At the inner city gates, Yang Xingwu’s Cyan Silk Domain expanded. Cyan silk danced in the air, silently piercing through the bodies of mortal demons. Meng Chuan transformed into lightning and roamed the area. When he passed an area, a black baneful aura spread out. Although the baneful aura was too dispersed and it had reduced power, it still froze the mortal demons into ice sculptures. All of them froze to death.
Swoosh.
Following that, Meng Chuan took a step forward and transformed into a bolt of lightning that shot into the sky. He arrived at the inner city walls.
“Ah Chuan.” The flames around Liu Qiyue converged as she welcomed him.
“Are you alright?” Meng Chuan had noticed many second Firmament demon monarchs rushing towards Qiyue.
“They were all second Firmament demon monarchs. Furthermore, Senior Brother Fan was here,” said Liu Qiyue with a smile. “With Senior Brother Fan standing there, they can’t even approach me.”
“Haha, you flatter me too much.” The plump Fan Cheng placed the large shield on his back. He held the hammer in his hand and said with a smile, “A few third Firmament demon monarchs aren’t my match. As for a group of second Firmament demon monarchs, there’s nothing to boast about bullying them. Junior Brother Meng, you were truly awesome. You instantly killed five third Firmament demon monarchs while fighting a group of them.”
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Zhang Yunhu, Yang Xingwu, Yu Chiyan, Shi Xiu, and Mu Qing slowly landed on the city wall thanks to the Cyan Silk Domain.
“Junior Brother Meng, you are probably the only one who can ascend North River Pass’s walls with a single jump,” said Zhang Yunhu with a smile.
“Junior Brother Meng arrived on the city wall with a whoosh! If the demon monarchs can come up with a whoosh, we’ll be in big trouble,” said Shi Xiu with a relaxed smile.
“Only human Godfiends who cultivate the Lightning Devastator Fiend Body can be this awesome. It’s extremely rare among the demons,” said Zhang Yunhu with a chuckle. “Everyone did well this time. Alright, go back and get some rest.”
“Alright. Time to take a bath.” Fan Cheng smiled as he carried the hammer and turned to leave.
“I need a drink before having a good nap.” Shi Xiu smiled as he left. The others left as well.
It was enough for the ordinary Godfiends to deal with the cleaning up. There was no need for them.
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue were in no hurry to return because this was their first time on the battlefield. They had yet to calm down.
“General.”
“General.”
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue walked through the tunnel connecting the inner and outer city pass. Many soldiers were extremely reverent as they bowed respectfully.
These ordinary soldiers addressed the nine deputy generals as generals.
“This is the battlefield.” Liu Qiyue looked at the empty area between the inner and outer city pass. It had long transformed into a sea of fire. Godfiends were slaughtering the demons.
“If we can’t stop them, it will be the demons slaughtering humans,” said Meng Chuan.
“Yes, Eastcalm Prefecture. Back then, the demons slaughtered humans wantonly,” said Liu Qiyue. The invasion had changed her greatly.
The duo watched as they walked.
When they arrived at the outer city walls, their expressions changed slightly.
A soldier hugged his leg and groaned in pain. One of his legs was gone. There were also soldiers covering their abdomens. There were bloody holes in their abdomens... There were many injured soldiers. Some were treating the wounds simply. They still needed to wait for the doctors!
There were also many soldiers lying there motionless. They had died, and other soldiers were moving the corpses.
“General,” said an officer at the Core Condensation realm.
“How were the losses this time?” Meng Chuan asked, seemingly calm.
“We haven’t finished counting,” said the officer respectfully. “According to the initial estimates, there are about 800 soldiers who died in the battle. More than 2,000 of them were injured. A small number of injured soldiers will not be able to survive. Some of them will be crippled. Only a small number can be completely cured.”
“That many?” Liu Qiyue asked. “There should have been less than a thousand demons that reached the outer city pass.”
She looked around and realized the battlefield’s casualties.
The officer said respectfully, “Yes, there was indeed less than a thousand. However, almost all the demons that reached the outer city pass have the strength of greater demons. More than 70 percent of our soldiers are at the Marrow Cleansing realm. Twenty percent of them are at the Mortal Shedding realm. Only five percent have reached the Seamless realm. No matter how well-prepared we are, we will still suffer losses in a chaotic battle.”
When Zhang Yunhu came over and saw this scene, he waved his hand and instructed, “Go do what you need to do.”
“Yes, General.” The officer respectfully retreated.
Zhang Yunhu looked at the corpses that were being moved. He asked calmly, “Find it unacceptable?”
“About 2000 people died or were crippled in battle,” Meng Chuan asked. “We should have won a great victory this time. Why are the losses still so great?”
Zhang Yunhu nodded. “What can we do when the demons don’t care for their lives? We’ve already used all our strength to block all the demon monarchs. Only a few mortal demons can reach the outer city pass. There are fewer than a thousand demons that can reach the city walls. To have less than a thousand reach the outer city pass out of more than a hundred thousand demons, we’ve achieved a huge victory because we suffered very little losses.”
“Very little losses?” Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue were stunned.
“It’s indeed considered a small loss. Last year, North River Pass suffered two attacks from the demons. The ones who died and were crippled to be unfit for combat totaled 11,000 people,” said Zhang Yunhu. “At the end of last year, our North River Pass had 11,00 new recruits.”
Meng Chuan was stunned.
Last year, they suffered two attacks, and each attack averaged a loss of 5000 soldiers. Of course, many of them were crippled and unfit for combat. However, this was shocking.
“A mortal soldier serves for five years,” said Zhang Yunhu. “In fact, over half of them die. The remaining are mostly crippled. Only 20 percent can live in peace! Either they are strong enough to reach the Seamless realm, or they are veterans with rich experience. Many veteran soldiers have taken the initiative to extend their military service. Some even spend 20 years here. Apart from a small number who are honing their strength, most of them wish to reduce the losses of recruits.”
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue fell silent.
“As Godfiends, all we need to do is block the demon monarchs, including those third Firmament demon monarchs,” said Zhang Yunhu. “If we can hold on, only a portion of our soldiers will suffer casualties. If we can’t hold them back, not only will North River Pass turn into ruins, but hundreds of thousands of people will die. These demons will run in all directions, causing millions of people to perish.
“We have to fend them off every time. However, the demons aren’t stupid. They glean information from the battles. For example, Meng Chuan, your strength caught them off guard. That led to a great victory, but they immediately retreated. When they attack again, I’m afraid they will have a way to deal with you,” said Zhang Yunhu. “An invasion is a battle of wits and bravery! Although we are very cautious, we will lose our lives once we make a mistake.
“For example, although Fan Cheng was present when the second-Firmament demon monarchs attacked the city wall, he is unable to split himself. The other ordinary Godfiends also tried their best to stop the demon monarchs. This time, three of them were seriously injured, not to mention the minor injuries,” said Zhang Yunhu. “Thankfully, Godfiends have strong vitality. They can be healed. If the demon attack were any more intense, the Godfiends might die in battle if the attack went on.”
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue nodded. Their expressions became even more serious.
“Too many Godfiends have been lost in the past few years. Last year, 27 Archean Mountain Godfiends died in battle,” said Zhang Yunhu.
“Last year, Scholartree City Pass was breached,” said Meng Chuan.
“In the future, there might be other city passes that are breached,” said Zhang Yunhu. “Did you realize that over the years, the number of Archean Mountain Godfiends that die in battle is almost increasing year-on-year?”
Meng Chuan nodded. “The situation is indeed getting worse.”
“I’m afraid it won’t take more than a few years before the quota for new-disciple recruitment will increase,” said Zhang Yunhu. “It’s possible they will recruit 30 or 40 people every year.”
Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue were in deep thought.
Twenty spots per year was an old rule in Archean Mountain’s history. This was because Archean Mountain had formed a balance between accumulating and expending resources. If there were too many disciples, the expenditure would be too great. One day, the resources would be completely insufficient. For example, the Godfiend Blood Pool’s powers would be completely expended.
“Although we suffered significant losses, our battle results are even more obvious,” said Zhang Yunhu. “For example, we killed ten third Firmament demon monarchs and 63 second Firmament demon monarchs! There were even more mortal demons! Although the demons are much stronger than us, they immediately retreated after we killed ten third Firmament demon monarchs. They also feel the pain.
“They aren’t endless. If we kill enough of them, they will feel the pain and be afraid enough to retreat.” Zhang Yunhu smiled. “Of course, the greatest contribution this time isn’t about killing demon monarchs but to defend North River Pass. We managed to protect the people on this land.
“As long as we hold on, people can procreate. As long as we persist, we will definitely win,” said Zhang Yunhu, his eyes filled with anticipation. “One day, humans will give birth to incomparably powerful Godfiends. Maybe the World Entrances will suddenly disappear. Since they can suddenly appear, they can also disappear. There are many other possibilities.
“As long as we hold on, there’s hope.” Zhang Yunhu looked at Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue and smiled. “Alright, I’ll go get some rest. I’ll have to recuperate my old arms and legs. That way, I can hold out for a few more years.” Then, he turned and left.