The thirty-odd thousand troops of the Jizi Army couldn't have cared less about the Demon Race's reaction. They had been held in reserve for ages, watching the allied forces on either flank carve through demons and rack up merits. Their patience had long since run dry, and now that a fat piece of meat had been placed right in front of their mouths, there was no way they were going to let it pass.
The vanguard forces of the Scorpion, Fire Ox, and Divine Dragon towns, totaling eighty thousand men, surged forward under the leadership of Xie Wuwei, Xi Lei, and Zhu Qing. The three town commanders charged at the very front, their vast armies trailing close behind.
The Heavenly Fox and Falling Flower towns swept around to envelop both flanks, while the Spirit Serpent and Raging Flood Dragon towns moved up through the center to provide support. Bringing up the rear was the Heavenly Phoenix.
The six hundred thousand demons who had broken free from the Coiling Dragon Formation were stunned. The Demon Kings among them reacted quickly enough, scrambling to rally their clansmen and restore military order. One glance forward and back told them the situation: the Coiling Dragon Formation loomed behind, while the Star Boundary's armies bore down from the front. They made a snap decision and charged headlong toward the Jizi Army.
They had tasted the Coiling Dragon Formation's power, and there was no way six hundred thousand troops could hope to shake it. By comparison, the armies in front of them, though impressive in momentum, were still fewer in number. Once the fighting truly began, the outcome could go either way.
A mass charge—there was no elegance to it, only a brutal contest of life and death.
Before the two forces even drew close, the power of Artifacts and secret techniques from both sides was already erupting, blasting toward the opposing armies. The kaleidoscope of dazzling light was so brilliant it made the blazing sun overhead pale by comparison.
When the demons' attacks landed, casualties spread through their ranks in an instant. On the Jizi Army's side, the accompanying shamans began chanting arcane and complex incantations. As light flickered, a deep crimson glow surfaced from every soldier's body, while a layer of ethereal blue luminescence linked them all together in a chain.
The demons' techniques were formidable, but with the Life Chain's blessing, Jizi Army soldiers could sustain devastating injuries and still receive a powerful surge of vitality, keeping them from dying on the spot. Moreover, formation masters accompanied the army. Formation plates were activated one after another, transforming into layers of protective shields that safeguarded the troops.
In the first exchange at long range, the demons suffered over ten thousand casualties while the Jizi Army lost fewer than a hundred.
Without a moment's pause, a second devastating volley was launched from both sides.
The charge never faltered, the attacks never ceased, and the distance between the two forces closed rapidly.
From high above, the two armies looked like a pair of colossal primordial beasts hurtling toward each other for a collision.
After three rounds of ranged attacks, amid a thunderous tremor of the earth, the two armies crashed together.
Twin roars shook the heavens as two enormous dragons wreathed entirely in crimson fire revealed their true forms—one over thirty zhang long, the other over fifty. Their draconic might swept across the battlefield, and the demons charging at the front were so cowed by that pressure that their steps faltered.
That single heartbeat of hesitation cost countless lives. The Divine Dragon, Scorpion, and Fire Ox towns serving as the Jizi Army's vanguard became like three razor-sharp blades plunging deep into the demon army's ranks. Wherever their soldiers passed, the demons were thrown into utter chaos, bodies toppling, rivers of blood flowing.
One of the Demon Kings charging at the very front dodged a divine technique, only to hear the dense, overlapping screams of his clansmen behind him. His heart lurched, and horror twisted across his face.
He had assumed the enemy was outnumbered and that his side had victory in the bag, but the moment the two forces actually made contact, he realized this Star Boundary army was far beyond what any ordinary demon horde could withstand. The reason was simple—there were simply too many powerful fighters among them.
In that brief moment of distraction, he felt a tremendous force slam down upon him. Before he could react, his mind went blank, his head crushed to pulp by the blow. The headless corpse swayed a few times before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Xi Lei flicked his hand, muttered a curse, and his eyes blazed with crimson light. Demonic energy rolled off him in torrents. Without so much as a glance at the Demon King he had just killed, he plunged into the demon army like an unstoppable force, slaughtering everything in his path as easily as chopping melons and slicing vegetables.
High in the sky, the siblings Zhu Qing and Zhu Lie transformed into their true dragon forms. Raising their heads and opening their jaws, they unleashed torrents of blazing flame, pouring it into the densest concentrations of demons without pause.
The power of a fire dragon's breath was terrifying—ordinary Demon Kings would not escape unscathed if caught in it, let alone common demons. Six hundred thousand demons could only have so many Demon Kings among their ranks. Rank-and-file demons touched by the dragonfire were reduced to charred cinders in an instant.
After just a few breaths of dragonfire, a massive open space had been carved out in the center of the demon army.
The Jizi Army advanced like an unstoppable tide, crushing everything in its path. Though the demon army's numbers were nearly twice their own, against this pack of wolves and tigers they were utterly powerless to fight back. In the time it took an incense stick to burn, the formation the demons had barely managed to regroup was shattered, and hundreds of thousands of demons were thrown into complete disarray.
The Fire Ox, Scorpion, and Divine Dragon towns wove back and forth through the demon army, mowing down enemies as they went, plowing over the battlefield again and again. Unable to resist, the demons fled in panic—but the Heavenly Fox and Falling Flower towns had already swept around to cut off their escape routes. Behind them loomed the Coiling Dragon Formation. For the demon army at that moment, there was truly no road to heaven and no door to earth.
The outcome was already decided!
The Jizi Army's very first battle—facing an enemy twice their number—and they had delivered a crushing, overwhelming victory, stamping the demons into the dust in spectacular fashion. Their prestige soared.
But on a battlefield, simply winning or losing was never the end of it. Six hundred thousand demons were isolated with no reinforcements, and Yao Si had given orders to devour every last one of them whole. So long as a single demon still stood, the Jizi Army's slaughter would not stop.
As bloodlust surged, the Demon Kings who had come from the Primordial Wilderness transformed into their true forms. Demonic energy raked across the battlefield as they charged and galloped without restraint.
Claws stained green with demon blood, Artifacts blooming crimson flowers—they charged forward killing, reached the end, wheeled around, charged again, and killed once more!