Chapter 859: Legion Assembly

Early winter.

When the sun rose and bathed the world in warm light, the residents of Nuosiruier all heard a resonant bell toll.

Now!

The bell rang across the Imperial Capital, and people looked up toward the source in the sky.

For the past ten days, two floating cities have hovered over Nuosiruier: the millennial Naiser, unchanged for a thousand years, and the Duke GreyEagle's Flaniss, a spectacular sight.

Flaniss Floating City originally resided in the Duke GreyEagle's domain, Longpis City; it is the Empire's fourth floating city, rising roughly three hundred years after Naiser. Its construction mirrors Naiser's: the duke cleaved a mountain peak, inverted it, built the city and towers on the cross‑section, and filled the interior with countless rune formations.

However, Flaniss is larger, because dwarf craftsmen were hired for its construction, giving it a pronounced dwarven style.

The structures above are chiefly stone, sturdy and towering, grand and magnificent.

The entire floating city is symmetrical; its cross‑section is nearly circular, the lower mountain body polished flat, appearing from afar as an enormous inverted cone.

At this moment, Flaniss rang a magical bell.

It is the horn calling the Empire's great army to assemble!

On the outskirts of Nuosiruier, the temporary camps stirred, and Flaniss Floating City accelerated, flying toward the camps.

"It begins!"

"The time for revenge for the Consul has finally arrived."

Millions of Imperial Capital citizens thought this, each gaze fixed on the moving floating city. The streets boiled with crowds—some excited, some anxious, some indifferent, watching the city fly outward.

At the foot of West Mountain, Marlinge Manor.

Lei En rose early.

The magical bell startled the manor's servants, who rushed to the courtyard to stare at the sky, or stuck their heads out the windows, whispering with companions, occasionally glancing toward the third‑floor balcony where the lady of the manor, Viola, was having breakfast with Lei En.

Lei En leisurely finished the last bite of breakfast, then rose and said, "I must go."

"Hmm, be careful."

Viola stepped forward to adjust his armor and cloak.

Lei En had already donned the Titanic Power Armor, an epic‑grade suit forged from Titan Blue Iron, immensely heavy and majestically imposing, shielding him like a moving metal fortress, indestructible.

A Thunder Warhammer and a Soul-Eating Blade hung at his hips, while his massive red cloak rustled behind him, as if dyed with blood.

His tall, upright frame exuded an unrivaled aura.

This eased Viola's mind slightly.

The servants in the manor's courtyard, seeing the scene on the balcony, filled with awe, thought that only a hero as mighty as Lei En could match the incomparable beauty of Lady Viola.

Lei En slipped his arm around Viola's waist, bowed and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, releasing his hand after a few seconds, then smiled lightly, "Wait for my return."

After speaking, he opened a teleport gate and stepped through.

Viola watched the teleport gate close, feeling sweet yet slightly uneasy. She had learned from Lei En that this revenge mission was Loxi's plot, likely to involve an incarnation of a divine saint, and the target was Lei En.

That's an incarnation of a god!

Even if Lei En's strength is great, he is still merely mortal…

Viola gazed toward Flaniss, silently praying to the God of Magic and the Longhaired Lady, hoping the two goddesses would protect Lei En and ensure his safe return.

Lei En did not teleport to Flaniss; lacking permission, he could only teleport to a camp outside the eastern outskirts of Nuosiruier. The temporary camp sprawls across a vast plain, tents stretching for miles, endless to the eye.

In the past ten days, over fifty thousand Transcendent Army troops have been stationed here.

At this moment, the entire camp stirred.

The ground trembled.

Transcendent legions summoned their members—hailing from across the Empire, belonging to various legions and lords, of diverse transcendent professions, clad in assorted enchanted armor, riding varied mounts—appearing chaotic yet orderly, gathering to board the floating city.

The floating city serves as the Empire's warship, capable of swiftly transporting a massive army to the battlefield.

Flaniss dispatched hundreds of Wizards to coordinate with the legions.

Lei En's arrival immediately drew attention; a senior Wizard bearing an eight‑leaf emblem on his chest approached, finding Lei En's solitary arrival rather odd.

Last night, news spread that Lei En was running for Consul.

The entire Empire was astonished.

Given Lei En's stature, could he even covet the Consul's power? Some candidates, upon learning of Lei En's entry, withdrew that night. This morning a few more announced they were dropping out, yet still pledged to join the revenge operation.

Despite controversy, Lei En is a duly elected Imperial councilor, fully qualified to run, and no one can block him.

The senior Wizard muttered inwardly, wondering if Lei En intended to fight alone without an army.

"I have met Lei En," he said respectfully, bowing.

Lei En nodded, produced his Weizelan micro‑device as proof of identity, and said, "Please transport me to Flaniss."

"Very well."

The Wizard opened a teleport gate.

Lei En stepped through the gate onto a massive circular plaza—the Eight-Leaf Plaza at Flaniss's heart, nearly a kilometer in diameter. Its floor, laid with smooth stone, was seamless, broad, and could hold hundreds of thousands of standing people.

Flaniss Floating City's layout is distinctive: the Eight-Leaf Plaza at the center, encircled by eight towering spires.

Seen from above, the city's circular cross‑section is divided by four evenly spaced lines into eight equal fan‑shaped sectors, like eight leaves stitched together.

That is the origin of the name "Eight‑Leaf."

Each sector centers on a tower, beneath which lie blocks of uniform architecture and full facilities. All eight towers share identical height and shape, and the internal layouts match perfectly, as if copied.

The eight sectors connect to form a ring surrounding the central circular plaza.

In short, it is symmetry!

All this reflects the Duke GreyEagle's balance theory; nothing symbolizes balance more than a circle.

In Aurelien Language, "leaf" and "ring" are the same word, giving it a dual meaning.

Thus "Eight‑Leaf" can also be read as "Eight‑Ring."

But to Lei En, it's a classic case of obsessive‑compulsive behavior!

The Eight Leaves has eight members, and the GreyEagle Duke himself is one of them; by his own explanation, he holds no higher status than the other Eight Leaves members, and everyone is equal in pursuing the path of magic and developing the theory of balance, only he has gone a little farther.

Of course, the Flaniss wizards outwardly agree, but in reality it is another matter.

Anyway, the GreyEagle Duke firmly holds the Flaniss Floating City, controls the Iola Core, and his leadership is unshakable.

In the plaza, portal after portal opened and remained active.

Transcendent Army units passed through the portals, lined up in the plaza, and Lei En stood alone, especially conspicuous there.

"Lei En, come over."

A voice sounded beside his ear—it was Tim*Kenan, and a portal opened before him.

Lei En stepped through and appeared on a high platform at the side of the plaza.

This platform lies within a sector of the Eight Leaves; not far behind is a tower whose summit bears an unassuming eagle emblem, indicating it is the GreyEagle Duke's wizard tower and the control core of the Flaniss Floating City.

Tim*Kenan stood on the platform, watching the army assemble.

"Master Kenan."

Lei En saluted and greeted.

Tim*Kenan gave a slight nod, saying nothing. His expression was solemn, and behind him stood many people, mostly Flaniss wizards, some of whom wore Eight Leaves badges on their chests.

Lei En recognized four: Ou Ti Lu Ke, Bi Ge Bai, Tan Sen, and Ma Youfu.

They also cast glances his way.

The most familiar, Ou Ti Lu Ke, wore a complicated expression, seeming somewhat resentful. Bi Ge Bai and Tan Mu's attitudes were rather cold, especially Bi Ge Bai, who years ago intervened in Lei En's dispute with Naisier at BrewotzAcademy, stepped onto the field, and ended up losing face.

The wood elf Ma Youfu, however, was very friendly; the Soul Eye saw his mood highly uplifted.

Obviously, he already knows about the Hess magical array.

"Chairman Lei En."

Ou Ti Lu Ke spoke up, questioning: "You signed up to run for Consul, why did only one person come, without bringing your own army?"

"My army is on the way; you'll see it shortly," Lei En replied with a smile.

"Chairman Lei En's Extreme Legion and the Holy Spear Knight Corps are renowned across the Empire; we hope they will broaden our horizons," Bi Ge Bai interjected, "only we don't know which is stronger compared to the Flaniss Eight Leaves Hand."

"Of course it's the Extreme Legion."

Lei En was not at all modest, stating as a matter of course: "My Extreme Legion is invincible under heaven!"

The Eight Leaves members were all stunned.

They had expected Lei En to be courteous, to say a few modest words, but did not anticipate his directness, his tone confident and proud, without a hint of hesitation.

Even the GreyEagle Duke cast a sidelong glance.

The Eight Leaves Hand is the Transcendent Army he founded, numbering about five thousand, not many, yet each is an elite; the lowest are Mid-stage Transcendents.

The hallmark of this legion is that it has no hallmark: in each hundred‑person unit, eight Transcendent professions are carefully combined, with wizards as the combat core, able to handle any battlefield environment and situation. Whether aerial combat, ground charge, or even naval warfare, it has solutions, blending ranged firepower with melee, magic with hand‑to‑hand, offense with defense, with no weakness, its combat power is extremely balanced.

Moreover, the legion keeps up with the times; in recent years it has added Soul Spear weapons, developing corresponding tactics.

Since its founding a millennium ago, the Eight Leaves Hand has almost never suffered defeat.

Its overall combat power is by no means inferior to the Empire's three great knight orders; with equal numbers, it would even surpass them.

Tan Sen's temper is rather fiery; he sneered, "Then we shall get to see it."

"You will all see it."

Lei En tossed back a remark and then ignored the other.

The residents of the Flaniss Floating City all withdrew, and lower‑rank wizards also retreated to Longpis, turning the massive floating city into a warship.

On the Eight Leaves Plaza, the armies kept increasing.

The most eye‑catching force was the GriffinLegion; they flew up directly from the ground, passed through the floating city's shield and landed. The GriffinLegion is one of the Empire's four great legions, totaling thirty thousand griffin knights, and this time deployed ten thousand.

Ten‑thousands of griffins took off simultaneously, blotting out the sky, their beating wings stirring fierce winds.

They landed on the plaza, occupying a large area.

Beside the GriffinLegion stood five thousand Rick Guard, led personally by Haisketo, swearing vengeance for Gneus.

Further on was the Iron Knight Legion.

Among the Empire's three great knight orders, the Iron Knight Legion has the largest numbers, fifteen thousand, and this time deployed a third.

They are all Tier‑3 to Tier‑9 Iron Guards, clad in enchanted heavy armor forged from refined iron, riding tall, robust dragon‑blood warhorses.

These warhorses wear thick bardings, exposing only eyes and hooves; they have long endurance, extremely high load capacity, weighing three thousand pounds with rider, and when they charge their momentum is like a mountain‑crushing wave, crushing everything, and almost no legion dares to face them head‑on.

Next to the Iron Knight Legion is the "Storm Legion".

The Storm Legion's Transcendent profession composition is relatively complex—Berserkers, Iron Guards, Rangers, Shadow Warriors, Spearmen, and so on—who are common Transcendents. Most have no mounts, and their personal power is mostly basic, making them infantry of the Empire's legions.

However, they have a great advantage: sheer numbers.

The Storm Legion is the Empire's most populous Transcendent legion, constantly maintaining over one hundred thousand, and the GreyEagle Duke has summoned twenty thousand this time!

Opposite the Storm Legion is the "Arcane Sword Knight Legion".

They are the smallest, only two thousand on the plaza, yet their overall combat power exceeds that of the twenty‑thousand Storm Legion.

The Arcane Sword Knights are not only the foremost of the Empire's three great knight orders, but also among the world's strongest Transcendent legions.

Because it is a half‑magic legion.

Each member of the Arcane Sword is a magic swordsman, and a rare Arcane magic swordsman, founded by Emperor Elfah, with a long history of over two thousand years.

The method of cultivating the Arcane Sword is the Empire's highest secret; it was once held only by the Emperor, later guarded by the Supreme Council, and a decree forbids anyone, even Holy Soul wizards, from privately cultivating the Arcane Sword, to protect the legitimacy and status of the Arcane Sword Knight Legion.

Lei En was very curious about the Arcane Sword Knight Legion.

The Soul Eye observed covertly; these magic swordsmen are at least fourth‑rank, and have mastered multiple identical Arcane skills, used respectively to enchant long swords for extra damage, grant themselves armor, resist spells, move swiftly, summon mounts, and so on.

The Arcane Sword's legion commander is called Salain.

Lei En had seen Salain several times before; he is a twenty‑three‑level Sword Saint!

From commander Salain down to ordinary magic swordsmen, each summoned a Starrealm Steed; this gorgeous, illusory mount can run on air, faster than flight, and can carry its rider through the starrealm, its mobility far surpassing other legions.

The Soul's Eye easily saw through the demonic soul fused with the Arcane Sword; as long as Lei En wishes, he can easily replicate a unit of Arcane Sword Knights.

However, he wasn't very interested.

In Lei En's eyes, these extraordinary troops were nothing but rabble.

Of the Empire's four great legions and three knight orders, only the "Hammer of Elfa" and the "Draconic Lizard Knight Order" did not come. They guard the empire's southwest, facing the Mi Shao Peninsula, farthest from the imperial capital Nuosiruier, unable to arrive in time, and there's no need for all to gather.

After the Empire's troops had assembled, the private forces of the Holy Soul wizards and imperial councilors began to appear.

First to appear were the Silver Star Duke and the Storm Queen.

As soon as the two female Holy Soul wizards appeared, they drew everyone's attention in the square, and then their troops surged out from the portal.

(End of Chapter)