Chapter 138: Invasion of Cast City

In the following days, the Golden Legion's troops had occupied the entire coastline, from the northern Twin Cape to the southern High Peak, and the pale sand beaches and scrub near the forest were covered with black iron armor.

The elder who had been possessed by the Feathered Serpent God communicated with almost every Paiite tribe in the forest; regarding the Golden Legion's iron hooves, these Paiites offered no resistance, and instead helped the Golden Legion fell trees to carve a road to the Great Plains.

The deities on the Maztek continent undeniably exist, and there are many of them; in fact, according to the elder, the Feathered Serpent God who once met the Golden Legion is worshiped only in the area they call the Distant Forest.

Further away, the Paiites on the plains worship other deities, such as the animal guardian Nura, the plant guardian Vatil, and Maztek's oldest belief, the ancient Father of the Gods—Kukur—who has never answered the Paiites' prayers.

Compared with Quarte, the elder stated that other deity followers on the Great Plains would harbor extreme hostility toward the Golden Legion; the Parth tribe in the Distant Forest could aid the Golden Legion, but only if they promised to hand over Uratos City for their rule after conquering the entire Great Plains.

In return, the jungle Paiites will allow Heim and Wokin to enter the temple hall, jointly becoming the Parth faith with Quarte.

Clearly, that Feathered Serpent God is a very cunning being, not only selling his own kind clean, but also striking a deal with the colonists; because the elder is backed by the Feathered Serpent God, General Kodel did not hesitate to agree to cooperate.

At this moment, on the other side of the jungle, a Paiite couple were diligently farming a corn field with their child.

"Luolokute, don't run too far!"

The mother shouted at the child who had run to the nearby scrub; these Paiites are residents of a small town near the forest, often bringing their children to the edge of the plains to play while teaching them to thank Vatil so they may witness such lush jungle.

But today, things were different.

The little Paiite stepped into the scrub and heard noisy sounds from the nearby jungle; the deep forest resonated with a trembling roar, as if some monster were drawing near.

"Dong dong, dong dong."

The boy stood dumbfounded in place, his heart pounding faster; he suddenly felt very scared—a primal instinct humans have when facing a beast.

The next moment, a massive silver shadow burst from the jungle, soaring into the sky; behind that thing, a huge invisible hand kept uprooting trees.

One by one, hulking figures wearing black iron helmets emerged from the jungle, bearing cold metal longswords at their waists, their eyes filled with excitement and cruelty.

The boy's parents screamed, ran over, grabbed the child, and turned to run back.

No one stopped them, because these colonists were filled with contempt for the natives; they would crush the generation‑behind dwarfs into despair with their might.

A bloody war erupted. — "Invaders! Troops! Monsters!" The couple fled back to the city with their child, shouting wildly.

Though called a city, it was very crude: stone walls encircled an area roughly a hundred li in radius, housing several thousand Paiites; in fact, even without the couple's warning, the guards at the gate had already spotted the rapidly approaching black tide.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

A chilling cry rang through the whole city; in the town called Cast, about seventy percent of the population were youths and adults, who quickly seized stone weapons, while a few city guards bore metal blades.

Spearmen, throwers, archers, and warriors riding jaguars formed the Paiite army with a strong primitive tropical jungle style. The Golden Legion's commander, a man in a splendid Mage robe, shook his head; his name was Damian, serving as the leader of the five‑thousand‑strong force in place of the deceased 11th‑level Mage.

"What a crude army; I doubt their spears can pierce our warriors' armor," Damian said to the nearby priest with a mocking tone.

The priest who worshipped Heim nodded, saying in a low voice, "Let the soldiers keep their hands; they will become followers of my god later, no need for a slaughter."

Damian snorted lightly, "Priest, stop being so hypocritical; war casualties are inevitable. If they surrender, I will spare them, but if they choose death over submission."

"Then I will kill—one hundred, one thousand, even ten thousand! Kill until they tremble, kill until they see the Golden Legion and cannot help but kneel on the ground!"

The Mage, word for word, announced the coming outcome to the priest in an extremely cruel tone; the Heim‑worshipping priest shook his head, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"My god, is this truly what you desire?" A blasphemous thought rose in the heart of this lifelong "Guardian" priest, and the next moment he hurriedly cast the thought away.

Naimi Xisi was now high above the sky, coldly watching the two armies face off; he did not wish to join the slaughter, though he had been assigned to help this army conquer Cast City.

Naimi Xisi was uninterested in slaughtering a swarm of ant‑like weak creatures, and Juan Ce Long would not help them work for free! The Paiites on the ground looked puzzled at the stationary army far away, but the archers dared not fire arrows arbitrarily before the battle was confirmed.

What they did not know was that they had lost the last chance to inflict casualties on this colonial army.

Damian raised his hand, pointing at the distant army; the Ring set with fire opal on his ring finger glittered.

The next moment, a rainbow of light ignited above the Paiites' heads, and space seemed to tear, forming a fissure that widened like an eye opening.

Within the fissure, the multicolored glow manifested, a massive rainbow eye hovering over the Paiites' heads.

Seventh Illusion Evocation spell—【Rainbow Eye Spell】! "Ahhh, what sorcery is this! Shaman! Help, shaman!"

Beams of light shot out, striking the archers; some inexplicably burned, some froze into ice statues, others turned into pools of blood. The Paiites hopped around, pleading to their sole shaman for help.

The shaman's face turned grim, closed his eyes in prayer, and performed a strange, beautiful dance.

Third Circle Divine Spell—【Dispel Magic】! A green ray hit the spell eye, but the eye only trembled and did not vanish.

Damian sneered at the sight, "Divine Spells may be common, but insight is not."

His spell eye had been amplified by the potent elemental Ring in his hand, doubling its power; at least a Sixth Circle Divine Spell—【Advanced Dispel Magic】—would be required to affect it, though he guessed these primitive natives were unaware of such refined techniques.

The spell eye continued its rampage; Damian raised his left hand, and the army immediately began to march.

(End of Chapter)