Chapter 89: Crossing the River!
The bald-headed Qiang, polished by the black-headed brick, raised his hand to catch the branch axe spear and pushed off with his legs, diving into the “sea of filth.”
With the “branch axe spear” in hand, he swung wildly, chopping at the surrounding blackened demon army. Limbs shattered, stomachs ripped open, and rotting intestines filled with maggots flew everywhere. The branch axe spear made a dry sound, begging for mercy, but Qiang was so determined that even as a slick greenish substance, along with wriggling maggots, splattered near his mouth.
His resolute expression showed not a hint of change, still floating in the sea of filth.
Truly heartless.
Originally, the flies were mostly burnt. Yet, the filth demon host continued unabated, maggots crawling out of the rotting flesh, transforming from butterfly to fly, covering human skin with a layer of black, the buzzing of flies drowning out the sound of the branch axe spear.
Jima, to conserve magic power, had returned Jenna. She looked down at the battlefield and sneered:
“Ha, this is the end for those who offend me.”
More than half of the essence of the army had plunged into the cesspit; this was the last “fortress” among the three river-crossing demon armies.
As long as they eliminated the massive, rotting, foul-smelling unclean being, that fortress would surely collapse, and the final assault would begin.
The curse had been placed.
TheChosen Ones had already surrounded it.
Qiang stood resolutely, holding the axe spear, tilted towards the unclean being.
As the Blood God’s Chosen, Jima unleashed the power of the Blood God, causing new sharp horns to sprout on the bodies of the human race, their power expanding, eyes brimming with bloodlust.
He gripped the branch axe spear, brandishing it like a sharp-toothed, long-tongued beast, shouting: “No! Don’t stab it in!”
The Chosen Ones surged forward, slaughtering through the human flesh iron net, surrounding the unclean being with a flurry of chaotic strikes. The unclean being roared, refusing to trample with its two massive elephant legs.
Qiang aimed at its back, sprang up, and charged.
The unclean being propped its hands on its knees, aimed at Qiang, and raised its rotten, bloated buttocks.
Even Jima, cold and unfeeling as ice, could not help but turn her face aside, covering her mouth tightly.
Qiang advanced unflinchingly, holding the axe spear, the spear tip aimed directly at the unclean being’s rear.
“Ugh!”
The sound was like a tide licking at the beach, the explosion of a rotting whale.
Black-yellow feces mixed with filth demon spirits and maggots, washed over Qiang.
Qiang surged forward fiercely, shoving the branch axe spear in with force until it was buried to the wrist, then pulling it back, the branch axe spear disappearing.
Surrounding The Chosen Ones surged forward, and from above, the corrupted spirits of the unclean being bombarded them with exploding decayed corpses.
After paying a horrific price, it took them a full ten minutes to bring down the unclean being, declaring the river-crossing demon army had been completely devoured and wiped clean by Jima.
Qiang picked up the now dirty branch axe spear, offering it to a Blood God warrior, saying it was given by the great king Jima, instructing him to wash it well, which excited the latter greatly.
First, he used it to chop off a few heads, preliminary washing it with blood, then submerged it in the river filled with blood, washing off the thick layer of unknown substances on its surface.
Through it all, the branch axe spear remained silent.
After initially dealing with the river-crossing demon army, Jima immediately ordered the troops to cross the river.
The three floating bridges were covered in corpses, the river nearly full, with bodies of the dying and dead floating on the surface.
The demon army was so numerous that, even after trampling, mutual slaughter, battlefield spell washing, and drowning in the river, many survivors still managed to regroup with the demon army that had not crossed the river and fled towards the demon tribe’s camp.
However, under the flanking encirclement of the Lustful Cavalry, they were devoured piece by piece. The soldiers of the demon tribe army stationed there could only watch helplessly as they died before their eyes.
Because the cavalry unit of the demon tribe army was nearly wiped out.
The commander of the demon tribe army, experienced and cautious, suspected a trap before the battle, and did not allow the troops to cross the river, instead watching from the original position.
Seeing their allies subjected to unimaginable slaughter, the bodies filled the river, their morale plummeted, panicked. The commander of the demon tribe army wanted to maintain discipline, sending cavalry forward, hoping to intercept Jima’s encircling Lustful Cavalry. Unfortunately, Jima’s cavalry had high quality and great numbers, completely annihilating them.
Thus, the commander of the demon tribe army made a wise decision, using carts as walls, immediately setting up camp on-site; the carts were loaded with spoils from Talabele City and Jima’s camp. This decision proved successful, repelling several attacks from Jima’s Lustful Cavalry.
In the distance, on a gentle slope where the battlefield could be observed.
“Can we retreat?”
John said fearfully, “She… she will find us.”
“Yes.” The Grand Knight Captain Elena maintained a calm expression, saying, “When it’s safe, you will receive ten lashes.”
“Yes, Commander, but could you tell me why?”
“You are not resolute enough; you are scared.”
The Grand Knight Captain Elena put away the photographic crystal, carefully storing it, “We are hurrying to retreat because we need to report to the Emperor quickly…”
“Commander, the hero has colluded with the Demon King—”
“Shut up. This is military confidential.” The Grand Knight Captain Elena replied.
“`plaintext
You must keep it secret. No one is allowed to tell without my order.
Yes, Commander!
The Grand Knight Captain Elena cautiously stepped back a step; she did not dare look up at the distance, wanting to know how the vanguard would gnaw through the demon army’s hard camp.
No need to look. The Grand Knight Captain Elena’s voice came from behind: in front of her, they were merely binding themselves.
Jima personally went to scout and saw the demon tribe army’s defenses were tight and highly disciplined. Truly, for this battle, the vanguard army had put in their all, lacking reserves of magic winds, unable to charm anymore.
Thus, she did not order the troops to charge head-on.
Instead, she commanded all cavalry to encircle the demon tribe army’s camp, and only then ordered the clean-up of the battlefield.
The vanguard army was roused; they chopped off the heads of the deceased and the barely alive, thoroughly pillaging and scavenging the spoils of war. Various gems, gold, magic stones piled high, blessed by the Four Dark Gods, even more precious.
This brutal battle of the few defeating the many drew the attention of the Four Dark Gods, and many ordinary soldiers were incredibly exhilarated, many developing magical abilities.
The victorious revelry lasted the entire night.
Outside, the sounds of decapitation and execution spread throughout the demon tribe army; thinking about their possible fate, even the bloodthirsty and remorseless demon warriors felt a twinge of fear.
After one night, many weak cultists awoke and discovered that they had been dragonmarked, promoted to Blood God demon warriors, while some died with blissful smiles, becoming corpses.
In the morning, they counted the numbers.
The vanguard army’s strength had dropped from over five thousand at retreat to just over three thousand, but their elite quality had increased, and the number of Blood God demon warriors surged to over fifteen hundred. Many Lustful Succubi had transformed from demons to divine Lustful Succubi.
There were also some Chosen Ones.
Jima was very satisfied; the demon race was similar to the green skin in that they grew stronger the longer the war went on. Now, the vanguard was already comparable to the elite demon army from her previous life; the soldiers in the demon tribe army were still thinking they could hold out for half a month.
But unexpectedly, before dawn could fully break, Jima’s attack began.
She had tirelessly ordered her soldiers the night before to chop down trees, allowing the shapeshifter’s followers to guide the construction of heavy catapults.
For the shapeshifter’s followers, who lacked neither clever minds nor extensive knowledge, this was a small matter.
The catapults immediately went to work relentlessly.
Because there were just too many captives, so many that Jima could rotate them in shifts, constantly loading the catapults with rocks, logs, and corpses, hurling them toward the demon tribe army camp.
Simultaneously, more and more weighted catapults were constructed.
As the captives died from exhaustion, they would be used as ammunition, thrown at the demon tribe army camp.
The terrifying bombardment lasted for three days.
Nearly half of the captives collected by Jima perished.
The demon tribe army was on the brink of collapse, suffering from a lack of food and water, and their fighting spirit had diminished.
Jima promised that as long as they surrendered, there would be no further slaughter.
But when the soldiers of the demon tribe army raised their hands, emerging from their defensive fortifications, Jima immediately turned hostile, ordering the troops to attack, slaughtering part of them and capturing the rest together.
She had all the strong captives and officers severed at the knees to prevent escape, tightly bound with burlap ropes, and pressed down with wooden planks from the logs.
She invited the notable soldiers from the army to step on the planks together and celebrate their victory with a feast.
Many who celebrated with Jima on the planks were blood God demon warriors clad in heavy armor. They would use the screams of the captives beneath the planks as condiments for their food.
Many demons and the demon race were crushed to death under the planks.
After the celebration.
Jima ordered her soldiers to lift the planks, cruelly killing the captives beneath and piling their corpses together by the riverside as proof of her victory. She dispatched about two hundred captives to spread the name of the Demon King Jima far and wide.
Finally, the vanguard army pulled heavy wagons, slowly heading towards the Vanguard City.
They left behind heaps of demon army corpses by the riverside.
Meanwhile, far in the Hork territory, the Eternal Chosen, had yet to know that the four confident demon armies had been completely annihilated.
He wore the Demon King’s crown and wielded the Fire Spirit Longsword, stepping forward onto the general’s platform.
In the sky, over three thousand ancient demons circled above in formation for him.
The mounted demon riders, dark as the summer mosquitoes, clustered around the demonized scorpion-tailed lions.
Below the general’s platform was the pride of the army, the Chosen Ones, extending far into the distance.
Further away were various demons and demon races, with mounts sprawling to the horizon. Shadows of all kinds of giant beasts stood on the ground like forests.
Such a powerful army obeyed only the orders of the Eternal Chosen.
The Eternal Chosen Marus ascended to the fifty-meter high platform, raised his longsword, and pointed, commanding: Cross the river!
Woo woo woo woo!
Countless horns of all sizes sounded, conveying the will of the Eternal Chosen Marus.
He leaped from the high platform, and his loyal demon dragon mount Mavo caught him, soaring above the army towards the river.
As countless steel hooves and giant beasts trampled the ground, the entire earth trembled, and stones fearfully leaped from the ground…
“`
