Four wooden warships swayed and drifted toward the Western Legion's fleet.
The decks and masts of those warships were crawling with demons, all clamoring noisily. They appeared fierce enough, but how many could four warships really hold?
These warships were even smaller than the smallest ship in the Western Legion.
At most, two thousand demons would be the limit. If there was no one below deck, then maybe just eight hundred to a thousand.
With just this lineup, even if they shouted themselves hoarse, General Zhuo couldn't bring himself to care.
Over twenty thousand Skyward Legionnaires, and in the end only two thousand for himself... maybe not even two thousand. How was he supposed to get excited about that? This little bit of military merit wasn't even enough to fill the gap between his teeth.
Putting down his spyglass, he rubbed his nose in frustration, turned his face, and asked, "At this rate, how much longer until they reach the designated battlefield?"
The Skyward Legionnaire beside him lowered his head, measured with a wooden ruler, then looked up and said, "Reporting to the General, at least half an hour. What should we do? Should we wait?"
"Wait my ass." General Zhuo shot him a glare, turned to look at the Skyward Legionnaires on deck forming ranks, each eager for action. They drew their swords and waved them twice, but for a long moment, not a single word was shouted.
Under the intense gaze of the crowd, he opened his mouth wide, but in the end, only put down his sword and sighed two words: "Go on."
The horn for the charge sounded, war drums thundered, and the Skyward Legionnaires cheered as they flapped their wings and lifted heavy shields, flying off the ships.
From a distance, it looked like a flock of startled white doves.
Soon, these bright-eyed Skyward Legionnaires entered the attack range of the demon warships, and a dense rain of arrows shot toward them.
As expected, the gliding Skyward Legionnaires raised their famed Black Tortoise Division heavy shields for protection.
The black arrows struck the heavy shields weakly, not even leaving a scratch.
It was a scene of utter devastation—almost no casualties, the arrow-formed firepower defense was completely broken. Each Skyward Legionnaire, wielding sabers, spears, and other weapons, discarded their heavy shields and landed on the deck, fighting the demons like hungry wolves.
Blood splattered across the deck.
Standing on the distant deck, General Zhuo frowned, burped with boredom, and looked utterly lazy. "Too weak. If only there were a dozen more ships."
At this moment, the distant deck was already overcrowded. With a force of five thousand, only two thousand had been dispatched, yet half of them couldn't even get onto the warship's deck and could only circle above.
The battered warship looked as if it could collapse at any moment, swaying under the strain.
The Skyward Legionnaires, strictly trained and brimming with morale, excelled at coordinated combat. In groups of five, they began slaughtering the demon ranks.
Though the demons fought by instinct and had no will to resist, their individual strength meant little here. Besides, over a thousand Skyward Legionnaires armed with bows circled in the sky, eyes locked on their prey.
To them, these demons were nothing more than sources of military merit, just waiting to be harvested.
In no time, the deck was littered with demon corpses; casualties exceeded a quarter of their number.
Strangely, all the demons here were avian types. But in such a moment, who had time to wonder why?
"Retreat—! Abandon ship!" The leader of the demon ranks, Frank Falcon, suddenly screeched.
At those words, the Skyward Legionnaires circling above drew their sabers, ready to hunt the avian demons the moment they took to the skies.
But instead of flying up as expected, the avian demons lifted the hatch doors on the deck and slipped into the cabins.
Seeing this, the Skyward Legionnaires naturally followed them inside one by one.
General Zhuo, who had been lazily watching from afar, suddenly trembled, dropped his spyglass, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and quickly picked it up again for another look.
"They shout 'abandon ship' but dive inside... Could it be..." He frowned slightly, anxiety creeping into his heart. "I hope nothing really goes wrong."
At this distance, his voice couldn't reach them. Even drum signals or flag formations would be too late.
Now, not only did the Skyward Legionnaires on deck rush into the passageways, but many who had been circling above also landed and desperately tried to squeeze into the entrance.
Uneasy, General Zhuo gestured for the drummers and flag-bearers to issue a retreat order, then drew his sword and, with several bodyguards, leaped over the ship's rail, charging toward the enemy vessel.
Before he'd crossed even a third of the distance, he saw the warship's bottom hatch fall away—fall away, not open!
The chains had been cut, letting the hatch drop freely!
His heart skipped a beat at the sight.
As he crossed two-thirds of the distance, he saw the demons pouring out through the hatch, followed closely by several Skyward Legionnaires in pursuit.
In the next instant, almost simultaneously, all four warships flashed.
"Boom—"
Four earth-shattering explosions rang out as the four battered warships erupted into massive fireballs right before General Zhuo's eyes!
Blazing winds swept in all directions, roaring and swirling, lifting General Zhuo's white cloak as they passed.
The red flames illuminated his pale face.
Burning canvas, masts, and planks were hurled into the air, mixed with countless severed limbs of Skyward Legionnaires, falling down.
"It's over... all over." Stunned by the scene, General Zhuo trembled uncontrollably.
Not just him—every Skyward Legionnaire on the deck behind him was completely dumbfounded.
It all happened too fast. Just moments ago, they were lamenting the brevity of the battle, and now...
Earlier, when those avian demons shouted "abandon ship" but retreated into the cabin, General Zhuo sensed something was wrong. He never expected it to be a trap—a bizarre trap he'd never seen before, simple and deadly.
It was planned from the very start. Those avian demons always stayed near the passage entrance, ready to escape at any moment.
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At this moment, he could only stare blankly at everything before him.
Flames, splinters, flesh and blood flying everywhere, severed limbs of Skyward Legionnaires scattered across the sky!
A few Skyward Legionnaires who hadn't managed to enter the warship and survived had their wings singed by fire, fleeing in a frenzy, crying out.
One Skyward Legionnaire, his hand and wing blown off, screamed as he fell with the wreckage—no one tried to save him.
The terrified Skyward Legionnaires stared at the fire and blood all around and wailed uncontrollably.
The forest below caught fire, spreading rapidly.
Cries of agony filled the land.
Meanwhile, the victorious demons quickly retreated eastward. Occasionally, a few turned to look at the Skyward Legion fleet, their eyes full of mockery.
A spark landed on the fox fur at General Zhuo's shoulder, leaving a tiny black mark before quickly going out.
"How could this happen... No... weren't we supposed to have an agreement? How did it become a trap? What happened..." He trembled, screaming hysterically, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, his body jolted and he stared eastward, eyes wide: "Those distress signals just now... could they really have been..."
......
Behind the green leaves in the distant mountains, Shortbeak quietly took out a jade slip and pressed it to his beak: "Western Legion succeeded!"
"Very good. Have our scouts found any other celestial troops?"
"Still nothing, and another team has lost contact." Shortbeak answered with some concern.
The other end of the jade slip was silent for a moment, then replied, "Understood. Continue to monitor closely."
"Alright."
Setting down the jade slip, Shortbeak turned around.
Behind him stood Miles Moon and Anna Yang.
Anna Yang was still staring blankly at the sky, watching the wreckage fall like a rain of fire. Though she and Miles Moon had orchestrated this, the sight before her left her awestruck.
"How did he come up with this... Deliberately altered the warship's formation, lured the enemy into the cabin, then sabotaged the formation to make it explode... Truly unbelievable."
At this moment, even she, who had fought countless battles, could only shake her head helplessly.
Standing to the side, Miles Moon sighed and said, "They'll stop at nothing... The path of cultivators, the path of enlightenment—if our uncle ever gains power, I'm afraid the celestial army will never have peace again."
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Thank you for your support~ Special thanks to Tangtang from Xiao A's family, Danmo Zhichu, Junmo from the second floor of the Academy, That Blazing Summer, Yi Jiangnan Yi, Book Friend 140531211034493, Changba Xixiang, Wounds That Refuse to Heal, and Mr. Problem Scholar for your rewards~
Special thanks to Jiangnan and Scholar. Yesterday, after Scholar became the first Elder of this book, Jiangnan quickly surpassed and became the first Sect Master.
Sect Master~ Turtle feels so happy~
By the way, Qidian has sent a congratulatory letter. Does the Sect Master have any special privileges?