Arki explained to the nearby couple that the Third Legion was commanded by Pouzek. He had intentionally sabotaged the Ninth Legion, forcing them into such a critical situation that it even threatened the second line of defense. This would cause massive damage and losses to the already weakened Ninth Legion.
Pouzek was also the one who ordered the mutant beasts’ attack on Carod earlier, nearly killing him. He belonged to the Charming Eyes race, and even though Carod had never acted directly against him, that man seemed determined to slowly weaken him.
"About a year ago, master was defending the legion’s base when a massive wave of much stronger beasts intentionally attacked us. I’m sure it was Pouzek’s doing. He even laughed sarcastically, surprised to see us survive," Arki murmured, pain written across his face. "I had an aunt who helped me a lot. She was the former vice-leader of the legion. She and thousands of others died so master could retreat with the survivors, and we ended up losing our base in this world because of it."
Arki explained that each legion had a pre-established base, assigned based on its strength and numbers. The Ninth Legion’s base, being the weakest, had the strongest defensive formation among the nine, meant to help them hold their ground. Yet, even so, they were driven out, resulting in unprecedented humiliation.
Because of this, Carod was now at risk of losing his position. In less than a year, he and his legion would face a trial, failure in which could result in him being demoted for incompetence.
After the last attack, Pouzek seemed to be manipulating the situation to ensure Carod’s downfall, all without making any moves that could directly incriminate him.
"We can discuss this later. Right now, we need to stabilize our defenses. We can’t let another arrow tower be damaged, or we’ll go hungry this month. Regular warriors, focus on defense. Squad leaders, I’ll guide you to attack key points. We can’t retreat now—let’s slaughter as many of these demon beasts as possible to make up for our losses," Carod ordered.
As long as they killed enough demon beasts and collected their cores, they could exchange them for the merit points needed to repair the arrow towers. They had almost no resources left, and even though they were clearly losing, retreating now would mean certain death—they had already lost too much in such a short time.
"Brother, do you have any ideas?" Carod turned to the couple, seeking their opinion, knowing their intelligence and power.
Ruri shook her head. "In this kind of chaotic battle, there’s no need for complex strategies. Just kill them!"
Alm and Bruno were full of doubts about the demon beasts and this place, so they preferred to observe for now. These creatures weren’t that powerful. Even the strongest ones didn’t give them a real sense of danger. Maybe they couldn’t kill them quickly, but they definitely wouldn’t be defeated by them either.
The intelligence of these beasts seemed limited, despite their ancient bloodline and the potential they showed. Their greatest threat was their overwhelming numbers and their extremely resilient bodies.
"Oh? Those powerful guys in the distance... why don’t they come closer?" Bruno asked Carod while the latter commanded the legion. In the midst of the carnage, several powerful auras remained just observing from afar.
"They fear our arrow towers. The strongest demon beasts would be the first targets. If one of the towers focuses on them, they’ll be easily eliminated. These towers are our greatest protection. As long as we have them, they won’t dare come closer," Carod replied curtly.
"Alright. Let’s check it out."
Bruno spoke, and Ruri, without hesitation, moved Arki closer to Carod. The commander wasn’t fighting and could protect him if necessary. Then, the couple advanced quickly toward the powerful auras on the battlefield.
"That’s way too dangerous!" Carod shouted, alarmed. That area was overrun by demon beasts. But the couple was incredibly fast, and he couldn’t stop them. He immediately ordered the arrow towers to aim in that direction, ensuring cover for them once they returned within range.
But... Carod instinctively felt a strange sense of anticipation, though he didn’t know why.
The duo pressed forward, ignoring the large hordes of demon beasts in their path.
"The arrow towers have an effective range of a thousand kilometers. Beyond that, their power weakens," Ruri commented casually.
Outside the towers’ range, they saw thousands of powerful demon beasts whose intense auras finally created a slight sense of pressure on them. These pure-blooded creatures demonstrated above-average intelligence.
Most of them seemed to belong to the same species, with a few hybrids scattered among them. The pure-blooded ones stood dozens of meters tall, with enormous wings and bull-like heads. Their humanoid arms wielded giant bone spears. Despite their power, they avoided entering the effective range of the arrow towers, waiting for them to be destroyed before attacking.
Suddenly, Ruri shouted, "Commander Carod, what are those bull-headed monsters called?!"
He responded by yelling, "They’re from the G..."
"You ignorant brat, you don’t even know about our mighty race, the Giant Devil Bulls?" one of the creatures interrupted, surprisingly speaking.
"Oh? You can talk?" Ruri said, surprised.
"Hmph, you inferior golem..." the monster growled.
"How demonic! Even a bull can develop a brain!" Ruri said seriously. "Wait, I’ve read about you... Don’t you produce something interesting in your bodies?"
"Yeah, every part of a Giant Devil Bull is a treasure. Their cores, horns, blood... even their balls. Actually... the biggest treasure is their balls," shouted Carod, looking a bit embarrassed.
Ruri nodded in agreement. The bulls’ balls were especially valuable, considered the ultimate reproductive stimulant. They significantly boosted male fertility and were treasures sought after by cultivators past their prime—items money simply couldn’t buy.
"You bastards are asking for death!" roared the demon beasts, visibly enraged. Apparently, mentioning the value of their sensitive parts was an unacceptable taboo.
"Well then, you old bulls, listen up! I’ll rip off your balls and put them to good use! I’ll make it quick, and hey, maybe that’ll balance your karma," Ruri declared, roaring as she charged forward. The legion warriors watched in disbelief as she dashed toward the bulls.
The Giant Devil Bulls roared in fury. Some tried to charge forward, but their apparent leader bellowed, "Don’t enter their arrow towers’ range! If we stay here, they won’t dare..."
Before he could finish, a massive spatial blade descended from the sky, followed by a devastating slash from a katana.
*BOOM!*
Over ten bulls tried to block the attack together, only to be sent flying miserably.
"What power!" Carod, watching from a distance, was stunned. He knew how durable these beasts’ bodies were, and seeing them repelled like that was astonishing.
But Ruri wasn’t alone. Seeing the couple invading their territory, the demon beasts roared louder, encircling the two and trapping them in the center.
"Foolish golems! You won’t escape, even if you grow wings. Don’t even think about luring us into their arrow towers’ range! Now that you’ve offered yourselves up as bait, you’ll die here—hahaha... AH!!!"
Mid-laughter, one of the demon beasts suddenly screamed. In a flash, Ruri had charged forward and slashed, leaving Bruno holding a massive, round, dark object. It looked like an enormous coconut.
"...such big balls. Shame they belonged to a bastard. Better for the world to cut them off and stop his bloodline. Don’t worry, these will be put to good use by someone who actually deserves them," Bruno remarked indifferently, while Ruri laughed.
The wounded beast crashed to the ground, writhing in agony. Apparently, losing their balls was so excruciating it rendered them incapable of fighting.
"KILL THEM!"
The leader gave the command, and the bulls moved in unison. A sphere of compressed energy began forming, closing in on the couple to crush them.
Without hesitation, Bruno slammed his spear into the ground. The earth cracked open, and countless black metal spikes shot skyward.
"NO! STOP!"
The spikes, enhanced by Ruri’s spatial laws, pierced the beasts’ defenses instantly, targeting... their balls.
Bruno adjusted the spikes to shrink to fifty centimeters for better precision, and they easily pierced the tough skin around the vulnerable areas, drawing agonized screams from the beasts.
Hundreds of them collapsed to the ground, howling in pain, destabilizing the energy sphere trapping the couple.
Ruri, meanwhile, showed no mercy. With her katana and spatial laws, she slashed through another dozen balls in a matter of moments.
The injured beasts crumpled, wailing in despair, while their leader roared in fury: "Shrink your sizes!"
The enormous bulls quickly reduced their forms to around two meters tall, grabbing massive bone spears. Together, they began hurling the spears at Ruri.
*BANG!*
The spears slammed against a steel wall, bouncing off harmlessly. Bruno charged forward, cutting through the beasts with his own spear. A head flew through the air before being pulverized by a powerful kick.
Initially, the couple had only been targeting the bulls’ balls to disable their attacks, but now they began killing them outright. Strangely, after some time, the bulls’ balls seemed to regenerate, albeit as energy-less versions... much to the bulls’ despair!
"No! HEAVENS!" Some unfortunate creatures wished for death but were instead subjected to having their balls removed repeatedly.
The weaker ones were deliberately left alive, their screams unnerving the others. Meanwhile, Ruri focused on killing the stronger bulls, following the precise plans laid out by Alm and Bruno.
The rounded golem defended himself against furious attacks with his spear, stepping back a few meters, while Ruri swung her curved blade, slicing enemies in half. The blood spilling from the wounded seemed to excite the remaining bulls, driving them to attack even more furiously and recklessly. This was the second layer of their plan.
To the distant observers, the couple appeared to be fighting desperately, surrounded and overwhelmed by the flood of enemies, giving the impression they were risking their lives.
"Commander, they’ve entered our firing range. The two of them need our help!" Jilina called out to Carod in a warning tone.
Driven by fury, the bulls charged deeper into the battlefield, oblivious to the fact that they had crossed the safety threshold and entered the range of the arrow towers.
"Not yet," Carod said, shaking his head as he watched the battle closely.
"They’re in crisis! We can’t wait any longer!" shouted the vice-commander, clearly distressed.
"Don’t worry, trust them. They’re scarier than you think," Carod replied, feigning confidence. Despite his words, his assurance was based only on intuition. He had assessed the couple’s power earlier, and while it was believable they could hold out for a while, he felt they weren’t even fighting at full strength yet.
From a distance, it seemed as though the duo was repeatedly trying—and failing—to break through the blockade of the demon bulls.
In the heart of the confrontation, the round golem was drenched in blood—but none of it was his own. Meanwhile, Ruri had already taken down hundreds of enemies, remaining entirely untouched. Her speed, combined with her mastery of space-time laws and offensive power, was overwhelming. The round golem acted as an impenetrable shield, while Ruri served as the invisible blade, cutting through everything in her path.
"What monsters..." Arki murmured, astonished by the scene.
Together, the two weren’t just killing while surrounded by thousands of enemies—they were also constantly provoking them. Metal spears kept appearing stealthily, piercing the bulls’ balls, driving them even more insane.
"Commander, they’re well within our attack range now. This is the best opportunity!" Jilina pressed again.
Carod shook his head once more. "It’s still not the right moment. This isn’t just about killing a few of them; they’re working to gather them all in one area. If we attack now, even with all our arrows, we’ll only take out a small group, and the rest will flee before the second wave. Wait for the signal, or until they realize something’s wrong. Then, we strike."
"W-we’re… going to kill all of them?" Jilina whispered in shock. "Heavens! If this works, the profit will be so massive that even the loss of arrow towers won’t matter!"
Suddenly, her eyes widened as she saw a storm distorting space-time at the center of the battlefield.
Ruri stood at the epicenter of the phenomenon. The enemies’ bodies trembled under the pressure of her high-level law. It seemed to be the couple’s final move, signaling they couldn’t hold out much longer.
The bulls, however, believed they were on the verge of victory. To them, the pair looked exhausted, yet they never lost rhythm or power, which only drove the beasts further into madness.
What the bulls didn’t realize was that the distortion was blocking their vision and sense of direction. Some tried to warn the others, but their roars—and all sound—couldn’t propagate.
"Carod, it’s your turn! We don’t want anything but the balls," Ruri shouted.
In the next moment, she and the round golem clasped hands. The space around them distorted, and the two vanished from the battlefield.
"Fire!"
Carod’s order was immediate. Divine beams of light shot out from the arrow towers, piercing through the demon bulls’ bodies without mercy.
A blinding flash, like lightning, engulfed the demon beasts. Under the effects of the temporal distortion, their bodies were momentarily paralyzed, leaving them completely disoriented.
They couldn’t see anything, but the furious power made their fur stand on end. At last, they realized the danger.
"Run... AH!"
An annihilating arrow pierced through the head of one of the bulls, silencing it instantly.
Countless arrows continued to rain down from the towers, slicing through the demon beasts like relentless blades.
The more perceptive ones quickly reverted to their true forms. With their massive bodies, as long as they weren’t hit in the head or the balls, they thought they’d be fine.
With their butts turned toward the arrows and their arms covering their heads, they fled. But… little did they know that a near-Dao law, specifically designed to target this new weak point, and its creator were watching them. However, the creator chose not to draw their bow just yet.
"Fools, they don’t even realize what they’ve been spared from..." Ruri muttered beside the whale.
After three waves of arrows, a third of them had been wiped out. The rest, though injured, were attempting to escape alive.
The warriors of the ninth legion had ceased their fire, allowing the common demon beasts to flee alongside the bulls in the same direction. This way, they could conserve arrows while eliminating them all together later. Everything had gone perfectly; there was no way for them to escape alive.
Carod was preparing to order the fourth wave when the space suddenly trembled again. Arrows began falling from an unexpected direction.
"What?!" Furious roars erupted from the ninth legion.
The arrows, fired from another point, intercepted the fleeing survivors. Carod’s expression hardened as he shouted, "Pouzek, what do you think you’re doing?!"
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At that moment, the attack from the arrow towers came to a sudden stop. With the fourth wave, they could have wiped out every last one, but now...
Out of nowhere, a group of flying mutant beasts appeared in the sky, chained to a massive war carriage.
The war carriage was stunning—dozens of golden ballistae mounted along its sides, with hundreds of warriors from the Third Celestial Legion standing ready for action. At the very top stood a tall, muscular man with golden wings and eyes that gleamed like molten gold. His gaze locked onto Carod with a mocking smile, his expression dripping with provocation.
"Commander Carod, what exactly are you implying here? My Third Legion traveled a long way to reinforce your efforts, and this is how you thank me? Such hostility?" His voice was dry, his smile fake.
Carod, unable to hold back his anger, snapped furiously:
"Don’t give me that load of crap, Pouzek! I know exactly what kind of trash you are. Do you really think your scheming goes unnoticed? Everyone knows about your filthy plots, you scumbag! You’re a disgrace to the Celestial Legion. And now you dare to show up here to steal the fruits of our hard work? You’re nothing but a shameless parasite!"
Pouzek, unbothered, simply laughed loudly and replied with disdain:
"Hahaha! All this fuss over something so petty? Clearly, you lack the temperament of a true commander. No wonder you’ve always been a nobody, stuck in the lowest ranks. And by the looks of it, you’re about to lose even that. So incompetent..." He waved to his soldiers and ordered, "Gather the spoils we killed. They’re ours by right."
Carod’s voice boomed with outrage: "Those spoils are ours! Touch them, and you’ll face the consequences!"
The warriors of the Ninth Legion moved as one, their eyes burning with fury. Every arrow tower swiveled to aim at Pouzek and his legion. Those spoils had been won through sweat, blood, and sacrifice. There was no way they’d let them go without a fight.
Pouzek, however, sneered, completely unfazed: "The corpses with my legion’s arrows in them belong to us. Rules are rules. If you want to try something, go ahead. I’m curious to see if you’ve got the guts to fire at me."
As he spoke, the Third Legion’s soldiers began collecting the bodies of the demonic beasts right in front of the Ninth Legion warriors. Though the rules dictated that the kill belonged to whoever struck it down, the insult and provocation were undeniable.
Two-thirds of the enemies had been killed by Pouzek’s sneak attack. While they avoided touching the kills that belonged solely to the Ninth Legion, the blatant theft of their rightful spoils was enraging. The warriors clenched their jaws, fighting the urge to strike back.
It was then that Alm, who had been silently observing everything, finally intervened. His voice was calm, emotionless:
"How interesting. I’ll say this just once—everything here belongs to me. Are you really going to try taking what’s mine?"
Pouzek let out a mocking laugh. "Yours? Do they have your name written on them? In the world of cultivation, the strongest take everything. That’s the way it works."
Alm remained unshaken, his tone steady. "I see. Alright then. But let me warn you—my things aren’t easy to take. And since you’re so bold, be prepared. My wife... well, she has a vindictive streak, and I do enjoy indulging her."
Beside him, Ruri’s bloodthirsty smile spread across her face, her eyes gleaming with killing intent.
"Hahaha! Who do you think you are? A couple of mutated golems? Trying to pass the entrance exam?" Pouzek scoffed, waving dismissively. "You should be more careful, or you might end up dead before you even realize it. As for your wife... I can only imagine what might happen if the demonic beasts get their hands on her."
With a sharp gesture, he turned away, leading his legion off with a triumphant grin plastered across his face.
Carod’s anger boiled over, and with a roar, he smashed a nearby boulder into pieces with a single strike. "That bastard! I really want to kill him!" he bellowed, trying in vain to release the fury consuming him.
The warriors of the Ninth Legion stood pale and trembling, their fists clenched in silent rage. The joy of victory and the promise of rewards had been replaced with humiliation and a bitter sense of defeat.
They had been played. After surviving an ambush of bulls and countless demonic beasts, they had won through sheer grit and unexpected help. Yet in the end, Pouzek had stolen two-thirds of the spoils, leaving them humiliated and seething with anger.