91: I'm informing you, not discussing it.

Xu Le glanced at his skills and found that only "Mental Shock" was usable.

"Earth Spike" and "Hurricane Howl" would only be useful once these Demon Bats hit the walls or landed.

He stepped directly onto the city wall and took out his scythe of death staff, preparing to demonstrate the violent aesthetics of a Contractor.

As the swarm of Demon Bats drew closer, dense clusters of skills were unleashed. Even with their "Echolocation" talent, there was nowhere to hide, and they fell in massive swathes within the sea of skills.

One wave.

Two waves.

Three waves.

The number of Demon Bats hardly seemed to decrease; they remained a dense, endless mass.

Some of the more agile ones crashed directly into the Formation's light barrier, causing the entire array of runes to flicker with white light.

"Melee units, jump onto the wall and protect the Formation!"

Xu Le commanded loudly.

Even with no command experience, he knew the melee fighters had to hold the line. Otherwise, the Demon Bats would continuously drain the Formation's energy, causing it to shatter prematurely.

Little Dog crouched behind the Little Peach Tree, eyes fixed on the city wall. Wherever help was needed, it would send two Clones up.

If not for its darting dog eyes, it would have looked quite like a wise strategist "planning within a command tent."

As for the divine statue, it stayed obediently on the wall.

Its speed was too slow; unless a Demon Bat practically threw itself at the statue, it would never land a hit.

The most excited was the Little Demon Monkey. Under the Battle Saint Body talent, its attributes doubled. With its speed and spear techniques, once the Demon Bats got close, almost none could escape.

Xu Le smashed a Demon Bat into a pulp with his staff, only for a dozen more to fly toward him.

They were actually ignoring the rules of fair play and trying to gang up on him.

Little Black Snake spotted an opportunity and unleashed its "Deterrence" skill.

During the willpower check, the Demon Bats' movements faltered for a moment, allowing a massive barrage of skills to successfully strike home.

In that single instant, the Demon Bats in the vicinity were nearly wiped out.

"Well done!"

Watching the overall battle from a distance, Xing Manshan nodded in satisfaction, a trace of a gratified smile on his face.

Xu Le felt something and looked toward Xing Manshan, but the man had already turned his gaze elsewhere.

Before everyone could cheer, even more Demon Bats flew over, appearing as if they were infinite.

Xu Le wasn't stingy with his skills either; he threw out "Mental Shock" as soon as the cooldown ended, easily instant-killing a Demon Bat.

Then he stepped onto the wall, slaying every Demon Bat that dared to approach.

The Soaring Nine Steps Shattering Jade Force, which had been progressing slowly, began to improve rapidly again as he killed this new type of monster, with some Moves evolving as well.

Zhu Yuyao's beautiful eyes nearly popped out of her head.

She had been defeated by Xu Le's "sneak attack" before, but she had kept telling herself it was just a fluke. Now, seeing Xu Le strike down the hard-to-hit Demon Bats with effortless gestures—and with one-hit kills at that—she was stunned.

As an assassin class with high attack but low defense, it was hard for her to even hit a Demon Bat, and even if she did, she could only severely wound it at best. It took at least two or three strikes to kill one.

Who was the real assassin here?

'Maybe I should give him a chance to pursue me?'

'Uh, never mind. That face is handsome, but he's too terrifying when he's angry. I can't handle that.'

Xu Le's strikes were like lightning; he had no idea he had just been mentally "friend-zoned."

Hu Xiaoyu and Shen Qianqian had previously wondered how Xu Le became a Chiliarch. Now they understood; setting aside that group of contracted beasts, his own strength was frighteningly high.

If someone like this wasn't a Chiliarch, who was?

Time passed gradually.

Once they figured out the patterns of the Demon Bats, everything became simple.

Earlier, stray Demon Bats had been hitting the Formation, but later, that stopped entirely.

They couldn't even get within a meter of the city wall.

Xu Le's side was becoming increasingly adept. Besides the soldiers' high Ranks and their serious combat attitude, the key was the Little Peach Tree's "Spirit Domain" skill.

Though limited to a 68-meter radius, the soldiers could work in pairs and rotate to restore Health and Mana. Combined with Little Dog's Clones patching any gaps, there were no oversights.

Other sections of the wall were being assisted by Xing Manshan's personal guards, so there was no immediate danger. However, the other soldiers kept looking at their own Chiliarchs with resentful eyes.

Just as Xu Le thought things would continue this way, all the Demon Bats suddenly went into a frenzy. They stopped dodging and began throwing their lives against the city's protective Formation.

Swish, swish, swish... The Demon Bats had low Health and defense to begin with. The result of their suicidal charge was bodies falling like rain.

But some still got through. Some soldiers' attacks weren't strong enough to one-shot them, resulting in wounded Demon Bats crashing into the Formation's light barrier.

Xu Le was considering whether to throw the divine statue out to draw some aggro when he heard Xing Manshan's voice.

"Soldiers, do not worry. Maintain your battle Formations and hold your posts. This minor disturbance is nothing to fear. I will take action!"

Xu Le's teeth ached; these lines sounded so chuunibyou. Yet, the soldiers were very receptive to it, and they all calmed down.

His spiritual perception suddenly picked up an anomaly in the distance. A massive Demon Elephant, the size of a small hill, was charging toward them.

It wasn't just the Demon Elephant. To the north was a giant Night Demon Bat Lord, to the west was a swarm of frenzied Bloodthirsty Demon Scorpions, and to the east was a herd of Tusked Demon Pigs... A monster siege!

Compared to the swarm of Demon Bats in the sky, this monster army was far more threatening.

When they got close, they wouldn't just drain the Formation's energy; they would physically smash the walls and destroy the array.

They had to intercept them outside the city!

Military orders were issued one after another. The two Vice City Lords were responsible for the monsters to the west and north, while Xing Manshan personally took charge of slaying the monsters at the east gate.

As for the Demon Elephants to the south, they were thick-skinned and difficult to kill quickly. The plan was to wait for the three City Lords to wipe out their respective targets before joining forces to kill the Demon Elephants.

The participants smirked inwardly, looking at Xu Le with mocking gazes.

After he had shown his strength, everyone already considered him a top-ten contender.

Now, heading out to intercept the Demon Elephants—whether he was killed by them or severely injured by Devilish Qi corrosion—it all fit their expectations.

Their goal in this competition was also the top ten.

The only exception was Lü Yixiu, who stepped forward and requested Xing Manshan to let him join the sortie.

"Fine, but don't let it happen again!"

Xing Manshan was somewhat displeased. On a battlefield, how could one just do as they pleased? But with the city under siege, he couldn't be too concerned with such details.

"Thank you, City Lord!"

Lü Yixiu was overjoyed.

He had gambled correctly. If he didn't show his face more, how could he demonstrate his strength? He didn't have a large group of powerful contracted beasts like some people. ( ¯ ¨̯ ¯ )

He cast a disdainful glance at the surrounding participants.

Although he didn't know the specific scoring rules, actively participating in the war, killing more monsters, and getting promoted would definitely increase his score.

It was laughable how they still feared going out to slay monsters.

In this world, the only heroes are Xu Le and I!

Xu Le and the other twelve Chiliarchs jumped down from the wall, and he immediately felt... nothing special.

Looking at the twelve Chiliarchs, their faces were grim and their brows were slightly furrowed; they were clearly feeling the corrosion of the Devilish Qi.

Xu Le understood that this was a hidden benefit of his "Innate Divinity" talent. This Devilish Qi caused him no harm whatsoever.

His gaze fell on the charging Demon Elephants. There were thirteen in total, and one of them was more than twice the size of its companions—clearly the Lord among them.

Xu Le pointed at the Demon Elephant Lord and said, "Each of you stall one. The biggest one is mine."

"On what grounds? I'm Rank 91, the highest level here. The Lord is mine!"

"No. I'm the strongest in actual combat. The Lord belongs to me."

"I have the most seniority. When I first became a Chiliarch..."

Xu Le waved his hand. "I'm informing you, not negotiating."