"Formation! Let's show this Savage Wolf just how wrong he is!" Luo Yunhai shouted.
The war puppets moved into the formation they had practiced for a short couple of months. The awkwardness was still there, but the foundation was steady as each soldier was an expert by himself.
The sky was saturated with raw power, it's volatile nature stabbing Zha Lahan and his men into backing away.
Zha Lahan was speechless and sweat poured down on him.
[What the hell kind of division is this? How is it so monstrous? They're only a hundred thousand men!] Yet are proving to be more than enough to offset the numerical disadvantage.
[It's like fighting a million veterans!]
He was better off not knowing. This display of power had him on the verge of wetting himself.
Five thousand Radiant Stage experts, close to forty thousand Profound Heaven experts and the rest were in the Bone Tempering Stage.
Such a line-up had long since stopped being a band of freaks and monsters. It was downright cheating!!
Bone Tempering experts were the cream of an army to begin with. Profound Heaven experts would be generals, rarer than rare. While Radiant Stage experts would be gods of war, unstoppable high generals.
That was where the Eight Wolf Wardens and Four Tigers of Tianyu stood.
Your common soldier would only ever be in the Qi Condensation Stage.
An army's power had nothing to do with strength per se, but relied on formations. Combining their meager efforts into a well-oiled killing machine.
But the sight of close to fifty thousand men being made up of Radiant Stage and Profound Heaven experts had this veteran of countless bloody battles and gruesome slaughters soiling himself.
[Dude, don't tease me. Since when did the world have such an army? Who in their right mind accepts becoming a common soldier with that power in them? A Venerable or an elder has a better future.]
The likes of those joining the war effort were the great minority, and that was only because they were raised in a military environment.
[But this division here is an abomination!]
Finding further explaination unnecessary thanks to Zha Lahan's dumb look, Luo Yunhai grinned, "Savage Wolf, see that? This is the Flying Tiger Army that our dear Marshal Zhuo has trained personally and gave to me to command. Do you mind taking it for a spin?"(StarReader: the character for train here has multiple meanings, including refining. So think of it as refined by fire. While in this army's case it is quite literal.)
"Z-Zhuo Fan's soldiers!"
Zha Lahan's mouth fell, not liking his situation one bit, "Damn you Zhuo Fan! Keep your freakiness to yourself, don't spread it around! How did he train them? And how the hell am I supposed to win?!"
Taking a deep breath to gather a semblance of reason, he shouted, "Fall back!"
Like a good wolf, he led by example, taking flight first.
The Quanrong soldiers were still out of it. The sight of the savage and brash great general Zha Lahan fleeing in panic was a first for them.
Moments later, they followed suit. For even the general to abandon ship, it only went to show that the enemy was far above their station.
This had never happened to the Quanrong army before and by god, was it embarrassing.
Luo Yunhai smiled and shouted, "A team of hundred Radiant Stage experts is to go get me that Savage Wolf. Crush the rest!"
"Yes, sir!"
With a brief salute, they got to work.
Like demons from hell, Luo Yunhai's men dove into the Savage Wolf's division. And all they had was but a crushing advantage in terms of cultivation to initiate the culling.
The sky sang with the mournful cries of the defeated. Savage Wolf lost half his men in a jiffy.
Though the fleeing general had a big part to play, the division had lost the will to hold their formation.
Not that it would have made much of a difference. The war puppets would still cut through them…
Zha Lahan sped like a wild beast, an exercise in futility against Radiant Stage experts. They still caught up.
Zha Lahan was devastated.
These experts weren't just many in numbers, they even had wings. How was he supposed to even escape?
[Rotten piece of filth, Zhuo Fan, how filthy rich are you? Did you feed them money as training?]
There was no way out.
Zha Lahan sighed at the sky, finding heaven against him.
What should've been an easy job laying in wait for rats to swarm the camp, those little rats turned on him like tigers.
Now he'd be chewed down to nothing. He should've let someone else take this job.
Hindsight never was much help to anyone, not in his position at least. All that was left for him was to go down in a blaze of glory.
Zha Lahan exploded with power, "I am one of the Eight Wolf Wardens, my strength divine, tearing at spiritual beasts for as long as I can remember and the best warrior in Quanrong. Come and get me!"
His audience chuckled with a playful look.
Zhuo Fan had refined these war puppets. Besides the soul, every single cell had gone through inhuman refining. [Let's see you tear steel!]
One war puppet shot towards him. Zha Lahan grabbed him and pulled.
Crack!
The snapping of bones was music to his ears. When teammates saw one of them getting torn apart, they'd be wrecked with fear thinking they'd be next.
No matter how many they were, the panic would leave room for error and a way out.
But his smile was short lived, disillusioned with his plan.
His arms hung powerless from his shoulders. That snapping sound had come from his arms.
Zha Lahan watched him with shock, "Dude, you're a body cultivating expert?"
"Never done it in my life. This steel body is courtesy of Steward Zhuo, to all of us. All that raw power won't do you good here. You won't be tearing anything!" he laughed.
Zha Lahan was dumbstruck, watching the hundred men with an ashen face.
The grand numero uno Quanrong warrior just got kicked a hundred paces back in Tianyu, [Scratch that, a hundred thousand.]
Zha Lahan made such a funny face, like a kicked puppy, "Is Luo clan… a realm of freaks? Why are you all so damn abnormal…"
The others laughed in pride. It was finally their turn to mess with others. [This is the feeling of strength.]
They sealed Zha Lahan's cultivation, making him captive.
Back at the battlefield, the three wolves watched their camp with worry. The wails and cries weren't helping either.
Though it did bring a smile to the tigers.
"Howling Wind Wolf, leave it to us and go save Commander!" Zhe Bie said.
Howling Wind Wolf nodded, just as he heard Dugu Feng's mockery, "Too little too late. But by all means, go for it, you'll just find your dear Commander Touba in fifth's chains. You'll only be making it easier for us, going there to surrender. This battle is our win!"
"Don't bet on it!"
The wolves turned towards the voice in shock, "T-the Commander?"
Men made way for the incoming Slaughter Wolf's division. Next to him was a man in a deputy's clothes. Taking off his helmet, the Grand Commander of the Quanrong army revealed his location.
Around him were Touba Lian'er and his guards.
"Tuoba Tieshan, so that's where you are!" Dugu Feng cried.
Tuoba Tieshan nodded in pride, "I've studied Zhuo Fan's style and know he is good at using tricks. And since you're at a disadvantage, the only way to win is by taking the head. That being said, I laid an ambush in my place at the camp. And just like I figured, you went for it."
Dugu Feng fell silent.
Zhe Bie and the other two were lost. Slaughter Wolf explained, "The deployment of all Eight Wolf Wardens was a ruse. Commander and young miss had been by my side while the young master was the stand in to draw your attention. While Zha Lahan's division was fake, he was in fact waiting to spring the trap on the camp. Everything went just like Commander anticipated. This way their strength will fall and taking Windgaze City will be even easier."
This explanation shed light on the situation while filling the wardens with utmost respect for Tuoba Tieshan.
It was then that a flash of fire covered the sky, unleashing a monumental explosion and adding its own, particular, light to the battlefield…