The First Signs of Coordination

Long Haochen did not need to say a word. Man and beast were of one mind. Haoyue's three heads popped up over the city wall, firing light arrows, Wind Blades, and fireballs in an instant. They were incredibly precise, never wasting a scrap of mana. Every spell accurately found a Double Blade Demon. After just one volley, a swath of the Double Blade Demons climbing the wall was blasted back down.

This was the formidable role magic played on the battlefield. Generally speaking, in any Demon Hunt Squad, the main source of offensive power came from the mages. Of course, freaks like the Soldier Grade One Demon Hunt Squad were an exception...

The kills made by a summoner's summoned beasts or a knight's mount also counted toward Merit Points. The Merit Token was equivalent to Spirit-Demon Grade equipment. While binding to one's bloodline, it also bound all contracts. Otherwise, it would not have been given such a high grade. The detection array attached to it was extremely precise.

Originally, Long Haochen had not been the one with the most kills, but after Haoyue joined the battle, no one could compare to him. The spells released by Haoyue's three heads were only first- and second-rank magic, yet they were more than enough against these Double Blade Demons. The magical coverage was so extensive that Sima Xian and Wang Yuanyuan both moved slightly to the sides. Otherwise, they would have had nothing to do.

Long Haochen's Spirit Gathering Halo was extraordinarily effective. Naturally, no one used any powerful skills against the Double Blade Demons. With the Spirit Gathering Halo's support, they remained in peak condition at all times. For powerhouses like them at the fourth and fifth ranks, as long as they had sufficient spiritual power, physical exhaustion could naturally be replenished through spiritual power.

Long Haochen's Demon Hunt Squad was not the only one fighting on the battlefield. As time passed, familiar scenes occasionally appeared atop the nearby city walls as well.

For example, Bai Xiaomo's signature plant attacks, the occasional flickers of light-attribute spiritual power, Huang Yi's earth-element magic, and so on.

The defenders were all infantrymen. Although not all ten Infantry Battalions had taken the walls, five of them were currently stationed there. Five battalions meant five thousand infantrymen. Even in the past, that would have been more than enough to hold back these Double Blade Demons. Not to mention the addition of five Demon Hunt Squads. The frequently flashing magical light and occasional healing radiance greatly eased the infantrymen's burden. The newly promoted Demon Hunt Squads were displaying their strength for the first time. This was completely different from their matches in Holy City. The enemies they faced now required no restraint whatsoever. And these low-level demonic troops, the Double Blade Demons, became the finest whetstones for them.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed. Because of Long Haochen and the others' formidable performance, the idle Zhang Hairong could only step back and focus on commanding the soldiers, though his gaze still occasionally drifted toward Long Haochen.

Every member of the Soldier Grade One Demon Hunt Squad performed exceptionally well, but the one who drew Zhang Hairong's attention most was Long Haochen. Leaving aside the powerful magical beast he had summoned, Long Haochen himself seemed like a legend to Zhang Hairong.

This youth, who looked barely more than ten years old and was as pretty as a little girl, was simply too powerful. His Spirit Gathering Halo had lasted a full half hour since its initial release!

Although Zhang Hairong did not know what rank this skill was, having personally experienced the effects of the Spirit Gathering Halo, he naturally understood how great its consumption had to be. Yet Long Haochen had continued fighting while maintaining it, without resting in the slightest. Looking at him, there was not the slightest sign of fatigue.

The strongest impression Long Haochen gave Zhang Hairong was steadiness. He was young, yet Long Haochen possessed a temperament that inspired admiration. His strength was clearly formidable, but while defending against the Double Blade Demons, he had not used a single powerful skill, at most employing Light Slash Sword. His gaze also swept over his companions from time to time, clearly keeping watch over the surrounding situation. Worthy of an elite! This youth's cultivation was probably at the fifth rank, wasn't it? A fifth-rank Earth Knight! At his age, Zhang Hairong had still been struggling at the second rank.

Just as thoughts of amazement continued to rise in Zhang Hairong's mind, a strange sound suddenly came from the darkness in the distance.

"Woo... woo... woo..."

Amid three deep, chilling cries, three enormous dark-golden beams of light suddenly shot into the sky in the distance beyond the city walls.

Those three beams carried an aura of savage evil as their dark-golden glow spread in an instant.

Hearing those three mournful hums, the Double Blade Demons below the walls seemed to have been injected with stimulants. Madness gleamed in every one of their eyes as they charged even more frantically toward the city walls.

At that moment, dozens of dazzling golden spheres shot out from the walls of Demon Expelling Pass, hurtling into the distance.

Long Haochen subconsciously turned back and saw that above the city walls stood another level of battlements. Those golden spheres had been fired from there. The dozens of golden spheres scattered as they flew, and after barely a dozen seconds, they exploded one after another, bursting into countless rays of golden light in the sky. Golden radiance shone everywhere, and the army of Double Blade Demons below immediately slowed, clearly somewhat fearful of that golden light. Yet under its illumination, Long Haochen could not help drawing in a sharp breath. In the distance, an unknown number of demonic troops were charging over like a tidal wave that blotted out the sky.

This time, it was not just Double Blade Demons. Not only had the ground troops changed, but there was also an enormous demonic air force like dark clouds overhead.

Zhang Hairong's expression changed drastically. "Everyone, be careful! The demons are launching their full assault."

Long Haochen raised the Holy Spirit Shield above his head and gave it a slight shake. His companions immediately understood and swiftly closed in around him. The diamond formation was completed almost instantly.

Long Haochen temporarily stopped the Spirit Gathering Halo and, without hesitation, swallowed a Spirit Gathering Pill Lin Xin had given him. He took half a step back, closed his eyes slightly, and rapidly restored the spiritual power he had expended.

The reason he had been able to maintain the Spirit Gathering Halo for so long was because of his Child of Light constitution. Liquid spiritual power was consumed slowly to begin with, allowing him to sustain it. Even so, nearly half of his own spiritual power had been depleted. But his efforts had clearly been worthwhile. At the very least, all of his companions remained at peak condition.

Han Yu, behind him, did not hesitate to cast a light spell, Light Illuminates the World, transferring his Inner Spiritual Power to Long Haochen. Whether as an Esquire Knight or as the squad's reserve knight, this was what he should have done.

With Han Yu's support and the effects of the Spirit Gathering Pill, Long Haochen's spiritual power rapidly recovered.

"Everyone, be careful. Do not advance rashly. Lin Xin, watch the skies."

Long Haochen gave a simple reminder, and the Holy Spirit Set in his hands once again erupted with the radiance of Holy Spirit Protection.

As the demons launched their full assault, the Double Blade Demons' attacks only intensified. The aerial flares lasted a long time, and from the walls, they could clearly make out several enormous figures below.

Yet Long Haochen had no time to carefully distinguish what kind of demons they were. At this moment, he finally understood why his teacher had said that on the battlefield, individual strength was forever insignificant.

Facing that demonic army that covered the sky and earth, their seven-man Demon Hunt Squad seemed so tiny, let alone any individual among them.

At that moment, intense magical fluctuations began coming from the second-level battlements above the city walls. Low chanting could faintly be heard.

There was no doubt that the high-ranking professionals defending Demon Expelling Pass were stationed atop those battlements. Now that the demons had launched their full assault, it was time for them to show their might.

In barely a dozen breaths, a qualitative change appeared among the demons that had climbed onto the walls.

Long Haochen sent a Double Blade Demon flying with one slash. The next moment, he saw a familiar flash of emerald green.

"Everyone, be careful!" Long Haochen shouted. A streak of white light sprayed from his chest—the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove.

The emerald-green figure stomped hard on the battlement, leaping into the air with a savage roar as it pounced straight at Long Haochen.

This powerful figure stood roughly two meters tall and was around three meters long. On its back was a pair of narrow, shell-like wings. They could not allow it to fly, but they helped its graceful, powerful body maintain balance while charging forward. Its savage head somewhat resembled a lizard's, only broader, with grim teeth exposed. Most fearsome of all were its pair of forelimbs, each one and a half meters long and shaped like heavy blades. Was this not the king among the Zelin Clan Dual-Blade Demons, the Emerald Twin Blade Demon that had once brought Long Haochen his first fortune?

When he had faced an Emerald Twin Blade Demon before, Long Haochen had only been at the fourth rank. Now, not only was he already an Earth Knight, but the companions at his side were far beyond what they had been back then.

White light flashed from the Holy Spirit Shield in his left hand. It was Holy Light Infiltrating Shield. He fearlessly met the Emerald Twin Blade Demon head-on with Divine Obstruction.

With a thunderous clang, one of the Emerald Twin Blade Demon's forelimbs slammed into the Holy Spirit Shield, erupting in dazzling white light. Golden radiance shone from Long Haochen's body, yet he did not retreat even half a step. He raised the Holy Spirit Sword in his right hand and blocked the Emerald Twin Blade Demon's second strike as well.

Clang! It was still Divine Obstruction.

In that split-second, Long Haochen had actually used Divine Obstruction twice in succession, blocking the Emerald Twin Blade Demon's entire first round of attacks.

Continuous Block. This was another Secret Skill Long Haochen had chosen from the Alliance Treasure Pavilion. It sounded like an ordinary skill, but when Continuous Block was combined with Divine Obstruction, it became the true heaven-defying skill of Guardian Knights! Almost every Guardian Knight at the Radiant Knight level would choose it.

The number of consecutive blocks possible depended on the user's cultivation. With Long Haochen's current strength, he could use Divine Obstruction at most twice consecutively. Moreover, the spiritual power consumed by the second use would be twice that of the first. However, when facing a powerful enemy on the battlefield, two consecutive uses of Divine Obstruction, combined with the stacked effects of Vengeance of Light, could very well deal a fatal blow.

Shield Block Counter.