Chapter 73: Bloom
"Kill!"
The imperial soldiers let out a roar, their morale instantly peaking at 100 points. They thrust their swords into the ice, letting the ice energy infuse the blades before charging at the nearby Flame Demons.
The Flame Demon army, which had been unstoppable moments ago, causing over 200,000 casualties among the Duoyin forces, now fell like wheat before a scythe.
Within just twenty minutes, the 4.7 million Flame Demons suffered heavy losses, and the battle situation turned into a one-sided rout.
Su Xiao stood on a hill behind his own camp, his gaze calm. He pulled a dwarf-made pocket watch from his chest and glanced at the time. It was almost time. This great decisive battle was merely an appetizer.
Before the battle even began, Su Xiao understood one thing clearly: the Flame Demon army was far too chaotic and difficult to command. A short skirmish was fine, but in a prolonged war, his side would surely lose. Duoyin's ability in frontal warfare was the strongest on the Canglong Continent—he had never doubted that.
At the enemy's rear, a sheathed knight's sword stood on a high platform. Two large hands pressed down on the pommel of the sword. Supreme Commander Gait surveyed the battlefield, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"The King has prepared everything. War Demon, how will you respond?"
Supreme Commander Gait pondered for a moment before issuing a second order: release the second batch of Ice Wings in a quarter of an hour. Before the battle, Duoyin had secretly gathered all its mages and used a ritual to create three batches of Ice Wings.
Supreme Commander Gait was not overly elated by the current results. The Elven race was the best example—arrogance led people to do many foolish things.
"Sir, urgent report!"
"Speak."
"Intelligence has returned. The War Demon is leading the Wolf Cavalry Legion, Treant units, Demon Ghost units, and War Crossbow units in a retreat to the rear."
"Oh?"
Supreme Commander Gait's eyes narrowed, exuding an imposing aura without anger. The battlefield was too vast, and with large ice formations blocking the view, he couldn't see the situation at the enemy's rear.
"Mr. Gait, the War Demon has been driven back by us."
"The War Demon excels at cavalry raids, but now on the frontal battlefield... hahaha."
"I propose we do not pursue. First, annihilate the enemy's Flame Demon corps—that's their main force. Once they're wiped out, our main army can press forward, and even the Wolf Cavalry Legion won't be able to stop us."
Several deputy commanders showed delighted expressions, but Gait frowned deeply, pondering what might happen next.
"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
Supreme Commander Gait's order left the deputy commanders stunned. The adjutant beside him was also taken aback, but on the battlefield, Gait's command was absolute.
"Pass the order: the Fifth Corps retreats."
"The Eighth Vanguard Brigade is to withdraw from the battlefield immediately."
One by one, the deputy commanders relayed the orders. To their credit, these Duoyin officers were experienced in war—on the battlefield, the supreme commander's orders must be obeyed.
But before Duoyin's retreat order could be fully disseminated, on the battlefield itself, a total of 3,275 Flame Giants stood frozen in place. The iron baskets behind their necks were empty—the Serpentfolk had long since fled without a trace.
At the cost of heavy Flame Demon casualties, plus the Wolf Cavalry's interception and rearguard action, Su Xiao's main force had already pulled out. The imperial soldiers had been too engrossed in slaughtering Flame Demons, and with the ice formations blocking their view, they hadn't noticed that the enemy had begun preparing to withdraw half an hour ago.
All 3,275 Flame Giants, along with every Flame Demon, plunged their hands into their own chests. They were never living beings—they had no self-awareness, let alone fear. They were war weapons created by Agamemnon.
At almost the same moment, every Flame Demon and Flame Giant tore open their chests. The Flame Giants, standing over ten meters tall, unleashed compressed magma through alchemical arrays, spraying it a hundred meters into the air.
With a whoosh, a colossal ring of flame erupted from the ground on the battlefield, rapidly forming an enormous alchemical array.
This was the array Su Xiao had set up while Barbatos breathed dragonflame, using contact with the flames to lay down the formation. Its function was simple: first gather energy, then erupt.
The soldiers on the battlefield weren't foolish. Amid the surging magma, they tried to flee, but it was too late.
Thump!
The earth trembled. The surging magma suddenly flattened, and all the Flame Demons and Flame Giants shattered, turning into even more magma. The ice on the nearby ground melted in an instant.
With a thunderous roar, a blooming flower of magma erupted, engulfing four-fifths of the battlefield. In an instant, the battlefield fell silent.
The silence was suffocating. The imperial soldiers who had survived on the battlefield's edge stared blankly at the nearby magma flower. The heat scorched their cheeks, causing pain, and their hair and beards were singed and curled.
Clang~
A longsword fell to the ground. This battle had broken the surviving imperial soldiers, leaving them utterly devoid of fighting spirit.
It was win or lose. Neither side had a retreat. If Duoyin won, the Chaos Legion would cease to exist, completely annihilated.
Staring at the magma flower ahead, Supreme Commander Gait's lips trembled. He now understood that from the very beginning, the enemy had never intended to fight a decisive battle. The entire battlefield... was a trap.
In just a few seconds, Supreme Commander Gait seemed to have aged a dozen years, the hair at his temples turning a shade whiter.
"Lord Gait, the enemy's Wolf Cavalry Legion has circled around the battlefield from the north. They, they..."
The adjutant hesitated, afraid to continue.
"Have the enemy entered our territory?"
"Y-yes, my lord."
"Which direction?"
"It seems... they're heading straight for the royal capital."
"Assemble all forces! Immediately reinforce the royal capital!"
Supreme Commander Gait's eyes turned red. But the speed difference between infantry and cavalry meant this remnant force from the front lines could only eat dust in pursuit.
The magma explosion had killed over 80% of Duoyin's main army. In contrast, the Flame Demon corps was completely wiped out. The casualties were roughly one-for-one.
Within Duoyin's territory, the Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos flew high in the sky. Su Xiao stood on its back. Below him were 530,000 Wolf Cavalry Legion soldiers. During the earlier chaos, the Wolf Cavalry had barely engaged, conserving their strength.
After successfully bypassing the main battlefield, the Wolf Cavalry Legion charged into Duoyin's territory, advancing unimpeded. Su Xiao's goal was clear: capture Duoyin's royal capital.
A full-scale decisive battle with Duoyin would take too long. More importantly, he felt he would likely lose. That was why he had spent so long preparing in the Black Melt City.
Using the decisive battle as a decoy, he had forced Duoyin to concentrate its forces, then sacrificed the Flame Demon army. Even if it wasn't a one-for-one trade, it would still severely wound the enemy.
The Flame Demon army could not be kept. Su Xiao understood clearly that the Flame Demons were Agamemnon's power. Once he fell out with Agamemnon, they would become a weapon against him. So Su Xiao left the Flame Demon army on the battlefield forever.
The truly trustworthy force was the Wolf Cavalry Legion he had nurtured from the start. As long as he captured Duoyin's royal capital, he would still emerge victorious. Duoyin was an empire; without its complete power structure, it was not so fearsome.
Su Xiao checked his achievement mission: Supreme Enemy. As expected, it was already in a completed state. Duoyin's reputation had reached -300,000 points (Mortal Enemy). That was only natural—the beating he had just given Duoyin was devastating.
Traveling at full speed, bypassing over a dozen intercepting Duoyin units, by five in the afternoon, the twilight glow reflected from the horizon. Duoyin's royal capital appeared in the distance. This was the place Su Xiao truly needed to breach.