As he was thinking about the Orc King, a familiar figure suddenly appeared on the northern horizon, rushing towards him at an extremely fast speed.
The black leather armor barely reflected the sunlight, and the Shadow Moon Blade hung at his waist—it was Jiang Yelan.
Fengxue tilted its head slightly, watching the figure approach. Lin Feng patted Fengxue's neck, signaling it to slow down: "One of us."
Jiang Yelan slowed down and approached, her gaze first falling on the silver dragon, whose enormous size was clearly beyond her expectations.
She paused for a moment before looking at Lin Feng. Lin Feng turned to the side, gesturing for her to come up. She landed on the dragon's back with swift and decisive movements.
Feng Xue glanced at her sideways without objection. Lin Feng briefly introduced her: "Ye Lan, Feng Xue, the guardian beast of the territory."
Fengxue gently wagged its tail as a greeting.
Jiang Yelan reached out and pressed on the scales on Feng Xue's neck, then withdrew his hand without saying a word.
With a flap of its wings, Fengxue carried the two of them up to a height of 500 meters.
The sound of the wind became low and even in my ears, and the wilderness and army below shrank into a dark map.
"Any changes in Dongzhi City?" Lin Feng asked.
Jiang Yelan nodded: "About two hours ago, the orc army suddenly stopped its siege of Dongzhi City and began to retreat north. Judging from their movements, they intend to withdraw from the Antarctic Region."
She paused for a moment, "They must have received news of your annihilation of the orc detachment, and also ascertained the size of the forces here. They learned of this yesterday."
The strongest among the three kingdoms has been keeping a close eye on the movements of the orcish high command to prevent them from intercepting you. You must have already learned of this after you joined forces with the garrison of Holy Elephant City today.”
Lin Feng nodded: "At the time, the information I received was that the orc high command seemed to have not yet reacted and was still besieging Dongzhi City. I thought this was a good opportunity to annihilate them."
He gave a wry smile. "They left after only an hour?"
Jiang Yelan didn't respond, but after a moment she said, "Yes, we won just like that."
Lin Feng was speechless. The orcs' retreat made him feel like he had punched cotton. He had prepared for a tough battle, but they left without even saying goodbye.
But then I thought, if any orc had any sense, they wouldn't have stayed after learning about the difference in combat strength between his side and his.
The best course of action now is to retreat as soon as possible and return to rebuild our strength, while the human race is still undecided on whether to fight to the bitter end or to stop while we're ahead.
He also knew that he couldn't just fly over Dongzhi City and shout "Don't let the orcs go," and then have the powerful figures from various countries follow him and charge into the orc army.
The nations have been fighting the orcs for far too long, and are exhausted both physically and mentally. Most are now celebrating their victory.
He was silent for a moment, then patted Fengxue's neck.
The silver dragon then folded its wings and descended, from 500 meters to 50 meters, hovering above the armies of both countries.
Lin Feng looked down at the soldiers who were looking up, his voice carrying far across the open field: "Soldiers of the Bear Kingdom and the White Elephant Kingdom, the orcs have retreated! You have won! Now, proceed directly to Dongzhi City to rendezvous with your allies!"
There was a moment of silence below, followed by a deafening roar of cheers. Shields slammed into the ground, scimitars were raised high into the sky, and laughter and shouts mingled in the wind like a surging wave.
The Kshatriya warriors of the White Elephant Kingdom raised their scimitars above their heads, while the Cossack cavalry of the Bear Kingdom stood upright on their horses, tapping their shields with their lances.
Lin Feng didn't linger. He turned around and ordered the Feng Huo Guards following behind him: "Feng Huo Guards, advance eastward immediately. Target: Qian Dai City."
There was a moment of silence in the black-armored ranks below, followed by a roar that was deeper and more unified than cheers: "Beacon fire! Beacon fire! Beacon fire!"
The army began to turn, the mammoth war elephants raised their trunks and took their first step eastward, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
The black-armored formation then turned, their halberds raised diagonally, and the formation changed from facing north to facing east, like a black arrowhead that had been readjusted.
The Sak light cavalry on both flanks and the White Elephant Kingdom reinforcements continued northward toward Dongzhi City.
The two armies slowly parted ways on the wasteland south of Dongzhi City, each going their own way along different roads.
Fengxue regained altitude and carried Jiang Yelan and Lin Feng eastward.
The afternoon sunlight fell on the silvery-white dragon scales, like a layer of flowing metallic luster.
Lin Feng sat on the dragon's back, facing the east wind, and squinted at the horizon in front of him for a while.
Jiang Yelan sat behind him without saying a word, her gaze lingering on the distance.
The two armies grew further and further away behind them, one heading north and the other east, like two rivers separated in the wilderness.
...
One hundred and fifty li north of Dongzhi City, a long, continuous cloud of gray dust rose across the open fields.
Two hundred thousand orcs are retreating north at full speed, their ranks stretched out in extremely long lines. The cavalry at the front have already run for several miles, while the infantry phalanx behind them is still in pursuit.
The gaps between the ranks widened, and the once tight lines became loose and chaotic after a long march.
The green-skinned orcs walked quickly with their heads down, their iron axes swaying with each step. Many of them still bore the cracks and burn marks left behind by the fall of Dongzhi City on their leather armor.
On either side of the column, orc overseers rode large dire wolves back and forth, their battle axes held horizontally in front of their saddles, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Faster! Faster! We must cross Greenstone Ridge before nightfall!"
At the rear of the procession, supply wagons were abandoned one after another by the roadside, grain sacks and iron filings were scattered all over the ground, and the pack animals pulling the wagons were unbridled, standing blankly in place, watching the procession pass by.
No one looked back at those things; the speed of the march was more important than anything else.
Saruk hovered a hundred meters above the ground, his golden greatsword resting on his shoulder, the bloodstains on the blade dried into dark brown spots.
He didn't look back at the retreating army; his gaze was fixed on the horizon ahead, but his thoughts drifted back to twenty-odd days ago.
At that time, he had just pacified the Central Plains and was at the height of his military power, planning how to take over the Antarctic Region, when Hel Shadow sent someone to deliver a letter.
The message was short: there is one Demon King-level dungeon in each of the Northern, Central, and Southern Domains, and the seal won't last much longer.
Once the seal is lifted, the Nightmare Clan will surge forth from the earth and sweep across the entire surface.
Hel's proposal was that the Orcs and Undead would exchange territories. He would go to the Western Region, while Hel would retreat to the Eastern Region. After each race consolidated their new territories, their military strength would double, and they would then face the Nightmare Clan's attack.
Once the Nightmare Clan's power has been largely exhausted, the two clans will decide the ownership of this plane based on their methods.
Saruk did not agree at the time. He had just pacified the Central Plains and had the Antarctic region in his hands. He was in the prime of his life. Why should he give up the territory he had conquered?
You undead are my enemies. My battles are my own; I don't need anyone to tell me how to fight.
