100. Putting on an Act

What had originally been meant to be only a two-day stay in the Golden Stone Empire turned into more than ten days, thanks to the fervent efforts of its people to keep Mo Fei from leaving.

Mo Fei had intended to circle through the Dome Empire, the Golden Stone Empire, the Dragon Rock Empire, and the Flying Dragon Empire, then return to the Elf Kingdom for a while before heading back to the Death Empire and finally making his way to Storm City. But now, it seemed, everything would have to be pushed back.

At last, when Mo Fei finished his journey across the continent and returned to Storm City, the walls of the immense castle before his eyes left him...

Mo Fei stared dumbfounded at the towering wall, so absurdly high that his mouth went dry. Was all of this really necessary? Even the inner walls of the imperial capital of the Death Empire were only about thirty meters high, yet this one seemed even taller. He had merely taken Ailin and Vivian back to the Elf Kingdom to visit the Elf Queen, and had not even been gone for three months. Elder Ouf was truly outrageous.

"Brother, Elder Ouf is terrifying!" Ailin was just as stunned by the colossal wall.

"It’s already scared people half to death from far away. Who would still dare attack it?" Mo Fei muttered to himself.

The surrounding land was all open plains, so this magnificent city could be seen from a great distance. Above the city gate, the three gigantic words naming the city, Storm City, stood four or five meters tall.

The battlements had also been changed from the Death Empire’s design, where great crossbow platforms were placed at intervals. Here, the entire wall had been extended into one vast roofed structure, making the wall itself look almost like a house roof. In this way, the defenders would no longer fear rain, wind, or scorching sun, whether in bad weather or clear skies.

"Young master, you’re back." Kane spotted Mo Fei from afar.

"Isn’t that obvious? You see us standing right here and still ask such a stupid question," Mo Fei said irritably.

"I just thought the young master might want to have some more fun," Kane said, not caring at all what Mo Fei said, so long as he had returned.

"This wall..."

"Hahaha!" Kane laughed. "I was shocked too. I never expected Elder Ouf to be this extreme. At first glance, who would dare attack a city like this? That outrageous old monster even had my hundred thousand troops move up there, and there’s still plenty of room left!"

"You mean there are a hundred thousand soldiers living on the battlements, and there’s still extra space?" Mo Fei was completely speechless.

"Yes. This wall isn’t like the capital walls of our empire, where only the battlement level can be used for living. This one has a roof, so people can stay anywhere they like. Elder Ouf said that the bear tribe’s mages were too monstrous, so he covered the wall with a roof."

At the mention of the bear tribe’s mages, Mo Fei’s heart sank. Back in the Flying Dragon Empire, just one attack from the bear tribe’s mages had caused the Death Empire enormous casualties. Most of the deaths and injuries had come from that single strike. Even now, remembering it made him uneasy.

If this kind of battlement could protect the defenders, then it was certainly worth it. Looking at that towering and magnificent wall, Mo Fei had to once again admire Elder Ouf’s wisdom. Every work of Elder Ouf’s brought a fresh sense of astonishment.

"Have the bears made any moves these days?" That was what Mo Fei worried about most. He trusted Kane and Ouf, of course, but after all, they were deep in enemy territory, without effective support. That was what concerned him the most.

"Only three small-scale skirmishes," Kane said bitterly the moment the subject came up.

"And the result?"

"They only suffered minor losses."

After those three fights, Kane had thrown the three newly promoted squad leaders into the main camp and ordered them to find, within a short time, a way to counter the bear tribe’s battle style.

"Only a few of them were injured?" Mo Fei felt deeply frustrated. "What kind of fighting is that? Were their numbers very small?"

"Their numbers weren’t small. We even sent out half of our heavy cavalry," Kane said with even greater frustration.

"That makes no sense!" The Death Cavalry never failed to deal a devastating blow once it rode out. For such meager results, Mo Fei naturally found it strange.

"The bear tribe really did make anti-cavalry carts. They should be called shield carts, really. Those things were much larger than we had imagined. It’s impressive they managed to build them. They hid inside them like turtles and used javelins to attack our approaching cavalry. Our riders weren’t hurt, but we couldn’t break through their turtle shell either. In the end, we used a patrol-squad tactic, shooting arrows high into the sky, and caught them off guard, wounding some of them. But they quickly deployed shield bearers within their formation too. As soon as the arrows came down, they’d duck beneath the shields."

"I see." Mo Fei smiled. "So you’ve had no way to crack their turtle formation?"

"I kicked those three out and told them to figure it out. I’ve been thinking for days, but I still can’t see a solution. Even the new crossbow wagons we made can’t pierce those ridiculously thick shield carts. What can we do?"

"But by doing this, haven’t they effectively given up their offensive power? Didn’t that occur to you?" Mo Fei laughed. "As long as we stay here in good order, then we’re the ones winning. No matter how strong a defense is, if it comes at the cost of losing all offensive power, they’ll be broken sooner or later. Didn’t you say they’re using javelins to attack? That requires both huge numbers and a great deal of iron. That’s surely why they were digging and forging day and night earlier. With the bear tribe’s ability, they probably exhausted most of their resources just to make these things. We can simply send people to wipe out their mines and the like. Then what strength will they have left to fight us? This is their territory. If we smash it up, so be it. Why should we be afraid when they aren’t? Their mines are all deep in the mountains, and in those places our elf crossbowmen are their natural nemesis. Send out those thirty thousand elf crossbowmen, and they won’t have time to come here and bother us. That will also buy Elder Ouf some time so he can finish building the inner city. By then, once this place has truly taken shape, what need will we have to fear the bear tribe? Not everyone on this continent listens to them."

"Young master, you’re terribly devious," Kane said with a loud laugh.

"And if you keep talking, I’ll beat you," Mo Fei said with a grin, half-scolding, half-laughing.

Not long after Mo Fei returned to Storm City, the bear tribe finally launched a major move.

Standing on the battlements and looking out at the dense mass of bear soldiers in the distance, the sight alone was enough to be intimidating. But the Death Empire, led by Mo Fei, had been built from nothing and had come this far by frightening others at every step. They would not be scared off by such a display.

"Kane, how do you think they’ll attack?" Mo Fei asked the man standing beside him.

"They haven’t brought any siege engines. They’d have to be stupid to attack our city like this. The way I see it, they look more like they’re putting on a show," Kane replied inwardly. Go ahead and scare yourselves; all I have to do is keep the gates shut. What can you do to me?

"You’re right. They’re not here to cause trouble. They’re here to put on a show for certain people," Mo Fei said with a smile. "I think the one leading them must be their new tribal chief. He’s probably being pressed hard by those elders and has come out here just to play along."

"...?"

Seeing the confusion on everyone’s faces, Mo Fei said, "I said before that this young tribal chief is a clever man. He knows that if we truly go to war, then even if he ultimately wins, the bear tribe’s actual rule over this continent may be torn apart. Our Death Empire is no soft target either. Once things reach that point, I doubt their bear tribe will have much left. At that time, will their rival, the bull-headed tribe, miss such a good chance?"

"Young master, I keep having a bad feeling in my heart," Kane said, looking at the bear army before them. He could not help feeling lucky.

"A bad feeling about what? That they didn’t come when we were building the city?"

"At the scale they’ve shown today, if they had hit us while we were constructing the walls, there’s no telling whether this city would even have been completed."

"It’s good that you can see that much. But do you know why he let us finish building it?"

"I think they let us build it because they were so confident they could drive us away and then take over our city. Another reason is that they simply didn’t take us seriously."

"I see it differently," Mo Fei said with a smile. "This young tribal chief is no simple man. He let us build this city for his own sake, and for the bear tribe’s sake too."

"Huh?"

"Surprising, isn’t it?" Mo Fei said. "Since driving the bull-headed tribe out of the great cities, the bear tribe has enjoyed smooth sailing for nearly a hundred years. Their numbers may have grown quickly, but there’s no denying that their fighting strength, compared with that of their ancestors, has become a serious problem. Kane, do you know why?"

"Their ancestors first invaded our continent and left death and destruction everywhere, with fire and smoke on all sides. But last time, they didn’t gain much from us. First, because we were also very strong..."

"Kane, do you really think we’re very strong?"

"Our Death Cavalry has never suffered a defeat. Isn’t that strong?" Kane asked in confusion.

"How many heavy cavalry does our Death Empire actually have?" Mo Fei sighed. "Even if the bears down there don’t fight back, if you bring all our cavalry against them, how long would it take you to cut them down?"