Chapter 124 - The Final Assault

Chapter 124: Chapter 122 The Final AssaultCapello led a disheveled group of surviving soldiers as they fled back to the Beastman Empire’s main camp, marking the Beastman Empire’s first defeat in this war. Although there were justifiable reasons, Capello, as the first leader to suffer defeat in battle, inevitably felt that he couldn’t show his face.

"What do we do, Commander?" the deputy commander of the Wolf Riders asked Capello anxiously, knowing all too well that they had failed to complete the task assigned by the Zhen Luo King, and that the Golden Lion’s wrath was not something they could bear.

"I will personally go and beg for the Zhen Luo King’s forgiveness!" Capello said, gritting his teeth as he plunged into the Golden Lion’s tent. With a bold face, he directly sought forgiveness from the Golden Lion, "Your Highness Zhen Luo King, Capello has failed to complete the mission, please mete out punishment!"

As soon as Capello entered, the Golden Lion had already guessed what he was going to say, "Considering the reasons and circumstances, you will be spared the death penalty." The Golden Lion was strict in military discipline, and escaping with a death penalty was considered a lenient treatment for failing to achieve a mission’s demands.

Hearing that he could escape the death penalty, Capello instantly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly kowtowed, "Thank you for Your Highness’s mercy! I will definitely fight to the death on the battlefield to repay Your Highness’s grace."

"Enough with the pleasantries. Although it was Xiao De who initially suffered the defeat, your Wolf Riders also bear sin. Military orders must be followed without fail, even if only one member of your Wolf Riders is left alive, you must resolutely execute my command!" The Golden Lion’s expression was icy; to him, dying on the battlefield would have been more honorable than fleeing back to beg for mercy.

"I acknowledge my fault," Capello dared not refute and repeatedly apologized.

"Enough. The incident was indeed instigated by De Ye, but your Wolf Riders must make up for their mistakes through merit in the upcoming battles. You and your soldiers must charge at the forefront."

Upon hearing the Golden Lion’s words, Capello’s heart felt bleak. Normally, in a major siege, those who are at the frontline are the ones with the strongest defensive capabilities. His Wolf Riders, being highly mobile, only had average defense, and the consequence of being at the forefront was clear: death.

"Commander obeys the order!" Despite the difficulty, Capello had no choice but to accept.

"Mm." Seeing Capello accept the order, the Golden Lion’s expression softened a bit before he continued, "I will command the Spirit Communion Ritualists to give more of the Beast God’s blessings to your Wolf Riders. As long as you can return alive from the wilderness, your past crimes will be forgiven."

"Thank you for Your Highness’s grace! Thank you for Your Highness’s grace!" Capello knew all too well the manipulative ways of those in power, but he had to accept this boon. If the Spirit Communion Ritualists granted their blessings with focus, the chances of survival would significantly increase.

"Go prepare for battle. In three hours, I will launch the general offensive." As the Golden Lion gestured, Capello slowly left the tent. Before leaving, he stole a glance and, to his terror, discovered that Xiao De, with a body full of broken bones, was like a mud puddle tossed into a corner of the tent, barely breathing. It seemed Xiao De, too, had suffered the Golden Lion’s harsh punishment.

Once Capello had departed, the Golden Lion glanced sideways at Xiao De and said, "Xiao De, do you realize your mistake? Your failure has led to devastating losses for our Wolf Riders. If the upcoming general offensive does not go well, the Wolf Riders may be utterly wiped out."

"Your... Your Highness, Xiao De... Xiao De knows his mistake," Xiao De said weakly, as if he were on the brink of death.

"Hmph! Your punishment will wait," the Golden Lion said, flicking his Space Ring and dropping a crystal-clear dewdrop on Xiao De’s forehead. Instantly, Xiao De’s body began to heal rapidly from the head down, and in the blink of an eye, all his wounds were as good as new, with no sign of the shadow of death.

"Thank you for Your Highness’s precious gift!" Xiao De knew that the dewdrop was the Bever Nectar of the Hundred Spirit Race, with its miraculous power to revive the dead.

"Put in extra effort during the general offensive three hours from now." The Golden Lion turned and left the tent to make the final arrangements before the battle.

Elsewhere, Tong Ling and others who had repelled the Beastman Empire’s second ambush finally arrived at the city under the rule of Demon King Yan. The sight before them was chilling to the bone.

Around the city center of Demon King Yan’s domain, countless corpses piled into mountains, and rivers of blood flowed freely.

"How... how many have died here?!" Qi Rong had never seen such a mountain of corpses and sea of blood before and instantly vomited.

Not only Qi Rong, but many among the allied forces also began to feel nauseated and threw up. Tong Ling struggled to circulate the Demonic Qi to regain his composure, not wanting to lose face in such a moment.

At that time, a detachment coming out of the city to meet them, and the person leading them was Bai Tianhang, the supreme commander of the battle for Demon King Yan’s forces.

"Tong Ling, I have long admired your reputation!" Bai Tianhang recognized Tong Ling instantly and also saw Lu Hong, hiding in Louis’s embrace.

"Family Head Bai, what exactly happened here?" Not only was Tong Ling curious, Qi Rong and others also perked up their ears, eager to inquire about the situation of the battle.

Speaking of battles, Bai Tianhang’s recently alleviated worried expression once again crept onto his brows, "This place isn’t suitable for discussion. Let’s hurry into the Demon Court."

Over eight hundred thousand reinforcements, like a winding serpent, slowly entered the city.

After everything had settled down, Bai Tianhang began to describe the current state of the war at the Demon Court.

Speed is of the essence in war. In fact, when the Red Nation’s army was organizing to depart, the Gold Lion had already led a vanguard troop to the outskirts of the Demon Court. Bai Tianhang, seeing that the enemy only numbered thirty thousand, ordered a proactive attack. The freshly-arrived military forces from three demon cities, under the leadership of the City Lord of the Demon Court, launched a surprise attack against the Gold Lion. Despite the combined forces of the three cities amounting to fifty thousand soldiers, they suffered a crushing defeat.

With the power of the Gold Lion alone, he effortlessly killed the City Lords of the three demon cities, with tens of thousands of demonic soldiers falling at his hands.

Bai Tianhang was infuriated but helpless against the overwhelming strength of the enemy. With no City Lord level forces in the Demon Court capable of contending against the Gold Lion, he then sought an audience with Demon King Yan, requesting the Demon Court’s top combatants to take down the Gold Lion. The result, of course, was that none of the top ten demonic powers survived.

This truly frightened the demon race, who now cowered within the city, daring not to venture out.

In the following days, various City Lords of the Demon Court also brought their troops to aid in the defense, adding up to more than five hundred thousand soldiers.

With the absolute advantage in numbers, Bai Tianhang once again ordered an offensive. However, by this time the Beastman Empire’s army had also arrived at the Demon Court. Thus, both sides’ forces embarked on a fierce battle on the great plains of the Demon Court; this battle lasted three days. The Beastman army climbed the walls of the Demon Court several times, destroying the defensive formations of the court.

Fortunately, the demons, with unified hearts and minds, fearlessly resisted to the death, and this finally turned the tide of the battle in favor of the Demon Court.

This was also why Tong Ling and the others saw a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood below the city of the Demon Court.

"At least the Gold Lion didn’t join the battle after his initial intervention; otherwise, the Demon Court would have fallen long ago." Bai Tianhang now just felt overwhelmed with pressure. The image of the Gold Lion tearing apart City Lords played over and over in his mind. How could he resist such abnormal levels of power with Demon King Yan appearing sickly and close to death? Impossible.

"Is the Gold Lion really that strong?" Tong Ling’s brows knitted tightly, wondering if he should ask his father for help. If his father did not intervene, he could not think of anyone else who could contend with the Gold Lion.

"He truly is formidable, especially in this world where Bloodline Power holds sway. It’s said that the Gold Lion possesses the top-tier Bloodline Power of the Continent of God’s Grace, and here his suppression is minimal." Lu Hong spoke up, "The Gold Lion’s true combat strength should have reached the level of the Third Transition profession. With very minimal suppression, he’s almost comparable to a warrior at the Second-Transformation Peak." Through rational analysis, Lu Hong provided the closest estimate.

"Then how can we still fight?" Bai Tianhang inwardly wailed, Second-Transformation Peak? We’re as good as dead! To compare with their Second Transition Level 4, he’s a full eight levels higher!

"We’ll wear him down." Lu Hong said gravely, "Even if the Gold Lion is strong, there will come a day when he can be worn out."

"Correct," Lorraine nodded in agreement, fully endorsing Lu Hong’s proposal. "We gather our top combatants and specifically target the Gold Lion. We must also engage in a war of attrition, never allowing the Gold Lion the chance to engage us closely, even if the battle lasts a hundred days, we can eventually wear him down."

Lorraine seemed quite familiar with this kind of attrition warfare, suggesting that during her years with the War-scarred Mercenary Group, she often dealt with situations of the weaker confronting the strong.

Continuing on Lorraine’s suggestion, Lu Hong added, "Once the Gold Lion launches a full-scale attack, his speed will be very fast. We need to be completely prepared and must suppress him with firepower before he starts moving. Otherwise, once he gets close, I believe no one will be his match."

Seeing how Lu Hong and Lorraine had such insights, Bai Tianhang clapped his hands in approval, "Excellent, excellent, excellent. Then, I’ll leave the matter of dealing with the Gold Lion entirely to you two. Should you need to mobilize any forces, feel free to tell me at any time; I’ll provide you with the utmost convenience."

While everyone was discussing military matters, a demon scout rushed over and spoke anxiously, "This is bad, Commander Bai. The Beastman Empire is contracting their forces along the entire front, intending to launch a full-scale assault at the western gate of the Demon Court against our army!"

"A full-scale assault?!" Bai Tianhang suddenly stood up. The reinforcements had arrived for only a few hours, and now the enemy is starting a full-scale assault? Don’t they know this is when their morale is at its highest?

"All forces, prepare for battle! Red Nation Coalition, quickly communicate with General Hu Hote about the city defense." Bai Tianhang did not dare waste time; he hurriedly had the general most familiar with the current city defense arrange the deployment of reinforcements.

The Gold Lion observed the majestic Demon Court from afar, with two hundred thousand Beastman warriors behind him, charging towards the Demon Court’s main city like a wild tide. Countless magical arrows filled the sky from within the Demon Court, and a great battle was imminent.