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At least, according to experience, that's how it should be.

Unfortunately, today, there was an unexpected turn of events.

"A thunderous roar followed by maniacal laughter—hahaha, always the same old trick! You spineless humans always cower behind your defenses, never daring to face a real fight? But it doesn't matter. Today I, Saredov, will use a power you can't even imagine to utterly demolish your fortresses and weapons!"

With the savage laughter of the lion warrior Saredov, a strange energy radiated from his body. Beneath the flickering light of his combat energy, layers of gray-white stone scales were added. Though they didn't seem thick, the massive two-meter-long arrows from the heavy crossbows only sparked upon hitting him, failing to harm even a bit of his skin.

"Stone Scale Curse Armor! That's an eighth-level earth defense spell. How can the beastmen wield such advanced magic? Summon the mages at once."

Naturally, there were knowledgeable individuals in the human army who immediately recognized that the lion warrior was using a very obscure high-level spell and called for reinforcements. However, such a reaction was already too late to solve the problem. In the moment of human panic, the lion Sword Master had already stepped forward, shattering the human shield wall.

The "Stone Scale Curse Armor," an earth-type single-target protective spell, is essentially the pinnacle of the 'Stone Skin' spell. It provides excellent defense against both physical and magical attacks and can continuously self-repair, making it extremely effective. Unfortunately, the multiple layers of stone armor are quite heavy, though not as much as full metal armor, it's still more than an ordinary person can bear. Therefore, most seasoned warriors opt for the lighter, albeit less protective, air shields, and few mages use this spell.

But today, when a naturally powerful lion Sword Master donned this layer of stone armor, he unleashed a devastating display of combat prowess.

The warrior clad in stone armor seemed to transform into a Beamon-like beast, completely ignoring the attacks from the soldiers on the city walls and the arrows and magic from above. His giant axe swung like a windmill, leaving a trail of carnage several meters wide from one end of the wall to the other.

"Boom—"

Naturally, the humans couldn't allow this killing machine to rampage unchecked. As soon as the lion warrior paused, the already prepared magic cannon from afar fired a shot.

However, the human soldiers stood in stunned silence, for instead of seeing the terrifying enemy blasted out of the city, they saw the fearsome beastman use his suddenly glowing dark yellow axe to intercept the massive azure magic cannonball, three meters in diameter, not retreating a single step.

"Roar—" Though he intercepted the attack, the lion warrior was not at ease. His muscles tensed, his eyes blazing with rage, and he roared, "Elves, humans, don't flatter yourselves just because you've harnessed magic. Today, I'll show you... beastmen can use magic too!"

Before his words faded, the dark yellow magical glow on his giant axe suddenly intensified, consuming the magic cannonball, and then with the entire axe, he slashed down heavily onto the broad city wall, bellowing, "Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting!"

The power, undoubtedly at the level of a ninth-level spell, struck the city wall. Due to the direct contact attack, without the external magic barrier's obstruction, even though the wall was internally reinforced with magic circuits, it couldn't withstand the massive impact. Amidst violent shaking, a section of the wall over twenty meters high collapsed, and the beastmen warriors waiting below immediately roared and surged in, transforming the entire area into a gruesome slaughterhouse.

The same scene repeated in different places, with dozens of lion warriors unleashing magical attacks. By the time the human and blood elf mages reacted and finally stabilized the situation, numerous walls and strongholds had been obliterated, and the beastmen's front line had advanced a third of the mountain's height in a single day.

At dusk, among the ruins on the slopes of Saint Spirit Mountain.

Chen Xuanfeng stood silently beside the War God Pope, his forehead creased in deep thought.

"What's wrong? If there's a problem, why not speak?" The Pope seemed in good spirits, looking at the young white-haired wolfman beside him, he asked.

"You know what I want to ask," Chen Xuanfeng raised an eyebrow in response. "But will you tell me?"

"Of course, it was classified information, but now that the mystery has been revealed, there's nothing that can't be said," the Pope smiled slightly. "But... where to start?"

"First, tell me what those magic-wielding warriors really are. There have been beastmen who could use magic before, and even those who mastered both martial arts and magic, but to have dozens of Sword Masters wielding eighth or ninth-level spells, all from the lion tribe, is just too bizarre. When did the lion tribe develop a bloodline with magical talent rivaling the elves?"

"Haha, alright, let me first introduce these special—magic beastmen warriors."

"What, magic beastmen?" Chen Xuanfeng gasped, turning to ask, "What do you mean? Are they beastmen who can use magic, or humanoid magical beasts?"

"Well... how to put it? Just as humans have the technology to transform ordinary people into angel warriors, our War God Temple has similar research, aiming to transform beastmen, akin to ordinary beasts evolving into magical creatures, from ordinary warriors who are insulated from magic into magic beastmen warriors with magical power, and finally... we succeeded."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuanfeng's expression changed drastically, and he shouted without regard for his status, "Wait... wait a minute, what do you mean by that? Although we are called beastmen, we are an independent race, created by the War God, what does that have to do with beasts? Are you trying to tell me that we are, as humans say, a crossbreed species of humans and animals?"

The origin of the beastmen's bloodline has always been a major point of human criticism. When humans insult beastmen, they often call them hybrids of beasts, but given that the history of beastmen far exceeds that of humans, this claim has only circulated within human society. However, the information now revealed by the spiritual leader of the beastmen alliance sent a chill through Chen Xuanfeng. As a reincarnated Han Chinese from the Great Song Dynasty, he was more sensitive to the term "hybrid" than the average beastman, hence his intense reaction.