“Yue Che is just like me,” Sui Yun said. “He inherited the Azure Spirit Pearl of the Cold Ice Tribe!”
“The Azure Spirit Pearl,” I began to understand the situation. “Does this mean that the top masters of your continent are all inheritors of Spirit Pearls?”
“Precisely,” Sui Yun stated solemnly. “The Seven-Colored Spirit Pearls are inherited by seven individuals, and these seven are the strongest on our continent.”
“Seven strongest people,” I murmured subconsciously. “So the Great Chieftain is one of those seven as well.”
“Sort of,” Sui Yun admitted with slight embarrassment. “However, among the seven inheritors of the Spirit Pearls, my strength is the weakest, barely ranking seventh.”
“……” I was somewhat taken aback. It was clear Sui Yun lacked confidence when speaking of this, which made me uneasy. “Then how strong is Yue Che, and just how vast is the gap between you and him?”
“Yue Che ranks fourth among the seven,” Sui Yun sighed helplessly. “If I confronted him, I would have absolutely no chance of winning!” A shadow of gloom flashed in Sui Yun’s eyes. “However, even if he wanted to defeat me, he would have to pay a devastating price. For this very reason, we have always avoided unnecessary direct confrontation.”
So that’s how it was!
No wonder Sui Yun could trade Yue Ge back for his sister last time!
Furthermore, I sensed that Sui Yun harbored extreme caution towards Yue Che, coupled with intense hatred. “Are you enemies?”
“It is an ancestral feud,” Seth stated grimly. “The Great Chieftain’s father and brother both died at Yue Che’s hands.”
At this moment, Sui Yun’s face was as cold as frost, radiating palpable killing intent, yet he remained silent.
“My apologies.” I hadn't expected a single sentence to provoke such a strong reaction from Sui Yun and Seth!
“It is nothing.” Seemingly noticing his loss of composure, Sui Yun quickly calmed down. He then continued, “While Yue Che’s strength is indeed unfathomable! If the Prince and I joined forces, we wouldn't be without a chance.”
“But we must discuss the details thoroughly before that,” Seth’s expression was terrifyingly dark. “This time, Yue Che must be utterly destroyed.”
................
Everything proceeded according to the established plan!
The preparation and mobilization of the army were incredibly swift!
After all, time waited for no one!
This applied equally to the Snow Plains Tribe and Yan Luo!
Five days later, the Snow Plains Tribe army arrived outside Throne City!
The mountainsides and plains were filled with tribal warriors clad in armor and wielding swords and blades! Giant siege chariots, propelled by dozens of strong soldiers, lumbered forward like small moving mountains toward the city gates!
Sui Feng, Chen Guang, Chen Yu, Long Fei, Long Xiang, and I—the younger generation of commanders from the Snow Plains Tribe—were all assigned to the Vermilion Bird Legion!
As for Yin Shuang and Seth, they were stationed in the central command, overseeing the overall strategy!
It could be said that the lineup for this siege operation was unprecedentedly luxurious!
After all, Yin Shuang had commanded super-large armies numbering nearly ten million!
If the Demon Dragon Empire managed to remain unshaken and stand firm throughout the twenty-five years of my unconsciousness, Yin Shuang’s contribution was absolutely indispensable! Currently, no one on the Mafa Continent was unaware of Yin Shuang’s reputation as the Divine General of the Black Flag Army!
Master strategist, brilliant tactician! In terms of marching and warfare, no one could surpass her!
Moreover, the Snow Plains Tribe had the cunning Seth! With these two joining forces, the arrangement of strategy and tactics could be completely trusted!
As for the lineup of battle commanders!
The original nine Elders of the Snow Plains Tribe, along with the super-expert Sui Yun, were already formidable!
With the addition of Mo Hui, Mo Cha, and Long Xin, their strength had significantly increased!
Especially with my inclusion; upon learning that I fought the Great Chieftain of their tribe to a standstill, the entire Snow Plains Tribe was ecstatic! Morale soared!
Everyone eagerly anticipated our alliance to defeat Yue Che together!
The roar of the war drums! And the battle cries, like thundering waves, already made it hard to breathe!
On the city walls! A blanket of Bursting Magic rained down!
Erupting with dull, heavy explosions!
Igniting countless flames, mixed with fragments of stone flying everywhere like shrapnel!
Whether on the Mafa Continent or the Snow Region Continent, Bursting Fire had always been the terrifying weapon of mass destruction for armies!
A powerful legion of mages was undoubtedly the most terrifying killing machine on the battlefield! It was also the main culprit behind major casualties among conventional troops!
Although I had seen great storms before, the scene before me made my blood boil!
With every boom! Countless blurred bodies flew up, and those struck were inevitably torn to pieces!
The power was virtually comparable to artillery shells!
And interspersed among this flying shrapnel were countless volleys of arrows!
Yet, despite this, the warriors advanced, holding large shields overhead or hiding behind their chariots! Even amidst the sweeping Bursting Flames, they maintained tight formations, pressing toward the city walls like a giant serpent!
Sui Feng beside me was spirited! He pointed toward two orderly phalanxes of iron armor that remained stationary: “To the left is the White Tiger Legion of my Snow Plains Tribe! To the right is the Azure Dragon Legion! Each has a hundred thousand warriors! Field combat and siege warfare are their specialties! Currently, the Black Tortoise Legion is attacking, with a total strength of 120,000, launching the first wave of assault.”
While paying attention to Sui Feng’s introduction, I also monitored the changes on the battlefield!
Although they had developed a completely different civilization, even separated by vast distances, their methods of siege warfare were astonishingly similar!
This uncontrollably reminded me of the Black Flag Army!
Once upon a time, I too had commanded armies numbering in the tens of thousands!
The ** Mammoth King let out an earth-shattering roar that drew everyone’s attention!
“Big fellow, don't get excited; our turn to perform will come,” I quickly soothed it.
Today, twenty-five years later, felt like just one night to me!
But for the Mammoth King, this was a long-awaited reunion, and it could finally fight alongside me again, charging into battle!
I could feel the boundless fighting will surging within it, like a volcano about to erupt!
I knew the big fellow had been suppressed for too long over these twenty-five years!
And the big fellow’s excitement galvanized the morale and fighting spirit of the others!
They shouted wildly!
But we had not yet received the order to charge, so we could only suppress the war desire in our hearts and wait anxiously!
Although I wasn't adept at on-the-spot decision-making, I could see that the previous attacks were merely probing attempts, meant to allow the commanders to identify the enemy’s weak points!
Mages had always been the number one enemy of conventional troops!
Yin Shuang and Seth could not possibly be ignorant of this! Therefore!
Only by discerning the distribution of their firepower could the timing and direction of the attack be chosen correctly!
However, it seemed there was no need for that now!
Though I didn't know the operational methods of the Snow Region Continent, I could tell that the defensive mage power at the moment lacked any coherent structure!
There were loopholes everywhere!
While the power of the Bursting Fireballs was astonishing, compared to the sweeping, scattered mass of the army, it seemed meager! It couldn't inflict greater damage!
Based on earlier analysis, the core mage strength of the Cold Ice Tribe had already been severely weakened due to the rampage of Xing Ye and Xing Zhan, reducing the defending mage power of Throne City to its lowest point!
This situation should have exposed weaknesses in their defense!
But now it seemed the weakness wasn't just one link; rather, there was simply no stronger long-range striking power at all! This meant they were weak everywhere!
Indeed, the drumbeats of “dong, dong, dong” sounded from within the iron phalanxes of the Azure Dragon and White Tiger Legions!
“They are attacking,” Sui Yun exclaimed excitedly. “If Chen Guang and Chen Yu weren't holding him back, this kid would have charged already.”
The two massive iron phalanxes converged toward the Black Tortoise Legion, moving like two massive turtles with their heads lowered, ready to support the siege forces.
On the city wall, I vaguely saw several figures resembling generals anxiously observing the situation below!
“It seems that having lost the core strength of their mages, they cannot unleash the more powerful Heaven-Extinguishing Sea of Fire,” Sui Feng observed. “My Snow Plains Tribe will definitely win the conventional troop engagement! Soon, it will be our turn!”
The three major legions finally joined forces, advancing side-by-side toward the city wall, quickly crossing the warning line!
However, what greeted them was an even fiercer and more insane barrage of Bursting Flames and massive stone arrows!
Yet, even this could not stop the three legions from advancing in unison!
“They really can't unleash the Heaven-Extinguishing Sea of Fire?” Chen Yu cried out joyfully. “They’ve already passed the warning line.”
“Those hundred elite mages are gone,” Chen Guang analyzed. “Without their organization, the Heaven-Extinguishing Sea of Fire cannot be launched.”
“What’s left is the moat!” Sui Feng said tensely!
As he spoke, the densely packed charging army suddenly parted to the left and right, opening a wide passage!
Then, hundreds of large carts pulled by strong horses rushed out!
These were not siege chariots, however, but transport carts loaded with countless sandbags!
The Snow Plains Tribe did not possess the super siege chariots of the Byron Tribe, so the best method to deal with the moat was to fill it up!
As the carts stopped, they acted like catapults, tossing sandbags into the moat!
Instantly, water splashed, and muddy waves surged!
But the defenders on the wall would not allow them to succeed easily!
Countless Bursting Flames, and massive stones launched from catapults, rained down frantically onto those horse-drawn carts!
But the Snow Plains Tribe was already prepared; almost simultaneously, the mage legion covering the siege troops immediately unleashed covering fire!
Innumerable Roaring Bursting Flames, Lightning Strikes, also flew toward the city wall! Furthermore, in terms of quantity and area covered, they were several times stronger!
The Snow Plains Tribe's mage legion was certainly not to be trifled with!
Although they had never surpassed the Cold Ice Tribe's mage legion in the past, the Cold Ice Tribe’s mage strength had been damaged!
In terms of long-range firepower, they were significantly inferior to the Snow Plains Tribe now!
Moreover, Long Xin had joined the Snow Plains Tribe's mage army!
Her arrival had also brought many of the Black Flag Army’s most advanced mage legion combat theories!
It must be known that Long Xin was no longer the nobody she once was!
The Black Flag Army, through twenty-five years of southern and northern expeditions, had experienced countless formations—field battles, sieges, jungle warfare, naval warfare—they were masters of all, immensely experienced!
Having spent twenty-five years with Yan Luo fighting south and north, she had matured into a highly capable super-mage!
As soon as she learned they were attacking the Cold Ice Tribe, she insisted on joining the operation! Furthermore, she actively participated in the recent practical combat drills of the Snow Plains Tribe’s magic legions!
Although it was only for a few days!
Her assistance had significantly enhanced the strength of the Snow Plains Tribe’s mage legion!
The most direct manifestation was that the precision of magical fire strikes and the deployment of formations had improved immensely compared to before!
Now came the accurate strike of magical fire!
One volley of concentrated magic instantly turned the city wall into a disaster zone reminiscent of a nuclear explosion!
Roaring crashes echoed, interspersed with continuous screams!
The previous torrents of Roaring Bursting Flames, Lightning Strikes, and the incredibly powerful heavy crossbow shots immediately ceased!
“Goodness, those terrifying magical attacks,” Sui Feng muttered, completely stunned by the spectacle!
“What is this?” Mo Hui and Mo Cha, however, looked unimpressed. “If the Blood Wolf Mage Legion of the Black Flag Army were here, this wall would have been turned to dust long ago!”
“Are they really that powerful?” Chen Guang sounded skeptical.
“Of course, our Black Flag Army is incredibly formidable,” Mo Cha replied confidently.
“Are they telling the truth?” Sui Feng looked at me curiously.
“Well…” I was somewhat at a loss. “I suppose so.”
“What do you mean, ‘I suppose so’?” Sui Feng frowned. “Wasn't the Black Flag Army founded by you, Prince?”
“……” How was I supposed to answer that!
Although I founded the Black Flag Army, I hadn’t managed it for twenty-five years. I genuinely didn’t know how strong the current Black Flag Army was!
How did this feel?
It was quite unsettling!
The very founder of the legion! To be completely ignorant of his own army’s current state! It would probably be unbelievable if I told anyone!
While we spoke, the situation on the field shifted again!
Countless tossed sandbags were quickly dumped into the river!
The city wall remained suppressed by the dense magical fire of the Snow Plains Tribe, unable to lift their heads, completely unable to intercept the sandbag deployment teams below!
Although the method of filling the river with earth was clumsy, it proved surprisingly effective! In less than no time, the river channel was filled, and the water rose, flowing downstream.
The siege troops carrying scaling ladders immediately rushed to the base of the wall and erected them!
Instantly!
The sounds of slaughter erupted between the top and bottom of the city wall!
The filled moat and the giant battering rams used exclusively for the city gate on the siege chariots were finally put to use!
After several frenzied impacts, the city gate was blasted open!
“It’s finally our turn to act,” Sui Feng, Chen Guang, and the others were extremely eager!
Behind them, the Snow Plains warriors were filled with high fighting spirit!
The moment the city gate was broken open!
Suddenly, a silver torrent surged out!
It was the Throne City defenders, who had been lying in ambush inside the city, apparently anticipating the gate’s collapse, who chose this moment to launch a surprise attack!
“This is bad!” Chen Guang exclaimed in shock!
“We’ve been tricked,” Sui Feng’s face changed drastically!
The Black Tortoise Legion, which had been gathered outside the gate for battering the gate, was immediately thrown into disarray! Their dense formation was violently torn open!
“Damn it, it’s the Silver Throne Royal Cavalry,” Long Fei cursed in frustration!
At this moment, I finally saw a surprisingly massive chariot leading the charge!
“The battle situation has changed!” Elder Feng, one of the Nine Elders, was leading the Vermilion Bird Legion. “Stop them! We absolutely cannot let them break through our formation and crash into the central army!”
“Yes!” Sui Feng and the others roared like thunder!
“I have to trouble you, Prince,” Elder Feng said with a hint of apology.
In fact, assigning me to the Vermilion Bird Legion was Yin Shuang’s idea. Although I was once the Great Commander of the Black Flag Army and the respected Prince of the Demon Dragon Imperial Family, this was not the Mafa Continent, nor the Demon Dragon Empire!
No one here would have heard of my grand reputation!
Yin Shuang’s intention was simple: to allow me to show my capabilities in this siege battle, thereby laying a foundation for future cooperation!
“Don't worry,” I immediately bellowed. “Warriors, follow me! Charge!”
“Roar!” The Mammoth King let out a sky-shaking roar!
It shot forward like lightning, far ahead!
Behind me, Mo Hui, Mo Cha, Long Xiang, Long Fei, Chen Guang, Chen Yu, and the other elite commanders followed closely, like shadows!
Facing them was the Silver Throne Royal Cavalry, rapidly closing in like a swift thunderbolt!