The garrison troops in Yuncheng did not begin their routine legion training the next day. Instead, all combat units were assigned to their respective defensive posts, standing fully alert.

The latest news was that the Aotian Legion’s massive army of eight hundred thousand had reached the small town of Buzhou, three hundred miles to the south, and could strike Yuncheng at any moment.

A gloomy sky and palpable tension enveloped the entirety of Yuncheng, as everyone quietly awaited the coming of war.

Since it was a siege defense, the Yunting Iron Cavalry had no opportunity for open-field battle outside the city, and so they were also assigned to the city walls, joining the ranks of the Chiyue Assassination Squad in the defense.

Jin Yao kept me close by his side. Although I was not yet a Heavenly Demon Warrior, my miraculous Demon Devouring Body was set to be the ultimate trump card in suppressing the enemy's Heavenly Rainbow Arch-Mages in this battle. Naturally, Jin Yao would not let my ability go to waste.

Having me act alongside them was also intended to neutralize the opposing Heavenly Rainbow Arch-Mages.

Guiding our defense of the South Gate were Jidu and Luohu. Coincidentally, Feng Qingtian and his group were also defending the South Gate, though they were not stationed with me; they belonged to the Assassination Squad.

Everyone stared tensely towards the distant horizon. Far off, a vast, dark mass could be seen slowly approaching the direction where we stood.

Rumbles and deep, oppressive vibrations echoed, as if the very earth was trembling in this suffocatingly tense moment.

Closer and closer they came, until at last, we clearly saw that massive dark expanse: ranks upon ranks of Demon Sealing Soldiers clad in armor, wielding swords and shields.

September 27th, 3744, in the Sacred Word Calendar! The Fourth Expeditionary Army of the Demon Sealing Empire, the Aotian Legion, had finally launched its assault on Yuncheng.

At the South Gate of Yuncheng, deafening war drums sounded one after another. The three hundred thousand soldiers of the Aotian Legion surged forward like the raging waves of the ocean, roaring in unison, arraying their magnificent iron phalanx at the five-hundred-meter warning line outside the city walls.

The earth-shaking roars, mixed with the booming war drums, made everyone’s eardrums ache.

The entire world seemed to be submerged by the frenzied shouting of countless Demon Sealing soldiers. Thousands of grotesquely shaped trebuchets, crossbow artillery, and tortoise shell siege vehicles were pushed to the warning line by fifty thousand elite Demon Sealing warriors, arrayed in a single line. Beyond them, more than fifty thousand magical cavalry formed orderly triple waves for a shock assault, guarding the artillery and crossbows. Behind the artillery, over a hundred colossal battering rams, pulled by Blast Furnace Warhorses, stood ready. These rams, cast from pig iron, featured massive conical tips, capable of smashing any city gate under the terrifying charge of the Blast Furnace Warhorses. Beneath the iron plating atop the rams hid countless Demon Sealing warriors wielding swords and shields, who occasionally struck their massive steel shields with their huge, thick sabers, producing shattering, earth-splitting shrieks directed at the walls of Jincheng. The perfectly disciplined formation and overwhelming morale made Yuncheng seem like a pitiful rabbit encircled by a giant monstrous beast, moments away from being crushed into dust.

At the West Gate, the Aotian Legion’s Second Battalion, a main infantry force of three hundred thousand, was spread across the field. Thousands of scaling ladders were positioned behind the warning line. In front stood twenty thousand magical cavalry, flanked by forty thousand heavy cavalry split into two wings. Between these wings were exclusively Demon Sealing Shield Bearers—the ultimate defensive class of the Aotian Legion. Each carried a gigantic steel shield nearly the size of a door panel, with two of the strongest Demon Sealing warriors behind it, bracing together.

Even the heavy arrows from the city wall’s most powerful long-range weapon, the ballista, could not force them back a single step. These massive steel shields, formed in a shallow inward curve, could defend against direct bombardment as well as parabolic attacks from an angle up to forty-five degrees above, making them the pinnacle of physical defense. In the center of the formation stood twenty thousand Demon Sealing Mages dressed in blue robes, chanting long, dark magic spells arranged in an eerie hexagram formation. Under the enhancement of their magic, an immensely powerful Moluo Barrier completely enveloped every corner of the grand formation, its astonishing strength capable of defending against any magical attack. The circular tortoise shell vehicles, propelled by twenty thousand Demon Sealing warriors, stood ready to counter any magical traps set beneath the city walls.

Behind the siege ladder formation were twenty thousand Aotian Purgatory Assassination Squad members, heavily armored and wielding keen axes. The skull helms made these powerfully built warriors appear even more savage.

They seemed utterly berserk, constantly banging their axes against their thick, heavy armor while letting out arrogant howls toward the Heavenly Rainbow Warriors on the walls. The soaring killing intent crashed like monstrous, surging waves against the eardrums and nerves of the Prague Legion soldiers on the ramparts.

To the East was the Aotian Legion’s Third Battalion. From their dazzling large shields and thick steel sabers, it was clear this unit’s main force was an astonishing number of Saber and Shield Soldiers, versatile troops skilled in both offense and defense, arrayed in neat square formations behind the warning line. Scattered artfully within the formation were over five hundred giant siege war chariots. Thickness and rigor defined the Third Battalion’s fighting style; even standing silently before the line, they exuded the terrifying momentum of a coming tsunami. Among the Aotian’s three battalions, this unit had the most manpower, reaching an astonishing five hundred thousand.

Though I prided myself on having witnessed many great storms, facing this near-overwhelming density of iron phalanxes and killing intent that shot straight into the heavens almost choked the breath from me.

Ah! Is this… is this the battlefield? At this moment, I felt like a lone skiff tossed in a raging tempest, my entire mind reeling and filled with anxiety from the earth-shaking roars swirling around me.

Instinctively, I looked toward Feng Qingtian and the others on the distant wall; they too were pale as death. By chance, they saw me as well, and all showed a flicker of mutual understanding.

It seemed I wasn't the only one feeling the tension!

Perhaps we possessed extraordinary cultivation, but in this moment, we were all new recruits experiencing a real battle formation for the first time. In contrast, the other soldiers of the Prague Legion appeared much calmer and steadier. Facing the tidal wave of ferocious shouts, they remained utterly unmoved, standing ramrod straight like statues, gripping their weapons tightly.

I could feel the mountain-like calmness and the astonishing fighting intent about to erupt from them.

These were true warriors. Fundamentally different from us rangers who had scraped by in the Ranger World. Only fighting countless battles, stained with the sand of a hundred deaths, could forge such unyielding resolve.

“Your Highness, no need to be nervous.” Seemingly sensing my unease, Jin Yao Hong said in a deep voice, “Don’t think about anything else. Just do as you were trained. If Your Highness can maintain a normal heart, even an army of thousands will be nothing.”

“En!” I nodded heavily. That was right. I was a warrior who had fought his way through the Demon Dragon World to the very end, a peak Red Moon master, a top-tier warrior with Grandmaster cultivation. No matter how strong these men were, could they be stronger than the Demon Dragon Soldiers or Demon Dragon Warriors? I exerted myself fully, forcing my heart to settle.

Jin Yao and Jidu Luohu looked grim, surveying the orderly ranks of the Aotian Legion five hundred meters below the wall. “It seems this is truly going to be a tough fight,” Jin Yao noted. “In terms of equipment, troop types, and deployment across three gates, the Aotian Legion’s composition is perfect, leaving us nowhere to defend effectively!”

“En,” Jidu agreed. “But we are also fully prepared. As long as the command is sound, we can definitely hold!”

“The only variable,” Luohu stated calmly, “is exactly how many Heavenly Demon Squads, Heavenly Venerate Daoists, and Heavenly Rainbow Arch-Mages the Aotian Legion has deployed, and which city gate they will choose as their breakthrough point!”

“Indeed! That is what worries me most,” Jin Yao admitted. “We still haven’t located the Heavenly Demon Warriors of the Aotian Legion.”

In the main formation of the Aotian Legion, Moluo Aotian observed the neat array of troops along the city wall. A dark, fierce glint flashed in his icy pupils.

The earth-shattering battle from forty years ago was still vividly recalled in his mind. That was the most bitter defeat of Moluo Aotian’s entire life.

Thinking of this, Moluo Aotian was once again enveloped by an agitated, oppressive aura. The thought of Lanling’s death made the feeling of depression and anxiety so intense that his chest felt like it would explode. To this day, he still couldn't comprehend how the mysterious assassin named Blue Lightning could have appeared there, executing Lanling and the four accompanying Crimson Priests with a nearly flawless strategy. It must have required astonishing intelligence accuracy and superb, clever planning, yet the opponent achieved it single-handedly.

Worse still, the Fire Dragon Blaze and the Soul Devouring Staff were also stolen. This put the Aotian Legion in an extremely passive position. If they could not conquer Yuncheng immediately, and the Demon Dragon Imperial Family gained enough time to figure out how to wield the immense power of the Soul Devouring Staff and the Fire Dragon Heart, the severest punishment would await Moluo Aotian back in the Demon Sealing Empire; the Aotian Legion might truly be wiped from existence.

Even now, Moluo Aotian could not accept that the person who killed Lanling right under his nose was merely an ordinary young ranger. However, the intelligence reports transmitted by the Imperial Pigeons were absolutely not false. Never before had Moluo Aotian felt such a profound lack of confidence in his own abilities as he did now.

The thought that he was toyed with by a mere Grandmaster-level youth made him furious. And now that this news had—or rather, already had—spread, Moluo Aotian could already imagine his rivals reveling in his misfortune.

Damn it! A battle that should have been a guaranteed victory had now become a fifty-fifty toss-up. Furthermore, despite possessing a surplus of Heavenly Rainbow Arch-Mages, the Aotian Legion dared not move rashly because they feared that damnable Demon Devouring Body.

Never had anyone made Moluo Aotian grit his teeth with hatred while simultaneously feeling so helpless, as the Blue Lightning did.

Besides sending in Heavenly Demon Warriors and regular troops to fight desperately for Yuncheng, Moluo Aotian truly could not conceive of any other way to resolve the current predicament. Looking beside him at the still shaken Heavenly Rainbow Arch-Mages and the six remaining Crimson High Priests from the Church, Moluo Aotian’s anger flared anew.

That flawless killing scheme had terrified these arrogant mages. Not a single mage was willing to face such a terrifying opponent, one possessing complete magical immunity—the Demon Devouring Body, the most feared taboo in the Demon Sealing Empire for a thousand years.

That cursed thing! That blue figure was like an invisible sharp sword, lightly placed against Moluo Aotian’s throat, ready to strike fatally at any moment.

Recalling that near-perfect, seamless scheme, even Moluo Aotian, who prided himself on foresight, felt his scalp tingle. Who could guarantee when that figure might suddenly appear beside these mages, severing their heads or punching a massive hole through their chests?

The Aotian Legion's formidable magical strength appeared pale and useless for the first time!

Facing the powerful Prague Legion, coupled with that persistent Blue Lightning, Moluo Aotian felt a sense of powerlessness and defeat like never before, a feeling even more exhausting than his devastating defeat forty years prior. He only hoped this war would end soon.

Perhaps he was truly growing old; perhaps it was time to step down.

However, the Aotian Legion was now trapped between advancing and retreating. Even if they wanted to return to the Demon Sealing Empire, they first had to take this stubborn fortress. Otherwise, the future prospects for the Aotian Legion looked bleak!

It was either mutual destruction or utter collapse! The Aotian Legion had been pushed to a dead end this time. Looking at the wall, Moluo Aotian revealed a look of grim determination! “Begin the assault!”

“Trebuchet attack!” The battlefield commander of the Aotian Legion immediately issued the order!

West Gate!

“What powerful momentum. Do they think they can intimidate us with sheer presence?” Long Yueyao murmured, watching the Aotian Legion roar fiercely before the line amid the thundering war drums.

“We in the Prague Legion were raised on fear,” the Five-Star General of the Prague Third Army, Chi Longzhen, declared proudly.

“Haha, that’s right. Even if they smash their drums and tear their throats, it’s useless,” Deputy General Yan Xiang added dismissively.

Looking at the surrounding Prague soldiers who remained steadfast and unmoving like mountains, Yueyao showed a look of approval. They were indeed the elite troops led by Jin Yao.

In the enemy formation, a black square mass finally advanced—hundreds of trebuchets being pushed forward by the Aotian Legion.

“It’s starting!” Yueyao said gravely.

“Let them come,” Chi Longzhen and Yan Xiang replied calmly.

Boom, boom, boom! Countless earth-shattering concussions sounded, and streams of massive light shot down toward the battlements like a meteor shower.

“Dodge!” Yueyao commanded sternly.

Whoosh! The Prague soldiers, lined up on the wall, quickly ducked down, retreating into cover.

Thud, thud, thud! The colossal stones smashed instantly onto the thick city walls or the ground atop them!

Rumble! The solid bluestone pavement shook violently under the terrifying impact of the stones, rippling outward like concentric circles disturbed by a boulder dropped onto a calm lake!

And this frenzied barrage of stone seemed endless, never pausing for a moment! Wave after wave! As if intent on utterly shattering the tall, thick walls!

Countless stones rained down relentlessly. The sturdy city wall, hammered by this tempest of rock, became pitted and unrecognizable, sending huge fragments scattering everywhere. A few Prague soldiers who failed to dodge in time were immediately injured.

But they clenched their jaws and endured!

Taking advantage of the brief lull in the stone rain, dozens of Daoists instantly cast mass healing spells, tending to their wounded comrades. The injured soldiers also quickly pulled the wound medicines from their waists and downed them in one gulp, striving to regain combat effectiveness quickly.

Rumble, rumble! The dense rain of stones continued relentlessly for a full ten minutes! And under the cover of the stone rain,

The Aotian Legion’s black iron phalanx charged toward the base of the wall like a whirlwind.

The sheer size was astonishing. The shield bearers in the front ranks held their shields diagonally, while those in the middle held theirs flat above their heads. Incoming arrows and rolling stones, as well as spells, struck the thick shields, producing countless dull thuds but causing no harm to the Aotian soldiers hidden behind them. The Aotian Legion approached the city wall resolutely, like a giant turtle. Furthermore, the mages, under the cover of the shield troops, frequently launched counterattacks!

However, the defense atop the wall was also watertight. The Prague Legion soldiers benefited from the geographical advantage, and with the protection of the parapets, they sustained no major damage. Both sides became locked in a firefight of stone rain, heavy arrows, and magical bombardment, with neither daring to let down their guard for a moment.

The situation at the South Gate and East Gate was no different from the West Gate; the Aotian Legion launched a powerful assault simultaneously! And the tactics employed were almost identical! Using the powerful firepower generated by trebuchets and magic to cover the approach of the troops intended for scaling the walls!

Whoosh, whoosh, boom, boom!

Countless spells and arrows rebounded off the large shields like exploding flames, scattering everywhere. Feng Qingtian and the others, experiencing such a formation for the first time, were all deeply shocked.

“Damn it! Are these guys made of turtles?” Shaya exclaimed. “We can’t hurt them at all!”

“En,” Han Yunzhen agreed. “The Demon Sealing Shield Bearers are specialized units for covering siege operations. Their defense cannot be broken by ordinary attacks.”

“It seems we’ll only find their weakness when they attempt to scale the walls,” Tong Lei surmised.

“Exactly. The real decisive battle will come after they set up the ladders,” an old soldier beside them said with a smile. “That’s when our Assassination Squad gets to shine. However, before they can set up ladders and approach the wall, they’ll have to pay a price.”

“Good, let’s wait for them to come,” Feng Qingtian stated grimly. Feng Qingtian and the others, new to the front line, had clearly adapted to the situation, staring intently at the Demon Sealing soldiers rapidly closing in below the wall.

Closer! Even closer!

The commander directing the regular troops at the South Gate was Prague Five-Star General Yan Kai. He was now silently calculating the Aotian Legion’s movement speed and the intensity of their firepower, waiting for the opportune moment.

“Fire Wall spell, commence.” Once the Aotian Legion’s black iron phalanx was completely within the red warning line, Yan Kai finally issued the command.

Roar!

All the mages concealed behind the parapets immediately launched their Fire Walls. The hundred-meter distance beneath the city wall instantly transformed into a sea of crimson fire!

The Aotian Legion trapped in the inferno let out cries of agony. The dense wall of fire gave them absolutely no space to evade; they could only endure it with their powerful physiques and battle qi. However, such defense could not last long, and soon a large portion of the soldiers collapsed. Even the few who managed to reach the base of the wall were smashed into meat paste by the overwhelming bombardment of rolling stones and logs!

“Are these people fools?” I asked in surprise. “They’re clearly walking into a death trap.”

“Your Highness is correct. This is merely a probing attack,” Jin Yao Hong said seriously. “Through this probing attack, the Aotian Legion will grasp the distribution of our Prague Legion’s combat strength and then launch their subsequent siege operations.”

“Meaning, the real fight hasn’t started yet,” I realized subconsciously.

“Yes,” Jin Yao Hong confirmed. “This is only a tentative engagement between regular units. Only after both sides have confirmed each other’s combat strengths will the Heavenly Demon Warriors be deployed, and that will be the true decisive battle.”

“Heavenly Demon Warriors!” Thinking of the eight Heavenly Demon Warriors gathered in Yuncheng, I couldn't help but feel an intense surge of excitement.

I still clearly remember the earth-shattering duel between Jidu and Luojiang. And that was just a one-on-one showdown. Now, on the battlefield, with seven or eight Heavenly Demon Warriors deployed simultaneously by both sides, what kind of scene would such a melee entail?

I simply couldn't imagine it. Perhaps “earth-shattering” would be an understatement.