Chapter 486 - 319: The Idea of War Profiteering (2)

Chapter 486: Chapter 319: The Idea of War Profiteering (2)

Cang Tong was also riding an ordinary Insect Type Soul Beast, following closely beside Egg Pancake.

"Everyone, there are Soul Beasts among the Sea Beasts that can interfere with Spiritual Energy, so our communication Spiritual Arrays won’t work properly. Please use these physical maps. Squads will need to use messenger birds to stay in contact."

Several Witch Spirit Beastmasters in green robes stood before the crowd, speaking as they stepped forward to distribute waterproof maps to the Beastmasters preparing for battle.

After receiving the maps, the others said no more and rushed off in the directions indicated.

"I haven’t seen a sight like this in nearly ten thousand years."

Sage, dressed in a fiery red robe with his hands hidden in his sleeves, watched the resolute expressions of the Witch Spirit People. A wistful look flashed in his calm eyes.

’Ten thousand years... Just who is this person? Could he be one of the Saint Ancestors of our Witch Spirit Race?’ Hassuning and the other person, each hovering ahead on their Soul Beasts, couldn’t help but exchange a glance after hearing Sage’s soft, sorrowful sigh. Both saw the deep shock in the other’s eyes.

They didn’t doubt Sage’s identity in the slightest. The man emanated the purest, most authentic Fire Element Spiritual Pressure, the kind unique to the northern Witch Spirit People.

The Flame markings on his cheeks belonged only to the noble High Witch Spirit People.

...

The sky was gloomy and overcast, and large raindrops beat relentlessly against his face.

He was surrounded by rows of stone houses, through which he could vaguely see the prosperity of bygone days. But now, they were lifeless. Not a single lamp shone from the windows; everything was plunged into an eerie, ghostly darkness.

Even here in the center of Xihai City, slightly away from the northern district, the seawater had already risen several dozen centimeters above the ground.

WHOOSH~

Several magnificent goshawks with cyan wings flew low, casting a bright cyan light that illuminated the path ahead for them.

Han Ning looked up and saw a young-faced Witch Spirit Person in a robe sitting on a goshawk’s back, who gave him a friendly nod.

He returned the gesture with a smile.

Seeing this, Hom, who usually maintained a cold expression, also showed a rare, benevolent smile.

Sage had been observing their surroundings the whole time. He suddenly frowned and said in a low voice, "Something’s not right. The situation in Xihai City is a bit worse than I expected."

Han Ning glanced around. The streets were empty, save for their small group and the occasional mixed-blood Witch Spirit People who hurried past on their Soul Beasts.

Distinguishing between pure-blood and mixed-blood Witch Spirit People was simple.

One only had to look at the Elemental markings on their cheeks.

Short and chaotic markings meant they were mixed-blood.

Long, narrow, and aesthetically pleasing markings meant they were pure-blood.

The eye color and the hue of the Elemental markings of the High Witch Spirit People were even more refined and beautiful than those of the pure-bloods.

"Why do you say that?" Han Ning, lacking combat experience, asked earnestly.

Hom took the initiative to explain:

"The concentration of the Wind Element is too low. Normally, when the Witch Spirit Race goes to war, they convert the territory they occupy into a pure Elemental Domain that strongly repels other elements. But right now, the air has a high concentration of the Water Element, and it’s unusually turbulent. This doesn’t match the Cangmiao Division’s combat style."

"Also, all the city’s civilians have been evacuated to Feixia Island. This means Marquis Fengling may be prepared to abandon this city, or even the entire island!" Hom’s grave voice, carried by the biting sea wind, reached Han Ning’s ears intermittently.

Cang Tong stared at the raging sea in the distance, shrouded by dark clouds. An inexplicable, awe-inspiring pressure washed over them. His tone was serious. "You two sirs, and Han Ning, the three of you must stick close to me. If we run into a Soul Beast far beyond our strength, don’t hesitate. Flee immediately. Don’t try to be a hero."

"Understood."

Sage and Hom were veterans of countless battles, but as Residual Souls, their combat power was practically zero, aside from their vast experience. They could only nod in silence.

The Soul Beasts moved extremely fast. Despite being occasionally blocked by scattered Sea Beasts, they soon reached the battlefield where Marquis Fengling was located.

The roars of Soul Beasts from up ahead grew louder and louder.

The seawater flooding the streets also continued to rise.

The water level had risen from just a few dozen centimeters when they started to over ten meters now. It was safe to say the northern part of Xihai City had been completely transformed into a submerged marsh.

Finally, after rounding the corner of a street.

The scene before him once again made Han Ning feel the cruelty and horror of war.

A few kilometers away from the group, a long line of defensive fortifications made of Elemental Giant Stones stretched as far as the eye could see.

A huge amount of beast bones, Soul Beast corpses, and even walls from houses had clearly been dragged over to serve as barricades against the Sea Beasts’ assault, piled several dozen meters high.

The houses behind the fortifications had also been specially raised to stand far above the sea level. On temporarily constructed platforms, numerous Witch Spirit Race Beastmasters stood watch.

In front of the fortifications.

A dense, numberless swarm of Sea Soul Beasts, outnumbering them by dozens of times, charged madly toward the fortifications.

There were ferocious Sea Soul Beasts that Han Ning had seen before in Illusion Sea City, like the Black Shark, Sunflower Squid, and Poisonous Thorn Swordfish.

There were also bizarre creatures he had never seen before.

Most of these wild Sea Beasts were at the Awakening level, some were Extraordinary, and a few were War General Level.

The term "few" was only relative to the total proportion of Sea Soul Beasts.

In reality... the number of Soul Beasts surging endlessly from the depths of the Celestial Sea was nearly infinite.

Given the enormous total number, even the relatively small percentage of War General Level Soul Beasts was still a huge amount.

Furthermore, they all shared a few common traits: their eyes were scarlet, their skin was a dark color, and they gave off an aura of bloodlust and slaughter.

On the distant horizon, colossal black shadows would occasionally breach the surface, only to crash back into the depths, kicking up monstrous waves over a hundred meters high.

Controlled by Witch Spirit Beastmasters, a uniform line of War General Level Soul Beasts stood before the fortifications, forming a great wall of their own. Some battled the ferocious Sea Soul Beasts that leaped from the water using only their physical might. Others channeled Spiritual Energy, unleashing Soul Techniques to clear out swathes of cannon fodder.

Even the Witch Spirit People, who were masters of Elemental Control, were not all equipped with Elemental Soul Beasts.

’Fighting on the enemy’s home turf, we’re at a complete disadvantage...’

Watching the overwhelming horde of Soul Beasts in the distance, Han Ning shook his head grimly and followed Hassuning into one of the raised buildings.

The building they entered seemed to be a self-built residence from before, now reinforced with elements. It was about twenty stories, or sixty meters, tall.

At this moment, all the rooms facing the beast tide had been cleared out. On every floor from the fifth to the twentieth, Beastmasters were lying prone against partially demolished walls, holding ring-shaped blades and continuously firing off multicolored beams of Spiritual Energy to shoot down the Soul Beasts.

This was a type of Spiritual Array weapon commonly used within the Witch Spirit Race, called the Elemental Ring Blade.

Witch Spirit People were naturally able to accumulate large amounts of Spiritual Energy in their bodies. With the help of the special Elemental Ring Blades, they could launch attacks no weaker than those of Soul Beasts.

But all of this had to be done under the protection of their Soul Beasts. They were complete glass cannons; their frail bodies meant they couldn’t engage Soul Beasts in direct combat.

’Even a Witch Spirit Person with Tier Two Spiritual Power can, at most, produce an attack with the destructive force of a War General Level using these Elemental Ring Blades. On top of that, it’s not sustainable, so it can’t compare to a real Soul Beast’s Soul Techniques.’

’If... we humans could develop the various modern weapons from Blue Star here, couldn’t they effectively replace this combat model that relies on so many Low Level Beastmasters?’

Han Ning watched the battle, a kaleidoscope of flying Spiritual Energy, as numerous thoughts flashed through his mind.

Although modern weapons would be of little use in battles at the Lord level and above.

But on a low-level battlefield, they would be extremely cost-effective. A Tier Two Witch Spirit Person huffs and puffs, holding it in for ages, consuming a ton of Spiritual Energy and Spiritual Power just to fire off one Spiritual Energy attack. A few tactical missiles would be far more effective.

One had to remember that this world wasn’t lacking in resources. If they could really ramp up the production of modern weapons, it would absolutely subvert the current model of Beast Master warfare.

Han Ning could almost see a golden, glittering road materializing before his eyes.