Ji Xia walked alongside Ji Qianqing along the military path.
At a distance, the sight before him was nothing short of shocking.
"Are these... the Kiu Dogs' army?" Ji Xia muttered to himself.
He was witnessing an enormous spectacle.
A thousand Evil Dog soldiers, five thousand Hunting troops—neatly lined up on the open ground outside Taicang City.
They wore clothes made of animal skins, holding long knives and wolf-tooth clubs. Their heavy breaths echoed, and saliva dripped from their mouths.
Just the sight of such a strange scene gave Ji Xia an unsettling feeling. What was even more terrifying was the unnerving presence of these upright walking "dogs," whose intelligence rivaled that of humans.
"Who can tell me what that three-meter-tall giant ape is?" Ji Xia suddenly pointed at the massive creature in the distance, tightly bound by chains. Dozens of Kiu Dog soldiers held the chains, preventing the creature from struggling.
"That's a Gold-Eating Giant Ape from the Zhouqing Kingdom. Though Kiu Dog and Zhouqing don't share a border, they sometimes fight over resources. This ape was a war prize from one such encounter," Ji Qianqing explained gravely. "These apes are incredibly strong, able to smash through iron gates with their bare hands. If the Kiu Dog kingdom has learned to control these beasts, our chances of winning have just become slimmer."
Ji Xia shuddered as he observed the giant ape roaring and flashing its fangs, exuding an aura of intense power.
"General Ji, will you be able to protect me in the coming battle?" he asked.
"Your Highness, once the battle begins, stay put and don't run around. I will do everything I can to protect you," Ji Qianqing replied.
Ji Xia nodded quickly. "The deeper we go into the battle, the greater our chances of winning."
Suddenly, a war horn sounded!
At the moment the horn rang out, the Kiu Dog army of six thousand soldiers shifted from standing upright to crawling on all fours, letting out low growls as they charged towards Ji Qianqing and Ji Xia, who were protected by the Cang Shou troops behind them.
"Fire arrows!" Left Kun, upon seeing the Kiu Dog army within range, shouted fiercely, drawing his long blade and issuing the order.
Two thousand archers stood atop the towering city walls, dividing into two groups and firing continuously. The arrows, made from an unknown material, were drawn into crescent shapes as they emitted a faint blue light before piercing the air and shooting towards the Kiu Dogs.
The range of these arrows extended up to three hundred paces!
To Ji Xia, these arrows seemed even more formidable than crossbow bolts. A few arrows landed on the ground, and even the stones they hit were shattered by the impact!
Yet, despite the strength of these arrows, they barely caused any significant casualties among the front lines of the Kiu Dog army.
Two Evil Dog generals, with their black fur, leapt from the ground with immense force, creating cracks in the earth as they soared into the air. Their wolf-tooth clubs swung with blinding speed, emitting blue spiritual light that cut through the air. One by one, they smashed the incoming arrows out of the sky, causing them to fall to the ground.
Although the other Kiu Dog soldiers were not as powerful as the Evil Dog generals, their speed was unmatched. Except for a few who were struck in vital spots, most of them managed to dodge the arrows in time. Some even caught them bare-handed!
"This is nothing like Earth's cold weapon warfare!" Ji Xia broke into a cold sweat, but rather than feeling afraid, his body trembled with excitement.
"Can the human body truly become so strong?" he thought. "Taicang and the Kiu Dog and Zhouqing kingdoms are mere small nations in the vast wilderness. How terrifying must the true divine nations be when they go to war?"
The four thousand Cang Shou soldiers, under Ji Qianqing's orders, charged headlong into the Kiu Dog army.
Despite facing over five thousand enemies far stronger than them, they showed no fear.
To defend Taicang and their families, death was no longer a concern. They knew that if Taicang fell, even if they survived, their future would be worse than death.
Thus, they fought with all their might, knowing this was their only chance of survival.
Boulders, burning with flames, rained down from Taicang's city walls onto the Kiu Dog army, smashing into the ground and creating enormous craters.
The boulders finally caused some casualties among the Kiu Dogs, and within just two rounds of stone bombardment, dozens of the creatures were crushed beneath the debris.
The two Evil Dog generals exchanged a glance. One of them walked toward the Gold-Eating Giant Ape.
A Kiu Dog soldier handed over a silver needle, half a person's height. The Evil Dog general took the needle and jumped onto the ape's head, stabbing the needle deep into its brow.
The ape let out a thunderous roar, shaking violently as it crushed dozens of Kiu Dogs beneath its enormous feet. The Evil Dog general sat firmly on the ape's head, his eyes glowing red with power.
After struggling for a while, the ape stood upright, its eyes now glowing with red light. With one powerful swipe, it struck a giant stone thrown by the Cang Shou soldiers, turning it to dust. The ape then caught another boulder mid-air and hurled it with terrifying force.
Ji Qianqing's expression changed as she whispered, "This is bad!"
The boulder flew towards them with incredible speed, faster than any projectile launched by a siege engine.
Ji Qianqing unsheathed her sword, taking a deep breath. Blue spiritual energy rapidly gathered around her blade, and with a single strike, she cut the boulder in half.
Even so, the two halves of the boulder continued their trajectory, crashing into the Cang Shou soldiers, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaving a massive crater in the ground.
At last, the two armies clashed!
The strength of the Kiu Dog soldiers became fully apparent as they charged into the Cang Shou ranks. The dog claws and wolf-tooth clubs caused immense casualties. It often took two Cang Shou soldiers to barely hold off a single Evil Dog, and they were at a disadvantage.
The Hunting army followed closely behind, splitting into two groups to surround the Cang Shou soldiers from the sides, starting a massacre!
The battle on the front lines was on the brink of collapse.
Suddenly, two groups of Cang Shou soldiers emerged from the trenches and counterattacked the Hunting army, piercing through their flank like a sword.
Ji Qianqing stayed close to Ji Xia, her sword swinging fiercely to cut down Kiu Dogs, leaving a clear area around them as a protective zone.
"Is it time?" she asked, slashing an Evil Dog in half.
Ji Xia surveyed the surroundings and replied, "The Kiu Dogs are still too concentrated. Wait for them to disperse more."
Ji Qianqing nodded, about to continue protecting Ji Xia as they moved forward, but then, she noticed the Gold-Eating Giant Ape slowly approaching them.
On the ape's back, an Evil Dog general locked eyes with them, and Ji Qianqing's face tightened.
She gripped her sword and, with the energy of the Ninth Heaven, prepared for battle. "Find a way to protect yourself," she said to Ji Xia.
Ji Xia was stunned, about to speak when Ji Qianqing had already shot towards the giant ape. Her voice echoed back, "This ape is under the control of the Evil Dog general. It has locked onto us. I'll deal with it. If it gets close to you, I'll be too restricted to fight. We'll both die. Let me hold it off."
At that moment, a Kiu Dog, seeing Ji Qianqing leave, swung a long knife to cleave Ji Xia in half!
Ji Xia broke into a cold sweat, but in an instant, he called out to the divine tree in his mind.
A silver-blue long sword appeared from the void, glinting with an eerie red light as it flew towards him.
The Kiu Dog, caught off guard by the strange sword, barely had time to react before it cleaved through his long knife, piercing his body.
The Kiu Dog, who never expected to be killed by a seemingly powerless human, died in an instant!
The sword quickly returned to Ji Xia's hand, still glowing with a strange light. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a strong Kiu Dog cornered a young Cang Shou soldier, forcing him back.
This young soldier, barely twenty, wielded a heavy sword, and though his armor was shredded and blood poured from countless wounds, his determination remained unwavering. With powerful swings, he cut down two Kiu Dogs!
But as another Evil Dog struck from the side, the young soldier could only manage to block one wolf claw before the massive wolf-tooth club struck him in the chest, sending him flying and crashing beside Ji Xia.
The power of the Evil Dog was terrifying, likely at the Seven-Heaven realm.
The Evil Dog approached, ready to strike at Ji Xia and the young soldier.
Ji Xia, seeing the bloodied youth and the approaching Evil Dog, suddenly took a step back. The young soldier, sensing Ji Xia's retreat, felt despair.
But the Evil Dog also shook his head.
In the battlefield, life and death could change in an instant, and Ji Xia seemed utterly panicked. He sprinted towards the area with more Cang Shou soldiers, trembling, looking completely terrified.