A blinding light filled the sky. Suddenly, a glorious voice, dripping with mockery, rang in Pouzek’s ears.
"Brothers of the Eighth Legion, do not be afraid! The Ninth Legion is here to save you! Brothers, take the—oh! Wait, no, kill them!" Bruno exclaimed, and the entire Ninth Legion roared in unison.
"Those are chaotic light and hum bombs!" Pouzek roared furiously, recognizing both the source of the blinding light and the hateful voice of that damned round golem.
Pouzek had abandoned the front line to lure the demonic beasts into a narrow gap between two chasms. These chasms contained a terrifying power left behind by immortals who had died there.
Thanks to this obscure knowledge that few possessed, he planned to use the location to his advantage, as it had a special effect on everyone’s souls. By burning some resources there, it was possible to collapse even an army of powerful demonic beasts.
"Bastards! You’re stealing our spoils of war!" Instantly, all the soldiers of the Third Legion poured out of the war chariot, shouting furiously.
The bombs Bruno had used were especially effective in that location. The demonic beasts temporarily lost their hearing and sight, and their souls slowed for an instant. However, this effect had been amplified by the smoke Pouzek himself had released earlier.
Obviously, Alm, Bruno, and Ruri had anticipated Pouzek’s plans. They could sense what was hidden in that place, so they factored it into their strategy with only minimal adjustments.
As for the Third Legion, the smoke now blocked their advance—ironically, the very smoke Pouzek had released. He was so furious he felt like he could explode at any moment.
"Those bastards! Kill all of them! Use long-range attacks to clear the battlefield!" Pouzek bellowed, unhinged.
"Commander, we can’t! How will we explain ourselves if we kill them?" The vice-commander tried to intervene, alarmed.
While intimidating the Ninth Legion was possible, killing them was another matter. Whoever did that would inevitably face execution since this was a competition between imperial legions with strict rules. Killing comrades was forbidden.
Pouzek cursed nonstop. They had lost their first defensive line, sacrificed their arrow towers, exposed a secret trump card, and now, at the moment of reaping the rewards, the spoils had been snatched right before their eyes.
The smoke still hadn’t dissipated, so he didn’t dare move forward. The most infuriating part of all was the mocking voices from the other side.
"Our Ninth Legion won’t stand idly by while our comrades are slaughtered! We’ll fight together for the glory of the empire!"
"Even if we have to sacrifice our lives, it doesn’t matter! When our brothers and sisters are in trouble, we must help them. That is our duty!"
"Although some people are wicked, would we be so petty as to bicker with such small-minded folks? We’ll show everyone what it means to repay enmity with kindness."
"Brothers of the Third and Eighth Legion, don’t worry! We’ll risk our lives to hold off your enemies! You must escape!"
These heartwarming phrases were, in fact, orchestrated by Ruri, who led the synchronized chorus of the Ninth Legion. Yes, the words were so moving that Bruno nearly cried… though perhaps for all the wrong reasons.
Pouzek’s vision darkened. He nearly fainted from rage, prompting the warriors around him to shout in alarm.
"Commander, are you okay?!"
Pouzek’s face was twisted into a terrifying expression. He was completely beside himself. "Carod, you’ll pay dearly for your foolish actions! You damned sinister golems, you’ll pay with your lives!"
"Oh dear… Commander Pouzek, why are you barking like a rabid dog? We risked our lives to come help you, and instead of thanking us, you act so hostile? What a cold heart you have..." Ruri’s voice came from within the smoke, leaving Pouzek speechless. Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Commander!" the Third Legion soldiers cried in panic.
"Commander Pouzek, your moral character is far too narrow! How can someone with so little skill and such a bad temper be a commander? It’s truly inconceivable." Bruno’s voice followed, delivering the final blow. Pouzek began to convulse.
"Quick! Get the commander into the chariot and block out all sound!"
The vice-commander was as pale as a ghost. What kind of demonic spell was this? If they let the situation continue, Pouzek looked like he was about to die of rage.
*Slap!*
The commander of the Eighth Legion acted swiftly, slapping the back of Pouzek’s neck and knocking him out. The others jumped in shock.
"What? I’m just protecting him!" she said seriously, though inwardly she was relieved to have an excuse to vent her own frustrations.
*Slap!*
To be sure he was unconscious, she delivered another, much harder slap to his face. Then, with a confused look, she muttered to the crowd:
"I think… not."
*Slap! Slap! Slap!*
"Commander! Enough, he’s spitting blood!" The vice-commander roared, stopping her from continuing.
Quickly, they carried him into the chariot and cut him off from the sounds of the outside world.
"Bastards! They’re openly stealing our spoils! We’ll report this to the Elders! Are you all idiots? Aren’t you afraid of our retaliation?!" cursed the vice-commander, his voice dry with fury.
Carod and the others watched the outcome, speechless. Those golems were absolutely ruthless. Even with their powerful fortifications, these idiots had lost over a thousand warriors, not to mention the arrow towers and the camp. Most of the dead were from the third legion, who, being stronger, were forced to fight the hardest.
If the others hadn’t interfered, killing those beasts would’ve at least helped them recover some losses. But now, those two had swooped in to claim the fruits of their hard-fought labor.
Carod sneered, "Ridiculous. Your retaliation? When did the ninth legion provoke you? You’re the ones who made us lose our camp. Why weren’t you afraid of *our* retaliation? Now that we’ve been pushed to this point, why isn’t our revenge allowed?"
"Cough... That’s not revenge! We’re not admitting anything like that! We came to save you, yes, save you! That’s it!" Ruri quickly corrected, throwing a sharp glare at Carod.
Carod nearly tripped, slipping in anger. They hadn’t left any evidence, and everything was within the rules. Sure, they came for revenge, but they weren’t about to admit it. What could those idiots do about it? Just die of anger.
"Brothers, kill! Protect our brothers and sisters! Even if we have to fight to the death, we won’t hesitate!" shouted Ruri, kicking off the synchronized chorus again.
Arrows began raining down on the beasts, who were helpless on the ground thanks to the smoke and bombs. All the enemies were quickly wiped out—just a matter of finishing them off.
The warriors of the ninth legion had never had such a successful operation. They split up, with half the force tasked with cleaning up the battlefield and quickly gathering the bodies.
After all, those corpses were worth money. Every blink of an eye brought torrents of wealth into their pockets.
"Quick, we don’t have much time. The effect is about to wear off," Bruno said quietly.
"Those bodies aren’t yours!" demanded the enemy vice-commander. According to the rules, you couldn’t take what you didn’t kill.
"Who said they’re not ours? Any corpse with one of our arrows belongs to us," Bruno replied with an innocent expression.
The eyes of the ninth legion warriors lit up. That was true. Even if they didn’t kill something outright, they just had to make it *look* like they did.
"Faster, faster!" urged Ruri.
"Oh, no need to be stingy. Let’s go." When the battlefield was almost clean, Bruno had Carod chime in.
Then Ruri ascended into the sky and gave a heartfelt speech: "Brothers and sisters of the third and eighth legions, through our bloody battle, our tireless effort, and the spilling of our blood, we have finally managed to stop your enemies! You’re safe now; you can come out of hiding. But there’s no need to thank us—knowing that you’re alive and safe is our greatest reward. Now, we will take our leave! Always count on us!"
"YES!!" The warriors of the ninth legion roared in unison and left in a hurry, as if fleeing the scene.
An hour later, the smoke cleared.
The warriors of the third legion advanced through the narrow pass. At first, there were still a few corpses left for them, but eventually, it was as if the battlefield had been sliced clean with a knife—everything on the other side had disappeared.
"Damn it! Just you wait!" Pouzek had just woken up and roared, not realizing his face was still covered in marks from the slaps. The bruises were so deep they’d turned purple.
He saw that less than a tenth of the corpses remained. Ninety percent of the spoils had been stolen right under his nose. Furious, he coughed up blood again and staggered.
"Dear! Take it easy!"
A woman flapped her golden wings and appeared cheerfully in front of him. Then her hand swung... violently.
**Slap!**
***
The next day, after everyone had returned to the ninth legion’s improvised camp, a large group led by Pouzek arrived, attacking.
"Carod! Hand over our spoils, or I’ll wipe out the ninth legion today!" Pouzek’s roar boomed with a thunderous force. His voice overflowed with hatred and resentment.
Thousands of cultivators from the third legion were now standing in the ninth legion’s camp. These were people who had come from a distant camp. They were so furious they looked like they might spontaneously combust at any moment.
"Oh dear, aren’t you that Commander Po... Poop? Yeah, Poop-ze! Why have you come here so ferociously?" Ruri said, stepping out alongside the round figure, looking at him with a pure, innocent expression.
Beside him, Bruno used every ounce of self-control not to laugh, but somehow managed to keep a straight face.
"You bastards! Give us our stuff!" roared Pouzek, enraged.
Bruno looked at him with disdain. "Commander P… I think it ended with ’zek,’ right?" He turned to Ruri, who seemed deep in thought. "Anyway, Mister Poop, this time you’re wrong. We ran a huge distance just to help you in the eighth legion, but instead of being grateful, you come here trying to kill people? That really chills the heart."
"Bullshit! This was your scheme all along! Hand over the spoils now!" Pouzek demanded, drawing his weapon.
"Your spoils? Did they have your name on them?" Ruri said indifferently.
"You!" Pouzek roared, activating his cultivation to attack.
"What you? Did you forget how arrogant and domineering you were when you took our spoils? Let me remind you: the demonic beasts we killed have our arrows in them. That’s proof. Whoever kills the prey gets to keep it. Isn’t that what you said last time? So this is your own crap, handed back to you intact, right?" Bruno sneered, completely unafraid.
Pouzek had taken the ninth legion’s spoils in the same way before, enraging and humiliating everyone. Now the tables had turned, and throwing his words back at him was a cathartic release for Carod and the others.
"This is completely different. You maliciously lured the demonic beasts toward us. Hmph, once this is reported to the Elders, some soul searches will reveal the truth. Did you really think your scheme was flawless?!" Pouzek shouted.
"The truth? Isn’t it already clear? Our actions were open and honest. If you have something to say, just say it," Bruno replied flatly.
"You...!" Pouzek switched targets. "Carod, these golems don’t care if you live or die. They’re just using you for this temporary test and can leave without any red tape. But you? Are you really willing to throw your men’s lives away?"
Carod tried to maintain a calm expression, but he was slightly panicking inside. He didn’t have the courage of these two. He had the entire ninth legion to think about. This wasn’t good. Too many in the third legion had died. If this got investigated, the consequences wouldn’t be pretty.
While Carod struggled with his fear, Alm laughed vilely. "Pouzek, playing this game with me is stupid. I can think better with my left foot than you can with your whole brain. You want to use your status to suppress others? Let’s see how far you get with that."
"Yes, I set this up, but I planned for the demonic beasts to come to our camp so we could wipe them out. Remember who attacked first and screwed up our plans out there, huh? It was you who messed it all up. You were also the one who drew the demonic beasts away. But even so, we still risked our lives to save you."
"Anyway, you don’t have proof. And actually, if you take this to the Elders, you’ll be declared guilty… maybe Carod will even get rewarded for saving so many. But… if you want to attack…" Suddenly, a dark, malicious smile appeared on his face. "That’d be even more fun! Go ahead, forget everything I said and attack."
Hearing that, Carod and the others almost fell to their knees before the round figure. It had been orchestrated flawlessly. Every step had been guided perfectly, and no matter who investigated, all the evidence pointed to Pouzek. If he insisted, he’d have to bear all the consequences.
As long as Carod didn’t admit to intentionally scheming, no one could touch them. Now he stood tall and confident. So Pouzek wanted to report to the Elders? Fine! He’d be the one taking the fall for this!
"You…" Pouzek was finally at a loss for words. Now he’d burned himself playing with fire. No one would be able to blame the ninth legion for this.
"I don’t care. Give us our stuff, or I’ll destroy you right here and now!" Pouzek shouted desperately.
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But…
Countless laughs echoed from the ninth legion’s army. Ruri looked at them and gave a signal to enhance the "sound effects."
"If loud voices ruled the world, donkeys would be in charge. You want to eliminate us? Then try. Let’s see if you’ve got the guts," Bruno mocked, his disdain stopping Alm from saying anything that might actually provoke an attack.
Pouzek ground his teeth so hard it seemed they might shatter. Conflict between legions was natural, but outright killing wasn’t allowed under any circumstances. If he killed even one person, he wouldn’t escape alive either.
Seeing his face turn from purple to green, Ruri waved her hand as if shooing a bug.
"Fine. Just wait. My stuff isn’t so easy to steal. I’ll make you regret this." Pouzek’s voice came through clenched teeth as he led his people away.
After his departure, the ninth legion warriors erupted into applause.
"Incredible… he looked like his father had just died. But… what were those slap marks all over his head?"
"Besides being an idiot, he’s probably going to grow a pair of horns soon," Ruri replied to Arki’s innocent question.
Everyone except Arki understood and burst into cheerful laughter. The feeling of finally venting their frustrations was overwhelming. They were so ecstatic they couldn’t even put it into words.
Minutes later, Bruno asked, "Alright. Has everything been counted?"
"We’ve got enough to rebuild our first defensive line. Using just half of our points should be enough for that. We also have plenty to reward the warriors and improve their equipment," Carod said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Bruno spoke calmly, "Hm? We’re not going to use our points to rebuild the defensive line. Spend everything on better equipment."
"I don’t get it. If we don’t use the points for that, how are we going to hold our camp?" Carod asked, confused.
Ruri smiled and replied, "That bastard was left alive for that. Besides, we’re not rebuilding some makeshift camp. Master already said: he only plays big. We won’t settle for anything less than the best of the best."
"What?" Carod and everyone else were stunned.