On the evening of the fifth day of the first month of the year 10,010 of the Yulan Calendar, the world was shrouded in grey. In some shaded spots, snow had yet to melt. But at this moment, Tuer City was caught in an atmosphere of terrible oppression.
On the walls of Tuer City, the city lord anxiously peered beyond the city walls. Outside, numerous figures lurked in the gloom, impossible to make out clearly.
"How many people did Black Earth City actually send?" City Lord Dele barked at his subordinates.
"My lord, the patrol saw an army approaching and immediately came to report. They couldn't make out the exact numbers. But the muscular man at their head appears to be one of the legendary Five War Gods of Black Earth City," a nervous subordinate beside him reported.
"Five War Gods?" The city lord grew anxious. "Just because they say someone's a ninth-level expert makes them one? I could claim to be a Saint Realm expert myself! Everyone, be on your guard — you absolutely must hold this line!"
"Yes, my lord!" the subordinate officer answered.
Facing the enemy's assault, Tuer City didn't dare fight on the open plains and could only rely on defending behind its walls. After all, defending a city was somewhat easier.
The second brother, Anko, coldly regarded the distant city. This time, Black Earth City had mobilized on a massive scale. Of the five large divisions, only one remained behind to garrison the city. The other four divisions were led respectively by Anko, Black Shark, Bu'en, and Geitz, each striking toward one of the four nearest cities.
"Halt!" Anko raised his right hand and bellowed.
All eighteen hundred soldiers stopped at once. Every one of them gazed with reverence at the towering figure at the center ahead. The Bak brothers of Black Earth City ran their soldiers through rigorous training with clear rewards and punishments, and they regularly spent time alongside the men.
When the soldiers trained, they trained too.
The soldiers ran with heavy packs, but the Bak brothers lifted boulders weighing hundreds of thousands of jin during their own training. Naturally, the soldiers of Black Earth City worshiped their leaders even more.
"Dele, listen to me!" Anko roared.
His voice, infused with Undying Battle Qi, echoed through Tuer City like a peal of thunder. The soldiers inside felt their hearts shudder. Such booming volume alone had dealt a severe blow to their morale. The legends were apparently true — could such a powerhouse really be something they could resist?
City Lord Dele felt a twinge of panic deep down, but he was unwilling to abandon his stronghold.
"If you have something to say, say it fast — stop wasting time!" Dele mustered his courage and shouted back, but while his voice was loud enough up on the wall, by the time it reached Anko's position it had dwindled to almost nothing. There was no intimidation in it whatsoever.
Anko continued in a thunderous voice: "Dele, surrender Tuer City to me, and I'll spare your life. Otherwise… this axe of mine won't show mercy." As Anko spoke these words, quite a few of Tuer City's soldiers already harbored thoughts of switching sides.
Because long before Black Earth City's attack, many within Tuer City had already secretly pledged allegiance to Black Earth City.
"Oh, so you still want to resist?" Anko's voice swept over every soldier in Tuer City.
Dele gritted his teeth, glaring angrily at the Black Earth City forces in the distance.
"Kill!" The shout suddenly rang out, shaking heaven and earth.
On the city walls, the numerous defenders were startled. They could only hear the countless enemy warriors below roaring: "Kill!" "Kill!"… Holding up their shields, they charged madly toward Tuer City. The furious battle cries sent waves of fear through many of the city's soldiers.
"Archers! Fire! Kill them all!" City Lord Dele's face flushed crimson as he bellowed the order.
The numerous archers on the walls immediately drew their bows and loosed arrows at the charging enemies. The first volley of massed fire saw most arrows thud into shields. A few struck Black Earth City soldiers, and three unlucky ones were killed outright.
"Kill them!" Dele roared.
But before the archers could loose a second volley, Anko had already pulled far ahead of the army behind him, rushing alone to the city gates. With a thunderous shout, he drew the enormous axe from his back and brought it crashing down upon the gate.
BOOM!
The entire wall shook. The city gate split apart and collapsed into fragments, sending huge chunks of stone flying in all directions. Even without transforming, Anko was a ninth-level warrior. Smashing open a gate like that of a small city like Tuer posed no difficulty at all.
"The gate's been broken open!"
"That War God is getting in!"
All manner of panicked shouts erupted among Tuer City's soldiers. Even the city lord Dele, upon learning the gate had fallen, turned deathly pale in an instant.
WHOOSH! The massive axe swept outward, and the surrounding soldiers were cleaved apart — their bodies bursting open, flesh and blood flying everywhere. The nearby Tuer City soldiers recoiled in terror. Cloaked in Undying Battle Qi, Anko looked like a demon god come to life.
Anko wielded his terrifying axe and roared: "Block me and die!"
The great axe whirled like a windmill, but this "windmill" was a meat grinder. Anyone caught even a glancing blow from it was sliced open. At first the Tuer City soldiers tried to hold their ground, but soon no one dared stand in this demon god's path.
Before long, the soldiers of Black Earth City poured through the gate as well.
"We surrender! We surrender!"
With the first cry of surrender, more followed in quick succession. By the time Anko, axe dripping with blood, stormed up to the walls, the soldiers there had laid down their weapons. City Lord Dele lay curled up on the ground, and several officers stood nearby, waiting for Anko.
"My lord, I am Fu'erde," one of the officers said hurriedly and respectfully.
"Oh, so you're Fu'erde."
Anko knew full well that Fu'erde was one of the defecting officers. Before this battle had even begun, many on the other side had already secretly surrendered. And with the five Bak brothers leading Black Earth City's forces, how could this battle possibly be lost?