Looking at the dense wounds all over Goldwing, Evan Chu felt a stab of pain. "Old Goldwing, are you alright? I still have some healing herbs here—why don't you take some first?"
"Boss, these are just flesh wounds—nothing serious. My recovery rate might not match yours, but I’ll be healed up by tomorrow. What I don’t get is why you said I might get turned into a honeycomb." Goldwing asked.
"Those arrows can only bear so much star power. If a Heaven Martial expert pours in too much force, the arrows will break, so their attack power isn’t that high. But next time, don’t show off. If they switch to better arrows just to deal with you, I might have to collect your corpse." Evan Chu laughed.
Hearing this, Goldwing immediately understood the danger. "Got it, Boss. I won’t do it again next time!"
Generals Zhang and Li were both shocked by how Goldwing slaughtered so many enemy troops in an instant. General Li turned to General Roland Lowell and asked, "Great General, what’s the story with that flying demon beast? Was it sent specially by the Royal Capital?"
"No, that’s Evan Chu’s pet. If it weren’t for him, I might still be on my way here—at best, I’d have arrived in two days." General Roland Lowell replied.
"Why do you say that, Great General? Flying from the Royal Capital to here should only take one day—why would it need two?" General Li asked.
"It’s a long story. Come, accompany me to mobilize the troops—I want to see how tough these bandits really are." said General Roland Lowell.
With that, the two generals left. Evan Chu glanced at the black mass of enemy troops below the wall and said, "No idea who their commander is, but if we can kill him, victory will be ours."
General Zhang eyed Evan Chu. Although this youth was still young, anyone who could command such a powerful flying demon beast had to come from a formidable family—definitely not someone to offend.
General Zhang laughed and said, "The enemy commander is Feiqing Yun, a fourth-layer Divine Martial expert. He usually commands from the rear, so assassinating him is harder than ascending to the heavens—because his sworn brother, Yuetian Wu, is a fifth-layer Divine Martial powerhouse guarding him."
"Feiqing Yun is ruthless and will do anything to achieve his goals. But he’s also extremely cautious—if he’s not absolutely sure, he won’t make a move."
"Feiqing Yun? He’s a royal of the Sea Dragon Empire?" Evan Chu asked.
"Exactly. He’s the cousin of the Sea Dragon emperor, and he has a younger brother named Flynn Yun, who’s now the dean of Sea Dragon Academy. If I’m right, Flynn should be here too. He’s not that strong, but he’s extremely smart—great at plotting and scheming. He’s probably acting as his brother’s strategist." General Zhang explained.
After Goldwing’s rampage, the enemy siege noticeably slowed. The remaining soldiers, now high in morale, knew that as long as they held out until nightfall, they’d survive. Firestones and arrows rained down on the enemy ranks.
Suddenly, a horn sounded from the enemy camp—the signal to withdraw.
Hearing the horn, all the Heavenly Dragon Empire soldiers defending the wall felt a jolt of relief—they’d finally made it through.
"Look! The enemy’s retreating! We’ve saved the city—well done, brothers!" General Zhang roared, his voice echoing in every soldier’s ears.
For a moment, every soldier was boiling with hot blood, unleashing earth-shaking roars—their morale was overwhelming.
Gavin Wei and Selena watched quietly. War was cruel—there would always be blood and death. Both wore cold, indifferent expressions.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in golden armor flew out from the enemy side, hovering just beyond arrow range and shouting at the people on the wall: "Heavenly Dragon Empire’s cheap soldiers, don’t celebrate too soon! Today was just an appetizer from our Sea Dragon Marshal—tomorrow you’ll see the true power of the Sea Dragon Empire’s secret weapon!"
"Shut your damn mouth! If you’ve got the guts, bring it on! Our Heavenly Dragon Empire’s million heroic lions aren’t the rabble you think you can beat!" General Zhang roared back.
"Hahaha! Tomorrow you’ll see! Our Marshal says today was just to honor the friendship of our ancestors—tomorrow, it’s life and death. You think your few tens of thousands can hold off our million-strong army?" the middle-aged man sneered.
"Try it if you dare! Quit bragging in front of me—tomorrow, I’ll wipe out your Sea Dragon Empire!"
"Hahaha! Ignorant brat, I’ll let you live one more night! Brothers, let’s go home, slaughter some pigs and sheep, and celebrate tomorrow’s victory in advance!" With that, the middle-aged man flew off, leaving the people on the wall staring after him in confusion.
"General, what’s this secret weapon he’s talking about? Why does he sound so sure he can defeat us in a single day?" a soldier asked General Zhang.
"It’s just psychological warfare—don’t believe a word of it. The only reason they retreated today is because our Great General arrived. His reputation alone strikes fear into countless hearts," General Zhang replied.
Evan Chu wasn’t convinced. He believed that if the enemy said so, they must have something up their sleeve. He didn’t know what the secret weapon was, but anything that could break a fortress had to be incredibly powerful. He felt a sense of foreboding—could it be some kind of firearm?
He kept his doubts to himself, but when he glanced at Selena, he saw she looked deep in thought too.
"Men! Bury our fallen soldiers with honor—they died for the peace of the Heavenly Dragon Empire. They are true heroes, worthy of our respect!" General Zhang declared.
Burying tens of thousands of soldiers is a huge undertaking. If it weren't for being on the city walls, they might not do it at all—after all, the walls must be defended, and leaving corpses lying around would inevitably affect morale.
Not long after, General Roland Lowell and General Li flew over. Roland still couldn't fly on his own; though some of his wounds had healed, his strength hadn't returned, and the star power in his Divine Star Core was still dangerously thin.
General Li said, "The Great General has mobilized a hundred thousand troops to reinforce the walls. Tonight, we should be safe. Let's all return to the war council hall to discuss our battle strategy."
Evan Chu glanced at General Roland and replied, "We'll stay here. I'm good for killing enemies, but there's no way a nameless Royal Capital Guard like me belongs in the war council. Tonight, we'll stand watch on the walls."
Roland understood Evan’s point. A guard with no official rank truly had no right to enter the council hall. But Selena, with her formidable strength, was more than qualified. Roland looked at her, curious to hear her opinion.
Selena said, "A military camp isn’t the place for a woman—better I stay out and avoid gossip. I’ll keep Evan company here."
Gavin Wei, of course, had even less standing. Since arriving, he'd barely spoken, his expression cold and unreadable as if lost in thought...