Chapter 9: Battle Merit
On the border battlefield, slightly to the north.
The setting sun on the horizon was like blood. Tens of thousands of heavily armored infantry formed a phalanx. The front row of infantry held metal kite shields, round on top and pointed on the bottom, reducing weight while providing decent defense.
Surrounded by the soldiers, Apocalypse Paradise contractor Hipok hesitated. For some reason, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Facing the current situation, the enemy not only wasn't thinking about how to escape, but had instead drawn his blade.
"Withdraw..."
Just as Hipok was about to give the order, the adjutant beside him let out a roar.
"Full charge!"
After this roar spread, the sound of clattering armor followed in unison.
"Wait."
Hipok wanted to stop it, but his adjutant completely ignored him. The reason was that this adjutant didn't want to die. Even if it meant offending his own commander, this battle had to be fought today.
Ten thousand imperial soldiers, after encountering a few hundred Grey Orcs, not only failed to annihilate the enemy but retreated instead—that simply wouldn't hold up. This was shirking battle, fleeing without a fight. If it were truly investigated, it was a serious crime.
The battlefield was no playground. Once you stepped here, sometimes you had no choice. The adjutant understood this clearly.
"Kill!"
Under Hipok's astonished gaze, soldiers rushed past him from both sides. Seeing this, he looked at his adjutant.
"Sir, shirking battle is a serious crime."
"This... hmm, you did well."
Hipok, who had never commanded soldiers before, realized what was happening. After taking control of ten thousand soldiers, he had subconsciously treated them as his temporary summons.
He had forgotten about the supervisory troops above, the legion commanders, and the Duoyin Empire. Ultimately, these ten thousand soldiers belonged to the military force of the Duoyin Empire.
Metal boots stomped the ground. The sight of ten thousand soldiers charging head-on was spectacular. Su Xiao wasn't greatly stirred by this spectacular scene because he had participated in cold-weapon battlefields many times before, had been besieged by endless undead, and the toughest time was being surrounded by ground-walking species—those alien creatures had decent individual combat power and terrifying numbers.
Pale blue electric arcs surged on the Dragon-Slaying Flash. Su Xiao's left hand stroked the blade's edge. 'Moon Blade' was successfully applied, increasing the weapon's sharpness by 107 points and attack power by 12-20 points (minimum-maximum).
Rumble...
The ground beneath Su Xiao began to tremble. Killing cries came from ahead. The faces of soldiers came into his view.
The muscles on these soldiers' faces were tense. Their resolute eyes didn't reveal too much killing intent. For them, killing enemies had almost become a habit. This had nothing to do with personal grudges, only orders.
'Blade Path: Azure Demon.'
Su Xiao slashed three times in succession. Three massive azure-blue blade arcs flew out.
With a tearing sound, large swaths of metal kite shields were cut in two. The soldiers behind them weren't spared either. Their armor provided no defense. On the armor, a full finger thick, the breaks were clean.
Three Azure Demon slashes cut into the mass of soldiers. The charging soldiers were thrown into chaos, but once a full charge began, it was hard to stop.
"It's over."
Hipok, watching from the rear, knew it was over after seeing the power of those three Azure Demon slashes. The lunatic from Reincarnation Paradise they had encountered was ridiculously strong.
Hipok didn't hesitate. He urged his war beast forward and fled to the rear. Compared to dying on the spot, deserting in the face of battle meant nothing to him. He wasn't a native of this world. At worst, he would hide and mine, scraping through this world without issue.
A sound of wind breaking came. Hipok only felt his back neck go numb, then lost his sense of balance. The ring and pendant on his hand shattered simultaneously—these were two Holy Spirit rank quality items.
"Close call."
Baha appeared over ten meters away, bloodstains on his claws. If not for the protection of Holy Spirit rank equipment, Baha could have pulled Hipok's vertebrae out of his body just now. Indeed, Baha's combat style was that ruthless.
Compared to the battle between Baha and Hipok, Su Xiao's side was more spectacular.
"Assault formation!"
Among the mass of soldiers, a sergeant major shouted. The sergeant major was no small rank. When war broke out, on-the-spot command relied entirely on them. Not only did a sergeant major need to be capable in combat, but they also needed excellent command skills. In the Duoyin Empire's army, sergeant majors were precious talents, too difficult to train.
At this sergeant major's command, all soldiers around him changed formation. This triggered a chain reaction. The charging formation of all soldiers gradually became a spearhead shape. The three soldiers at the very front were enveloped by the energy of a spell, almost forming a giant cone spear charging forward.
Su Xiao suddenly disappeared from his spot. The difference in speed decided many things.
Boom!
Like a cannonball, Su Xiao landed at the center of the soldiers' battle formation. A wave of air spread. The surrounding soldiers uncontrollably retreated or were sent flying backward.
As soon as he landed, Su Xiao crouched low, sheathed his long blade, and assumed a drawing stance.
'Blade Path: Super·Ring Break.'
Zheng!
A circular blade aura spread. Blood splashed around Su Xiao. All soldiers within two hundred meters of him were cut in two. Nearly eight hundred soldiers lay scattered around.
Suddenly, the killing cries fell silent. The soldiers on the periphery were momentarily at a loss.
"Kill!"
The severely wounded sergeant major roared. His command gave the confused soldiers a backbone. These were soldiers who had fought on the front lines for years. While everyone feared death, orders suppressed their fear. This was the quality brought by long-term training.
The surrounding soldiers trampled over their comrades' corpses, charging at Su Xiao from all directions. Heavy crossbows flew through the gaps between the crowds, heading toward Su Xiao.
Clang, clang, clang...
Sparks flew. Su Xiao slashed several times, shattering the heavy crossbows heading his way, while simultaneously dispelling the crystal layer behind him.
The sound of wind breaking and a roar came from behind simultaneously. It was a soldier wielding a cross sword. He had charged to Su Xiao's back and swung his sword down at Su Xiao's spine.
Su Xiao sidestepped while flipping his long blade, changing from a forward grip to a reverse grip. He thrust backward with the blade, piercing through this imperial soldier's head. The metal helmet on his head was directly punctured by the Dragon-Slaying Flash.
As Su Xiao pulled out the blade, he stabbed it toward the ground.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Thump~
A shockwave spread. The battle axes, heavy cavalry swords, and long spears coming at him all slowed down.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash flipped in Su Xiao's hand. He switched to a forward grip and slashed several times, killing all the surrounding soldiers.
Bang! A cavalry lance broke through the air, brushing past Su Xiao's face. This was a soldier whose armor was inscribed with spells.
Su Xiao slightly crouched and delivered a straight kick.
Boom!
An air blast spread. The soldier in front of Su Xiao directly shattered. His flesh and blood, like shotgun pellets, pierced through a large swath of soldiers behind him. These soldiers, riddled with holes, collapsed with the clatter of armor.
'Blade Path: Super·Ring Break.'
Another Ring Break. This wasn't the end. A crystal layer condensed around Su Xiao. He pushed his hand outward, and all these crystal layers exploded, flying in all directions.
Soon, the shattered crystals stopped, vaguely forming a massive circle around them. With the fragments of Banishment mixed in, these shattered crystals quickly constructed into the form of broken blades.
At the center, Su Xiao's hand made a grasping motion. Blue light flickered in his eyes. The crystal blade fragments distributed around all converged, like a circular blade net closing in.
Blood flew everywhere. Another large swath of soldiers surrounding Su Xiao fell.
"Charge!"
The shouts of Grey Orcs came. Those few hundred Grey Orcs hadn't fled. Instead, they were charging into the imperial army's formation.
It wasn't because they were loyal. After seeing Su Xiao's strength, they all realized that this small-scale war might not necessarily be lost. It was very likely they could win.
If they fled during this time and Su Xiao won, things would be very bad for them. The War Demon wasn't known for mercy.
Thirty-seven minutes after the battle began, the imperial army fighting Su Xiao routed, leaving behind a large field of corpses.
Standing on a not-too-high pile of corpses, Su Xiao flicked the blood off his blade.
[Prompt: You have gained 7059 Battle Merit points.]
[Current ranking on the Battle Merit Leaderboard: Third Place.]