July 20, 2625.
The day the defeat treaty was announced, following Star Luo's defeat.
The Heaven Dou Empire joined forces with the Balak Kingdom, assembling an army of five hundred thousand to invade the Great Ming Empire's border.
At Gulei City, on the border with Heaven Dou, the Second Dou-Ming War began.
This time, however, the Great Ming Empire's forces were clearly much smaller.
On the afternoon of the twentieth, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces clashed with the one hundred thousand Dragon Guard led by Xu Yi.
One hundred thousand against five hundred thousand—a fivefold difference in numbers. From the very first moment of battle, the field became a meat grinder, and soldiers on both sides fell in droves.
Although every Dragon Guard was at the pinnacle of human strength, the numerical disparity was undeniable. In an instant, they suffered heavy losses.
"This is bad. The difference in numbers is too great..."
Watching the soldiers in golden dragon armor fall one after another, Xu Yi felt as if his heart were being cut to pieces.
These were the troops who had followed him as he conquered the Gulei Kingdom, reclaimed the lost Star Shine Duchy, and defeated the enemy Galloping Wolf Kingdom.
No one understood the Dragon Guard's peerless fighting strength better than Xu Yi.
Every one of them was in the prime of their lives, outstanding soldiers unlike any he had ever seen elsewhere or in any other army.
Even the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry—
The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry were heavy cavalry. On horseback, the Dragon Guard might not be able to beat them, but on the ground, each Dragon Guard could absolutely take on three men.
"Kill!!!!"
"Kill those bastards!"
"His Majesty said that while he is away on campaign this month, we must protect the Great Ming!"
"Even if I have to give my life, I still have to... defend the Great Ming's magnificent land!"
The Dragon Guard fought with unprecedented ferocity, refusing to retreat even in death.
As their comrades fell around them, they showed no fear. Their eyes were bloodshot and veined red—they had clearly gone berserk with bloodlust.
A distinct, blood-red killing aura seemed to rise from each of them.
For a moment, even the numerically superior Heaven Dou Allied Forces were stunned.
They dared not advance.
A quarter of an hour later, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces withdrew beyond the Great Ming border.
Faced with the Dragon Guard's bloodshot eyes, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces had grown afraid.
The first clash ended in defeat.
A rough tally showed over forty thousand wounded and more than fifty thousand dead!
It was an appalling number.
After all, only one hundred thousand Dragon Guard were stationed at the Great Ming border.
Bang!!!
"Bastards, what happened?"
"According to our intelligence, there are only one hundred thousand troops stationed on the Great Ming border. How could they possibly have such powerful combat coordination?"
Hearing the Heaven Dou commander, his deputy hesitantly stepped forward.
"General, the enemy is very strong. It was obvious they had gone berserk with bloodlust by the end."
"Our men were terrified just watching them."
Indeed, the Dragon Guard's physical abilities now surpassed those of three to five ordinary men.
Put simply, once they went berserk on the battlefield, they could cut down one enemy after another with a single stroke.
"Damn it, we can't keep dragging this out."
"Isn't the Great Ming Empire known for its blitzkrieg tactics? Tonight, we'll use their own strategy against them and launch a blitzkrieg on the Great Ming!"
The Heaven Dou commander wore a cold expression.
As Heaven Dou's commander in this campaign, he would not repeat the mistakes others had made.
He had to end the battle quickly. The Great Ming's main forces were tied down in the south—that was an extraordinary opportunity.
Meanwhile, at the Gulei Defense Line on the Great Ming border,
the Dragon Guard were not faring much better. They had lost nearly fifteen thousand in the afternoon's battle.
Fifteen thousand men—that was an enormous number.
The Dragon Guard had never suffered losses on this scale before.
Even after fighting for so long, their total losses had never exceeded a few thousand.
And whenever they took casualties in battle, the Dragon Guard were always the first troops to receive reinforcements.
Night.
Inside the military camp,
Xu Yi watched the scene outside with a grim expression.
By some cruel coincidence, snow began falling from the sky.
Though the Dragon Guard had surged forth in the afternoon and pushed back five hundred thousand troops,
a sense of foreboding still lingered in Xu Yi's heart.
The Dragon Guard were the Great Ming's second army.
The first was the Imperial Guard, but they had been wiped out fighting Heaven Dou's five hundred thousand troops.
If the Imperial Guard hadn't had descendants in Ming City to inherit their fathers' glory, their designation might have been abolished.
A powerful premonition of disaster gripped Xu Yi: this time...the Dragon Guard might also be lost here.
Whooo! Whooo!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The next moment, the urgent signal horn sounded throughout the military camp.
Xu Yi's heart sank.
"It's the Heaven Dou Allied Forces!"
Clang!!!!
Another wave of clashing blades rang out.
Elsewhere,
Xu Nian'an led three hundred thousand Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, one hundred thousand elite soldiers, and one hundred thousand Dragon Guard—a total of five hundred thousand men—across the Star Dou Mountain Range to return to Gulei City.
Xu Nian'an's army did not arrive on the first day. It was not until dawn that the scouts could make out Gulei City's silhouette from several mountains away.
"Your Majesty, the army will reach General Xu Yi within a day at the latest, or by this afternoon at the earliest."
Hearing this, Xu Nian'an hurried to the top of a high mountain to take a look.
When he saw the Great Ming flag still flying over Gulei City, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Gulei City was a vital stop on the route from Heaven Dou to the Great Ming. If the Heaven Dou Empire wanted to invade the Great Ming, it had to take the city first.
The Great Ming flag was still flying over Gulei City. That meant the Great Ming border had been invaded, but at least the city had not fallen.
Xu Yi had held the line.
The twenty-first.
After a night of slaughter, Gulei City had held.
But Xu Yi and the Dragon Guard were at their limit.
Corpses littered the city and its surroundings. Blood ran together into little streams, just as it had during the Heaven Dou Empire's previous siege.
The Dragon Guard had lost fifty thousand men in last night's battle. Everyone else had been wounded to one extent or another.
In the Heaven Dou Allied Forces' camp,
"Bastards! Useless! Are you NPCs or what?"
"Five hundred thousand troops against a hundred thousand, and you nearly lost half your men!"
"A five-to-one advantage, and you still got counter-killed five-on-one! Do you even know how to play?!"
The Heaven Dou Allied Forces' commander was livid.
His fists were clenched tight, and his chest heaved up and down.
Counting the losses from yesterday and last night, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces had already lost nearly two hundred thousand men.
And that did not even include those who had lost the ability to fight but were still alive... the useless ones.
"Damn it! If that useless Xue Guard hadn't taken the Royal Artillery Regiment to their deaths last time, how could I, Xue Yi, have failed to take even a single city?"
Their losses had exceeded half, and the enemy's numbers were nearly depleted, too.
Now, even Xue Yi had to grit his teeth and press on.
"This time, I will lead the army myself. For the supreme glory of the Heaven Dou Empire!"
Afternoon.
As Xu Nian'an drew close to Gulei City, he suddenly heard waves of battle cries.
"Brothers, hold on a little longer!"
"Kill! Kill them, and His Majesty will avenge us!"
"Protect General Xu Yi!"
Xu Nian'an's expression changed.
"Open the city gates!!!!"
At his roar, Gulei City's rear gate collapsed. The first thing Xu Nian'an saw was golden armor scattered everywhere.
Golden armor lay across the ground as far as the eye could see. The faces of the fallen men were unfamiliar to Xu Nian'an, but he knew the armor they wore... Weren't they his Dragon Guard?
They were everywhere, stretching beyond sight.
Seeing so many Dragon Guard lying on the ground, Xu Nian'an felt a sudden ache in his heart.
"Kill!!!"
"Kill that general! The commander said if we kill him, we'll be promoted three ranks, get a thousand gold coins, a mansion in Heaven Dou City, and countless beauties!"
"For every Dragon Armor Army soldier you kill, you'll get a hundred gold coins and a promotion of one rank!"
Hearing the reward, Xu Nian'an's head roared. His face flushed crimson as he looked up.
The Heaven Dou banners appeared in the distance. At the center of the Heaven Dou army, a group of people was gathered around someone.
Xu Nian'an's gaze turned icy.
"Kill! Kill them all! I want every last one of them dead!!!"