The Era of Gods - Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Slight Advantage

Translator: 549690339

One powerful will hesitated for a moment as it focused on the Naga within the Fishman group, each of remarkable size, before speaking:

“Something about this Naga seems off.”

“Yes, I feel the same. This doesn’t quite resemble a Naga.”

Although the statement appeared contradictory, amazingly all other wills understood its meaning. After a pause, one of them spoke up:

“While I don’t possess a Clan of Naga, I do know that a normal Naga would not grow so large.”

“Exactly. Although normal Naga grow in size as they advance, the increase is not this significant, nor would they appear so unnaturally large. Similarly, a Transcendent-level Naga should emit a much more powerful aura.”

“That’s precisely what I was thinking, this Naga’s size is too excessive.”

His eyebrows raised dismissively, ignoring the agility with which numerous Supreme Nagas dodged trees and rocks, he said:

“Such a massive size would easily make one a living target on the battlefield, not highly adaptable.”

“Makes sense!”

A domineering will spoke with a tone of agreement then swiftly changed the subject, saying:

“It’s such a waste for a student to summon a familiar that’s all show and no substance. I must seize the opportunity to criticize this squarely. Therefore, we at Sky Blue College will take this student; I’ll mark him first.”

“Hold on!”

Someone immediately objected:

“No need to trouble yourself with that. Who doesn’t know that my favorite thing is giving guidance to newcomers? You scare the poor kids too easily. This job is better left to me.”

“Come off it, as I recall, you once made a female student cry in training. You’re not suitable for this.”

“Nonsense, that was my granddaughter.”

“Wasn’t she also your student?”

“Hey, there are others here too, have you asked for our opinion?”

Imitated noises of banging on the table resounded, but the two ignored it, with the first person saying:

“You are welcome to send a formal letter of complaint to our school later. I am merely performing my duties in an official capacity at the moment.”

“Damn, how shameless can you be? With everyone here, do you think you can monopolize this?”

The person replied with a nonchalant tone:

“Did I snatch him? I’m merely marking him, that’s all. If you wish, you’re welcome to leave a mark too. Once Summer Camp is over, we’ll see who can snatch him fair and square.”

As the conversation unfolded, in a realm unseen by Lin Xiao, a plethora of marks were instantaneously placed on him.

Then, everyone fell silent, intently watching the rapidly approaching armies, especially those over eight hundred colossal but extraordinarily agile Supreme Nagas.

Facing each other at about a hundred meters apart, the four thousand Minotaur’s facemasks were already down, their pointed horns facing forward as they raised their Wagon-wheel Axes aloft, ready for combat. Within the ranks of Cannon Fodder Lizardmen on the flanks, a few hundred Minotaur were interspersed, and the Lizardman Archers from the rear had already started to draw their bows and take aim from afar.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

The bowstrings trembled, releasing phantom-like traces as the arrows soared high, turning into a dense rain of arrows shot towards the Fishman vanguard.

Thousands of Fishman Magicians simultaneously raised their hands, and as the air twisted high above the several-kilometer-long frontline, a layer of blue Seawater Essence appeared atop the Fishman’s heads, blocking all the incoming arrows with a burst of blue light.

“Whoa!”

“So many Fishman Magicians?”

The gathered wills finally took notice of the Dragonweaker Dragonmen in the back.

It wasn’t that their perception was lacking; rather, their attention had been entirely captivated by the Supreme Nagas, leading them to overlook the Fishman Cannon Fodder.

After all, as Fishmen—even among the lowest ranks of Cannon Fodder Races—this pitiable race hardly caught one’s attention. Even if Lin Xiao’s Fishmen were stronger than their ilk, they were still Fishmen, and it was natural to ignore them.

The vanguards of both sides closed in rapidly. After blocking six volleys of arrows, when the distance fell below fifty meters, the front row of Fishmen suddenly burst forward, crossing the fifty meters in the blink of an eye. A series of muffled impacts followed, knocking down a large number of Hyenamen on the flanks. The Central Army’s Minotaur, relying on their formidable constitution and Strength, along with strong defense, somehow withstood the assault. Though knocked over, they quickly got back up without fatal injuries.

Lin Xiao was quite surprised; this was the first time he had seen an opponent withstand the Fishmen’s Salted Fish Charge.

Clearly, Li Xiangyang’s Minotaur had better equipment than Lin Xiao’s previous adversaries, with Armor that provided higher defense.

If his past opponents’ Armor was made of iron, then Li Xiangyang’s Minotaur was clad in steel Armor.

And steel is further divided into inferior steel, quality steel, refined steel, high carbon steel, magic steel, and so on. The higher the material quality, the more expensive it is, especially for customized Minotaur equipment. This Li Xiangyang must be quite wealthy, no wonder he is one of the thirty-six Silver Contestants.

Personal strength is one part, and good equipment is another.

In this First Level where strengths do not differ much, the quality of equipment can completely determine the power gap between Silver Contestants.

Fortunately, Lin Xiao’s strength is now different from before; though a bit poor, his strong abilities are enough.

Since it’s a simulation battle without fear of battle damage, Slarda’s commands were even more unrestrained than usual, directly ordering the vanguard Fishmen to split left and right, with the Central Army Nagas charging from the center of the split vanguard, directly colliding head-on with the unyielding Minotaur phalanx.

“It’s starting!”

Dozens of strong willed and fervent spirits were uplifted, with Lin Xiao highly focused, overlooking the battlefield.

A Minotaur hero in the center of the phalanx raised a Wagon-wheel Axe and bellowed:

“Charge!”

The Minotaur, loaded with a warrior job template, slightly leaned forward, the grass beneath his feet bursting apart as his speed sharply increased, dragging an afterimage and ferociously colliding with the Supreme Naga whose serpentine tail was swiftly oscillating.

“Boom!”

Slarda fiercely smashed his anchor into the ground; the front row Supreme Nagas each held a fine iron weapon in both hands, whether it was a Dual Hand Greatsword or battle axe. Their substantial tails lashed out, smashing the grass into a large depression, and with a flash of movement that took them from being behind to striking first, they collided harshly with the charging Minotaurs mid-way.

“Bang, bang, bang….”

Each Minotaur dragging an afterimage collided out of nowhere with the Supreme Nagas, an invisible surge of energy rippled from the center of impact, the ground’s wild grass was flattened by the unseen fierce wind – a momentary deadlock followed by every Minotaur being knocked back dozens of meters, like bowling pins struck down by a ball.

All Supreme Nagas stood their ground, with a fist-sized, gory, puncture wound in their abdomen, occasionally with waist scales shattered leaving a large wound over half a meter in length… not very deep, and then in Li Xiangyang’s shocked gaze, the wounds healed at an incredibly fast rate.

“Shit, High-level regeneration!”

“Such tough flesh!”

Li Xiangyang only noticed the incredibly fast healing speed, unlike the observers who possessed more seasoned experience and attention to detail. The surprise from the dozens of observers was not about the Nagas’ restorative ability but rather their unexpectedly Strong Physique.

With their vision, one glance was enough to estimate the rough strength of a target. They had already been quite optimistic about the Supreme Nagas’ abilities, but their performance in proper combat still exceeded expectations.

It should be noted that the Minotaurs were charging with axes, forged from quality steel. Given the tremendous force of both sides charging together, the destructive power could sever a thick iron pillar in half.

Based on their initial estimates, a hit with such an axe should have caused massive damage to the unarmored Supreme Nagas. In reality, the wounds inflicted by the axes were less than half what they anticipated, which was quite remarkable.

A half less might seem minor, but in battle, it often makes the difference between life and death.

Take a simple example: a stab into the chest, just an inch short from the heart due to insufficient strength. If the force increased by fifty percent, the additional penetration would be more than an inch, a matter of life and death.

Li Xiangyang’s face changed on the spot. From just one trial, he knew these large-bodied Nagas were by no means showy and ineffectual, and his main Minotaur corps probably couldn’t handle these freaks head-on.

Even with an overwhelming numerical advantage, when the individual power difference is too great, numbers are no longer an advantage.

But he didn’t lose heart and commanded the Clan to slow down the offensive through Divine-mandate, waiting for the Ballista to arrive.

The Ballista was specifically designed to deal with strong individuals, the heavy armor-piercing bolt wound by winch. If fired, the force could penetrate thick city gates. He refused to believe the Supreme Nagas’ bodies were harder than city gates.

However, as good as his plans were, they couldn’t work if Lin Xiao didn’t cooperate.

While the first wave of injured Supreme Nagas were catching their breath, the second wave had already charged over their comrades, especially the thirteen Transcendent Level Whale Knight, their twelve-meter statures like Giant Beasts, moving faster than their peers. Now unrestrained in speed, like thirteen tanks, they crashed into the Minotaur phalanx, braving the Minotaur’s axe blows, and barreled deep into their ranks. With powerful tails, they struck with absolute force, sweeping away a swath of enemies.

Then their large, muscular serpentine bodies coiled and sprung tens of meters high like Meteors crashing down, creating a deafening blast as the savage shockwaves, along with a shower of dirt, mercilessly pounded in all directions.

From a high vantage point, one could see the Minotaur phalanx as it was disrupted by the Whale Knights’ Thunder Strikes, blasting thirteen holes, each over thirty meters in diameter, instantly disrupting the once orderly formation.

Transcendent creatures are so domineering – without an equal Transcendent adversary to check them, they are virtually unstoppable, rampaging like tanks before they are taken down.

Li Xiangyang was forced to gather a large number of Lizardman Archers, countless arrows fired at each rampaging Supreme Naga on the field, their pinging and ringing incessant. Most of the arrows couldn’t even penetrate the scales of the Whale Knights.

Theoretically, with a good bow and arrow, even a Rank 1 Lizardman Shooter could pierce the scales of a Transcendent Level Whale Knight.

But there are conditions for that, namely remaining still to allow for the shot, and also requiring a full draw.

These preconditions were, of course, impossible to meet on the battlefield. When moving at high speed, the arrows need even greater force to ignore inertia and penetrate the target’s armor, something beyond what a lower Race like Lizardmen could achieve.

So in less than a minute, thirteen Transcendent Level Supreme Nagas had broken through Li Xiangyang’s Central Army.