The massive city gates creaked open, powered by tens of thousands of Starstones. A million-strong army surged out in waves, splitting into four formations and lining up outside the fortress walls.
Looking down from atop the walls, the scene was a vast, black tide—imposing and awe-inspiring. Every soldier and officer was fired up, spirits running high. After years of training for this moment, come sunrise, it would be a bloodbath to the end, rivers of blood flowing across the battlefield.
Right now, Evan Chu was still lost in absorbing the power of the stars. The Chaos Qi inside his Earth Star Pellet was already saturated, but he was just a hair’s breadth away from breaking through to the Earth Martial Realm. That tiny gap left him speechless with frustration.
Gavin Wei was also absorbing stellar power. The wounds on his body had already scabbed over, and his spirits were much improved.
"Evan, what do you plan to do after this war ends?" Luna’s voice echoed in his mind, crisp and teasing.
"I just want to get the Fire Spirit Pearl, master the first transformation of Ninefold Stellar Transformation, then break through to the Heaven Martial Realm and absorb the power in the dragon scales to boost my strength." Evan Chu replied earnestly.
"Do you know who the biggest winner of this war will be?" Luna asked slyly.
"No idea. Maybe the Heavenly Dragon Empire? But wiping out the Sea Dragon Empire outright seems impossible. At best, they’ll sign some ‘never invade again’ peace treaty." Evan Chu shrugged.
To be honest, Evan Chu hadn’t thought much about the war’s outcome. Whether the Heavenly Dragon Empire could even win was still up in the air—the enemy had those terrifying Skyshaker Bombs. If they used them, a whole swath of soldiers would die in an instant, and morale would take a huge hit.
"Actually, the biggest beneficiary is you. When the time is right, I’ll tell you—trust me, it’ll be a huge surprise. Honestly, the Heavenly Dragon Empire just got lucky having a freak like you around." Luna chuckled.
"Me? Why me? Can’t you just give me a straight answer?" Evan Chu pressed, but Luna kept quiet for ages, leaving him hanging and disappointed.
Evan glanced around and realized Selena was nowhere to be seen. It was deep night—she must have something important to handle. But with her strength, Evan wasn’t worried at all.
Looking at the endless sea of soldiers below the wall, Evan felt a surge of excitement and bloodlust, a wild urge to fight and kill swelling in his chest.
Goldwing strode over to Evan and said, "Boss, I’ve completely absorbed the Mystic Ice Toad’s core. Turns out, healing up makes absorbing even faster! Now I’m officially a King-rank beast!"
That news made Evan genuinely happy. With Goldwing’s breakthrough, his own speed would skyrocket, and his overall power would level up again.
"Congrats, Old Gold! Can’t wait for the day you break through to Saint-rank and fight alongside me to conquer the world!" Evan laughed.
"As long as I stick with you, Boss, I know I’ll get there. Now, let me merge with your body to stabilize my realm—plus, you’ll get a twenty-percent speed boost out of it." Goldwing grinned.
With a flash of golden light, Goldwing vanished on the spot. Evan was itching to test his new speed, but the situation didn’t allow for it right now.
Meanwhile, Selena was already slipping silently into the enemy camp. Her body melted into the night—unless you walked right up to her, you’d never spot her. She was completely shrouded in dark demonic energy.
"Big brother, I didn’t expect Roland Lowell to make it back from the capital. The scouts said he was poisoned by Azure Nether, so how’s he still alive?" In the enemy camp, a middle-aged man asked another in golden armor.
"Heavenly Dragon Empire’s got plenty of freaks—maybe someone cured the Azure Nether Poison. Even if he did, Roland Lowell’s gotta be half-dead by now. With our Skyshaker Bombs, he’s doomed for sure." The golden-armored man replied coldly.
"Why not just charge into their camp and kill all their generals? That way, the war’s as good as won." the other middle-aged man suggested.
"Second brother, you’re way too naive. Roland Lowell’s got four Divine Martial generals under him. If it were just those four, we wouldn’t be scared, but intel says the Dream Maiden from Valorcrest Auctions came with him—and she’s probably in their camp right now.
Her strength is unfathomable. You might not even be her match. If we go in directly, we could be walking into a death trap."
"If that’s the case, I really want to meet her. Haven’t found a worthy opponent in ages—hope she doesn’t disappoint me this time." The man’s battle intent flared.
Selena was just outside their tent, hearing every word crystal clear.
"Second brother, go check if the Skyshaker Bombs are secure. I’m worried the enemy will send experts to scout our camp. If they learn anything, it’ll be a huge headache."
"Big brother, you worry too much. Even if they find out, so what? You know how powerful the Skyshaker Bombs are. Right now, we’ve only got twenty—another twenty are on the way and should arrive tomorrow. Once we have them all, I bet we could wipe out half their army in one go."
"That’s exactly what worries me. If they figure out our transport route, we’re screwed. The Sea Dragon Empire poured endless manpower and resources into making those bombs. I think you should help escort them tomorrow—there’s a good chance you’ll clash with the enemy’s top experts."
Hearing all this, Selena understood the enemy’s plan perfectly—it matched her own predictions. She quietly faded into the night sky and flew back to the city wall.
When Selena returned, Evan Chu immediately asked, "Did you sneak into the enemy camp for intel?"
"Exactly. Just as I expected, they’ve only got twenty Skyshaker Bombs right now, and another twenty are on the way. We need to find a way to intercept those, then hit them with a surprise attack they’ll never see coming," Selena replied.
"Do you know the transport route?" Evan Chu asked. If they could really snatch those bombs, turning the enemy’s own weapons against them would be a blast.
"Not sure yet, but there are only two options: water route or land route. The Skyshaker Bombs aren’t huge—each weighs a few hundred pounds—but you can’t store them in a spatial ring, so they have to be hauled by cart," Selena explained.
"When do we move out?" Evan Chu asked briskly.
"We can go now, but first we need to tell Roland Lowell that the enemy’s got Skyshaker Bombs. If he moves troops blindly, it’ll be a disaster. In my opinion, we should keep the gates shut and let them attack. The Skyshaker Bombs are powerful, but not enough to destroy the walls—at worst, we’ll lose tens of thousands of men." Selena said seriously.
Evan Chu thought it over and realized Selena’s analysis made perfect sense, but he just worried Roland Lowell wouldn’t listen.
"Let’s go. Even if he ignores us, we have to try—this is life and death, not a joke. I trust he’ll know what’s at stake." Evan Chu said, and the two of them headed down from the wall…