Chapter 165: A Resounding Victory in the First Battle

The imperial military discipline had always been extremely strict. Desertion and disobedience were punishable by death, and the offenders’ families would be implicated as well. Therefore, many soldiers would rather die on the battlefield than bear the stigma. This way, not only would their families be spared, but they would also receive generous rewards posthumously.

Even if the three divine generals had any objections, they had to carry out Qian Ye’s decision once it was made.

Wen Yuan Gong, though still in his prime, was unwilling to face death. He couldn’t help but remind, “My lord, if we delay here, Nighteye will appear. The former commander met such a severe injury that he had to return to the empire for treatment.”

He emphasized the phrase “return to the empire for treatment” heavily, making it clear that the previous commander’s injury was no ordinary one.

Qian Ye simply said, “I am looking forward to meeting her.”

Before Wen Yuan Gong could say more, Ming Hai Gong quickly pulled his sleeve and gave him a meaningful look. Recalling Qian Ye’s past, Wen Yuan Gong felt a chill and fell silent. He could only sigh inwardly, lamenting the misfortune of the empire, which had to find someone like Qian Ye. This man had an ambiguous connection with the other side.

With the final order given, the imperial soldiers no longer hesitated. They set up their heavy cannons at top speed, and soon, the roar of the cannon fire dominated the battlefield, suppressing the enemy.

These imperial soldiers were originally elite troops, but they had lost their edge after too many defeats. Qian Ye had brought another ten thousand elites, and with a clear directive, the soldiers’ morale surged, and they quickly displayed their might.

The dark race’s commander seemed surprised. According to his experience, the imperial army should have retreated when the heavy cannons fired. Then, he could easily catch up and take a bite out of the retreating forces.

“Struggling in vain?” The handsome blood noble, an honor duke, sneered.

He raised his right hand high and pressed down fiercely towards the imperial army’s position!

The strong among the lower ranks let out battle roars, rousing the fierce nature deep within their blood. The werewolves became frenzied, charging toward the imperial position under the cover of giant spider-servants. The blood warriors, mixed among the werewolves, moved just as swiftly.

A few demon descendants floated in the air or stood on the backs of spider-demons, using their precise marksmanship to pick off important targets in the imperial formation.

Though the demon descendants were few, their sniper attacks were harder to defend against than the heavy cannons, and they quickly caused significant damage to the imperial defense line.

Seeing the disarray in the imperial defenses, the honor duke laughed long and loud as he soared into the sky, trailing a long, resplendent streak of blood, and dove towards the imperial army.

Launching a mid-air attack directly at the enemy lines was extremely arrogant, but as an honor duke who had won numerous battles recently, he had the right to be so.

Seeing their commander take the lead, the dark race’s strong warriors were filled with excitement. They all took to the skies, following the dazzling trail. Many regretted being a step behind and not being able to charge to the front line.

The honor duke had already unleashed his full blood aura, his bloodthirsty eyes fixed on the center of the imperial army. Although there were three formidable auras there, he was not afraid. His assault was aimed straight at the center.

In his view, how could these old, weak, and sickly human gods be his match? Moreover, this army included two honor dukes as his deputies, clearly showing Nighteye’s favor.

As a true powerhouse, one must fight an opponent of the same rank without hesitation. Otherwise, how could one call oneself a powerhouse?

Achievement and glory awaited him today!

His blood boiled, and he was full of spirit. After a brief hover in the sky, he plummeted like a meteor towards the imperial center! He wanted to open the curtain of this battle in the most arrogant way possible.

Mid-plunge, he suddenly saw a young man standing with his hands behind his back, looking coldly at him. The three divine generals surrounded this young man.

This young man exuded no aura, so the honor duke didn’t notice him at first. When he saw him, the only thought in the honor duke’s mind was, “How can there be someone more beautiful than me in this world?!”

But in the blink of an eye, he recognized the face and exclaimed, “Qian Ye!”

Without thinking, he made an emergency stop in mid-air, even bursting a ring of blood aura due to the sudden halt. But at least he stopped his momentum and then turned to fly away, not looking back.

The two honor dukes following closely were shocked and, without a second thought, immediately followed their commander.

Their reaction was swift. Their commander was clearly stronger than them, and if he was fleeing, what else could they do? Did they want to see who had scared their commander so much? They had survived this long because they weren’t that curious.

However, running away wasn’t a solution either. The two honor dukes chased after their commander, shouting, “My lord, what about the troops?”

“Everyone fend for themselves, and surrender if you can’t escape! I’ll go back and report!” With that, the blood honor duke suddenly accelerated and vanished in a flash.

The two honor dukes looked at each other in shock. One of them said, “You give the order; I’ll go ahead.”

In a blink, he disappeared as well.

Only the last honor duke, a werewolf duke, remained in the air. He paused, feeling a bit responsible. Seeing the troops still charging from afar, he hesitated about whether to go back and give the order.

With a retreat order, some soldiers might manage to escape. Otherwise, they would suffer unacceptable losses before collapsing, leaving no prisoners. Moreover, he still didn’t understand why the blood honor duke had fled.

In this momentary delay, another person appeared before him.

The werewolf duke finally saw the other’s face and instantly understood, gasping, “Qian Ye!”

Qian Ye stood casually, glancing at the distance, seeming a bit surprised. “They ran pretty fast! Did they think I couldn’t catch up with them?”

But he didn’t make a move or chase after them. Instead, he glanced at the werewolf duke, pausing on the badge on his chest. “So, you are from the Peak of Clans. It’s worth letting the other two go. William is currently in Yonlu, and we are good friends. In his name, I offer you two choices: surrender or die. Choose.”

The werewolf duke could only laugh bitterly. He now understood why the blood honor duke had run so fast, even abandoning the troops. Racing against Qian Ye, who could use spatial flickering, was suicide. The only way to escape was to provide a tempting enough bait that Qian Ye couldn’t ignore.

And the bait, of course, was him and the troops.

The werewolf duke looked deeply at Qian Ye and sighed, “If they had stayed, the three of us fighting you might not have lost.”

Qian Ye smiled, “You think so? No wonder you were left behind.”

The werewolf duke hesitated, gritted his teeth, and knelt in the air, “Great Rock Clan of the Peak of Clans, Honor Duke Tatuum, pledges allegiance to you, under the condition that you allow me two conditions, and I swear on my ancestors’ souls.”

“Which two conditions?”

“First, I will not fight against my own kind. Second, if you and the Peak of Clans become enemies in the future, please let me return.”

Qian Ye said, “Your kind should not include the Ancestor Sect.”

Tatuum pondered for a moment and replied, “Agreed. They betrayed the werewolves by allying with the parliament. This debt will be settled sooner or later.”

“Then there’s no problem. Your place is not here, but in Yonlu. Is that a problem?”

“No problem.”

Tatuum even felt some joy. He knew the Peak of Clans had a base in Yonlu, where they were training soldiers on a large scale. The base was established in cooperation with Qian Ye. Now, Qian Ye was sending him to Yonlu, where he could be with his kinsmen, which was ideal. In fact, if he were to participate in the new world, he would likely end up as cannon fodder.

After subduing Tatuum, Qian Ye said, “Go and make them surrender. If you take too long, I won’t accept any prisoners.”

Tatuum felt a chill and flew back to the army, ordering them to retreat and then to surrender. The leaderless troops, already suffering heavy losses from the imperial army’s initial attack, had lost their initial morale.

Most of the troops surrendered, while the few who resisted were killed on the spot by Tatuum. The demon descendants put up the fiercest resistance, but in front of Qian Ye, it was like a moth trying to stop a chariot.

The first battle ended in victory, and the three divine generals found it hard to believe that it had been so easy. They hadn’t even needed to fight; the enemy commander had fled. Even with their confidence, they knew the blood honor duke didn’t flee because of them.

Thus, there was only one explanation: Qian Ye had become so powerful that his opponents fled without a fight.

It was unbelievable yet understandable. The three divine generals were all veterans, even the youngest, Wen Yuan Gong, had been famous for twenty years. Ming Hai Gong had conquered the world before Qian Ye was born.

Since then, Qian Ye had risen like a meteor, but he had little interaction with these veterans, and they had deliberately ignored the rising stars like Qian Ye, Song Zining, and Zhao Jundu.

The older and more marginalized figures among the veterans were less willing to acknowledge the rise of the young. They didn’t even want to hear names like the Empire’s Twin Stars or the New God of War, let alone understand Qian Ye’s abilities and achievements to make an objective evaluation.

The dark races, however, had evaluated Qian Ye based on the lives and corpses of countless colleagues. Any inaccuracy meant death.

After Qian Ye entered the divine general’s realm, he was no longer just a talented youth but a powerful figure with influence. Though some still couldn’t recognize his rise, over time, more blood would affirm his authority.

The longer-living species, the more they treasured their lives. The more accurate the understanding of their enemy, the better. Thus, the blood honor duke fled, and Tatuum surrendered. Those who failed to see reality became names on casualty reports.

Despite the short battle, the dark races suffered minimal losses, but the three commanders, two of whom fled without reaching the battlefield, and one who ordered surrender, led to the lowest morale among the soldiers. Some had heard of Qian Ye’s reputation, and the commanders’ actions confirmed the legends. As a result, most of the soldiers surrendered.

Capturing nearly ten thousand prisoners was a major victory for the empire. The three divine generals were invigorated, and they actively arranged for the captives’ transfer and confinement. The views of the empire’s soldiers toward Qian Ye changed from that day on.

In those looks, there was awe, but more often, a certain look of disbelief.

Many soldiers in the empire had heard of Qian Ye. The rumors were just that—rumors. But today, fighting under his command for the first time, they witnessed a scene even more exaggerated than the stories.

They wondered what kind of terrifying being lay beneath that handsome exterior, powerful enough to make even the highest-ranking warriors fearful.