The Era of Gods

Chapter 251: Powerful Hero Talent

Measuring each other’s strength, the Asura Naga, with a stature similar to that of a dragon descendant, caught the attention of the newly arrived Bart in his incarnated form. However, upon seeing there were only slightly over two thousand of them, he relaxed.

With a wave of his hand, the gathered clan left the town and started to form ranks outside.

Then, he said to Lin Xiao’s incarnation, who had also hurried over leaving the main force behind:

“Let me guess, what fraction of your total strength does this force represent? Is it one-third?”

Lin Xiao glanced at him expressionlessly and gestured with his hand. A powerful surge of mana rippled from the encampment outside the town. The prepared Goblins Mage Group of Wisdom began casting a combined spell.

Soon, the sky turned a deep red, and a Meteoric Fire Rain fell from the sky onto the small town.

In war, fire magic is especially effective, with Meteoric Fire Rain being one of the most commonly used spells.

Contrary to his expectations, the enemies enveloped in the enhanced Meteoric Fire Rain showed no reaction, continuing their preparations as Vampires wielded whips, commanding Blood Servants and Blood Slave Cannon Fodder. The Blood Demons looked up at the sky, their gazes unflinching, showing neither evasion nor defensive actions.

Seconds later, as the Meteoric Fire Rain descended upon the town, an invisible force swept across just as it neared the Vampires. All the falling fire was dissolved into nothingness by this invisible force.

“Magic Immunity? No, an Ancient Treasure of Magic Immunity?”

“Hahaha, surprised or not, expected or unexpected?”

Bart laughed heartily, beaming with pride.

“It’s only polite to return a courtesy: this is an old saying from your China. You made your move just now; now it’s my turn.”

With a snap of his fingers, a Blood Demon howled to the sky, and the entire town seemed to come alive. All Blood Demons and Vampires, Blood Slaves, and Blood Servants surged with bloodlight, and, as if on steroids, they furiously charged out towards the camp outside the town in a frenzy.

Just then, another Blood Demon troop arrived. Bart gestured with both hands, ordering the new troops to stay put within the town, then turned to Lin Xiao and said:

“Don’t say I’m not giving you a chance. I’ll only deploy the troops from earlier; the new arrivals won’t move. Whether you can hold out until your reinforcements arrive is up to your clan’s capabilities.”

Lin Xiao made a strange face and quickly gestured with his hands:

“No, I think it would be better not to speak too soon, to avoid embarrassment later!”

Bart immediately laughed:

“I don’t know where you get your courage from. Is it from that mere two thousand Dragon Descendants, or these Small Fishmen? Or is it your Mage team?”

Lin Xiao ignored him, and Bart snorted coldly:

“Quite the tough talker, eh? I hope you can stay this tough later on!”

Lin Xiao merely grinned without a word.

On the battlefield, the camp gates opened, and droves of Small Fishmen with high morale poured out in formation. Fishman Magicians, Mage teams, and Priests blessed them with various buffs. The Nagas gripped their weapons and followed closely behind, showing no fear despite the overwhelming number of enemies.

The two forces took their positions. A Rank 7 Blood Demon leader raised his hand and swung it fiercely, sending a large number of Blood Slaves and Blood Servants into a charge. The Vampires followed, a few feet off the ground, and the massive Blood Servant Cavalry split into two groups, circling to the edges of the battlefield. The Blood Mage Group, divided into over ten units, stayed together, preparing for a combined casting.

Although Bart’s clan was monotonous with only Vampires, they had a rich array of professions. Vampires themselves could become warriors and the exclusive Blood Mages, while Shooters and Cavalry could be substituted with Blood Servants. In terms of military arms, they were not at a disadvantage.

Simultaneously, a Supreme Naga in command banged her twin-bladed weapon and shouted:

“Prepare for the Piercing attack!”

The front row of Small Fishmen lifted their steel spears, aiming ahead, waiting for the enemy to come within range. As the enemy approached within about fifty meters, the commander roared:

“Stab!”

As the command was issued, the ground beneath the front row of Small Fishmen exploded, sending shards flying as countless figures disappeared, dragging dark shadows with them as they flashed forward over seventy to eighty meters and slammed heavily into the ranks of the Blood Slave Cannon Fodder.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

A chorus of tearing and crashing sounds merged into one at that instant. In Bart’s eyes, a line of Small Fishmen blitzed over in the blink of an eye, and his clan’s vanguard fell in droves.

Indeed, they fell in droves, not just a line, for the Salted Fish Charge now targeted a straight line, not just a single target.

Charging tightly in a neatly organized line, it was natural that many fell at once.

And this was just the first wave. Following the initial charge of the Small Fishmen, the second rank quickly stepped forward to adjust their angle, and, as the previous rank lay on the ground, they launched a second wave of charges, toppling another swath of enemies. Lying down as well, the third rank of Small Fishmen was already preparing for a group Salted Fish Charge.

In just half a minute, all tens of thousands of Bart’s blood slaves and blood servants had been wiped out; half of them were killed instantly, and the rest were all injured.

Seeing this situation, Lin Xiao’s lips slightly parted as he turned around and burst into loud laughter:

“How’s that, how’s the charge of my clan?”

At this moment, Bart hadn’t recovered from his shock. In just this short time, not even half a minute, had his tens of thousands of cannon fodder fallen like this?

Half a minute isn’t short, but on a battlefield, it’s just a flash. The time it takes for both sides’ cavalry to charge and clash might even be longer than this moment. And in that instant, his forces had suffered casualties of twenty to thirty thousand, with countless more injured, leaving his troops stunned.

The shooters in the back, the blood servant cavalry, the blood mage group and so on hadn’t even started their offensive, and the melee cannon fodder were already dead. How could they continue fighting?

Cannon fodder aren’t important; they’re just there to take hits and die. But you can’t fight without cannon fodder.

Bart had yet to react, but the clans under him already did. The leader of the blood demons reacted swiftly, immediately making strategic commands.

The blood mages continued casting their spells, immediately deploying reserves of blood servants and a portion of vampires to take the front, while the blood servant cavalry on both sides ceased circling the battlefield and charged directly at the enemy flanks to draw some attention.

Right then, Bart also snapped back to reality. His confidence had waned significantly, and after hesitating for a moment, he ordered the clan reinforcements that had just arrived in town to assist.

Lin Xiao looked at him and laughed loudly:

“What’s the matter, not pretending anymore?”

Bart didn’t even lift his eyelids, pretending to be deaf and mute, not taking the bait.

He certainly didn’t dare to keep up the pretense now. From the last assault, he realized that Lin Xiao’s small fishmen were definitely not ordinary small fishmen. Their explosive burst in that instant was too fierce; blood slaves and blood servants of the same cannon fodder rank were unable to hold them back.

It’s impressive to pretend you’re strong when you’re better than your opponent, but faking it when you’re not is foolish. He knew many were watching the battle, and he didn’t want to be seen as a fool.

One wave of the Salted Fish Charge had obliterated a swath of enemies. Following that, the small fishmen’s combat performance was average, which allowed Bart to breathe a sigh of relief.

Even though they were much stronger than he expected for fishmen, they indeed were a low-grade race. He was quite surprised that most of the fishmen had reached Level 3.

Considering that his mages were banned from using their magic and that the fishmen had a strength limit with only a few Dragon Descendant Naga, Bart felt that with the addition of the newly arrived reinforcements, he still had a chance to fight.

“No panic, I still have a chance to win!”

As for the bold claims he had made, he chose to forget them selectively.

Losing face was losing face, but unlike some people, he wouldn’t stubbornly persist just for the sake of pride.

Lin Xiao wasn’t too surprised by this, he attempted to provoke his opponent but when no reaction came, he let it go.

At this moment, Bart’s numerous blood mages had finally finished casting their spells. Nearly two thousand blood mages cast simultaneously, with each mage creating a bloodline connection to a small fishman. Streams of life force and energy were forcibly drawn with the blood, visibly depleting the fishmen’s condition.

The blood mages, after drawing out life force and energy, didn’t absorb it themselves; instead, they transferred it to the numerous blood servants and vampires they were fighting against. As the former diminished and the latter strengthened, the small fishmen who could still hold their ground against the mixed forces of blood servants and vampires were now in trouble.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao secretly issued a divine mandate, ordering the small fishmen to retreat, and commanded the mage team to use spells like Swamp Technique—which didn’t affect enemies— to cover the small fishmen’s retreat.

It was unclear what level that ancient treasure in Bart’s possession was, but it could grant magic immunity, which was quite overpowered.

It was also unclear whether it was a passive permanent immunity or a continuous one. If it was passive and permanent, that would be terrifying. A troop completely immune to magic was a frightening force, a natural nemesis to mages.

Thousands of mages simultaneously cast Swamp Technique, creating a vast area spanning several kilometers of swamps on the battlefield, which posed no issue for the blood mages who specialized in offensive and lethal magic.

However, they had magic immunity. As Bart’s clan walked through the marsh, the swamp’s effects would be quickly neutralized, but there would still be delays. Seizing this opportunity, some small fishmen stayed behind to cover the others’ withdrawal, while the majority managed to disengage and fall back. The accompanying priests quickly surrounded them and used divine arts to restore their condition.

The mage team and the fishmen magician group sent out summoned water and fire elements to hold back the advances of vampires and blood servants. Seeing this, Bart snapped his fingers, and the blood mages began to cast spells to disperse the summoned water and fire elements.

The mage team quickly recast their spells, summoning throngs of extraplanar creatures again. Five or six transcendent grand mages and numerous other mages worked together to open a massive portal to another world.

A Rank 7 blood demon leader, resembling a demon with silver bat wings unfurled, raised his arms in a claw-like gesture, gathering a ball of blood light between his hands. The blood light quickly grew, soon spilling out between his fingers.

As the blood demon grasped the glowing orb of blood and hurled it forcefully into the battlefield, a ring of blood light exploded, spreading countless blood runes over a hundred meters, forming a massive blood-colored formation diagram. The energy fluctuations in that area visibly intensified, and the air began to distort.

The many grand magicians reluctantly abandoned the almost completed portal to another world, while a team comprising three grand magicians and dozens of mages rapidly cast spells, conjuring a gigantic barrier to envelop this area.

But as the energy fluctuations in the blood-colored formation diagram surged to their peak and suddenly exploded, a beam of blood light shot up into the sky, and a suppressive effect descended over the area. The barrier was torn apart instantaneously, the portal to another world that was near formation collapsed, and many grand mages’ magical items detonated, their magic robes were shredded to pieces, and the terrifying backlash and direct damage caused them to fall to the ground, unable to get up.