Terracotta Army

"The main enemies of the Ancient Capital are the undead. Anyone born in the Ancient Capital has at least seen a pig run, even if they've never eaten pork. I don't need to say more about this."

"But there's one thing I have to tell you: not all undead are the same."

"Just as Demon Beasts are divided into different species, the varieties of undead are also extremely numerous."

"In the main urban district, for example, the undead are mostly corpse-type undead, such as Black Rot Corpses and Iron Skin Corpses. Baqiao District has Bone Beasts, while Gaoling District has Yin Soldiers that borrow the roads."

"As for our Lintong Military Region, the enemy we face directly is called—the Terracotta Army."

The Terracotta Army!

In his previous life, Xu Fang had visited this place while traveling. Since he hadn't brought his student ID, he'd been forced to shell out the exorbitant sum of 120 yuan.

Inside, he had seen crowds packed shoulder to shoulder. The tour guides' shouts and the tourists' laughter and cries had all mixed into one chaotic din. There had been twice as many people as figurines, while the little clay men had pitifully huddled in their pits.

Who would have thought that in this world, the Terracotta Army had made something of itself? It had risen to prominence and could only be dealt with by having a Super Level Mage lead troops to station here.

"The Terracotta Army is a rare Earth Element undead. Its elemental attribute grants it a special ability: it can devour city walls and turn the power contained within them into its own."

At this point, He Ming paused to let the students digest this difficult-to-accept fact.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Devour city walls? That's ridiculous!"

"These city walls were created by a Forbidden Mage! Even a Monarch-Level Demon couldn't break through them!"

For a moment, many students looked rather hostile. The people of the Ancient Capital had grown up listening to stories about the city walls. Looking down on the walls was equivalent to insulting Mazu to someone from Fujian.

Even if He Ming was the new recruits' company commander and an Intermediate Mage with two fully cultivated elements, using such ridiculous nonsense to fool people was still terribly rude!

"I know this is hard for you to accept. I was just like you at first, but the facts are right here." He Ming pointed at the battered city wall. "All of this was left behind by the Terracotta Army."

The students fell silent. They wanted to argue, but didn't know what to say.

Xu Fang wasn't surprised at all.

The Terracotta Army embodied the Earth Element will of the Ancient King. No matter how impressive the Earth Element Forbidden Spell used to build the walls was, it still couldn't compare with the Ancient King, its old ancestor.

"This is also why we're taking you outside the city. Because of the Terracotta Army's devouring ability, once the battle reaches a certain intensity, the Military Mages must leave the city and exterminate them."

"Guarding the city walls and protecting the people is the responsibility of us Military Mages, no matter how powerful the enemy is! The Terracotta Army is the elite of the undead, and our Lintong Military Region fights elites!"

After He Ming finished his mobilization speech, he gestured for his old comrade to continue.

Instructor Li Yi smiled. "You're all good children. Not a single coward came here! It's getting late, so Squad Leaders, take your teams back. The cooks prepared noodles for you. They won't taste good once they get soggy."

Dumplings when setting out, noodles when returning. After touring the Terracotta Army Battlefield, everyone returned to camp.

In the spacious mess hall, every squad had a huge basin of hand-pulled noodles in front of them, along with pickles and dipping sauce. The whole table was packed full.

The students couldn't help swallowing.

They'd been wandering around all morning and were starving to death...

"Eat! Eat! Eat as much as you can. Get more if it's not enough!"

"Fill your stomachs. You'll need your energy to fight undead tonight!"

"Don't just eat noodles. If the neighboring military region sees this, they'll think we can't afford side dishes."

The students ate until their mouths glistened with grease. Before Xu Fang had finished his first bowl, someone else had already polished off a second.

From the moment everyone put down their things and entered the mess hall until the last person left, the meal took nearly half an hour. Then they were assigned dormitories, with one bed for each person.

From this moment onward, they were no longer students. They were new recruits about to face the undead head-on!

······

Night fell.

Lintong City Wall.

Xu Fang changed into his military uniform and stood beside Qi Lao San. His current identity was Qi Lao San's personal soldier, responsible for following him into battle against the enemy.

Standing atop the high city wall and looking down, he saw the distant wasteland merge with the fallen sun as darkness descended over the land.

"They're coming."

Qi Lao San spoke coldly. At this moment, he was no longer the amiable and approachable man he had been during the day. His expression was grim and murderous.

BOOM!!!

The instant Qi Lao San's voice fell, the ground suddenly trembled, followed by a violent upheaval that shook heaven and earth.

"Shriek—!"

In the sky, the Sky Eagle Mage hurled out Radiance.

Before the light was swallowed by endless darkness, Xu Fang saw that the originally flat ground had abruptly become a pit as deep as a person was tall.

Rows of towering Terracotta Army figurines stood silently inside. The ancient army's earthen-colored bodies formed one unbroken mass, like beasts crouching on the ground, waiting to devour people.

Suddenly.

A long, sonorous horn rang out from within the ancient army, accompanied by an unknown war drum.

The Terracotta Army moved. Their necks turned toward the city wall at an impossible angle, and they began advancing slowly and steadily.

Qi Lao San shouted, "Rookies, I won't waste words! Anyone who shows fear in front of the Terracotta Army can't blame my magic for failing to recognize friend from foe. Attack!"

War erupted at once!

"Fire Spark!"

"Ice Vine!"

"Radiance!"

The new recruits spared no magic energy. Excitedly, they hurled spell after spell, slowing the Terracotta Army down and blasting them into fragments.

Xu Fang also saw a thick bolt of purple lightning. He didn't need to ask; it was certainly that wise guy showing off in front of everyone.

Perhaps intimidated by such fierce attacks, the Terracotta Army actually came to a stop.

"That's all the Terracotta Army has?" one student spat disdainfully. "They're nothing special!"

"Is it possible that they aren't too weak, but that we're too strong?"

"Haha, makes sense! I'll recover some magic energy first, then hit them harder in the next wave!"

While the new recruits bragged and joked around, the experienced veterans' expressions changed. They shouted, "Be careful! It's a Centurion!"

"No, a Thousand-Man Commander!"

Behind the army, a white skeletal warhorse suddenly appeared, carrying a Thousand-Man Commander Terracotta Army figurine clad in armor and radiating a bronze-colored glow.

The Thousand-Man Commander Terracotta Army figurine raised one hand. Officer Figurines scattered to either side. Within the ancient army, a group of Terracotta Army figurines half-knelt on the ground, each holding a crossbow covered in falling dust.

"Kneeling Archer Figurines, take cover!!!"

Whoosh!

Whoosh, whoosh!

A rain of arrows swept across the sky. The Water Element Mages in the crowd immediately raised shields, but how could tiny Water Shields withstand such powerful bolts?

Before long, one Water Shield after another shattered. The mages could only scramble for cover, bringing the magical assault to a temporary halt.

The Thousand-Man Commander Terracotta Army figurine lowered his hand, and the Officer Figurines began moving again, surging toward the city wall.

"This is troublesome. It's actually a Thousand-Man Commander leading them this time!" Qi Lao San's brows drew tightly together. He said to Xu Fang, "A Thousand-Man Commander is a General Figurine, and he himself possesses the strength of a Great General. He has Officer Figurines, Armored Warrior Figurines, and Kneeling Archer Figurines under his command. Looks like we won't have a peaceful night."

Xu Fang asked, "Do we need to leave the city?"

"Probably soon. Recover your magic energy as quickly as you can. We're about to face a vicious battle..."

Woooo—woooo—woooo!!!

The ear-piercing alarm rang out once more. A loud shout was carried by the Wind Track into everyone's ears.

"The company commander orders: anyone at Intermediate Mage Level Two or above, leave the city and kill the enemy!!!"