Chapter 408: Chapter 402: An Inch of Mountains and Rivers, an Inch of Blood_1
The fierce sounds of combat echoed in the lofty mountains of Sword Pavilion Pass. Both armies were filled with a determination to win.
For the Suicide Squad, killing a hundred enemies in battle could free them from servitude, allowing them to become low-ranking citizens of the Thousand Demon Saint’s Court and live normal lives.
As for the soldiers of the Kylin Holy Land, they shouldered the responsibility of defending their Sect. Even if they died in battle, their bodies wrapped in horsehide, they had no regrets.
The narrow stone path was once again drenched with fresh blood. The white stone steps had now all turned blood-red.
From his command post in the rear, Xiong Lie observed the Suicide Squad engaging the enemy. "Attack!" he commanded, and then dispatched another non-human army.
The Flying Patterned Ant Tribe!
They were an ancient force from the northern part of the East Border with a vast population. These ant-shaped creatures were half the size of an adult, possessed gray wings, and could fly at great speed.
"Battle!" the commander of the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe shouted as he soared into the sky. His mouth split at the corners, revealing tens of thousands of teeth that glinted coldly, a terrifying sight.
Millions of Flying Patterned Ant tribesmen followed, their buzzing filling the sky. Like a tornado, they swept across the hills—not with the gentle caress of a breeze, but with the Grim Reaper’s deadly slaughter.
"AAARGH!"
A Kylin Holy Land soldier, deep in fierce combat, screamed. His face turned deathly pale. In the blink of an eye, his flesh and blood were devoured, leaving only a withered corpse.
Behind him clung a massive, mosquito-like creature—one of the Flying Patterned Ant tribesmen. Its sharp teeth bit through his bones as it sucked the marrow.
After completely devouring the head, this Flying Patterned Ant tribesman left the corpse, flapped its wings, and flew towards its next target.
After the soldiers of the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe joined the battle, the Kylin Holy Land troops suffered heavy casualties. After holding on for four hours, their entire army was wiped out, including their Quasi-Emperor Realm elder leading them. All of them became blood food.
However, this battle also inflicted massive casualties on the Thousand Demon Saint’s Court. Of the million-strong Suicide Squad, fewer than one in ten survived, and the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe also lost more than half its numbers.
"Green Wolf Tribe, attack!" Xiong Lie ordered coldly, deploying another army to replenish the front-line soldiers.
"AWOOO!"
A robust Green Wolf, several times the size of a human, stood on a great boulder and roared towards the sky. Its hind legs kicked off, leaving a streak of green light on the ground.
Hundreds of thousands of Green Wolf Tribe soldiers, their green eyes glowing, stepped onto the bloody battlefield.
The human Suicide Squad continued to advance.
The Flying Patterned Ant Tribe followed closely, ready for battle.
The Green Wolf Tribe soldiers followed at the rear, their morale high.
After advancing thirty li and passing through a White Bone Area, they were ambushed by the Kylin Holy Land. Just as over a hundred thousand soldiers of the human Suicide Squad, who were at the forefront, stepped onto the bones, arrows engulfed in black flames shot out from distant caves.
"It’s an ambush! Retreat quickly!" an expert from the Suicide Squad cried out, his pupils contracting. He instinctively tried to retreat, but the slave imprint within him flared, causing such agonizing pain that he couldn’t move.
As members of the Suicide Squad, how could they possibly retreat? Even if a mountain of blades, a sea of fire, or a deathly abyss lay before them, they could only stand tall and meet their demise unflinchingly.
BOOM!
The flaming arrows fell, and as if igniting oil, the White Bone Area instantly turned into a sea of fire. Over a hundred thousand soldiers of the human Suicide Squad became human torches, their screams unending.
No one knew what kind of fire this was; even Martial Artists with Water Attributes couldn’t extinguish it.
The Flying Patterned Ant Tribe soldiers following behind gasped. Luckily, it was the lowly humans in front; otherwise, they would have been the ones burned to death.
This fire burned for more than an hour.
Even the bones on the ground were incinerated, leaving only a layer of white grease that emitted a strange stench.
"Keep moving!" the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe commander ordered cautiously, advancing with extreme care, afraid of being ambushed again.
In the rear camp, Xiong Lie’s expression was slightly solemn. He dispatched two more non-human armies to follow from a distance.
The next thirty li of the stone path were peaceful. However, just as the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe soldiers began to relax, countless arrows rained down from the sky, accompanied by the piercing shriek of tearing air.
The arrows fell like rain, dense and unavoidable.
At least two hundred thousand Flying Patterned Ant Tribe soldiers perished, pinned by arrows to the stone path, to tree trunks, and into the blood-soaked soil.
"Damn it!" the commander of the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe roared. These were the elites of his tribe, and losing more than half of them at once left him heartbroken.
"They’re on the mountaintop! Kill them!" the Green Wolf Tribe commander transformed into a gust of wind, appearing beside the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe commander and shouting.
He opened his mouth and spat out a green orb of light that flew towards the distant mountaintop. Its terrifying power caused the Void to collapse.
"Fight!"
From the distant mountaintop, a white-robed Martial Artist shot through the air, wielding a long saber, and split the green orb of light in two.
"Kill!" The Flying Patterned Ant Tribe elder then launched his attack. With killing intent swirling in his eyes, he silently swore to tear the enemy who had killed his tribesmen into a thousand pieces.
The Green Wolf Tribe and Flying Patterned Ant Tribe soldiers began to charge. Their speed was remarkable, and they soon surged over halfway up the mountain.
WHIZZ! WHIZZ! WHIZZ!
A new volley of arrows rained down, consigning tens of thousands of soldiers from the two tribes to eternal sleep in the wilderness.
"Kill! Avenge our tribesmen!"
"Warriors, enjoy your blood food!"
The deaths of their kin did not frighten the Green Wolf Tribe and Flying Patterned Ant Tribe soldiers; instead, it ignited their fighting spirit and surged their Evil Qi.
At this moment, millions of Kylin Holy Land soldiers emerged from a Formation. Their condensed army soul was like a newly sharpened blade, exuding a keenness capable of upheaving the entire mountain range.
BOOM!
In an instant, the two armies clashed, and blood splattered like rain.
On this battlefield, a veritable meat grinder, people died unwillingly every minute, every second. They fell into pools of blood, their eyes wide with unresigned fury.
The mountains and rivers are beautiful, yet the lands are stained with blood!
All sovereignty and shifts in power are built upon the bodies of the dead.
The intense sounds of fierce fighting continued for over four hours before temporarily ceasing with the Kylin Holy Land’s defeat, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of corpses.
On the bloody battlefield, the Green Wolf Tribe and the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe were feasting on the bodies, converting them into Spiritual Energy to enhance their cultivation.
After satiating their hunger and thirst, the great army continued its campaign!
The hearts of all the non-human tribesmen were heavy. They knew there were countless fierce battles ahead. Perhaps at the next moment, they would fall on the battlefield.
The journey ahead lay through blood and fire, through hope and despair.
Perhaps because they were nearing Sword Pavilion Pass, the attacks from the Kylin Holy Land became exceedingly frequent, and the invaders were repelled several times.
Before they even neared Sword Pavilion Pass, the Green Wolf Tribe and the Flying Patterned Ant Tribe had lost all their soldiers. Consequently, the troops dispatched after them effectively became the vanguard.
After three days of bitter battle, and at the cost of the lives of tens of millions of soldiers, the battle standard of the Thousand Demon Saint’s Court was finally planted outside Sword Pavilion Pass.
Under the sun, the blood-soaked banner looked incomparably, ominously beautiful.
"ROAR!"
The Void cracked open for ten thousand zhang, and the Water Emperor Bear tore through it. Standing on the damp ground, it gazed at the nearby Sword Pavilion Pass, its killing intent palpable.