Badge in Azure

Chapter 956: The Sympathy of People of Significance (Part 1)

Chapter 956: The Sympathy of People of Significance (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

When the metal flying machine was above the camp, more than 10 sorcerers flew up and tried to shoot it down. Once they saw more than 10 ancient warriors were glowing with red light and were heading their way, they changed their mind and chose to flee.

The sorcerers had seen their own companions being stabbed by those men glowing with red light. None of them were keen to end up like them.

When the sorcerers turned and fled, none of the ancient warriors gave chase. Without Saleen’s instructions, they would stick to protecting the metal flying machine. Fire was blazing through the camp on the ground. Once the kerosene started to burn, it was difficult to extinguish it with water. Only magic would have a greater effect.

The low-level mages in the camp tried to extinguish the fire, but to no avail. There were too many magic fire shells being thrown down from the metal flying machine. One area could be extinguished, then another area would start to burn very quickly. Besides, Saleen’s magic fire shells had been infused with new chemical so that it would burn completely until it was finished.

Some of the low-level officers that were clad in magic armor tried to extinguish the fire but were burned by some of the burning projectiles instead. They were howling in pain while rolling on the ground.

The remaining soldiers no longer dared to try and extinguish the fire and quickly followed the low-level mages in escaping out of the camp.

They could not escape!

A hundred metal flying machines threw down a three yard wide flaming belt. The flaming belt was expanding while it was being thrown down. The soldiers on the metal flying machine were already numb to what was happening. On the other hand, the soldier that had been tasked to monitor what was happening could not help but sympathize with the enemy.

It was not that the soldier was weak. Any soldier that could be deployed by Saleen to man the metal flying machine had to at least be a middle-grade swordmaster. Soldiers that were part of the troops on the ground were either low-level or middle-level officers. The soldier killed more than 20 enemies before, so it was not accurate to describe him as being overly compassionate.

The fire was just too terrifying and cruel. More than 50,000 soldiers could not manage to escape and were burned alive in the blazing fire.

The soldiers that did manage to escape were badly injured. Although some of them managed to escape without being burned, their lungs were damaged by the poisonous fumes, so much so that they were coughing up black blood.

Nicholas was pained to be witnessing the scene. When he first joined the Holy See, his original intention was not to strive for power. He had wanted to save the commoners that were suffering. It was only as time went by that he was influenced by the others in the Holy See and he eventually forgot his initial intentions. At that point in time, Nicholas recalled the pledge he took when he became a low-level High Priest.

He had sworn to bring salvation to everyone...

Even the blazing fire could not block Saleen’s elemental eyes from seeing what was happening. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and led his elemental creatures to another camp.

The camp in the north had been completely destroyed.

100,000 spirits of the dead charged ahead and began killing the enemy troops. Courage was necessary to fight spirits. A soldier who was courageous enough would be able to take on two spirits of the same level. Unfortunately, the Sikeqinyans had been completely defeated.

The fire eventually burned down half the camp and the places where the soldiers were most concentrated turned into a sea of flames.

It was not that the Sikeqinyans did not try to put up a fight. Outside of Lonestar City, the Sikeqinyan general had led his troops into a battle that had lasted for 10 hours. In that battle, the Sikeqinyans had lost more than 200,000 soldiers. Those soldiers were all dead and none of them were taken as prisoners.

The battle completely demoralized the Sikeqinyans, which was why Saleen’s attack became much easier.

In the previous battle, the southern camp was not attacked, so the Sikeqinyans had managed to conserve some of their forces. This time around, the eastern camp was burned to the ground. The defenses along the shores were completely flattened by the elemental creatures. The western camp was also defeated by the elemental creatures.

The spirit army was busy killing the defeated soldiers in the eastern camp while Saleen let his light-armored knights chase after the Sikeqinyan soldiers that were trying to escape. He took out his War Drum of Fear and began to strike it.

Although the War Drum of Fear was not being used to its maximum potential, all professionals below grade-4 were unable to resist its power. Most soldiers died in fear while the sound of the drum was playing in their ear. Nicholas followed behind Saleen and collected the souls with a blank face.

All of a sudden, he greatly despised the Gods. He realized that the Gods were doing exactly the same thing as him by collecting disciples for their self-fulfillment.

Nicholas also loathed what he was doing, but that did not slow down his speed while collecting the souls. Saleen did not butcher the soldiers for him. Saleen was afraid that the soldiers might have a chance to regroup with the Supreme Court armies. If a large number of Holy Masters joined the army, their equipment would become ineffective.

Saleen could barely look at the soldiers dying in pain. He knew that if they did not die and managed to join forces with the Supreme Court army, he would not be able to leave Lonestar City.

There was no more time to waste. They must stick to the plan and attack Ironwall City. They must make use of the fact that the sea in the north had yet to freeze over, so they could go past the northern seas of Sikeqinya. Then, they would be able to invade Ceylon City directly.

At that thought, Saleen could not help but laugh, even though it was not the most appropriate thing to do in such a circumstance.

When he married Lex, the Emperors were keen to send him congratulatory gifts, thereby recognizing his status as a king. Surely, it was too late to regret things anymore? He wondered what Emperor Danny’s face would look like when he invaded Ceylon City.

The western camp was in complete chaos. Saleen’s elemental creatures destroyed the defense line and all magic equipment. They were followed by the demons and magic heavy-armored soldiers. Close to 10,000 auxiliary soldiers would bring up the rear.

As long as no one had an answer for the elemental creatures, this mode of attack was invincible. Every equipment or magic machine that could deal with the demons was completely destroyed by the elemental creatures.

Saleen’s War Drum of Fear was the worst of them all. Its range was more than five miles and, although it was only effective against professionals that were below grade-4, it was extremely lethal against armies. Before they could even fight the Metatrin army, most enemy soldiers had already been killed. There was an empty space within a circumference of a mile around Saleen. The power of the War Drum of Fear decreased as distance increased. Even so, the enemies that could hear the drum would still be in incredible pain.

Even if they could still continue to fight, their combat abilities would have decreased drastically, and they could not last more than a few seconds against the demons. The demons swung their gigantic war axes and blood flowed like a river. Although the western camp was not set ablaze by the magic fire shells, it was still in a horrible state.

Saleen had rarely encountered such a situation where he felt almost unbeatable. Almost every battle that he had been involved in was difficult and often put his life in danger. What was happening before his eyes was a massacre and not a battle anymore. Saleen was not used to it and could only continue to strike the War Drum of Fear so that the demons would have an easier time killing the enemy.

Very little was required to use the War Drum of Fear. Saleen only used it to unleash ordinary attacking powers. The core of the drum contained a sliver of the linked soul of the Angel of Fear. If Saleen overused the drum, the soul might dissipate completely.

In the southern camp, the Sikeqinyans were already fleeing without being commanded to do so. By doing so, they were considered deserters and could be executed. They would die anyway if they stayed, hence more and more soldiers began to flee.

Saleen was relieved. Until equipment could suppress his War Drum of Fear, his army would be invincible. The soldiers that managed to escape were so traumatized by the sound of the drum that some of them even began to hallucinate. In extreme cases, they would even attack their companions around them.

Including of spirits of the dead, there were less than 150,000 people in Saleen’s army, yet they managed to defeat a 600,000-strong enemy easily. That was an incredible feat that rarely occurred.

Lex had also been observing the battle. After she had confirmed the power of the magic fire shells, she heaved a sigh of relief. She felt even more assured after seeing how Saleen’s elemental creatures were slaughtering the enemy. Without the elemental creatures, her prefecture and Saleen’s kingdom would have been severely threatened.

They could finally focus on dealing with Sikeqinya Empire. As long as Saleen’s fleet could conquer Ceylon City, she did not believe that Danny would still dare to try to attack Saleen’s country by sending troops from Laiyin Duchy.

The person who was most devastated was Sharman. Saleen had brought her along instead of Truman because she possessed considerable potential. It was a matter of time before she would lead armies into wars. No one expected Sharman to start to vomit in disgust after seeing corpses being littered all over the battlefield.

Saleen had also brought along a few mages and since they had nothing to do, they were all trying to heal Sharman. After she stopped vomiting, she still felt uncomfortable. Lex laughed and asked her, “Sharman, didn’t you say that you want to become a great general? This won’t do.”

“This is not a war.” Sharman moaned and was too weak to reply further.

Saleen stopped smiling and also stopped striking the War Drum of Fear. He said to Sharman, “Indeed, this is not a war. Wars are fought over personal interests. As for us... this is life or death.”

Sharman stood up and panted before saying to Saleen, “Brother Saleen, we can’t kill all our enemies.”

“Why not?” Saleen looked at Sharman calmly. Sharman might have gotten a bit older, but she still looked every bit like a child.

“There will only be more and more enemies!” Saleen saw tears in Sharman’s eyes.

“Sharman, I know. This is why I built a kingdom. Anyone that joins my kingdom will live.” Saleen’s voice was calm and he looked into the distance. The camps had long been trampled to the ground by the elemental creatures and the light-armored knights were shooting at the injured soldiers with their bows and arrows.

Saleen gave another order. He ordered that they leave no survivors behind.