The wooden gate shattered and scattered across the ground, trampled by countless footprints.
The Sand Iron Mercenary Group's grounds, once fairly spacious, had become crowded at that moment.
Fighters bearing three different insignias clashed, the battlefield a chaotic mess.
"Everyone from the Sand Iron Mercenary Group, don't panic! Hold your positions! The City Lord will be here with reinforcements soon. We have to hold on!"
At the center of the grounds, a white-robed young man stood beneath the gatehouse, his expression calm as he issued one order after another.
The Sand Iron Mercenary Group's members held their compact formation. Though outnumbered two to one, they had yet to fall behind.
Among them, one figure stood out in particular.
He was a young man dressed in mercenary clothes, gripping a straight, tungsten-steel spear. A thin veil of Dou Qi shrouded his body.
Lightning flickered across it, arcs leaping and crackling.
Each time the young man thrust his spear, it was like a thunder dragon surging out to sea, accompanied by waves of rumbling thunder.
"Damn you, Luo Bu! If you've got the guts, come out here! You're sending the brothers in your mercenary group to die while you hide—what kind of leader does that make you?"
Xiao Li thrust his spear, forcing several men in front of him to stumble back, barely dodging the attack.
Seeing the lightning coiling around the spearhead, they all knew that even without feeling it firsthand, taking a hit would be no pleasant experience.
"Ridiculous! Xiao Li, you're only a Dou Master, yet you dare act so arrogantly. Do you really think Stone Desert City belongs to you?"
At that moment, a figure pushed through the crowd and entered Xiao Li's line of sight.
Dou Qi coiled around him as well, its surging force condensing into