Chapter 696: Everyone Was Played

HUMMM—

A draconic might filled the air, and the world seemed to fall silent. Faced with the threat of the Six-winged Dragon Snake, tens of thousands of Water Demons trembled in the river, not daring to harbor the slightest thought of resistance.

This was because the Six-winged Dragon Snake was not only a Demon King but also of the Dragon Attribute. Creatures of the Dragon Attribute held a natural suppressive power over Water Demons. Under the Six-winged Dragon Snake’s overwhelming might, they could only watch helplessly as the massive horde of beasts crossed the “Ice Road.”

The Six-winged Dragon Snake looked down from on high as the beast horde crossed the river like a tide. It glanced at the surrounding Water Demons, who were furious but dared not speak, a trace of disdain flashing through its massive vertical pupils. But that was all. It took no further action.

It only wanted safe passage for its eastern campaign and had no desire to fall out with the Water Demons of the Canglan River. Doing so would bring it nothing but harm.

The Canglan River had numerous tributaries, and there was no shortage of powerful Demon Kings among them. If it angered them, not only would the eastern campaign be off the table, but even crossing the river in the future would become a problem…

Watching the beast horde cross the river on such a massive scale, Song Changsheng’s brow furrowed deeply.

The Human Race and the Demon Race used the Canglan River as their border for two reasons. First, the sky contained the exceedingly treacherous Gang Qi Layer. Second, the river teemed with a vast number of Water Demons.

With these two obstacles in place, neither the Demon Race nor the Human Race could easily cross the border.

According to the predictions of Song Changsheng and the others, the Demon Beasts should have lost at least a fifth of their forces while crossing the Canglan River. Yet, unexpectedly, aside from the loss of some Demon Birds, the rest of the Demon Beasts had suffered almost no casualties!

‘I was too optimistic about the situation before. I underestimated this Six-winged Dragon Snake. It must have reached some kind of understanding with the Demon Kings of the Canglan River!’

Song Changsheng suddenly felt the urge to curse. So much for the water and land dwellers not encroaching on each other! So much for the inviolable territory of a King!

It was all bullshit. These Demon Kings had absolutely no integrity.

After his anger subsided, a deep sense of worry welled up in Song Changsheng’s heart. The scale of the Beast Tide before him far exceeded what he and Niu Dazhuang had seen earlier. A rough estimate put their numbers at over 300,000.

Although the majority were Low-tier Demon Beasts, their combined power was still terrifying. Even a Golden Core Cultivator would be powerless against a Beast Tide of this magnitude.

‘I wonder if Dingyuan City can withstand this storm.’

Song Changsheng thought worriedly as he watched the Demon Beast army make a beeline for Dingyuan City.

The Six-winged Dragon Snake’s first target was definitely Dingyuan City. If it found it couldn’t take the city in a short time, the beast horde would split its forces.

At that point, Five Elements Peak would also face immense pressure.

And that was the best-case scenario.

If Dingyuan City fell to the first wave of the Beast Tide, things would get troublesome. The Beast Tide would expand its front from that single point, quickly gaining momentum and sweeping through Tuo Province. When that happened, Luoxia City would once again become the front line against the demons.

‘I hope it doesn’t come to that,’ Song Changsheng sighed softly, then turned and returned to Five Elements Peak to prepare for battle.

Meanwhile, Zhan Tianxia and the others, having received news that the beast horde had successfully crossed the river, also had their brows tightly knitted. The scale of the Beast Tide had exceeded their expectations.

“Deploy the Luoxia Ship. This is no time to be holding back,” Muu Guibai said in a low voice from the front.

Hearing this, Zhan Tianxia frowned. “Isn’t it a bit too early?”

The Luoxia Ship was a top-tier Celestial Ship that Luoxia City had found a long time ago. With its firepower fully unleashed, even a Demon King would suffer a grievous blow.

It was originally meant to be a trump card against the Six-winged Dragon Snake, but now they had no choice but to reveal it early.

On a large-scale battlefield like this, the power of a single top-tier Celestial Ship was enough to turn the tide of battle. It would have absolutely no problem repelling the first wave of the Beast Tide.

However, this also reduced their confidence in dealing with the Six-winged Dragon Snake.

Seeing the worried looks on everyone’s faces, Muu Guibai said gently, “There is no need to panic. The Beast Tide is not a matter for Luoxia City or our sect alone. I have already informed our comrades from the Golden Crow Sect and the Celestial Vein Sect. They will be sending people to help us defend against the Beast Tide soon.”

At his words, everyone immediately felt much more at ease. If two Masters were to take command in Dingyuan City, the siege from the Beast Tide could be broken at any time.

Only Shen Qingxiu’s expression remained grave. ‘If asking for reinforcements were truly that simple, Luoxia City wouldn’t have struggled against Beast Tides for two thousand years. These people from the Golden Crow Sect and the Celestial Vein Sect… they can’t be trusted.’

Although she had her doubts, she knew it was not the right time to say something that would affect morale. Besides, she didn’t need to say it. She believed Muu Guibai saw things with far more foresight than she did.

After all… he had never once let them down.

As if sensing her gaze, Muu Guibai turned his head slightly and gave Shen Qingxiu a small nod. He was just about to warn everyone not to get too optimistic when his brow twitched. He shot to his feet and announced in a grave voice, “The Six-winged Dragon Snake is here.”

With that one sentence from Muu Guibai, the atmosphere instantly became incredibly tense.

The group followed Muu Guibai to the top of the city wall. The City Defense Array was already active, and the disciples of Luoxia City had mounted the walls, holding their Magical Artifacts or manning the armaments on the ramparts, all aimed at the wilderness outside the city.

Out there, in a place they could not yet see, violent tremors traveled from the distance, growing closer. A Demon Qi so thick it resembled smog drifted toward Dingyuan City. As disciples of Luoxia City, they all knew what it represented: destruction, blood… and death.

Watching that immense cloud of Demon Qi draw ever closer, their palms couldn’t help but grow slick with cold sweat.