A sharp pain racked Nai Shu’s body, followed by an icy chill!
He stared in disbelief at Princess Sha Yan, this woman he loved, who had pierced his chest without the slightest hesitation.
Princess Sha Yan had a calm expression, saying indifferently, “What a woman can tolerate least is a man’s incompetence. Once a man reveals his trait of incompetence, any affection drains away completely, I already gave you a chance, but you still failed, so I can only change to another man.”
With that, Princess Sha Yan pulled out the dagger and shoved him aside.
“Men, dispose of Nai Shu’s corpse!” Princess Sha Yan said.
“Yes!” Two warriors entered and dragged Nai Shu’s body straight out.
At this moment, Nai Shu was not yet dead, fresh blood gushing violently from his chest, dragging a long trail of blood behind his moving body.
Several maidservants followed closely behind, quickly and carefully wiping away the bloodstains on the floor.
Just like that, the not yet dead Nai Shu was treated completely as a corpse, dragged out of the princess manor like a dead dog to be disposed of.
…
Black Demon City!
Lan Ling issued the command, assault the city!
The thirty-thousand-strong centaur army surged forward like a tide.
Charging to a spot three hundred and fifty metres before the moat, they were exactly four hundred and thirty metres from the city walls.
The centaur army began to form their battle array, with fifteen thousand centaurs drawing bows and nocking arrows, firing towards the top of the city walls.
Within this distance, the bows and arrows of the Black Demon Banner defenders on the city walls could not reach. But the arrows of the centaurs could.
Thus, the defenders on the city walls were placed in a passive position of merely taking a beating.
Every centaur was an excellent archer, and many were even master marksmen.
Therefore…
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Fifteen thousand centaurs loosed ten thousand arrows simultaneously, and the defenders on the walls plummeted like raindrops.
At this time, there were fully over a hundred thousand defenders on the Black Demon City walls, who immediately shot arrows back in retaliation!
However, a distance of four hundred and thirty metres was one where it was very difficult for the Black Demon City defenders to cause lethal damage. Even if they could shoot that far, there was little lethality, and even less accuracy.
“Ah… ah… ah!”
The casualties among the defenders on the walls intensified, pinned down by the rain of arrows so heavily they could not raise their heads.
“Cross the river!”
Khan Chi Huo issued the command!
Instantly, one centaur warrior after another leaped forward.
The moat of Black Demon City was fully nineteen metres wide, basically capable of halting any enemy force, but the centaurs were an exception.
There was no need to fill the moat, nor was there any need to erect pontoon bridges.
All the centaur warriors leaped with great force, effortlessly clearing the nineteen-metre moat and charging straight beneath the city walls!
“Shoot arrows, shoot arrows, shoot arrows…”
The officer defending the wall roared desperately.
However, every centaur who charged across the moat held a colossal shield, almost completely shielding their entire body.
Moreover, even if struck by arrows, while it was not painless like it was for the mammoth warriors, it did not threaten their lives.
After all, the tonnage of each of them exceeded ten thousand jin.
The city walls of Black Demon City were fully fifteen metres high, which was already very high, even taller than the outer wall of the Flame Demon Tribe.
However, the centaur warriors were four to five metres tall, and nearly ten metres long!
“Build the slope!” Khan Chi Huo ordered.
Instantly, two rows of centaurs came beneath the city wall, raising their shields high to form a neat platform six metres high.
Then, another row of centaur warriors holding shields leaped onto this platform, aligning against the city wall to form the second tier of steps.
Three thousand centaur troops utilized their bodies and shields to build massive steps beneath the city wall. The first tier was six metres high, the second tier was twelve metres high, and only three-odd metres remained to reach the top of the wall.
The remaining ten-thousand-odd centaur army could charge up the city wall along these steps.
Seeing this scene, Huo Feng on the city wall was greatly alarmed, ordering, “Hurl boulders, hurl boulders…”
Instantly, one giant boulder after another was hurled down from the wall.
Originally, several hundred giant boulders had been prepared, but only a dozen or so were actually hurled down.
Because there were far too many master marksmen among the centaurs, before the barbarian strongmen could hurl the boulders down, they were struck by arrows, crushing themselves into mincemeat.
A dozen or so giant boulders weighing several thousand jin slammed down heavily.
“Bang, bang, bang…” Loud crashes resounded one after another.
If this were an ordinary army, they might have been smashed into mincemeat.
But… these were centaurs.
The arm strength of every adult centaur warrior exceeded at least three times their own body weight, which meant over twenty to thirty thousand jin.
So boulders weighing several thousand jin crashing down were truly trivial.
Furthermore, the shields held in their hands were constructed of thick steel and timber.
These boulders crashing down merely produced several loud bangs.
“Fish oil, fish oil, fire attack…”
The eldest son of the Black Demon Banner Lord ordered sternly.
The defenders on the walls desperately threw down fish oil bombs.
However, the outcome was still the same.
The centaurs had far too many master marksmen, and this time they even used energy crystal arrows, directly breaking the speed of sound.
Before your several-hundred-jin fish oil bombs could even be raised and hurled down, they were struck immediately by lightning-fast energy arrows, detonating on the spot!
“Boom, boom, boom…”
The tragedy of the three thousand gryphon knights played out once again.
One giant fish oil bomb after another exploded upon the city wall, blowing countless people to pieces and scorching countless others to cinders.
Seeing this scene, the three-headed chimera beast was eager to act.
“Fine, fine, go and enjoy yourself!” Lan Ling said.
Then, Lan Ling leaped onto another golden gryphon beast.
Instantly, the three-headed chimera beast soared joyfully into the sky, the flames across its entire body igniting fiercely, flying towards the Black Demon City wall.
Seeing this scene, the Black Demon City defenders, who were already taking a beating, were terrified.
A moment later, the three-headed chimera flew over the city wall, gathering immense energy, and sprayed violently towards the most densely packed soldiers on the wall.
“Boom…” Terrifying flames, hundreds of metres long, poured forth wildly.
The flames of the three-headed chimera beast were extraordinarily terrifying and horrific, typically exceeding several thousand degrees.
At this temperature, the Rakshasa soldiers were turned almost instantly into charcoal.
“Ah… ah… ah… ah…”
Countless shrill shrieks rang out, as the Black Demon City defenders caught in the three-headed chimera beast’s flames perished instantly.
In a brief span of three days, over ten thousand people of the Flame Demon Tribe had died to the three-headed chimera beast. Moreover, that had occurred while they were taking timely shelter inside houses and tunnels.
Now, the hundred-thousand-plus defenders of Black Demon City were standing on the walls without any cover, making them completely easy prey for the slaughter of the three-headed chimera beast.
It flew along, spewing fire as it went.
In an instant, it plowed through a stretch of wall thousands of metres long.
Then, that section of the city wall was almost entirely emptied of defenders!
Khan Chi Huo frowned, wondering how could the centaurs’ war allow the three-headed chimera beast to steal the limelight? He barked an order, roaring, “Centaur army, charge up the city wall!”
Instantly, over ten thousand centaurs began charging along the steps built by their companions and shields.
The first tier of steps was six metres high, and the second tier was twelve metres high.
“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”
Amidst a dense series of sounds, one centaur warrior after another stepped upon the two tiers of steps, effortlessly charging onto the fifteen-metre-high city wall, reaching the top with a light leap.
And this section of the wall had already been slaughtered clean by the flames of the three-headed chimera beast.
Just like that, the centaur army surged onto the city wall like a tidal wave, with utter ease!
Once the enemy charged onto the wall on a massive scale, it meant the city had fallen.
From the start of the siege to breaching the wall, it took less than twenty minutes in total!
Huo Feng, the wife of the Black Demon Banner Lord, felt her heart and liver tearing with anxiety.
The Black Demon City of her and her husband had been breached so easily.
With a shout, she brandished her war blade and was about to charge towards the centaur army.
Her eldest son quickly advised, “Mother, with so many centaurs rushing into the city, how many can we kill? To catch bandits, catch the ringleader first, Lan Ling’s martial cultivation is very low, if we focus all our strength on taking Lan Ling down, the crisis will be resolved immediately.”
“You are right, follow me to kill that low dog Lan Ling!” the mistress Huo Feng ordered.
Instantly, leading her two sons and five Black Demon City elders, Huo Feng leaped down from the city wall, charging towards Lan Ling!
Seeing this scene, Gou Li and Khan Chi Yan shouted at the same time, “Protect the master!”
In truth, with Lan Ling riding the three-headed chimera beast, he would not be in danger at all, because no flying mount here was as fast as the three-headed chimera beast.
However, once Lan Ling rode the three-headed chimera beast away from the battlefield, the top experts of Black Demon City would go to slaughter the centaur army.
The centaurs were extremely powerful, especially against martial artists below the Demon Master rank.
However, once encountering Demon Master level powerhouses, the centaurs would fall into a great disadvantage.
Because all Demon Master level powerhouses used long-range energy attacks!
Therefore, as the master of the centaurs, it was very necessary for Lan Ling to protect his followers. He took the initiative to act as bait, drawing the attacks of the top powerhouses of Black Demon City.
Following the commands of Khan Chi Yan and Gou Li.
Instantly, thirteen Death Warriors surrounded Lan Ling to protect him closely.
Khan Chi Yan and Khan Xie Li stood at the very front, because their cultivation was the highest, though it was a pity that Khan Xie Li was not a Death Warrior, so he could not break through his limits or unleash long-range energy attacks!
…
Leading seven Demon Master powerhouses, Huo Feng crossed the moat like lightning, arriving before Lan Ling and his group in the blink of an eye.
“Disperse, encircle them!” Huo Feng ordered.
Instantly, the seven Demon Master level powerhouses dispersed rapidly into a circle, surrounding Lan Ling and the others in the centre.
Indeed, eight Demon Master powerhouses surrounded the seventeen people on Lan Ling’s side.
Only at this moment did Huo Feng notice Gou Li, notice Constantine and Alfonso, as well as the leader of the Silver Alliance.
Among these thirteen Death Warriors, these were the four she recognized.
She was very astonished and baffled, as the tribes of these people had all been destroyed by Lan Ling, clearly making them Lan Ling’s mortal enemies, so why had they pledged loyalty to Lan Ling instead?
“Alfonso, redeem yourself with meritorious service, and I can let bygones be bygones!” Huo Feng said.
Because Alfonso was, to a certain degree, a relative of her husband, albeit a distant one.
Alfonso burst into loud laughter, “Ridiculous, only after following Master Lan Ling did I find the meaning of life, I gained rebirth, and only then could I explore the higher realms of this world, yet you actually ask me to betray my supreme master and return to the camp of you cowards, is that not laughable?”
Huo Feng turned her gaze to Gou Li and said, “Gou Li, Lan Ling once humiliated and violated you so, turn back now, and I will credit you with merit.”
Gou Li said hoarsely, “Being possessed by the master is my immense happiness, I long for the master’s possession and favour every day. Believe me, you only need to taste this flavour once to become addicted.”
Huo Feng was truly going mad!
Just as her son Nai Shu had said, did this Lan Ling truly possess sorcery?
Not only was his martial skill so ordinary, why did so many people remain utterly devoted and loyal to him, to the point where the entire centaur army revered him as their master?
“Ah… ah… ah…”
Behind her in Black Demon City, flames soared into the sky, and screams were endless.
Over twenty thousand centaurs had already charged into the city, while the three-headed chimera beast was frantically slaughtering everything.
The hundred-thousand-plus defenders on the city walls had completely collapsed, destroyed.
In less than half an hour, this grand and powerful Black Demon City had fallen.
For fully three thousand years, the last fall of Black Demon City dated back to the era of the Ghost King Empire.
Over the past three thousand years, Black Demon City had never been breached.
Now, in less than half an hour, it had been completely taken.
What an immense humiliation was this?
“Kill!” Huo Feng issued the command.
Instantly, she and the seven great Demon Masters attacked Lan Ling frantically.
Terrifying sword energy, cutting across madly like lasers.
Terrifying fist force, blasting over like cannon shells.
This gorgeous beauty Huo Feng turned into a humanoid, berserk beast.
“Ah…” With a shout, she unleashed a breathtaking Blazing Slash!
A sword ray of raging flames fully dozens of metres long hacked down violently, cleaving a massive fissure dozens of metres long straight into the hard earth!
…
Rakshasa City!
After killing Nai Shu, Princess Sha Yan closed her beautiful eyes, falling into deep thought.
She even tried desperately to recall the scene of meeting Lan Ling in her mind, attempting to bring Lan Ling’s face back to the surface.
However, it was truly a pity that she could not recall it in the slightest, not because her memory was poor, but because Lan Ling had altered his appearance at the time, and had truly been a trivial ant in her eyes, so her brain had automatically filtered and ignored it.
Yet what she never expected was that this very Lan Ling had repeatedly defeated her fiancé Nai Shu.
Last time, when he wiped out the twelve-thousand-strong coalition of the Silver Alliance, Princess Sha Yan could still afford not to care.
Now, however, he had defeated the million-strong army led by Nai Shu.
Not only did Princess Sha Yan have to care, but it would also shake the entire Rakshasa territory, acting as a massive challenge to the Rakshasa royal authority.
A lowly sub-human had actually annihilated the million-strong army of the Black Demon Banner within the Rakshasa territory.
This was already a direct and fierce slap to the face of the Rakshasa royal family.
If not rectified, it would cause immense damage to the prestige of the Rakshasa royal family.
Furthermore, this whole matter had been stirred up by her, enlarged by her own hands.
The origin of the matter lay in Lan Ling leading the foreign army in rebellion, wiping out the Chimera Tribe.
Ni Nian had come to plead with Princess Sha Yan, and because Lan Ling had once deceived Princess Sha Yan, Sha Yan had ordered her fiancé Nai Shu to lead the Silver Alliance army to wipe out Lan Ling’s Flame Demon Tribe.
Who could have known that not only did they fail to wipe them out, but even the Black Demon Banner was dragged down with it.
Now, Nai Shu was dead, and all the responsibility fell upon Princess Sha Yan, leaving this hot potato right in her hands.
She did not know whether the territory of the Black Demon Banner had fallen, but if it had, it would shake the entire Rakshasa territory, and even shake the entire Southern Barbarian world.
The remaining seven demon races would all consider the Rakshasa race weak and vulnerable, and might even initiate war.
The eight demon races of the Southern Desolation had lived in peace for thousands of years.
Now, however, a terrifying energy was brewing, highly likely to stir up monstrous waves.
And the one stirring up these monstrous waves was the head of the eight demon kings, King Tiansha!
For reasons unknown, he had gradually revealed his ferocious fangs, displaying his massive ambition, the ambition to unify the entire Southern Desolation.
Although the vast majority of the demon race had not yet noticed, the Rakshasa royal family had already clearly sensed the terrifying threat from King Tiansha.
First, King Tiansha was madly gathering armies, a force of ten million!
Not only that, the energy fluctuations in the Tiansha territory were also violently intense as never before.
It was precisely because he sensed this crisis that His Majesty the Rakshasa King had departed Rakshasa City to visit the other demon kings, hoping to nip this colossal war in the bud.
Therefore, at this juncture, the Rakshasa territory absolutely could not fall into chaos.
Otherwise, King Tiansha, deeming the Rakshasa race soft and vulnerable, would very likely choose the Rakshasa race as his first target of invasion.
Thus, this great turmoil had to be calmed as quickly as possible, especially before the territory of the Black Demon Banner fell, it had to be quelled!
Under this vast backdrop, what should Princess Sha Yan do?
It was best not to let her elder brother, the Little Rakshasa King, handle this matter, ending this disturbance in Princess Sha Yan’s own hands, so that she would not need to shoulder massive responsibility.
Otherwise, if she allowed the Little Rakshasa King to clean up after her, her future would be grim.
Then how should Princess Sha Yan put down this rebellion caused by Lan Ling?
The most direct way was naturally to deploy millions of Rakshasa troops directly, utterly crushing Lan Ling and his centaur army.
However, mobilizing such immense military power was beyond Princess Sha Yan’s authority, as only the Little Rakshasa King held the power to deploy millions of demon troops.
This matter had to be brought to an end by Sha Yan personally, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable!
Instantly, a strange thought surfaced.
Nai Shu had already been killed by her, and was she not planning to switch to another husband anyway?
What if, she remarried to Lan Ling, using her beauty to calm this great turmoil?