The ravaging, blood-reeking wind was cut off by the majestic Sword Pavilion Pass. This frontier fortress beyond the civilized lands stood like an invincible, colossal giant, guarding the eastern main gate of the Kylin Sacred Land.
However, the Kylin Sacred Land soldiers on the city walls displayed incredibly complex emotions upon hearing the miserable screams from beyond the pass.
Especially the patrolling soldiers; seeing the white, winding path snaking up the mountainside—a road paved with corpses, a path of bones—weighed heavily on their hearts.
They too had hearts of flesh; witnessing the deaths of countless innocent civilians, they felt terrible.
But their allegiances differed, and they couldn’t intervene. On a life-or-death battlefield, indulging one’s compassion was rely self-punishnt.
As soldiers of the Kylin Sacred Land, they had to adhere to their bottom line and their code of conduct.
"There aren’t many beasts left in the forest!"
Great Elder Lin WuFeng stood on the tower, his gaze sweeping the distance, his brow furrowed deeply as he listened to the sparse roars of wild beasts echoing from the mountain forests.
The tactics of the QiongHua Sacred Land, the Purple Mist Sacred Land, and the Thousand Beasts Saint’s Court—capturing human civilians from the surroundings to act as bait—though sowhat cruel and Wudao, were nonetheless very effective.
In just three short months, the beasts that the Kylin Sacred Land had spent hundreds of millions of years cultivating in the forest were almost entirely depleted.
Sword Pavilion Pass consisted of three lines of defense: the first was the beasts in the forest, the second was the array of Formations, and the third was the stationed army of tens of millions.
Strictly speaking, the second and third lines of defense were one and the sa.
Thus, once the first line of defense was breached, Sword Pavilion Pass would be completely exposed to the enemy.
"Great Elder, they are truly ruthless. According to reports from our Scouts, in the Flying Swan Dao Territory, nine out of ten households are empty. Refugees roam in droves, seething with resentnt, causing even the Spiritual Energy in the Void to carry a malevolent aura!" an elder standing behind him reported with a shake of his head.
The Flying Swan Dao Territory, which lay beyond Sword Pavilion Pass, was an ordinary Dao Territory, ho to over nine billion people. Thanks to its proximity to the Kylin Dao Territory, its comrce and trade had flourished, making it a bustling domain. But now, one could travel for ten thousand li without seeing a soul.
It was truly pitiful!
Lin WuFeng said calmly, "It’s rely a case of ’the victor is king, the loser is vilified.’ The Thousand Beasts Saint’s Court, QiongHua Sacred Land, and Purple Mist Sacred Land all operate with a ’succeed or die trying’ ntality. They wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter everyone in several surrounding Dao Territories to achieve their goals. Conquering Sword Pavilion Pass allows a direct assault on the Kylin Sacred Land—that temptation is simply too great!"
Besides, since the QiongHua Sacred Land and Purple Mist Sacred Land had decided to use humans as bait, they’d already abandoned all righteousness. They wouldn’t stop; they’ll see this through to the end.
The surrounding elders fell silent, their hearts filled with worry.
Lin WuFeng waved his hand and said resolutely, "Relay my orders! Tell the sons of the Sacred Land to prepare for battle!"
"As you command!"
「Five days passed in the blink of an eye.」
When an army crossed the hundred-li stone road, the three major powers were completely stirred, and a hint of relief appeared on everyone’s faces.
Finally... no more people have to die!
They were all humans, yet so were using the blood of hundreds of millions of their own people to achieve so-called ambitions. These ordinary people didn’t understand it, but their hearts were filled with sha and pain.
"Saint Lord, the beasts in the jungle have been completely eliminated. We can launch an all-out assault!"
In the central encampnt, the upper echelons of the three powers gathered. An elder from the QiongHua Sacred Land reported in a solemn voice, devoid of any excitent.
"Haha! It seems even beasts cannot resist human flesh and blood! For being able to breach Sword Pavilion Pass, the Human Race deserves the primary credit!" Water Bear Emperor laughed heartily, imnsely pleased, a trace of mockery deep in his eyes.
"Hmph, if you utter any more nonsense, this Ancestor will cut out your tongue!" Ancestor Rong’s expression turned grim. Ten embroidery needles appeared in her hand, glowing with a faint blue light and exuding an aura of death.
"Hehe!" Suppressing his anger, Water Bear Emperor chuckled sarcastically.
"Alright," Star Venerable Kaiyang interjected, trying to diate. "The urgent task now is to attack Sword Pavilion Pass. Once we enter the Kylin Dao Territory, you can do whatever you wish!"
"What’s there to discuss? Full assault!" Water Bear Emperor leaned back in his chair, slamd his bear paw forward, and shattered the Void before him.
Ancestor Rong and Star Venerable Kaiyang exchanged a look, nodded in tacit understanding, and then said with a smile, "The Human Race contributed greatly to eliminating the beasts in the jungle. So, let the non-humans take the vanguard in attacking Sword Pavilion Pass!"
Water Bear Emperor’s face stiffened. Facing the impregnable Sword Pavilion Pass, the troops leading the charge would undoubtedly suffer heavy losses.
He wanted to refuse, but seeing the solemn expressions of Ancestor Rong and Star Venerable Kaiyang, he knew they had ford a united front.
He could only brace himself and agree!
"Alright! The Thousand Beasts Saint’s Court will take the vanguard in this battle, but don’t you two try any tricks!" Evidently, Water Bear Emperor understood the Human Race and was issuing a warning beforehand.
"Rest assured!" Ancestor Rong and Star Venerable Kaiyang replied with smiles.
After a brief discussion, Water Bear Emperor was the first to step out of the tent. Levitating in mid-air, a ten-thousand-zhang phantom of a water bear appearing behind him, he faced the Thousand Beasts Saint’s Court encampnt and ordered loudly, "To battle!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"War! War! War!"
Troops of non-human races quickly assembled, exuding a frenzied aura. They numbered in the hundreds of millions, including swift wolf clans, cunning fox clans, and the long, thick-ard Demon Ape Clan...
However, among all these armies, there was a special contingent: humans.
These humans lived within the territory of the Thousand Beasts Saint’s Court. They had been captured as slaves by the non-humans and forcibly subjected to enslavent curses, generally serving as expendable vanguard troops for the non-human races.
This phenonon was quite common: humans captured non-humans for mounts, and non-humans captured humans for slaves.
In the Middle Region, there were even legitimate slave trading markets.
"March!" Water Bear Emperor ordered loudly.
The human vanguard, dressed in tattered clothes and wielding rusty weapons, consciously moved to the forefront. Most of them had numb expressions; only a few revealed a hint of unwillingness.
Passing by the QiongHua Sacred Land and Purple Mist Sacred Land encampnts, the human soldiers cast complex gazes at them.
Fellow humans, yet so stand tall while others kneel...
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP...
The war drums thundered, their sound reverberating for tens of thousands of miles, earth-shattering, scattering the clouds across tens of thousands of miles. The shockwaves alone could kill mortals without cultivation.
"Kill!"
A short while later, cries of slaughter arose from the narrow stone path. The vanguard trod on dry bones, rapidly approaching Sword Pavilion Pass.
But just as they entered the stone path, they were ambushed by the Kylin Sacred Land’s army.
As long as Lin WuFeng wasn’t a fool, he wouldn’t allow the three major powers to easily approach Sword Pavilion Pass. Upon learning that the Thousand Beasts Saint’s Court was mobilizing, he imdiately dispatched an elder with Disciples to intercept and kill them.
"Disciples of the Kylin Sacred Land! The ti has co to protect our ho and sect! Drive the non-humans out of our territory! Charge with this elder and kill!"
In the blood-colored jungle, a powerfully built elder with a scar on his face raised his battle sword and initiated the charge.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the Kylin Sacred Land army corps followed closely behind.
BOOM!
Fresh blood spurted into the air.
Caught off guard, tens of thousands from the Thousand Beasts Saint’s Court’s vanguard were slain. Their corpses tumbled down into the churning river of blood below.
The new war had officially begun!
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