On the second day of the Southern Family's action, beneath the weak walls of Heishi City, a unique flag fluttered. Outside the city gate, tens of thousands of soldiers stood in neat formation, their black armor adorned with symbols of fierce fire, reflecting the morning glow in the sky; undoubtedly, it was a spectacular sight, bringing quite an impactful visual effect to the makeshift soldiers on the city walls. Under the careful arrangement of the Southern Family's officials, these bright colors did not appear harsh; they harmoniously lined up, cleverly combined according to the depth of their colors, evoking intense emotions as if immersed in a world engulfed in flames. As the Southern Family army slowly approached, the massive fire seemed to come to life, gently swaying in the morning glow. The impending war between the two armies was about to erupt.
Originally, if the president had not died, Southern Yizheng was indeed considering negotiating with her to see if they could cooperate with each other's forces. But now, since the entire "Disaster Relief Association" no longer existed, there was nothing left to discuss between the Southern Family and Heishi City. Faced with the tightly arranged defense of the defending soldiers, the Southern Family soldiers pushed giant stone-throwers to the forefront, placed two cages containing monsters on them, and injected them with a revitalizing heart needle. Then, with a thunderous roar, the stone-throwers launched the two large cages in a beautiful parabolic arc, bypassing the defensive formation of the soldiers and directly catapulting into the city.
While some of the soldiers were scratching their heads, perplexed as to why the opponents' projectiles had missed, the large cages shattered from the tremendous force. The beasts, starving and howling, supported by the heart needles, regained their vitality; they opened their crimson eyes and began frenzied killing of the surrounding creatures, turning the city into a bloody massacre. The commanding officer underestimated the killing power of these two monsters; he regarded them as ordinary beasts and only sent out hundreds of troops to deal with them, focusing more on the enemy across from them. This erroneous judgment led the army to fall completely on the defensive, and the two monsters displayed their formidable combat power, charging through the crowd with their backs covered in yellow scales, deflecting most attacks as if impervious to swords and spears; their scorpion tails' large pincers danced up and down, harvesting lives with each strike.
Hungry, they would occasionally grab a person and stuff them alive into their mouths; this heinous act further heightened the fear in the hearts of the surrounding soldiers. The soldiers' leaders underestimated the combat prowess of these two monsters and viewed them as mere beasts. Their attacks had proven deadly, as the soldiers' defensive formation began to fall apart. Southern Yizheng stood at a high vantage point, unsatisfied with the level of results; thus, he ordered archers to shoot arrows at the enemy's defensive line to create more panic and chaos. Meanwhile, the third and fourth large cages were also placed on the giant stone-throwers.
Seeing this situation, a leader at the forefront of the defense line turned pale and decisively led his troops out of the city to stop the launch of the stone-throwers. However, the well-prepared enemy archers could not allow him to succeed. The leader and his soldiers died on the road of assault, and their blood dyed the cracked earth red; their cries of death were soon masked by the new wave of panic. The enemy's tactical strategy had consistently underestimated the enemy's determination to fight, never imagining that they would spare no effort and employ unheard-of biological weapons.
When the tenth monster landed in their ranks, the army's morale finally began to falter, with a high-ranking officer becoming an appetizer for the monster, sparking the first deserter. With the first deserter, the second and third quickly followed, and more and more soldiers, overwhelmed by fear, joined the fleeing queue. Comparatively, the Southern Family's army remained quiet, with Southern Yizheng watching the events emotionlessly, unmoved by the bloodshed and victory achieved. His only goal was clear. Having seen Wang Xiaole's portrait through other means, he would not miss recognizing his son's killer. Thus, he had created chaos within the city to lure Wang Xiaole out. Southern Yizheng was also considering the possibility that Wang Xiaole might keep a calm mind, avoid direct combat, and escape from the city. In that case, it was crucial for the Southern Family to control the four gates of Heishi City to prevent his escape.
Presently, none of the people in the city could leave without causing unrest; Wang Xiaole's movements were also restricted. Southern Yizheng made sure the target could not escape and ordered the hired Dragon clan members to enter the city, searching for individuals following the portrait in each inn. Due to their ability to fly and act separately, the dragons did not take long to find the target's residence – the inn. In all honesty, Wang Xiaole had willingly exposed himself; if he had not done so, the innkeeper would have been in trouble. Though Wang Xiaole did not consider himself a saint, he knew that these individuals bearing the scent of other races had come for him. If the innkeeper died unjustly because of him, he would feel guilty. The identity of these foreign agents sent by Southern Yizheng was not difficult to guess.
Ever since killing Nan Yifei, Wang Xiaole had anticipated this day, thus his reaction was calm upon revealing himself and acting as bait. Without a word, he turned and sprinted before the abandoned dragons, acknowledging the imminent pursuit. As the target appeared, the dragons disregarded the innkeeper; one tossed him to the side and pursued Wang Xiaole into the courtyard. There, Wang Xiaole found himself surrounded by the two large dragon males.
Before battling against Wang Xiaole, they had believed humans to be weak and fragile, only realizing their error as they struggled in combat, inching towards peril. The two dragons felt the pressure from their formidable opponent and considered transforming into dragons to barely withstand him. However, the power gap was significant, and since the two had not transformed into dragons before engaging, they had missed their chance. Within seconds, they had sustained three minor injuries and were cornered in the corner of the courtyard, their lives at risk. Wang Xiaole, without hesitation, charged forward with increased force, seeming intent on claiming their lives then and there.
The two males felt the massive pressure from the front and resolved to fight to the bitter end, preparing to counterattack amid the intense hostility in their eyes. As a pitch-black long sword was about to pierce one male's throat, a black figure from another direction swiftly struck, deflecting the sword clash, revealing a dragon's tail, which shattered the offense of the sword's wielder. When Wang Xiaole's attack was interrupted, he glanced in a certain direction, recognizing a man exuding a Nation-Toppling aura. Scenting the man's dragon clan identity through his tail, Wang Xiaole realized the connection between the man and his dragon companions.
The man was the leader among the abandoned dragons. Despite rescuing his companion, the man showed no concern for the latter's life. Without a glance, he redirected his dragon tail towards Wang Xiaole. Caught off guard, Wang Xiaole had no time to evade, so he gave up his chance to kill the other two males and redirected his assault towards the stronger man. The two defeated males exchanged glances and hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement. They attacked again, but this time with less relentless momentum, targeting Wang Xiaole's backside instead of facing him directly.
Aware of their intentions, Wang Xiaole kicked backward, hitting their attacking trajectories with precision. With a swoosh, the weapons arced elegantly in a beautiful trajectory, deflecting over Wang Xiaole's head and creating dazzling sparks. As the two men failed in their attacks, a formidable sword energy emanated from Wang Xiaole's blade, unleashing sharp strikes instantly. Such an assault would have easily overwhelmed ordinary foes in a moment of disorientation, but the experienced fighters quickly made subpar defenses under sudden disadvantage, blocking the lethal moves but not the non-lethal ones.
As the rain-like sword strikes cut through their bodies, the two suffered injuries, feeling the severity of their wounds.
