Chapter 30: One on One, If You Dare
Orange-yellow flames shot into the sky, engulfing Di Ya within. The explosive flames corroded the War God Armor, but fortunately, this set of War God Armor was forged at a cost of nearly 8 million Paradise Coins.
A beast cavalryman charged through the flames, swinging a glaive at least three meters long in a half-circle, aiming for Di Ya's head.
With a bang, the beast cavalryman's head burst open, but his war beast leaped up, throwing itself at Di Ya without regard for death.
In less than ten seconds, Di Ya was completely surrounded by the beast cavalry army.
Boom! Boom!
Limbs flew everywhere, red gunfire flashed, and Di Ya displayed astonishing combat power. Any beast cavalryman who dared step within three meters of her was as good as dead.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
The army roared. The beast cavalry showed no signs of breaking. Not only were high-ranking officers present, but the terrain advantage alone made retreat impossible. This was the Holy City, the symbol of the Empire. Even on the frontier, these beast cavalrymen were fearless, let alone within the Holy City.
Blood splattered. Di Ya's gaze swept around her. All she could see were soldiers; she couldn't even see the outside scene. As for perception, in this chaotic battlefield, perception was utterly useless.
After less than five minutes of melee, Di Ya stood atop a pile of corpses. She flicked her crystal spear, and no beast cavalryman dared approach.
Had the beast cavalry lost their nerve? Of course not.
Thump, thump, thump...
Heavy pounding sounds came. Rows of heavy shield soldiers, each holding tower shields nearly two meters tall, arrived. Their steps were orderly, slow but forming a shrinking wall of steel.
Di Ya leaped down from the corpse pile. She had tried to break out by jumping earlier but gave up after one attempt. Countless heavy crossbows were set up nearby. Not only were they incredibly powerful, but the bolts themselves—nearly five meters long and made entirely of metal—were not easy to withstand.
If only a dozen giant bolts were fired at her, Di Ya wouldn't be afraid. But when she jumped, at least a hundred giant bolts shot toward her, nearly turning her into a pincushion.
What chilled Di Ya to the bone was that the archers in the distance didn't care about friendly fire on the beast cavalry. The moment she jumped, a volley was unleashed.
Heavy footsteps came from all around. The heavy shield soldiers began to charge, their door-thick tower shields slamming forward with no gaps between them.
A series of thunderous sounds echoed through the central area of the Holy City. Just over ten minutes ago, this was a peaceful residential district. Now, it had become a battlefield.
Flames consumed the ruins of buildings. Over ten thousand soldiers surrounded Di Ya, and this was only the vanguard. Another thirty thousand were on the way.
Even if all of them died, there were still 170,000 reserve soldiers outside the city. Of course, the probability of Di Ya killing all ten thousand soldiers was extremely low—about the same as winning the lottery.
The roar of battle rose to the heavens, drowning out Di Ya's unwilling cries. All she wanted to do now was break out.
At the edge of the battlefield, Su Xiao sat on a wooden chair on a high platform. Wu Fu stood beside him, and hundreds of elite personal guards were stationed nearby—the cream of the crop.
Su Xiao watched the distant battlefield, holding a bright red apple in his hand. With a crunch, he bit into it. Sweet and sour juice burst in his mouth, the flesh crisp.
Su Xiao had never considered a one-on-one duel with the violator. He wouldn't waste the advantages provided by Reincarnation Paradise. The king's recommendation, along with the old priest's introduction, had given him a basic power base. After countless mental efforts, he had killed Duke Silver Feather and Bloomer, then outwitted the Finance Minister, secured a massive military budget, fed all his officers, equipped over 500,000 soldiers with new armor, weapons, and war beasts, and paid off a huge backlog of compensation.
Everything Su Xiao had done was now paying off. He only needed to watch as the violator was besieged to death by the army.
"Kukulin, if you've got guts, come fight me one-on-one!"
From among the soldiers, Su Xiao faintly heard the violator's shout.
"Isn't this exactly the one-on-one you love?"
Su Xiao took another bite of his apple. 15,000 soldiers, one-on-one against the violator.
Twenty minutes later, Di Ya still maintained her Valkyrie stance. During this time, she had used four Epic-grade items and countless recovery items.
Thirty minutes later, cracks were visible on Di Ya's War God Armor. She was covered in blood, impossible to tell if it was her own or the beast cavalry's.
Forty-five minutes later, Di Ya knelt on one knee, gripping her crystal spear with one hand, panting heavily. If this were a battlefield, she wouldn't be so exhausted. But now, all the soldiers were focused on killing her alone. This was different from a melee; it drained stamina massively.
One hour later.
Pfft!
Di Ya's crystal spear pierced a beast cavalryman's throat, but five glaives slammed into her shoulders and back with dull thuds.
"Ah!!"
Di Ya roared. Just as she tried to stand and continue fighting, a massive black shadow charged at her—a war beast resembling a rhinoceros, the size of a house.
In the past, Di Ya was confident she could take down this war beast in 30 seconds. But now, she was too exhausted.
Armor clashed. The war beast rammed into Di Ya, sending her flying. The beast cavalry in the distance immediately retreated, and the shield soldiers advanced, raising their tower shields.
With a crash, Di Ya slammed into the wall of tower shields. The impact was so great that at least five shield soldiers were sent flying backward.
"Kill!"
Nearly a hundred halberdiers advanced, thrusting their three-meter-long halberds at Di Ya.
Di Ya rolled on the ground. Her crystal spear split in two, becoming two long swords over 1.3 meters. The second form of the Valkyrie activated, rapidly restoring her stamina.
Yet, all she saw were still soldiers, seemingly endless.
Two hours later, Di Ya stood atop a giant war beast, wielding twin swords. The beast had been cut into four pieces by her.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Heavy gasps escaped Di Ya's mouth. Blood dripped from the corner of her lips.
"Reincarnation Paradise, go to hell. Kukulin Bai Ye, you too, go to hell."
Di Ya took a deep breath. She had never missed Apocalypse Paradise as much as she did now. That place was heaven—rarely any old schemers, a rare species. The penalty mechanisms for missions were at most deductions in body attributes, or worse, ability stripping, nothing like Reincarnation Paradise.
Since entering Reincarnation Paradise, every main mission Di Ya had received carried the penalty of forced execution.
"Why did I have to mix in with a pack of wolves?"
Di Ya let out a bitter laugh. A glaive came swinging at her face.
Five minutes later, Di Ya was pierced by over a dozen halberds, suspended in midair. Her twin swords were long gone, and her War God Armor was heavily damaged.
Pfft, pfft...
Metal bolts connected to steel cables pierced Di Ya's body. A dozen halberdiers began carrying her forward.
A few minutes later, with a thud, Di Ya was thrown to the ground in front of Su Xiao. Five glaives pinned her to the ground.
"Lord, the villain has been brought."
A beast cavalryman with a bloodied face knelt before Su Xiao. He was lucky—one strike had rendered Di Ya combat-ineffective.
"Very good. Your name is..."
Su Xiao naturally didn't know this soldier's name. Apart from the commanders and legion leaders, he couldn't even remember the names of other officers.
"I am Alver Sari, from the northern border's foreign tribe."
The kneeling beast cavalryman removed his helmet, revealing grayish skin—a characteristic of the northern foreign tribes.
"Alver Sari, you are now the legion commander of the Twelfth Legion."
"?"
Alver Sari looked up at Su Xiao in stunned disbelief. His comrade beside him kicked his backside.
"Thank you for your recognition, Lord."
Alver Sari's body trembled. He hadn't been this shaken even when facing Di Ya in direct combat. Such was the power of authority.