Chapter 551

"It'll be over in three days? So soon?"

Xu Jingming was surprised, followed by a wave of heartache.

These are all Ability Points!

I didn't expect that in just the first wave of attacks, thirty thousand of them died!

"That's not fast."

Su Qingli shook her head and said softly:

"Our casualties have been tallied."

2,134 killed, 1,213 seriously wounded, 3,215 lightly wounded.

Severely wounded Ability Users need at least two to three days to fully recover and return to the battlefield.

In other words, just from this first wave, we've lost over three thousand combatants.

The total number of Ability Users in Zhen'an City is only 40,000.

If the fighting drags on longer, we'll need to request reinforcements."

Ability Users are inherently rare; among Da Xia's two billion people, the vast majority are Awakened.

Those above first-rank Ability Users may number less than ten million.

Most of them are active in the Wild Zones; only official military legions and large guilds fight on the front lines.

Without mandatory conscription, they simply wouldn't come.

And the current battle situation hasn't yet reached the point where ordinary Ability Users must be forcibly conscripted.

"I see." Xu Jingming finally understood.

In his past life, wars, once begun, lasted months at minimum.

But the killing power of Ability Users and ferocious beasts is simply too great—the casualty rate in combat far exceeds that of his past life.

"Also, the ferocious beasts won't fight to the end."

Su Qingli added, "For the ferocious beasts, this war is merely a brutal, bloody culling."

When their numbers have been thinned sufficiently, the Flame Dragon Emperor will withdraw his forces.

Based on past experience, when the 160,000-strong ferocious beast army is reduced to around 40,000, the Flame Dragon Emperor will retreat."

"Bloody culling?"

Xu Jingming froze, hearing this phrase for the first time.

"To us humans, every part of a ferocious beast is valuable."

Their hides are raw material for battle armor; their flesh and blood are rare treasures.

The pure blood of high-rank rare ferocious beasts qualifies as SS-grade resources.

Even the bones of certain ferocious beasts possess unimaginable power.

Like the space-beast bone your teacher Ling Shuang lent you."

Conversely, human Ability Users' flesh and blood are potent nourishment for ferocious beasts.

Consuming human Ability Users' flesh and blood allows ferocious beasts to break through to higher ranks more effectively than consuming their own kind.

Thus, the Flame Dragon Emperor's primary goal in launching this war is to cull the lower-rank ferocious beasts.

The survivors, having consumed human Ability Users' blood and flesh,

gain higher chances of advancement, greater potential, and stronger combat power—only then are they worthy of being brought back."

Su Qingli sat on the sofa, explaining.

Her long right leg, tightly wrapped in her dark azure battle suit, casually rested atop her other knee, pressing out a taut, beautiful curve.

With this explanation, Xu Jingming finally understood completely.

Indeed, the world of ferocious beasts is far crueler than that of humans.

Only the strongest individuals who survive the battlefield can advance further.

"By the way, Teacher Su, can we take the ferocious beast corpses away after killing them?" Xu Jingming asked.

"You plan to kill that Qingxu Lei Niao?" Su Qingli asked curiously.

"I want to try." Xu Jingming didn't hide it.

The Qingxu Lei Niao is a mid-tier seventh-rank ferocious beast; its flesh and feathers are both treasures.

If we can retrieve its corpse after killing it, that's a decent income.

"Good. Ability Users must have this fearless, forward-moving spirit."

Su Qingli's expression showed appreciation as she said gently:

"Ferocious beast corpses are collected and processed uniformly by the military; soldiers cannot keep them individually."

But that applies only to ordinary soldiers. For members of your Vanguard Team,"

"the ferocious beasts you kill become your personal spoils—you may take them directly."

The battle merits gained from killing ferocious beasts are essentially soldiers' rewards.

But since Vanguard Team members are all seventh-rank Masters, their benefits are naturally better.

"Understood." Xu Jingming nodded.

The only pity is that my Dou Tian Shen Lei is too powerful.

Ferocious beasts below fifth rank are completely obliterated—I can only collect corpses of fifth-rank or higher ones...

Seeing that Xu Jingming, on his first battlefield, showed no discomfort and instead broke through to sixth rank,

Su Qingli finally relaxed completely. After chatting a while longer, she left with peace of mind.

She hadn't been gone long when the specially prepared nutrient meal arrived.

After breaking through to sixth rank, Xu Jingming's fatigue after battle had lessened considerably.

After finishing the nutrient meal, his condition had almost recovered to its peak!

The moment he returned to his room, he hurried to recharge his drained Extreme Glory Thunder Ring.

But unfortunately, six hours later—

Before he could infuse it a third time, the war horn had already sounded once again.

"Roar—"

"Awoo—"

"..."

It was already nine at night, dark and windy.

But outside Zhen'an City, a dense cluster of 'red lanterns' had lit up.

Those were the blood-red eyes of fierce beasts!

A scene like this, coupled with the dense, savage roars of the fierce beasts—

Any Awakened who had never been baptized by war would need no small amount of courage just to stand on this city wall.

"Jingming, be careful later. An eighth-tier fierce beast has very likely already noticed your existence.

There's no telling—when the fighting starts, it might just hit you with another one of those.

Your protective talisman is already used up. The moment you fail to dodge, you'll be instantly one-shot killed."

On the city wall over thirty meters high, the captain of the Fourth Vanguard Squad, Zhou Yan, said earnestly.

Fierce beasts aren't fools either.

Xu Jingming, a mere fifth-tier Awakened, could actually hold his own against a mid-seventh-tier fierce beast.

The beasts would easily realize he was a super genius among humans, and then try every means to target him.

"Relax, my protective talisman can still keep being used." Xu Jingming grinned.

He had two protective talismans on hand, both in bracelet form.

One was a peak eighth-grade from Su Qingli, the other an ordinary eighth-grade from Hearing Ling Shuang.

The former could be used repeatedly; only the latter was a one-time consumable.

Combined, unless that Flame Dragon Emperor personally made a move, there would be no danger to his life.

And even if the Flame Dragon Emperor shamelessly attacked wantonly, Su Qingli and the others would likewise join the battle.

"Hm? Yours isn't a one-time protective talisman?" Zhou Yan was shocked.

Shake and the others around them also turned to look, casting envious glances.

A one-time eighth-grade protective talisman was already extremely rare, but who would have thought that what Xu Jingming possessed was the kind that could be used repeatedly!

"Truly worthy of being the beloved disciple of ninth-tier Martial Saint Su, the馆主. These safety measures are just too thorough."

Zhou Yan couldn't help sighing, his expression filled with envy.

Su Qingli could be said to be the youngest ninth-tier Law Saint in all of Great Xia.

And since it was also her first time taking a disciple, naturally every good thing was thrown onto Xu Jingming.