Chapter 585: Central Army
The north gate of Hangu Pass slowly opened amidst the roar of the winches, the sound of the gate hinges turning as deep as muffled thunder.
As soon as the gate opened, twenty mammoth war elephants rushed out, each step of their hooves causing the rubble inside the city gate to bounce.
Three third-stage awakened beings stood on the back of each mammoth; some had already drawn their longbows, while others raised their staffs. The swaying of the mammoths' backs seemed to have no effect on their spellcasting rhythm.
"Ready! Front left, fire!"
A third-rank archer on the elephant's back gave a low shout, drew his longbow to its fullest extent, and released three flaming arrows at the same time.
The first arrow, trailing a fiery red flame, pierced the heart of a disciple who had recently acquired mastery of cultivation. The second arrow followed closely behind, disappearing into the crowd and exploding into a wave of fire. The third arrow pierced through three more people, pinning the last servant disciple to the ground and killing him instantly.
The archer didn't stop; he drew the bowstring again, and the enchanted arrow hummed on the string.
"Master, keep up!"
The third-level mage on the back of another mammoth raised his staff, and the air around him suddenly turned cold.
He pointed towards the most concentrated area of deserters, and ice spikes poured down from the void, impaling dozens of menial disciples on the ground.
Some people screamed and rolled around, clutching their frostbitten arms, but before they could crawl a few steps, the mammoth war elephants had already trampled over them.
The massive elephant leg crushed the fallen man, blood and flesh mingling with ice shards.
"Rear team! Block the way with fire walls!" another third-tier mage shouted in a deep voice.
The staff struck the elephant's back, and several blazing walls of fire spread horizontally from the left front to the right front, with flames leaping five meters high.
The few disciples at the front couldn't stop and screamed as they crashed into the wall of fire, tumbling out as if they were already burning.
Just then, the rhythm of the ground tremors suddenly changed.
More than 10,000 Knights Templar charged out of the city gates in formation, their silver armor and white horses, their chests emblazoned with the Holy Cross, like a silvery-white tsunami surging out of the city gates.
The knights at the forefront simultaneously shone with holy light, and pale golden holy flames ignited from the tips of their spears.
"Holy Light Charge!"
"For the Lord!"
"kill!"
Tens of thousands of lances were laid flat at the same time, and the silver stream of light crashed into the torrent of deserters from the Demon Sect.
A servant disciple was pierced through the back by a spear, his body thrown into the air, and the bloody hole exploded open.
The second rider stepped over the fallen corpses and continued forward.
The third rider swept his spear, the holy flames whipping like a lash, leaving the two menial disciples with torn skin and blood, rolling in pools of blood.
"Keep formation! Don't scatter!"
"Third team, cut to the right! Block those heading west!"
A warhorse suddenly reared up in a gallop, kicking a demonic sect disciple who was lunging at it from the side. The man's chest caved in, and he flew several meters before crashing into the chaotic army.
Another knight spurred his horse on with one hand, thrusting his lance diagonally into the ground with his right. Using the momentum of the charge, he pierced up a servant disciple who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, and flung him into the crowd to his side, knocking down a group of people.
Wherever the silver torrent of steel passed, the ground was trampled into mud. The formation of the demonic sect disciples was completely shattered, and even organized teams ceased to exist, leaving only scattered cries and screams.
Immediately afterwards, tens of thousands of Qin elite soldiers and two hundred thousand Qin garrison troops poured out of the city, their black armor spreading across the wilderness like a tide.
Unlike the Templars who charged at high speed, they advanced in orderly square formations.
Wherever the formation went, the fleeing demonic sect servants were swept away in droves.
Outside the city, the wilderness was littered with abandoned Flying Tiger Rope Winch Chariots and Three Fiends Cloud Piercing Crossbows.
Some tanks were still in the position they were in before launch, with their winches half-loose and their grappling hooks still attached to the crenellations of the city wall.
More ballistae were overturned on the ground, and giant iron arrows were scattered around the wheels.
The disciples of the Demonic Sect stumbled past these enormous creatures like ants scattered by a flood, their clothes torn and their bodies covered in blood and mud.
Several squads of Templar Knights galloped across a ravaged battlefield. A young knight reined in his horse, his eyes shining with astonishing brilliance as he gazed at the row of abandoned, massive siege engines.
"My God, the Flying Tiger Rope and the Three Fiends Cloud Piercing Crossbow—we couldn't make these things ourselves, and now they're all ours!"
His companions gathered around, clicking their tongues in amazement: "What a haul this battle has been!"
"Don't be so quick to celebrate," the third knight urged his horse forward, glancing at the chariots. "Whether these big machines are usable or not needs to be inspected by the logistics team. Make sure they're not broken."
The young knight laughed heartily: "Don't worry, we can repair even the orcs' battering rams, let alone these. Let's go, let's chase after them!"
After he finished speaking, he spurred the horse, and the warhorse neighed loudly and charged forward again.
The silver-armored knights behind them followed one after another, and the sound of hooves echoed across the open field once again.
...
Fifty li north of Hangu Pass.
The Blood Abyss Demon Sect's central army was arrayed here, with 100,000 outer disciples and 300,000 miscellaneous disciples arranged in dozens of square formations, and 500 Xuanjia Horned Rhinoceroses lined up in front of the formation.
Behind the central army, several grandmasters who remained suspended in mid-air stared grimly at the approaching plume of dust on the southern horizon.
The routed troops arrived first.
The first to rush back were fewer than three thousand innate inner disciples.
These innate masters, who were usually aloof and looked down on everyone, had lost all dignity at this moment.
Some people had disheveled hair and their robes were torn to shreds. They ran while looking back, their eyes filled with terror.
Some of them had long since lost their weapons and were running at the front bare-handed. Even their once-proud Blood Shadow Step was now crooked and they almost fell several times.
"Get out of the way! Get out of my way!" A master of innate cultivation rushed to the front of the central army formation, punched down two outer disciples blocking his way, forcefully blasted a gap in the crowd, and then disappeared into the rear without looking back.
Following them were the newly initiated disciples and the remaining outer disciples.
Of the 200,000 outer disciples, less than 100,000 remain. Everyone is wounded and stained with blood, like sheep chased by wolves for three days and three nights, wishing they had two more legs.
Beyond that, there were endless rows of menial disciples.
Half of the 500,000 men were killed or wounded. The survivors scrambled to the sides of the central army, their cries, shouts, and curses mingling together. Morale had completely collapsed.
The masters left behind in the central army had ashen faces.
"Damn it! How could the vanguard collapse so quickly!"
"We can't worry about that now! The Nightmare Realm's army is catching up!"
A grandmaster took a deep breath, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.
"Order the central army to charge! Horned rhinoceros in front, all troops advance!"
The mournful sound of the bugle rang out.
Five hundred armored rhinoceroses charged out first, their hooves thundering as they pounded the ground, their massive horns pointing straight south.
One hundred thousand outer disciples and three hundred thousand miscellaneous disciples followed closely behind the rhinoceros herd, pressing towards the pursuing troops of Feng Huo Territory like a flood.
The central army's charging formation was thicker and denser than the vanguard's. The Blood Fiend Formation enveloped everyone in a layer of red light, making them look like a blood-red giant wave several miles wide from afar.
On the opposite side, the army of Feng Huo Territory also arrived.
Twenty mammoth war elephants lined up in a row, with the three awakened beings on their backs displaying stern faces.
Fifteen thousand Templar Knights, clad in silver armor and riding white horses, lances held high, and three hundred thousand Qin garrison soldiers and ninety thousand Qin elite warriors spread out like a tide, a dark mass that covered half the plain.
Two waves collided violently on the open wilderness.