# Chapter 5: Cold Weapon Battlefield
"Marquis, don't you still have 300,000 troops under your jurisdiction? Without sufficient soldiers, I..."
"Say no more. At most 80,000. That's final."
Marquis Mark didn't want to refuse sending troops, but he simply couldn't deploy them. Of his 300,000 troops, 200,000 had already been sent to reinforce Hill Grand Canyon, which was within Duke Edward Hewlett's sphere of influence.
By conventional reasoning, Marquis Mark shouldn't have sent soldiers to Hill Grand Canyon. The Black Earth Plains were nearly being torn apart, and he still had the leisure to support others?
Marquis Mark was forced into this situation. The status of a duke and a marquis were not on the same level. Marquis Mark dared not defy a duke's command, especially since this involved many interests and leverage against him.
Just then, a knight clad in silver armor arrived on a fast horse. Without waiting for the horse to stop, the silver-armored knight dismounted, landing steadily.
"Lord Mark 'Count,' His Majesty has decreed. Due to the emergency on the Black Earth Plains front, and because the Count has not participated in military or political affairs for many years, all matters during the Black Earth Plains War shall be handled by Carlos 'Legion Commander.' His Highness has dispatched 300,000 troops to reinforce the Black Earth Plains front. The Count is to return to Sacred Dragon City immediately. This is His Highness's direct order."
The silver-armored knight pulled a short dagger studded with gems from his chest. Seeing this dagger, everyone around immediately knelt down with a clatter.
"What did you... call me just now?"
Marquis Mark swallowed hard.
"Lord Mark, Count."
Hearing this, Marquis Mark—no, Count Mark now—fell directly from his horse.
"Also, Count, His Highness has personally sent investigators regarding the renovation of Black Iron Fortress 14 years ago..."
What the silver-armored knight said next, Count Mark could no longer hear. His ears were ringing. For a hereditary marquis, demotion generally didn't happen unless it involved capital offenses—such as embezzling renovation funds for Black Iron Fortress.
A foul stench spread. The previously imposing "Lord Marquis" could no longer stand upright, collapsing limply to the ground. The officials who had been flattering him moments before all stepped back several paces.
Count Mark's crimes had been exposed. He was demoted one rank, and might even lose his head. But Blood Lion Carlos's status rose sharply, transitioning directly from vice legion commander to full legion commander. By the empire's official rankings, the position of Iron Blood Legion Commander was higher than a count, since a legion commander held military power.
"When will the 300,000 troops arrive?"
Carlos took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"At most one day. They're being drawn from Hill Grand Canyon."
"Very good."
Carlos pulled his adjutant aside and exchanged a few words.
"Lord Legion Commander, isn't this too hasty? Reinforcements will arrive soon. Perhaps we should..."
The adjutant's relationship with Carlos was clearly unusual, and he knew how to read the situation, immediately switching to "Legion Commander" without any awkwardness.
"No need to wait for reinforcements. If the tribal scum garrison the fortress, that's actually a good thing. What I fear most is them destroying it from within. Don't forget, their goal is to invade us."
Carlos sighed. Although attacking the fortress would cause appalling casualties—one of his commands would send hundreds of thousands of lives to die on the battlefield—the war had progressed to a point where casualty rates were no longer the issue. As the saying goes, mercy has no place in command. Carlos was ruthless enough; otherwise, he wouldn't have climbed to this position.
"Understood, sir."
The adjutant immediately notified various subordinates, who passed the orders down. The army continued advancing toward Black Earth Fortress.
As the army moved forward, Su Xiao, with his exceptional vision and elevated position, could see the situation at Black Earth Border Fortress.
Currently, the tribal army was stationed before Black Earth Border Fortress. Contrary to expectations, the tribes weren't using the fortress for defense. Instead, they had deployed their forces about a mile in front of it.
Among the tribal forces, most were beastmen. "Beastman" was actually a general term encompassing various subhuman races like minotaurs, dog-heads, and lion-heads. Apart from having beast-like heads, these races were mostly similar to humans in body structure, just taller—averaging around 2.5 meters.
Of course, the tribal forces weren't limited to beastmen. There were also goblins and dwarves. Goblins had green skin and looked just like, well, goblins. As for dwarves, they stood about 1.3 meters tall. Despite their short stature, these large-bearded dwarves were exceptionally stocky, carrying either short-handled war hammers or broad-bladed axes. As for trolls, none were visible yet.
In the tribal hierarchy, most beastmen were cannon fodder (except minotaurs). Dwarves were the tribe's craftsmen, their forging talent surpassing most races. Of course, dwarves were also formidable fighters, forming the tribe's backbone—second only to trolls in combat power.
As for goblins, these creatures excelled in alchemy, possessing good magical talent and affinity. Despite their short stature, they were war experts. The tribe's magical war weapons were all their creations.
Finally, trolls were the trump card race. Although most trolls weren't particularly intelligent, their naturally powerful bodies and partially magic-resistant skin made them infantry killers. However, trolls had low birth rates and wouldn't be deployed unless absolutely necessary.
In terms of troop numbers, the tribes had about twice the empire's forces. But most of these were cannon-fodder beastmen. When actual fighting began, victory could go either way.
The human side used weapons crafted by elves, while the tribes had dwarves forging their weapons. Each side had its advantages in armaments.
Hmm~
The empire's war horn sounded, essentially signaling the imminent start of battle.
Boom!
A low, muffled explosion came from behind the tribal camp. Inside Black Earth Fortress, black stone debris flew dozens of meters high. If not for being close enough, the explosion wouldn't even be audible. This was likely a goblin-made bomb.
Seeing this, every soldier on the empire's side was furious. Legion Commander Carlos's worst fear had come true—the tribes were destroying Black Earth Fortress from within.
Once the fortress was breached with large gaps, even if the empire successfully retook it, they'd face endless harassment from the tribes.
It seemed the tribes also understood that the empire would spare no effort to reclaim the fortress. So as invaders, they simply wouldn't defend it. Instead, they'd destroy it directly. Then the tribal army would surge into imperial territory, scatter, and wreak havoc—giving the empire a real headache.
Thump, thump, thump...
Deafening war drums sounded from behind the imperial army. A giant about ten meters tall was holding drumsticks, beating a massive drum covered in runes.
Hearing these drums, Su Xiao's heartbeat accelerated, and his blood flowed faster.
[You have received the buff effect of "Iron Blood Legion War Drum Tune": Movement Speed +5%, Strength +1, Stamina +1, Pain Sensation -20%.]
This was a massive area buff skill. As the drums sounded, the imperial soldiers began marching forward in unison.
Clatter. Clatter...
Following the drum's rhythm, hundreds of thousands of footsteps synchronized, producing a sound like ocean waves.
The drums grew faster, the soldiers' steps quickened, gradually transitioning from marching to jogging, then to a full sprint.
"Warriors! Slaughter the cowardly imperial army!"
Su Xiao heard a roar from ahead, but surrounded by the imperial army's tide, he couldn't see where the tribal forces were.
In a plains battle, there was no real strategy—only battle formations.
The imperial army's front-line spearmen charged rapidly, their pikes aligned at the enemy in a perfect horizontal line—the result of years of training.
The two armies converged like opposing torrents. Just as the front-line spearmen were three meters from the tribal forces, they suddenly stopped.
Hmm~ Hmm~
The war horn's pitch changed. The spearmen turned sideways in unison as shield-bearers carrying tower shields rushed forward from behind.
Bang!
A large row of shield-bearers, each holding tower shields nearly two meters tall, stood before the spearmen. The shields faced the enemy, with pikes protruding from the gaps between them.
The two armies collided. The cannon-fodder beastmen at the tribal front were pierced through like candied hawthorns on a stick. Blood instantly stained the ground at the point of convergence.
The sound of flesh being pierced formed a continuous chorus. Screams filled the air. Anyone with weak will would be scared out of their wits just hearing these sounds.
From the initial clash, the imperial army clearly had the advantage. But the tribes had overwhelming numbers.
The clanging of weapons formed a continuous din. Flesh flew, blood splattered everywhere, and battle cries rose to the heavens. This was the battlefield—a hell on earth. No humanity, no sympathy—only the thought of killing all enemies.
After two minutes of fierce combat, the imperial army's front-line heavy shield formation was breached. The soldiers from both sides intermingled, and chaotic close-quarters combat began.
Su Xiao, positioned in the front-middle section of the imperial army, still hadn't seen any enemies. There were simply too many soldiers on both sides; it would take a while before the fighting reached him. But it would come soon enough.
Whoosh~
A whistling sound came from overhead. Su Xiao instinctively dropped to the ground. On the battlefield, you couldn't show off—that would genuinely get you killed.
Boom!
A water-tank-sized green glass bottle landed about a hundred meters from Su Xiao. The moment it hit the ground, it exploded, and green flames rapidly spread outward.
Whoosh~
Wherever the green flames passed, imperial soldiers instantly turned to ash. The ground itself vitrified. A sour, burning smell spread. The green flames expanded about several dozen meters before dissipating, leaving an elliptical glass surface about fifty meters in diameter. On the glassy ground, one could faintly see armor and weapons melted into molten iron.
Su Xiao immediately stood up. A dog-head wielding a curved blade covered in gore charged toward him, shouting wildly. He finally saw an enemy.
Dragon-Slaying Flash held horizontally before him, Su Xiao stepped forward. A blade light flashed. The dog-head's curved blade was severed, along with the dog-head himself—instantly killed.
[You have killed Tribal Army Low-Grade Infantry: Dog-Head.]
[You have gained 10 Paradise Coins.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Permanently increases Mana by 6 points.]
...
From the current situation, within ten minutes, Soul Devourer could absorb 200 Mana points. By then, the health and mana recovered from killing enemies would be even greater.
Talent Effect (Passive): Upon killing a target, permanently steal 1~30 Mana points, and recover an equal amount of Mana and Health (e.g., if killing an enemy permanently increases Mana by 30 points, recover 30 Mana and Health points).
Note: Each derivative world allows a maximum of 200 Mana points to be stolen. If the Mana absorption reaches the cap, Soul Devourer will fully activate, increasing post-kill recovery effects by 50% (e.g., if 200 Mana points have been successfully stolen, killing enemies will still restore corresponding Mana and Health based on enemy strength, with a 50% recovery boost).
Just as Su Xiao killed one dog-head, he immediately sensed over a dozen hostile gazes fixed on him.
"There's an enemy officer here! Kill him!"
Over a dozen cannon-fodder beastmen charged at Su Xiao. Meanwhile, the human soldiers around him instinctively moved away—completely without loyalty. This was actually the survival instinct on the battlefield.
Su Xiao kicked aside the beastman corpse at his feet. Having never participated in large-scale cold weapon warfare before, he discovered that while this place was dangerous, it was also quite good. The thick smell of blood and the sky-piercing battle cries stimulated his nerves. A smile appeared on his face.