Zither Emperor Volume 5 Chapter 32.2

Chapter 32 – The Return of the Five Zithers (II)
——————————————————————————————
The mage opened the pouch and glanced inside, instantly becoming dumbfounded at its contents. This pouch contained the purest and highest quality Spatial Domain magical crystals. Each gem was cut into a hexagon shape and flickered with an intense silver light. Within this light was the extremely rich magical elements of the Spatial Domain.
“Heavens! These are Spatial Domain silver crystals. With just one, I can cast an amplification spell that can last a month.” A sky of glittering stars glimmered within the Spatial Domain Mage’s eyes. After all, how could a mage like him not like these type of high quality crystals? Even though the crystals were unable to replenish a mage’s magical reserves, the magic within the crystal itself could be used to evoke magic, significantly increasing the strength of the spell. Just one of these extremely pure Spatial Domain silver crystals was worth over a thousand gold coins! Even then, they were priceless when placed in the markets.
Xiang Luan smiled. “All of these are for you to use; all of them. The crystals’ magical stores are immense, so your amplification spell should be greatly strengthened.”
“That is for certain, but it seems like too much of a waste.”
Xiang Luan said, “Don’t give me money excuses. Just do as I say.”
The Spatial Domain Mage immediately grasped a Spatial Domain silver crystal and excitedly began casting his spell.
Ye Yin Zhu looked at Chang Hao. “Is a Magic Amplification spell really that difficult? I don’t need my magic amplified; so long as my spiritual force can become even more condensed.”
Chang Hao pondered aloud, “I can try. It will require a Spiritual Domain Force Field. If her Highness can produce more Spatial Domain silver crystals like earlier, I’ll have a 70% chance of success.”
“You need to set up a Spiritual Domain Force Field?” The other senior Spatial Domain mage asked disdainfully.
Chang Hao glanced at him before saying, “Why not? I am a part of the domain branch of the Spatial Domain division. It’s just that my magical reserves are insufficient, so I need to use this domain spell. That’s why I need these Spatial Domain silver crystals.”
Xiang Luan said, “This is no issue. As long as you can succeed, all is well. Even if you only have a 10% chance of success, we need to at least try once.” As she said this, she withdrew an identical pouch of Spatial silver crystals and passed it to Chang Hao.
Chang Hao laughed mischievously, gave Ye Yin Zhu a thumbs-up, and immediately began setting up the domain. As a member of the Eight Eastern Dragon Sects, he already had a vague idea about Ye Yin Zhu’s intention. He was merely unable to confirm the specifics of the plan.
The mages present were all highly intelligent. Without an intelligent and flexible mind, becoming a mage wasn’t easy. Chang Hao wasn’t the only one to guess Ye Yin Zhu’s intention.
Rolande knitted her brows. “Ye Yin Zhu, you aren’t thinking of using Divine Music magic to fend off the beastmen, are you?”
Ye Yin Zhu looked at her before saying, “Why not?”
Rolande frowned and asked, “Offensively, how strong is your Divine Music magic?”
Ye Yin Zhu smiled faintly. “Who said that a problem cannot be solved without firepower? I’ll only ask you one thing. In all of these divisions of the Magic Department, in a situation near identical to this, which division’s magical attack range is able to surpass that of the Divine Music division?”
“This…” Rolande was immediately speechless. Divine Music magic; if it could be heard, the attack would be effective. In terms of ability to perform magic from a distance, it was indeed the magical discipline with the highest strength.
Xiang Luan clapped her hands and said, “Well then, listen to Yin Zhu’s orders. Only, Yin Zhu, you only have Yellow Rank magic. Even with spiritual force condensation and amplification spells, I’m afraid that…”
Ye Yin Zhu nodded, saying, “By myself, I will definitely not succeed. I am not alone, however. Every single one of you is a part of my magic.”
Konya City; this small town had been peaceful for who knew how many years, but at last, it would face the glory of war. This one named Ye Yin Zhu, since this day had begun, would forever be remembered in Konya City’s history.
✶
Dis stopped at the bottom of the mountain. His lungs were currently heaving with barely restrained anger. More than half the day had passed, and the entire beastmen army had finally traversed past this mountain peak, only requiring them to gather at the bottom before their charge. The wildfire and rolling logs brought about losses that bore fruit for their opponents.
“Damnit, are those bastards made of paper? Along with those who died, how can so many of them lose the will to fight?!” Dis roared. Not to mention the Tigermen, Leopardmen, and Apemen elites, the Behemoths by his side also kept quiet out of fear and refrained from speaking a single word. Who could’ve known that the consequences of Dis’ wrath would be so frightening. His nickname among the Behemoths was ‘Golden Dynamite.’ He apparently forgot that when he slammed his fist into the ground atop that mountain, eighty Berserk Behemoths had rolled down the mountain. This directly led to the casualties climbing even higher, as the losses from the rolling Behemoths were larger than the rolling trees.
Perkins was also very angry, but he was slightly more rational than Dis and not surprised that their mood would be so unstable. Other than the Behemoths, they had brought forty thousand troops. That unexpectedly large fire had killed off no less than a quarter of the army. This didn’t just reduce their fighting strength. Currently, the three beastmen races with decent fighting strength were practically inconsequential. Of the majority of the beastmen warriors who had faced the scorching flames, those high and mighty warriors with loftiness that exuded from them had long since been obliterated completely. Each and every single one now had a head filthy with grime. As for the army’s countenance, it was better to not mention it.
“Elder Brother, the Milanese of Konya City are coming out,” Perkins coldly reminded Dis.
Dis’ bloodshot gaze looked in the direction of Konya City, whose city walls were easily eclipsed in height by his body. The city gates were opened wide, and the rumbling roars from behind those gates was something he was familiar with, a loathsome smell. With heavy steps, those vile existences rushed out of Konya City.
Perkins bellowed with rage, “It’s the Dragon Cavalry! Those Milanese have indeed prepared early on. Apparently, this bullshit plan of Emerson was nothing more than a trap. When we return, I’m going to tear him apart!” The Behemoth Legion’s arch-nemesis was the Dragon Cavalry; he was very well acquainted with this animosity. Just like how Behemoths were the trump card of the beastmen, the Dragon Cavalry was the trump card of the human race. The Dragon Cavalry in this miniscule Konya City naturally impacted their heart tremendously.
Right, that was indeed the Dragon Cavalry that was currently dashing out of Konya City. The current head of this charge was wearing heavy blue armor and was sitting upright atop the back of a huge Maginot Iron Dragon. In his hand was a seven meter long dragonspear. His entire body released an extremely valiant aura. Behind him, five hundred and sixty Dragon Cavalry were assembled for war; the Maginot Iron Dragon Cavalry were situated in the center with the Earthbound Swift Dragon Cavalry on both sides.
This made Dis especially wrathful, as this Dragon Cavalry formation was the most aggressive model. Without keeping any depth, these five hundred and sixty men lined up horizontally for battle, practically covering Konya City’s walls completely.
Dis kneaded his fist. “They are courting death!” Just as he was about to charge forward, Perkins grabbed his shoulder.
“Elder Brother, we cannot attack right now,” Perkins stated coldly.
Dis snarled, “Why? Don’t tell me that you want those Milanese bastards to ridicule our current appearance?”
Perkins said, “Elder Brother, calm down. Can you not see it? This is a trap by the Milanese. The mountains surround this city; they’re up to no good. If this is an ambush, even if we are fearless, the army has to stay here.”
Dis snorted. “They shouldn’t even be here.These soldiers are simply trash; our Behemoths are enough to deal with them.”
Perkins reasoned, “Let’s wait first and allow our brethren to rest for a while. At least wait until they regain a bit of their strength before charging swiftly once more. Elder Brother, can you not sense that this miniscule town unexpectedly has a magical aura coming from within? It doesn’t seem weak. In addition, when we were climbing up that mountain, I had also sensed a Silver Dragon’s loathsome scent.”
Dis’ bloodshot eyes dilated instantly. He didn’t fear the humans nor the Dragon Cavalry. But even though he was a Gold Behemoth, an encounter with a genuine Gigantic Dragon was something to be prudent of. After all, a Gigantic Dragon held the advantage of flight over the Behemoths. In particular, this Silver Dragon was a magical dragon. As long as it maintained its high altitude, it could continually cast magic down upon its enemies. The Gold Behemoths would have absolutely no way of catching it. Even a brave Behemoth wouldn’t desire becoming the practice target for a magical dragon.
✶
Oliveira lifted the dragonspear in his hand, and the entire Dragon Cavalry roared in response. At this moment, his helmet hid the smile upon his face. In his heart, he inwardly thought, It seems that Ye Yin Zhu’s fire attack was extraordinarily effective. The beastmen army’s morale is not only low, their numbers are also lower than I expected. It’s a pity that we have no real army. If the army had taken advantage of this and attacked, even if they were unable to deal with the Behemoths, they could kill the majority of those slightly inferior beastmen.
Hong——
Under Oliveira’s command, the entire Dragon Cavalry charged forward simultaneously. Each movement was synchronized, and the resulting heavy booms shook the earth.
The Milan Empire’s Dragon Cavalry; as the Empire’s trump card, they were armed to the teeth, so to say. Every Dragon Cavalryman was equipped with a Gigantic Dragon, totaling ten thousand gold coins in cost.
A Gigantic Dragon was like a knight, its body armored. A Maginot Iron Dragon’s body was covered with heavy armor made of top-notch superior iron that protected its entire body. A thick, meter-long steel pike extended from its head and shoulders. An Earthbound Swift Dragon’s body was also covered with light armor. Although its defensive power was somewhat lacking, its flexibility was optimized to the max.
Dragon Cavalrymen armor was eight centimeters thick, and each Dragon Cavalrymen possessed dou qi of Orange Rank or higher. Furthermore, they all possessed the noble rank of ‘Knight.’ Each of them held a heavy dragonspear in their hands with lengths of five or seven meters. A Maginot Iron Dragon Knight used a seven meter long heavy dragonspear while a Earthbound Swift Dragon Knight used a five meter long heavy dragonspear.
This cavalry troop could only be described as an unstoppable force when attacking. A general of the mainland would categorize a Dragon Cavalry force of five hundred to be a legion. Not only was this equivalent to a Heavy Cavalry legion, it was also the strongest human military force.
Of course, when the Dragon Cavalry was compared with the beastmen, they appeared insignificant. Even if the Apemen, Tigermen, and Leopardmen were disregarded, the Behemoths already surpassed their strength exponentially. Regarding the powerful beastmen, who were unparalleled on the ground, assessments were very simple. Ten human legions equalled a hundred of those paragons. Although this was a slight exaggeration, it amply illustrated how strong the Behemoths were.