In the central command tent of the Zenit people's temporary camp in southern Zenit Southern Frontier.
Zenit officers gathered together, led by the second prince of the empire, Dominguez, who was indeed the highest-ranking officer in command of the Southern Frontier campaign.
However, Prince Dominguez and his generals focused their attention on another person at this moment.
"Strategist Arjen, are we really destined to keep giving in like this? These damned Barcelona bastards, they're nothing but cold-blooded demons! In less than two days, they've slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in the empire, leaving a trail of blood in their wake..."
Dominguez's eyes were bloodshot, and as he spoke of anger, his handsome face became ferocious.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the strategist from Chambord City, Old Arjen, also frowned deeply, revealing a thoughtful expression.
As early as a year ago, when fighting against the Ten Empires Allied Army, Old Arjen led the Chambord Expeditionary Army and cooperated closely with the Second Prince. His outstanding military talent had already won over many people. Coupled with the ambush and retreat this morning, everyone's trust and reliance on him had reached its peak. It can be said that his every word and action determined the fate of the entire legion.
After a moment's thought, Arjen said with a bitter expression, " The Barcelona people are, after all, a level nine empire, teeming with experts, and their military equipment is clearly superior to ours. If we were to fight them head-on, we would undoubtedly lose. Of course, they are not without weaknesses. If we could wage a battle involving over 500,000 troops within three days, with Mr. Hasselbaink's cooperation, and disregard all costs, I am confident that we could completely annihilate the Barcelona people who have set foot on our imperial territory. But..."
At this point, most of the people in the tent understood the strategist's meaning.
Insufficient troops!
The Second Prince could only mobilize two main combat legions: the [ Southern Frontier Battle Corps ] and the [ Blizzard Legion ]. Adding to this the private armies of some vassal states and the mercenaries and refugees temporarily recruited, the total force was less than 100,000. While the Zenit Empire had significantly increased its military strength through massive conscription in the past year or two, command of most of the army remained in the hands of the First Prince Arshavin, the god of war. Even with the Second Prince's military power, mobilizing an army of over 500,000 was impossible.
The Barcelona army was already far superior to the Zenit army in terms of equipment and combat strength. If they could not compensate for the lack of quality with numbers, a head-on confrontation, even if they committed all two of their legions, would be nothing more than throwing eggs against rocks.
It seems that the best course of action is to continue guerrilla warfare and harassment, slowing down the advance of the Barcelona army, and then send a reinforcement to the capital while waiting for the Military Department and Emperor Yassin to make a decision.
After all, what they were facing now was not the combined forces of a dozen or so ordinary empires from the past, but a level nine empire, the Barcelona Empire, which was known as the number one on the continent!
This is a true behemoth; even the Lyon Empire is no match for this colossus.
The situation is more severe than ever before.
Some people placed their hopes on the Empire-Protecting Martial Saint of the Empire, King of Chambord. However, only a few people, such as Old Arjen, knew that His Majesty had left Chambord City more than twenty days ago to visit the Behemoth Orc Clan in a very distant place.
"We hope His Majesty can return in time."
Old Arjen prayed silently in his heart.
Although he was a renowned general and always extremely confident, he had somehow developed a dependence on this magical King, as if he felt more at ease only when the King was in charge.
The Land of Exile, the City of Behemoths.
Sun Fei's curiosity was quickly satisfied.
Before Fox Priest Fox could bring Sun Fei and the others back to their lodging, the Bode Clan swan beauty who had accompanied Ernst to play ball earlier rushed over, spoke to Nash, and then the group turned around and returned to the plaza of the [ Beast God Temple ].
By this time, more than a thousand Orc Clan and powerful warriors had gathered here.
A chilly night wind blew, and the square was filled with solemnity and a murderous aura.
Upon seeing Sun Fei and his group arrive, Ernst didn't bother to explain anything. Immediately, someone brought over a flying mount, carrying Sun Fei and the others. Under the cover of night, the thousands of people took to the air and sped deeper into the [ Land of Exile ].
" The Metal Storm and the Evil Water Swamp in the center of the earth have undergone strange changes; the Dread Beast within have begun to rampage... Perhaps this was all arranged by that being long ago; you should go and see for yourself."
On the way, Ernst was extremely busy, discussing something with the Orc Clan of the Ten Golden Races. He only had time to quietly explain this to Sun Fei.
Sun Fei seemed to be deep in thought.
The Orc Clan ' flying mounts are extremely swift and powerful, selected for their exceptional speed, covering hundreds of miles in an instant.
After flying for about six or seven hours, there was no longer any trace of Behemoth Beastmen activity on the land below. It was a vast Shamo, desolate and uninhabited. Not far ahead on the horizon, a huge, bright red wall shot straight into the sky, like a fence at the edge of the world, blocking the way between heaven and earth.
"We're almost there, everyone be careful!"
Someone shouted from ahead, and the formation's flight speed gradually slowed down.
The group landed about ten kilometers away from the giant, bright red wall.
At this moment, Sun Fei could see very clearly that what was supposed to be a giant red wall was actually quicksand blown into the sky by a terrifying tornado.
The sand grains must have contained metallic components. After being exposed to wind and sun, they oxidized and turned bright red, swirling in the air like boiling blood. Even more strangely, the hurricane of the red sand grains only rolled in place. Ten kilometers away, it seemed as if an invisible force was blocking the hurricane from moving forward.
The red sand and the howling and roaring sounds emanating from the hurricane exuded a violent aura, causing everyone's flying mounts to whine and retreat continuously.
"Move forward on foot!"
Pope Ernst sighed and ordered a dozen or so followers to retreat with their mounts, while he led the group toward the Shamo that was churning in the sky.
"This is the [ Metal Shamo ]," High Priest Nash of Fox introduced. "It is inhabited by countless powerful and ferocious ancient beasts, which the orcs call ' Dread Beast.' They possess virtually no intelligence, retaining only the instinct to kill and attack. The Behemoth Beastmen have deployed a large number of troops and outposts around the [ Metal Shamo ]. His Holiness the Pope has also set up numerous totem arrays around the area to restrain the Dread Beast and prevent them from breaking out of the Shamo and slaughtering the Behemoth Beastmen."
Only then did Sun Fei have a chance to ask, "So what are we doing here? Has something unusual happened?"
First update