Chapter 1249: Intense First Battle

Zhao Jundu finally turned around and sized Song Zining up from head to toe.

This seventh young master had never given him a reliable impression. He found the mere sight of the man annoying, especially after the Song clan's successor examinations. Even though they had no choice but to work together sometimes because of Qianye, the air had always been filled with the scent of gunpowder. Thinking back, however, this young strategist god had never spoken empty words nor had he formally asked for help.

At the thought of this, Zhao Jundu's expression relaxed a bit. "What help do you need? Speak."

"You guys have all crossed the divine champion threshold, so I'm feeling a bit itchy inside. I've been calculating my fate, and it's about time for me to shine. So, I came here."

Zhao Jundu didn't even bother to smile after hearing Song Zining's frivolous words. "Men, drive this swindler away!"

Two guards moved in from the side, ready to seize the target.

Song Zining called out, "Wait, wait! I'm here to fight!"

"I know that, why else would you be here? Speak seriously or I'll forbid you from appearing within fifty kilometers."

Zhao Jundu's word was an order, so Song Zining could no longer crack jokes. "Dismiss them first."

The group of fierce guards withdrew unwillingly after Zhao Jundu waved his hand.

After everyone was gone, Song Zining said, "I want to fight on the front lines."

Zhao Jundu was surprised. He glanced at the giant box of supplies in Song Zining's hand and said, "Are you serious?"

"Of course."

Zhao Jundu gazed deeply at Song Zining before slapping him on the body with a thick stack of documents. "These documents contain information on the alien creatures. Go through them carefully, lest you die from a lack of preparation."

Song Zining took the documents and handed Zhao Jundu an envelope. "Please hold onto this."

"What's this?"

"My will. Give it to Qianye if I die in battle."

Zhao Jundu didn't seem moved at all. Instead, he said with a frown, "Why would you give your will to Qianye? Are you trying to use him again?"

Without waiting for him to explain, Zhao Jundu tore open the envelope and fished out the letter from within. Song Zining's brows twitched a couple of times, but he didn't stop the other party.

Zhao Jundu said after scanning the document, "It's really a will?"

"Why would I fake it? I'd rather leave what I have to Qianye than those so-called relatives."

Zhao Jundu snorted. A green fire burst forth from his palm and burned the will completely. "Just live on well! Lil' Five does not lack what you can offer."

Song Zining raised his brows in apparent protest and seemed ready to argue his case. Before he could speak, however, an aide walked in and passed a letter to Zhao Jundu. "Secret missive from the Imperial Capital."

Zhao Jundu opened the letter and passed it to Song Zining after reading it. "Not bad, there are no other gates on the Qin Continent."

"How about the others?"

"It'll take time for the news to arrive."

"That's good as well, we just need to take care of this 'door.'"

Zhao Jundu said with narrowed eyes, "This single door isn't so easy to deal with, either."

"Let's fight first and then decide."

Song Zining put down the equipment box and opened it. He then began wearing the armor on the spot.

A violent tremor broke out from the mist at this point. One beast after the other charged out from the mist and at the Imperial defensive line. Loud gunfire erupted from the field as a fierce battle broke out.

A bright glint flashed through Zhao Jundu's eyes. "The 'door' is open!"

Song Zining—now equipped with silver armor and a spear—broke through the glass and shot toward the battlefield.

"So rushed." Shaking his head, Zhao Jundu issued a series of orders for defense. He didn't join the front lines afterward but, instead, remained at the central command to oversee the battle.

At this moment, these "doors" had opened not just on the Qin continent but also in the void, Evernight, the Transcendent Continent, Western Continent, and even the void continent. Countless monsters charged out from the mist and onto the continents, reaping all life in their wake.

Numerous specter-like warships roamed the routes between each continent, hunting down the airships carrying messages between them. Only when these "doors" appeared and opened did they quietly disappear.

The Empire had already sensed the disrupted flow of information, that the number of lost correspondence was far beyond normal, but they still hadn't figured out the reason. Several days had passed since the "door" on the Qin Continent had appeared—all eyes were on it, and vast amounts of resources converging there. The top experts overseeing the capital were paying attention to developments, ready to assist at a moment's notice.

There was no time for anything else when the "door" opened because the battle was fiercer than anyone had expected.

In less than an hour of its opening, the number of beasts pouring out from it had completely overwhelmed the Imperial forces. A dense array of creatures covered up the entire area from the ground to the air.

The sharp rise in casualties forced Zhao Jundu out of his seat. He roared, "Armor, sword!"

After donning his armor, his figure flickered away and appeared at the center of the beast horde. Eight pillars of violet energy burst into the sky, each suppressing one direction. All creatures within a hundred meters ground to a halt, even those mid-air. A fierce mammoth-like creature struggled with all its might and finally broke free. Before it could even let out a roar, however, its body exploded with a bang, showering blood all over the battlefield.

The first explosion ignited the fuse, leading to a chain explosion through all the other beasts. In the blink of an eye, a large empty area had appeared around Zhao Jundu.

After this long period and his ascension to the divine champion realm, Zhao Jundu's Omniscient Seal had improved yet again. Thousands of beasts were killed in an instant.

The Empire's forces were the elites among the elites. With the enemy tide stemmed, they managed to catch their breath and adjust their forces to block the weakest links. When the beast horde rolled in once again, the somewhat loosened defense was once again tightly-knit.

Zhao Jundu's expression wasn't relaxed and became increasingly serious instead. Before long, Eight pillars of indomitable violet energy appeared once again and killed a large swathe of creatures.

This time, the lull didn't last very long. In just half an hour, the alien creatures had forced Zhao Jundu to use his Omniscient Seal once again. The violet hue seemed less vivid this time—its power was somewhat weaker, and hundreds of beasts actually survived the attack.

After three consecutive uses of the seal, Zhao Jundu seemed a bit pale and his forehead was drenched in sweat. He drew his sword and charged forth to fight the beasts surging out of this "door."

After an unknown length of time, Zhao Jundu found that there was no enemy left except the beast he had just beheaded. He looked up to find Song Zining leaning on his spear, gasping continuously. The stylish seventh young master was covered in blood and injuries; there were also two deep claw marks on his face.

Song Zinging shook his head at Zhao Jundu, indicating that his injuries weren't too bad. It seemed he didn't even want to speak unnecessarily.

Zhao Jundu looked back and saw that there was still fighting going on around the defensive line. Without reinforcements, enemy numbers fell with each creature killed, and soon, the sounds of fighting quieted down. The defending forces were also fairly weak by this point, and the fortifications were filled with corpses. Most of the remains belonged to beasts, but the number of human carcasses was by no means small.

Zhao Jundu realized the state of their casualties with just a glance. Despite having expected as much, he couldn't help turning gloomy.

He walked slowly through the battlefield, inspecting everything along the way.

No more beasts emerged from the mist, and the reserve forces had stepped in to reform the first defense line. Rescue, treatment, and repairs were already starting across the battlefield. The technicians arrived almost immediately to clean up and reconstruct the fortifications.

There was little differentiation between the front and rear lines due to the large number of flying enemies present. Fights broke out in every corner of the battlefield, filling it with smoke and corpses.

Song Zining walked over in the same direction, followed by two medics who wrapped up his wounds. His spear was now a walking stick, and even, then he was limping pretty badly.

Zhao Jundu said slowly, "It's just a hundred thousand beasts and we're already in such a state."

Song Zining wanted to laugh, but the movement tugged on his wounds, causing him to inhale deeply. He grimaced for a while before saying, "They're an army, not an ordinary horde of beasts. You destroyed something akin to an entire Evernight army, are you still not satisfied?"

Zhao Jundu nodded, but the darkness on his countenance didn't disappear. "You really fought hard. Are you okay?"

"Mostly flesh wounds, nothing... too serious." His pained expression didn't look like it was "nothing serious" though.

After passing through the defensive line, Zhao Jundu said, "This won't do, I must apply for reinforcements."

Song Zining frowned but didn't object. They had already lost a tenth of their forces in the first battle. They wouldn't be able to last very long at this rate.

Song Zining gazed at the mist, asking, "Have you tried sending people in to investigate?"

"Yes, but none of them were able to go very deep inside, I couldn't, either. Only those with extremely pure origin power can enter, I'm not capable in that regard."

"Perhaps I can give it a try," Song Zining replied after hearing Zhao Jundu's judgment.

"Let's decide when you've recovered. I don't want you dying here."

"We have to find a way to deal with the white mist."

Zhao Jundu's brows were locked in a frown. "Let's just wait and see what the military finds out."

"Oh right, the Empire doesn't have a lot of reserve forces left does it?"

With Zhao Jundu's current position, he naturally knew some of the Empire's core secrets. He didn't hide it, either, and said with a whisper, "Yeah, the void continent was close to a full mobilization. The private armies have gone back to their families, and the oldest batch of soldiers are retiring. It'll take time to recruit new soldiers and train them. The void continent's defense is also taking up a large number of soldiers. This means there's little left in terms of actual reserves."

"Did you ever think what would happen if there was a 'door' on other continents as well?"

Zhao Jundu stopped walking. "Why do you say that?"

"Don't you think there have been very few reports from the other continents these days? Even the ones we received were from several days ago. I'm saying what if there is a door on each continent..."

"That would be a disaster." Zhao Jundu sighed.