Chapter 1077

"Report, Queen: preliminary estimates suggest the invading barbarian tribes have at least several million troops!"

The female official said.

"So many?"

Hearing the report, the winged being Mia was stunned!

Barbarian tribes typically numbered a few hundred at minimum, and at most a few thousand or ten thousand; some larger ones exceeded one hundred thousand troops!

But this time, hundreds of thousands of troops suddenly emerged!

Most critically, some barbarian tribes dared to attack the great empire of Zi Yun!

Hmm, the enemy surely doesn't know that the western territories of Zi Yun Empire have already been taken over by the Flame Empire!

For nations on the Continent of Gods, where states are densely packed and have never encountered barbarian forces, no one believes barbarian tribes pose any real threat!

Many barbarian tribes struggle to forge even a single iron tool, wielding wooden weapons instead; only the larger barbarian tribes might possess substantial quantities of iron weapons.

In fact, some barbarian tribes' combat strength is even inferior to that of orcs!

After all, orcs have a natural advantage in physique!

"Let's go see for ourselves."

Meng Ying said.

"Sister Meng Ying, I'm coming too."

The fox woman Sister Qing Ling also flew up onto the flight path.

With several Great Domains currently stationed in the Flame Empire, Sister Qing Ling's brief absence posed no issue.

Large numbers of flying ships loaded twenty thousand orc troops, then swiftly flew southward.

However, when Meng Ying and the others spent half a day arriving at the southern border, they found an army already there.

"Zi Yun Empire's troops?"

Meng Ying let out a soft exclamation.

Meng Ying didn't know that this barbarian invasion wasn't just targeting the southern front of Zi Yun Empire—barbarian tribes had also attacked its eastern front.

After Zi Yun's Grand Priest prayed, the Master of Zi Yun was terrified.

Because the Master of Zi Yun feared the Flame Empire would misunderstand, thinking Zi Yun Empire and he himself were behind the scenes orchestrating this.

So, the Master of Zi Yun immediately ordered Zi Yun Empire to dispatch an army to help the Flame Empire repel the barbarian assault.

Although Zi Yun Empire's elite forces were still laboring under the Flame Empire, its homeland still held several million troops, and numerous armies remained in surrounding kingdoms.

This time, Zi Yun Empire sent two million troops to the southern border of the eight eastern provinces of the Flame Empire.

"Respected Flame Queen, I am Commander of the Fifth United Corps of Zi Yun Empire. His Majesty and my Master fear your nation, newly arrived, lacks understanding of barbarian tribes, so we have come to assist you in repelling this invasion—your nation need only watch."

A Zi Yun Empire general said.

Meng Ying nodded slightly, saying nothing.

The general, presumably given specific orders by the Emperor of Zi Yun, then sent a Nuzhu Sect priestess to explain the threat of the barbarian tribes to Meng Ying and the others!

Zi Yun Empire originally evolved from barbarian tribes.

Thousands of years ago, the Master of Zi Yun first discovered a barbarian tribe of about eighty thousand people, guiding it to gradually grow stronger, continuously absorbing surrounding barbarian tribes, and over millennia developing into a powerful empire with nearly one billion people and ten vassal kingdoms around it.

Zi Yun Empire's location is exceptionally unique.

To the west and north lie endless deserts.

To the east and south lie the barbarian lands.

The endless deserts are not devoid of resources; in ancient times, they were the battlegrounds of the gods, and beneath the sands lie vast treasures useful to humans.

The northern endless desert, near the sea, receives more rainfall and hosts several desert kingdoms—this is why Zi Yun Empire heavily developed sand ships, to occasionally raid these nations.

Barbarian tribes are essentially fragmented and disunited.

But periodically, large numbers of barbarian tribes unite to attack Zi Yun Empire.

After the Master of Zi Yun withdrew from pursuing the Goddess of Eternal Night, his excuse was that Zi Yun Empire was under attack by barbarian tribes—this was not fabricated!

"Is it for food?"

Mia asked the Nuzhu Sect priestess.

The priestess shook her head and said: "No—it's due to the corruption of a heretical god!"

"Heretical god?"

Mia was puzzled.

The priestess said: "Your nation and ours both bask under divine light, but the barbarian lands are places forgotten by the gods. The continent holds countless barbarian tribes—these are the hunting grounds of heretical gods. Once a large tribe falls under a heretical god's control, the god incites it to gather more tribes and launch war against my Master's realm."

The Nuzhu Sect priestess was not lying.

Among the gods in the Heavenly Realm, except for some new gods and those who lost their nations, none of the Meiyoushen Society choose to guide barbarian tribes.

Barbarian tribes are too primitive, their civilization too crude, and their guidance too slow.

Worse still, after investing great effort to uplift one barbarian tribe, it might soon be wiped out by another tribe devoted to heretical gods.

In regions of the Continent of Gods where states are densely packed and divine light shines everywhere, heretical gods find it difficult to intervene—even when they do, the difficulty is immense.

But in the barbarian lands, heretical gods have far more room to operate.

Moreover, the faith demanded by heretical gods differs greatly from that of the Heavenly Realm gods; many heretical gods require nothing but slaughter.

In tribes devoted to heretical gods, countless strange and evil rituals occur—such as sacrificing pure maidens, or even offering countless living beings.

Some tribal chieftains devoted to heretical gods even enhance their strength by eating hearts raw.

And crucially—it works!

The Nuzhu Sect priestess said: "Yes, heretical gods wield evil power. To grow stronger, they commit every atrocity."

Mia asked again: "Are they Abyssal Demon Gods?"

The priestess shook her head: "No. Though equally evil, they are not the same. Abyssal Demon Gods are inherently evil, but many heretical gods were once human—and their abilities are far stranger."

Meng Ying and the fox girl Qing Ling exchanged a glance!

Strictly speaking, they had never previously encountered an evil god.

During that time in the Lion Clan's Wang Cheng, what they encountered was merely the Abyss Demon God.

And when the Zi Jin Empire was conquered, the disturbances caused by evil gods within its borders were in fact orchestrated by the great nobles.

As they spoke, a black line suddenly rose from the seemingly endless wasteland to the south!

"The barbarian tribes' army has arrived, Your Majesty need not worry; though their numbers appear vast, they are no match for our great army!"

Said the Nuzhu Sect's Nuzhu.

"Do they have many strong ones?"

The question came again from the winged girl Mia.

"There are some strong ones. The evil gods teach them forbidden methods to boost their power briefly, though the cost is immense—some among them can even temporarily ascend to the Saint Realm."

Said the Nuzhu.

"Saint Realm!"

The winged girl Mia's gaze sharpened!

"Look, they're attacking!"

Said the Nuzhu Sect's Nuzhu.

Mia looked up and saw the barbarian tribes' army halting roughly five kilometers from the Zi Yun Empire's forces.

At this distance, Mia could clearly make out their appearances.

Most of them wore only scraps of animal hides and leaves.

A few wore clothing.

Among them were both men and women.

On their foreheads were generally some mysterious symbols, and their bodies bore arcane tattoos—these marks and tattoos roughly indicated their tribal affiliations.

Their weapons were also extremely crude, mostly wooden, but inscribed with mysterious symbols; some held iron-made weapons.

"They don't even seem as advanced as the beastmen."

Said Mia.

These people were indeed inferior to the beastmen nation east of the Misty Mountains.

That beastmen nation, though backward, had at least entered the Iron Age; Qing Ling and the fox girls had worn simple clothing back then, and powerful beast tribes like the Lion Clan and Tiger Clan possessed decent leather armor and iron weapons.

But these people…

To Mia, they felt like genuine primitives!

The Nuzhu said: "Don't underestimate them—the runes and tattoos on their bodies grant them tremendous power. Huh? What's that sound?"

"Boom!"