Chapter 45: Storm of Blood and Steel
Chapter 45: Storm of Blood and Steel
In an instant, the shouts of soldiers, the screams of the wounded, the commands of officers, and the clashing and breaking of metal… countless sharp, soul-chilling sounds suddenly erupted below Shampoo City, composing a deadly symphony of splattering blood and flying sparks that shattered the original peace of the land.
At this moment, an unstoppable cheer suddenly rose from the top of Shampoo City’s walls.
All worries and fears transformed into the loudest voices in that very instant.
That axe strike, which seemed to split heaven and earth, had crashed into the Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation and struck heavily upon the hearts of every person in Shampoo City. It was like a sudden burst of flame in the darkness, easily setting their blood and souls ablaze.
On the walls of Shampoo City, everyone knew who had delivered that axe strike, and everyone knew what face lay beneath that suit of armor at the very front.
Because each and every one of them had watched their young and brave king, Alexander, resolutely slide down the rope to the ground below, then firmly stand at the forefront of all his comrades, leaving his back to his followers.
And what he faced were the most brutal enemies.
Every soldier and commoner on the city walls was in tears. They roared wildly, waved their arms unconsciously, and jumped and shouted hysterically, as if doing so could lend strength to their comrades who had charged into the enemy ranks below the walls, as if they were fighting alongside their king.
On the other side of Zuli River.
Upon a gently sloping hill.
The Silver Masked Man’s face was as dark as water. His earlier confident, expectant expression had vanished completely. His expression was like that of a starving wolf biting down, only to find it had clamped onto a hard rock that broke its teeth, not the soft, fresh flesh it anticipated.
When that earth-shattering axe strike landed, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately knew things had gone wrong.
His once-proud Tower Shield Phalanx had not even held for a single second before being smashed to pieces by the opponent, who easily broke into the formation… It was like a hard slap to his face.
Moreover, the terrifying might contained within that axe strike made him feel threatened for the very first time.
Such power seemed beyond human capability.
There was no trace of Battle Qi fluctuations. What kind of power was it?
“Black Knights, relay my orders: change to the Encirclement Formation. Cut off and abandon the disordered front lines. Surround those intruders. Keep the Dragon Lances raised, maintain distance, and avoid direct confrontation…”
The Silver Masked Man quickly composed himself, displaying the adaptability expected of a commander.
His eyes sharp as lightning, he soon realized that these twenty-some desperate attackers were not Warriors and had no Battle Qi—they were relying purely on natural strength in a desperate fight. Over time, they would inevitably tire, and then they could be easily dispatched.
However, the Silver Masked Man did not want to wait any longer.
Although he had always been taught to keep his emotions hidden and had been instilled with countless tactics for warfare and reading minds, suffering repeated setbacks against an opponent he had regarded as weak as an ant made him feel deeply humiliated. He could no longer bear to hold back. He resolved to crush the enemy with the most overwhelming, thunderous methods and conquer Shampoo City in one fell swoop.
After a moment of contemplation, he gritted his teeth and coldly added, “Send the order to the Three-Star Warrior Lund: have him temporarily cease guarding the Giant Stone Catapult and proceed immediately to the front lines. Cooperate with one hundred Tower Shield soldiers to eliminate those few enemies in the shortest time possible… Prepare the entire army to assault the city at once.”
After issuing two iron-blooded military orders in succession, the Silver Masked Man pondered briefly, ensuring all countermeasures were foolproof, then waved his horsewhip, signaling the Black Knight behind him to swiftly relay the commands.
……
……
On the bridge.
The fierce battle continued.
Sun Fei’s earth-shattering axe strike, fueled by the unparalleled brute force of a Level 12 Barbarian, tore a breach in the tightly-knit Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation of the Black-Armored Soldiers. More than twenty strongmen seized the opportunity, closely following behind him. Like an unstoppable divine blade, they instantly cut into the heart of the enemy formation.
The frontal defense of the Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation was incredibly formidable; even charging heavy cavalry struggled to breach it. But once the formation was broken, the soldiers behind the Tower Shields, clad only in soft leather armor without steel plate protection, were utterly vulnerable.
The white-haired strongman Pierce and the long-haired brawny man Drogba stayed close behind Sun Fei. Both were naturally gifted with Divine Power; the great hammers and axes in their hands carried thunderous force. After rushing into the enemy ranks, their hammers and blades danced everywhere. Black-Armored Soldiers who were struck died instantly; those grazed were severely wounded, utterly unable to resist.
On the narrow Stone Bridge, blood rained down, and chaos reigned.
Due to the terrain, although the Black-Armored Soldiers were numerous, they could not effectively surround Sun Fei and his men. At most, only about a dozen could line up side by side on the bridge, preventing them from fully utilizing their numerical advantage. They quickly fell into a disadvantaged position.
Amid the chaos, a Black-Armored Soldier officer, whose strength was nearly that of a One-Star Warrior, noticed that the armored figure who had shattered the Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation with that astonishing axe now had no weapon in hand. His eyes lit up with a spark of greed. He quietly picked up a broken half of a Dragon Lance from the ground, cradled it in his arms, channeled his Battle Qi wildly, and, seizing the moment, thrust it forward abruptly.
Even though it was only half a Dragon Lance, it still weighed at least fifty or sixty pounds. The spearhead, shining coldly under the sunlight, revealed a bloodthirsty ferocity. Propelled by the officer’s Battle Qi, nearing One-Star strength, it created an afterimage as it stabbed toward Sun Fei’s chest.
“Die!”
The Black-Armored Soldier officer sneered.
He seemed to already envision his opponent being skewered and spurting blood under the Dragon Lance. Without a doubt, killing this monstrously strong foe would be a great military achievement, promising a swift promotion.
But—
The officer’s sneer quickly froze on his face.
It was replaced by a pale, fear-contorted countenance.
His pupils reflected an unbelievable scene—
The unarmed figure, detecting the sneak attack, showed not a trace of panic. On the contrary, a glint of cunning and scornful mockery appeared in the eyes behind the visor’s slit. The man lightly pulled his hands through the air; a faint white light flashed like Magic, and an exaggeratedly huge, terrifying Great Axe, resembling the grin of the God of Death, miraculously materialized in his grasp.
Clang—!
An axe swept forward.
It squarely met the Dragon Lance’s tip. Amid the mournful screech of grinding metal, sparks flew everywhere.
The axe’s blade transformed into a thin white line in the officer’s vision, like a divine blade effortlessly slicing through soft, creamy cake. It came straight at him with an unimaginable speed, splitting the iron Dragon Lance in two from the tip downward. Its force undiminished, it continued past his body…
Then, a chilling sensation spread.
The Dragon Lance, the black armor, the officer…
After that single axe strike, everything was cleanly split down the middle. After a brief pause, they suddenly collapsed into two halves with a crash.
Blood instantly and uncontrollably gushed forth.
Crimson entrails, severed limbs with white bone fragments, and steaming pieces of the Dragon Lance scattered across the ground.
Blood droplets splashing through the air landed on the still-hot, friction-reddened half of the broken Dragon Lance. With a sizzle, the blood vaporized into a red mist, filling the air with a foul, bloody stench, tinting the very atmosphere crimson.
“Aaaaaah…”
Several Black-Armored Soldiers near the officer witnessed this and were scared out of their wits. They broke down completely. Even an iron Dragon Lance had been split in two—what kind of demonic power was this? It was too cruel and brutal. Some turned and fled, screaming, only to accidentally crash into the Dragon Lances of the second row of their own formation, getting impaled like kebabs, twitching and wailing incessantly.
Sun Fei Summoned the Level 12 Barbarian’s magically imbued Great Axe, incredibly sharp. After cleaving the ambushing officer, he swung the axe in a wide arc, a backhand strike. Cold light shimmered, and several Black-Armored Soldiers who couldn’t escape in time were sliced in half, along with their weapons, with a tearing sound.
Behind him, a group of well-armored strongmen took advantage of the confusion to slaughter wildly.
Their sturdy steel armor allowed them to ignore the swords and blades of the Black-Armored Soldiers, while their exaggeratedly large Great Axes, great hammers, and giant blades harvested enemy lives freely. In the flurry of blades and axe shadows, often with a single swing of an axe or hammer, even if an opponent managed to block, the terrifying Might would smash both the soldier and his weapon to pieces. The overwhelming force could even effortlessly hurl Black-Armored Soldiers into the air.
This was the power of enraged strongmen in close-quarters combat.
Having drunk water diluted with Stamina Potion, the strongmen possessed seemingly endless stamina for a time, allowing them to fully utilize their strengths. The heavy armor and cumbersome weapons posed no burden to them; instead, they became nightmares for the enemy. Impenetrable in defense and unstoppable in offense, they were like a group of undefeatable Terror Beasts that had crawled out of Hell.
Twenty-three of them were like twenty-three tigers, armed to the teeth, charging into a flock of newborn lambs—unstoppable.
King Alexander led at the very tip of the wedge formation. Among the Black-Armored Soldiers, none could withstand even a single blow from him. He advanced almost at a running pace, immediately throwing the front of the hundred-man Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation into disarray.
The Black-Armored Soldiers further back tried to stabilize the formation.
But the soldiers at the front, facing these devils, wished only that their parents had given them two more legs. Scared out of their minds, they turned and fled. Having experienced many battles, they had never encountered such one-sided slaughter, without even a chance to fight back. How could they possibly continue?
Even though each was a well-trained elite soldier, at this moment, everyone had only one thought in mind—
Run!
Run as far away as possible!
Get away from these unkillable demons.