Once the Royal Zodiac Monkey and Sheep Teams had finally established their camp, using the items they bought from the Pandamonium Store, the Snakes and Tigers were a little dissatisfied with it.
To them, the location they chose was not exactly the best nor was it the worst but it was more leaning towards the ‘meh’ choice. Veterans who were fighting on this current battlefield knew that high ground was a better option even though it was vulnerable to open fire. And despite the opinions of their own guards as well as the Tigers, Nao Zhong insisted on establishing the camp behind the wall. Perhaps he was traumatised by the sniper shot or maybe that particular event had reinforced his thinking but the Monkey Captain insisted on putting it near the centre of the second inner wall with a completely destroyed wall from the first layer facing outwards.
Rocher saw the camp establishment and could only hope that the Sheep had not used their teleportation crystal. The only expensive thing that should be used wisely within this raid instance. (One of such items cost nearly a million Yuan.) This was because there are way too many openings for that camp compared to the Outer Wall Camp layout.
The Outer Wall Camp might be placed in the open but because of the high walls they were on, they could expand downward if needed to accommodate the wounded/tired Pandarens. Not only that, with the high ground, they were able to predict where the Demon Rats were coming, allowing the guards some additional response time to amass and deal with the threat with less panic.
But the newly built Inner Wall Camp? It was on the ground, making it very susceptible to the Demon Rat attacks especially when most of the veterans of the current battlefield understood that the Demon Rats could dig out from the ground at any time. In addition, using the second layer Inner Wall as protection would only be ideal if they had complete control of the entire second layer which they currently do not.
The Demon Rats, if given the opportunity, could overwhelm the entire second wall and subsequently jump down from the wall, doing ambushes from the top. Even if they do not, just throwing a few bombs was more than sufficient to interrupt them if their magical barrier was weak enough. Plus, the camp had been entirely blinded by the second inner wall’s presence. A Demon Rat Abomination Giant could potentially destroy the wall causing the entire camp to be exposed to an attack.
In short, meaningless destruction to the camp due to bad location and the unnecessary loss of resources due to one’s insistence. However, one cannot deny that having a camp there allowed fast replenishment of the items that had been exhausted. From rifle ammunition to grenades and even temporary inscriptions cast by the Monkey’s Battle Alchemists.
Yes, the Royal Zodiac Monkey Army is a support Army which deals mostly in buffing their armies and debuffing their enemies. They even had gadgets to augment their fellow soldiers but for this raid instance, they were only providing basic buffing potions and temporary one time use inscriptions. That was why they were called Battle Alchemists because of their role.
In the past, the Royal Zodiac Monkey was not exactly the clan that was worth being looked up to. While they had a following that wished to learn their Drunken Monkey Fist, their main specialisation was not looked upon. Mainly because a bulk of their soldiers were weak since their skills were not fantastic. They did have legends of Battle Alchemists buffing themselves to the extreme so they were capable of exterminating monsters beyond the scope of the ‘average’ realm and that was all to it.
But with the advent of rifles and the industrial revolution, things start to change for the better for them. They played a pivotal role in stopping their enemies, especially the Japanese Clans. Their buffs could potentially turn rifle shots into artillery shots, while their cursing debuffs reduce their enemies’ strength, allowing them to turn the tide very easily. With mass manufacturing, their potions were a standard staple for soldiers that were pinned down.
So, being close to the battlefield would not only serve as a better support for the Pandarens but also ensure that the war of attrition would tip in their favour. Not to mention, Mian Ling and her Royal Zodiac Sheep Medic were around to ensure that major injuries could be healed, allowing the Pandarens to continue with their fight.
Naturally, the Snake General Hou Fei had gotten wind of the new establishment and had already sent a few of his elites to guard the new camp grounds. Major Chun Hua also sent a few Tigers to act as protection detail for those battle medics who had to bring the injured Pandarens from the battlefield to the camp.
Otherwise, the Royal Zodiac Sheeps and Monkeys were doing their best to maintain the camp grounds. And with the establishment of the campgrounds, the new Teleportation Crystal allowed the Pandarens to dive into battle faster. Those who selected the Inner Wall Camp as their respawn would be redirected to the Store Island Instance’s airport rather than the train.
To the Pandarens who tested it, they realised they were being parachuted out from the planes from a rather high altitude, allowing them to have a full view of the Northern Capital as well as the Northern Region as a whole. Those who were scared stiff due to the fear of heights had been ‘thrown’ into a capsule by the Panda co-pilots and they were being fired from the Hercules plane to the location where they would spawn.
The reason Jin suddenly changed from train to plane was that he realised that the train would be too big of a target to not be ignored. The Demon Rats would either concentrate all their fire on the train or send more troops to the camp.
So, by changing the tactic of sending the Pandarens in via air, the Pandarens could use the change of pace to utilise some range weapons to destroy some monsters when they were hanging out up top. It also gave them the advantage push for an assault against the Third Layer Inner Wall since they were coming from above.
The Demon Rats eventually realised Jin’s tactics and started to prepare the countermeasures for the paratroopers. Suffice it to say, the paratroopers themselves also took aim against the anti-air attachments on the third wall so that they would have a harder time. Gnawbones wanted to send a few more planes to kill these Pandaren maggots but the Snakes were giving them a hard time to do that. (Though to be honest, the Chryso Pilots were enjoying their time with the flexibility of Mana Engine Aircraft that they wanted more to fight against)
And with the Pandarens covering both the sky and land, the Third Layer Inner Wall has a tough time splitting their firepower to cover both battlefields. All they could do was waste as much time as possible so that their Demon Rats counterpart could prepare sufficiently for the biggest counterattack.
