026 Belle’s Pledge of Allegiance

At the foot of the Saint Dis Snow Mountain range, near the upper reaches of the Tam River, about 3,000 kilometers in a straight line from the Horseshoe Highlands, the chieftain of the Human Alliance, Lu Haomin, was leading her people in the reconstruction of their camp. Weariness was etched deeply on her otherwise unremarkable face.

The recently ended Siege of Dinosaurs had left the humans devastated, their camp destroyed and their numbers halved. Even their heroic champion, the Oracle, had fallen in battle. If they wished to resurrect their hero, they would need to build an altar step by step—a task that seemed insurmountable to Lu Haomin in their current plight.

Worse still, the coming days would bring ever-stronger elite dinosaurs emerging across the land. And for two whole nights, Lu Haomin and her people had not closed their eyes, working tirelessly to rebuild. Despite the dire circumstances, Lu Haomin continued to encourage her people, trying to raise their spirits. She believed that, once she understood the lay of this game world, everything would improve.

In “Tower Defense and Civilization,” the humans were a grand branch divided into technological and magical civilizations. Lu had chosen to start with the magical civilization—a race that, in its early stages, desperately needed room to develop and a powerful hero as its backbone.

Yet, her start had been anything but smooth. Beginning at the source of the Tam River seemed harmless enough—the water supply was secured—but the camp’s position at the foot of the Saint Dis Mountains severely restricted the magical humans’ access to food, stunting their growth.

When the protection period ended and the dinosaur siege began, these frail magical humans barely withstood the second wave. The third, led by a tyrannosaurus, overwhelmed and obliterated the camp they had painstakingly built.

Their home destroyed, their hero slain—such misfortunes left the young alliance leader physically and emotionally drained. It was then that a clansman staggered into view.

“Chieftain, bad news!”

“A kilometer away—a pack of raptors, about 150 strong, is charging straight at us!”

Lu Haomin’s brow tightened instantly. They had fewer than five hundred warriors fit for battle, and these raptors were clearly targeting her—she was the only lord within ten kilometers at the foot of these mountains.

Without hesitation, she seized her stone axe.

“Everyone, gather! Prepare for battle!”

At her command, the somber atmosphere was instantly shattered. Her people dropped their work, picked up weapons, and rallied around her.

With their defensive works destroyed, they could only rely on their bodies to fight the dinosaurs at close quarters. More and more of her people crowded tightly around Lu Haomin—men at the front, women behind.

Standing at the very forefront, Lu Haomin, strong and broad-shouldered, stood with a group of sturdy men.

Soon, the raptor pack came into view—led by a nearly four-meter-tall, crimson-hued elite raptor. With a piercing roar, it spurred the pack to charge the humans, whose homes had so recently been destroyed.

“Shield-bearers, to the front!”

“Spearmen, take the middle!”

“Clerics, remember to buff and heal me!”

Lu Haomin herself, holding a shield with both forearms, stood at the very front. The raptor pack was now less than a hundred meters away. Silver light flickered across her body. Among the magical humans, many were born with basic magical talents—simple yet fundamental magical buffs.

Dust billowed as the raptors charged, not slowing in the least. To them, these humans were nothing but fragile prey.

“Spearmen, brace!”

At her command, the spearmen in the middle, each armed with nearly three-meter-long spears, thrust them forward.

The lead raptors were instantly skewered, hanging limp from the shafts. But the pack immediately filled the gap, and battle erupted in an instant.

With their fortifications destroyed, Lu Haomin and her people could only fight the raptors on open ground—a perilous prospect indeed.

But they had no better choice.

“Shield-bearers, advance with me!”

The buffed warriors at the front clashed headlong with the charging raptors. The strongest held their ground, though some unbuffed shield-bearers were sent flying by the impact.

“Hold formation—attack!”

Lu Haomin knew exactly how to battle dinosaurs—defensive works and formation were their greatest assets. If their formation broke, and the raptors reached the mages in the rear, a massacre would follow.

Not everyone was a battle mage.

As the two sides collided, the fight went straight into a feverish pitch. A shield-bearer had his throat torn open by a raptor’s claws, collapsing instantly. A young, fresh-faced human immediately stepped forward to take his place.

These humans, defending their home, unleashed their last reserves of strength.

Bloodied, Lu Haomin locked her arms around a raptor’s neck, while several spearmen behind her drove their spears into the beast’s throat. Such close cooperation was the only thing keeping their fragile wall of flesh and blood standing against the storm.

Suddenly, the elite raptor ahead let out a shrill cry. Energy gathered swiftly at its jaws, and a volley of fiery-red balls, each the size of a basketball, shot toward the human line like laser blasts.

“It’s Fireball! Magic shields up!”

Lu Haomin bellowed to the rear.

The experienced mages immediately cast shimmering blue wards on the foremost warriors.

The fireballs struck the wards and were neutralized, but those without magical shields had to rely on wooden shields to block the assault. When hit, those unprotected ignited instantly, and the scent of scorched flesh spread rapidly.

After unleashing its Chain Fireball skill, the elite raptor charged straight for Lu Haomin. As an elite monster, it showed a cunning intelligence, quickly recognizing that the robust human woman was the leader of this band.

With a mighty crash, Lu Haomin barely managed to shield her chest. Even with every buff active, she was sent flying over ten meters, utterly outmatched by the beast’s strength.

A cleric hurried to help her up, casting Healing Spell on their chieftain. Though she was not mortally wounded, her absence left a two-meter gap in the defensive line.

The elite raptor flashed a wicked grin—how could it let such an opportunity slip by? It lunged.

No human, even with buffs, could match the raptor’s raw power. With a swipe of its claws, it tore the throats of two spearmen, snapping their wooden spears as if they were twigs.

A young shield-bearer rushed to fill the gap, only to be bitten on the shoulder and lifted into the air. The surrounding raptors pounced, and in moments, the young man was torn apart.

The center of the line was completely breached. Struggling to her feet, Lu Haomin watched in despair as the elite raptor slaughtered her people. For the first time, a sense of hopelessness crept into her unyielding heart.

Just then, a loud yet youthful roar sounded from the flank!

A six-meter-tall juvenile thunder lizard burst from the trees, its massive bulk sending a charging raptor flying before stomping it dead. The sound of cracking bones and flesh was enough to make one’s scalp crawl.

This immature thunder lizard was none other than Bell Shirin, the sole survivor of the Shirin family, who had fled north from the Norsen Plains along the Tam River.

Another raptor leaped out, only to have its throat bitten through by Bell in mid-air.

The moment Bell appeared, Lu Haomin noticed him. Watching as Bell bit cleanly through a raptor’s neck, she was utterly astonished.

In her memory, weren’t thunder lizards supposed to be gentle herbivores?

On the left flank of the battlefield, Bell’s charge did not slow, plowing straight into the densest cluster of raptors.

The elite raptor also took notice of this newcomer. With a shrill cry, a dozen raptors turned their attention to Bell.

Yet Bell, undaunted, raised his own roar and charged headlong into the onrushing pack...