The fireworks actually rose far in the distance, dozens of kilometers away. However, seeing the purple aura soaring, Rommel and Pratt knew the situation was hopeless. For an army, such a distance would take half a day to traverse, but for the strong, it was only a blink of an eye.
Rommel had not anticipated that the central forces would arrive so quickly. He couldn’t help but curse, “Dorel, that waste!”
The Evernight had already adjusted its strategy against the empire’s offensive. The forces intercepting the empire’s central army seemed the weakest, but in reality, it was because the central path bore the greatest pressure. They were essentially cutting a path through the heart of the Evernight army. If the east and west fronts faltered, the central forces would face a three-pronged assault.
In the current Evernight arrangement, the focus on Haimi was the strongest, followed by the western front, and the central front the weakest. Almost all mobile heavy artillery was moved to White City, intending to crush the empire’s dagger aimed at the Evernight’s heart with overwhelming force.
But no one expected that the battle at White City would be so devastating without victory. And among the imperial forces converging here, the strongest eastern Haimi forces had yet to arrive, while the central forces were the first to reach.
Rommel, too flustered to curse Dorel’s incompetence, fixed his gaze on Carol, rapidly calculating the power balance. In his view, there might still be a chance to decisively end the battle at White City before the central army’s strong warriors arrived.
Unexpectedly, Pratt suddenly shot into the sky, leaving behind a distant call: “Admit defeat, Rommel.”
“You!!” Rommel nearly went mad in that instant. The last sliver of hope was wasted by Pratt’s escape.
Pratt not only ran but also signaled other strong spider demons, who followed him. Even those who had difficulty flying, Pratt did not abandon, wrapping them in spider silk and taking them with him.
With the strong spider demons withdrawing, the remaining fighters lost their spirit. The surviving spider demon warriors retreated out of the city, and the other races’ warriors and strong ones understood the futility, even the supervision squad did not intervene.
Gritting his teeth, Rommel had no choice but to issue a retreat order. As he turned to leave, a flash of lightning appeared before him, and Carol’s lightning whip struck down!
Rommel sneered, drew his sword, and parried the whip.
Seeing this, Carol put all her strength into it, causing the whip’s lightning to intensify. But upon contact, she realized Rommel’s sword was unusually weak, and a single strike sent it flying. She overexerted herself, leaving an opening, and Rommel instantly dashed through, his figure flickering, vanishing into the void.
Vampires were known for their speed, and Rommel’s full-speed escape left Carol no chance to catch up. Clearly, Qian Ye’s shot had inflicted a serious injury on Rommel, or he wouldn’t have abandoned his sword.
The remaining dark race forces fled like a receding tide, dispersing in all directions. The mercenaries in the city were too exhausted to pursue, and even the surviving fighters had no energy to cheer.
Several older mercenaries stood dazed on the ruins, watching the approaching imperial reinforcements with blank faces, showing no joy. One turned and saw a heap of bodies, both dark race and Darkflame mercenaries, littering a nearby street. All the people he knew lay there.
From any angle, the standing in White City were far fewer than the fallen.
Qian Ye pushed a stone slab off his head and struggled to stand. His left leg gave way, almost causing him to fall, a piercing pain he hadn’t felt in a long time. Without touching it, Qian Ye knew his leg was broken. Such an injury, even with his physique and boiling blood state, would take most of the day to heal.
Rommel’s counterattack was indeed powerful, and Qian Ye paid the price of a leg to escape.
However, Qian Ye knew Rommel was also in a bad state. The advanced Primordial Gun, even for a Duke, wasn’t something to be casually taken. Rommel used vampire secrets to suppress his injuries, aiming to secure victory. But doing so would make the injuries more severe afterward, and it was unlikely he would be seen again in the ongoing Battle of the Floating Land.
Pratt’s complete retreat left a slight regret in Qian Ye, but Rommel was the primary target.
Song Zining approached from the other side, grinned at Qian Ye, and said, “Even you have your moments of disarray…”
His words trailed off as he paled, almost falling.
Qian Ye caught him, looking at the lingering traces of purple fire in the sky, and sighed deeply.
Song Zining took several deep breaths, steadied himself, and supported the slightly unsteady Qian Ye, saying, “Finally, it’s over!”
Qian Ye nodded.
Carol appeared beside them, just about to speak when they heard a joyful shout. Little Zhu Ji rushed over, leaping toward Qian Ye and Song Zining!
Both were alarmed; in their current state, how could they handle her leap? One was nearly depleted, and the other had a broken leg, unable to dodge. Carol reacted quickly, catching the young girl mid-leap.
A dull thud sounded, and Carol, holding Zhu Ji, took two steps back. Carol, in peak condition, was still shaken. If it had been Qian Ye, perhaps he would have fared better, but for Song Zining, a few bones might have broken.
It seemed that the time spent in the Hall of Heroes had made Zhu Ji accept Carol, and she didn’t react to being stopped.
Song Zining said, “Miss Carol, please take Zhu Ji back to the Hall of Heroes. Unless I or Qian Ye are present, do not allow anyone to board.”
Carol was slightly surprised, and Qian Ye’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing.
Noticing Qian Ye’s fleeting expression, Song Zining explained, “The signal was indeed from the Zhao Clan, but whether it is truly from them is uncertain. The Hall of Heroes is our only fallback, and we cannot afford to lose it.”
“I understand,” Qian Ye nodded.
Carol, holding Zhu Ji, ascended into the void, returning to the Hall of Heroes. Zhu Ji bit her thumb, staring at Qian Ye and Song Zining, sensing the tense atmosphere and remaining quiet.
As Carol left, an indescribable aura enveloped White City. It was profound and grand, pure yet laced with intense blood and fire, and strangely, it felt like multiple auras that should have been incompatible melded together.
The aura swept through White City, and a figure appeared before Qian Ye and Song Zining, becoming the focal point naturally.
Song Zining’s expression became somewhat uneasy as the man fixed his gaze on him. In a moment, sweat appeared on Song Zining’s forehead, and his smile grew forced, “Fourth Young Master, you came very quickly.”
The newcomer was Zhao Jundu, hailed as the foremost of the empire’s younger generation.
He looked at Song Zining and said, “With Seventh Young Master’s abilities, how could you not have calculated my arrival?”
Song Zining immediately shook his head, “Who would dare to calculate you now?”
Zhao Jundu remained unmoved, “You have your ways; you knew it was me.”
Song Zining sighed, “Fine, let’s say it is.”
Zhao Jundu then glanced at Qian Ye, saying, “Caution is wise, even against Zhao Clan members.”
Though the statement was sound, after Zhao Jundu and Song Zining’s exchange, it was unclear if it was meant sarcastically.
Song Zining looked even tenser, and when Zhao Jundu asked, “What are you nervous about? Are you hiding something?” Song Zining realized his emotions were evident.
Song Zining quickly denied, “I’ve been with Qian Ye this whole time, what could I be hiding? Besides, I’ve moved to the neutral zone, detached from imperial affairs, what could I do?”
Zhao Jundu smiled faintly, “Seventh Young Master is no ordinary person, capable of influencing the situation from afar.”
Seeing the conversation heading towards a deadlock, Qian Ye interjected, “Are you injured?”
“Hurrying on the road, how could I not be?” Zhao Jundu said lightly, but overtaking the Long Princess Haimi to reach White City first, surely involved fierce battles.
“Qian Ye’s leg is also injured, I’ll find a healer…”
As Song Zining started to move, two columns of purple flame blocked his path, and Zhao Jundu called, “Don’t try to slip away! What healer is more effective than our own origin power recovery?”
Zhao Jundu, speaking, bent to examine Qian Ye’s left leg, then straightened, “Good. Sit and stabilize it, why stand there uselessly? That guy doesn’t need your support.”
Qian Ye decided it was best to stay silent, sat down, and found a bandage to treat the external wound, wrapping his left leg.
Knowing he couldn’t escape, Song Zining said, “What now?”
“Of course, to plan the defense.”
“Defense?” Song Zining instinctively felt a bad omen.
“A massive dark race force, led by a Duke, is right behind me.”
Qian Ye and Song Zining exchanged glances, becoming serious. At this level, a Duke-level figure was required. A Duke’s presence wasn’t surprising, but the number of such high-ranking figures was a concern, especially with five Grand Dukes in the Outer Void battle.
The empire’s top-tier strong ones were limited, mostly needed to guard the homeland and deal with frontier conflicts. With the internal Holy War in Evernight paused, the intensity of the war increased, revealing the empire’s disadvantage.
Zhao Jundu laughed, “Why look so grim? Even if a Prince arrives, mustn’t we still fight?”
This was true, and Song Zining pulled out a map, looked at it, and tossed it aside. White City was now a ruin, and the map was useless.
Finding a cleaner stone, he sketched a simple map and asked Zhao Jundu, “How many did you bring?”
“One thousand,” Zhao Jundu replied.
Song Zining and Qian Ye were shocked; Zhao Jundu brought so few. Considering Zhao Jundu’s rapid advance, having a thousand was impressive, reflecting the Zhao Clan’s elite private army.
Then Zhao Jundu added, “All light infantry.”
This was even worse, meaning the mercenaries would get no much-needed supplies.
But Song Zining was undaunted. By now, the Evernight ground forces were exhausted, and their remaining combat power was uncertain.
“Who is the Duke?”
“Wolfman Duke Dorel, skilled in blitzkrieg and close combat, a simple-minded brute, poorly equipped,” Zhao Jundu said.
“Is no one dealing with him?”
“Defender Duke and he fought, evenly matched, both sustaining minor injuries.”
“Wolfman? I can try to handle him,” Qian Ye said. Close combatants were Qian Ye’s favorite opponents, rarely dodging his Primordial Gun.
“He may not dare to enter the city,” Zhao Jundu noted.
The three discussed the defenses, but the atmosphere was not tense. With Zhao Jundu’s central forces and Darkflame mercenaries successfully united, the Battle of the Floating Land was largely won. Occupying White City would cut off the rear of the Evernight’s hundreds of thousands of troops, and if a tenth escaped, it would be fortunate.
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