# Chapter 97: Thunder Dragon Rider
Kvaborg Ring City, before the city walls.
Winds surged and clouds rolled, with muffled thunderclaps occasionally echoing from the sky. The oppressive pressure of an impending great battle weighed on everyone atop the city wall like a heavy stone pressing on the heart, including the Allied Marshal He Condiwei.
Below the ring city's walls stretched a defensive line formed by rows of soldiers. Among these soldiers, some were vassals with partially metallized bodies, while others were humans.
Their expressions were solemn, but facing the pressure of the enemy army, even battle-hardened veterans couldn't help but have sweaty palms. The stakes of this battle were too heavy.
The vassal side had three elite forces: the War Hammer, Magnetic Explosion, and Heavy Cannon units. Among them, the War Hammer and Heavy Cannon units belonged to the Vassal Alliance, while the Magnetic Explosion unit was the trump card of the Aurora Council.
Currently, the War Hammer unit led by General Lei Zi had been exhausted at the border. As long as the War Hammer still stood, Su Xiao's side truly hadn't broken through. When the War Hammer unit became a shadow of its former self, and the Sun faction developed another wave, the vassals' Steel City was immediately breached.
Now, the remaining Heavy Cannon and Magnetic Explosion units remained. The Heavy Cannon unit was positioned on the city wall, specializing in operating heavy cannon-class weapons. The Magnetic Explosion unit was located in the middle section of the lower defensive line, with rows of soldiers in exo-armor standing there, forming a metallic torrent that inspired fear.
Ser Star was a very interesting place. The reason it was interesting was that the technological weapons of this world were not backward, as evidenced by heavy cannon-class weapons, magnetic guided weapons, and individual exo-armor.
The problem was that after enduring the Black Rain and mechanical pollution, the remaining resources of this world were insufficient to arm all vassal soldiers.
The vassal side's defensive line appeared impregnable, but facing their side's 500,000 boar riders, they couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Boar riders could both attack and defend, being incredibly tanky while each possessed battle-hardened hammer skills. More crucially, they had super mobility, and when a boar rider was severely wounded, their war boar mount would choose to engage the enemy before finding an opportunity to run near the Sun Maidens.
Like healing guardians capable of large-scale healing, the number of Sun Maidens had reached 107, one of the gains from capturing Freedom City.
500,000 boar riders, 720 heavy tanks, 107 Sun Maidens, 179 boar rider sub-chieftains, 18 boar rider great chieftains, and 1 boar rider head chieftain.
This was their side's military strength. Simply put, boar rider sub-chieftains were comparable to eighth-rank mini-bosses. They had a group of such combat power, too many for Su Xiao to remember their names, collectively referred to as "that guy."
A gust of wind swept past. The battle, with combined forces exceeding one million, was now eerily silent as they faced each other from one kilometer apart.
As if heaven itself foresaw how many lives would die here today, the sky was overcast. Amidst this gloom, a gap appeared in the dark clouds, allowing sunlight to slant down, illuminating the one-kilometer-wide empty space between the two armies.
"Kill them all."
Su Xiao spoke from the dragon's back. Though he didn't shout, his voice seemed to carry penetrating power, reaching many ears.
Haosiman, standing over 3.4 meters tall and riding a war boar the size of a rhinoceros, clanged down his helmet's metal visor. His rough, calloused hand patted the bristles beside his mount's neck.
Boom!
An invisible air hammer struck head-on, instantly turning dozens of boar riders in their formation into scattered flesh and blood, including their mounts. It was the enemy's heavy cannon-class weapon.
"Charge!"
Haosiman was at the forefront, and all the boar warriors behind him charged toward the enemy.
The enemy forces ahead were on high alert. Though nervous, they didn't retreat a single step. Or rather, they had no room to retreat. Once Kvaborg Ring City was breached, it meant the vassal territory would be pierced through.
As their cavalry charged, the ground tremors grew stronger. At this moment, the front two rows of soldiers on the vassal defensive line all swelled in size. Originally under two meters tall, they instantly expanded to nearly four meters, their combat suits stretched into tight clothing.
From their muscular, knotted physiques and radially dilated pupils, these were definitely bio-engineered soldiers created by the Aurora Council. Their biological science could achieve this, presumably with enormous side effects.
With these giant soldiers blocking the front, vassal morale soared.
A thunderous explosion came from above, and accompanying this sound as it landed was an Apollo.
With a sizzling sound, a laser swept across. Everything this laser passed was cut apart, with the cut portions disappearing, including the falling Apollo. This wasn't due to attack power but a heavy cannon-class weapon utilizing spatial technology.
A moment later, a loud explosion came from far away in the southeast—the Apollo that had been teleported away.
One Apollo being teleported away wasn't a big deal. Another whistling sound came, and this time, the falling object was larger.
An iridescent white ray swept across the falling object. Looking closely, this wasn't an object but a boar warrior.
The iridescent white ray swept across this boar warrior's shoulder, causing its entire left arm, shoulder, and part of its left head to disappear.
The boar warrior crashed heavily to the ground, landing on its feet. The impact caused cracks all over the flesh of its legs, yet it still stood.
This boar warrior's skin was withered, its head bristles pale. Not all boar warriors could survive two life overdrafts. For example, this boar warrior, before becoming a boar warrior when it was still a pig-head, had already had too much life force squeezed out by vassal hard labor.
With a descending crash, this boar warrior landed among many vassal soldiers. The surrounding vassal soldiers were all elite and immediately pounced on it.
This aged boar warrior didn't counterattack. It just stood there, calmly raising its only remaining right arm, tilting its head back, making a posture of embracing the sun.
Praise the Sun!
Dense golden-red patterns appeared on this boar warrior's neck and cheeks. Before landing, liquid Apollo had been injected into its body and had already been detonated. It had come to die.
No, it had come for revenge—revenge against the vassals!
Boom!!
Like a small sun blooming within the vassal defensive line, it instantly "devoured" a large section of the line.
Before the vassal commander on the rear city wall could react, another figure fell from the sky.
Seeing this, Allied Marshal He Condiwei's eye twitched. The most terrifying enemy wasn't a brutal-looking perpetrator but someone with firm faith.
Sizzle~
The iridescent white ray swept across, causing the falling old boar warrior to disappear.
"Nice work, Minian!"
The Heavy Cannon unit's battalion commander wiped cold sweat from his forehead. Not far away, the female soldier Minian, operating the "Heavy Cannon-Class Weapon M0 Sacred Deer," didn't respond, focusing intently on the sky above.
Although subsequent Apollos didn't explode, the one that did fell into the eyes of every boar rider on their side. Though this wasn't the first time they'd witnessed this miracle, it still stirred power in their hearts.
"Eternal Sun Shine!"
The boar riders' shouts seemed to pierce the heavens. Their original 95 morale immediately reached 100+, becoming "Morale MAX," entering a burning slot state. Even the entire morale bar ignited with golden flames.
With the charge, the frontmost cavalry on their side was about to collide head-on with the vassal giants. But this was a trap.
A large row of boar riders ahead all controlled their mounts to leap, crossing over the vassal giants. Behind them were heavy tanks with red-glowing eyes.
If it were vassal giants against boar riders, as level-5 units, vassal giants would naturally overpower boar riders.
But against equally level-5 heavy tanks, vassal giants would have trouble. If facing heavy tanks that had already started charging, it was obvious—the heavy tanks' greatest strength lay in charge + impact + trample, while vassal giants were comprehensive types.
Collision sounds and bone-breaking noises were incessant. A large area of vassal giants was knocked down by heavy tanks, some with broken bones and severed tendons, others with their heads trampled and burst open.
Using this as a breakthrough point, their cavalry followed the heavy tanks, pouring into the breach in the enemy's defensive line.
A boar rider whose charge momentum had reached its limit raised his heavy hammer and swung it at a human soldier.
Clang! The heavy hammer stopped just over ten centimeters from the human soldier's head. A metal-formed humanoid stood behind this human soldier—a product of soul + metal cells, a unique technology of this world's humans.
When this human soldier prepared to counterattack, flames suddenly exploded from the heavy hammer blocked by his "substitute." Golden-red flames enveloped him, sizzling his hair and skin.
Chaotic battle erupted instantly. Within minutes, soldiers from both sides were engaged in melee across the large open space before the ring city. The heavy cannon unit on the city wall continuously rained down firepower.
Below, chaos reigned. After surveying this, Su Xiao knew he couldn't just watch this time but needed to participate in this decisive battle.
The city wall was the best attack target. The hundred-meter-high wall was easy to defend and hard to attack, with a row of heavy cannon-class weapons on top.
This was the enemy's vital point. If Su Xiao had the Storm Dragon do one round of dragonflame, under the scorching of Sun Flame, those heavy cannon-class weapons would become a pile of semi-molten scrap.
This would increase their chances of victory by another tenth. Though the Sun faction had developed strongly, this time they faced the strongest force the vassals had ever assembled, with human assistance.
Su Xiao had two types of trump cards. Using them now would be too hasty. He wasn't sure what cards the vassals had.
If the vassals had an ultra-powerful defensive trump card, using his cards too early would yield minimal results and might even be countered.
Thinking this, Su Xiao no longer hesitated and crushed the Thunder Stone in his hand.
Crack! A golden arc of electricity entered the Thunder Spear. Though the current Dragon Knight Spear had been enhanced with World Thunder, it lacked stability.
The lightning-attracting equipment [Thunder Spirit] attached to Su Xiao's sleeve. He controlled the Storm Dragon to fly diagonally downward toward the city wall.
Several heavy cannon-class weapons on the wall, designed for powerful individuals, had been waiting, ready for Su Xiao's attack.
With a roar, an arm-thick deep red ray passed through Su Xiao's head—the energy tail of a spiral spike.
Looking closely, Su Xiao's feet gradually sank into the Storm Dragon's back, indicating he had entered a spatial penetration state.
A very short spatial penetration brought him back to his previous position. Su Xiao exited the penetration state. Heavy cannon-class weapons were not to be underestimated.
Wind whistled past Su Xiao's ears. A blood qi phantom appeared behind him, and simultaneously, he formed a long-range Blood Spear.
The blood qi phantom drew its bow and shot. The Blood Spear pierced through the sound barrier before embedding into a heavy cannon-class weapon on the city wall. Blood qi and deep red energy exploded together.
Half an alloy plate spun and embedded near He Condiwei, causing a group of Aurora Council nobles to shrink back in fear, some scrambling down the city wall in panic.
On the magnificent all-metal city wall, three heavy cannon-class weapons for powerful individuals remained. Having few such weapons was normal—heavy cannon-class weapons were created for large-scale warfare.
But originally, there weren't this few. There had been 14 such weapons on the wall. Before the battle, He Condiwei ordered 10 removed and replaced with large-area types more suitable for war.
This decision couldn't be judged right or wrong, but from the current situation of Su Xiao riding the Storm Dragon in attack, it was unwise.
The Storm Dragon dove at ultra-high speed, and several Blood Spears shot out.
Bang, bang, bang!
Of the three Blood Spears, two hit their targets, exploding two heavy cannon-class weapons. The remaining one was operated by female soldier Minian. An arm-thick iridescent white ray swept across, nearly cutting through the Storm Dragon's neck.
Clang!
Like a large metal button sticking to the heavy cannon-class weapon operated by female soldier Minian, she cursed under her breath, thinking that if there was a next life, she would never be an artillery operator again—too much aggro.
With a boom, female soldier Minian and her heavy cannon-class weapon were engulfed in explosion, a burning arm flying off.
With Baha's assistance, Su Xiao successfully removed the four heavy cannon-class weapons for powerful individuals from the wall. It was time to start "barbecuing."
With the Storm Dragon's high-speed flight, wind whistled past Su Xiao's ears. Strong wind came head-on, he slightly lowered his posture, sending a mental command to the Storm Dragon to prepare for dragonflame breath.
The dragonflame's spray range was 30-40 meters. It had to ensure that after the dragonflame landed on the city wall, it still had impact force to spread as far as possible along the wall top for maximum area-clearing effect.
Just as the Storm Dragon dove to within 35 meters of the city wall, a figure leaped up from the wall. This person was extremely robust—a fierce... woman.
The sudden leaper was Tribal Witch Woroy. Her eyes turned deep green, like something from a lost seabed.
"Roar!!"
A soul-form sea beast emerged from her mouth and nose. This sea beast was massive, resembling both fish and snake. Its open mouth spanned at least 10 meters, with layers of sharp teeth that sent chills down one's spine.
Crunch! The soul sea beast bit the Storm Dragon's lower abdomen. Though the Storm Dragon was a dragon descendant, the pain nearly sent it into shock—it was a bite directly on its soul.
Enraged by the intense pain, the Storm Dragon couldn't roar because it was holding dragonflame in its mouth. It simply lowered its head and sprayed dragonflame at the soul sea beast biting its lower abdomen.
Dark gold dragonflame perfectly countered the cold-natured soul sea beast, melting it like a candle before it wailed and evaporated.
Su Xiao on the dragon's back ordered the Storm Dragon to dive at full speed toward the falling enemy.
The Storm Dragon, in extreme pain and anger, obeyed without hesitation, pouncing at Tribal Witch Woroy.
Wind pressure came head-on, blowing up Woroy's tentacle-like braids. Though the soul sea beast's injury affected her, as one of the world's four strongest natives, Woroy wasn't flustered. Her right hand transformed into a siren-like claw, scales climbing up, granting "Strength" to her right arm, making it slightly thicker.
Woroy's deep green pupils fixed on the Storm Dragon and Su Xiao on its back. In her view, Su Xiao was the Sun faction's lord and ruler. A ruler with a flying dragon's blessing might seem imposing, but real strength couldn't be compensated by this.
The Storm Dragon and Woroy closed in the next instant, one above, one below. Su Xiao thrust his spear from the dragon's back. Woroy below raised her arm to block. Just as the Dragon Knight Spear stabbed into her palm, Woroy's eyes widened, realizing things weren't simple.
Pfft!
The Dragon Knight Spear pierced through Woroy's right palm. Blood splattered. Golden lightning spread along her arm, enveloping her.
Woroy's head buzzed. She had seen World Thunder before but never tasted it personally. Now she tasted it. Her heart nearly stopped, her entire body numb.
Su Xiao withdrew the Dragon Knight Spear, raised it, and swung it down like a club.
Bang.
Woroy, falling midair, turned into a blur, crashing straight into the hard city wall.
Smack! The sound of Woroy's back hitting the wall sent chills through others on the wall. Blood splattered radially beneath her.
The World Thunder's paralysis effect continued. Before Woroy could get up, Su Xiao on the dragon's back had already thrown the Dragon Knight Spear. It turned into a blur, piercing through Woroy's abdomen, pinning her to the ground.
This wasn't the end. On the Dragon Knight Spear, which had lost its World Thunder enhancement, a spark of lightning suddenly appeared.
Boom!
Lightning struck from the sky, hitting Woroy. Amidst golden lightning, Woroy grunted, ignoring the blade cutting open her abdomen, and rolled sideways with all her strength.
Escaping the lightning strike point, Woroy held her intestines spilling from her abdominal cavity with one hand. Blood dripped from her chin as she panted heavily.
"He... Condiwei... you didn't say... he was this strong."
Tribal Witch Woroy glared at He Condiwei. He Condiwei was speechless. Did he know Su Xiao was strong? Of course he did, but he wouldn't say.
Tribal Witch Woroy choosing to jump up and duel Su Xiao in dragon knight state was truly foolish. Su Xiao had even dueled powerhouses at the level of the Old Knight. As for Tribal Witch Woroy's situation, she was advised to see a brain specialist.
Whistling came from above. On the dragon's back, Su Xiao had already produced another Dragon Knight Spear.
Just as the Storm Dragon dove down, a "giant" over 50 meters tall leaped from behind the city wall. Its large hand swept out, nearly grabbing the Storm Dragon.
What did over 50 meters of height mean? The entire all-metal city wall of Kvaborg Ring City was only 157 meters tall. This "giant's" height was nearly a third of the city wall.
The giant's skin seemed ignited, covered with sparks and magma patterns. It had a large belly, with over a dozen bare-chested vassal soldiers embedded in the upper half of its belly. One person's spirit and soul couldn't control such a massive body, hence needing their soul power.
The giant's chest and ribs had gray-white rib-shaped exoskeletons, with a giant eye at the center of its chest.
The giant's head had no facial features, only a large mouth filled with jagged teeth.
The giant's large hand grabbed the inner edge of the city wall, its other hand sweeping outward, bringing a gust of wind while passing under the Storm Dragon's wings.
Standing on the dragon's back, Su Xiao felt the Storm Dragon shudder beneath his feet. This wasn't shameful. Even the medium-small Storm Dragon, let alone the Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos, seemed not so large compared to this beast giant.
This was the vassals' trump card prepared for this battle—the Beast Giant. It required a vassal with incomparably powerful willpower to accept the Ancestral Half-Beast Blood, then through the Aurora Council's biological technology, transform into a Beast Giant.
Now the Beast Giant hooked the inner edge of the city wall with one hand, its single foot bracing against the inner wall surface.
"Condiwei, do you think he still recognizes us?"
Chief Justice Fowo swallowed his saliva.
"Probably not."
"Then..."
"Don't worry. Lei Zi indeed doesn't recognize us, but he can distinguish friend from foe."
"That's good, that's good."
Chief Justice Fowo wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
The Beast Giant climbed onto the city wall. It picked up a large metal ball like a sea urchin carried by over a dozen soldiers, ignoring the metal spikes piercing its flesh, and threw it with all its might.
Whoosh! The large spiked ball flew past near Su Xiao. His eyes narrowed slightly. Such terrifying strength—taking one hit would be troublesome.
The Storm Dragon beneath Su Xiao growled lowly, as if saying: 'How about we retreat first? Too scary.'
"No fear!"
Su Xiao stamped on the dragon's back. The Storm Dragon growled in complaint.
Large spiked balls nearly five meters in diameter flew past Su Xiao one after another, some almost grazing him.
After throwing over a dozen large spiked balls and finding they couldn't hit, the Beast Giant scratched its head in confusion. Then it turned its target to the chaotic battle below between vassal soldiers and boar riders.
Choosing a dense area of boar riders, the Beast Giant threw a large spiked ball.
Boom! The large spiked ball landed, sending dirt flying while crushing many boar riders into meat paste.
The Beast Giant found its target. It grabbed a handle-like protrusion on the city wall with both hands, pulling out a metal rod nearly 35 meters long that had been embedded in the wall for years.
This giant metal rod fit perfectly in its hands. From the red rust on it, this thing wasn't being used for the first time.
Just as the Beast Giant pulled out its war rod, a thunderclap came from the sky. Meanwhile, on the dragon's back.
Su Xiao took a medium-sized injection gun from his storage space and loaded a vial of bubbling golden potion into it.
He wasn't injecting himself—the injection gun model was wrong. He stabbed it into the dragon's back, injecting the Storm Dragon.
The reason was to use his long-term research on World Thunder to temporarily enhance the Storm Dragon's World Thunder resistance. Otherwise, under high-intensity lightning exposure, the Storm Dragon would be electrocuted half to death and fall from the sky.
As the potion was injected, arcs of electricity began flickering between the Storm Dragon's feathers. Seeing this, Su Xiao activated [Thunder Spirit] on the dragon's back, using his 43-point luck attribute to attract lightning.
With over 900 points of elemental affinity, Su Xiao didn't want to become a Law Destroyer struck dead by World Thunder.
Crack! Golden thunder fell, first entering the Dragon Knight Spear, then enveloping Su Xiao. This wasn't all—the Storm Dragon beneath him was also wrapped in World Thunder.
Su Xiao made a thrusting posture with the Dragon Knight Spear. The next instant, the Storm Dragon suddenly shot forward.
In everyone's view, Su Xiao and the Storm Dragon simultaneously disappeared, leaving only a golden arc of electricity. When Su Xiao and the Storm Dragon reappeared, they had attacked at terrifying speed to the Beast Giant's chest front, piercing through its chest like thunder.
Smack!!
Large chunks of flesh and bone fragments scattered. A huge hole appeared in the Beast Giant's chest—Su Xiao and the Storm Dragon, in their World Thunder-enhanced state, had become like a thunder spear, piercing through the chest.
The Beast Giant on the city wall fell backward, crashing down and flattening a large area of buildings.
Why not attack the head? This was Su Xiao's careful consideration result. If the Beast Giant reacted at the critical moment and suddenly opened its mouth, the Storm Dragon would die on the spot without killing the enemy.
The head couldn't be chosen. Piercing through the core at the center of its chest was the best choice—that's where the life fluctuation was strongest.
As the Sun Lord, Su Xiao piercing through the chest of the enemy's strongest existence in one strike had an extremely obvious effect on boosting their morale and striking the enemy's.
Su Xiao flicked the blood off the Dragon Knight Spear. As for the blood on himself and the Storm Dragon, there was no time to deal with it. The originally black-blue feathered Storm Dragon was nearly dyed red. Su Xiao controlled it to lower altitude.
Boom! A large hand grabbed the edge of the city wall. Su Xiao immediately had the Storm Dragon rise. If the Storm Dragon was caught by the Beast Giant, it would be wings torn off, thrown into the mouth, and chewed thoroughly.
Su Xiao knew the Beast Giant wasn't dead—no kill prompt appeared. But he didn't expect it to stand up so quickly after its core was destroyed.
Inside the huge bloody hole in the Beast Giant's chest, flesh surged, healing at a visible rate.
Before the flesh filled the wound, Su Xiao on the dragon's back saw a familiar face inside the Beast Giant's chest.
He had met this person once, buying standard weapons from them. Later encounters were on the battlefield, facing each other—it was General Lei Zi.
Sometimes, judging a person as good or bad is very inaccurate. For example, General Lei Zi had privately sold the Alliance's military standard weapons, a serious crime.
But when needed, he was the first to go to the border. Even when Alliance Leader Toyin was in power, to restrict General Lei Zi, a former subordinate of He Condiwei, Toyin sent Lei Zi to battle without allocating heavy cannon-class weapons. Yet Lei Zi still chose to fight.
The Sun faction had today thanks to Alliance Leader Toyin. Without him, they would have been severely damaged by General Lei Zi with heavy cannon-class weapons. Without his death, they couldn't have signed the "Border Treaty" with the vassals. What a helpful "good teammate."
Sometimes Su Xiao wondered: if he had chosen to assassinate He Condiwei instead, leaving Toyin, he would have won by now, probably already returned to Reincarnation Paradise to enhance strength.
Su Xiao surveyed the battle below. Even with the enemy's terrain advantage and heavy cannon-class weapon cover, their side still had enormous advantage. This was the benefit of accumulation—steady as an old dog when still, crushing the enemy to death when moving.
After the Storm Dragon flew to a safe height, Su Xiao took out an Apollo, activated it, and threw it at the Beast Giant below.
The Apollo turned into a blur. Just as it reached the Beast Giant, it was swallowed in one gulp. Then a muffled sound came from its belly, its large abdomen swelling several times.
The Beast Giant, like burping, spat out a burst of flame and was fine.
Previously, when Baha threw a regular Apollo, Tiger Bee Lord Tamisha had crushed one with her bare hand. Now this Beast Giant was even fiercer, directly swallowing one. If the Moon Goddess were still alive, she would probably feel comforted.
Su Xiao didn't care much about this. He activated the War Lord's title ability 2, "Full Army Charge."
Their boar riders were in melee with the enemy, so they couldn't charge. What Su Xiao needed was for all their soldier-type units' morale to immediately reach MAX, putting the morale bar into "Burning Slot" state.
To activate the War Lord's ultimate ability "Ancient War Beast," soldier-type units' morale must reach 100 points or higher.
Su Xiao looked at the Beast Giant below and the many heavy cannon-class weapons on the wall. He activated the "Ancient War Beast" ability. After probing for so long, the vassals had probably revealed all their cards. His trump cards naturally didn't need to be hidden.
[Prompt: You have activated the Ancient War Beast ability.]
[Checking the world's strongest echelon large creatures...]
[Successfully selected war beast: Disaster Overlord Zewu.]
[This was a giant creature from this world's disaster era, dead for 492 years. Original habitat: the entire continent. Zewu was a giant beast mutated by strong mechanical pollution in the early Black Rain disaster. It enjoyed eating giant beasts with large amounts of metal cells in their bodies. Because it was too powerful and couldn't control its appetite, it devoured all mutant beasts with large amounts of metal cells. Eventually, when flesh couldn't satisfy its appetite, it tore and ate its own body. After consuming over a third of itself, it was still the era's strongest existence.]
[War Spirit Reviving...]
[Body Constructing...]
[Disaster Overlord Zewu will exist for 60 seconds, assisting the Hunter during this period.]
[Friendly morale has reached peak.]
[Hunter's commanded soldier-type units now exceed 400,000.]
[Disaster Overlord Zewu's true strength and true stamina attributes have reached this world's maximum values.]
...
After Su Xiao activated the "Ancient War Beast" ability, Disaster Overlord Zewu didn't appear immediately. The originally overcast sky began to drizzle.
Black raindrops fell, dimming the world's light, as if returning to the disaster era after the Black Rain calamity—dark, barbaric, with corpses everywhere.
As the Black Rain fell, the chaotic battle gradually calmed. Whether vassals, humans, or even boar riders, all felt a from-the-heart, genetically inherited fear—fear of this Black Rain.
A chilling pressure came from above. Everyone looked up at the sky. If Su Xiao arriving on a dragon with wind and thunder changing colors had an epic feel, this was the fear of impending disaster.
A colossal figure fell from above. Though its body was huge, over a hundred meters long, it didn't crash heavily to the ground upon landing. Instead, it grabbed the outer side of the city wall with metal claws, leaving several meter-deep claw marks, slowing its descent before finally stopping.
The Black Rain drizzled down. In the rain, a giant beast combining crocodile and dinosaur clung to the metal city wall. Its mouth was full of mottled metal teeth, its tongue and head outer skin were flesh structure. One eye was blind from metallization, while the other had successfully undergone living metalization, its pupil radiating outward.
Disaster Overlord Zewu descended. It climbed the city wall at a not-so-fast pace, its cold single eye surveying the surroundings.
"Roar!!!"
A roar. The rain curtain exploded with a smack, and the Black Rain abruptly stopped.
Standing on the dragon's back, Su Xiao could feel the Storm Dragon trembling beneath him. After examining Disaster Overlord Zewu, he found he had seen this giant beast before.
When first entering this world, Su Xiao saw some historical afterimages of this world, like watching a movie. Among them, he saw Disaster Overlord Zewu roaring at the sky in the Black Rain.
Disaster Overlord Zewu's single eye looked up, examining Su Xiao. Clearly, with its coldness and pride, it wouldn't obey Su Xiao's commands. Besides treating the Sun Legion as allies, commanding how it fought was impossible.
Just as Disaster Overlord Zewu prepared to observe for over ten seconds, a large hand reached for it, grabbing Disaster Overlord Zewu's head. It was the Beast Giant.
The Beast Giant pulled with all its strength, smashing Disaster Overlord Zewu against the city wall. Its other hand's metal rod struck down repeatedly.
After several strikes, the Beast Giant stopped. Disaster Overlord Zewu was pressed against the city wall, its single eye looking at the Beast Giant. It was confused, unable to understand why such a weak thing dared to attack it. Had the times changed?
Smack!
Upper and lower jaws collided. Blood splattered. Before anyone could react, Disaster Overlord Zewu had turned and bitten off the Beast Giant's head, chewed it a couple of times, and swallowed.
Perhaps finding the taste good, Disaster Overlord Zewu took several more bites, tearing the entire Beast Giant apart and swallowing it.
After eating the Beast Giant, Disaster Overlord Zewu was even hungrier. It looked at the vassal soldiers. The sparse metal cells in these creatures' bodies puzzled Disaster Overlord Zewu. It couldn't understand why creatures now were so soft. Different from its time. And why were they so weak?
He Condiwei and others, who had already fled the city wall, were in the outer city looking up at Disaster Overlord Zewu on the wall. An unforgettable scene appeared before their eyes.
Crunch, crunch...
Disaster Overlord Zewu began biting and swallowing the metal city wall. With its size, it was like eating a biscuit larger than itself. Amidst the heavy cannon-class weapons' bombardment, Disaster Overlord Zewu spat out a mouthful of black acid fire full of metal debris, and those heavy cannon-class weapons immediately went silent.
Over twenty seconds later, Disaster Overlord Zewu contentedly swallowed the last piece of the city wall, rarely burping.
Perhaps pleased with the meal, its single eye looked at Su Xiao, roughly meaning: 'Give an order. Do one thing for you.'
Su Xiao ordered Disaster Overlord Zewu to eliminate as many creatures with metal cells in their bodies as possible—i.e., the vassals. He gave this mental command because he worried Disaster Overlord Zewu didn't know what vassals were. In its era, vassals hadn't appeared yet.
Receiving this command, Disaster Overlord Zewu took a deep breath, creating an air vortex. Then it spewed iron-gray energy from its mouth, "Steel Breath."
Wherever the breath passed, whether vassals, humans, or boar warriors, all turned into metal debris, like frozen objects shattering upon impact.
When Disaster Overlord Zewu's existence time limit was reached and its body dissolved and evaporated, surveying the battlefield, at least 20% of the once-mighty vassals were dead.
Don't think Disaster Overlord Zewu killed few enemies. Besides eating the Beast Giant and metal city wall, its remaining combat time wasn't much.
"Kill!"
Haosiman roared. Seizing the moment when enemy morale was on the verge of collapse, he decisively began charging.
The Sun Legion, with unstoppable momentum, burst through the barely constructed defensive line of vassals and human soldiers. Due to the suddenness, the Aurora Council nobles who had been watching from the city wall and retreated to the outer city hadn't managed to flee.
Bang! A headless corpse flew far away. Gangya wasn't done, chasing forward to hammer another vassal noble to death before stopping.
Their army charged all the way into the outer city, slaughtering the fleeing defenders until they had no power to resist. Even if there were elite soldiers among them, they could only choose to drop their weapons and surrender—they simply couldn't fight.
City destroyed, army routed. The Vassal Alliance, Aurora Council, and humans weren't just pale—they had been pierced through by the Sun Legion.
They had gambled all their elite forces on the easily defended Kvaborg Ring City. That meant even if the Aurora Council and humans further behind still had troops, their combat power would be easily flattened by the Sun Legion.
The battle gradually subsided. The Black Rain in the sky had long stopped. After the dark clouds dispersed, the blazing sun hung overhead.
The Storm Dragon flew toward the inner city. Su Xiao surveyed the inner city wall. The city gate was wide open, all military police unarmed—they had surrendered.
Half an hour later, boar riders entered the inner city, heading straight for the rear city wall on the other side of the ring city. Many vassals had fled through the rear gate.
An hour later, their boar riders successfully took over the rear outer city wall. It was no different from the front wall. Without monsters like Disaster Overlord Zewu, the front and rear outer walls' defensive power was actually especially strong.
Su Xiao controlled the Storm Dragon to descend, landing before a very long staircase. He leaped off the dragon's back, walked up the stairs, and entered the parliament hall.
Inside the hall, He Condiwei sat in the first seat. To his right was a young man with somewhat similar features, hands cuffed and mouth gagged. To He Condiwei's left, sitting on the council table, was Chief Justice Fowo.
Chief Justice Fowo wasn't in good condition—his throat was cut, blood sprayed everywhere.
Su Xiao stopped before the council table, sitting opposite He Condiwei. Last time he came, he sat here.
"Bai Ye, you've always wanted to know who drafted the 'Border Treaty.' Now I'll tell you—it was my fifth son. He was very smart since childhood. When he grew up, he would definitely be a better leader than me. I put all my effort into cultivating him."
After saying this, He Condiwei pressed his dagger against his son's neck. His lips trembled a few times, but he still cut his own son's throat. Blood sprayed out.
"My heir is dead. Other relatives are behind, all executed by my guards. He also ended himself under my orders."
He Condiwei's actions were cutting off all hope of vassal resurgence. He didn't let any noble escape, killing them all, including his old friend Chief Justice Fowo, who died by his hand. He deliberately killed off all vassals capable of holding power.
Was He Condiwei crazy? Of course not. He was very clear-headed, rational to the point of terror. Compared to leaving hope for resurgence, continuing the race was more important.
In He Condiwei's view, as long as the vassals still had hope of resurgence, it wouldn't be long before they were slaughtered to extinction by the Sun faction. He didn't doubt at all that Su Xiao could do such a thing.
"Becoming the overlord of this continent is glorious, but exterminating a race is inglorious. The vassals, in their humblest posture, surrender to the Sun Lord."
As He Condiwei said this, he used the dagger tip to cut open the artery on his neck, his movements calm and unhurried, as natural as trimming his beard every morning.
"Bai Ye, give me an answer before I die. Let me die understanding."
He Condiwei knew he had to die here. He was the vassals' reliance, their leader. So he had to die.
"Oh, then I accept your surrender."
D·Assassination appeared in Su Xiao's hand. One shot pierced through He Condiwei's heart. For such an opponent, he deserved a complete corpse.
Su Xiao had never thought of exterminating the vassals. Not because of compassion—he had done this before. The Tiger Bee clan on the Primordial Continent had been killed to extinction by him, and the surviving Tiger Bee branch had no reproductive ability.
That time, Su Xiao received a large number of warning prompts, not only from the Void Tree but also from Reincarnation Paradise. The reason was that exterminating a race would cause enormous changes in that world.
[Announcement (Void Tree): This world's historical-level battle has ended.]
[Victory: Sun Faction!]
[Sun Faction Leader: Kukulin Bai Ye.]
[Sun Faction notarization rights ownership: Reincarnation Paradise.]
...
After this announcement appeared, Su Xiao received a personal prompt.
[Prompt: The Sun Faction you founded has defeated this world's dominant faction, the Vassals.]
[The Sun Faction will become the new dominant force in this world.]
[This historical-level event is being evaluated, combining all battle victories/defeats and kill situations for a final settlement, determining the final reward amount.]