Fury!

July 20, 2625.

Following the defeat of Star Luo, the peace treaty was announced that very day.

The Heaven Dou Empire, in collusion with the Balak Kingdom, assembled an army of five hundred thousand to invade the borders of the Great Ming Empire.

At Gulei City and the Heaven Dou border, the second famous Dou-Ming War commenced.

However, this time, the Great Ming Empire was significantly outnumbered.

On the afternoon of the 20th, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces and the one hundred thousand Dragon Guard led by Xu Yi engaged in their first clash.

One hundred thousand against five hundred thousand—a full five-fold numerical advantage. The moment the battle began, the scene turned into a meat grinder, with soldiers from both sides falling rapidly.

Although every member of the Dragon Guard stood at the absolute peak of human potential, the sheer disparity in numbers was undeniable, leading to heavy casualties in a short span of time.

This is bad; the numerical gap is too wide...

Watching his soldiers, each clad in golden dragon armor, fall one by one, Xu Yi felt as if his heart were being sliced by a blade.

These were his personal troops who had accompanied him in conquering the Gulei Kingdom, reclaiming the lost territory of the Star Shine Duchy, and defeating the enemy Galloping Wolf Kingdom.

No one knew the invincible combat power of the Dragon Guard better than Xu Yi.

Every individual among them was in their prime, possessing a level of excellence he had never seen in any other place or any other army.

Even compared to the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry.

The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry were heavy cavalry; on horseback, the Dragon Guard might not be a match for them, but on foot, the Dragon Guard could absolutely take on three enemies at once.

"Kill!!!!"

"Slaughter these bastards!"

"His Majesty said that during this month of his personal expedition, we must protect the Great Ming!"

"Even if I have to lay down my life, I must... hold the great mountains and rivers of the Great Ming!"

The ferocity displayed by the Dragon Guard was unprecedented; they fought to the death without retreating.

Seeing their comrades fall one by one beside them, they felt no fear. Their eyes turned bloodshot, filled with crimson veins—they had clearly been driven into a killing frenzy.

One could clearly see a blood-red baleful aura manifesting on their bodies.

For a moment, even the Heaven Dou Allied Forces, despite their numerical advantage, were stunned.

They dared not advance.

A quarter of an hour later, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces retreated from the Great Ming border.

Facing those pairs of blood-red, murderous eyes, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces were terrified.

The first clash of the campaign ended in their defeat.

After a rough count upon returning, they had suffered over forty thousand wounded and over fifty thousand dead!

This was, without a doubt, a tragic figure.

One had to remember, the Dragon Guard stationed at the Great Ming border numbered only one hundred thousand.

Bang!!!

"Bastards, how could this happen!"

"According to our intelligence, there were only one hundred thousand troops stationed at the Great Ming border. How could one hundred thousand show such powerful combat organization?"

Hearing the words of the Heaven Dou commander, the deputy commander stood up hesitantly.

"General, the enemy's strength is formidable. It was clear that by the end, they had been driven into a killing frenzy."

"In the end, they even made our own men tremble with fear."

Indeed, the current Dragon Guard possessed physical capabilities that surpassed three to five ordinary men.

Simply put, on the battlefield, once they were in a killing frenzy, they were cutting through enemies like a hot knife through butter.

"Damn it, we cannot let this drag on."

"Isn't the Great Ming Empire skilled at Blitzkrieg? Tonight, we will use their own tactics to blitz the Great Ming!"

The Heaven Dou commander's face was cold and sinister.

As the commander of the Heaven Dou forces this time, he would never repeat the mistakes of others.

He had to resolve the battle quickly; with the main force of the Great Ming tied up in the south, this was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Meanwhile, at the Gulei Defense Line on the Great Ming border.

The Dragon Guard were not faring well either; in that afternoon battle, they had lost nearly fifteen thousand men.

Fifteen thousand men—what kind of concept was that?

One had to realize, the Dragon Guard had never suffered such heavy losses.

Throughout all their long campaigns, their total casualties combined had never exceeded a few thousand.

Furthermore, whenever there were losses in battle, the Dragon Guard was always the first to be replenished.

Night.

Inside the military camp.

Xu Yi looked outside with a grim expression.

As luck would have it, snow began to fall from the sky.

Although the Dragon Guard had erupted in power that afternoon, suppressing the five hundred thousand enemy troops, Xu Yi felt a lingering sense of foreboding in his heart.

The Dragon Guard was the second army of Great Ming.

The first army was the Imperial Guard, but they had been completely wiped out while resisting the five hundred thousand strong Heaven Dou army.

If it weren't for the fact that the Imperial Guard still had descendants in Ming City who could inherit the glory of their fathers, their designation might have been disbanded entirely.

Xu Yi had a very ominous premonition that this time... it was highly likely that the Dragon Guard would also be lost here.

Woo-woo-woo—!!!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The next instant, the horns for an emergency assembly sounded throughout the entire camp.

Xu Yi's heart sank.

"It's the Heaven Dou Allied Forces!"

Clang—!!!!

Another wave of slaughtering sounds rang out.

On the other side.

Xu Nian'an led the three hundred thousand Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, one hundred thousand elite troops, and one hundred thousand Dragon Guard—a total of five hundred thousand men—across the Star Dou Mountain Range to reinforce Gulei City.

Xu Nian'an and his men did not arrive on the first day. It wasn't until the sky began to brighten that the scouts, separated by several mountains, could clearly see the appearance of Gulei City.

"Your Majesty, the main force will be able to reach General Xu Yi by this afternoon at the earliest, or by tomorrow at the latest."

Upon hearing this news, Xu Nian'an specifically climbed a high mountain to take a look.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Great Ming flag was still flying over Gulei City.

As the essential gateway for Heaven Dou to reach Great Ming, Gulei City had to be captured if the Heaven Dou Empire wanted to invade Great Ming.

Since the Great Ming flag was still flying over Gulei City, it meant that although the Great Ming border had been invaded, the city at least had not been lost.

Xu Yi had held his ground.

The twenty-first day.

After a night of brutal fighting, Gulei City was finally held.

But this was already the limit for Xu Yi and the Dragon Guard.

Inside and outside Gulei City, corpses were strewn everywhere, and blood pooled into small streams, much like the previous siege by the Heaven Dou Empire.

During that night, the Dragon Guard had lost fifty thousand men, and the rest were all, to varying degrees, wounded.

Within the Heaven Dou Allied Forces.

"Bastards, trash, are you bots?"

"Five hundred thousand troops facing one hundred thousand, and you nearly lost half your men."

"With a five-to-one numerical advantage, you get counter-killed? Can you even play this game!"

The commander of the Heaven Dou Allied Forces turned pale with rage.

His fists were clenched tightly, and his chest heaved up and down.

Including yesterday and last night's losses, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces had already suffered nearly two hundred thousand deaths.

And that wasn't even counting those who had lost their combat capability but were still alive... those useless wastes.

"Damn it, if it weren't for that trash Xue Yi taking the Royal Artillery Regiment to throw their lives away last time, how could I, Xue Yi, have failed to take even a single city!"

With losses exceeding half, the enemy's numbers were also nearly bottoming out.

Now, even if Xue Yi had to grit his teeth and force himself, he had to press the attack.

"This time, I will lead the army myself. For the supreme glory of the Heaven Dou Empire!"

Afternoon.

As Xu Nian'an approached Gulei City, he suddenly heard waves of battle cries.

"Brothers, hold on a little longer!"

"Kill, kill them! His Majesty will avenge us!"

"Protect General Xu Yi!"

Xu Nian'an's expression shifted.

"Open the gates!!!!"

Following a roar, the back gate of Gulei City collapsed instantly, and the first thing Xu Nian'an saw was golden armor scattered everywhere.

Golden armor covered the ground; the faces of those who had fallen were unfamiliar to Xu Nian'an, but the armor they wore... Xu Nian'an knew it well. Weren't these his own Dragon Guards?

They were everywhere, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Looking at so many Dragon Guards lying on the ground, a sharp, inexplicable pain pierced Xu Nian'an's heart.

"Kill!!!"

"Kill that general! The commander said whoever kills him gets a three-rank promotion, a thousand gold coins, a mansion in Tiandou City, and countless beauties."

"For every Dragon Armor Army soldier by his side you kill, you get a hundred gold coins and a one-rank promotion!"

Hearing these bounties, Xu Nian'an's head buzzed, his face flushing a deep, furious red as he looked up.

Not far away, the banners of Tiandou appeared, and in the center of the Tiandou army, a group of people was still being surrounded.

Xu Nian'an's gaze turned icy.

"Kill them! Kill them all! I command you to slaughter them, leave none alive!!!"