Chapter 4: Soul-Burning Power (Passive. Lv.50); Weapons can be imbued with soul-burning power, attacks deal an additional 40 true damage. This ability increases the stamina consumption rate of soldier-type units (triggered by 100,000 soldiers).
Tip: The above buff effects can be stacked after activation.
Total buff: Morale +60, all true attributes +10 (excluding luck attribute), Bloody Battle (Passive), Soul-Burning Power (Passive).
...
After the War Lord title was upgraded to five stars, its buff underwent a qualitative change. Previously, the buff could only be granted to Su Xiao's soldiers once war broke out. Now, it's different; as long as they are his soldiers and not too far from him, they can continuously receive the buff state.
In Su Xiao's view, there are three key factors determining a soldier's combat effectiveness: morale, physical fitness, and finally, the soldiers' skills.
War Lord enhances all three, especially the skills Bloody Battle and Soul-Burning Power. In large-scale melees, both can produce quite formidable effects.
Everything still depends on actual combat performance. Tomorrow morning, 300,000 war beasts will be delivered to Segona City. By then, Su Xiao's soldiers will be fully armed.
Su Xiao lay down on the bed and fell asleep. Meanwhile, behind enemy lines, inside the tent of Spring Iron Sheep.
Besides Spring Iron Sheep himself and his adjutant, there were three others in the tent. They wore the gray-green clerical robes unique to the Secret Lu Kingdom, and their pupils were all emerald green.
"Did the Mao God send you here just to deliver this thing?"
Spring Iron Sheep glanced at the three members of the 'Mao Life Divine Cult.' Like his brother, the Secret Lu King, he somewhat looked down on the 'Mao Life Divine Cult.'
"Spring Iron Sheep, we are willing to assist you by the guidance of the gods. This artifact can help you win the war."
A divine envoy crouched down, pressing one hand onto a half-meter-tall stone statue. The statue had wings on its back, a ferocious expression, and fangs. Just one look gave people an ominous feeling.
"With it, the dwarf warriors under your command will become stronger."
"Hmph."
Spring Iron Sheep snorted coldly. He didn't need to think to know that anything the Mao Life Divine Cult brought would have considerable side effects.
"It can make the dwarf warriors fearless."
The divine envoy raised his hand, and the purple-black flames on the stone statue subsided.
"What's the price?"
"No price at all."
"..."
Spring Iron Sheep looked at the divine envoy, slightly tilting his head. His adjutant immediately leaned in to listen.
"Understood, my lord."
The adjutant withdrew. After a while, the sound of clashing armor came from outside the tent.
"Spring Iron Sheep! What do you mean by this?"
The three divine envoys' faces turned ugly, their pupils shifting to a dark green.
"This stone statue comes from the Ancient Civilization Continent. It's called 'The Rampage of Soul Devouring.' According to secret records, an extremely evil god once used it to collect the souls of its followers. It doesn't make soldiers fearless; instead, it collects their souls after they die. There's something I'm curious about."
Saying this, Spring Iron Sheep slowly stood up.
"I'm curious, what gave the Mao God the audacity to send this thing to me? Without the Secret Lu Kingdom, the Mao God would have been devoured by the Penier Family long ago. Decades ago, he knelt before the Secret Lu King, begging us to help him deal with the Penier Family. So we allied with the False King's father, Mad Dog Uno, and the Brave Skull Clan to annihilate the Penier Family. Has the Mao God now forgotten past favors?"
Golden mist emanated from Spring Iron Sheep's body, with golden lightning flickering within the mist.
Seeing this, the three divine envoys all fell to their knees with a thud.
"Lord Spring Iron Sheep, please, you must use it. This is for the sake of Secret Lu..."
Before the divine envoy could finish, Spring Iron Sheep waved his hand.
"Drag them out and kill them all. And smash this thing. Secret Lu will not rely on such evil artifacts. Until the last dwarf dies, the Secret Lu Kingdom will not fall."
Spring Iron Sheep was very decisive, knowing that this stone statue was nothing but a trap.
Amidst pleas for mercy, the three divine envoys were dragged out of the tent, and soon it fell completely silent.
"What is the Mao God afraid of?"
Spring Iron Sheep frowned in thought. The Mao Life God's behavior was too abnormal, trying to collect souls on the front lines. If the dwarf soldiers ever found out, it would lead to disastrous consequences.
Judging by the Mao Life God's actions, the other party wanted to accumulate power quickly to deal with something. The Mao God wouldn't do this unless it was terrified to a certain degree.
What Spring Iron Sheep didn't know yet was that he no longer needed to guard against the Mao Life God. Tomorrow morning, he would face the hardest battle of his life. Three hundred thousand beast cavalry were about to descend upon the battlefield.
Early the next morning, the dark red on the plains had faded. There had been a heavy rain last night, making the air fresh with a post-rain earthy smell.
The area around Segona City became lively. Soldiers led war beasts one by one. The war beasts were quite large, shorter than horses but stronger, with a physique similar to large felines. They had black fur all over, and their thick, paw-sized meaty claws left plum blossom prints on the ground. They had sharp fangs, claws, and long tails.
The war beasts' torsos were wrapped in armor plates, totaling over 900 jin. Despite wearing this weight, their movements remained agile. The added weight of the soldiers riding them was nothing to them.
There were two reasons war beasts were expensive: first, their long breeding cycle, and second, the difficulty of taming them. They first had to be taught to distinguish between Flame Sand people and dwarves, then they had to be desensitized to loud noises, trained not to flee when injured, not to go berserk in chaotic battlefields, and to obey the cavalry's commands.
After the entire process, a war beast could finally go to battle. Later costs like feeding were also significant.
All of Su Xiao's soldiers had ridden war beasts before, just for a short time. This was a necessary subject in recruit training. As for perfect coordination with the war beasts, that was out of the question for now. It would take at least a few battles to achieve.
The fact that someone in Sand Capital had requisitioned these war beasts had already caused resentment among the other grand commanders. If the cavalry had been transferred as well, the other grand commanders would have disobeyed orders, leading to multiple defensive lines being breached. These 300,000 war beasts were borrowed, with a time limit of 7 days. What would happen after 7 days was uncertain.
Compared to forced requisition, borrowing them for 7 days was easier for the grand commanders to accept. Sand Capital wouldn't renege on this point, or it would shake military morale.
Regarding this action, Su Xiao's assessment was that the other party was too anxious. The moment he showed a hint of defeat, reinforcements arrived. This indicated that someone in Sand Capital had waited too long, or rather, the Flame Sand Kingdom's constant defeats had made that person lose hope. Now, they were gambling.
Su Xiao stood on the city wall, looking around. A total of 300,000 soldiers had mounted their war beasts. It was time for a decisive battle with Spring Iron Sheep.
Hmm~
The horn was blown. The soldiers let out a unified shout, the war beasts roared, and a dragon's roar silenced all other sounds.
Su Xiao leaped onto the dragon's back, drew his longsword from his waist, and pointed it forward.
"Trample the Secret Lu Kingdom."
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The black dragon took flight, and below, the beast cavalry began their march. If the other grand commanders on their side saw this, they would be astonished to find that this beast cavalry's advance speed was faster than the Secret Lu Kingdom's Mighty Sheep Cavalry Regiment, and their momentum was even greater.
Where the war beasts passed, not a blade of grass grew, and all living creatures retreated.
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