Chapter 57: Ancient Royal City
Not only did the Second Legion achieve a great victory, but the other legions along the horizontal front also repelled wave after wave of parasitic insect warriors.
Su Xiao immediately ordered the advance to continue.
Gunfire and cannon blasts did not cease for a moment. The counterattack of the temporary alliance had begun.
Su Xiao sat on an iron chariot, looking at the map in his hand. Given the current area of the Western Continent, it was more like a massive island, roughly circular in shape. Originally, it had been oval, but since early yesterday morning, the naval fleet's bombardment had been continuous, only pausing when the cannon barrels grew too hot.
The originally oval super-large island had now been trimmed into a circle, one with jagged edges around its perimeter.
The ancient royal city was located in the central zone. Su Xiao's plan was to first push forward flatly. Once they reached the ancient royal city, the troops on the left and right flanks would continue forward, bypassing the areas on both sides of the ancient royal city. Then, like two giant hands, they would gradually close in, eventually forcing all the parasitic insect warriors on the island into the ancient royal city.
This way, the only target left to attack would be one. Although it seemed the enemy's forces would converge, they would in fact be completely surrounded by their own side.
After that, Su Xiao could pin the enemy forces down and fight them inside the ancient royal city.
Having finalized this plan, Su Xiao issued over a dozen commands in succession and informed the rear base camp that all reinforcing soldiers should march along the peripheral zone, that is, the area covered by the fleet's artillery fire. Whichever legion they encountered along the way, they would be temporarily incorporated into that legion.
After issuing these instructions, Su Xiao ordered the Second Legion to continue advancing forward.
Meanwhile, inside the ancient royal city.
The towering imperial palace stood within the cluster of buildings. No structure dared to rise higher than it. In the past, this represented power and status, but if the allied forces attacked, the taller the building, the more shells it would receive.
The main hall was dim. On the lofty dark-gold throne sat a tall figure clad in full-body armor. The armor seemed to merge with his body, like semi-molten petroleum.
"My King, we are being invaded by foreigners."
A silver-armored knight knelt on one knee. His aura was sharp, like a rapier imbued with wind's edge.
Crack, crack, crack~
A sound like twisting armor echoed. The tall figure on the throne raised his head, opening a pair of pale white eyes. Within those eyes, a golden thread-like worm seemed to flash and vanish.
"Dare to invade my territory? Inflict the Insect Plague upon them."
"As you command."
The silver-armored knight bowed and retreated, not daring to straighten up until he had withdrawn outside the main hall. As he exited the palace, a red-armored knight had been waiting for some time.
"Silver, has he awakened?"
The red-armored knight's voice was harsh, unpleasant to hear.
"Not awakened."
The silver-armored knight sighed.
"Then what do we do?"
"No choice. Wait to die."
A hint of mockery crept into the silver-armored knight's tone.
"At a time like this, the Great Emperor is still sleeping. Does he really think his tyranny still continues?"
The red-armored knight's tone revealed dissatisfaction, but in truth, he was probing.
"We have followed him for a thousand years, and in the end... we became inhuman monsters."
The silver-armored knight began probing as well. He continued, "Is that man named Kingsley really trustworthy?"
"Could it be that you intend to..."
The red-armored knight's tone grew playful.
"Times have changed. The Great Emperor's glory has long since perished with the death of the Moon Wolf."
The silver-armored knight and the red-armored knight exchanged glances. Without further words, they went together to find someone.
...
Central Ring Area.
Boom! Boom!
Shells landed, sending black clods of earth flying high. An iron chariot, engines roaring at full throttle, surged forward.
Su Xiao stood on the iron chariot, the wind whipping the Alliance officer's coat draped over his shoulders and back. He looked toward the setting sun on the horizon. It was three in the afternoon. The time limit for the second ring of the main quest was still 15 hours.
"Roar!"
A parasitic insect warrior burst from the soil diagonally below the chariot, charging straight at Su Xiao. With a bang, a bullet nearly 10 centimeters long flew past, blasting the insect warrior to pieces.
A crystal layer formed beside Su Xiao, blocking the splattering blood. He pinched his thumb and forefinger together, catching a plump, nearly 30-centimeter-long threadworm as thick as a little finger. The fat worm writhed.
Squelch~
Su Xiao applied pressure with his fingertips, crushing the worm's head. He then looked at Bubu Wang.
"Bubu, this should count as a higher life form. How about..."
Before Su Xiao could finish, Bubu Wang, who had been crouching on top of the chariot, suddenly stood up. Judging by the posture of his hind legs, it looked like he was kneeling.
"Hahahaha~"
Baha laughed especially maliciously.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at the threadworm in his hand. What a pity. The flesh and blood of this thing should have given Bubu a slight boost in physical attributes. He tossed the worm away.
The flames of war engulfed the entire Western Continent. All legions fought like madmen, clearing out the incoming parasitic insect warriors. After the full-scale war began, the insect warriors seemed endless.
Compared to the advancing legions and the soldiers who were fighting with red eyes, the logistics and supply units were under great pressure. Their only task was to transport bullets and shells, especially bullets. The sustained firepower expenditure consumed a terrifying number of bullets.
Unbeknownst to all, night fell. Su Xiao leaped down from the iron chariot and walked into a newly erected command post. This was now the inner ring zone of the Western Continent.
As soon as he entered the command post, Su Xiao saw Goya standing in the corner. This girl was gradually revealing her true nature. She liked to hide in the shadows and observe secretly, occasionally engaging in confusing behavior.
Su Xiao ignored Goya. He was pondering one thing: whether they could breach the ancient royal city tonight.
The method Su Xiao was currently employing relied on soldiers boosted by the War Lord title. While the veterans could indeed push forward, when other soldiers clashed with the parasitic insect warriors, although they had a major advantage, they couldn't achieve a flat push; at most, they could gradually repel them.
Compared to the Second Legion, composed of veterans, the First Legion was even more formidable. These transcendent beings, after receiving a boost of +20 to all attributes, a 45% increase in maximum health, +30 to physical defense, a Lv.10 increase in all ability levels, and the blessing of Blood·Soul Power, had essentially taken off.
However, among them, the powerful individuals received little to no boost. This was normal. Back then, the Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos also hadn't received the War Lord's boost.
The strength of the War Lord title wasn't in enhancing the power of high-end combatants, but in providing boosts to a massive number of soldier-type units.
Even so, many transcendent beings of average strength saw their combat power greatly increased after receiving the War Lord's boost.
This resulted in the First Legion leaving a trail of destruction wherever it went. The transcendent beings had diverse methods, and some even possessed ultra-large-scale area-kill capabilities.
Su Xiao simply dispersed the First Legion, allowing them to operate freely. These were not soldiers; cooperating in small teams would allow them to unleash stronger combat power.
This decision by Su Xiao delighted several major generals and colonels. Transcendent squads were incredibly effective in war. Two hours ago, the major general of the Fourth Legion and the major general of the Seventh Legion nearly came to blows over the allocation of 59 transcendent squads as reinforcements.
Helpless, Su Xiao had to personally intervene. After some 'persuasion,' the two major generals 'shook hands and made peace' with 'joyful expressions.'
The battle situation outside had reached a brutal level. With the war developing to this extent, Su Xiao would not easily interfere. Each had their own expertise. If it came to enhancing personal combat power, all the major generals and colonels combined couldn't match one-thousandth of Su Xiao's ability. But if it came to commanding the Alliance soldiers, Su Xiao was inferior to those major generals, who understood the Alliance soldiers better.
Su Xiao's delegation of authority secretly relieved the major generals and colonels. They were genuinely afraid of encountering a supreme commander who didn't understand the Alliance soldiers but gave chaotic orders.
Nevertheless, Su Xiao still issued one command. He ordered them to dismantle the main cannons of the warships by morning.
Su Xiao lay on the bed, glanced at the time, and closed his eyes to rest. Let them fight outside for now. At worst, he would consume 10 ounces of Space-Time Power in the morning to extend the quest time limit by one day. He could afford that much Space-Time Power.
Before resting, Su Xiao checked a flood of notifications. Because the kills were made through the Alliance soldiers and transcendent beings, the World Source he obtained was drastically reduced. After fighting for so long, he had only gained 8.61% of World Source. The reduction in gains was too severe. This was the drawback of relying on external forces. If it were the Demon Insect Race, the gains at this point would be several times higher, or even more.
As for treasure chests, they weren't worth mentioning.
The time for gains hadn't arrived yet. Su Xiao estimated that the real highlight would start in the morning.
Su Xiao was awakened by the sound of a timer. He picked up the timer on the bedside table. It was already 5:30 AM the next day.
"Baha, how's the battle progress?"
"Total advantage. The front lines fully opened up in the first half of the night. By the second half, the Second Legion had already fought to the vicinity of the ancient royal city. The other legions began to tighten the encirclement. After encircling all night, they've compressed the entire parasitic insect warrior army into the ancient royal city. They're just waiting for you to give the final order for the general assault. Oh, right, there are still scattered parasitic insect warriors in other areas. The Alliance soldiers have formed cleanup squads and are clearing them out."
"Very good."
Su Xiao sat on the bed, dazed for a moment, then his gaze regained focus.
After washing up, Su Xiao left the temporary command post, boarded an iron chariot, and headed to the front lines with Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Liechao.
An hour later, Su Xiao arrived at the very front. As soon as he got off the iron chariot, he saw the towering city wall a kilometer away.
His own hundreds of thousands of soldiers had set up layers of defenses around the ancient royal city, surrounding it completely.
The city wall ahead was about several tens of meters high. Although severely weathered, it was exceptionally sturdy. According to Bubu Wang's detection, there were no parasitic insect warriors in the buildings of the ancient royal city at this time. All the insect warriors were hiding underground. As for the situation inside the tallest building, the imperial palace, Bubu Wang wasn't sure. Abyssal Force permeated that place, so Bubu didn't enter rashly.
Several hundred heavy cannons raised their muzzles. With just one command from Su Xiao, these heavy cannons would unleash their firepower. Light cannons weren't even brought out, lest they embarrass themselves.
The ancient royal city was eerily quiet. In reality, it wasn't just the parasitic insect warriors hiding in the underground structures; the contractors were too.
Inside a dim underground palace, two figures stood in the shadows.
"Trickster, is this what you call 'no big problem'?"
Fairy Maiden looked at Trickster, A.K.A. Grey Gentleman, with a half-smile.
"The attack came too suddenly. Who would have thought that the other side would launch a general assault on the second day after the war started."
Grey Gentleman smiled. The reason Fairy Maiden hadn't left was, of course, due to his interference. Since no deep grudge had been formed yet, he wouldn't let Fairy Maiden come for nothing.
"This guy named Bai Ye... is very dangerous. Extremely dangerous."
Fairy Maiden took out a ring. If things went wrong, she would choose to leave. However, this was a war zone, and she had already joined the Western Continent faction. Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't leave.
A hundred meters away, Guang Mu, Shui Ge, and Bao Jun were either standing or sitting.
"Are we just going to hide in this underground palace?"
Guang Mu appeared calm, but was actually very alert. Compared to the enemy, she felt Grey Gentleman was more dangerous.
"Wait. Emperor Taiatu has existed for a thousand years. He should have a way to break the enemy."
As Shui Ge spoke, a gem slid from his sleeve into his palm. If things went wrong, he would also retreat.
Bao Jun suddenly spoke, asking, "Shui Ge, are we still allies?"
"Of course."
"Then, Shui Ge," Bao Jun lowered his voice and continued, "Watch my eyes later and act accordingly."
"?"
Shui Ge was bewildered. He was blind. He could clearly perceive external things, but watching someone's eyes... this truly stumped him.
"Pfft~"
Guang Mu held back a laugh and turned her head away. Bao Jun's gaze met hers.
"What's so funny about that?"
"Nothing, I just remembered something happy~"
As Guang Mu spoke, doubt arose in her heart. Logically, an Eighth Rank contractor shouldn't be this unintelligent, especially a powerhouse of Bao Jun's level. This led Guang Mu to speculate whether Bao Jun's undying ability reduced his intelligence.
In fact, Guang Mu's guess was correct. Bao Jun's ability was akin to rebirth from a single drop of blood. Such a heaven-defying ability had its drawbacks. Each time Bao Jun 'died,' the reduction to his intelligence, thinking ability, and so on became more severe.
...
One kilometer from the royal city. A gentle morning breeze blew. It was a good day.
Su Xiao did not immediately order the bombardment. The 'protagonist' of the bombardment had not yet arrived.
"Men, bring up the ship's main cannons!"
Baha shouted loudly. Before long, a total of 103 ship main cannons were pulled up by iron chariots and transcendent beings with strength specialties. That's right, Su Xiao planned to use the main cannons of the steel warships to bombard this royal city.
Baha spread his wings, and the alloy exoskeleton frame on his back deployed. Bubu Wang leaped onto Baha's back. The alloy exoskeleton closed, allowing Bubu to lie steadily on top. The Apollo bombardier was ready.
A total of 103 ship main cannons, plus the Baha-Bubu Wang combination, were ready. One would rain down a furious bombardment on the royal city, while the other would drop Apollo from high altitude. It was truly a mixed double-team.