The great beast army broke camp and moved forward in a vast, awe-inspiring procession. Their sheer scale was breathtaking, their presence felt across a hundred-mile radius.
They came with murderous intent, eager to slay humans and annihilate this race, fulfilling the command of their gods. Afterward, they planned to eradicate other races to showcase their might.
However, upon arriving at the battlefield, they froze. They discovered that the humans had already retreated completely.
Their speed was not insignificant; it took them only ten minutes from their encampment to reach this location. Yet, the humans had clearly learned of their approach in advance and had withdrawn preemptively.
With the humans' speed, they should have already returned to their base.
Standing on the ravaged battlefield, the beasts surveyed their surroundings, their expressions varied, their feelings complex. Some beasts harbored resentment for the leak of information, while others felt the cruelty of war.
As intelligent beings, they shared many emotions with humans.
Yet, in the face of their gods' commands, no beast could object.
They observed the battlefield strewn with corpses, where nothing remained but the raging inferno, heaps of fallen bodies, and packs of beasts hunched over, chewing.
The entire battlefield had become a feast for the savage beasts.
Long Qinglan, witnessing this, frowned and let out a cold snort.
In its heart, whether human or beast, all who fell in battle were fallen heroes. How could they be desecrated by these unintelligent savage beasts?
It let out an angry roar.
"Guards, kill them all!"
"Understood!"
As its voice faded, roars echoed from all around.
Thousands of golden-furred apes, wielding heavy iron staffs, slowly emerged from the rear.
They cast their gaze upon the savage beasts on the battlefield, pounded their chests, and then, gripping their staffs, charged towards the beasts.
"Roar!"
Boom!
Thousands of staffs descended from the sky, smashing down upon the savage beast horde.
This enraged the beasts. They were enjoying a hearty feast, and a pack of monkeys dared to disturb them. They saw it as an act of food theft and outright provocation, which they could not tolerate.
"Roar!"
A blood-marked grass-headed python roared loudly and lunged, its fangs aimed at one of the apes.
With its ninth-tier strength, biting an eighth-tier ape should have been effortless. But an accident occurred. Suddenly, a heavy iron staff struck its head with a resounding thud.
"Hiss~"
It shook its head, emitting a pained hiss, and looked up. Before it stood another ape. The one that had just struck it was a different ape.
With its limited intelligence, it did not engage in complex thought. It immediately treated the ape that struck it as its enemy and charged forward with an enraged roar.
"Savage beast, die!" The two apes shouted in unison, raising their staffs and striking.
The battle between two eighth-tier apes and one ninth-tier savage beast yielded an unexpected outcome.
Though the ninth-tier beast held the upper hand, it could not defeat the two eighth-tier apes for a time.
The eighth-tier apes exhibited exceptional awareness. Their iron staffs were wielded with incredible skill, always striking from peculiar angles, making the ninth-tier blood-marked grass-headed python increasingly frustrated and frequently injured.
Moreover, the two apes were remarkably agile. Despite the python's superior strength, it could never land a blow on them, while they occasionally landed retaliatory strikes.
After hundreds of rounds, the blood-marked grass-headed python was covered in bumps and bruises, while the two eighth-tier apes remained composed and at ease.
If humans were to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly be astonished. They would realize the apes' combat talent was extraordinary, as if they were born for battle.
Just then, an exceptionally large staff descended from the sky, smashing directly onto the blood-marked grass-headed python's head.
Boom!
Unable to dodge, the blood-marked grass-headed python was slammed into the ground.
Dust billowed. A six-meter-tall ape strode forward, carrying a staff.
Its expression was cold, and its golden eyes seemed to contain the resonance of metal, instilling awe.
"Savage beast, die!" Suddenly, a beam of golden light shot from its mouth.
The light tore through the air, heading towards the blood-marked grass-headed python buried underground.
"Roar!"
"Hiss hiss hiss~~~"
A series of pained screams erupted. The blood-marked grass-headed python's voice grew fainter, eventually becoming inaudible. It had perished completely.
The two eighth-tier apes quickly bowed in respect.
"Eighth Elder!"
The Eighth Elder nodded slightly, then strode away with his staff towards other directions.
With the Eighth Elder's intervention, chaos erupted on the battlefield once more, but it did not last long before peace was restored.
Beast after beast fell to the apes' hands, and eventually, the beasts grew fearful and scattered in all directions.
The Eighth Elder approached Long Qinglan and respectfully reported, "Great Commander, the savage beasts have been cleared. Please review!"
Long Qinglan smiled. "No need for formalities, rise quickly. I am both surprised and pleased that your Golden Ape clan could come for this expedition against the humans. Thank you!"
The Eighth Elder stood expressionless, as straight as a pole.
"You are too kind; this is what we should do."
"Regardless, with the support of your Golden Ape clan, this battle was much easier."
"This was also the command of Lord Dragon God. How could our Golden Ape clan not obey?"
"Haha, well said. Lord Dragon God ordered us to conquer this realm, and we should do our utmost."
The two engaged in a brief exchange of pleasantries before changing the subject, citing pressing official duties as an excuse to part ways.
Long Qinglan gazed towards the human base in the distance, lost in thought.
They had thoroughly scouted the world of Blue Star.
This world was home to many races. Among the surrounding races, humans were the easiest to provoke. Although this race had a large population, only one-tenth could fight on the battlefield.
To face their invasion, a combat strength of at least fifth-tier was required, which screened out another nine-tenths. This meant the humans had a mere ten million-plus fighting force.
Ten million-plus soldiers were fewer than the troops they had brought this time. Furthermore, after the recent battle, the humans had lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and several ninth-tier powerhouses, weakening their strength. The gap between their combat power and the enemy's was stark.
It was only a pity that ten Ice Hounds had been captured, which weakened their side's combat capability.
After careful calculation, they had suffered the greatest losses, leaving Long Qinglan somewhat dejected.
It sighed and finally delivered its verdict.
"The odds of victory in this battle remain very high!"
It fixed its gaze on the approaching human base and issued the command: "Attack!"
"Attack!"
Boom!
Roar!
Roar!
Roar!
Roars echoed, shaking the heavens and the earth, striking fear into the hearts of all.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
In front of the great beast army, the hundreds-of-meters-tall bodies of the Mountain Spirit race appeared in view.
They marched at the forefront, their stone-like skin providing formidable defense. Coupled with their colossal physiques, their strength far surpassed that of their peers.
Although they were only seventh-tier, each Mountain Spirit possessed immense strength and unparalleled defense, making them difficult to kill even for eighth-tier beings.
Using them as vanguards, to shield the front lines, was akin to using mountains as shields, a common practice in the great beast army's warfare.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Tens of thousands of Mountain Spirits stood shoulder to shoulder.
Crash!
Where the Mountain Spirits passed, trees toppled, and the ground caved in, as if the earth itself was in turmoil.
Behind the Mountain Spirits were the armies of Flame Tigers with fiery red fur, Ice Hounds, Storm Wolves, and other beast legions.
Each type of beast formed its own army, advancing slowly and methodically under Long Qinglan's command.
The human base was in peril!