After pondering for a while, he raised his hand and waved at another servant. The woman, who was swallowed by the black hole, didn’t even blink.
"Although I can’t go, there’s no reason not to give this little boy Yan Xiaobao so challenges," he said with a smile. "Send a Crusader company. Let them assist the Siban Empire, and make sure to tell them that it doesn’t matter if all the Crusaders die. After all, they’re just one company."
The servant bowed deeply and spoke in a chanical voice, "He will do as commanded."
"Don’t let anyone interrupt ," he continued, raising both hands again. In his palms appeared a miniature sphere once more. The surrounding world began to twist and distort, changing colors incessantly, its shape never staying the sa for more than a few seconds. The servant remained completely silent, standing motionless, and without giving anyone orders, the Crusaders were sohow already moving within the castle. The entire Crusader team gathered together and slowly exited the castle. As they departed, they charged toward the capital of the Siban Empire. The group totaled one thousand Crusaders, and wherever they went, people avoided their path. Since no one dared to stop them, their journey was swift, unhindered by obstacles.
....
As the Crusaders rushed towards the capital of the Siban Empire, Wan Qiao soared high in the sky. Her massive wingspan allowed her to sweep over the land. She observed every corner of the Kingdom and every place where humans were migrating. So people headed toward the capital, while others moved toward the Sun Kingdom and Moon Province. Everyone seed aware of the impending war, and many appeared confident in their Kingdom’s defenses. While a few believed this would spell the Empire’s end, all of them gravitated toward other Kingdoms.
As Wan Qiao approached the capital, she located the army’s position. Seeing humans scattered across the land filled her heart with astonishnt and disbelief. It resembled an ocean of humanity rather than water. She saw humans everywhere, moving about, and as she gauged the army’s scale, she quickly estimated it to be more than four tis larger than the Beast Army. She finally understood why Yan Xiaobao focused on training specialists instead of rely turning them into beasts for one-on-one combat or duels. Despite the four specialists being lower-ranked, they could still attack any King or Emperor, though they might suffer severe injuries or even death. However, now that Yan Xiaobao had trained these beasts, they were no longer such easy targets. Not to ntion that their entire mindset had changed. They were now prepared to face this massive human army; the army appeared ready for the arrival of the beasts.
"Look! High in the sky! What is that?!" Suddenly, Wan Qiao’s acute hearing caught the voices of humans within the army. Her sharp eyes saw one after another raising alarms across the troop. Quickly, the once-quiet land beca filled with armored humans, moving promptly. Their training was evidently far superior to that of the Beast Army, as the entire army faced her in unison. They remained alert and fully ard. Witnessing this, Wan Qiao was greatly surprised. She never expected the army to act so swiftly. She finally understood what Yan Xiaobao had ant whenever he discussed the ntality of armies; it was entirely different from individual cultivators.
"Are they attacking?" She heard many people asking the sa question. But even as they stood on guard, prepared to greet her with weapons should she land, she ignored them and continued flying overhead, lazily flapping her wings.
Suddenly, she sensed looming danger as a three-ter-long arrow shot toward her shortly after. She looked down and saw an oversized crossbow, with humans loading another arrow onto it, ready to shoot again. Observing the speed of these arrows, Wan Qiao instantly knew they could at least injure lower-ranked specialists. Wan Qiao realized the threat posed by these technologies, a trace of unease growing in her heart. She swore to tell Yan Xiaobao everything later so he could properly prepare the beasts.
Giving the army beneath her one last glance, Wan Qiao turned and slowly flew back to the place she had left Yan Xiaobao. It was now ti to return to Yan Xiaobao’s side. Knowing the enemy’s numbers and seeing their variety of weapons, Wan Qiao understood that Yan Xiaobao’s assessnt had been correct. When he said that, although they were stronger, the humans must be taken seriously. Despite being weaker, they had the advantage in numbers and seed exceptionally prepared. They possessed an abundance of advanced weaponry, both for individual soldiers and large-scale machinery, which would undoubtedly cause serious problems later for the Beast Army. This truly was a fight to the death, and the war wasn’t as one-sided as Wan Qiao had initially thought. As the Crusaders rushed toward the Siban Empire’s capital to assist in the imminent war, Wan Qiao hurried back to et Yan Xiaobao. Their leader wasn’t wasting any ti idling.
While Yan Xiaobao’s greatest advantage lay in his army of highly skilled cultivators, he was acutely aware that only strategy and machinery could overco overwhelming strength. Staring at the forest where they were currently stationed, Yan Xiaobao pondered for a while before standing and inspecting the trees before him.
Although this forest was quite small, only large enough to conceal his army, the trees were evidently ancient. Their trunks were thick, and their wood was solid. Using these trees to create war machines would make them trendously durable, and Yan Xiaobao moved through the entire forest, examining the timber. If Wan Qiao returned without news of their opponent employing large-scale machinery, Yan Xiaobao wouldn’t bother creating his own machines. However, if she returned with information about devastating weapons or machinery, he would utilize his expertise to craft his own machines in this small forest, harnessing its centuries-old trees.
"It’s not as if we’re in a rush to confront the other army," Yan Xiaobao murmured to himself, a smile forming on his lips. He understood that Wan Qiao couldn’t truly act stealthily, and considering that her reconnaissance was conducted aerially, he knew she wasn’t trying to mask her presence. The enemy army would undoubtedly notice her, remaining on high alert, prepared for an attack at any ti. anwhile, this ensured that Yan Xiaobao wouldn’t have to move hastily from his position. This alone would grant Yan Xiaobao the ti needed to design and create the machines he envisioned.
In a few days, the opposing army would certainly send their own scouts. These scouts would fly mounted on magical beasts, and while far slower than Wan Qiao’s flight, they would still be capable of locating Yan Xiaobao and his army within several days. This imposed a strict ti limit of about a week to remain in the small forest. Reflecting on this, he pondered whether he should start constructing these machines now or wait for Wan Qiao’s return. If the opponent truly had no war machines, then it would be an excessive asure. However, though these beasts might be futile in direct conflict, the enemy Empire would never be as fragile as a Kingdom overwheld by wild beasts.
"So, what did you see?" he finally asked with a smile on his face. But as the question lingered, Wan Qiao’s expression darkened, and she began to grind her teeth slightly.
"You were right to train our soldiers," she said with a sigh after deliberating for a mont. "Not only are they four tis larger than us, but they also happen to possess so rather terrifying weapons that can endanger any expert below Saint level. They have massive crossbows that fire at an astonishing speed and can easily kill even an Emperor." Hearing this, Yan Xiaobao couldn’t help but frown. He had grossly underestimated the weaponry other armies could deploy. As he began recalling all his knowledge of warfare and war machines, he let out another sigh.
Weapons such as guns and other items requiring explosives were not feasible, so he turned to Roman warfare. He stood still as he summoned all his insights, then swiftly retrieved a pen and so paper from a storage stone and began sketching blueprints for various machines.
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