Chapter 37: The Battle of Zhongzhou

"Why is that lunatic here again?"

Lily recognized the figure in golden armor at a glance. That handsome yet ghostly face seemed to lunge toward her in an instant.

"Damn that accursed Star God!" Lily couldn't help but blurt out.

"Star... Star God? What is this guerrilla talking about?" The border soldiers could not understand what Lily was seeing, but at this moment, she seemed as if her soul had been snatched away, her gaze fixed intently on the Star God standing in the distance.

"You flesh-and-blood key, always wandering off." A strange, eerie smile twisted the handsome face. "I have been waiting for you, but you do not appreciate it, alas~ The little lions have invited you for so long, yet you have not come to my side~ I, for one, am very lonely."

The uncanny smile felt as if it were right before her eyes. Lily wanted to turn and flee the military formation immediately, to get as far away from this cursed Tanqin Terrace as possible. But just as she turned to run, the Star God’s face suddenly appeared directly in front of her.

"But you cannot escape, little key! You cannot escape!" The Star God’s sapphire-like eyes stared fixedly at her. "Hee hee, let the hunt begin!"

A thunderous, earth-shaking stomping sound erupted from behind the hills. Lily finally sensed a massive surge of Void energy manifesting and closing in on them. The Star God himself emanated a terrifying aura of Void energy, his long sword already unsheathed, its blade glinting with a bone-chilling light under the sun. Behind him, banners fluttered, signaling the arrival of a great army.

"Stars like torches~ Stardust like blades~" The Star God chanted a melody that sounded like a hymn. The demented deity began to dance with his long sword before the increasingly panicked Dongsong troops. Accompanied by his strange, rhythmic dance steps, the horns and war cries of the Stardust Legion rang out incessantly.

Squads of legionnaires formed rectangular phalanxes and charged forward, a silver-blue wall of iron advancing over the hills. The Eighth and Fourteenth Legions took the vanguard, moving forward like an irresistible iron wall. To ensure the speed of their charge, the Stardust soldiers did not carry their usual large shields; instead, they wielded long spears in both hands, launching into a rapid sprint.

The earth-shaking rhythmic stomping of over eight thousand vanguard soldiers echoed through the south of Zhongzhou City. The commands of the centurions were crisp and powerful, and the soldiers' responses were equally thunderous. The mountain-like legion swept past the Star God, who was still indulging in his sword dance. The Children of the Stars roared as they lunged at the unprepared Dongsong army.

"Damn it, this plague-bringer!" Lily turned quickly, shoving aside the panicked Dongsong soldiers as she tried to flee this imminent slaughterhouse. "This guy is like a lingering ghost. Dammit!"

"Girl, head back! I will give you more Void energy to help you leave the battlefield!" A voice resonated in her mind. "That fellow only placed a fragment of his soul on the battlefield; it seems to be the work of that old thing behind him. It’s alright—with the Void energy I’m giving you, you will be fine! Go!"

Lily broke into a run toward the rear; the chaotic Dongsong formation could no longer hold her.

***

Watching the panicked Dongsong soldiers fumbling to nock arrows and draw their bows, Lily heard angry roars coming from the west of Zhongzhou City. In the distance, hundreds of White Lion cavalrymen, holding high the banners of the stars, were galloping toward the city. Their target was not the towering city walls of Zhongzhou or the gatehouses that inhibited their Void energy, but the refugee shanties nestled between Tanqin Terrace and the city. Most of the refugees who had originally flooded into the city had been driven back to these makeshift shelters outside the walls, and now they were to become the prey of the White Lions.

"All companies, listen up! Charge! If you see anything furry, kill them all! Burn everything! Bring them fear! Kill! Kill! Kill! In the name of the Star God, kill!"

The White Lion cavalrymen roared. Beneath their feet, platforms of Void energy manifested once more. Using the power of the Void, they leaped into the air, stepping on the platforms to propel themselves forward. Like a swarm of blue-and-white dragons, they dove directly above the shanties.

"Demons! They're demons!" Even those who had seen the White Lion cavalry leaping and running through the air were struck with terror by the nightmarish scene.

The war lions roared and pounced from above. Their sword blades sliced through life as easily as a hot knife through butter. The muddy ground transformed into a pool of blood and filth. Death descended from the sky. The Sixth and Ninth Companies of the White Lion cavalry used the lingering Void energy near the shanties to sustain their flight, their longbows raining down arrows. The Void-infused shafts pierced and incinerated everyone in their path. Invisible Void-fire erupted, and the air filled with the stench of charred fur and flesh.

"Kill!" Furela grinned, driving the white light as she led the two companies of warriors crashing to the ground. Her silver-bright sword, like the fangs of a lion, sprayed a torrential rain of blood among the fleeing cat-folk refugees. Blood stained the shanties, spreading a sky-covering terror both inside and outside Zhongzhou.

The chaotic refugees scattered in all directions, some even rushing toward the Dongsong military formation. However, they were met only with the arrows and blades of the Northern Border Army. The Dongsong troops slaughtered all the refugees who sought sanctuary with them, ensuring that the refugees would not break their hard-reorganized formation. But by now, the iron wall of the Stardust Legion was about to collide with them.

"Counterattack! Counterattack! Chariots and cavalry, charge! Charge!"

General Shen, having just recovered from his shock, hurriedly led his three hundred chariots and over two thousand elite cavalrymen. They trampled over the chaotic, retreating Dongsong soldiers, charging head-on toward the incoming Stardust Legion. The warhorses neighed, and the roar of the four-horse chariots made the earth tremble once again. The chariots and the cavalry beside them formed a dense formation, a rapidly moving wall charging toward the Stardust army.

"Halt! Form ranks! Shields up!"

Following the telepathic commands of the officers, the rapidly advancing Stardust Legion quickly adjusted their formation. Under the supervision of the centurions, the soldiers formed a rigid line. They simultaneously drew large shields from their spatial rings. In the hands of the Stardust soldiers, who mastered Void energy, the twenty-pound iron shields felt like toys they could play with in one hand. With a loud, steady war cry, a shimmering iron wall appeared on the earth.

"Spears ready!" The mental command echoed, and the soldiers gripped their long spears. "Middle and rear ranks, prepare javelins! Shield-bearers, ready!"

Again, the commands were uniform and precise. The Stardust center-rank soldiers behind the shields pulled three-meter-long heavy javelins from their spatial rings, while the rear ranks channeled Void energy into their shields, preparing for one final display using the thin Void energy of southern Zhongzhou.

The rapidly approaching wall of chariots was already right before them. The Dongsong archers on the chariots fired volleys of arrows at the Stardust army. Yet, before the raised Void-infused iron shields and blue-and-white scale armor, these bronze arrowheads had no lethality at all.

"Damn it, they won't pierce!" The charging Dongsong chariot soldiers could only pin their hopes on the impact of the chariot formation.

As they spoke, the Dongsong chariots entered the range of the javelins.

"Fire!"

The order given, thousands of javelins whistled over the heads of the legionnaires. The long, lethal heavy javelins tore through the air, crashing down like an iron rain onto the galloping chariots and cavalry.

"No! Dodge—"

The javelins instantly pierced leather armor and flesh, the Void-fire upon them spreading and burning their bodies. Before they could even issue a warning, nearly half of the chariots and soldiers were destroyed by the terrifying rain of javelins in the first volley. The stench of burning fur, flesh, and wood spread.

Some skilled crews used the expertise of their drivers to dodge the first volley, but soon a second, even more devastating rain of spears descended. Amidst the torrential rain of steel, over a thousand Stardust warriors were seen leaping into the air, shields in hand, descending from the sky. Although the Void Gate was not fully open and the Great Battle of Mount Xuan had consumed much of the Void energy in the Dongsong region, there was enough in the Zhongzhou territory to support over a thousand Stardust warriors in flying with their shields to launch a surprise attack from above.

The rain of javelins continued to destroy the proud four-horse chariots. The Dongsong cavalrymen who nimbly dodged the javelin strikes were met with surprise attacks from Stardust soldiers wielding long spears as they flew toward them. The flying shields knocked over unprepared horses, and the spears pierced the heroic but helpless border cavalry. Under such terrifying blows, the pride of the Northern Border Army—the chariot battalion—was completely wiped out, and the remaining cavalry could only retreat in defeat.

The surprise attack by the Dongsong Northern Border Army had failed without even touching the edge of the Stardust formation.

"The chariot battalion... just like that... it's gone..."

Having fought against the Wolf-kin in the north for many years, this veteran general felt a deep, profound fear for the first time.

"Dammit, you bunch of cowards! Move forward! Go!"

With no other choice, he could only urge the infantry phalanxes, composed of scattered, routed troops, to press forward in an attempt to assault the Stardust shield wall once more. However, the front line of the Stardust army once again raised their shields and charged forward in unison.

"Long live Stardust!"

"The Star God is eternal!"

"Slaughter the Jade Sin!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live Stardust!"