Cade County City was also a fortress capable of housing hundreds of thousands of people, so its expanse was naturally vast. Due to the terrain, combined with the deliberate sabotage by the soldiers of the
The north gate stood wide open, and there was no need to worry about the enemy advancing from that direction.
As dawn was just breaking, many soldiers arrived to relieve the night shift. Typically, there would be fewer soldiers outside at this early hour, but this group of relievers was astonished to find... the area was packed with people, and the soldiers who had been on night watch didn't appear tired at all; instead, they were buzzing with excitement.
"Brothers, shift change. What are you all talking about?"
Many soldiers hurried to their positions for the handover.
"The dragon, a dragon! It doesn't have wings, but it can fly. A Saint-level dragon... wow, it was huge, like a small mountain!" the night watch soldier exclaimed excitedly.
"What dragon?" The relieving soldiers were startled.
The night watch soldier explained eagerly, "Just last night, that dragon flew right in... There were so many soldiers here waiting to move things. Look, they're still at it. That giant iron crate? The dragon brought it."
The relieving soldiers looked into the distance.
Seeing the massive iron crate, easily fifty meters long, they drew in a sharp breath. Could humans move something that enormous? Perhaps it really had been transported by the dragon.
Large numbers of soldiers were carrying bulging sacks from inside the crate.
News of the dragon spread instantly among these soldiers, which in turn massively boosted the morale of the entire garrison at Cade County City. If their side had the help of a dragon, and a Saint-level flying dragon at that, then final victory was surely assured this time.
In contrast to the mood at Cade County City...
The Liu Yan River was a fairly significant body of water. While it didn't rank in the top three among the many rivers in the Chaotic Region, its width of fifty or sixty meters still presented a headache for both the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness.
The massive bridge, built at great expense, had been destroyed by the Baruch Kingdom side.
Building it had been difficult, but destroying it was easy.
The Cardinal of the Church of Light, 'Grimaud', and the Grand Archbishop of the Church of Darkness, 'Wisport', both stared at the vast expanse of the Liu Yan River, their brows furrowed. Building a pontoon bridge would be simple enough, but with an army of over a million, how long would it take to get everyone across?
Moreover, some siege weapons were enormous. Could they be transported over a pontoon bridge?
"Hurry and construct a great many pontoon bridges. Get the soldiers across," Grimaud urged, his brow still creased.
"What about the large siege weapons?" someone below asked.
The siege weapons, especially the colossal 'Siege Cloud Tower', were dozens of meters wide. Given their size and weight, how could they be moved across? Building a proper large bridge, requiring the stone and mortar to cure, would take far too much time.
There wasn't enough time.
"When the time comes, we'll just use magic to freeze the river solid," Grimaud said with a frown.
It was currently August or September, the hottest part of the year, and this was a major river. To freeze it solid enough to allow the passage of giants like the Siege Cloud Tower would require at least a Ninth-Level Grand Magus to accomplish.
The Church of Light and the Church of Darkness had split into their respective camps.
The two sides competed fiercely. Burly warriors carried sharpened, massive wooden stakes, took a powerful leap from the riverbank with their cargo, soaring dozens of meters into the air before slamming the stakes deep into the riverbed.
"Boom!"
The thick stakes, tens of meters long, plunged directly into the river bottom. These warriors were all elites, no lower than Seventh-Level Warriors. With stakes driven into both banks, a pontoon bridge was quickly erected, its sections lashed to the supporting pilings.
"Rumble!" Another colossal boulder, weighing hundreds of thousands of jin, was hoisted by a powerful warrior, then hurled with tremendous force.
There were three such powerful warriors, continuously moving these terrifying rocks.
In a river of this size, ordinary boulders would simply be washed away by the current.
Each boulder crashed into the river, sending surges rippling across the Liu Yan River. The three warriors threw dozens of such rocks in succession. After they landed, the warriors used sword qi to level the tops, instantly creating three 'stone paths'.
However, from one boulder to the next required a jump of three or four meters. Leaping such a short distance was no challenge for ordinary soldiers.
Inside Cade County City, preparations continued apace, with various weapons being readied. Meanwhile, the Church of Light and Church of Darkness were scheming to get their army of over a million across the Liu Yan River. In the Chaotic Region, war was about to erupt.
But...
On the
"Whoosh!"
The Martial God, '
It had been a very long time since he had emerged from underground.
Suddenly, a streak of light approached. It was Faen.
"Master." Faen stood respectfully before the Martial God, 'O'Brien'. The moment the Martial God had concluded his seclusion, he had sent a voice transmission to his disciple.
The Martial God glanced at him: "Faen, for the next period, cultivate diligently. Also, make your preparations..." The Martial God's voice was ethereal, and Faen's eyes lit up as he looked at his teacher. "Master, do you mean...?"
"Yes, it should begin again. Because the one from the Dark Forest has summoned me to him." The Martial God, 'O'Brien's', words made Faen's heart tremble.
Faen knew that the deity-level powerhouse of the Dark Forest rarely involved himself in affairs. Now, with the Martial God summoned, it likely meant... they were going to discuss reopening the Tomb of the Gods.
Immediately after, the Martial God, 'O'Brien', transformed into a streak of fiery red light and almost instantaneously tore across the sky, vanishing into the eastern horizon. His speed was utterly terrifying, far surpassing that of Lin Lei and the others.
At the peak of a towering mountain within the