“Dear martial artists,” a voice from the speakers on the train sounded as a hologram of a person materialized in front of every row. It didn’t matter what angle they viewed the hologram from, they would always see the front of the man. He was a military officer with a magnetic voice clad in uniform, standing as tall and straight as a tree. His stable demeanor reminded them of a mountain and inspired great trust. 

“I’m the main commander of this battle, Zhao Zhenhong. Thank you all for volunteering to assist in the battle to defend mankind. You must know that the condition at the front is currently unstable, and when you arrive at the fortress in forty minutes’ time, be prepared to engage in battle at any time. Now I’ll be naming the fortress number that each carriage will be assisting.” 

As they listened to Zhao Zhenhong’s instructions, everyone’s brows grew knitted. They knew the situation at the front was bad, but they didn’t know it was so dire that they would have to be prepared to fight at any time. That meant they would likely be entering battle the moment they stepped off the carriage! 

Xiang Ning and his team were in Carriage 431, along with five thousand other martial artists destined for Fortress Three. Among them were more than five hundred students from the top ten academies of Marsh City. 

“We must be prepared. Yesterday, a Void Vulture attacked one of the trains transporting reinforcements, and the death toll was in the thousands. Because of that, Fortress Six was almost overwhelmed,” reported Li Zimo. 

Xiang Ning’s brows were furrowed. A Void Vulture. Wasn’t that the same kind of tier four beast he had killed at Fortress Three a few months ago? He couldn’t believe another one would attack a train, causing so many deaths. He slowly exhaled, his lips curving upward as he looked at the trees passing behind him through the window. He wondered how Wu Rui was doing. 

……

Wu Rui, who was far away in Fortress Three, had barely survived his three-month ordeal in battle and successfully broken through to tier three, one-star. The Wu family’s breathing technique was as effective as they said, after all, and with true combat experience on the battlefield, he had made tremendous progress in his cultivation. 

“Second Uncle, I’ve rested enough. I’ll be heading out to fight,” Wu Rui said, holding a pack of nutritional food provided by the military. He was dusty all over and covered in splatters of blood, though everyone in the fortress looked the same. Even Second Uncle Wu next to him looked rather bedraggled. 

During his three months there, Wu Rui first started killing three tier two beasts per day, then progressed until he could kill at least thirty tier two and two tier three beasts daily. He had already earned 1.2 million dollars so far, going through more than ten weapons and at least five near-death experiences. He was no longer a greenhorn; he was already a qualified soldier through and through. 

“What’re you so impatient for? Reinforcements will arrive very soon. You’ve only been back from the front for half an hour, rest for another half hour at least. Reinforcements should arrive by then.” Second Uncle Wu threw his head back and gulped down his last bit of food. 

“Reinforcements?” Wu Rui paused. 

“Yeah, it’s been three months. Your friends should be coming this time.” Second Uncle Wu smirked. It was hard for him not to compare Wu Rui against the rest. Wu Rui was his oldest nephew, and the only one out of the younger Wu’s to show the potential to reach tier seven. The fact that he could break through to tier three during these three months had proven it. 

“Is Xiang Ning coming too?” Wu Rui was excited to hear the news. He had been waiting for the day he could meet Xiang Ning again! 

......

Meanwhile.

Xiang Ning and the rest of the passengers could finally see the iron fortress! 

“Urgent announcement. We received intel that Fortresses Three, Nine, and Seventeen are currently under attack. Martial artists heading to those fortresses, please be prepared. We hope that you’ll be ready to fight upon arrival!” 

Emotions ran through the carriages sent for the fortresses under attack. Some were surprised, some nervous, others terrified. 

But the train was already slowing down. First stop: Fortress Three! 

Xiang Ning and the rest poured out of the carriages. In front of them were ten soldiers in charge of receiving the reinforcements. 

“Please head to the main commanding hall. There’ll be people there to guide you,” instructed an officer, whose patches on his shoulder indicated that he was a Major. 

The five hundred students from Marsh City followed the crowd to the hall. 

“Announcement. In ten minutes, a wave of approximately eight thousand beasts will arrive within range of the fortress. Prepare for battle.” 

The martial artists resting in the great hall looked up at the screen before them, which currently displayed a video of a stampede heading for the fortress. 

When they saw the manically charging beasts, they gasped, “Fuck, Dark Aurumsaurs!” 

“There’s at least five hundred of them!” 

“Oh my god, what the hell? Why’re there so many Dark Aurumsaurs?!” 

Dark Aurumsaurs were three-meter-long beasts with astonishing defenses. Their saliva contained many fatal pathogens, so if a human was bitten during a fight, the only option was to amputate the limb or their entire body would rot! It was an extremely difficult beast to deal with! 

The martial artists present were all seasoned veterans. Regular people of the same rank were considered decent if they could kill one beast on their own, but these fighters often had to fight two or three of them at a time. [1]

The appearance of Dark Aurumsaurs was enough to worry these seasoned veterans. They weren’t scared, just weary. The beasts required special attention, and each Dark Aurumzard required two martial artists. Fighting one alone was too difficult! 

Currently, there were only two thousand people in the hall, a third of them spiritual cultivators. That meant that at least half of them would be occupied with the Dark Aurumsaurs, leaving the remaining people to fight at least seven thousand five hundred beasts. They were outnumbered seven to one, how would they cope? 

“The reinforcements are here!” someone yelled, and everyone turned to look at the hallway entrance and saw five thousand people pouring in. That meant there were now seven thousand people present to fight the beast horde, including more than two thousand spiritual cultivators. 

The officer leading the crowd announced, “You’ve all had a tough time. Leave this next battle to us!’ 

No one objected, and neither did anyone complain. The initial number had been three thousand people but after the sudden increase in violent beasts a month ago, daily deaths pushed the number down to two thousand. 

“You’ve all fought well. Leave the next one to us!” yelled a man standing in front. He was a tier five master who was as muscular as a bull, very tan, and carried a gigantic sword on his back. 

His comrades spoke up too. 

“You’ve all fought well. Leave the next one to us!” 

“You’ve all fought well. Leave the next one to us!” 

Spirits ran high as five thousand people greeted the weary defenders with enthusiasm. 

“Hahaha, alright. But you’ve all just arrived, and it’ll take some getting used to. We’ll fight with you this time and kill them all together!” 

Now it would be eight thousand beasts against seven thousand soldiers. It would be a slaughterfest! 

Everyone’s blood boiled with passion as they cried, “Glory to mankind, victory to the Federation!” 

1. (Author’s Note: Three-fifths of this beast horde was composed of tier one Beast Soldiers) ☜

Let the slaughter commence!!