Fierce Battle

The day-long truce passed quickly.

After dawn broke on the second day, clear bugle calls rang out through the camp as the soldiers began to assemble. Di Hong, who had been cultivating inside his tent, withdrew from his meditative state.

When he stepped out of the tent, the kingdom's soldiers had already finished assembling and were marching toward the battlefield.

After Di Yang donned his armor, he took the sword handed over by a soldier and came to Di Hong's side.

"Let's go."

A soldier led over two horses. The brothers mounted and rode off to join Xue Ye. The Silves Kingdom's army was positioned on the right flank of the main force, while the Balak Kingdom's army occupied the left flank. Hagendas's army was placed at the front.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Xue Ye intended to use the Star Luo Empire to weaken Hagendas Kingdom's strength, thereby indirectly weakening Second Prince Xue Yu's power as well.

Once Hagendas Kingdom suffered heavy losses, it would no longer be able to support Xue Yu. At that point, Xue Yu's faction would suffer a severe blow and might even lose in its struggle against Xue Ye.

Hundreds of thousands of troops swept onto the battlefield like a landslide and tidal wave.

Opposite them stood the Star Luo Empire's battle formation.

Banners snapped in the wind across the battlefield, and the atmosphere was solemn. The surrounding air inspired a sense of awe, yet Di Hong's blood boiled with excitement. What man did not dream of commanding millions of mighty soldiers amid clashing blades and charging warhorses?

Unfortunately, these hundreds of thousands of troops had nothing to do with him. He was little more than a spectator.

Clad in shining silver armor, Xue Ye stood with one hand resting on his sword. Beside him, apart from Di Yang and Di Hong, stood the Soul Saint from the Heaven Dou Empire's Soul Master Corps.

At this moment, the only sounds on the battlefield were the neighing of warhorses and the roars of war beasts. Other than that, there was utter silence. Every soldier held his breath, gripping their weapons tightly as they waited for the attack horn to sound.

Dai Yutian, dressed in black armor, stood atop a high platform as well, staring at the opposite side. It was as though he wanted to see Xue Ye through the entire battlefield. Unfortunately, they were too far apart. He could not see Xue Ye, and Xue Ye could not see him either.

He raised his head and glanced at the sky.

The sky was a clear expanse of blue, the sunlight bright and brilliant, while flocks of birds flew overhead.

He withdrew his gaze, drew his longsword, and pointed it forward.

"Attack!" Upon receiving Dai Yutian's order, Xu Zhong immediately issued the command.

"Wooo!!!"

The attack horns sounded, and the Star Luo Empire's soldiers waved their banners.

"War beasts, charge!"

"Heavy infantry, advance!"

At the very front, the heavily armored infantry carrying great shields immediately raised their shields upon receiving the order and advanced toward the Heaven Dou Empire's forward army in tight formation. Though they were not fast, their momentum was extraordinary. The entire formation pressed forward like a landslide and tidal wave, carrying an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Dozens of massive war beasts advanced alongside the heavy infantry at the front.

Di Hong watched the approaching battle formation, his hands clenching tightly.

"It's begun."

"Don't be nervous." Di Yang patted him, trying to calm him down.

"I'm not nervous. I'm just a little excited."

"Excited?" Di Yang was somewhat taken aback. So his little brother was a warmonger after all.

At that moment, Xue Ye nodded to a general beside him.

The general clasped his fists in salute, then walked to the side and shouted, "Archers, prepare!"

A soldier raised a signal flag, and the archers within the formation immediately drew their bows and nocked their arrows.

Once Star Luo's heavy infantry drew near, the general issued another command.

"Fire!"

In an instant, the forward army seemed to be covered over as arrows filled the sky, raining down upon the Star Luo Empire's heavy infantry formation.

"Defend!"

The Star Luo general in command immediately gave the order, and all the soldiers raised their shields.

Clang!

Clang!

The arrows struck the shields, throwing off showers of sparks. Ordinary arrows could not penetrate them, and this rain of arrows caused virtually no damage to the Star Luo Empire's heavy infantry.

The infantry continued advancing. They had already reached the Heaven Dou Empire's camp.

At this moment, the Heaven Dou Empire's infantry formation at the front began to move as well.

Accompanied by the beating of drums and the blaring of horns, Heaven Dou's heavy infantry formation advanced.

As the two infantry formations were about to collide, long spears extended from both sides.

Soon, they met and crashed together, beginning a fierce slaughter.

"Cavalry on both flanks, encircle them! Wipe out this heavy infantry unit!"

From the two wings of the Heaven Dou battle formation, over ten thousand cavalry charged out. Their warhorses trampled the earth, kicking up dust that blotted out the sky.

Seeing the Heaven Dou Empire's cavalry deploy, Dai Yutian also ordered the Star Luo Empire's cavalry to attack.

The instant the two armies clashed, the Heaven Dou Empire's heavily armored infantry was suppressed. The massive war beasts tore through their formation as soon as they engaged, and the Star Luo Empire's heavy infantry immediately began splitting them apart.

The cavalry attempting to encircle from both wings of the Heaven Dou Empire were also intercepted by Star Luo Empire cavalry.

"Deploy the war beasts at once." Xue Ye immediately gave the order. They had fallen into a disadvantage the moment the battle began; they had to turn the situation around.

Di Hong felt that something was off, yet he could not put his finger on it. He looked around, but still could not tell what exactly was wrong.

With the situation favoring Star Luo, Dai Yutian ordered the heavy cavalry and mounted archers to advance, while the light infantry also launched an attack. Xue Ye issued his order at almost the exact same time.

The armies of both sides clashed in a chaotic melee. The entire battlefield was like a meat grinder, yet neither side had deployed Soul Masters in battle so far.

On the Heaven Dou Empire's side, the Scale Armor Army and heavy cavalry of the Silves Kingdom, as well as Heaven Dou's central army—the Royal Knights and Soul Master Corps—had yet to enter the battle. The same was true for the Star Luo Empire; their elite Fierce Tiger Legion had not moved either.

Like the Royal Knights, the Fierce Tiger Legion was an elite force, and Star Luo's Soul Masters had yet to be deployed as well.

The Soul Masters sent by the subordinate kingdoms did not fight on the central battlefield. The outskirts of the battlefield were their domain, because fighting here could easily affect ordinary soldiers.

Di Hong looked toward the outskirts of the battlefield, where Soul Masters were fighting fiercely. He could see all manner of Soul Power with perfect clarity from where he stood.

As he listened to the messenger's report, Xue Ye's face showed no expression. The situation had stabilized for now, and the two sides were evenly matched. It would come down to who had greater endurance and could hold on longer.

"Let the Scale Armor Army move out." Feeling that the time was right, Xue Ye looked at Di Yang.

"Alright." Di Yang did not refuse and relayed the order to the kingdom's general beside him.

Before long, more than a thousand Scale Armor Army soldiers charged out from the central formation. They raised no battle cries, launching their assault in silence. Though the Scale Armor Beasts looked rather cumbersome, they were not slow in reality—indeed, they were even as fast as Heavenly Soul Horses.

Once the Scale Armor Army charged into the chaotic battlefield, it became a completely one-sided slaughter. Star Luo soldiers' weapons could slash or stab at them, but could not inflict any damage, producing only a few sparks from friction.

Yet when the Scale Armor Beasts slammed into those soldiers, they sent them flying outright.

A thousand Scale Armor Army soldiers rampaged across the battlefield as though no one could stop them. Among them were ten Soul Masters. Though their levels were not high, they were more than enough against ordinary soldiers.

"The Silves Kingdom's Scale Armor Army has finally arrived." Dai Yutian's lips curled upward.

"Deploy the Tiger Guard Army."

He had been waiting precisely for the Scale Armor Army to make its move. As their name suggested—

they were a legion that rode fierce tigers. Though the tigers they rode were not soul beasts, they were far stronger and larger than ordinary tigers. Their riders were likewise clad in heavy armor.

Tiger roars carried through the wind to everyone's ears.

Over a thousand Star Luo soldiers riding fierce tigers charged straight ahead.