Page 626

"I am the Orc King, I need no allies. You have only two choices: submit or resist." Chen Xuanfeng had long intended to establish his authority and had no interest in reasoning with them. His army did not pause to observe but launched an attack directly.

In just half an hour, the Hamster army camp, composed of 40,000 main forces and 80,000 laborers, was completely flattened. The seventeen layers of defensive barriers the legion took pride in were utterly unable to withstand the edge of the Verdant Frost Legion, shattering completely after a few maneuvers. The legion's leader was captured on the spot, and almost none of the high-ranking officers escaped.

Next, Chen Xuanfeng's forces pressed on without pause, targeting the three legions confronting the Hamster army—the Lynx Clan, White Raccoon Clan, and Stonecat Clan. Though only the Lynx Clan was considered first-rate while the other two were second-rate, their combined forces numbered over 200,000, with solid encampments and formations.

In truth, the fact that the orc legions could field so many warriors was largely thanks to Chen Xuanfeng’s widespread dissemination of his Iron Body Golden Bell Armor manual. Thanks to him, many weaker races in the orc alliance now boasted numerous warriors with combat energy, and the troop numbers of second-line legions had surged nearly seven or eightfold. Such a scale would have been considered extravagant even during the orcs' peak four centuries ago.

Yet such forces were still far from enough to oppose Chen Xuanfeng. Though the three legions had time to deploy their formations after the Hamster army was attacked first, they lacked sufficient elite warriors to withstand the assault of a Saint Master. The Lynx Clan, which could have stood alongside the Tiger Clan and leopard clan as a powerful combat race, was far fewer in number. Of the so-called 40,000-strong lynx legion, only 6,000 were actual lynx warriors—the rest were auxiliary troops from subordinate races. Thus, the moment they clashed, they were ensnared in the Minos Bull Tribe’s Great Labyrinth Formation, unable to break free. The remaining White Raccoon and Stonecat Clans fought separately and were soon divided and encircled by Wolf Riders before collapsing under the charge of blood-red skinned heavy-armored half-orc warriors.

This battle saw no mercy like Chen Xuanfeng had shown the Hamster army. The White Raccoon and Stonecat Clans suffered heavy losses, with over 10,000 soldiers slain on the spot, and both legion commanders were killed in battle. The Lynx Clan lost over a thousand elite warriors, and their commander was captured by Chen Xuanfeng before being beheaded as a warning.

After this battle, the two opposing factions were jolted awake, realizing that the newly crowned Orc King, known as the "Azure Sky Wolf," had truly bared his fangs—ready to draw blood.

Before any faction could formulate a countermeasure, Chen Xuanfeng’s forces fought seven battles in three days, sweeping across half of the Golden Great Plains. Based on his advance route, all informed parties knew where his next target would be.

Twin Cities.

This core city of the Golden Great Plains, which had changed hands multiple times among elves, orcs, and humans, had once witnessed the most glorious "Battle of Nine Saints" in history. Now, it became the eye of another warstorm.

After the orcs expelled human rule and reclaimed the Golden Great Plains, the ownership of Twin Cities—located at the heart of the plains with irreplaceable strategic and economic importance—became a source of contention. None of the five major combat races would yield, and even the previous Orc King Samantha’s dominance could not override them. Thus, the city ended up as a Free City jointly owned by the five clans and administered by the Hall of the War God.

When civil war broke out, it naturally became the focal point of contention. The Lion Clan’s elite legions and the combined forces of the eagle tribe and Bear Tribe were mostly concentrated here. Though their total numbers did not exceed 300,000, they were the cream of the crop—any single unit could hold its own against human legions dozens of times their size. The clans’ top experts, clan leaders, nobles, special forces, and even super magical beasts mostly gathered here, making it a true convergence of champions.

Chen Xuanfeng’s choice to demonstrate his thunderous methods naturally focused here. Suppressing the legions here would leave no force in the alliance capable of questioning his power.

At this moment, the high-ranking officers of the two armies facing the wrath of a Saint Master urgently gathered to discuss countermeasures.

The eagle tribe and Bear Tribe were in a slightly better position. Though they had joined the civil war, their probing intent was clear to the discerning, and they had not openly rebelled. Chen Xuanfeng’s previous actions also indicated his stance toward them—disciplinary rather than outright suppression—leaving room for negotiation.

The Lion Clan, or more precisely, the Splitfang Clan’s legions, were in far greater trouble. Though nearly half of the Lion Clan’s elites were gathered here, Chen Xuanfeng had already severed their ties to the Lion Clan through Catherine’s ascension as clan leader. In other words, even if they were annihilated, it would not count as harming the Lion Clan—only purging rebels.

That night, in the Splitfang Clan’s military camp.

An elderly lion man spoke wearily, "Very well. Before we face the Azure Sky Wolf, let us at least resolve the dispute between the two princes."

This old lion was the de facto commander of the Splitfang Clan’s forces on the Twin Cities front—Monroe Cass Splitfang, once known as the "Undying General" under Samantha’s command. Here, the Splitfang Clan had gathered its seven elite legions: the Mad Lion Clan, Rage Lion Clan, Blood Lion Clan, Yellow Tiger Clan, Thunder Tiger Clan, Cloud Leopard Clan, and Black Panther Clan. Unlike human legions, which often numbering hundreds of thousands each, these legions ranged from 10,000 to 30,000 troops each, yet all were true elites—over half were Sword Masters capable of projecting combat energy. Though their total numbers only reached 150,000, they could crush millions of human soldiers.

Yet this army, mighty enough to dominate the world, was now mired in internal division. Even the old general, who had followed Samantha in conquests for over thirty years, felt utterly exhausted.

The source of the dispute, naturally, lay with Samantha’s two sons: the elder Dos and the younger Beria. In truth, this was also one of the reasons the Splitfang Clan had fallen into its current predicament. One was long-established but lacking martial prowess; the other was prodigiously talented but only recently come of age. Both coveted the supreme throne, yet their mutual obstruction prevented the clan’s forces from operating effectively, leading to falling behind step by step and losing the qualifications to compete for dominance. The worse it got, the more neither side would yield—because to yield meant the losing side would bear the blame for the clan’s plight. Neither Dos nor Beria had the resolve to sacrifice themselves to enable their rival.