Chapter 48: Reinforcements?
At the destroyed "Yatade Wall" location.
Due to Amu absorbing a large amount of ice energy, the "Yatade Wall" had stopped repairing itself. Judging by the ice energy activity within the ice wall, it would take at least half a year for the "Yatade Wall" to regain its self-healing properties.
A massive section of the "Yatade Wall" had vanished, replaced by an iceberg several thousand meters high.
Not far from the iceberg, Amu was crouched on the ground, holding the Dragonheart Axe in one hand like a flag, its gaze vacant. In its mind at that moment, it was a tree.
Throughout the night, it was difficult to calculate how much ice energy had passed through Amu's body, which had left it in a dazed state. As for what to do about it, a good beating to get its blood flowing would suffice.
Boom, boom, boom...
A series of loud crashes echoed. A few minutes later, Su Xiao released Amu's shoulder. The bruised and swollen Amu got up from the ground, scratching its head in confusion.
"Amu... face... hurts."
Amu spoke, its cheek bulging as if it had an egg stuffed inside.
"It'll stop hurting soon."
Su Xiao flexed his slightly numb right hand. Amu's defense was formidable; hitting it hurt his hand.
"Amu... hungry."
"Starve for now. How's the ice energy accumulation?"
Baha landed on Amu's shoulder with a mischievous grin. Hearing this, Amu approached the iceberg and pressed both hands against it.
A few minutes later, large cracks appeared on the iceberg. The ice began to melt, not into water, but transforming into ice energy that was compressed and gathered.
Eventually, the entire iceberg vanished, condensing into a rhomboid form covered in icy spikes. This object was entirely composed of ice energy and was somewhat unstable.
"Boss, I ate something bad yesterday. I've got the runs today~"
Baha pretended to fly away, but Su Xiao and Bubu Wang both looked at it. Baha swooped toward the rhomboid of compressed ice energy, intending to seal it in an alternate space.
"Don't explode, don't explode. You're my dad, please don't explode..."
Baha muttered as it raised its talons. Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu all retreated far away, a testament to the object's power. Without the [Sanctuary Emblem] to save his life, Su Xiao wouldn't have let Amu compress this thing.
Under Baha's anxious gaze, spatial fluctuations surged, and the rhomboid of compressed ice energy gradually disappeared, sealed within an alternate space.
Throughout the night, Su Xiao confirmed many things. During the destruction of the "Yatade Wall," the Northern Border had dispatched multiple forces to stop them, all repelled by the Wolf Cavalry Legion. Even so, the Northern Border's casualties were not significant.
Compared to the Northern Border's swarming attacks, Duoyin's attitude was more interesting. They had deployed 500,000 Imperial soldiers to camp nearby and sent spies requesting an audience with Su Xiao.
Initially, the spies carried orders from Diplomat Difton, but eventually, they brought a letter from the King of Duoyin.
Su Xiao didn't read the letter's contents. The several spies were all blocked by the female Wolf Cavalry soldier, Youya, citing the urgency of the battle situation and Su Xiao's lack of time to meet them.
As the first rays of dawn rose from the horizon, Su Xiao looked at the destroyed "Yatade Wall" and ordered the Orc Hero, Wobor, to liaise with Duoyin's forces. The handover involved the garrison rights to this breach.
Duoyin quickly dispatched several units. The commander leading the 900,000-strong army was very "enthusiastic," repeatedly praising the Wolf Cavalry's bravery, though inwardly, he felt as if he had eaten shit.
For now, Su Xiao would not rashly enter the Northern Border. The reason was that the courtship from both Duoyin and the Northern Border might have been a trap from the very beginning.
In Su Xiao's view, it was true that Duoyin and the Northern Border were at war.
But what if, before the war began, the two sides had already agreed, even as enemies, to accomplish one thing together: lure the Wolf Cavalry Legion into the Northern Border, then use the Heavy Hammer Corps, the Holy Emblem Knights, and their main forces to encircle and annihilate the Wolf Cavalry Legion.
Though it was speculation, Su Xiao had to be cautious. The intelligence he had obtained about Duoyin might be a fabrication by the King of Duoyin.
Would Duoyin first cripple the Northern Border and then stab the Wolf Cavalry Legion in the back? Su Xiao felt that if he were Duoyin, he would cooperate with the Northern Border to a certain extent early in the war, eliminate the Wolf Cavalry Legion first, and then continue the war.
Currently, the Chaos Legion occupied one-third of the Canglong Continent's territory. On this vast land, the only guardian was the Wolf Cavalry Legion. Once the Wolf Cavalry Legion was destroyed, the "Western Border + Southern Border" cake could be divided. Would Duoyin and the Northern Border not be tempted?
This was why Su Xiao hadn't immediately advanced into the Northern Border. To solve the current dilemma, nothing was more effective than destroying the "Yatade Wall," the Northern Border's Achilles' heel.
With the "Yatade Wall" destroyed, the Extreme Ice Lord must be furious. He had allied with Duoyin, and despite being at war, they had shown a final shred of tacit understanding to eliminate the Wolf Cavalry Legion threat.
But not only did Duoyin fail to cooperate, they even allowed the Wolf Cavalry Legion to destroy the "Yatade Wall." From the Northern Border's perspective, Duoyin's action was no longer just a backstab; it was a sword piercing straight through the Northern Border.
Under these circumstances, if the Extreme Ice Lord still believed Duoyin's lies, not only would he lose face, but even his trusted aides would question if he had lost his mind.
Duoyin was now in a very difficult position. The "Yatade Wall" had been destroyed over 35 kilometers long. Yellow mud had fallen into their pants—whether it was shit or not, it was shit.
Duoyin not only had to hold their nose and ally with the Wolf Cavalry Legion to fight the Northern Border, but as a sign of goodwill, they also had to offer compensation for destroying the "Yatade Wall."
Thinking of this, Su Xiao ordered the entire army to retreat to yesterday's camp. After the order was relayed, the Wolf Cavalry began marching back.
An hour later, the allied army camped near Duoyin's garrison. Diplomat Difton hurried over. As an ordinary person, he had faint dark circles around his eyes; he hadn't slept all night.
"Lord White Night, regarding the Heavy Hammer Corps..."
"There was a slight accident last night. The attack on the Heavy Hammer Corps is postponed."
"This, this, this..."
Diplomat Difton was very troubled. When he noticed the hostile looks from the surrounding Wolf Cavalry, he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Lord White Night, I sincerely thank you for destroying the 'Yatade Wall.'"
After saying this, Diplomat Difton wanted to slap himself. The "Yatade Wall" had been destroyed for nearly 35 kilometers, completely connecting the Northern Border and the Central Region. This seemed like good news, but somehow, Difton felt it didn't align with the wishes of the higher-ups.
"I have brought compensation."
Diplomat Difton clapped his hands, and a thousand soldiers carried in large wooden chests.
[You have received 15,000,000 Imperial Gold Coins.]
[You have received 7,500 Holy Silver Coins.]
...
"Lord White Night, this is the reward for this matter. As previously agreed, if your forces can annihilate the Heavy Hammer Corps, our side is willing to offer another 15,000,000 Imperial Gold Coins and 15,000 Holy Silver Coins."
As Diplomat Difton said this, he felt his future was bleak.
Interestingly, Physician Chief Aofu did not attend this negotiation. She represented the Holy Emblem Knights, and her absence was very rude.
Physician Chief Aofu had no mind to come, because in the Northern Border, the Heavy Hammer Corps and the Holy Emblem Knights had truly started fighting. At this point, they were beating each other's heads into dog heads.
Su Xiao put away the 7,500 Holy Silver Coins. As for the remaining 15,000,000 Imperial Gold Coins, each Wolf Cavalry soldier received 25. Su Xiao had no use for them.
A leisurely wait began. Inside the two-story wooden building, Su Xiao put away the Deathmatch Terminal and began his daily meditation. He was waiting for Duoyin and the Northern Border to descend into complete chaos.
At three o'clock that afternoon, Su Xiao, along with Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, walked out of the wooden building. He summoned the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos, and leaped onto its back. As for the 600,000 Wolf Cavalry, they remained stationed there.
Barbatos flapped its dragon wings, soared into the sky, and headed toward the "Yatade Wall" destroyed the previous night.
After flying for over ten minutes, a large expanse of frozen ground appeared below, covered with uneven ice ridges—the remnants of the "Yatade Wall" after its destruction.
On this frozen ground, at least a million soldiers were locked in fierce battle, vying for control of this strategic location.
A house-sized fireball streaked across the sky, exploding mid-air into a rain of fire that fell toward the ground.
A large group of Ice Descendant soldiers were ignited, wailing in a sea of flames before turning into charred corpses.
With a bang, a metal crossbow bolt over ten meters long was fired from a ballista. This giant metal bolt, radiating cold air, split apart mid-flight, eventually piercing a large group of Imperial soldiers and pinning them to the frozen ground.
The split metal bolts, upon touching blood, spread a large sheet of ice that then exploded. The flying ice shards were as sharp as blades.
In the chaotic crowd, a piece of ice shard whistled past, slashing across an Imperial soldier's throat. But this soldier was fierce; clutching his throat with one hand, he cut down a nearby Ice Descendant soldier with two sword strikes.
Scenes like this were everywhere on the battlefield. Not only were Imperial soldiers and Ice Descendant warriors fighting, but many contractors were also present.
A contractor from Apocalypse Paradise lay on the ground, his face covered in blood. Just as everyone thought he was dead, he suddenly sprang up, using his mining shovel to kill a severely wounded Duoyin soldier. After doing this, he fell back to the ground with a thud, continuing to play dead.
Boom!
An explosion shook the battlefield. A ring of fire spread outward, sending shattered bodies flying in all directions. In the flames stood a man with a mask covering the lower half of his face—the Flame Master, a pioneer from Sanctuary Paradise and currently ranked fifth on the battle merit leaderboard.
The blast wave spread, and a petite figure in a Gothic dress landed. She had encountered a troublesome enemy this time.
Last night, she had watched a "war movie." No, for her, what she saw last night could be classified as a "horror movie." If she were caught by a certain someone, at best, she'd get a severe beating; at worst, she'd die on the spot.
As for fighting back, she faced two problems: 1. She couldn't beat the other party, and 2. She didn't want to be surrounded by 600,000 Wolf Cavalry—that would be extremely tragic.
"No matter if you're a madman or something else, die here. I'm really, really pissed off right now."
The Flame Master snapped his fingers, and explosions spread around him. Across from him, Gulu gritted her teeth in anger. Against this explosion maniac, she couldn't even get close.
"Roar!!"
A dragon's roar came from above, drawing the attention of both Gulu and the Flame Master.
"Is... the first place here?"
The Flame Master's pupils contracted. A whooshing sound came, and with a boom, a figure landed from above, blood energy spreading.
The Flame Master's cheek twitched. Just by sensing the other's aura, he confirmed one thing: the newcomer was definitely one of the strongest in the seventh rank, at least on the level of Gray Gentleman, Feishi, or Yueshitu.
"White Night, we've never met, and I don't think we have any grievances, right?"
The Flame Master spoke, his mental energy fully unleashed.
"My father, you've finally come to reinforce me!"
Gulu looked at the Flame Master with a mischievous grin. She seemed calm on the surface, but in reality, she wanted to turn and run.
"Fuck!!"
Hearing Gulu's cry of "my father," the Flame Master cursed loudly. His composure shattered.