Chapter 37: Accepting the Challenge

As Li Mingxing issued his commands one by one, the formidable army that had initially intimidated him was systematically dismantled.

Following a wave of insect swarms, the elves were still bewildered when the dwarves blocking their path suddenly went berserk, charging toward the left flank of the battlefield.

Before the centaurs, countless bolts of lightning erupted. Though it was an area-of-effect spell, its power was immense. Of the 200 centaurs, over 100 were struck dead instantly, while the rest were left trembling and paralyzed, unable to move.

At that moment, a group of centaurs charged out from Li Mingxing’s city. They carried wooden spears and wore no armor, yet their speed was remarkable as they lunged at the elves who were busy fending off the insect swarms.

Faced with such an assault, the elves could not wait for their own centaurs to return. The elf blade dancers in the front line took up the responsibility of defense, brandishing their twin blades as they charged forward.

However, after rushing out, they discovered that a group of white harpies had appeared in the sky. After peppering the blade dancers with a few blowdarts, the harpies drew their scimitars and dived down. Led by a harpy queen, these harpies utilized their greatest advantage: attacking the enemy and retreating to safety before the enemy could retaliate.

With the help of these harpies, Li Mingxing’s centaurs surged into the ranks of the elf archers and druids. Having received Li Mingxing’s orders, their objective was clear: kill the druids first, then the archers. Even if it cost them their lives, they were not to allow the archers a single chance to loose an arrow.

The elves were regular troops, battle-hardened and experienced. Although they lacked direct leadership, they quickly grasped Li Mingxing’s intentions. Knowing they could not outrun the centaurs, they did not retreat but instead charged toward their own centaur allies. They believed that if they reached them, their centaurs could engage the enemy, allowing them to unleash their full potential.

But they never expected that their centaurs would be the first of their units to be completely wiped out. After Li Mingxing had his blue harpies exhaust their magic to eliminate half of the enemy centaurs, he threw open the city gates. Except for the Glow-tribe pikemen guarding the walls, all of his miscellaneous troops rushed out, unified by a single goal: to slaughter every one of the enemy centaurs.

Though the loyalty of Li Mingxing’s troops was not high, they were more than happy to beat a dog already in the water. The jungle lizardmen, used by Li Mingxing as cannon fodder, understood that every enemy they killed increased their chances of gaining strength and surviving future battles. Consequently, these lizardmen, armed with wooden clubs, fought with unprecedented ruthlessness. They bludgeoned the enemy centaurs, and some even snatched short swords or shields from the fallen, engaging the approaching elf archers in close-quarters combat.

Observing the controlled chaos below, Li Mingxing turned his gaze to the left flank of the battlefield. He wondered about the situation of the Blackrock Hero and his men, and whether the 18 gray dwarves were a match for the 100 dwarven warriors.

As Li Mingxing was distracted, three pegasus knights soared toward the city wall. They had spotted Li Mingxing directing his troops and realized he was the key to this battle. They believed that if they could kill him, they would win, even if it meant losing all their centaurs, dwarves, and elves. They paid no mind to the goat-headed demons on the walls, viewing the herbivores as no match for their speed.

However, they were unaware that Li Mingxing had kept these Glow-tribe soldiers for a reason: they had undergone rigorous pike-formation training. Seeing the pegasus knights diving toward their charge, the pikemen did not pursue; instead, they raised their long spears in unison and struck upward at the sky.

Over a hundred spears thrust out simultaneously. Even harpies would have struggled to dodge them, let alone the pegasus knights, who possessed speed but lacked aerial agility. Two of the three knights were skewered instantly and plummeted from the sky. The remaining one was terrified and climbed higher into the air, seemingly intending to flee and report the situation to Dragon City.

Li Mingxing would not allow this. He waved his hand, and three harpies from the Underworld took flight, diving toward the escaping knight. The knight initially dismissed the harpies, believing he could handle them, but he was caught off guard when they threw grenade-like projectiles. Without a solid surface to maneuver in mid-air, the harpies had to exhaust a significant number of these explosive弹 until the knight was finally grounded.

Frustrated, the pegasus knight unleashed his full strength as a fourth-tier unit. With a single swing of his sword, he killed one of the harpies. This enraged the remaining two, who let out piercing shrieks, summoning the white harpies from all directions to surround the knight. Realizing he could not escape, the knight gripped his sword tightly, his eyes locked on the harpies, his spirit surging with a powerful fighting will.

Bolstered by this resolve, the knight achieved a feat that stunned Li Mingxing: he killed 17 of the white harpies before finally falling. This underscored the formidable power of a fourth-tier warrior.

After the knight was defeated, Li Mingxing’s first thought was to find a way to acquire a large number of troops above the fourth tier. He had realized that in future battles, anything below the third tier would be nothing more than cannon fodder; the true backbone would be fourth-tier warriors and above.

At this point, his gray dwarf unit returned, though their appearance shocked Li Mingxing. Only five remained, including the Blackrock Hero and one Graystone warrior, along with one dwarf wrecker and two dwarf cannoners. They showed no sorrow for their fallen comrades. Upon reaching Li Mingxing, the Blackrock Hero remarked, "A fine battle. We wiped out all the dwarves."

"But your losses were severe," Li Mingxing countered. "I only ordered you to stall them, not to sacrifice your entire unit."

"We are warriors of the dwarf race," the Blackrock Hero replied. "In our dictionary, there is no such thing as preserving strength when facing an enemy. To us, dying in battle is the best way to go."

Li Mingxing shook his head, though he felt a pang of regret; units like gray dwarves were not easily replaced.

The battle below was nearing its end. Li Mingxing saw the jungle lizardmen decapitating the corpses and hanging the heads from their belts. He sighed and said, "Send word: collect the spirit coins and all weapons and armor. Dismember the enemy corpses; use the meat for food, bury the bones in the city’s forest, and hang the heads on the city walls."

His veteran soldiers moved to comply, but one of the newly joined Glow-tribe members stepped forward. "My lord, is this wise? While there is a tradition of consuming enemies when food is scarce in this forest, hanging the heads on the walls is a bit..."

"It is nothing," Li Mingxing said calmly. "Just remember that they used to take your people's heads as offerings."

Before the goat-headed demon could respond, his subordinates had already rushed down to harvest the enemy heads. Standing on the wall, Li Mingxing nodded with satisfaction. He could see that the forest surrounding his city was beginning to darken, just as he had hoped. It seemed his mission would soon be complete.