Melting Flame Desert.
This is a boundless desert bordering Qianzhou. As the sun sets, it feels like the ending of the world.
This desert is like a furnace throughout the year, with golden grains of sand and searing heat rising up.
At this moment, countless figures have emerged on the desert. They are all clad in blood-red armor, seemingly painting the desert a shade of crimson, creating a peculiar image reminiscent of a bloody sunset.
"General, we can cross the desert and arrive at Daqian tomorrow."
This group is currently stationed in the desert.
A middle-aged man with a rugged face and scars, his eyes filled with a bloody ruthlessness reminiscent of a butcher, was listening to someone report to him.
"Deliver my command to the entire army, stay in the Melting Flame Desert tonight. Let the warriors eat and drink, replenishing their spirits. We set out at dawn tomorrow, arriving in Daqian by night. We will conquer the Dragon City in one fell swoop. Tonight, let the warriors eat well and build up their strength."
This middle-aged man is Yahua State's notorious master of Divine Realm, the Bloody Butcher.
"General, isn't the Emperor making a fuss over a trifle this time? To obliterate Dawu, he actually let you lead a two million-strong Bloodslaughter Army. Our strength can easily deal with a two-star power, let alone a newly-promoted two-star dynasty. Over the years, you have fought from the south to the north, annihilating countless two-star powers?"
The man with half-step divine abilities by the Bloody Butcher Zhong Han's side was his deputy general.
"Humph!" Zhong Han grunted coldly: "After his Majesty emerged from seclusion and found out that Daqian was destroyed and the thirteenth princess was killed in Daqian, he was enraged. Daqian was a vassal state of our Black Ming Dynasty, who would not give it some face? But then again, the Lord of Dawu does possess some capabilities.
His Majesty instructed us to prevent any mishaps, conquer Daqian, establish a base, and subsequently have endless armies coming over."
"His Majesty greatly trusts you." His deputy said, """I have heard about Dawu recently aligning with two two-star clans, which is quite strange."""
"Anything under the Divine achieves no more than ants. My campaign is actually giving him respect. Another order, when we arrive at Dawu, I will not care about looting and pillaging, but I have a single demand - Dawu must be obliterated!"
Whenever the Bloody Butcher attacks a city, there is bound to be carnage, and his soldiers are extremely ruthless, each of them carrying a thick scent of blood.
"Invade my territory and all shall perish!"
All of a sudden, a domineering voice permeates the infinite emptiness, reaching this boundless desert, causing everyone's heart to shudder.
Upon hearing this voice, Zhong Han's eyes suddenly flashed with surprise, and he yelled, "Who's there?"
"The Martial Emperor!"
In the void, the ancient aura of an emperor came sweeping over.
Chu Yuan stood on the ancient emperor's chariot. From a distance, he seemed to blend with the setting sun, magnificently driving his chariot straight from the sun.
With Chu Yuan making his appearance...
The two hundred and fifty thousand Shenwu Army and one and a half million Fire Army appeared from the desert. Every single one of them was an elite warrior. Their chilling killing intent shattered the heavens. Upon seeing the army of the Black Ming Dynasty, they showed no fear. Instead, they roared and charged straight into battle.
Chai Ning followed the army.
Seeing Dawu's army charging straight into the fray, he was stunned.
He originally thought that Chu Yuan would take advantage of the city's position, gaining geographic and temporal advantages, and choose to fight defensively. He did not expect Chu Yuan to lead the army straight into the desert, choosing a head-on collision with the Black Ming Dynasty.
An army of one and three quarters of a million charged forth, their battle cry shaking the heavens. In a split second, sand filled the sky, stirring up a terrifying whirlwind.
Heaven and earth seemed to change hue. Each soldier in this army was formidable. Even the Xuan army was selected from billions of citizens from the Xuan and Cangnan provinces, each had been nurtured by Dawu, and their strength had reached a minimum of the Soul Forging Realm.
This terrifying aura made even Chai Ning feel somewhat numb.
The united force of one and three quarters of a million men, if managed by an exceptional commander, would be a force to be reckoned with. Even if confronted with a divine, they would have to retreat. If they got trapped in the midst of this force, exhaustion would prevail and they would meet their end.
The Dragon's Roar echoed through the air, each individual injected with the fervor of battle, their combat strength significantly elevated.
Shouted Zhong Han unexpectedly, feeling the crushing march of the advancing army in front. He bellowed across the entire battlefield with a booming voice, "You've got guts to form your stratagem within the Melting Flame Desert and fight a head-on offensive war purely based on military strength. I have to admit, you have the courage just by doing that!"
"Pass my command, annihilate the Dawu Army, ensure they remain forever in the Melting Flame Desert. Since they formed up their stand, how could I refuse their request!"
Despite the Dawu Army's imposing momentum, Zhong Han was unfazed. He, in fact, preferred this kind of head-on, hard-hitting battle. The kind he detested most was siege warfare.
The Three-Star Ancient Kingdom owned the Divine Realm 's Grand Power, a potency stronger than any Two-Star Forces.
The army he led was composed mainly of soul-forged soldiers; the Original Spirit Realm and Divine Realm were numerous, then those in the Divine Realm handled the overall command, along with half-step gods being his left- and right-hand deputies.
Black Ming Dynasty, two million.
Great Wu Dynasty, one million seventy-five thousand.
The distribution of military power doesn't show much disparity.
The boundless Melting Flame Desert, at this time, serves as the largest battlefield, enough for over three million people to fight each other. Both sides quickly approached the edge of each other's battle lines, ready for battle.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Countless arrows shot forth from the Black Ming Dynasty army, covering the sky. The air was filled with the rain of arrows, each carrying a bloody scent. These were the unique Black Ming arrows of the Black Ming Dynasty. Once they pierced the body, they would corrode the flesh, a horrific sight indeed.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The Dawu Army, with the Divinity Brigade taking the lead, stood at the forefront.
The armor they wore, all derived from the underground ancient city, was modified by the Ministry of Works into Great Wu Armour. Despite a torrent of arrows raining down on them, it did not cause any casualties.
The armor crafted by the once Five Star Imperial Dynasty... could it be anything ordinary?
Even if an arrow pierced the body, Chu Yuan had provided each person with healing pills.
"Annihilate God crossbow, shoot!"
Lu Qian had already prepared. When the Black Ming Dynasty's army entered the most effective range of the Dawu army, he waved his hand, and all the 1.75 million Dawu soldiers unleashed the Annihilate God Crossbow towards the front.
In the beginning, when Chu Yuan defeated the kingdom, he had only crafted tens of thousands of crossbows for the Divinity Brigade.
However, half a year has passed since the fall of the kingdom, he crafted over one million more for the Vanishing Army. After all, they were an expansionist brigade in need of such battlefield weapons.
Annihilate God Crossbow, unleashed together, the rain of arrows filled the sky.
Chu Yuan spared no expense in making the arrows. Further, he received a large quantity of Meteorite Fine Gold, making at least 30% of each crossbow arrow mixed with Meteorite Fine Gold.
This metal was specialized for breaking armor, bypassing mana, and its penetration power was tremendous.
The Black Ming Army would never expect that Chu Yuan would harness such weapons even a Four-Star Dynasty didn't possess. After the first round of crossbow arrow firing, the opponent was momentarily dazed.
Following this was the continuous sound of bodies being pierced with arrows, resulting in many soldiers becoming human pincushions.
"Shield-bearers, defend!" someone in the Black Ming army shouted.
"Annihilate God crossbow, shoot, all arrows, fire!"
Lu Qian was not anxious to engage in close combat.
In this battle, each person carried a hundred crossbow arrows.
Under Lu Qian's command, they steadily advanced forward. They unleashed all the crossbow arrows at the maximum speed to inflict maximum damage on the live enemy forces.