CULTIVATION: WHEN YOU TAKE THINGS TO THE EXTREME

Chapter 964: Chapter 595: The Dragon Marches

“Wen Da has been captured?!”

At the campsite, Zhao Wuji exclaimed in shock and anger, unable to accept the turn of events as he stared at the city that had been breached.

“How could this happen?”

Upon hearing this, Adams and Augustus were also frowning tightly nearby, “Does the enemy have a backup plan?”

“I don’t know!”

Zhao Wuji’s expression was icy as he directly ordered his trusted heroes, along with the reserves, to rush into the city to rescue Wen Da.

This Wen Da was his top general, a Battle Hero of Epic status; he had no idea how many resources he had invested to cultivate him to this extent. He could not afford to have him compromised here.

Otherwise, even if they could win this battle, it would be a pyrrhic victory for him.

As Zhao Wuji sent troops to rescue, Adams also coordinated with the action, but only Augustus persevered with a furrowed brow, not deploying additional reinforcements. Instead, he threw a Conquest Order to the ground.

Conquest Order (Contemplating Defeat)

Item Order: First-Order (Top Quality)

Item Effect: Establish a Transmission Array as a retreat path, which will not affect the battle situation.

Item Introduction: The one who contemplates defeat wins!

“What are you doing?”

Seeing Augustus throw the Conquest Order to the ground, building a large Transmission Array, both Zhao Wuji and Adams frowned deeply.

There are many types of Conquest Orders, but their uses are broadly categorized into three: offense, defense, and retreat.

The Contemplating Defeat Order used by Augustus belonged to the retreat type, but unlike other Retreat Orders, it would not affect the battle situation. It simply meant to reserve an escape route in advance.

This type of Conquest Order was very valuable, especially for a lord like Augustus whose main strategy involved leading a large army. A Contemplating Defeat Order was like insurance, capable of saving countless soldiers’ lives in the event of a disastrous defeat, rather than losing everything.

So, what was he doing?

The city had already fallen, even if Wen Da had been captured, there was no need to prepare an escape route like this, right?

Faced with the astonished gazes of the two, Augustus did not explain further, simply stating, “One must always prepare for the worst!”

After saying this, he cast his gaze forward.

He had his considerations!

As a “legion-type” lord, although he also had powerful combat heroes, this time they did not accompany him but stayed within his territory for defense.

It was a necessity; his “army surrounding the city” tactics required a large number of soldiers, and to command tens of thousands of soldiers, merely relying on himself was not sufficient; he needed a large number of Commander, Tactical, and Logistics heroes to assist.

Moreover, the war between the Sky-reaching Tower and the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss was a reality, not a game; there was no balance to speak of, and it didn’t hold that attacking someone else’s territory meant your own territory was protected and couldn’t be attacked.

On the contrary, when you attacked someone else, that was when your own territory was most vulnerable.

Such mechanisms made “home-stealing tactics” quite prevalent among the lords, also compelling them to form alliances and establish various forces for mutual support.

Although Augustus also came from a large force, carrying a massive amount of troops, nearly leaving his nest empty, he still dared not take it lightly. He had no choice but to leave a general behind to defend his territory, to prevent the possibility of a “home invasion.”

The three of them had formed an alliance with a clear division of responsibilities; Augustus was in charge of leading the army to besiege the city, while Zhao Wuji and Adams were responsible for charging into the fray and providing ranged support. The three complemented each other perfectly.

But being interdependent also meant that if one link failed, they all did. Now that Zhao Wuji’s general had been captured, it indicated that the enemy had extremely strong combat heroes. If the enemy were to fight to the death and charge to capture the king, then without any generals of their own, they might truly not be able to hold back.

A wealthy man’s son cannot sit and await death; considering his own safety, Augustus decisively used this extremely precious Contemplating Defeat Order.

“…”

“…”

With Augustus being so cautious, the other two found it hard to object and could only look forward as he did.

“Boom!!!”

As their gaze shifted, they saw a commotion as a red light burst forth from the city, leaving chaos in its wake, whether men were thrown into the air or became mere flesh in flight. An entire army was nothing more than chaff before it, helplessly reaped and utterly unstoppable.

“This…”

“How is this possible!?”

Seeing this scene unfold, both Zhao Wuji and Adams were horrified, but only Augustus, standing central, was as steady as a mountain: “Gather all combat heroes and special troops, we must stop him at any cost!”

Only then did the two snap back to reality and hurriedly mobilize their troops, with Augustus bringing forward his Imperial Guard as well.

The troops were more than ten thousand strong, vast and endless!

Although the Demon Abyss army of thirty thousand had lost a third of its forces in the siege, the remaining two-thirds were like a sea, covering both inside and outside of the city.

Seeing that red light charging like a fierce dragon, the close-combat soldiers could not stop it, while the archer brigade in the rear made a snap decision; a commander lifted his firearm, and over two thousand elite archers from the United States Federation followed suit.

Heroic Skill: Focused Firepower (Mobilize all soldiers using firearms to concentrate fire on a target or area. For every ten points of Intelligence/Charm and every Level 1 tactic/commander skill, increase each soldier’s firing speed by 10%, up to a maximum of 300%)

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang!”

The booming sounds like thunder rising and a fierce storm unleashed, myriad sparks flew out, covering the enemy with fire.

Suddenly, the front-line soldiers were pierced by bullets fired from behind, armor shattered, and they fell to the ground covered in blood.

Only that red light remained unaffected. Once again, the Unrivaled Secret Skill surged with overflowing Fighting Spirit, as the Sky Halberd swept in avian arc, forming a man-made barrier at the forefront of the cavalry, impenetrable like a wall where not even water could splash through, or a needle enter.

Over two thousand elite marksmen of the United States Federation unleashed an overwhelming barrage, aided by a three hundred percent increase in shooting speed. Yet they couldn’t harm that single rider and his horse; instead, they captured the attention of the enemy. The Red Dragon charged fiercely, leaped skyward like a fiery meteor, and exploded into the enemy ranks.

“Boom!!!!”

A deafening sound shook the heavens and earth. The blast wave carried the human projectiles, devastating the surrounding formations in all directions. The legion of marksmen disintegrated instantly, and countless soldiers scrambled to cover their heads and flee.

“Dammit!”

The mounted marksman commander gritted his teeth, lifted his gun to fire, but the rushing red light reached him in a blink. The Sky Halberd swept out and knocked him and his horse to the ground.

“My Lord!”

Mulan, leading the remaining hundred trusted aides, rushed to the city wall and called out as she drew her bow. The cooldown of her Special Skill had passed, and as she launched it again, over a hundred soldiers released tens of thousands of arrows. The enemy ranks were once again covered in a curtain of sorrow, countless dead and injured.

“Your affinity with Mulan has increased to 150 points!”

“Your special skill ‘Unrivaled Secret Technique·Fierce Dragon Breaking Army’ echoes with Mulan’s Heroic Skill ‘Ten Thousand Arrows Fired Simultaneously,’ forming the Combined Skill—’Dragon Roaming the World!’”

Dragon Roaming the World: When the True Dragon travels, storms follow (When the main general launches Fierce Dragon Breaking Army, the lieutenant general can concurrently launch Ten Thousand Arrows Fired Simultaneously, doubling the effect of Fierce Dragon Breaking Army and Ten Thousand Arrows Fired Simultaneously, and the main general becomes completely immune to ranged attacks from both friend and foe, cooldown 24 hours)

“Ha!”

As another volley of arrows rained down, causing countless casualties, Xu Yang laughed out loud, turned his steed around and charged straight towards the enemy’s camp.

From atop the city walls, Mulan intuitively understood and readied another round of arrows that blended with Xu Yang’s charge towards the enemy camp.

A Heroic Skill is a Heroic Skill, a Combined Skill is a Combined Skill; both have independent cooldowns.

Thus, after unleashing Ten Thousand Arrows Fired Simultaneously, Mulan could still combine her powers with Xu Yang to enact “Dragon Roaming the World!” without affecting each other’s skills.

Arrows fell like rain, the horse charged like a dragon, and burst violently into the enemy’s formations, carving a bloody path. A few battle heroes tried to intercept, but were sent flying by the sweeping halberd, their blood and flesh scattered like raindrops amongst the troops.

The Fierce Dragon Breaking Army was already mightily powerful, and now it has doubled as Dragon Roaming the World, that solitary figure, akin to a fiery meteor, belligerently broke through the enemy ranks. How could a few Rare Level heroes withstand it?

Let alone these junior heroes, even a mighty Epic hero like Wen Da would find it futile to attempt to stop such an assault.

“Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang!”

Within the cover of arrow rain, the powerful thrust of the Fierce Dragon parted the massed forces, bearing down on the enemy’s camp, ready to slay leaders and capture kings.

Augustus, with eyes narrowing, thoughtlessly tossed an item to the ground. Then a cloaked figure rushed forward in a bronze chariot, scooping him up onto the vehicle before disappearing into the void.

“The enemy Lord ‘Augustus’ used a special item!”

“The enemy Lord has successfully fled the battlefield!”

“…”

“Augustus!”

“You son of a bitch!”

While Zhao Wuji and Adams cursed out loud as they watched Augustus being whisked away by the cloaked figure, their own hands didn’t slow. Zhao Wuji pulled out an object and slapped it onto his chest—a Talisman with white background and red characters.

“The enemy Lord ‘Zhao Wuji’ used a special item!”

“The enemy Lord has successfully fled the battlefield!”

“…”

The Talisman slapped onto his chest flashed a brilliant light, enveloping Zhao Wuji and instantly making him disappear.

Only Adams was left, his rage and panic combining as he threw out an Escape Order, desperately watching the demonic light form the Transmission Array.

Seasoned Lords don’t lack means to save themselves, but there’s a gap among them too. Augustus hailed from a great family, and Zhao Wuji possessed Magic Civilization power—both of their life-saving items were instantaneous.

Adams didn’t have such luxury, possessing only an Escape Order of top quality, which needed five seconds to transport him.

And those five seconds…

“Boom!!!!”

The camp exploded, the red light stormed in, and a swift sweep of the Hua Ji shattered the magical light. Adams’ pupils shrank in shock, words failing him, as he felt the world spin chaotically, ultimately seeing a familiar body tumbling through the blood rain.

“You have killed the enemy Lord—Adams!”

“The enemy Morale has greatly dropped!”

“The elite marksmen of the United States Federation have collapsed!”

“The musketeer marksmen of the United States Federation have collapsed!”

“…”

The battle records refreshed extensively. Xu Yang, without a word, turned his steed around and stood with his halberd in front of the newly formed “Defeat Portal,” coldly observing the fleeing soldiers.

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