Chapter 545: Flame Dragon Emperor! Battle Begins!

Just as Zhou Yan had predicted, on the second morning after Xu Jingming arrived at Zhen'an City, something stirred on the fierce beasts' side.

"Wooo—"

A deep war horn sounded, its voice making the eardrums ache faintly.

That sound seemed to sink deep into the soul, spreading far from the top of the military district building.

Zhou Yan had said that when war was about to begin, the war horn would sound within Zhen'an City.

But when the horn truly sounded, Xu Jingming still couldn't help being startled.

"Fourth Vanguard Squad! Move out!"

Squad Leader Zhou Yan's voice rang out, and the six people, including Xu Jingming, rushed out of the villa at top speed toward the city wall.

Knowing the war would erupt in the next few days, every one of them was fully armed at all times.

"Third Melee Corps! Move out!"

"Fifth Ranged Corps! Stand ready for battle!"

"Sixth Wind Corps! Take to the air!"

"......"

Every corps and guild within Zhen'an City mobilized at the same time.

The melee-type enhancement ability-users, one and all, wore heavy armor and held single-soldier weapons.

The ranged corps, made up of element-type ability-users, also followed behind the melee corps, advancing toward the city wall.

And one after another, wind-type ability-users rode the wind and flew into the sky.

Apart from the vanguard squads, who had freedom of movement, all the corps troops moved in perfect order, an iron-blooded aura rushing head-on.

"This is our Great Xia's corps?" Xu Jingming watched the scene, somewhat awestruck.

Of Great Xia's thousand-plus ability academies, fully one-third were military academies.

The ability-users they trained all went straight into the troops.

These academies generally adopted full militarized training.

Before entering the school, one had to sign a contract mandating entry into the troops, so ordinary prodigies were simply unwilling to go.

Therefore, in the national academy league, their figures were rarely seen.

But the ability-users who came out of them might not be the absolute top tier in strength, yet their discipline was unquestionably the best!

Racing all the way, Xu Jingming's group swiftly reached the top of the city wall.

"Roar—"

"Awoo—"

"......"

Several kilometers away, the fierce beast horde had shed its usual low-key demeanor.

One after another they let out roars, the sound like rolling thunder; an ordinary person standing here would probably be deafened on the spot!

Within the dense, countless beast horde, some extremely powerful individuals could clearly be seen.

Each of these beast individuals radiated an utterly terrifying, ferocious aura.

In their pairs of blood-red eyes, it was as if mountains of corpses and seas of blood were hidden.

Above the beasts, in the sky, large numbers of flying-type fierce beasts soared.

The most eye-catching among them was a black dragon several times larger than an ordinary airplane!

It had two horns on its head, wings spread wide, soaring wantonly through the sky.

A pair of orange eyes, like molten lava, radiated a terrifying, scorching heat.

Xu Jingming needed only one glance to feel a crushing pressure like a great mountain!

"A dragon-type fierce beast! And a ninth-rank Beast Emperor at that!" Xu Jingming whispered in awe.

This must be the fierce beast most critical to commanding the entire beast army, right?

"This is a king-class fierce beast, its rank as high as mid ninth-rank.

It belongs to the Blazing Flame Dragon clan among the fierce beast races, also called the Flame Dragon Emperor.

All these years we've had so many corps stationed here, the main thing we've been guarding against is it."

Squad Leader Zhou Yan said quietly, "The Flame Dragon Emperor has thick, tough hide; its physical defense is no worse than an ordinary S-rank enhancement-type ability-user.

Its mastery of the fire element is also nearly on par with an S-rank element fire-type ability-user.

Once it joins the battlefield, apart from our few ninth-rank powerhouses, the rest of us would be burned to death by its high-temperature flames in an instant.

Fortunately, the constraints of the peace treaty mean it can only command the beasts and cannot directly enter the main battlefield."

"A physique comparable to an S-rank enhancement-type, and fire-element control on par with an S-rank element fire-type.

This is a Beast Emperor-class fierce beast—truly terrifying..."

Xu Jingming's eyes flickered.

If he could kill the Flame Dragon Emperor, just how many ability points would that net him?

Zhou Yan beside him, noticing the shift in Xu Jingming's mood, raised his brows slightly.

Good lord!

Facing a ninth-rank Beast Emperor, not only unafraid, but radiating an excited killing intent!

This Xu Jingming, truly no ordinary man!

"Roar—"

At that moment, the Flame Dragon Emperor in the sky suddenly raised its head and let out a roar!

The terrifying energy contained in that sound actually formed a visible shockwave, spreading rapidly toward the human city!

If that sound struck, then within the entire Zhen'an City, any ability-user below the third rank would absolutely be shaken to death on the spot!

"Flame Dragon Sovereign! You want to tear up the peace treaty?"

Another voice, equally majestic and powerful, rang out, shattering the sound waves before they could spread!

Immediately after, Tian Hui, Su Qingli, and Liao Junning—these three ninth-rank ability users—stepped onto the air and suddenly appeared directly above the city wall.

The one who had spoken was Tian Hui, acting as commander-in-chief!

"City Lord!"

"City Lord!"

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

"..."

From below, the rank-and-file ability-user soldiers immediately let out a roar of cheering like a mountain avalanche and a tidal wave.

This sound was somewhat similar to the cheering Xu Jingming had heard at the Genius Tournament, but it carried an even more soul-stirring force!

"Humans, you are as cowardly as ever.

Don't worry, I just sneezed—I have no intention of tearing up the agreement."

The Flame Dragon Sovereign's playful voice rang out from the sky, spreading far and wide like rolling thunder.

The intelligence of a seventh-rank fierce beast was already no inferior to that of an ordinary ability user.

For a ninth-rank Beast Sovereign like this, mastering human language was all too easy.

"Enough talk—same old rules, let's fight! My kin can hardly wait any longer!"

Accompanied by the Flame Dragon Sovereign's roar, the fierce beasts below opened their bloody maws one after another and charged all at once!

Rumble rumble rumble—

Thick beast hooves stamped the ground, dust flying in all directions, making the entire earth tremble!

"Open the battle!"

At Tian Hui's command, the close-combat ability-user legions likewise charged out of the city!

"Spirit Ward Light!"

Hum—

A crisp sound rang out, and the entire Zhen'an City was enveloped within a thick light-element shield.

At the same time, a passionate battle song rose from the rear—that was the voice of the support-type ability user Li Ruman!

Under the augmentation of 'Battlefield Melody', every ability user's strength was boosted!

Even Xu Jingming himself felt his qi and blood surging, with brilliant golden lightning flickering and leaping across the surface of his body.

"Captain, when do we make our move?" Xu Jingming asked in a low voice, blazing fighting intent bursting from his eyes.

"Not yet—the fierce beasts are still too far from us.

Wait until the close-combat legion charges, then we'll enter the battlefield."

Zhou Yan's expression was steady; like a seasoned hunter, he waited for his prey to fall into the trap.

The other dozen-plus vanguard teams likewise waited on the city wall, watching for a chance to strike.

Meanwhile, the long-range spell-type legion on the city wall had already begun condensing their attacks.

"Fireball!"

"Wind Spirit Arrow!"

"Rock Rain!"

"..."

Different ability auras blossomed forth—scorching fireballs, rapid wind arrows, heavy rocks.

Condensing in the sky, they smashed down onto the beast horde below like raindrops.

Rumble rumble~~~

On the beasts' side, naturally there were also high-rank fierce beasts that commanded elemental power, condensing elemental shields to resist.

Wave after wave of elemental attacks rained down, and quite a few fierce beasts were slain.

But even more fierce beasts broke through, and the fastest of them were less than a thousand meters from the city!

"Charge!"

At that moment, accompanied by the commander-in-chief's furious roar, the close-combat ability-user legions on the ground activated their abilities simultaneously and charged!

On the city wall, Zhou Yan's eyes flickered as he growled in a low voice: "It's our turn to take the stage! Battle commence! Elemental Giant!"

Endless earth element gathered around him, wrapping his entire body.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a rock giant over ten meters tall!

Boom!

His legs pushed hard, and his whole body leapt down from the city wall over thirty meters high, joining the battlefield!

"Thunder Extreme Form!"

Xu Jingming likewise entered his enhanced form, his eyes flickering with brilliant golden Lei Guang.

At the same time, a golden ring suddenly lit up behind him!

Extreme Glory Thunder Ring!

This top-tier lightning-element exclusive weapon had finally been activated for the first time in actual combat!

"Kill! Kill!"

Xu Jingming was in a state of extreme excitement; the Thunder Dragon Wings unfurled behind him as he flew toward the densest gathering of fierce beasts.