Chapter 666: Chapter 397: Heavy Price_2
Looking at the map, Yan Xiaobao knew their troops would have to split up to seize the city. Eliminating all enemies within the city would not be an easy task, especially since he needed to reach the Imperial Palace and rescue the Emperor’s prisoner. Only by doing this could they win this war.
Unfortunately, Yan Xiaobao was not certain if they could storm the city easily. The Crusaders were waiting for them, along with their Saints. If one of his troops encountered a Crusader troop without their Saint, they would easily be annihilated.
With this in mind, Yan Xiaobao assigned a Lord to travel with every group of soldiers. This way, no one would be without sacred protection. He would move with Wan Qiao’s group. Their mission was to head straight for the Emperor’s quarters, while the others would wreak havoc in the city. Their orders were simple: if someone tried to flee, let them go; if someone resisted, then kill them. Yan Xiaobao wanted to be fair to humans, but he refused to sacrifice his beasts. The Empire of Siban had already shown that, human or not, their regard for human life was far inferior to the beasts’ respect for life.
Plotting out the routes for each of the troops under his command brought Yan Xiaobao a sense of calm, particularly knowing that Saints would be guarding every group. Even if they encountered the Crusaders, Yan Xiaobao could only hope they would not be overwhelmed, as each of his armies now numbered between five thousand and eight thousand soldiers. Although the armies’ numbers had been halved, the casualties of the Beast Army were far fewer than those of the humans. Even though there had once been an excess of humans, now they carried a deep sense of despair among their soldiers. They had been forced to rely heavily on their Saints for combat.
When Yan Xiaobao placed the last troop marker on the map, he noticed how the Saints watched him with anticipation. This brought a smile to his face. He wasn’t entirely confident they would win, but he knew he had done everything in his power to shift the war in their favor. Although no one could predict how the final confrontation would unfold, Yan Xiaobao felt satisfied with his efforts. Seeing the entire army gathered and waiting for him outside the tent brought him relief. The anticipation on their faces was palpable. Some were utterly focused, while others couldn’t help but smile in excitement, unable to contain their emotions.
Yan Xiaobao recognized their enthusiasm, climbing a tower that rose above the army. Standing atop it, he gazed down at the multitude of beasts, pride swelling in his chest. All these beasts understood that today might very well be their last day alive, yet there was no doubt or fear on their faces; instead, there was eagerness and a burning desire to fight. They had all lost brothers and sisters. They were comrades and friends. Some had known each other all their lives, while others had only become close recently, but none of them showed grief. Every one of them believed that dying for this war was among the most honorable ways to end one’s life. This alone filled Yan Xiaobao with pride and gratitude. All these experts had entrusted their lives to him, hoping he would make the right decisions.
"Brothers! Sisters!" Yan Xiaobao shouted, his sharp voice cutting through the noise and silencing all the beasts. They looked up at him, their gazes filled with reverence. They had witnessed his battles time and again, and the war had gone far better than they had ever expected. Every one of them felt they owed Yan Xiaobao deeply. He was neither purely beast nor entirely human. He was an enigma—a figure they could not fully comprehend. Again and again, he had astonished them with his strength. He had risen from being merely a Star King to becoming an Eight-star King. During the war, he had even elevated himself to a Holy-level King. None knew the true extent of his power, but they all understood it was shrouded in mystery.
"We have been through so much together," Yan Xiaobao continued, his voice low, gentle, and warm as he spoke to every beast before him. "We’ve fought alongside one another time and time again. With your help, we’ve accomplished incredible things, and now, the time has come for the final piece of the puzzle. It’s time for us to end this war once and for all!"
His words made the beasts roar louder than ever before. When they eventually quieted, Yan Xiaobao commanded all the Saints to stand at the forefront of their respective armies, handing each Saint a map with highlighted routes. These paths would guide the troops throughout the Imperial Capital, allowing them to eliminate the countless soldiers hiding in every corner of the city. If the armies crossed paths with the Crusaders, they should be able to overthrow them. Some armies were destined to encounter the Crusaders.
After concluding his speech, Yan Xiaobao leapt down from the tower, watching his forces eagerly prepare. He nodded to the Saints standing before him, turned, and began moving toward the old battlefield. It was a place they had fought on time and time again. As they approached the towering structures near the city walls, the siege towers—dragged forward by North American bison—moved closer. After a moment, the siege towers locked into place against the walls, creating pathways for the beasts to climb to the top of the walls.
Reaching the summit, the beasts were startled to find that only a handful of soldiers stood in their way. Most of the soldiers were crammed onto the stairways leading into the city. The Beast Army divided itself into forty smaller battalions, each moving toward a separate stairway to push through the soldiers.
Yan Xiaobao watched as the army fragmented into segments, immediately following Wan Qiao and her forces. As his limbs elongated and his muscles coiled tightly, his body began to swell. Scarlet fur sprouted from his skin, and his blue eyes gradually burned into a deep crimson. Yan Xiaobao assumed his werewolf form, causing his strength to skyrocket. The red wolf surged into the fray, beginning the assault against the soldiers blocking their chosen stairway—the one closest to the Imperial Palace.
The soldiers on these stairs numbered only in the hundreds and were no match for the forces brimming with Kings and Emperors. Wan Qiao’s army boasted the largest numbers. Neither she nor Yan Xiaobao needed to intervene much before the defenders were annihilated; their lives were snuffed out, their bodies tumbling down the stairway, trampled by Yan Xiaobao and the other troops.
No one moved in orderly rows, nor did they adhere to the conventional rules of marching. Everyone was consumed by a frenzy to enter the city. Yan Xiaobao could see this same fervor, the same exhilaration, and the resultant lack of discipline radiating throughout his forces. He had anticipated this. The beasts now had one single focus—to defeat the enemies in their path. They were driven to seize the capital and claim victory in the war.
Yan Xiaobao understood their desire, but he painfully acknowledged that more beasts would die due to their lack of vigilance. Drunk on success, they had grown complacent. Regrettably, it was too late for him to change that now. Yan Xiaobao resolved to shoulder the regret and guilt. Beasts would perish from the carelessness he could not now undo, and this was a burden he could not easily escape.
Following Wan Qiao’s army, Yan Xiaobao witnessed ambush after ambush, killing many unsuspecting beasts. Soldiers waited everywhere, striking the beasts hard. Though the humans fought fiercely during these ambushes, the beasts fought back repeatedly. Initially, entire groups were caught off guard, with five slain in a single strike, but as their focus sharpened, the number of fatalities dwindled. Fueled by their desire to reach the Imperial Palace, the beasts began to act cautiously. Eventually, their awareness of ambushes heightened, allowing them to predict and counter attacks before they unfolded.
As Yan Xiaobao advanced toward the Imperial Capital, the army under Lord Pan’s command veered toward a particular mansion near the city walls. Their mission was to capture the Great Marshall. Knowing this man might have surrounded himself with several Saints for protection, Yan Xiaobao ordered three battalions to converge on the mansion, hoping the enemy’s Saints numbered no more than three.
Fighting human soldiers proved to be a simple task. They were quickly overwhelmed, their bodies piling onto the walls. The beasts were eager to prove their capabilities, determined to fulfill their assigned task and demonstrate their reliability in achieving their goals.
Army after army advanced together. The closer they came to the mansion, the more soldiers they encountered, but these soldiers seemed no stronger than Kings. This made them easy to dispatch. The beast soldiers surged forward like a tsunami crashing onto a beach, leaving no one a chance to survive. The beasts were too strong and too numerous.
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