Chapter 71: The Dead Disciple
Dark clouds blotted out the sky, and the howling gale that had raged earlier inexplicably softened.
Massive ballista bolts streaked across the sky, splitting apart before they even landed, transforming into countless meter-long fragmentation bolts that rained down upon the enemy forces.
The charging enemy soldiers collapsed in droves. As soon as the fragmentation bolts pierced their bodies, a surge of ice crystals erupted. Within two seconds, the condensed crystals detonated, unleashing a wide-area attack on everything nearby.
Blood mixed with shattered ice scattered across the ground. After a single volley from over a thousand massive ballistae, a large swath of the distant enemy fell. Though the casualties seemed numerous, they amounted to little against the enemy's overall numbers.
A dozen Serpentfolk operated each metal ballista. Three of them strained to turn the winding wheels, re-tensioning the bowstrings, while the others began loading new bolts.
These giant metal crossbows were a unique war machine of the Northern Border, impossible for other factions to replicate. The massive metal ballistae themselves weren't hard to build—the real challenge lay in crafting the large bolts that could split midair while carrying ice energy.
At this moment, all thousand ballistae were positioned far behind the allied camp. Several hundred Ghosts patrolled the skies above, tasked with reconnaissance. Any suspicious figure, whether enemy or not, would be immediately swarmed and attacked.
Compared to the rear, the center of the battlefield was the most brutal zone. The front lines of Imperial soldiers and Flame Demons had already begun clashing. Moreover, the two armies were gradually interweaving. It was only a matter of time before they were fully entangled in chaotic melee.
Thump, thump, thump!
Amid the chaos, tremors came from behind the Imperial soldiers. Those locked in combat with Flame Demons immediately parted to the left and right.
A massive wild boar, over ten meters long, charged out from among the Imperial ranks. As it ran, it tilted its head and snapped up an Imperial soldier in its jaws.
"Save... save me!"
The soldier trapped in the giant boar's mouth barely got the plea out before a bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat.
Crunch, crunch~
The giant boar chewed the soldier to pieces, the sound of its teeth grinding through armor and bone especially gruesome. Blood foam dripped from its maw.
This boar wasn't just huge—the bristles on its back were like steel needles, the tusks on either side of its snout faintly glowing dark red, and its eyes burned with ferocious brutality.
Most striking was the dark red rune carved into the flesh beneath the giant boar's neck.
Normally, runes were inscribed on weapons, armor, or even city walls. Flesh could barely withstand such things, but there were exceptions—supernatural beasts, for instance. As long as their bodies were strong enough, they could endure the rune's imprint.
The giant boar charged into the Flame Demons, swinging its head. A dozen Flame Demons were sent flying with a thunderous crash, shattering midair before their mangled limbs hit the ground.
After rampaging back and forth, the boar plunged deep into the Flame Demon army. It opened its jaws, bit down on a Flame Demon, and began chewing, searing magma scorching its mouth.
After swallowing the Flame Demon, the boar let out a loud fart, seemingly unfazed by the demon's high temperature.
Just as the giant boar prepared to charge forward again, a fiery giant dropped from the sky—a Flame Giant.
Boom!
Flames erupted. The Flame Giant landed, crushing an Imperial soldier underfoot. Its massive hand seized the giant boar's snout. Inside the Flame Giant's iron-blue core, three Serpentfolk controlled its movements.
The Flame Giant gripped the boar's upper jaw with one hand and its lower jaw with the other, forcing the beast's mouth wide open. Tilting its head back, the Flame Giant seemed to take a deep breath, its flames dimming.
Whoosh!
A torrent of magma-laced fire erupted from the Flame Giant's throat, blasting straight down the boar's gullet and into its belly.
The giant boar let out a piercing shriek, thrashing wildly. The smell of roasting meat wafted from within. Seconds later, the boar was a cooked whole hog.
Such scenes were common on the chaotic battlefield. The Chaos Legion fielded Flame Giants and War Treants—massive combat units. The Duoyin faction countered with various supernatural beasts inscribed with runes.
High above the battlefield, the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos, had climbed several hundred meters, no longer spewing dragonfire downward. The trap Su Xiao had laid with the dragonfire was already set; there was no need to take further risks.
On the dragon's back, Su Xiao had waited nearly ten minutes. No contractors came to assassinate him. Not even a single ranged attack was attempted.
Su Xiao surveyed the battlefield below. If he looked closely, he could see many contractors fighting among the troops. Though they tried to stay hidden, their unique abilities made it hard to fully conceal themselves—unless they wanted to forgo earning battle merits.
In this decisive battle, merit gain was increased by 1.2 times. This was likely the last large-scale war on the Canglong Continent in recent years, perhaps even decades.
In other words, for the contractors present, this was their final chance to rake in merits.
Su Xiao wasn't particularly concerned with battle merits. Yueshitu had already left this world. Surpassing him in merits through this battle was virtually impossible.
What Su Xiao cared about was obtaining [Scarlet Merits] through kills. The problem was that enemy contractors had to actively attack him first; otherwise, even if he killed them, he wouldn't gain any [Scarlet Merits].
No enemy contractors were coming for him. Realizing this, Su Xiao directed Barbatos to descend, landing behind the allied forces.
Barbatos touched down. Su Xiao leaped from the dragon's back, standing on a small hill as he surveyed the battlefield ahead.
He had been in the air earlier, and with Barbatos's combat power, few would dare approach. So he returned to the ground.
Pfft.
A masked assassin in leather armor had his throat torn open by the suddenly appearing Baha. He wasn't a contractor—just an assassin sent by the Duoyin faction.
Even back on the ground, no one came for Su Xiao. There were plenty of reckless seventh-rank contractors, but even they had some sense.
For one, Su Xiao's top ranking on the merit leaderboard was enough to make enemy contractors think twice.
Unable to gain [Scarlet Merits], Su Xiao didn't force the issue. His current goal was to win this decisive battle—even if it meant a pyrrhic victory.
If they won, the rewards would be substantial. Su Xiao didn't plan to drag this battle out too long. He wasn't worried about casualties among the Flame Demon army—that was his greatest advantage in this fight.
Just as Su Xiao was about to give orders, a mass of foam appeared on his right hand. The foam was white, and at first glance, it looked like a layer of coral clinging to his hand and forearm.
This white "coral" was heavy and extremely hard. Even with Su Xiao's strength, breaking it without a blade would be difficult.
A young man stopped near the hill, smiling at Su Xiao. Most rational contractors wouldn't dare attack him. But a small fraction of lunatics in Reincarnation Paradise had no sense of reason.
"Reincarnation Paradise. Dead Disciple. This isn't a world war, so there's no need to unite against a common enemy. I came to have a fight with Brother Bai Ye. Forgive any rudeness."
Dead Disciple halted a dozen meters away, the smiling young man exuding politeness.