Chapter 319

A huge flying carpet surged up from the Great Rift Valley.

On a flying carpet almost a li long and wide, Xiqi's elite troops filled it shoulder to shoulder. Besides human cultivators, there were many burly Ox-tribe warriors, fierce Wolf-tribe warriors, and terrifying Dragonfolk.

On the black flying carpet, blood-red runes the size of fists flashed rapidly as the carpet broke through a cloud-like swarm of poisonous bats, soaring high with many warriors aboard.

One after another, flying carpets kept streaming out of the Great Rift Valley, nearly a thousand of them soaring into the sky and hovering below the clouds. Countless warriors gazed at the azure sky and the blazing red sun, shouting in exhilaration.

Warships gathered quickly from all sides, and the troops of the Demon-Suppressing Hall noticed the movement, beginning to muster forces for an encirclement.

At the center of a flying carpet, Luo Lin wore thick armor, guarded by several Life Pond Realm experts, and looked arrogantly at the distant warships.

He snorted a few times, Luo Lin pointed at the nearest warships and said, "Is this the armament of the Great Jin demons? These large ships are quite fine, but that's all. I truly don't understand why they dare to occupy this beautiful land."

Several Life Pond Realm veterans who had participated in many suppression campaigns remained silent, merely watching warily for any movement around them.

When a warship drew near, several nearby flying carpets swiftly moved to meet it. From a distance, the Fuxi Divine State soldiers on the carpets began launching arrows, and many spears were hurled at the warship.

The troops under Xiqi were well-trained, boasting many experts, and their equipment was top-notch.

Especially, these flying carpets were extremely agile in the air, far more maneuverable than the Demon-Suppressing Hall's warships. When a few carpets teamed up to surround a warship, the vessel seemed unable to defend itself, taking a beating and looking quite embarrassed.

Countless swarms of poisonous bats screamed as they slammed into the warships, coordinating with the warriors on the carpets in fierce assaults. Within just over a moment, more than a dozen warships were engulfed in smoke and fire, slowly plummeting from the sky down into the Great Rift Valley.

Meanwhile, only five flying carpets were destroyed, giving Xiqi's regular forces a considerable advantage in the loss ratio.

Luo Lin laughed even more happily: "I said it—once we strike, these demons and monsters will collapse like rotten wood. Achieving merit and establishing a career is naturally a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."

Luo Lin's face flushed slightly, and his heartbeat quickened considerably.

Accumulating military merit and establishing a career; with Xiqi's protection, his position in the military will surely rise rapidly. Once he becomes an actual military commander, he will surpass Luo Lin's siblings and naturally become the heir of the Luo family.

Thinking of the glory and benefits that would come from inheriting the Luo family's authority, Luo Lin couldn't help but grin foolishly.

Clad in a green robe and wearing a mask, Mr. Mu stood beside Luo Lin, gazing deeply at his back. Xiqi had assigned Mr. Mu as Luo Lin's aide, but more importantly, he wanted Luo Lin to exercise his own initiative.

Unless absolutely necessary or the situation had not yet deteriorated to a critical point, Mr. Mu would not speak.

From near and far, the shouts of Xiqi's regular forces' battalion commanders echoed from the carpets, as the flying carpets formed a strange battle array to meet the oncoming warships speeding from afar.

Below in the Great Rift Valley, even more flying carpets surged upward like vast clouds.

The flying carpet carrying Luo Lin headed toward a fortress that had just been breached. As an Army Commander, Luo Lin did not have the authority to directly deploy troops or command battle.

However, aside from direct command of combat, Luo Lin's authority was extensive, allowing him to intervene in nearly every aspect of military affairs.

The flying carpet landed in the blood-soaked fortress; Luo Lin lifted his head and chest, leading a large retinue to occupy the largest hall at the fortress's center, set up a table, and sat firmly behind it.

He firmly felt the military ledger before him, picked up a vermilion brush, and began to carry out his duties in earnest.

After an hour, commanders and officers from the various battalions and armies on campaign kept sending people to find Luo Lin, delivering the heads they had taken and continuously reporting data on captured fortresses, seized flags, and confiscated weapons and supplies.

Luo Lin solemnly began recording each unit's military merits in the ledger, while continually issuing orders, allocating supplies according to the battalions' and armies' requests, especially replenishing frontline troops with healing medicines.

After a busy spell, Luo Lin suddenly looked up and said, "The Strange Scholars Battalion, the Special Forces Battalion, and the Three Sovereigns Battalion all have people reporting their merits… but why hasn't a single member of the Hunting Battalion's Wu family shown up? Could it be that the Wu folk are timid, refusing to fight and have fled?"

Mr. Mu remained silent, simply standing quietly beside Luo Lin.

Luo Lin glanced at the inscrutable Mr. Mu, then slapped the table: "Send scouts to locate the Wu family's troops from the Hunting Battalion—find out where they are and what they're doing… If they dare to desert the battlefield, humph, the military law of the Fuxi Divine State shows no mercy."

Outside Iron Blood City, Wu Tie let out a loud shout, and Xing Tianxian and the others turned to look.

When they saw, a hundred li away in the void, three Taotie Clan experts at the Embryonic Storage Realm surrounded Wu Tie; more than twenty Wu family Embryonic Storage Realm elders immediately broke free from the Iron Blood City battle lines, transformed into thousand‑foot giants, and strode toward them.

"Hey, Taotie scum," Xing Tianxian shouted, leading the charge; with his height exceeding a thousand feet, a single step carried him seven or eight li, so a distance of over a hundred li was just a few casual strides for his long legs.

Before he could finish his short remark, Xing Tianxian rushed forward and brought his axe down on the middle‑aged man blocking Wu Tie's retreat.

The middle‑aged man let out a low growl, his body shivered, and his black‑scaled frame instantly shot up, swelling to a height of about a thousand feet.

The Taotie Bone Long Spear in his hand, shrouded in black qi, trembled as the middle‑aged man thrust it against Xing Tianxian's great axe.

With a tremendous clang, sparks flew everywhere; Xing Tianxian's axe gained a huge notch, and the middle‑aged man's spear shaft was split with a large crack. Their massive bodies shuddered—Xing Tianxian steadied himself, while the man was forced back several steps.

"What? Heaven‑Earth‑Embracing divine power? Where did you learn this wicked trick, swallowing some unlucky kid to gain it?" Xing Tianxian yelled, snapping his fingers and unleashing a continuous barrage of hundreds of axe strikes.

The bright axe light fell like snowflakes; the middle‑aged man wielded his spear to block left and right, but the dark, gloomy spear began to look disordered.

It was obvious that in close combat, these Taotie Clan Embryonic Storage Realm fighters were considerably weaker than the Wu family's slaughter‑ready troops. The middle‑aged man's spear technique grew increasingly scattered, soon showing signs of being left‑handed and clumsy.

A muffled grunt rang out, followed by the sound of breaking bones like thunder.

Xing Tianxian's axe chopped through the man's spear shaft, then swept sideways, cleanly severing his right shoulder.

Blood poured down like a waterfall, and the faces of the dozen or so Taotie youths cheering behind him instantly turned ashen.

Two other Taotie Clan Embryonic Storage Realm members roared in anger, preparing to charge at Xing Tianxian, but their aura shifted abruptly; they snatched up the wounded comrade and turned to flee.

More than twenty Wu family Embryonic Storage Realm experts had already surged forward; a group of burly, fierce, hot‑headed men swung their huge, heavy weapons, hacking wildly in all directions.

Wu Tie even heard these unreliable elders muttering under their breath: "Hey, chop the living—hey, don't fight over it, it's mine!"

These Wu family elders struck too fast, showing no shame in bullying the few; more than twenty Embryonic Storage Realm fighters joined forces in a frenzied hack, while three Taotie Clan experts turned into streams of light, barely escaping the mountain of blades and sea of swords—but each was covered in blood: one lost an arm, another a leg, and the third was nearly cut in half at the waist.

"You Wu family bastards… is this brat your illegitimate spawn? He killed my Taotie Clan's chieftain—my clan and yours will have no peace until one of us is destroyed."

The three Taotie Clan grandmasters, furious and defeated, roared as they fled headlong without looking back.

Xing Tianxian laughed loudly, raising his great axe—whose nick was slowly healing and growing smaller—and bellowed, "Wu Tie killed your Taotie Clan's chief? Well, good riddance!"

Outside Iron Blood City, a female figure gathered on the Drought Demon Altar clenched her hands around the necks of two Yingdragons, tightly entwined with the two flame‑wreathed Yingdragons.

Even at this critical juncture, the woman's figure, urged on by the Dark Void Butterfly, slowly turned her head and glanced at the three Taotie Clan Embryonic Storage Realm experts.

Just a glance, and the three experts' bodies instantly ignited with crimson fire.

The three let out a strange cry in unison; great clouds of steam rose from their bodies as their flesh began to wither.

Just as Wu Tie thought they would be refined into dry corpses like the previous Yingdragons, the three individuals' skin and flesh suddenly exploded, three streams of spiritual light shooting out from their bodies, racing forward three or five li before recondensing into their original forms.

They not only escaped the Drought Demon Altar's strange attack, but all their prior injuries were completely healed—even the man who had been nearly severed at the waist regrew both of his legs.

"Golden Cicada Shell‑ing, Nine‑Death Tribulation Merit…" Wu Tie murmured to himself.

These Taotie Clan fellows possess an overwhelming array of divine abilities and secret arts. Considering their terrifying power to devour others' bloodlines and innate talents, it's no surprise that their high‑level members wield such capabilities.

"Taotie Clan lot, we Wu family are busy assaulting Iron Blood City and have no time for you." Xing Tianxian raised his great axe and roared, "If you dare come looking for wildfire again, we'll settle the score… Hey, you only lost one chieftain, but over the years our Wu family's countless missing collateral clansmen—those are all your doing."

Three Glutton Clan Embryo Storage Realm experts turned their heads, gave Xing Tianxian a deep look, let out a few cold laughs, and led more than a dozen young clansmen away at full speed.

Xing Tian Xian stretched out a finger and lightly pressed it against Wu Tie: "Kid, what else have you been stirring up out there? However, killing the Taotie Clan people is good…… We have grudges against them, great grudges, so killing them well……"

"Let's talk about this later; first we'll wreck this Iron Blood City." Xing Tian Xian and the others turned around, strode off with big steps, and continued running toward Iron Blood City.

"Let's make a fuss; the more lively the fuss, the better! Hah, hit, get them!"

Just now, Xing Tian Xian and a group rushed to rescue Wu Tie; the defensive prohibition above Iron Blood City had almost healed, leaving only ten-something strips of fine cracks.

Led by Xing Tian Xian, thirty-something Wu Family Womb Storage Realm experts roared in unison, each transforming their bodies into giants three thousand zhang tall, then simultaneously unleashed the Moving Mountains and Overturning Seas divine ability.

With a tremendous boom, just outside the walls of Iron Blood City, a slab of rock five hundred li square and thirty-something li thick was violently lifted by these guys.

Thirty-something Wu Family giants worked together, hoisting the slab and shooting straight up; they reached a height higher than the previous thousand-li altitude, soaring up to three thousand li, then aimed at Iron Blood City and hurled the whole landmass down.

"Get…… kids, retreat first!" The Xuan Ming Die, stationed to oversee the Drought Demon Wu Altar outside the city, bellowed violently.

He really wanted to curse Xing Tian Xian's old mother—these brainless idiots, are they trying to wipe out the thirty thousand Wu Family youths outside the city as well?

Wu Tie remained silent, turning and leaving together with Lao Tie.

Outside the city, the thirty thousand Wu Family youths also turned around, sprinting away from Iron Blood City at top speed.

This time, Xing Tian Xian and company went big—before it was just a ten-thousand-zhang mountain, but this rock layer's volume could rival dozens of ten-thousand-zhang mountains. With this impact, even if the Xuan Ming Die controlled the Drought Demon Wu Altar, it would be hard to withstand.

Inside the city, came the hysterical roar of the Demon-Suppressing Army commander.

"Attention, attention, everyone, enter the city walls, enter the city walls, enter the Hidden Soldiers Cave, everyone…… channel your mana into the city defense prohibition!"

In the War Fort, Luo Lin was playing with his cinnabar brush when hurried footsteps sounded; ten-something Taotie Clan members walked in.

Luo Lin looked up and saw the Taotie Clan youth whose shin had been bitten off by Lao Tie; he jumped up in delight and laughed loudly: "Yuan Ge, how did you come here? Shouldn't the Taotie Clan members participating in the war be a million li away?"

While speaking, Luo Lin unconsciously bowed slightly; it was obvious that in front of Taotie Yuan he lacked confidence.

Although the Luo Family is one of the great houses of the Fuxi Divine Kingdom, whether it be the Luo Family's foundation, clan strength, or number of experts, none can compare to the Taotie Clan.

Luo Lin and Taotie Yuan are old acquaintances…… or rather, previously Luo Lin was a lackey who hung around with Taotie Yuan.

Mr. Mu gave a low cough.

Luo Lin suddenly recalled his biological father's identity…… so he straightened his previously slightly bowed waist, his tone taking on a hint of superiority: "Huh, you're injured? Who hit you? Brother, I'll back you up!"

After a quarter of an hour, Luo Lin's surprised and delighted voice rang out: "What? The Wu Family people did this to you? Ah, during the punitive campaign, they actually attacked friendly forces…… they violated military law, they must be severely punished, severely punished!"