A Clash of True Mettle

Ted was momentarily stunned. “Uncle?” Did he truly have kinsmen among the enemy ranks? He looked up, his gaze falling upon a man in his early twenties with golden hair and blue eyes, possessing a handsomeness rarely seen in a lifetime. Yet, he wore only a plain white robe, hardly the attire of a Martial General prepared for battle!

Was this Francis, or Du Chen, the Divine, impersonating Francis? Ted’s heart wavered.

Helen whispered softly, “Father, that should be Francis.”

Truth be told, Ted had only met Francis once, in Lanning’s dungeon. But at that time, Du Chen had been masked, and both sides were preoccupied with rescuing Steve, leaving no opportunity for a deeper acquaintance; it was merely a fleeting encounter. Other than that, Ted had only ever seen Francis when Du Chen, the Divine, had impersonated him.

Helen, however, was different. She had dealt with both ‘Du Chen, the Divine’ and ‘Francis’ on multiple occasions. Thus, upon seeing the newcomer’s amiable demeanor and genial tone today, she instantly recognized him as the true Francis.

Ted’s brow furrowed. He glanced back at Thomas and the other Heads overseeing the battle from the city walls, then raised his spear and proclaimed, “Commander Du, I thank you now for your past kindness. However, today, you and I each serve our masters. Battlefields know no mercy. I ask that you withdraw!”

He clearly had no intention of allowing Du Chen an opportunity to leverage their past acquaintance!

“Uncle Ted is indeed impartial, prioritizing duty over personal ties!”

After discussing Ted’s battle armor with Liana earlier, Du Chen had returned to the rear camp to change into the long robe of his student days. He then spurred his horse forward, arriving at the front lines just before battle commenced. He clasped his hands and laughed, “Uncle speaks wisely. We each serve our masters; personal acquaintance cannot be discussed on the battlefield! It’s just…”

Du Chen gazed at Helen, his eyes filled with the pleasant surprise of reuniting with an old classmate. He appeared utterly guileless, devoid of any hidden agenda. “It’s just that Helen and I once studied together on Battle God Isle. Meeting on the battlefield today, though we cannot reminisce, it would be far too impolite not to at least offer a greeting!”

Helen, too, cast a glance back at Thomas overseeing the battle, and retorted, “Francis, spare us your words! Let us begin the fight. Do you Durkus people only know how to talk nonsense?”

Du Chen sighed in apparent disappointment, regretting, “Very well, I understand. Indeed, before a battle is no place for reminiscing! Then, just one last message—on behalf of Du Chen, the Divine, I send my regards to General Ted and Miss Helen, two old friends! Let… let the battle commence!”

Du Chen shook his head with a sigh, as if mocking the Goddess of Fate’s cruel jest. To fight old friends, what capricious fate indeed!

After taking a few steps back, Du Chen seemed to remember something. He suddenly turned, a hint of awkwardness in his smile, “Miss Helen, after today, I fear we may have no more opportunities to speak. So Francis will also convey the greetings of your Eldest Brother, Steve. Alas, my Eldest Brother isn’t here… sigh!”

With that, Du Chen spurred his horse away from Dud and returned to his camp. As their horses passed, Secret Technique Voice Transmission flowed between them. “Dud, strike hard! I lift all restrictions—you may disregard casualties, but you must force these enemies to a dead end within half an incense stick. At the same time, dispatch Adams and Aliza to set up ambushes on the flanks, denying Thomas any chance to send reinforcements to Ted!”

Dud offered a faint smile, then inexplicably murmured, “Godfather… truly ruthless!”

Du Chen blinked innocently. “When two armies clash, is it truly ruthless for me to ask you to force the enemy to a dead end?”

Dud fell silent for a moment, then his voice carried to Du Chen’s retreating form, an even more enigmatic remark, “To serve under Godfather… is Dud’s good fortune!”

As he spoke, Dud cast a pitying glance at Ted on the opposing side, his eyes suddenly turning cold and merciless. With his iron mask and black armor, he lightly raised his halberd. “Marshal of Durkus, Dud takes the field! Vanguard, Iron Wall Thunder formation! Wherever the Snow Lotus Battle Flag points, leave no blade of grass untouched!”

“Wherever the Snow Lotus points, leave no blade of grass untouched!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ten thousand Durkus beast warriors pounded their left chests, a unified roar from ten thousand beasts!

A rumbling, deafening sound of thunder and lightning suddenly filled the air. Several Snow Lotus Battle Flags rose within the formation, and the sky grew overcast with thunderclouds. Dud’s army formation, previously without a discernible shape, abruptly transformed. The heavy armored infantry in the rear swiftly coalesced into a straight line, while the iron cavalry in the front arranged themselves into a single rank. From an aerial view, the entire grand formation appeared as a perfectly aligned ‘T’ shape.

“Vanguard Cavalry, Lightning Chain!”

At Dud’s command, the cavalry, arrayed in a single line, charged forward. Their spears pointed, a thunderous might surging directly towards Ted’s main formation!

As they swept across the field, a purplish-blue lightning glow suddenly erupted from each cavalryman. This continuous lightning rapidly spread backward, enveloping every Durkus infantryman in an instant. The entire ‘T’-shaped phalanx, like an unbreakable fortress forged of thunder, pressed down upon Ted!

Ted’s eyes gleamed sharply. “As expected, it’s the Thunder Iron Wall from the Primal Slaughter Array! All troops, heed my command: Starlight Formation!”

The grand formation, shaped like the Big Dipper, had originally stationed its troops in seven points, forming an arrangement of seven small stars. Upon Ted’s command, the soldiers at these seven points dispersed like starlight. The entire grand formation… suddenly became scattered and irregular, with vast gaps between the soldiers!

Thomas, atop the city wall, frowned, thinking, *Dud’s great army is sweeping forward to kill; are you seeking death by dispersing your soldiers?*

Even as he pondered, the vanguards of the two armies clashed. The moment they engaged, as the Thornwood Valley soldiers’ weapons touched the spears of the Durkus cavalry, the lightning from the Durkus soldiers transferred through their weapons to the Thornwood Valley soldiers. It then spread from one to the next, and in a short while, every soldier in Thornwood Valley had been filtered through a surge of electricity!

Thomas gasped in solemn surprise, then suddenly realized, *Damn it, Ted dispersed his soldiers to evade this first wave of lightning. The lightning expends a great deal of energy during conduction. By dispersing his troops, he increases the distance of conduction, consuming more of its power…*

*This way, the lightning reaching each soldier won’t be fatal, at most weakening their combat strength!*

That was what Thomas considered, but there was more he hadn’t foreseen!

Due to the vast gaps between Ted’s formation soldiers, Dud’s vanguard cavalry easily charged into the enemy’s grand formation. But if one looked at it in reverse… weren’t these cavalrymen effectively surrounded by enemy soldiers!?

Dud, observing from his main formation, saw his eyes gleam, yet he sighed. “The enemy army was formed only recently; they cannot yet deploy the advanced Seven-Star Divine Radiance formation. What a pity… Vanguard cavalry, Subterranean Charge! Rear heavy infantry, Blazing Kirin!”

The cavalry, initially charging into the enemy’s encirclement, suddenly vanished in place along with their mounts. But earth surged all along the ground, and the cavalrymen erupted from beneath the surface, behind the Thornwood formation. They then wheeled their horses around and charged with a thunderous roar!

Simultaneously, the lightning on the Durkus infantry in the rear camp transformed into blazes of fire, and they too surged into Ted’s formation. With blazing infantry in front and lightning cavalry behind, Ted… found himself re-encircled!

Ted gritted his teeth. “If only I had three months to master the Seven-Star Divine Radiance… alas, I had only one night to train the troops!” He roared, “Brothers, your fathers and mothers, your families, are watching from inside the city! For them, kill!”

The two armies became fiercely entangled. The battle’s outcome was without suspense. Ted’s soldiers were clumsy and inexperienced, completely unable to keep pace with his commands. In contrast, Dud’s soldiers moved as if extensions of his own will; every command issued was met with an immediate and corresponding reaction.

Could there possibly be any suspense left regarding the outcome?!

It wasn’t that Seven-Star Divine Radiance couldn’t defeat the Primal Slaughter Array. How could the three great Secret Techniques of Godslayer, second only to the Lion Emperor’s Roar, be a mere trifle!? It was just that Ted earnestly sought to deploy his formation and slay the enemy, but his soldiers… simply weren’t cooperating!

Du Chen watched from a distance, a faint smile playing on his lips. Liana quietly approached him, asking with a smile, “What’s the battle outcome?”

“You’d never guess!” Du Chen raised an eyebrow. “I hadn’t expected this either! Dud now holds a decisive advantage, having Ted tightly encircled at the core. The Thornwood Valley soldiers have already suffered over three thousand casualties, and the remaining forces are in disarray, awaiting slaughter. As for my army… fewer than two hundred have fallen!”

Two hundred against three thousand—this was a direct, head-on clash where both sides deployed ten thousand soldiers! The entire process involved no schemes or accidents; it was purely a test of true mettle!

Liana pouted. “Is two hundred against three thousand so astonishing? Clearly, you’re a military idiot!”

In this current age, Liana was the only one who dared to openly call Du Chen an idiot and still have him listen with a smile!

“Oh? Such a disproportionate casualty ratio in a frontal clash doesn’t surprise you?”

Liana squatted down like a little woman, chewing on sour plums, and mumbled, “Though military formations have myriad variations, their ultimate purpose can be summed up in one sentence—to achieve the greatest lethality and the strongest defense! Look at Dud’s formation… hey, where are you going? Let me finish! It’s not often I get a chance to educate you…”

By this point, the Thornwood Valley soldiers were utterly terrified, their morale shattered. It seemed they wouldn’t last much longer before being completely annihilated! Seeing this, Ted sighed despondently, “Willing to kill the enemy, but powerless to turn the tide!”

Helen, wounded beside him, merely smiled calmly. “Now Thomas refuses to help, and our retreat is blocked by Adams and Aliza… I have no regrets accompanying Father to die on the battlefield.”

It was Sulan who quietly spoke up, “Master, Francis…”

Ted’s eyes flashed with anger, and he cursed, “Defeated on the battlefield, how could I seek surrender and survival? Though I, Ted, have been captured many times, Sulan, have you ever seen me kneel and beg for mercy!?”

Helen sighed placidly. “Nearly twenty years on the run, Helen is tired too, Sulan. You should escape underground! I will accompany Father on this last stretch of the journey!”

“No, no, that’s not it!” Sulan cried urgently. “I mean Francis has arrived, and he ordered his army to spread out, only to encircle, not to kill!”

Ted froze, looking up. Indeed, the enemy army had ceased all military action, merely surrounding him and his defeated troops layer upon layer. Du Chen, wearing a look of profound reluctance, slowly spurred his warhorse forward, perfectly embodying a benevolent philanthropist, mindful of old ties and compassionate to all.