Chapter 88: Duke of the Whirling Winds

In the western reaches of the Jade Sea, where the situation had never been calm, it erupted into chaos with the arrival of a fleet of airships.

The airships descended onto the vast grasslands, and from them leaped fully armed human warriors. Their equipment, overall, was more advanced than that of the Dark Flame mercenaries, with many of their standard-issue weapons and armor well-suited for small-scale battles. However, their uniforms varied in design and color, making them appear somewhat disorganized.

These were the private soldiers of various noble families, originally stationed in Zheng’s Liaocheng but now redeployed to the west.

A bearded general looked towards the horizon, where columns of smoke could still be seen rising. He waved his hand behind him and said, “You, take a few dozen men and go check it out.”

The adjutant received the order, leading the family’s warriors into off-road vehicles, which sped towards the smoke. Other off-road vehicles also converged on the same direction.

The bearded officer spat, “Even such a trivial matter, and they’re trying to steal the credit!”

As the off-road vehicles drew closer, a group of werewolves suddenly appeared, charging towards them. Several of the private soldiers instinctively gripped the heavy machine guns on their reconnaissance vehicles and began firing wildly, quickly mowing down the lead werewolves.

“Stop! Don’t shoot!” a werewolf warrior shouted, but the private soldiers ignored him.

The werewolf warrior immediately leapt from his off-road vehicle, knocked the gunner aside, and then turned the machine gun on the other vehicles. The bullets raked the ground, spraying dirt over the vehicles, causing the private soldiers to aim their guns back at him.

When the werewolf warrior saw the heavy machine guns stopped, he shouted, “Those are our tribal people! They are the subjects of Lord Qian Ye! Do you, these outsiders, want to betray Lord Qian Ye?”

“Ridiculous! Since when did Lord Qian Ye become a werewolf? We’re the outsiders?” one of the private soldiers mocked, though they did lower their weapons.

A fierce-looking veteran soldier pointed his gun at the werewolf, saying, “I don’t care about all that. If you point that gun at us again, I’ll kill you right now! No matter what, Lord Qian Ye won’t protect a stray dog like you who points a gun at his own people!”

The werewolf warrior lowered the heavy machine gun and said coldly, “If you slaughter our people again, you won’t last long here. Don’t forget, you have wives and children back home. Don’t let them receive your corpses!”

As the two sides faced off, one of the private soldiers suddenly shouted, “Werewolves! So many werewolves!!”

Everyone turned to see a dust cloud on the distant horizon, forming a massive dust dragon rolling towards them. Amidst the dust, an unknown number of howling werewolf warriors charged forward!

This time, the werewolf warrior’s face changed, and he yelled, “Those are Duke Galestorm’s men! We must stop them!”

“You’re mad! With just a few of us, how can we stop them?”

But the fierce veteran said, “He’s right. If we don’t stop them here, those brothers who just landed won’t have time to assemble. They’ll be slaughtered if the werewolves break through!”

At this moment, an officer jumped out from one of the vehicles, saying, “Who’s the youngest here? Step forward and drive back to report. The rest, hold your ground and fight to the death! If you fall into the hands of these wolf cubs, no one will leave with a whole body!”

As he spoke, he turned to the werewolf warrior and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean you.”

The werewolf warrior replied, “It’s fine. If I fall into their hands, I’ll be eaten too.”

The officer was surprised, and as he gave orders, the soldiers began to act. He himself took a position, lying on the ground and aiming his gun, saying, “I thought werewolves didn’t eat their own kind.”

“They say it’s different on the upper continent. But here, sometimes you have to eat your own or die.”

The officer wanted to ask if he had ever eaten his own kind, but hesitated and stopped.

The werewolf warrior understood and said, “Most werewolves would rather die on the battlefield or alone in the mountains than touch their own kind. I am the same.”

At this, the veteran said, “If we survive this, I wouldn’t mind having a werewolf friend.”

The werewolf warrior laughed, “I already have many human comrades.”

The officer shook his head, “Maybe in the next life. None of us will survive.” His tone was calm, as if he were complaining about the taste of rations.

The group fell silent, and dozens of soldiers formed a defensive line, waiting for the werewolf horde.

Amidst the dust dragon, a splash of orange appeared, and soon, more and more orange figures rushed out, creating a flood. Countless werewolves in orange armor charged out of the dust, heading towards the floating ships still landing in the distance.

The lookouts on the airship fleet spotted the enemy first and began to panic. Some ships that had partially landed hovered uncertainly, unsure whether to continue. Meanwhile, the ground troops rushed forward, trying to form a defensive line outside the makeshift landing zone.

Any experienced commander, seeing the scale of the approaching werewolf army, would feel deeply hopeless.

At the front line, even with a resolve to die, the veteran swallowed hard, saying, “Damn, there are so many!”

The officer said, “More or less, we’re all going to die anyway.”

The veteran muttered, “This isn’t the first time, but I’m still scared.”

The officer said, “Me too.”

The veteran was surprised, “I thought you were never afraid.”

“I just don’t talk about it. That’s why I’m a lieutenant colonel, and you’re still a second lieutenant.”

“Not because of strength?”

“… So you’re still a second lieutenant.”

The orange flood neared, and the werewolves’ footsteps shook the earth. The soldiers on the ground struggled to hold their guns. They did not rush to attack, instead waiting until the werewolves were within range before opening fire.

No one held back, pouring out their power and ammunition. But their firepower was too weak compared to the werewolf horde, barely slowing their charge.

The officer, with a determined face, stood up, leveled his hand cannon, and fired the last shot. As the energy bolt left the barrel, his face turned pale, and he swayed, reaching for his military knife with his right hand.

The bolt hit the werewolf ranks, exploding in a deafening roar that seemed to drown out all other sounds. The blast sent dirt flying a hundred meters high, and countless werewolves were blown away, halting the horde’s advance!

The officer, stunned, could hardly believe the effect of his single shot. This wasn’t a hand cannon; even dozens of heavy cannons might not achieve such results.

He stared, first at the werewolves, then at his hand cannon, completely baffled.

At that moment, a second, earth-shattering explosion occurred, sending another shockwave over a hundred meters, throwing more orange werewolves into the air. The charging werewolf horde was struck again.

A massive shadow passed overhead, and the officer looked up to see an unimaginably large airship hovering above the battlefield. Its kilometer-long hull was almost a floating city.

“Valhalla!” someone shouted. Qian Ye’s Valhalla had already become legendary, its enormous size and monstrous appearance a topic of awe. Though none had seen it, the airship was instantly recognized.

The officer realized that the two massive explosions were not from his hand cannon but from the main guns of Valhalla.

Valhalla slowly descended, and its side cannons opened fire, weaving a terrifying web of flames, creating a deadly no-man’s-land in front of the werewolf horde.

Duke Galestorm’s werewolves, though numerous, were poorly equipped. Compared to the local werewolves, they were only slightly better. Such primitive troops, lacking strategic nodes, were easily slaughtered under the firepower of Valhalla, which rivaled an imperial flotilla.

Even the bravest warriors did not want to die in vain. Faced with heavy casualties, the werewolf horde finally halted, many staring at the death zone with fear in their eyes.

Valhalla slowed and then ceased its bombardment. Only then did the sharp-eyed warriors see a figure standing on the dragon-headed prow of the airship.

Under the banner of the werewolf central command, a dozen strong werewolves were all drawn to the figure, craning their necks to see. But by the time the smoke cleared, the dragon’s skull was empty.

“Where did he go?” an impatient werewolf chief asked.

Suddenly, a soft voice echoed in their ears, “I’m here.”

They turned in shock to see Qian Ye standing behind them, only a few meters away.

“You!…” Many of the strong werewolves, unable to shout, felt an unbearable heat, their bodies burning, their vision turning dark red, and everything warping like the end of the world. They tried to struggle, but their bodies were unbearably heavy, and the weaker ones were even pushed to the ground.

In the heavy pressure, there was a terrifying aura, a deep-seated fear of those close to the dark origin. This fear left the werewolves weak, able to exert only sixty to seventy percent of their combat power.

“How is this possible?” The werewolves were still reeling from the shock when a network of bloodlines appeared before them.

The banner of the werewolf central command slowly fell.

All the werewolf warriors, after Valhalla ceased its bombardment, did not continue their charge. Instead, they turned to the banner, waiting for further orders. But when the banner fell, they found the central command area empty, except for one person standing.

The strong werewolves, who had led the troops, were now corpses.

A strong wind swept the battlefield, and a profound, oppressive aura enveloped the area. A mighty voice boomed, “Sir Qian Ye, treating your tribe’s warriors this way, do you not fear damaging your reputation as a Child of Darkness?”

Qian Ye said coolly, “They offended me, and this is their deserved fate. Besides, if I hadn’t punished them, you wouldn’t have shown up, would you, Duke Galestorm?”

A whirlwind appeared in front of Qian Ye, and from it emerged a tall, thin, elderly werewolf. His eyes were deep, and his face etched with the marks of time. He walked up to Qian Ye and said, “And now, I have shown up.”