The King Of Warriors novel (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6440

"Marshal Stone and Marshal Grey marched out with the army despite their wounds.

Neither dared defy the military order."

"Marshal Stone's Aurelian Deathless Body nascence had suffered severe damage. His fighting strength had fallen to only 30 percent of its peak.

Even so, he still gripped his divine arms and charged at the very front, using his presence to shake the enemy line."

"Marshal Grey's fly-whisk had snapped, and his command over the formation had been cut down by a wide margin.

Yet his mind remained clear. He took charge of dispatching the whole army, arranging the march and battle formations, breaking enemy formations, storming hard points, and holding the entire battlefield under control."

Three thousand elite vanguard riders launched a frontal assault on the Shrouded Wood, tearing into the outer line of defence.

Two thousand cultivators of the left wing quietly circled through the northern woods, moving around for a flank attack to cut off the path of retreat.

Two thousand cultivators of the right wing rushed at full speed toward the southern pass, locking it down against escape and tightening the encirclement.

"The remaining three thousand elite troops of the centre advanced under Alaric's personal command.

They pressed forward as the main force, driving straight for the heartland of Evershade, intent on wiping out the entire race in one stroke."

"Outside the Shrouded Wood, the ancient ward of the Sylvan Kin had operated for ten thousand years.

Spiritual light surged through it, and its barrier stood firm. But under round after round of the Celestial Army's brutal assault, under the crushing weight of holy radiance and the wild bombardment of formations, the ward quickly began to totter.

Cracks crawled across it. It was on the verge of breaking."

"Marshal Grey climbed to a height and looked out across the field.

After a brief, focused probe, he saw through the flaw in the warding formation at a glance. He locked precisely onto its weak node and shouted orders, directing the cultivators to concentrate their fire and attack that one point."

"Golden radiance surged without end, hammering the same spot again and again.

In less than half a day, the ten-thousand-year ward shattered with a thunderous crash. Dust and smoke filled the sky, and the defensive line was lost completely."

"Elder Cillian personally led three hundred elite Sylvan sworn warriors to hold the forward pass.

They guarded it to the death, fighting with everything they had, refusing to retreat even half a step."

"Three hundred against ten thousand—the difference in numbers lay like a chasm between them.

Even though every Sylvan adept had outstanding talent and a powerful body, they still could not withstand the crushing assault of the Celestial Army."

Worse still, pure celestial holy-light spiritual power naturally countered the Sylvan Kin's wood-aspected nascence spiritual power.

"The vine bindings, wood-spike piercings, poisonous spores, and plant-formed labyrinthine wards the Sylvan Kin relied on to hold back enemies all lost much of their force beneath the vast holy radiance.

They dissolved rapidly and could not stand against a single hard push."

"Hold the pass! Guard the gate of the ancient wood! Not one step back!"

"Elder Cillian's hair and beard bristled as he roared.

Green-blue spiritual light swelled around him, and thousands upon thousands of thick vines burst from the earth. They coiled and twisted, clamping hard around a squad of charging celestial cultivators as he tried to strangle them and hold the enemy back."

"But in the next instant, scorching holy radiance swept in.

The vines burned into flying ash at once and vanished into nothing."

"Elara stood on the branch of a thousand-year ancient tree, her white robes snapping as the ice whip lashed wildly through the air.

Cold mist spread around her. Every strike froze several celestial cultivators into solid ice statues, showing no small fighting power."

"But the celestial cultivators kept coming without end, one wave throwing itself forward after another.

Her spiritual power drained at terrifying speed. In only moments, her face had gone pale, her breath turned unsteady, and the strength to continue began to fail."

"Cedric stayed close at her side, guarding her body with the ice spear in hand.

He fought through the bloodshed, the spearpoint stained with celestial blood as he cut down enemy after enemy. Yet holy radiance burned his shoulder and back again and again, tearing the wounds open.

Blood soaked through his heavy robes, and his injuries kept worsening."

"The few members of the Frost Deity Branch had followed the Sylvan Kin into hiding.

Now, they could only face another life-or-death moment."

"After just one hour of bloody fighting, the outer line of defence collapsed across the board.

More than half of the three hundred elite Sylvan warriors lay dead or wounded. Corpses covered the field, blood ran in rivers, and both sides of the pass had been torn into ruin."

"Elder Cillian's eyes had gone red to the rims.

All around him, the clansmen and younger kin who had stood beside him day after day were dropping one after another, dying right there on the battlefield. Each fall drove in like a blade under his ribs."

"These elites were the future hope of the Sylvan Kin.

They were the backbone that held up the ancestral seat. Now, one by one, they were staining the battlefield with blood, and nothing left in his hands could turn it back."

"All lines fall back! Withdraw to the heartland of Evershade and use the terrain to hold to the last!"

Behind his closed lids, countless scenes from the past rose one after another."

"For a thousand years, Evershade had known peace.

His clansmen had lived and worked in quiet safety, asking nothing from the world beyond."

"Jared had entered the forest alone.

He had exhausted his cultivation, spent everything he had to repair the dried-up spirit vein, and saved the lives of the entire clan."

"When Elder Cillian had led the elites out to battle, his back had been full of fire, his vow to protect the clan set like iron.

Scene after scene surfaced with brutal clarity, impossible to forget."

"Chief Greenwood opened his eyes again.

There was no retreat in them now. He drove the heartwood staff down hard into the flagstone under his feet, and the dull boom rolled across the entire vale, crushing down every cry and every accusation."

"All clansmen, rise and stand!"

His voice was not loud, but it carried a weight that struck straight into the chest. "The Sylvan Kin have lived in Evershade for generations. We have guarded the mountains and forests, protected the spirit veins, and kept to ourselves. We owe no debt to anyone in the heavens.

"The celestials did not come in force today simply because we helped Jared."

Chief Greenwood's voice rang harder with every word. His gaze swept across all the clansmen before him, each word landing with weight. "The celestials are swollen with ambition. They mean to unite the Sixteenth Firmament, enslave every foreign tribe beneath the heavens, and leave only the celestials standing above all!

"Today's battle is not for Jared. It is not for outside aid. It is only for the survival of the Sylvan bloodline! It is only so our descendants do not become cattle and slaves beneath the celestials! It is only to defend the ancestral homeland, and to defend the dignity of our race!"

"Rather than bend our knees, crawl on the ground, and steal a few more breaths in disgrace, we might as well straighten our backs, fight through blood, and die standing!"

When the last word fell, backbone rose with it.

"The clansmen who had been kneeling rose one after another. They wiped the tears from the corners of their eyes and tightened their grip on their arms and staves.

The wavering in their eyes burned away. In its place, battle fire rose hard and hot, dragging every buried ounce of blood back to life."

"We will follow the Clan Chief and defend the ancient wood to the death!"

"Better to die standing than live on our knees!"

"We fight to the bloody end! We will never submit!"

"Several hundred broken soldiers roared as one, their voices rolling out like a tide.

They faced the host of more than ten thousand celestials head-on, without the slightest flinch."