Chapter 30: Unstoppable
If there were only a few Dwarf Earth Cavalry, it wouldn’t be a problem, but unfortunately, dozens of them appeared ahead. Su Xiao recognized them, and they seemed to recognize him as well.
Enemies meeting face to face, eyes burning with hatred. If not for these bastards, Su Xiao wouldn’t have been flying back and forth behind the two legions.
Dozens of Dwarf Earth Cavalry glared viciously at Su Xiao. They indeed recognized him. If not for him blocking their charge earlier, the Earth Cavalry Regiment would have surely breached the Black Earth Fortress, driving the Imperial army straight down the opposite magma slope.
“T-formation charge!”
The dozens of Dwarf Earth Cavalry quickly assembled, forming a small T-shaped charge formation. Fortunately, the earthy yellow light that could link their strength together didn’t appear.
Once the Earth Cavalry formed their charge formation, the tribal troops near Su Xiao began retreating, distancing themselves from him.
The situation was simple now: break through and live, get blocked and die.
Life and death hung by a thread. A rosy streak of blood dripped from Su Xiao’s chin.
“This feeling… not bad.”
Su Xiao spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his battle intent surging. He sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Flash, gripping the hilt with his right hand and the scabbard with his left, holding the blade horizontally before him.
300 mana points converted into Cyan Steel Shadow Energy, enveloping the Dragon-Slaying Flash in its Forsythia state. The blade became extraordinarily beautiful, its surface seemingly wrapped in a layer of lightning.
The long sword slowly slid from its scabbard, a gleaming flash of blade light appearing on the battlefield. Blue light surged forth, carrying immense cutting power. Su Xiao’s aura grew sharper and sharper.
Dozens of fine slash marks appeared on the ground nearby. At the same time, the counter shield beside Su Xiao vanished, replaced by dozens of new counter shields. These shields weren’t hexagonal; their shapes were chaotic. If combined, they would form a full suit of armor made of energy shields.
The variously shaped counter shields flew toward Su Xiao, piecing together into a full-body armor on him, even covering his head. Su Xiao was encased in an energy armor. The technique he was about to use was too fast, so he had to ensure his own safety first, to avoid crashing into enemy weapons.
The muscles in Su Xiao’s legs bulged slightly as he lowered his body. The dozens of Dwarf Earth Cavalry’s expressions grew serious; they sensed Su Xiao was no pushover.
The dozens of Dwarf Earth Cavalry had already set up their charge formation. Moving in unison, they simultaneously slapped their boars.
“Oh-lah-lah-lah…”
The dozens of Dwarf Earth Cavalry charged straight at Su Xiao. Though not as imposing as a thousand Dwarf Earth Cavalry charging, it was still terrifying, as if they would shatter everything in their path, charging forward without hesitation, dust billowing behind them.
Facing dozens of rapidly approaching Dwarf Earth Cavalry, Su Xiao had to break through quickly. If these guys got him tangled up, his chances of escaping were slim. Remember, he was surrounded by tens of thousands of tribal soldiers.
The Black Earth Fortress was right ahead. Su Xiao took a deep breath, his lowered body tensing.
“Sky-Rending.”
With a whoosh, mud splattered from where Su Xiao stood, as if a bomb had exploded beneath his feet.
Clang!
A straight blue slash flashed across the battlefield, cutting through the dozens of Dwarf Earth Cavalry in a straight line.
Crisscrossing slashes exploded in the area where the blue slash passed. Where ‘Sky-Rending’ swept through, Dwarf Earth Cavalry were torn apart one by one.
In an instant, only four of the dozens of Dwarf Earth Cavalry survived. The ground was littered with severed limbs and broken arms.
On the stone slope of the Black Earth Fortress, Su Xiao stumbled two steps. ‘Sky-Rending’ placed a heavy burden on his body; he had once used this move against the Hero King.
‘Sky-Rending’ was a technique Su Xiao developed himself. Its slashing power exceeded Ring Break, and it had the advantage of being effective against both single and multiple targets.
If ‘Sky-Rending’ struck a single enemy, the slashing power was slightly weaker, but the moment it wounded the enemy, Cyan Steel Shadow Energy and blade aura would simultaneously invade the enemy’s body. Seconds later, shadow spikes would form inside, severely injuring or killing the enemy from within.
As for using ‘Sky-Rending’ against a group of enemies, it required fully releasing the slashing power of ‘Sky-Rending,’ which was more efficient. The slashes that exploded in the area where ‘Sky-Rending’ passed earlier were the result of fully releasing its slashing power.
Su Xiao finally made it onto the Black Earth Fortress. Miraculously, he had fought his way from behind the tribal forces to the front line. The price was that he desperately wanted to lie down and sleep.
But it wasn’t over yet. Su Xiao still had to cross the top of the Black Earth Fortress and reach the opposite magma slope. There, he could rest for a moment. He was just too exhausted.
Dragging his weary body, Su Xiao swung his blade, killing a few nearby tribal soldiers. After carving a bloody path, he reached the top of the Black Earth Fortress.
“Kill!”
“Help~”
“My leg, where’s my leg?”
The shouts of battle and the wails of the wounded merged into one. Su Xiao kicked and broke a dwarf’s neck. Not far ahead, Imperial troops had already appeared.
An Imperial soldier rushed near Su Xiao, swinging his sword at the dwarf Su Xiao had knocked down.
Pfft. Pfft…
Blood and shredded flesh flew. The Imperial soldier gritted his teeth, his face splattered with blood spots. He didn’t stop until he had hacked the dwarf to pieces.
“This dwarf is much quieter now.”
The Imperial soldier kicked the dwarf’s corpse. In truth, Su Xiao had already broken the dwarf’s neck. This soldier was venting his anger; minutes ago, his squad mates had died at the hands of dwarves.
This scene played out repeatedly on the battlefield. War erupted from hatred, and after war broke out, greater hatred emerged, creating a vicious cycle that eventually made both sides mortal enemies.
The Empire and the tribes were mortal enemies. They had been at war for too long, with no possibility of reconciliation. Even if both royal families wanted peace, it was impossible. There were too many radicals under their rule.
If peace were made, resistance armies would rise within both the Empire and the tribes. These resistance forces would use every means to overthrow the current royal families, take their place, and continue the war. The goal was simple: revenge.
In truth, by now, both royal families wanted to stop the war. For example, the Dragon Soaring Empire could cede some territory, at least so the tribal alliance’s civilians wouldn’t starve. Compared to the resources consumed by war, giving up some not-so-fertile land was nothing.
Yet, both sides were stuck. They had been at war for far too long. Worse, both had grown accustomed to war. The tribal alliance even used war to reduce population, preventing large-scale famine within their territory.
Su Xiao didn’t care about the complex relationship between the Empire and the tribes. He only wanted to know how long this stalemate war would last.
Now, with allies behind him, Su Xiao felt much more secure. At least he had a retreat.
The giants who had been fighting on the fortress had already retreated to the rear. They were a key combat force for the Empire, specifically used to counter the tribes’ elite troops.
Though the giants were fierce, they feared the ‘Green Phosphorus Fire Bombs.’ Moreover, their numbers were small. It wasn’t due to poor fertility but a certain custom. The Imperial royal family had tried multiple times to abolish this custom, but it nearly caused a giant rebellion, so they eventually let it be.
Giants had a lifespan of 600 to 700 years. A 50-year-old giant was just entering youth, and only then would male giants consider reproduction.
However, female giants had high standards. They only liked powerful mates. Thus, giant courtship became a duel. The winner married the wealthy beauty, while the loser remained a bachelor for life, never to marry because they were failures. This was the giant custom: only victors had the right to reproduce. Survival of the fittest ensured only the strong continued the bloodline, maintaining the giants’ might.