Volume One: Hell-Tier Lord World Chapter 136: Sortie

After arranging everything in the Woodland Garden and Longwind City, Chen Gu led his troops and set off once more.

Previously, Chen Gu had always traveled from north to south.

This time, however, it was different. With an army in hand, Chen Gu felt much more confident.

He planned to advance from east to west, fighting his way to the very edge of the continent.

As long as he could capture several cities along this line, the undead forces behind would lose their foundation.

From Chen Gu’s front lines all the way to the Stigmata Rift, this vast expanse of land would be under control.

Moreover, the undead cities and scattered undead within this region might not even require Chen Gu’s direct intervention.

He could simply assign tasks to the newly captured cities.

Chen Gu had already studied the map.

Along the westward route, there were three cities on the same plane.

All were level-five elven cities, so it was unlikely the undead would commit significant resources here.

Though the undead were known as a plague of death, Chen Gu had observed that their actions were purposeful.

For example, the undead that attacked Wuchao City seemed intent on occupying it to seize most of the corpses buried in the Wuchao Swamp.

Later, the carrion worm undead legion appeared to be targeting the treants within the Stigmata Rift.

This was evident from how the treants responded to the carrion worms.

In other words, the scattered undead roaming the wilds didn’t matter.

Most organized undead forces had clear objectives for their existence.

In the southern part of the continent, aside from one level-nine city, there was little worth deploying large undead legions to protect.

The undead’s most likely strategy was to occupy elven cities and establish undead settlements based on them.

Drawing a line on the map, Chen Gu had already set his sights.

The next three level-five cities along their westward path were Shadowmoon Fortress, Stone Ring Outpost, and Thousand Needle Forest.

According to the elven map, Shadowmoon Fortress was essentially a southern military garrison city.

Its location wasn’t chosen for strategic importance, but rather for its convenience.

From Shadowmoon Fortress, reaching nearby cities in any direction—east, west, or otherwise—took about one to two days.

Stockpiling troops there ensured the safety of most surrounding cities.

If those cities came under attack, reinforcements could be dispatched immediately.

Of course, this was the elves’ arrangement.

Chen Gu was certain the undead had a different idea.

Otherwise, when he captured the level-nine city, at least one or two undead units would have come to investigate.

Their lack of action suggested that something was amiss with the situation at Shadowmoon Fortress.

If he didn’t strike now, when would he?

Beyond Shadowmoon Fortress lay Stone Ring Outpost.

It was an elven druid training ground.

Most elves who reached a certain level chose to come here for advancement.

After their progression, some druids returned to their original armies or cities, while others remained at Stone Ring Outpost.

When the elven kingdom still ruled, this city likely housed the largest number of druids.

Chen Gu had no idea what condition it was in now.

The only certainty was that it had probably been occupied by the undead.

Further back was Thousand Needle Forest, almost at the continent’s edge.

Beyond it lay a forest even the elves dared not enter.

Thousand Needle Forest was considered a frontier city of the elven kingdom.

It was also a major source of arrows and other projectiles for the elves.

Given the undead’s disregard for ranged units, this city was likely an abandoned border town.

Of course, Chen Gu could be wrong.

Regardless, he was determined to capture all three cities.

Only by securing these could he claim a large swath of territory up to the Stigmata Rift.

Just as Chen Gu was examining the map, he suddenly noticed something.

Folding the map, Chen Gu stepped out of the carriage and took the driver’s seat.

Without Pan to drive, the carriage driver’s figure became a mere shadow.

Glancing at the speed of the Vine Light, Chen Gu then leapt onto the roof of the Vine Carriage.

After more than ten days of adjustments, both the Vine Light and the Vine Carriage had reached the limits of level one.

When Chen Gu set off, the Vine Light had already begun its process of leveling from one to two.

The first to change was naturally the leading Vine Carriage.

Having already been large, it grew even bigger during this upgrade.

All the luggage previously stacked atop the carriage was now stowed away.

Above the Vine Carriage, a platform had formed where Chen Gu could gather heroes from other compartments for meetings.

Of course, the mage hero Huanade was not the only one accompanying the Vine Light now.

Kebas and Lister were also nearby, leading their troops in earnest travel.

They refrained from engaging any threats encountered along the way.

That was the duty of the Vine Light’s escort.

Standing atop the Vine Carriage, Chen Gu spotted Kebas and Lister approaching.

Both now possessed their own mounts and means of transportation.

Kebas had transformed into a swarm of mosquitoes, merging with others to form a massive, buzzing cloud that blotted out the sky.

Chen Gu could only watch this dark cloud drift overhead; Kebas himself remained invisible.

Unlike Kebas, Lister followed a classic elven style.

Even his mount reflected elven aesthetics.

As a male, he couldn’t ride a unicorn.

Instead, he chose a large stag, the most common mount.

Lister adorned it lavishly with leaves and flowers.

From afar, it looked like a moving Christmas tree.

Seeing Chen Gu waving at him, Lister urged the stag forward a few steps before leaping onto the Vine Carriage.

The dark cloud swirled, and Kebas shifted back from mosquito swarm to human form, landing beside Chen Gu.

The last to arrive was mage hero Huanade.

He still wore glasses and clutched a thick spellbook.

Seeing Chen Gu, he closed the book and asked, “My lord, what has happened?”

“I was just looking at the map and noticed something. Come and see—it’s here,” Chen Gu said.

He unfolded the elven map and firmly pointed to a location near Shadowmoon Fortress.