A group of Chinese players stood outside of Poplar Valley. No one dared to enter and startle the enemy. The core players of Candle Dragon, Purple Lily, Warsky Alliance, Blazing Hot Lips, Snowy Cathaya, and more were all present. The rest of the guilds besides Snowy Cathaya had sent around ten to fifty thousand players, and they were all absolute elites. Fans of the book also loved to read:
Candlelight Shadow, clad in brand new metal armor, looked at Hot and Sour Noodles and said, "Zhang Chun, should we attack now or wait?"
Hot and Sour Noodles spurred his mount forward and said, "Candle Dragon will take the vanguard while you charge in first. I've received reliable information that the Northern Alliance has already entered Poplar Valley and started setting up their defenses. They've probably learned about our situation as well, so let's fight them as fast as we can!"
"Got it!"
Candlelight Shadow raised his sword and shouted. Candle Dragon's Viper Dragoons charged into Poplar Valley under the command of the Martial God. There was no doubt that a great battle had begun.
"Continue!"
Hot and Sour Noodles said solemnly, "Charge into Poplar Valley and crush the Northern Alliance's plot! Defend our Wind City!"
Warsky, Purple Marquis, Eyes Like Water, Luo River God of the Capital and the rest led their troops into the valley. In the blink of an eye, almost a hundred thousand players had entered the valley at top speed.
"It's time to move out!"
I turned around to look at the dense crowd of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players behind me and shouted, "Attack! Occupy Poplar Valley and give the Northern Alliance a head-on blow! Today, we'll teach them how to fight positional warfare!"
The Dragonlight Cavalry unsheathed their swords and charged into Poplar Valley with Li Chengfeng, Chaos Moon, High Fighting Spirits, Gui Guzi, Xu Yang, Heaven's Rain and more as the blades!
The Armored Ice Qilin Horse breathed out white mist from its nostrils as I urged it to the front. Snowy Cathaya's cavalry was right in front of us. Purple Marquis, Zi Chuanyu, Lifetaking Sword and other mounted players aside, but the most eye-catching of them all was a beautiful girl clad in black armor who was riding at the edge of the mountain range. She was riding a mighty white tiger with a longsword in one hand and a translucent dagger at her waist. Who else could it be but the Fruit Knife Goddess?
"Beauty Lin changed her mount!"
Chaos Moon looked ahead with a smile. "I think that's the Immortal Rank Moonchaser Tiger. I saw it on the forums yesterday, but I can't believe I'll be able to see it for real today. Tsk tsk, what a powerful mount!"
I nodded. "Mn. Lin Yixin and Snowy Cathaya will be with us when we attack White Horse City!"
"Alright, the success rate will be higher this way!"
"Yes."
…
The path between Dragonbone Mountain Range and Poplar Valley was practically a natural moat that no player could climb. No matter how good a mount was, it was impossible to scale the vertical stone walls unless a player had enough Strength to do so, but there were only a handful of players who could do so. Or if a player had a flying mount, but to this day, we had yet to find a player who could ride a flying mount. Lin Yixin's ice dragon was a combat pet, not a mount, so it was impossible for her to do so. Everyone else, please read the book normally.
After passing through the stone path, a wide clearing appeared in front of us. The valley was packed with players, and more than 70% of them were from the Northern Alliance. The Chinese players occupied less than 30% of the valley, and they were pushing forward step by step. Candlelight Shadow was at the frontline, firing Outer Flame and killing countless enemies with every swing of his blade.
When the system bell rang, a large number of players entered Poplar Valley, triggering a regional war known as the "Battle of Poplar Valley". Of course, if more players entered the valley, it was possible that the battle would escalate into an unprecedented national war. However, the chances of that happening were slim. Poplar Valley was too small, unlike Dawn Valley, which was at least 100 times as large as Poplar Valleys. There were all sorts of terrains in the Poplar Valley, which meant that there were many tactics to be used. Be it in terms of numbers or strategy, the Battle of Dawn City was the most anticipated national war so far. As a result, even after so many days, the main battle video of the Battle of Dawn City was still the most viewed video on the official website.
Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance and Purple Lily were the main force of the battle. Candlelight Shadow and Warsky were the two Divine Generals, and Luo River God of the Capital was relying on her powerful Famous General Skills and her own magic skills to hold her own against the enemy.
The valley was filled with battle cries, flashes of skills, and the thundering of horse hooves. The moment the battle began, the sky turned dark!
Chiang!
I unsheathed the Cyan Netherworld Sword and pointed it to the right. "Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, we'll attack from here. We'll use this place as a breakthrough point and charge our way through the stone walls. We'll break through the Beijing Alliance's defense line in an hour! Hmph, once we do, we'll be able to march straight into White Horse Plains!"
Li Chengfeng and the others unsheathed their weapons and shouted, "Attack!"
I took the lead and charged forward. Countless fireballs, wind blades, and arrows rained down on me, but the Phantom Wolf King was even faster than me. It dashed to the front in just a few breaths and unleashed Purgatory Storm at a row of shielded magic knights. The ground immediately cracked, and the magic knights were blown off their feet. Before they could recover, I swung my sword and unleashed Thousand Ice Slash!
Boom!
Even more people were frozen in ice. My stats were super high, and I had two Immortal-grade equipment. My Thousand Ice Slash had a much higher chance of freezing an enemy than before. It was at least 50% now, so I was able to stun everyone the moment I used it.
Beside him, Chaos Moon, Li Chengfeng, Gui Guzi, and the others rammed into the magic knights' shields, causing loud clangs to ring out. They raised their weapons and fired Barrier Breaks at the enemy's Holy Shield, dealing huge damage numbers. AoE skills like Reverse Scale Slash, Rock Crush, and Aurora Thrust caused the Northern Alliance magic knights to howl in pain.
"You're courting death!"
High Fighting Spirits raised his battle axe and swung it horizontally, forcing five magic knights to stumble backward. Then, he chased after them and executed an Earth Shattering Slash, shattering the earth and sending flames into the air. Then, he lowered his head slightly, killing intent written all over his face. The light of Xiezhi Howl swirled around him, killing the five magic knights and the dozen or so archers behind them. Still unsatisfied, High Fighting Spirits abruptly swung his battle axe and sent it flying out of his hand. He shouted, "Go!"
Boom!
The battle axe turned into a spiraling tornado that swept through the crowd and instantly killed a dozen or so archers. High Fighting Spirits caught it in his hand and noticed that its effect was about the same as my Sword Boomerang!
I spurred my mount forward without a care in the world. I swung my sword left and right as if I was invincible. A group of Northern Alliance magic knights surrounded me and tried to use their Barrier Breaks on my Heaven-burning Armor, but it was only a matter of time before the armor's counterattack activated. Heavenly fire rained down from the sky and burned the Northern Alliance players to death. The Heaven-burning Flame was incredibly powerful, and it dealt continuous damage just like a mage's Fire Wall. Wherever I went, I would leave behind a trail of fire.
I swung my sword horizontally and used Burning Blade Slash and Thousand Ice Slash in two different directions. At the same time, a large amount of magic and arrow damage caused my HP to drop rapidly. Thankfully, I wasn't too far away, so Murong Mingyue could still heal me. A Restore was enough to keep me alive for a long time.
… …
On the side, Snowy Cathaya's Purple Dragon Cavalry was also charging forward under Lin Yixin's command. Purple Marquis's Absolute Zero was wreaking havoc everywhere he went, and Lin Yixin was riding the Moonchaser Tiger. She had transformed into a super beautiful tiger sister, and her sword danced wildly in the air. Snowy Cathaya's players were practically unhindered as they pushed their way forward.
About ten minutes later, the Northern Alliance players at the frontlines had scattered and retreated as expected. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and Snowy Cathaya had taken over 20% of the battlefront.
"Why do I feel like something's wrong?" Gui Guzi asked in confusion.
I nodded. "Yeah, not a single Heroic Bannerman has appeared. What kind of trick is the Northern Alliance playing? Are they trying to lure us into the valley and kill us all?"
"That's very possible …" Lin Yixin said.
I looked at Li Chengfeng and said, "Chengfeng, take a hundred riders with you and scout out the situation!"
"Got it!"
Li Chengfeng gathered his troops and brought Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun with him. A hundred Dragonlight Cavalrymen charged forward and killed almost a hundred mages and tamers of the Northern Alliance who were lagging behind. Then, we entered a small pass.
It was at this moment that a loud noise suddenly rang out, and a large number of players with white IDs appeared on top of the mountain. They were all mages and archers, and white IDs meant that they were neutral players who hadn't declared war on us yet. I took a look at their IDs and noticed that they all had colorful national flags emblazoned behind their IDs. I recognized two of them. One was the navy blue flag of Argentina, and the other was the green flag of Brazil. Fuck, it was the Chaotic 27!
A high-level mage in the crowd growled, "Attack!"
Arrows and spells immediately rained down from the sky above the mountain. Their target was none other than Li Chengfeng's cavalry.
Li Chengfeng responded calmly to the sudden change in the situation and shouted, "Don't panic! Hold your ground, Holy Shield, and activate War God Recovery! Leave the party leader to me and Yun in 10 seconds and activate Flying General! Everyone, follow You and Yun! Pooh! How shameless of the Northern Alliance to ally with the Chaotic 27!
Spells rained down on the Dragonlight Cavalry, and arrows rained down on the Dragonlight Cavalry's shields. As expected, none of the Dragonlight Cavalry died. Li Chengfeng gave the order, and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun activated Flying General, increasing their Movement Speed by 400%. Taking advantage of the gap between the enemy's attacks, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun spurred their mounts away like lightning. They didn't give the Chaotic 27 a chance to continue attacking.
… …
Li Chengfeng led the cavalry back to where they came from. Our priests kept healing them until their HP was full.
"Motherfucker!" Li Chengfeng cursed.
I grinned. "Say no more, I saw it all …"
Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun asked, "Vice leader, what should we do now?"
"I don't know. Let's wait and observe for a bit longer."
"Mn."
… …
It wasn't long before one of the Northern Alliance's cavalry units returned to the mountain. When they approached the cliff, the Chaotic 27 players on top of it launched another attack. After a round of slaughter, the enemy left hundreds of corpses behind and fled back to where they came from.
A few minutes later, a dozen or so archers came down the mountain and picked up all the equipment. Then, they ran back to the mountain and hid in the lush forest.
… …
Li Chengfeng sucked in a deep breath as helplessness filled his eyes. "Fuck, this is clearly a robbery by the natives! Be it us or the Northern Alliance, they're going to take advantage of us if we try to pass through Poplar Valley!
The people of the Chaotic 27 sure have their own personalities … "