Chapter 910: Chapter 684: I Cheated?
"This is impossible! You cheated!"
A senior military official yelled at Long Yi.
"Is that so? With so many people watching, how did I cheat?" Long Yi retorted.
"I don’t know how you cheated, but you definitely did! A thousand against two thousand, even if your soldiers are somewhat stronger, it’s absolutely impossible to end the battle in such a short time!" The senior official refused to believe the outcome before his eyes.
"Whether you believe it or not is your problem, the result is already here," Long Yi said, not bothering to explain.
"Observer, tell me what just happened?" Emperor Saint Danze immediately called for the battlefield observer, who was the nearest and should have the first-hand information.
"Yes, Your Majesty, just now, before Lord Long Yi’s thousand-man legion charged into the two-thousand-man legion, they cast Strength Enhancement Spell and Steel Skin Spell on themselves. Then, upon entering the two-thousand-man legion, they used a series of combat techniques, and mixed spells into the melee, which should be considered the fighting style of a Magic Fighter. The shields blocked part of the magical damage, but the punches and kicks dealt pure physical damage. Most of the two-thousand-man legion’s soldiers were defeated by fists and kicks, not by magic."
The battlefield observer’s report came back, proving Long Yi hadn’t used any cheating methods. Instead, he had adopted an unconventional approach to warfare, a method that took the enemy by surprise and quickly extended their advantage.
You can’t say that winning with fists and kicks doesn’t count, right? Not to mention using fists and kicks, if you could kill the enemy with insults, that would still count as a win!
"All units, fall back, don’t pursue blindly, engage with tactical magic at the front to delay them, and prepare to cast strategic magic from behind! Swallow them in one go!"
The military immediately issued orders, as today’s competition was quickly turning into Long Yi’s one-man show. At this point, the Empire’s ten-thousand-man legion had already lost a fifth of its numbers. If it continued like this, the remaining eight thousand would eventually be consumed by similar tactics. Now they absolutely couldn’t let Long Yi continue showing off!
Upon receiving the orders from above, the front-line magic troops immediately executed various tactical spells—whether it was Freezing Technique or trap magic, as long as it could hold them there, they waited for the large-scale strategic magic from behind to be ready. Once it was ready, the outcome would be decided in an instant!
However, Long Yi’s intention was too obvious this time. Moreover, after defeating a two-thousand-man legion, the thousand-man legion immediately began a retreat with astonishing speed, and, in fact, those tactical spells hardly managed to ensnare anyone.
Naturally, those who were left behind were directly declared dead. It was the first time Long Yi’s thousand-man legion had suffered casualties, and the number was less than ten.
These individuals conscientiously left the battlefield and came to rest in the ’casualty’ area, along with the over two thousand others deemed casualties.
Some showed strong hostility towards them, while others were not convinced, and still, others were very curious.
The armor worn by Long Yi’s legion and the magic gloves they used were completely different from those of the regular army. Their way of fighting was also marked by great differences, especially the sudden close-combat attacks that caught people totally off guard.
Some approached and began to interact with them. Upon learning that their armors offered better protection and that their magic gloves could increase the speed of spellcasting, some immediately understood where they had lost.
It must be the advantage of equipment!
They could hardly admit they were outclassed, could they?
On the battlefield, the thousand-man legion was evading at high speed, while the pursuers behind them were doggedly chasing. However, thanks to their advantage in spellcasting speed, this time no one from Long Yi’s thousand-man legion was left behind. Meanwhile, the pursuers from behind were also unable to fulfill their mission effectively. After all, when it came to speed, the large legion from behind didn’t have the advantage. They simply couldn’t catch up, and if you stopped for a moment, the legion’s spells were almost upon you instantly. The troops in pursuit could only chase with their staffs, which further reduced their chasing speed.
"Is this fun for you?" Long Yi asked in return.
"We still have eight thousand men!" a senior military official shouted.
Long Yi could only sigh.
"Actually, I really didn’t want to fall out with you, because I only have one month, and there’s no way to systematically upgrade my warriors’ equipment. So my soldiers have always fought you in the most conservative way possible. But you guys really are unappreciative."
Long Yi shook his head and suddenly roared, "Disengage the safeties, initiate Mana Resonance! Full mana output!"
Upon hearing Long Yi’s command, the thousand-man legion that was previously evading all stopped. They slapped their gloves against their chests, and immediately, their armor and gloves gleamed, while a faint Resonance sound echoed among the crowd. The magic of each warrior resonated with one another! And at that moment, the chain Resonance of a thousand soldiers erupted in a terrifying tide of mana!
In the front, the Commander of the thousand-man legion raised his hand and cast an explosive fireball. The fireball, which was originally only the size of a wash basin, suddenly swelled amidst the resonating magic and, in the blink of an eye, turned into a hundred-meter giant! It hurtled towards the distance with a terrifying roar, heading straight for the enemy!
"Group shield! Everyone cast together!"
The commander on this side shouted hoarsely, the fireball was immensely large, and even though it hadn’t approached yet, the heat it emitted alone made it unbearably hot.
An unprecedented magical shield rose up, and the fireball hit it squarely. It exploded into a fiery mushroom cloud, and while the power was completely blocked by the magical shield, the heat did not dissipate. Some soldiers who were too close suffered burns to their entire bodies and fell to the ground in agony. The explosion’s immense power caused the casters of the magical shield to feel a severe consumption of their mana.
On the other hand, the thousand-person group did not have this kind of trouble. The second enormous fireball had already formed!
This is the benefit of Mana Resonance, which uses resonance to draw upon the Mana in the surrounding space to enhance one’s own Magic. A group Magic Shield, on the other hand, distributes the consumption evenly among all casters. The result of this is a significant increase in consumption for the individual caster.
As the second fireball approached, they knew the danger but had no means of resistance; they could only honestly raise their shields.
Boom! The second shield once again blocked the fireball. The high temperature from the explosion of the previous fireball had not yet dissipated, and this fireball raised the air temperature to a new height.
As the fireball burned, the oxygen in the air began to thin, causing the soldiers to feel dizzy and more of them to suffer burns! The consumption of Mana was also astonishing!
But! A third enormous fireball came hurtling towards them again!
After the explosive roar, the Magic Shield shattered with a crash, and the scorching air flowed unhindered into the battlefield. Soldiers desperately cast wind Magic in an attempt to blow away the hot air, but with the hot air coming from all directions, where could they blow it away?
And just then, a faint layer of frost formed! A gust of cold air blew away all the hot air on the battlefield. It was Little Zi and her Female Demon Avatars casting ice Magic to cool down the battlefield.
"Surrender and lose half," Long Yi said again.
This time, the military high command all lowered their heads.
"We surrender."
In the face of such a vast disparity in strength, there was no point in remaining defiant. If initially Long Yi was merely allowing them to save face, then the subsequent barrage of fireballs was outright humiliating.
You want tactics, I give you tactics; you want strength, I give you strength. I will fight where you challenge, until you acknowledge defeat.
At this point, the faces of several military high command were not looking very good, but with the facts laid out in front of them, what more could they say?
"Is it just surrendering, and it’s over?" Long Yi continued to ask.
"We... agree to downsize the army." It was reluctant, but they were powerless to resist.
At this time, the happiest was Emperor Saint Danze. He was actually very hesitant about downsizing the army, as the military strength of the entire Plane had always been modeled after The Divine Auffa Empire, even the Sanctuary Empire was no exception. Now, suddenly talking about downsizing, especially as it was suggested by Long Yi who had suddenly emerged, Saint Danze naturally did not trust him. However, Long Yi conveyed with a remarkably splendid victory that not only would downsizing not harm the Sanctuary Empire, but it would greatly enhance its power.
And so, an anticipated downsizing of the army finally began.
The method of downsizing was simple; there was a standard for measuring the strength of soldiers within the army. Downsizing would start from those ranked the worst, continuing until the number was satisfactory.
When it was announced that the army would downsize, tension immediately gripped the entire military. Many did not want to downsize because the military provided a stable income and, in a world with few battles, the danger of being a soldier was low—of course, chasing Long Yi was an exception.
And once downsized, it meant a large number of people would lose steady income, causing many to express their dissatisfaction.
For this dissatisfaction, officials offered two solutions.
First, go find the Emperor.
Second, go find Long Yi.
Clearly, whichever option was chosen, it was a dead end.
So, despite their dissatisfaction, no soldier dared to say anything.
However, the Sanctuary Empire’s downsizing caused confusion across the entire Plane.
All along, the Sanctuary Empire had regarded The Divine Auffa Empire as a hypothetical enemy, always striving to catch up to The Divine Auffa Empire’s military size and strength. That they suddenly downsized this time was completely unforeseen by anyone and seemed utterly irrational.
Emperor Saint Jialin of The Divine Auffa Empire was just as puzzled when he heard the news. His first reaction was that it was impossible. In his view, it was correct for the Sanctuary Empire to expand its military, especially after a recent skirmish with The Divine Auffa Empire; downsizing now was absurd—whom were they kidding?
But then, all news confirmed it, and the scale of the Sanctuary Empire’s downsizing was shocking. The Sanctuary Empire was planning to downsize its military by one third!
How could this be possible? Had Saint Danze lost his mind? (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly passes on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
