Chapter 23: Activating God Mode
The high-temperature steam on the fortress had completely dissipated.
Woo~ Woo~ Woo~
The war horn sounded. For this kind of uphill battle, seizing the high ground formed by the fortress was the most important factor.
The Imperial Army surged up the slope like a tidal wave, with rows of heavy shield soldiers and pike-and-halberd soldiers forming a mixed formation at the front. Regardless of the terrain, this formation was universally applicable.
At the other end of the fortress, the Tribal Army also began their charge. This time, their forces also numbered over two hundred thousand.
Under normal circumstances, an equal number of Tribal soldiers would not be a match for the Imperial Army. But this time was different. The over two hundred thousand soldiers of the Tribal Army were elite troops, not the ragtag forces from the previous battle.
The front of the Tribal Army was mostly composed of orcs, but standing at the very front were not orcs, but dwarves holding one-meter-tall heavy shields.
There were two rows of these heavy shield dwarves. Behind them was a row of goblins—yes, those cowardly goblins.
These goblins carried no weapons; their bodies were strapped with bottles of 'Small Green Phosphorus Fire Bombs'.
The two armies stepped onto the slopes on either side of the fortress almost simultaneously. The momentum of hundreds of thousands of soldiers charging at the same time was astonishing.
If viewed from a high vantage point, one would see the Empire and the Tribe surging toward each other like two colossal waves.
The two 'waves' rushed up the slopes and finally collided at the top of Black Earth Fortress.
A continuous series of crisp cracking sounds rang out, followed by screams and the shattering of 'Green Phosphorus Fire Bombs'.
The Imperial Army adhered to its usual strategy: heavy shields at the front, pike-and-halberd soldiers behind, with the pikes and halberds thrusting through the gaps in the shields to pierce the front-row soldiers of the Tribal Army.
This tried-and-true tactic met its Waterloo today. The dwarf heavy shield soldiers at the front of the Tribal Army raised their shields. Those one-meter-tall shields were clearly ridiculous—unless two shields were connected vertically?
A two-meter-high shield wall appeared in front of the Imperial Army. The pikes and halberds of the soldiers struck the shields, jarring their hands numb, and some pikes even snapped.
The dwarf heavy shield soldiers successfully withstood the Imperial Army's shield-and-pike charge formation. The goblin throwers behind the dwarf heavy shield soldiers hid behind the shields and began hurling 'Small Green Phosphorus Fire Bombs' at the Imperial Army.
Crack, crack...
The green phosphorus formed a line of fire, causing massive casualties among the shield-and-pike soldier combination at the front of the Imperial Army.
The green phosphorus quickly dissipated, and the Imperial Army's second wave arrived. These Imperial soldiers each carried a long-handled warhammer and swung it at the double-layer shields before them.
Bang, bang, bang...
The battlefield sounded like a blacksmith's forge as a large number of dwarf heavy shield soldiers were knocked back, spitting blood.
Whoosh~
A rain of arrows from the elven race arced through the air, heading straight for the densest concentration of the Tribal Army.
Hum~
Crossbow bolt reapers met the arrow rain. This time, the Imperial Army was facing the elite troops of the Tribal Army, which were equipped with a large number of 'City-Defense Heavy Repeating Crossbows'. Although these were cumbersome and costly, with the Mountain Dwarf King personally guarding Black Earth Fortress, how could his army not be equipped with them? Besides, the trolls had solved the problem of their cumbersome transport, and as for the high cost, the dwarves had no choice but to equip only their elite troops.
The crossbow bolt reapers shredded the arrow rain into a sky full of debris. Carlos, who had already killed dozens of enemies, saw this scene and felt helpless. This opponent was different from before. Even with equal numbers, he couldn't guarantee a sure victory.
At the rear, Su Xiao was advancing with the main army, surrounded by roaring Imperial soldiers, which severely hampered his perception of the surroundings.
On the fortress, the two armies clashed like a hot iron against ice. The soldiers at the front line fell rapidly, and those behind immediately filled in. The brutality was beyond imagination.
Now, it was a matter of who could push the other back. The side that was pushed back would lose Black Earth Fortress.
About ten minutes later, Su Xiao finally reached the solidified magma slope. It wasn't that his speed was lacking, but the fortress couldn't accommodate hundreds of thousands of soldiers at once; they had to wait until a batch died before the rear soldiers could advance.
As soon as Su Xiao stepped onto the magma slope, he felt a warmth under his feet. This thing hadn't cooled yet.
Not only that, but Su Xiao also felt the ground was a bit slippery. Looking down, he saw that the solidified magma slope was covered in red, with red liquid flowing down like a shallow red river. This red liquid was blood—the blood of soldiers who had died above the fortress.
A river of blood was the scene before him. Su Xiao was stepping onto the fortress atop the blood of his own soldiers.
At the top of the fortress.
"For the Tribe!"
A wounded orc soldier leaped up, his curved blade slashing at a human soldier.
The human soldier, eyes red, charged forward. The enemy's conviction was strong, but his own was equally powerful. He fought for the Empire, for his family, to ensure his descendants could thrive on this fertile land.
Pfft!
Blood splattered. The weapons of the orc and the human soldier both struck each other's necks. Both roared as they pressed down, blood gushing wildly. Moments later, both fell onto the pile of corpses at their feet.
The obsidian ground of Black Earth Fortress was no longer visible. Soldiers from both sides fell rapidly, forming piles of corpses. They fought atop these corpse piles.
The dying orc soldier's cry of 'For the Tribe' enraged the nearby Tribal soldiers. Their eyes held only the enemy, their sole belief being to kill the other side.
On the battlefield, there was no emotion unrelated to killing. Tearing the enemy apart was the only thought in the soldiers' minds.
The roar of battle rose to the heavens. The morning sun did not rise; perhaps even the heavens could not bear to witness this inhuman battle. Dark clouds covered the sky, and rumbles of thunder echoed.
Su Xiao didn't charge to the top of Black Earth Fortress on his own; he was squeezed up by the soldiers in front and behind, carried along by the dense tide of people.
Quickly stepping over the towering corpse pile, Su Xiao finally saw the Tribal soldiers.
A 500-point counter shield appeared around Su Xiao. With his Soul Devourer talent, he could freely consume mana on the battlefield, unleashing his full combat power.
An orc soldier charged at Su Xiao. This orc was noticeably stronger than those from the previous battle, wearing full metal armor and even a war helmet.
Seeing this orc's appearance, Su Xiao realized these orcs were different from the ones in the last battle.
The orc soldier roared as he charged. To an ordinary person, this orc moved like a ghost, but in Su Xiao's eyes, he was far too slow.
The orc soldier's heavy sword, covered in gore, swung at Su Xiao's neck. Su Xiao didn't dodge or evade.
Ding!
The orc soldier's hand went numb, and he staggered back. A flash of blade light filled his vision.
"Wol..."
Dragon-Slaying Flash cut through the air, striking the orc's armor. The fine steel armor was easily sliced open, the blade passing through muscle, bone, and organs without resistance.
Pfft.
Dragon-Slaying Flash cut through the back of the orc's armor from the inside, the blade bringing up a wisp of blood. The orc soldier was severed in two at the chest.
He fell, his body in two pieces landing on the corpse pile.
Su Xiao didn't look back. With Dragon-Slaying Flash's sharpness of 32 points, it easily cut through the enemy's defenses and flesh, but Su Xiao felt a slight resistance. Don't underestimate this resistance; if killing an ordinary orc cost 0.1 stamina, killing this kind of orc cost about 0.2 to 0.3 stamina.
Of course, this was just a hypothetical value. Su Xiao concluded that this battle was on a different level from the last war.
Su Xiao stomped on the corpse pile and charged straight into the Tribal side. For an ordinary soldier, this would be suicide, but for Su Xiao, it meant killing more enemies.
Ring Break.
Zheng!
A ring-shaped blade aura expanded, and a large number of Tribal soldiers fell, their bodies severed in two. As for Su Xiao, he had already charged into the densest part of the Tribal army.
Blade aura crisscrossed, severed limbs flew everywhere. With ample mana, Su Xiao fought like he had activated god mode. No Tribal soldier could withstand a single strike from him. He would sense the enemy's aura strength; if it was strong, he would activate Azure Steel Shadow at the moment of the strike and deactivate it immediately after killing the enemy.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao had already killed his way to the opposite slope of Black Earth Fortress, surrounded by Tribal soldiers. Thanks to the path he had carved out, dozens of Imperial soldiers followed him to the opposite slope, but within just over twenty seconds, those Imperial soldiers were cut down by the overwhelming Tribal forces around them.
Su Xiao's counter shield had taken countless hits. With a crack, it shattered. The moment it broke, a new counter shield appeared. On the battlefield, he had no shortage of mana.