CHAPTER 655: CHAPTER 392: ESCAPING IS IMPORTANT_2

Seeing the Saints surrounding him, he suddenly retreated. He leaped down from the city wall, landed on the ground, and stood there motionless, waiting for the Saints to follow him. But when he saw that no one pursued, he felt deeply disappointed. Instead, they turned to attack the humans on the wall, slowly exacting their vengeance.

....

"Why aren’t they following him?!" The Great Marshall glared furiously at the towering Saint, Peng Yong, who stood mockingly not far away, provoking the beasts. No matter what he did, not a single beast chased him. They all remained on the city wall. Some of the enraged ones turned their rage toward humans and unleashed it there.

"They’re noble beasts! They shouldn’t have the ability to resist such provocation; they should have leapt down instantly, one after the other, to be dealt with by our Saints. Did the Great Marshall truly tame those despicable, brainless beasts?!" The man spat out every word, his face turning beet red, his eyes bulging in hatred and doubt. Although there were claims that the Hui Clan and the beasts had deployed their first Saint into battle, thus far, the Saint had done nothing significant aside from reconnaissance. She had not engaged in combat and even fled the moment another Saint appeared before her.

Seeing that the answer was to start slaughtering the various beasts, Yan Xiaobao had no choice but to deploy his Saints. Unlike the humans, he had sent out forty Saints in total to fight. This brought a slight smile to Yan Xiaobao’s face. He felt proud of his work as the Beast Great Marshall, seeing how successfully he had instilled a sense of restraint into those thick-headed creatures. Making them resist the lure of vengeance was something humans could scarcely believe.

"We cannot afford to retreat now," the Great Marshall sighed. He sat alone in a room with only a servant accompanying him; however, in the eyes of a nobleman like him, the servant was nothing more than a lowly creature, not even worth being considered human. Muttering constantly under his breath, he rubbed his forehead slowly in an attempt to ease the headache pounding in his skull. Finally, he sank back into the chair, his eyes no longer filled with uncertainty but instead calm and calculating, like the ominous stillness before a storm.

"Bring me pen and paper," the Great Marshall ordered, and moments later, the pen and paper were placed before him.

"Take this to Li Xiaopeng," he said, folding the paper neatly, sealing it with wax, and pressing his ring onto it, leaving his insignia.

....

"Did God send you?" Li Xiaopeng asked curiously, looking at the servant kneeling before him. The servant’s head was pressed so low that it touched the ground, and his entire body sprawled flat against the floor. Even in this awkward posture, the servant managed to nod, causing Li Xiaopeng’s brow to furrow slightly.

Li Xiaopeng wasn’t particularly tall. He seemed a few years younger than Yan Xiaobao. His long, black hair was tied neatly behind his head. His eyes were dark, so dark they resembled an endless abyss. The youthful-looking man accepted the letter, broke the seal, and read its contents.

As he read, his frown deepened, and his gaze grew sharper. Turning away, he completely ignored the still-kneeling servant and strode briskly toward a house just a few meters away.

"Assemble!" he barked without hesitation, and one by one, experts began to gather around him. As he entered the room, 101 Crusaders sat inside. Looking at them, Li Xiaopeng couldn’t help but feel a slight discomfort, but he knew just how formidable these experts were. Despite their ranks as Kings or Emperors, they bore neither fear nor hesitation. They would fight relentlessly until their very bodies were utterly destroyed, unable to move anymore.

"Crusaders, breach the walls and eliminate the beasts!" he commanded. Cloaked figures swept past him immediately after, sending a shiver through even the old veterans in the room.

"Even though I’ve grown stronger, those freaks still give me the creeps," Li Xiaopeng muttered to himself as he turned and left the room. Gazing toward the city walls, he saw countless cloaked figures climbing the stairs toward the top, where the battle raged. Glancing at the Saints among the beasts, he let out a sharp whistle that echoed across the city. Experts began appearing behind him at that very moment.

"You’ve summoned us, Master," one said. "What do you need us to do?" another asked. All of them showed immense respect toward the youthful-looking man.

"We need to eliminate these Saints. Push them back and destroy as many as possible if you can," he declared, stepping forward. With that, he launched himself into the air, heading toward the city walls before touching down on the battlefield ahead.

....

"F*ck!" Hui Yue cursed. His swearing became even more frantic when he saw the cloaked men reach the upper levels of the wall, with the Saints following shortly after. At least forty Saints, possibly more. "I hope these beasts are stronger," Yan Xiaobao prayed as he summoned his martial wings and flew toward the city walls to assist the troops.

"So, they think the Crusaders will triumph over the beasts?" Yan Xiaobao muttered to himself, weaving blue threads in his hands, creating nets one after another. Hovering above the Crusaders, Hui Yue threw the first net, ensnaring one of them. This immobilized the Crusader, leaving him vulnerable to nearby beasts. Satisfied, Yan Xiaobao crafted another net and hurled it at another Crusader. After five nets, exhaustion began to kick in. Flying with martial power had drained him, and the strange blue energy he was using was nearly depleted. Realizing this, Yan Xiaobao descended onto the city wall and began slowly transforming into a werewolf. With a loud, spine-chilling howl, he charged directly into battle against the Crusaders, fully aware that they would bring about the greatest challenge for any enemy.

As Yan Xiaobao rushed toward the beasts, a sudden shockwave erupted, sending him, along with a large group of humans and beasts, hurtling backward. Some unfortunate souls slammed into the walls, their limbs broken or worse, falling to their deaths. Raising his gaze, Yan Xiaobao spotted a younger man, appearing a few years his junior, clashing with the Divine Origin Queen, Wan Qiao.

After exchanging blows, Li Xiaopeng and Wan Qiao both took several steps back, equally startled by the other’s seemingly intact form. Neither appeared injured, leaving them both on high alert.

Looking around, Yan Xiaobao noticed that it wasn’t just Wan Qiao embroiled in fierce combat; all forty Saints were locked in battle with other Saints. Making a swift decision, he extended his wings and retrieved a horn from his storage stone, blowing it with all his might. It was the call for retreat.

Although he and the weaker-ranked beasts could continue fighting near the enemy’s Saints, this was not his preference. The Saints Team possessed overwhelming power, so much so that even staying to fight would render the lower-ranked beasts effectively useless. Wanting to ensure as many beasts survived as possible, Yan Xiaobao refused to let them be caught in the devastating shockwaves of genuine combat.

Once the horns rang out, the beasts retreated to their camp one by one, leaving the battlefield for the Saints to continue their clash. The Saints held such overwhelming power that even Yan Xiaobao felt insignificant in their presence. He knew he could only rely on his Saints for this first decisive battle against the Spanish Empire.

"You better not lose," Yan Xiaobao grumbled, standing as far forward as he dared. Observing the battle before him, his keen eyes locked onto Qi-enhanced maneuvers, scrutinizing every motion the experts made. Their attacks tore through the air, causing the winds to howl ominously. Their speed was so incredible that even with his enhanced vision, Yan Xiaobao struggled to keep up. Watching them, Yan Xiaobao finally came to grasp the might of such overwhelming power.

The lower-ranked beasts had all retreated about a kilometer from the city, while the human soldiers descended from their positions on the wall. Both sides pulled back to avoid being caught in the shockwaves of the Saints’ battle. Once fully retreated, they turned to watch the escalating fight, witnessing flashes of varying colors as the Saints unleashed their abilities. Yan Xiaobao folded his wings and now stood firmly on the ground. Before all the gathered beasts, his eyes never left the raging battle in front of him. This conflict would help determine the outcome of the war. It was the first true clash between armies, the first pivotal battle that truly mattered.

...