Chapter 35: The Onslaught

“Captain Qian! Open the gate!” a sentry from Company 131 shouted loudly.

His voice echoed far and wide, rousing the warriors resting in makeshift tents along the wall. They scrambled out of their bedding and rushed to the wall.

Qian Ye’s pace wasn’t fast, but steady as he ran across the wasteland. He stopped before the town gate, looked up, and gestured for the sentry to halt. Then, he leapt onto the wall. The half-meter-thick composite steel gate was only partially open, pulled back by gears and chains, before slamming shut with a heavy thud.

Bao Zhengcheng was already standing at the gate, two enormous spider demon heads thrown down from the wall landing at his feet. Qian Ye jumped down, simply saying, “I’m back.”

Bao Zhengcheng nodded vigorously, striding over to give Qian Ye a hearty embrace!

The burly man, like a fierce-maned bear, had a suspicious glint in his eyes. He rubbed them nervously, muttering, “Damn! The mountain wind is really strong tonight!” Then, he scratched his head, trying to cover up, “Boss, what should we do now? Retreat or fight here?”

Qian Ye smiled bitterly, “Retreat is not an option. The earth castle is already surrounded. We have no choice but to hold our ground here and wait for reinforcements.”

“Surrounded?” The expeditionary force company commander, standing nearby, paled, clearly shaking.

“Correct. On my way here, I saw more than five hundred dark race regulars, and several thousand cannon fodder. What do you think, Major, about retreating?” Qian Ye asked calmly.

Bao Zhengcheng’s thick eyebrows knitted together, his hand instinctively reaching for his sidearm. If the dark forces outside were as numerous as Qian Ye reported, a retreat would mean leaving most behind to die, with only those of higher ranks having a chance to escape. With the highest-ranking officer on-site being this company commander, if he fled, the entire town would descend into chaos without even fighting.

The company commander’s face turned pale and then red, before he gave a wry smile, “Retreating now means death. Let’s hold and hope for reinforcements. As for the nobles in the rear… sigh!”

Bao Zhengcheng clapped him hard on the shoulder, “Forget about the nobles. Get everyone who can hold a gun ready! Holding out gives us a chance, otherwise, we all die.”

The company commander nodded, hurrying off.

Bao Zhengcheng approached the solemn Qian Ye, “Boss, are there really so many black-blooded bastards out there?”

Qian Ye gave a bitter smile, “More than I said, I’m afraid.”

A cold light flashed in Bao Zhengcheng’s eyes, “This scale confirms it’s a mass movement of the dark races. If Xichang City truly didn’t notice, the collapse of the earthen fortress defense node will breach at least a hundred kilometers of the front line.”

Qian Ye said coolly, “As incompetent as the Imperial Intelligence may be, I don’t think they’d make such a mistake.”

Their gazes met, and Bao Zhengcheng suddenly said, “It wouldn’t be Miss Qiqi.”

Qian Ye was slightly startled.

“She wouldn’t use us as cannon fodder for her own glory. Miss Qiqi might have a temper, but she’s not that kind of person.”

Qian Ye looked at Bao Zhengcheng’s sincere face, unsure whether to nod.

He had indeed briefly suspected that, with the scale of the dark army’s movement, it was absurd to think the expeditionary forces were unaware. But if a major battle was imminent, all frontline units should have received orders to contract their lines, except for the predetermined cannon fodder, who would unwittingly initiate the battle, only to be consumed on the field.

Cannon fodder tactics were a grim necessity for both humans and dark races.

But if it wasn’t Qiqi, then the division-level military map must have been tampered with. The map, sealed and intact, was delivered with the weaponry through the expeditionary supply line, but escorted by Yin family officers. Who could have tampered with it under the watchful eyes of both?

Qian Ye suddenly smiled, “Whoever it is doesn’t matter. We need to survive. As long as we live, we’ll uncover the truth.”

Bao Zhengcheng nodded. After a moment of silence, he called, “Boss!”

“What is it?”

“If we can’t hold, you must go first! The brothers will buy you time!” Bao Zhengcheng stammered, “The fools in Xichang might not know about the mass movement, someone has to report back.”

Qian Ye ignored Bao Zhengcheng’s clumsy excuse, frowning in silence. He had never considered the possibility; the Red Scorpion military code dictated that the officer held the rear.

Bao Zhengcheng grabbed Qian Ye’s shoulder, shaking him, and bellowed, “Boss! Live to return! If, I mean if, there’s something behind…”

His military role forbade him from saying more, but Qian Ye understood. Looking into the bloodshot eyes of the bear-like man, Qian Ye slowly nodded, a gesture more difficult than enduring thirty-five waves of origin power.

Within an hour, a shrill alarm resounded over the town. Qian Ye and Bao Zhengcheng climbed the wall, looking out.

On the horizon, a black tide advanced, slow but inexorable. It was the dark army!

“Boss, remember—”

Qian Ye cut him off, “Let’s fight first!”

The dark army slowly encircled the earthen castle.

In the camp, the company commander had set up an anti-aircraft gun. A sharp crack, and a colorful flare of origin power shot up, hovering ten meters above ground. “Damn, how many sentries did those black-blooded bastards leave us?” the commander cursed, wiping sweat from his brow.

In a dozen-kilometer radius, three or four wooden-camouflaged sentries burst with soldiers. Many of these men had never seen such a signal before. Yet, as they emerged, they found themselves surrounded. Only one group, the farthest, found a gap and started running back.

A small group of bloodsuckers pursued the fleeing sentries, while the main force continued toward the earthen castle.

Half an hour later, a blood knight dashed back, kneeling before an elder bloodsucker, “My lord, I failed. One human escaped.”

“Escaped?” the bloodsucker’s crimson eyes flared with murderous intent, “You can’t even catch a few insects? What use are you?”

The blood knight sweated profusely, not daring to mention the twenty-kilometer disparity in starting positions.

The elder finally calmed, coldly saying, “You’ll be the first to enter the city when we attack.”

“Yes, my lord!” the blood knight replied, rising.

Thousands of dark troops approached the small town, the particularly large and menacing figures among them making the expeditionary defenders almost choke. Such high-tier warriors were rare, but now, dozens appeared!

Though they attacked from three sides, leaving one gate, any sensible soldier knew desertion was suicide. Holding the city meant a chance; in the wild, they couldn’t outrun the dark races.

Further afield, more dark troops waited, this just a probing attack. If the defenders showed weakness, a full assault would follow.

As the dark troops neared, the atmosphere grew oppressive, a calm before the storm.

Suddenly, several flares shot up from the town, illuminating the battlefield in a cold, blue-white light. The high-tier dark warriors either closed their eyes or filtered the glare with a haze of black and red. Many cannon fodder, lacking this ability, were blinded, causing chaos.

Powerful spider demons, werewolves, and bloodsuckers used their innate pressure to quell, even killing a few deranged cannon fodder to restore order.

A thunderous boom shattered the night’s silence, a bright light from the sentry tower’s high point drawing a clear line of fire, striking a high-tier werewolf!

The towering, three-meter-tall werewolf was blasted backward, a fountain of blood and gore spewing from his chest. Even with his regeneration, he lay motionless, his chest a gaping hole, his insides torn and burned.

Eagle Strike!

The roar of Eagle Strike marked the beginning of the battle.

Dark troops swarmed the town, including giant spiders, various wolves, and thousands of blood slaves.

Unhurriedly, Qian Ye loaded another round into Eagle Strike, aiming at a spider demon three hundred meters away. The roar of Eagle Strike tore a massive hole through the level-five demon, nearly splitting its upper body in two!

By the second boom, the dark troops had reached the wall, beginning to climb.

Giant spiders scaled the walls, while the wolves used their momentum to leap up the ten-meter-high barrier.

Only the blood slaves couldn’t climb directly. They set up ladders, climbing up through the gaps opened by the spiders, wolves, and high-tier warriors.

Another boom, and Qian Ye felt the wall shake beneath him. He peered out to see several high-tier werewolves operating a short-barreled cannon. Each flash of dark origin power launched a metal shell, pounding the town gate.

This siege cannon was powerful, a common heavy weapon in assaults. Qian Ye frowned; it confirmed the dark forces were part of a larger group. In normal guerrilla warfare, no one carried such a heavy weapon.