At that very moment, a shrill alarm suddenly blared! The expressions of everyone present shifted slightly!
“What’s going on!” I quickly inquired.
“The Demon Dragon Legion!” Jian Qi stated grimly, “It’s the Demon Dragon Legion launching a siege assault.” As he spoke, Jian Qi bellowed orders: “All combat units, assemble on the city walls!” He then strode rapidly out of the hall!
“Yes!” everyone responded in unison and rushed out of the hall! The sound of hurried footsteps echoed throughout the entire base!
And I quickly followed suit!
The station of the Sky Rainbow Guard was a military fortress connecting Biqi Province and Mengzhong City, the Serpent Valley City in Viper Valley.
Of course, it only became a so-called fortress after the Orcs captured Mengzhong Province. In the past, Viper Valley merely existed as an important medicinal herb distribution center for the Biqi Empire; consequently, the construction of its walls was not particularly sturdy. Even after defensive fortifications were later reinforced, they still couldn't form an impenetrable line of defense! Fortunately, the Sky Rainbow Guard was battle-hardened and managed to hold this less-than-sturdy city, preventing the Orc armies hoarded in Mengzhong Province from ever setting foot in Biqi Province!
Arriving at the city walls, the first thing that assaulted my vision was a sky full of swirling dust! Within the dust cloud lay a vast, dark mass of Orcish troops—a force numbering at least fifty thousand!
And they were all the Death-Defying Demon Dragon Warriors!
Even though I had mentally prepared for this, seeing the scene still shocked me considerably!
There were no earth-shattering drums, no maniacal roars—only a heavy, oppressive killing intent that violently impacted the minds of everyone present!
This was the Demon Dragon Legion, existing solely for slaughter and war! They were like a group of cold-blooded killing machines! Similarly, they possessed no discernible formation or tactical structure!
Swift as a flood, they soon reached the base of the walls and immediately commenced the most brutal direct assault!
Countless scaling ladders, resembling a moving forest, were thrust against the ramparts!
And the valiant Demon Dragon Warriors swiftly climbed as soon as their ladders connected with the fortifications!
The process of scaling the walls was as smooth as flowing water, meeting absolutely no resistance!
The Sky Rainbow Guard, clearly no strangers to fighting them, moved without needing explicit commands; everyone settled into their combat positions in the shortest time possible!
They engaged the surging Demon Dragon Warriors in a desperate, bloody melee!
There were no deafening shouts of battle or savage cries! It seemed neither human nor Orc was willing to waste even a fraction of their energy needlessly! All their strength was channeled into the weapons in their hands!
Swing, block, thrust!
The only sounds audible were the muffled clang of metal striking metal and the crisp snaps of breaking bones!
In all my years campaigning, this was the first time I had witnessed such a bizarre battlefield!
On the silent field of slaughter!
Whether human or Orc, both sides appeared to treat killing as an instinct and life as less than an ant’s—both their own lives and the enemy’s!
Beneath the banners, Jian Qi remained utterly placid, showing no ripple of emotion, only issuing orders based on the evolving battlefield situation via the signal flag bearers beside him.
I had personally witnessed the combat effectiveness of the Demon Dragon Warriors on the Snow Domain Continent; almost all of them possessed terrifying cultivation levels no less than those of the Heavenly Demon tier! Fortunately, not every Demon Dragon Warrior possessed such fearsome power.
In later engagements, the human military command roughly estimated that these specific types of Demon Dragon Warriors likely belonged to the elite leader-class within the Demon Dragon Legion.
This ratio accounted for only about one percent of the entire Demon Dragon Legion, but even so, the remaining Demon Dragon Warriors were terrifyingly strong!
Their average combat power was at least ten times that of human warriors!
This meant that killing one Demon Dragon Warrior required sacrificing at least ten human warriors—equivalent to a human Red Moon Peak cultivation level!
Of course, this so-called combat evaluation assumed absolutely equal conditions!
Once they understood the fighting strength of the Demon Dragon Warriors, humanity could not engage the main Orc army in open combat, relying entirely on the advantage of the high city walls to narrow the gap with the Orcs!
To create a more favorable combat terrain, the defense known as Serpent Valley City was constructed—a complex network of crisscrossing defensive wall systems, modeled after the defensive walls of Man City.
I recalled how incredibly powerful the Black Flag Legion was, yet facing the complex, interlocking defensive wall system of Man City, they suffered greatly and couldn't break through!
Unexpectedly, these defensive tactics were being applied to the defensive battles against the Orc invasion!
Currently, the Sky Rainbow Guard was positioned atop the walls early on! Every Demon Dragon Warrior that managed to climb the ramparts was met with the fiercest possible resistance!
Often, one head poking over meant instant decapitation! Yet, the number of Demon Dragon Warriors successfully scaling the walls grew steadily! Soon, the Demon Dragon Warriors established a foothold.
Green monsters, swarming like a tide, occupied nearly every corner of the battlements. And the terrifying combat strength of the Demon Dragon Warriors was unleashed to its fullest!
The casualties of the Sky Rainbow Legion rapidly escalated! A large section was wiped out in the blink of an eye!
However, the Sky Rainbow Legion seemed to have anticipated this outcome! Once the Orcs secured the wall section, they immediately began a tactical withdrawal!
The entire exchange barely lasted half an hour, concluding with nothing but rubble, scattered limbs, and unrecognizable clumps of flesh lying amidst the ruins—a truly shocking sight.
Of course, this was only the defense of the first wall! Under the cover of long-range fire from the mages, Taoists, and archers positioned further back, the Sky Rainbow Guard warriors swiftly descended the wall and retreated toward the second defensive line!
“Such formidable combat power,” I remarked, quite stunned! I was amazed not only by the Demon Dragon Legion’s fearlessness of death but also by the Sky Rainbow Legion’s ruthless and swift combat style! Although their retreat appeared disorderly, the tempo of the engagement remained under the Sky Rainbow Legion’s control!
It could be said that the combat prowess displayed by the Sky Rainbow Guard was in no way inferior to that of the Black Flag Legion! It seemed that during the period of resisting the Orc invasion, the armies of the various continents were growing at an astonishing rate!
“No matter how strong they are, the gap between human warriors and Demon Dragon Warriors is too vast!” Jian Qi sighed helplessly, “Once they seize the ramparts, we are utterly defenseless.”
This was unavoidable; the difference in physique between humans and Orcs was an inherent, irreconcilable weakness. Yet, in such a brutal engagement, neither side deployed any Heavenly Demon-tier generals, which I still found perplexing!
“Why not deploy the Heavenly Demon warriors? At least then, the Demon Dragon Legion couldn't have so easily captured the first wall!”
“It’s useless,” Jian Qi stated gravely. “Even if we commit Heavenly Demon warriors, we could only hold them off briefly. Once our Heavenly Demon warriors enter the fray, the Demon Dragon Legion will send out leader-class warriors capable of matching them. Simply put, this battle is a contest between the conventional troops of both sides. If we aren't certain of victory, we dare not commit Heavenly Demon warriors lightly. Over these past two months, the continuous fierce assaults by the Orcs have cost us many elite generals. Currently, we only have ten Heavenly Demon-level generals stationed here, and I am the only Thunder-level general.”
Jian Qi continued, “Heavenly Demon warriors no longer appear casually on the battlefield. To amass sufficient power and reduce their casualty rates, all Heavenly Demon-level generals fight in squads of at least ten. The leader-class Demon Dragon Warriors, the Demon Dragon Brutes, operate in the same manner!”
“In other words, until the final moment, neither side dares to reveal their ultimate trump card.”
“Precisely,” Jian Qi affirmed. “However, since the Prince is stationed here this time, perhaps we can give these Orcs a taste of real hardship.”
“........” I couldn't help but laugh wryly; clearly, Jian Qi had already factored me into his plans.
But I didn't mind. Since I stumbled upon this, I naturally had to contribute. Moreover, I was eager to witness how powerful Yueying [Moon Shadow] truly was on the battlefield.