the various magic academies but was a nationwide exam.
Secondly, the assessment location was set at the [Conquest Sub-Dimension].
Finally, the assessment difficulty increased sharply.
For the magic apprentices, this massive change in the assessment meant that previous experiences could no longer be referenced. For the Kewell Empire, holding the apprentice magician assessment through the [Conquest Sub-Dimension] would have both pros and cons.
The benefits were obvious. Conducting the assessment through the [Conquest Sub-Dimension] could avoid the issue of magician apprentice deaths.
Although the Empire respected strength and despised weakness, it did not mean the Empire could watch magic apprentices die without concern.
After all, even the worst magic apprentice was cultivated with resources.
If they fell in the assessment before they could shine, it would be heartbreaking.
Of course, conducting the assessment through the [Conquest Sub-Dimension] also had obvious drawbacks.
Magical puppets were not the real body. Magic that could be instantly cast by the body would certainly have some delay and reduction when used through magical puppets.
Secondly, the fearless nature of puppets psychologically influenced the magic apprentices’ attitude toward the assessment.
When the body faces a life-threatening situation, it would often choose to flee, compromise, or make a detour.
But using magical puppets would inevitably make them more aggressive, even using sacrificial tactics.
This contradicts the ‘rational’ and ‘calm’ values of magicians.
Lastly, the apprentice magician assessment not only tested personal combat power but also evaluated the magician’s overall abilities.
If it were only testing personal combat power, the academies could have just held dueling competitions. Why go through all this trouble?
In the past, the apprentice magician assessments mostly assigned some guards to the magic apprentices to perform tasks like hunting magical beasts, apprehending criminals, and solving magical cases.
Magicians had to ensure personal combat power and the team’s combat effectiveness, status, and even mindset.
For example, hunting magical beasts.
They would be active in the forest, lacking supplies. Ensuring water and food safety, and even soldier morale, was more crucial for magicians.
This is also why magicians in the Kewell Empire had to learn the seven basic magic branches.
It could be said that, regardless of combat power, just the seven basic types of magic were enough to make magicians the jack-of-all-trades in the military.
Any qualified magician could provide the best support in water supply, cooking, campsite pest control, lighting for marching… making a military force quickly combat-ready without much baggage.
Yet, in the [Conquest Sub-Dimension], such aspects of the assessment would undoubtedly be weakened a lot.
But even so, the Empire decided to hold the apprentice magician assessment in the [Conquest Sub-Dimension].
After all, when comparing two benefits, one must choose the heavier one!
In addition, during the recent war, the Internet God’s psychological warfare tactics opened a new strategic door for the Kewell Empire.
It also showcased another form of warfare—the drone swarm tactics!
How precious are the lives of magicians?
A senior magician often required decades of resource investment.
Yet on the battlefield, a dagger or an ice shard could end that decades-long resource accumulation.
If a magician couldn’t unleash their destructive potential and was eliminated, it would be a huge loss.
But magical puppets were different.
Magical puppets, being magical creations, could be mass-produced as long as the person lived.
Even though they had many drawbacks and were not as flexible or powerful as flesh and blood.
But they’re cheap and can withstand losses!
That single fact is enough.
Previously, magical puppets were limited by the magician’s soul power and couldn’t be controlled over long distances.
But now, with the support of the Internet God, magical puppets unleashed astonishing destructive power.
It could be said that this apprentice magician assessment was not only a test for magic apprentices but also a large-scale tactical drill, marking a shift in the Empire’s core strategy.
“May the Internet God bless you!”
After explaining the assessment content, the magic instructor offered a final blessing.
“To live up to expectations!”
The magic apprentices in the classroom stood up unanimously, placing their left hands on their chests and bowing their heads in salute.
Then, under the supervision of the magic instructor, everyone sat back down, logged into the Internet, and entered the [Conquest Sub-Dimension], officially starting the assessment.
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“Great Beast God, we cannot retreat. Those damned magical puppets swarm our tribes like flies, hindering our ability to breed and train warriors! We must capture Dofi City once and for all!”
The shaman Guneir from the Dofi Sub-Dimension seriously advised the Beast God.
As one of the smartest shamans under the Beast God, he dared to bet his life that the Dofi Sub-Dimension was the most troublesome world among all the dimensions the orcs invaded.
The enemies here flew everywhere like flies.
They would always emerge from unexpected places.
Paths, farmlands, forests, wells, and even latrines.
This prevented the orcs from normally breeding and training warriors.
If it were just that, it would be tolerable!
Among the small dimensions they conquered, there were many resilient races.
Even when the dimension completely fell, they scattered into smaller groups, conducting guerrilla warfare, attacking orc villages like wild animals.
Orcs got accustomed to this too.
They even treated it as the best training target.
But in this world?
These cursed magical puppets always attacked unexpectedly, rendering their training ineffective and making them constantly paranoid and on edge.
Orcs were now afraid to greet each other from behind, fearing misunderstandings and getting accidentally attacked by comrades.
Don’t ask why.
These are bitter lessons learned.
The worst part was that these magical puppets held no value after being killed.
In other dimensions, after killing enemies, at least one could have a fulfilling meal.
But here?
They just disintegrated into scattered magical elements.
Their morale never broke, and the more brutally they were killed, the harsher the retaliation.
“Dofi City has the magical tower of that wretch Afnora, and the small dimension limits my power. It’s impossible to conquer quickly.”
Beast God Bruman’s expression was full of suppressed anger, clearly frustrated by the predicament in the Dofi Sub-Dimension.
“Great Beast God, how about we gather elite shamans from all dimensions and capture Dofi City in one swift move?”
“A large-scale recruitment of elite shamans would surely alert the Gods to this place. Exposing this dimension before we’ve secured it would be foolish!”
Upon hearing this, Guneir frowned.
Unexpectedly, Beast God Bruman’s next words made his eyes light up.