Badge in Azure Chapter 728 - Antos’ fury (Part 2)

Chapter 728: Antos’ fury (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Cuisi fully agreed with Saleen. After advancing to a supreme demon, he thought that he already had absolute advantage over a human sorcerer. He thought he at least would not need to bother about sorcerers below grade-9. If the winged skeleton did not tease Cuisi, Cuisi would not have understood the prowess of a human sorcerer.
This time around, he and the winged skeleton had teamed up to fight one sorcerer. If Cuisi fought with two sorcerers alone in the future there was no way he could survive.
Saleen simply enlightened Cuisi, then he began organizing the equipment. With an additional one-thousand and three-hundred prisoners he could not possibly give all of them a skeletal warhorse. Saleen took out some equipment components and ordered his subordinates to assemble a war chariot to transport these prisoners. Such an assault would not take place after entering the depths of the Bitter Water County.
One of the elite camps from Qin had ended up in shambles after invading a town located at the borders of the Bitter Water County. One-thousand heavy cavalrymen and two-thousand light cavalrymen were killed and more than four-thousand infantrymen were lost. The worst thing was that the camp commander, the sorcerer accompanying the army, and five grand mages were all killed in action. No one had expected such an outcome.
Selecting an interim camp commander out of the emblem group commanders, everyone retreated north in despair. The war chariots were still the ones paving the way at the front. This time around, the alchemical crossbows were already installed. They kept watch over different angles, so that they could defend against any flying targets.
Only one grade-4 mage remained in the army. Originally, this mage was in charge of the logistical support at the back, but was now deployed to the main body. In the autumn winds, this ten-thousand man army trudged across the wilderness slowly. They portrayed a very lifeless scene.
Entering the region controlled by Qin, towering hills had appeared at the front of them. The army altered its formation and traversed the short hills on both sides. At this moment, in the forest afar, an earth-shattering explosion occurred. Huge logs flew into the air and leaves were torn into shreds in the fierce wind.
A thick stench diffused for dozens of miles, causing the soldiers who were in the chariots at the front to feel extremely nervous. The crossbowmen immediately placed their fingers on the triggers. The magic disciples stimulated the magic arrays on the alchemical crossbows without any hesitation.
“Load the arrows, load the arrows!” The commanders hollered. The team came to a halt, then the heavy cavalrymen quickly put on an exterior layer of armor and the soldiers who carried the crossbow equipment began loading the arrows.
These Qin people reacted very quickly, this was a professional army. In less than three minutes, the entire army had transformed and was bristling like a porcupine. Their reaction had been brought about by the winged skeleton. They were afraid of running into another horrifying creature like the winged skeleton.
The hills ahead were gentle and overgrown with large trees. A colossal creature charged towards the Qin army from the forest. This creature had two heads and filthy blood spurted from the back of its neck. It was at least ten yards tall and was covered with metal scales from head to toe.
The two heads had human faces with a long horn on each head. The whole face was mottled with black patterns and between these patterns streams of blood were flowing out. It was as though the faces were being torn off. This creature rose from the forest, charging towards the Qin army. It had already covered a few hundred yards in the blink of an eye.
“Get ready!” The Qin commander’s voice was trembling, it was unknown where this strange creature had come from. Their first instinct was to be fearful, but every soldier understood that an army would only be mighty if all its forces were converged. If the soldiers fled in all directions, then their survival would be dependent on luck.
The twelve war chariots had twelve alchemical crossbows and huge alchemical arrows measuring up to two yards were launched. Controlled by the low grade mages and disciples, these twelve large arrows were targeted at this monster.
These arrows had a high cost of production, they were potent weapons used to deal with experts above grade-7. The monster simply waved an arm and had caught the twelve large arrows in its hand. It crushed the arrows into smithereens.
Arrows flew about wildly. The terror within the soldiers did not cause their actions to change. In a flash, this monster was only one-hundred yards from the soldiers. The soldiers wielding crossbows quickly launched their arrows.
Om!
The monster opened its mouths, spitting a plume of black smoke. In an instant, this black smoke had engulfed the light cavalrymen in the vanguard squad and was continuing to expand in size.
Behind the thick smoke, the monster made a leap into the midst of the Qin soldiers. It then opened his huge hand and grabbed at the soldiers. Soldiers who were caught were immediately tossed into the monster’s mouths.
Kill!
The heavy cavalrymen on both flanks were deeply horrified, but they still raised their cavalry lances and organized a charge. The light cavalrymen at the front had already collapsed to the ground, the thick smoke was clearly poison.
The Qin knights crashed into the monster’s body, tragically turning into a pile of bloody flesh. The monster did not seem powerful and was still bleeding from its neck, but the heavy cavalrymen seemed like they might as well have rammed into a mountain.
Ow…
Everyone felt chills go down their spine as their hair stood on end. This monster was leaping within the formation of soldiers. Each time it extended its hand, it would capture two soldiers, then it would toss them into its mouths. The monster’s gigantic mouths were like bottomless pits.
Observing this scene unfold, the interim camp commander yelled in terror, “Quick! Third emblem group, flee with the mages, escape now!”
He did not even use the word ‘retreat’. According to military laws, using the word ‘escape’ could justify an execution. This interim camp commander did not think that he would survive, so he could not be bothered.
The wound on the back of the monster’s neck had stopped bleeding and a third head grew out slowly. It seemed that it originally had three heads, but one had been forcefully cut off.
That sole grade-4 mage’s face was pale as a sheet, he did not have the intention to escape at all. He looked at the monster and his heart filled with dread.
“This is…”
That monster turned around, crushing a war chariot with its feet before leaping towards this grand mage. When it waved its gigantic palm, the mage subconsciously released the Ice Plate Armor, but this spell was simply broken by this monster. As the gray-robed mage was tossed into the monster’s mouth, he finally yelled something before dying; “This is the Dark Sky Devil…!”
The formation of the Qin soldiers was in utter chaos, not many people heard the mage’s words. Even if they did, normal people would not know what the Dark Sky Devil was.
This god created by the black magicians possessed endless life. As long as one person still believed in black magic, the Dark Sky Devil would never disappear. Even ten camps would not be able to exterminate this monster. All the best equipment and mages would have to be used to even chase this monster away.
Even if the Dark Sky Devil was smashed into smithereens by many grade-9 sorcerers, the Dark Sky Devil could still be resurrected atop the altar of black magicians. Unless all the believers of black magic were killed at the same time and the soul of the Dark Sky Devil was refined into the elements he could not be killed. Be that as it may, if someone in the future who harbored evil thoughts thought of the Dark Sky Devil and made a wish, the Dark Sky Devil would develop in this person’s heart before eventually devouring them.
The horror of black magic laid in the fact that no one would remain kind forever. Even the Lord of Glory would not be able to extirpate the darkness in people’s hearts.
The third head of the Dark Sky Devil grew increasingly larger. Each time he devoured one person his injury would recover a little. Clearly, a presence with unparalleled power had wounded the Dark Sky Devil, it was impossible for this army to fully heal his wound.
The third emblem group was the only composition of light cavalrymen which remained complete. The moment they heard the orders from the interim camp commander, these light cavalrymen took the remaining white-robed mages and escaped northeast.
The Dark Sky Devil picked up rocks on the ground and created hundreds of shards and then tossed them. These hundreds of rock shards struck the soldiers from behind.
The speed of the Dark Sky Devil continues to increase. He charged towards the fleeing cavalrymen and initiated a crazed onslaught at the rear.
After being severely injured he had been hiding underground not daring to expose himself. He only emerged when these soldiers went past, he was going to use the flesh of the Qin soldiers to recover his third head.
Cavalry lances, heavy swords, javelins, heavy crossbows…all these weapons assaulted the scales on the body of the Dark Sky Devil, but they all bounced off. The Dark Sky Devil was previously severely injured, otherwise, he could have killed these soldiers without even lifting a finger when these weapons bounced off.
Devouring thousands of soldiers, the Dark Sky Devil’s third head was finally as big as the other two heads. Waving an enormous palm, the heads of soldiers who he could not swallow in time rolled aside, then these bodies rose to their feet.
The speed at which the Dark Sky Devil could create headless riders was thousands of times faster than the black magicians.
The souls of these soldiers were sealed in their heads. While moaning in excruciation, their bodies grabbed onto their heads. They then made their way to the warhorses nearest to them. The orbitals of the warhorses were already pitch black, there were no other colors present.
Massacring all the soldiers, there were now two-thousand headless riders standing beside the Dark Sky Devil. The three heads swung about swiftly, scanning the surroundings meticulously. After ensuring that the scents of the two people had not appeared within a range of one-hundred miles, he ordered the two-thousand headless riders to advance south, while he himself dashed in the northwestern direction.
“The scents of two-thousand headless riders should be able to attract the attention of those two humans.”
The Dark Sky Devil quickly disappeared into the forest and the two-thousand headless riders advanced south mindlessly. In the south there was an anonymous town which they had left previously at border of Lex’s county.
Five days later, in Felage City, which was situated in central Loulan, Marquis Antos learned that his entire army had been exterminated.
In his temporary marquis’ residence, Antos was raging and smashing whatever item he could grab hold of.
“Lex! You really are ruthless! I am going to kill you!”
Beside Antos stood a dwarf clad in brown clothes. Looking at Marquis Antos through his purple pupils, he said, “Sir, that town only has five-hundred elites, they wouldn’t be able to kill everyone from the eighty-sixth camp.”
“This was a trap!” Antos bellowed, then told this dwarf, “According to the images transmitted back by the mages, there was a two-hundred man team which came from Metatrin City and there was a death sorcerer amongst them. At the foot of the city the death sorcerer killed Angee and the five grand mages. They must have set up an ambush along the eighty-sixth camp’s route of retreat and they proceeded to kill the remaining people.”
“Sir, the people from Metatrin can’t possibly deploy so many soldiers there right?”
“Lex must have stationed some people there beforehand and used those two-hundred people as bait!” Antos was on the brink of going berserk, he had to work hard to recruit a sorcerer and that sorcerer was killed in battle while accompanying his ten-thousand man army.
“So, Sir, who do you want dead? Lex, or that death sorcerer?” The dwarf shut his eyes, posing a strange question. It was as though the dwarf could help Antos kill any target of his wish.