Chapter 103: The Reinforcements Arrive

Gazing at the overwhelming mass of expeditionary soldiers outside the city, the two guards from Yuan Dong Heavy Industry wore grim expressions, though they managed to muster a smile.

Captain He cursed, “Damn it, they’re really going all out! I’ve never been in a battle of this scale!”

Captain Wei, on the other hand, addressed Qian Ye solemnly, “Young Master Qian, we will definitely hold them off here. You should find a way to break through and inform the young master of what’s happening. Our main family will avenge us.”

Qian Ye looked out beyond the city walls, and after a moment, replied, “Rest assured, they can’t stop me!”

The two guard captains immediately responded, “That’s good! We can fight with everything we have now!”

The battle was particularly grueling, stretching from midday to dusk, reminiscent of Qian Ye’s battles in the earth fort. The expeditionary soldiers were stronger than the cannon fodder of the dark races, while Qian Ye’s own troops, though numerous, did not match the strength of his former reinforced battalion.

The only variable was Qian Ye and his Eagle Strike.

Every time the Eagle Strike resounded, an officer would fall. This made every officer in the expeditionary army fear for their lives. The two lieutenant colonels had not dared to step into the town. With their superiors hesitating, the morale of the soldiers waned. The prolonged assault, coupled with the unexplained internal strife, made the overall offensive of the expeditionary army sluggish, allowing the town to hold on.

However, as the battle raged into the evening, even with his advanced bloodline’s regenerative abilities, Qian Ye felt thoroughly exhausted, his origin power nearly depleted.

Suddenly, a soldier emerged from a narrow alley, drenched in blood, his young face etched with indescribable panic. He staggered, his eyes already unfocused, unaware that his innards were exposed.

He collapsed in front of Qian Ye. Just freed from the fate of being a seed or food, he had only tasted a few days of freedom before reaching the end of his life.

Several expeditionary soldiers then charged out of the same narrow alley, spotting Qian Ye and lunging towards him with shouts.

Qian Ye took two steps forward, passing through them like a ghost, without any resistance.

The expeditionary soldiers, after running a short distance, suddenly stopped, looking down at the new wounds on their bodies before collapsing.

Qian Ye’s Shining Fangs had several fresh bloodstains, and the blood trickled down the blade, making it shine anew.

Then, Qian Ye leapt onto a gap in the town wall, feeling the weight of a boulder in his heart. Every time a young seed fell before him, this pressure grew.

Radiating a cold killing intent, Qian Ye did not hide. He stood straight at the highest point, surveying the battlefield outside the town. However, the two lieutenant colonels of the expeditionary army remained hidden, too afraid to show themselves, having been terrified by him.

In the intense fighting, three lieutenant colonels from the two battalions had fallen to Qian Ye. The surviving two, having recognized the power of Qian Ye’s Eagle Strike, refused to risk facing him.

A sudden gust of wind attacked Qian Ye from behind! Without hesitation, he swung the Shining Fangs, then turned calmly.

Swish! A war axe sliced past Qian Ye’s left shoulder, embedding itself in the ground. It was a burly man with a full beard, his rank and insignia torn off, but the captain’s emblem on his collar gleamed brightly. He stared at Qian Ye, opened his mouth, but a red line appeared on his neck, followed by a gush of blood, drenching Qian Ye.

Qian Ye did not move, only the enemy’s hot blood could quench the fire burning in his chest!

The hot, powerful blood was a great temptation to Qian Ye’s weak and drained body. He had to exert all his willpower to control himself and not drink the blood.

The fresh, warm blood surged to his nostrils, causing the blood qi in his body to boil and enter a boiling state. However, the blood qi did not receive the replenishment it needed, and the golden blood qi wandering lazily around his heart also became restless.

A faint golden light, with a hint of purple, began to radiate from Qian Ye. This was the result of the automatic release of the golden and purple blood qi, which absorbed the blood qi and origin power upon contact, then drew it back into his body.

This slow but steady replenishment, though not as fast as directly drinking blood, was still a form of nourishment. Thankfully, the battlefield was filled with blood and smoke, and no one noticed the faint blood qi radiating from Qian Ye.

Qian Ye, of course, noticed this subtle change in his body. He smiled wryly and, wielding the Shining Fangs, launched himself at a nearby combat group.

Soon, the Eagle Strike roared again, and another fierce major fell. The two lieutenant colonels, who had been grateful for the silence, now wondered if Qian Ye’s origin power was exhausted. But it seemed he was still capable. How many times had he used the Eagle Strike?

As night fell, the severely demoralized expeditionary army had no choice but to retreat from the town once more.

Qian Ye sat alone in a half-destroyed wooden house, surrounded by the corpses of over a dozen expeditionary soldiers. His eyes closed, his face showing undeniable fatigue, while the golden and purple light on his body was obscured by blood.

The blood qi within Qian Ye continued to feast on the blood, while the droplets of blood around him seemed to come to life, slowly converging towards him and then gradually disappearing.

“Sir! The enemies have retreated!” Wu Shiqing rushed in, shouting.

Without opening his eyes, Qian Ye replied, “I know.”

Wu Shiqing, seeing the scene of death, faltered, hesitated, and said, “How much longer do we have to hold out? Sir, perhaps we won’t be able to withstand the next attack.”

“Those who cannot hold out will die. Only those who persist will survive.”

“But…” Wu Shiqing paused.

Qian Ye said, “They will definitely come.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Qian Ye realized he was not merely comforting Wu Shiqing, but firmly believed that Wei Potian would arrive. He was certain that Wei Potian would come, but when had he developed such faith in him? If it were Song Zining, he would definitely be on time, but as for the young master of the Wei family…

Qian Ye chuckled, slowly standing up, beginning to stretch his limbs. His body was heavy, every part aching, and his wounds burned. His movements were slow, like an old man. The blood qi had just cleaned up most of the invasive origin power in his wounds, and now his self-healing function was starting to work very slowly, the aftereffects of the blood boil making him feel dizzy.

Qian Ye’s Dawn origin power was almost depleted, and it took the entire duration of the blood boil to slowly recover. When he regained some origin power, he tried using the Rain Transforming Technique. Since acquiring it, he hadn’t practiced much, as his internal organs were protected by the blood qi, and he rarely needed to treat internal injuries.

As the Rain Transforming Technique activated, Qian Ye suddenly felt a lightening of the origin power tide, as if steam rose from a lake on a sunny day, followed by a sensation of moisture, as if fine raindrops fell. The foreign origin power lingering in his wounds melted away under the technique, its effect nearly as effective as the blood qi’s consumption.

When the little origin power he had recovered was exhausted, his wounds were mostly clean. One more use of the Rain Transforming Technique, and the wounds would be completely cleared, leaving only superficial injuries.

Qian Ye felt reinvigorated and stepped out of the house. He suddenly heard a distant rumbling in the night sky, not thunder, but the roar of engines!

This sound was familiar to Qian Ye; another airship had arrived. His heart tightened, and he immediately leapt onto the remaining roof, taking out the Eagle Strike. Though he had no energy left to use it, if it were truly reinforcements from the expeditionary army, he would have to directly absorb blood to recover and see if he could shoot down the airship.

The atmosphere in the town grew tense, and many soldiers, hearing the sound, looked up, watching the flickering light in the distance, clearly coming from the Broken River City.

The airship was still far, but the ground assault was imminent. After an hour of rest, the expeditionary army prepared for another round of attacks. Dozens of high-powered origin lamps were mounted on the roofs of trucks, illuminating the town. Over a thousand expeditionary soldiers formed a skirmish line, advancing from all directions.

Sniper guns fired continuously from the tower, and the lights in the distance began to go out one by one. Qian Ye raised an eyebrow, impressed by Wu Shiqing’s consistent performance despite the prolonged battle.

However, seeing the black mass of the expeditionary army, Qian Ye’s heart felt heavy. Half of his soldiers were already casualties, and this assault would not be easily repelled. If he tried to break out alone, the town might not even withstand the first assault.

Just then, the engine roar in the night sky grew louder. The distant airship, with its bright flame trail, accelerated and flew over the battlefield in an instant.

This was a particularly menacing airship, its hull covered in armor, visible in the ground fire. This was not a common civilian-military dual-use airship, but an Imperial military airship!

The belly of the airship opened, revealing several large, dark gun barrels. With a deafening roar, the guns fired, and massive fireballs rose from the ground!

Trucks from the expeditionary army were hit by the aerial bombardment, their explosions sending dozens of soldiers flying.

A guard from Yuan Dong Heavy Industry shouted, “Look! That’s the Wei family’s emblem! Reinforcements! Our reinforcements have arrived!”

The expeditionary army on the ground fell into chaos, survivors fleeing in all directions. A few brave or desperate soldiers grabbed rifles or machine guns, firing wildly at the airship, but unless they had a third-level or higher origin sniper rifle, their efforts were futile, resulting only in stray bullets.

Upon recognizing the Wei family’s emblem on the airship, the two lieutenant colonels of the expeditionary army vanished into the night.