Chapter 929

Instead, other deities in the divine system first descend their power to engage the opponent in battle.

As for wars in the Heavenly Realm, they generally do not happen so quickly.

Especially under these circumstances.

If the Zi Yun Empire is dominant and swiftly conquers a nation, that nation's deity is likely far weaker than Zi Yun's deities.

Of course, there might be exceptions.

If that deity is powerful, it might even launch a divine war against Zi Yun's deities in the Heavenly Realm!

If weak, it will likely just endure it.

Even if it launches a divine war, it might not happen quickly, because locating the opponent also takes time!

Just like back then, the five deities of the Xiling Kingdom and the Hunhe Duchy had no intention of searching for the Lord of Flame in the Heavenly Realm to seek revenge.

But the god Seiya of the Hoden Kingdom and the Zi Jin Empire searched the entire Heavenly Realm for the Lord of Flame.

Different strengths lead to different choices.

This time, when Zi Yun Empire launched its attack on the Eternal Night Empire, it naturally conscripted the armies of surrounding kingdoms.

The kingdoms surrounding Zi Yun Empire are not weak; among them is even a small empire slightly smaller than the former Zi Jin Empire.

That means, within Zi Yun Empire's divine system, there is also a Third-Rank deity.

That Third-Rank deity might be slightly weaker than Seiya of the former Zi Jin Empire.

It could have just ascended to Third Rank, possessing only an 11th-level divine rank and divine body.

But Seiya back then already possessed a 12th-level divine rank!

In terms of military forces, Zi Yun Empire also conscripted the army of that deity's kingdom, as well as the army of that small empire.

Eight kingdoms' armies were conscripted by Zi Yun Empire.

Zi Yun Empire conscripted only a modest number of troops from these eight kingdoms, but they were all elite forces—some from the churches and some from the royal armies of these eight kingdoms; altogether, the combined forces from the Eight Kingdoms and the small empire numbered nearly two million.

Zi Yun Empire itself deployed over one million elite troops!

That means Zi Yun Empire's total military strength reached over three million, more than double that of the Flame Empire.

If Zi Jin Empire's sandships had not been insufficient in number, they could have mobilized even more troops.

A great empire with a population exceeding one billion, even at a one percent conscription rate, could easily muster a ten-million-strong army.

And one percent is a very low ratio.

Of course, once war begins, more warriors will be continuously transported over.

On the Flame Empire's side, the center consists of five hundred thousand beastman warriors and church troops.

The flanks are composed of elite royal troops and a small number of Temple Knights.

The current beastman warriors are terrifyingly strong in strength.

Beastmen's strength is constrained by equipment and food.

Beastmen have huge appetites, but in many beastman nations, merely achieving basic sustenance is already a luxury; given high-calorie food, their growth accelerates rapidly.

Equipment issues are no problem at all for the Flame Empire.

Additionally, Lin Yan's divine rank mechanism periodically bestows blessings upon these beastmen—this is the most crucial reason for their explosive growth in strength.

The Flame of Civilization also provides some enhancement, primarily benefiting crops, but it also slightly affects the physical constitution of the populace.

Even the beastmen later incorporated into the empire have become remarkably strong.

Each can now unleash power exceeding Third Rank.

The royal troops on the flanks each number fifty thousand; their strength is equally formidable, with very few below First Rank, nearly all above Second Rank, and Third or Fourth Rank warriors abound.

Although the Flame Empire's population is relatively small, it still has three hundred million people; after nearly three years of full-speed development, assembling such a powerful army was not difficult at all!

Beastman warriors still primarily form battle formations of 2,500.

Human warriors form formations of ten thousand.

However, the beastman formations do not appear significantly smaller than the human ones.

There's no help for it—after all, they're just so massive.

Among this army of over one million, fifty thousand cavalrymen remain ready to support at any moment; additionally, the Flame Empire has forged a heavy cavalry unit to protect its flanks.

As for frontal breakthroughs, the Flame Empire does not rely on heavy cavalry at all.

The powerful beastman warriors dismantle enemy formations with ease.

Moreover, within the Flame Empire's army, there is even a several-thousand-strong legion of dwarf giants—these dwarf giants are born with immense strength, comparable to Xiong Zu warriors, yet more agile than them, and thus play an even greater role on the battlefield.

Both sides blew their war horns almost simultaneously.

Then, both sides' battle formations began to move.

"Deploy the defense array!"

In Zi Yun Empire's army, the Zi Yun Holy Son stood high in the sky, commanding the battle.

At his order, several warriors in the center of each formation instantly activated a special device.

Immediately afterward, invisible energy screens enveloped those formations.

This is the defense magic array, powered by magic stones—equivalent to a defensive barrier, but mobile, and capable only of blocking magical energy attacks.

Although it cannot withstand extremely powerful spells, it only needs to block most magic to be sufficient.

For example, the collateral damage from clashes between Saint Realm beings, or higher-level beings.

Great empires have specialized methods to counter powerful mages in warfare.

"Order: deploy the defense array!"

On the other side, Meng Ying also gave the command.

Not only Zi Yun Empire has defense arrays—the Flame Empire does too.

The method of crafting defense arrays is classified, they are difficult to produce, and consume enormous energy; after a major battle, the number of magic stones consumed is terrifying.

Even the former Purple Gold Empire could not cover all its troops with a fully integrated defense array.

But the Zi Yun Empire had this depth.

The Flame Empire had even greater depth.

The Flame Empire's defense arrays drew most of their technology from Empress Tina's contributions, which Lin Yan then improved using his Divine Status and mass-produced.

On the battlefield, over a thousand defense arrays rose simultaneously, moving in sync with the battle formations.

Immediately after, both sides accelerated the marching speed of their formations.

"Maintain the same speed!"

"Hold your shields low, don't raise them yet—preserve your strength!"

"…"

In every battle formation, commanders continuously stabilized morale with their voices.

During the march of the formations, these commanders played an enormous role.

For a battle formation, the most important thing is stability!

To be stable, everyone must direct their strength in one direction and think as one—that is the commander's role!

"Huh? Why are there so many orcs in the enemy army?"

Only when the Flame Empire's troops drew closer did the Zi Yun Holy Son finally notice this.

If this battlefield weren't a desert, he would have noticed it sooner.

In the desert, the marching warriors of both sides stirred up vast clouds of dust, which hung in the air and obstructed vision—beyond ten kilometers, details became hard to discern.

"These must be the orcs from the western Infinite Desert. It seems the eastern kingdom of the Eternal Night Empire conquered the orc nation and allied with Medusa to ambush us, aiding the Eternal Night Empire."

Said the Grand Bishop of the Church.

"These orcs are merely tall, savage barbarians—they charge blindly in battle. Even if reorganized, short-term training can't change their nature; they're no match for our elite warriors on the battlefield."

Said an aide beside the Zi Yun Holy Son.

The Zi Yun Holy Son turned his gaze upward, toward the sky.

Above both sides, many mages and flying ships hovered.

"Archmage Gabriel, have you located the enemy's Saint Realm?"

The Zi Yun Holy Son asked Gabriel, seated within the sand-ship.

"The enemy's Saint Realm is aboard their flying ships. Holy Son, rest assured—once they move, I will strike."

Said Gabriel.

The Zi Yun Holy Son nodded, then turned to the three mages: "Please, three masters, guard against the enemy gods' attacks."

Those three mages were, in fact, Legendary mages.

Then, the Zi Yun Holy Son made arrangements for the Forbidden Spell mages, while numerous bishops from other kingdoms were transported by sand-ships to various sections of the army.