186: Chapter 186 The War Begins!

Gru's words were actually intended to test the waters and avoid excessive losses. He had thought this would be a swift battle to establish dominance, but he hadn't expected to run into such a tough opponent.

If he could subdue the enemy without fighting, or obtain maximum benefits through negotiation, it would naturally be more cost-effective than fighting to the death and depleting the kingdom's elite.

Lin Tian, riding on Chi Yan's back at the front of the army, merely gave a light sneer upon hearing this, not even bothering to organize a flowery response.

He raised his hand and picked at his ear with his pinky finger, as if what he had just heard was merely the buzzing of a fly. His tone was casual yet carried a cold indifference:

"Why? Do I need a reason? I've taken a liking to this land. Your people are in my way. It's as simple as that."

"You!!"

Gru was flyng into a rage. This contemptuous attitude trampled on his dignity as a general of the kingdom more than any insult could.

"Fine! A fine 'taken a liking to'! It seems your Purple Moon Dynasty is determined to fight my Minotaur Kingdom to the death! In that case, enough talk. Let our strength decide!"

Although he was angry, he still identified Lin Tian as a general of the Purple Moon Dynasty.

He had exterminated and captured those occasionally appearing 'Otherworld Lords' with limited strength before, and he knew their backgrounds well.

It was impossible for them to possess a regular army of such scale and quality! This had to be a hidden or newly formed elite corps of the Purple Moon Dynasty!

However, just as Gru's voice fell and the soldiers on both sides gripped their weapons, their Battle Intent soaring to its peak...

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."

A heavier, grander sound of footsteps that seemed to make the entire plain tremble came from the horizon behind Lin Tian's army!

At first it was like muffled thunder, then it transformed into a tsunami!

Dust rose into the sky, obscuring nearly half of it!

Within that dust, more flags, more dense glints of cold steel, and larger army silhouettes appeared across the hills and fields like a second torrent of steel surging from the depths of the earth. With the momentum of a mountain toppling into the sea, they quickly merged with Lin Tian's vanguard!

One point one million! One point three million! One point five million! ...

In the end, a dark, boundless, and despair-inducing military formation completely filled the vision of Gru and his fifty thousand Minotaur warriors!

Nearly two million troops!

The troop ratio instantly shifted from one-to-one to a suffocating four-to-one!

"This... how is this possible?"

The rage on Gru's face froze instantly, turning into extreme shock and disbelief; his pupils constricted to the size of needlepoints!

The wolf beast beneath him also seemed to sense its master's horror, uneasily stomping its giant paws.

"The Purple Moon Dynasty... how could they still have such a massive mobile force? What about their internal troubles? The pollution and those Otherworld Lords? Have they all been dealt with? It's only been how many years!"

A chill surged from Gru's tailbone straight to the top of his head.

He had originally thought it would be a tough battle, but now it might turn into a desperate situation!

As this hopeless disparity in military strength was fully revealed, the great war was on the verge of breaking out!

In the instant Gru's mind was shaken, Lin Tian had already quietly activated his Detection Spell, getting a good grasp of the enemy's high-end combat power.

"A 1-star diamond rank commander... truly powerful, as expected of a kingdom general."

Lin Tian's eyes narrowed as the pressure intensified, but his plan instantly became clear. "Lin Feng, it's up to you! You must hold him back!"

"Lin Yin, you take the 6-star platinum rank one!"

"Remaining epic rank soldiers, form squads of a thousand and encircle those dozen or so platinum rank generals! Don't aim for a quick kill—just keep them occupied and wear them down!"

"All other units, maintain formation and press forward! Drown them with absolute numbers!"

The orders were transmitted rapidly.

"Ha! Understood!"

Lin Feng roared, the golden-red Battle Intent in his eyes erupting like a volcano!

He suddenly raised the crimson gold coiling dragon spear, his voice echoing through the sky via a legion skill:

"Soldiers of the Scarlet Sun! Let blood be the fuel and Battle Intent be the fire! Command of a Thousand Armies, activate!"

"Roar!!!"

This time, it wasn't just his direct subordinates.

Over a hundred thousand of the most elite Golden Armored Spearmen and Heavy Armored Spearmen nearby responded in unison. Their majestic blood-qi and death-defying Battle Intent soared into the sky, madly pouring into Lin Feng's body!

"Boom!!!"

An unprecedented Scarlet Sun Avatar, nearly two hundred meters tall and seemingly reaching the heavens, condensed violently above Lin Tian's army!

The avatar was not only more solid with every detail visible, but the Dragon-Horse war soul beneath it also reared its head and neighed, its four hooves burning with golden flames that could incinerate all things!

The energy fluctuations emitted by the avatar actually forcibly broke through the Platinum boundary, briefly stepping into the terrifying Domain of 1-star diamond rank!

Although its Foundation was not as solid as Gru's, its magnificent military prestige and destructive aura were enough to strike terror into any existence below diamond rank!

"Legion War Soul? diamond rank?"

Gru snapped out of his shock. Looking at that flame giant that seemed capable of splitting mountains, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he no longer had any thought of holding back!

He knew he had to first destroy this greatest variable!

"Human! Die!"

Gru roared wildly, his diamond rank energy erupting as dark gold light blossomed from him like a small sun!

He leaped from the back of his wolf beast, and the battle axe in his hand, as large as a door, tore through the air, turning into a dark gold axe-light that seemed to split heaven and earth.

Ignoring the spatial distance, it slashed down fiercely toward the head of the Scarlet Sun Avatar!

He wanted to use absolute power to sever the core of this human army's war soul!

Almost at the same moment Gru made his move, Lin Yin's figure vanished from her spot.

In the next instant, she appeared like a ghost moving under the moon before a 6-star platinum rank Minotaur champion over five meters tall, who was wielding a double-edged giant hammer.

The moonlight longbow was not drawn; instead, she used it as a melee weapon. Wrapped in highly concentrated moonlight power, a single cold glint pierced directly toward the opponent's throat!

The speed was so fast and the angle so tricky that the champion's hair stood on end, and he roared while swinging his hammer to block.

Simultaneously, dozens of pre-prepared hundred-man battle formations composed of epic rank soldiers...

...pounced fiercely like a pack of hunting wolves from different directions toward the dozen or so generals in the Minotaur formation who were emitting platinum rank fluctuations!

The light of the battle formations merged together, and with the tacit cooperation of the epic-rank mixed legions, they formed a death net capable of trapping platinum rank experts!

On the plain, amidst the deafening sound of war drums and horns...

...the boundless black tide under Lin Tian's command finally boiled over, launching a total offensive to submerge the Minotaur army, which was only a quarter of its size!

The true bloody battle erupted violently at this moment, the instant the Scarlet Sun giant met the heaven-splitting axe-light!