novelraw Chapter 460: Twenty-one heads
Chapter 460: Twenty-one heads
The sky over the Northern Border. The biting cold wind that had persisted for over a month seemed to carry a rare hint of respite.
With the force of a thunderbolt, Su Zhan reduced the last Calamity-level Ice Howl Lord that had been wreaking havoc deep within the Northern Border hinterland to ashes.
This marked that the large-scale Calamity-level threats along the Northern Border defense line had been essentially cleared out.
Although the remaining low-level Mist Creatures were still numerous, with the defenders' morale recovering, they could no longer pose a subversive crisis.
The battle situation in the Northern Border had temporarily stabilized.
The encrypted communication line connected, and Li Su's voice was filled with excitement.
"Mr. Su! I've read the Northern Border battle report countless times already! Unbelievable, it's simply unbelievable! In just over a month, you've fought across thousands of miles, consecutively slaying twenty-one Calamity-level entities! You single-handedly turned the precarious Northern Border defense line into an iron wall! Do you know what they're calling you in the military now? The Guardian Deity of the Northern Border! The Council of Elders has already decided that once the fighting eases slightly, they will hold the highest-level award ceremony for you! You are the indisputable pillar of our Daxia!"
Li Su's praise was sincere and heartfelt, brimming with the relief of having survived a catastrophe.
The stabilization of the Northern Border was of crucial importance to the entire Daxia war situation, and all of this could almost be said to have been turned around by Su Zhan alone.
Su Zhan said calmly, "The Northern Border is temporarily secure."Li Su was stunned for a moment before reacting. "Yes, yes! Thanks to you! You've worked hard, please be sure to rest properly..."
"I'm going south."
Su Zhan directly stated his intention.
"South?"
Li Su's voice was filled with surprise. "Mr. Su, what do you mean?"
"My brothers, Feng Jue, Liu Ziming, Xu Hao, they are at Iron Wall Fortress."
Su Zhan spoke. "The southern situation is still critical."
Li Su instantly understood.
Su Zhan wanted to rush to the aid of the south, or more accurately, to support those brothers who had shared life and death with him.
He quickly weighed the situation in his mind. Su Zhan's existence was indeed strategic-level; his movements affected the entire situation.
Although the Northern Border was stable, other fronts were still in crisis, especially the south...
"Mr. Su, please wait a moment, I will immediately request instructions from the Council of Elders!"
Not daring to delay, Li Su said immediately.
The communication fell silent temporarily.
Su Zhan hovered in the air, patiently waiting.
The reason he made this request was partly due to genuine concern for the safety of Feng Jue and the other two.
On the other hand, the fighting in the southern border was equally intense, meaning there were more prey there, allowing him to continue using battle to sustain his growth and increase his strength faster.
Both publicly and privately, heading south was the best choice.
Not long after, Li Su's voice sounded again.
"Mr. Su, the Council of Elders has approved your request! The Supreme Council fully understands your camaraderie with your comrades-in-arms and also recognizes the strategic value of your aid to the south! The Southern Theater General Headquarters will be notified immediately and will fully cooperate with your actions! General Shi Potian of Iron Wall Fortress will also receive instructions."
"Mm."
Su Zhan gave a faint acknowledgment.
"Mr. Su, please be careful in everything! The southern situation is complex, the types of Mist Creatures and their attack methods are completely different from the Northern Border..."
Li Su couldn't help but give another reminder.
"Understood."
As the words fell, the communication was cleanly and decisively cut off.
Su Zhan took one last look at this Northern Border ice field that he had personally stabilized, his gaze holding no attachment.
He adjusted his direction, facing south.
The enormous fleshy wings on his back suddenly unfurled, the dark red flowing light glowing once more, even more swift than before.
"Boom——!"
A sonic boom cloud exploded as the dark red streak tore through the long sky.
...
The south.
Iron Wall Fortress.
The intensity of the battle here was more brutal than any battlefield Su Zhan had experienced in the Northern Border.
Iron Wall was already unrecognizable. Massive breaches looked as if they had been gnawed by giant beasts, the edges still bearing traces of corrosion and tearing.
Above and below the city walls, corpses were piled like mountains.
Human ones.
And those of various bizarrely shaped Mist Creatures.
Layer upon layer, they had raised the effective height of the city walls.
Blood had converged into streams, meandering across the scorched, muddy earth.
Eventually seeping into the ground, dyeing the soil a dark red.
The defenders' resistance could no longer be described as tenacious.
It was a struggle fueled by the last instinct of burning life.
"Hold the line! For the General! For Iron Wall!"
An officer who had lost one arm, gripping a notched longsword tightly with his remaining hand, roared himself hoarse.
Leading the remaining soldiers, he blocked a breach that was constantly being assaulted.
Their eyes were hollow, leaving only the instinct to fight.
Feng Jue, Liu Ziming, and Xu Hao were currently holding a relatively critical section.
Their situation was also dire to the extreme.
The purple electric light surrounding Liu Ziming had long since dimmed, only occasionally bursting forth with one or two thin arcs of electricity to knock down approaching flying minions.
His face was as pale as paper, his lips cracked. His spiritual energy had long been overdrawn, and he was supported solely by sheer willpower.
Xu Hao's figure flickered, his frequency and speed greatly reduced compared to before.
His left leg had a deep wound visible to the bone. Although simply bandaged, it was still continuously oozing blood, severely affecting his mobility.
One of his daggers had shattered while parrying the bone blade of an elite monster, and he could now only use a spare shortsword, its power greatly diminished.
His complexion was equally terrible. The high-intensity teleportation placed a huge burden on both mind and body, and he was on the verge of his limit.
Feng Jue stood at the forefront of the three, the most solid barrier.
But even his ever-victorious Startling Swan Sword now seemed somewhat scattered in its sword light.
The military uniform on his chest was torn.
Revealing a hideous claw mark.
It was an injury from a sneak attack by a Special-risk fifth-stage monster skilled in concealment earlier.
He had forcibly suppressed it.
But it was still constantly eroding his strength and will.
The fact that these three, along with the entire Iron Wall Fortress, had held out until now was largely due to the supreme commander stationed at the fortress, General Shi Potian.
Shi Potian, an Ocean Realm Fifth Stage powerhouse, was the acknowledged stabilizing pillar of the southern defense line.
Since the war began, he had personally slain two Calamity-level mid-stage creatures and severely wounded several initial-stage ones.
Countless times, he had turned the tide when the defense line was on the verge of collapse.
But now, this stabilizing pillar had also reached the point of exhaustion.
On the main battlefield directly in front of the fortress.
Shi Potian was drenched in blood, his general's armor long shattered beyond recognition.
His beard and hair bristled, his eyes bloodshot like crimson, the earthy yellow spiritual energy light surrounding him flickering like a candle about to burn out.
This was the tragic grandeur of a hero at his end.
His opponents were three Mist Creatures emanating terrifying auras.
One was dozens of meters tall, shaped like a giant withered tree, its body entwined with countless blood-sucking vines, wielding wooden giant arms like battering rams.
Soul-Devouring Demon Tree, its aura shockingly reaching Calamity Seventh Stage.
Those vines waited for an opportunity to strike.
Another crawled on the ground, resembling something magnified a thousandfold.
Similar to a putrid lizard.
Its body surface was covered with disgusting pus-filled sacs.
Swamp Rot Dragon, its aura also at the peak of Calamity Sixth Stage.
Its breath covered an extremely wide area, greatly restricting Shi Potian's movement space.
The last one was the most bizarre and cunning.
Its form was elusive, like a shadow without substance, sometimes merging into the surrounding environment, sometimes transforming into countless screaming vengeful spirits that pounced, specializing in attacking the soul and disrupting the mind.
Soul-Devouring Wraith.