Chapter 572: Chapter 572. Aggressive Defense

They roamed the desert for what felt like six days, though none could truly confirm the time.

Although they lost more time than expected, Amon was relieved that they kept troop losses to a minimum. Other than the initial ambush by spirit beasts, casualties were rare. This was all thanks to their arrangement. The rope system and batch resting helped address the difficulties caused by the border’s defensive formation.

The spirit beast ambushes happened at random intervals. There was no fixed pattern. The intensity was also irregular. At one time, there were only a few ambushes. At a different time, the spirit beasts came at them as if they were moving as a horde.

Zhong Yuan theorized that these spirit beasts were wild beasts that were accidentally trapped inside the border formation. These beasts were then kept inside the formation and released to assail unsuspecting trespassers. He deduced the mechanism triggered only for trespassers in large groups, which explained why he didn’t encounter the spirit beasts when he crossed this border.

Amon rationed the food from the supply carts to ensure they didn’t run out while still trapped inside the formation. Despite all the difficulties, he maintained strict discipline.

A few soldiers couldn’t handle these difficulties and suffered a mental breakdown. They cut their ropes and ran. These soldiers were lost in the desert and were never seen again. This incident, however, was rare.

When Zhong Yuan told the army to stop on the sixth day, they didn’t see any difference in the surrounding scenery. However, those of the Martial Realm could sense a massive invisible wall blocking their path.

“Okay, we have reached the second obstacle, the border wall,” Zhong Yuan informed. “At this point, I will need some time to create a tunnel in this wall. The area three meters from the wall is free from the border formation’s influence, but the rest is not. So, your army will have to stay put until I am done.”

He finished speaking and cut his rope. He stepped forward until he almost touched the invisible wall. He used his Mystic Sense to study the wall.

“Good,” he said. “This wall is still the same as before. Nevertheless, I will need some time to create a tunnel big enough for your army.”

“Go ahead,” Amon said. He turned back and said, “Hu Hua, Shi Hei, Diao Xin, Yi Chaisan, help him.”

The four cut their ropes and joined Zhong Yuan.

“Well, it does help if I have aid, but you all have to do exactly what I said,” Zhong Yuan warned them.

*

Zhong Yuan and the others spent a couple of days working on the border wall. Amon stayed nearby. He cultivated while watching them work. He wasn’t involved, but he paid attention to all the details. He had the basics thanks to his studies at the Royal Academy, so he could grasp the technique. He couldn’t say he could do the same the next time they encountered another invisible wall, but this experience helped him advance his understanding of engraving and formation.

“Okay, this should be big enough,” Zhong Yuan said. “I can’t be sure if I won’t attract Khode’s attention if I make the tunnel bigger. It will probably take an entire day for an army this size to move across.”

“That will have to do,” Amon said. He proceeded to yell for everyone to prepare to resume their march.

“Have the troops move between the path marked by Hu Hua and Yi Chaisan,” Zhong Yuan informed. The two women stood around twenty meters apart. That was how wide the tunnel Zhong Yuan had made on the invisible wall.

“What is on the other side?” Xin Wuming asked. “Will we still be affected by the border formation?”

“No, the border formation stops at this side of the wall,” Zhong Yuan answered. “That said, Khode considers the area behind this wall their territory, even when a large part is no man’s land with no settlement. The defenses they placed in the area behind this border wall are much more aggressive than the border formation.”

“The Faxien radars, elemental mines, and puppet sentries?” Amon asked. Zhong Yuan had briefed him briefly before they set out on this campaign, so he had a little understanding of what to expect.

Zhong Yuan nodded. “Sometimes, a squad of Khode soldiers also patrols the place. This spot that I picked has the fewest patrol routes. Well, that is considering if nothing has changed since I left.”

“Will there be enough space for my army without being detected by the radars, mines, and puppet sentries?” Amon asked.

“Um… These radars and mines were designed to deal with individual trespassers. It is hard even for one person to sneak past, let alone an army this big.”

“Very well, then. In that case, we will use aggression against their aggressive defenses,” Amon stated. He turned to Xin Wuming and told him to assemble the regiment leaders.

The leaders arrived, and they convened under the invisible tunnel’s entrance. Amon had laid a large piece of paper on the sandy ground. The paper was a map of Khode.

The palace library possessed the map of all the countries in Aetheria. The maps of the other countries, however, were outdated. This was especially true for Khode, which shut itself off from other countries for centuries. No one in Echos had an accurate map of that nation. The one Amon was looking, however, was accurate. This was because after he made a copy of Khode’s map, he asked Zhong Yuan to correct or add all the details. This way, he didn’t enter the country blindly.

He pointed to the edge of the map and told everyone, “This is where we are.” His hand then traced to a nearby icon that represented a settlement. Above the icon were the words, Surly Gate Town. “This is our target.”

“How far is it?” Yong Baili asked.

Amon turned to Zhong Yuan, who answered, “Around one day’s travel for this army after we pass the border area.”

“Once we clear the border, our army will split into two legions,” Amon said. “The first legion will rush to take the city. The second marches with the supply carts. Speed is of the essence. We must strike them before they can react.”

“Without the supply carts, the first legion should reach this town in less than a day,” Zhong Yuan added. “But as I said, once we cross this border wall, we will encounter many aggressive defenses. If we are to dismantle the traps one by one, it will take a long time. I also can’t guarantee that we won’t be detected by the Faxien Radars.

“As I said, we will use aggression against their aggressive defenses,” Amon returned. “We will go full speed once we cross this border wall. The army has had enough rest these past two days. Tell everyone to prepare their weapons. They will soon have something to hit.”

*

After some preparation, the army started to move. Amon led the charge. He burst past the border wall with Xin Wuming and Wu Di following closely. This was as far as his army could approach while avoiding detection, so he thought they might as well enter with a bang.

Once they went past the invisible wall, the scenery transformed as if a veil was lifted. It was no longer the empty desert like when they were still trapped by the border formation. The landscape before them was now a verdant land crowded with low hills.

While the view was much better than what was on the other side of the border wall, their attention was not on the natural side of things. Their eyes were instead drawn to the unnatural aspects filling the area. Hundreds of glowing discs were spread all over the place. Some rested on the ground, and the remaining floated in the air.

“Those are the elemental mines. Hit them from a distance!” Amon instructed. He waved his arms, and countless shooting stars flew out. Each of his flying knives hit a different glowing disc. Upon impact, the discs exploded.

The glow of each disc had different colors. Red glowing discs burst into fierce fire. Dark blue discs produced a flood of violent water. Light Blue discs froze the area around them into icy prisons. Purple discs fried everything in the surroundings with high-voltage electricity.

Amon hit a lot of elemental mines using his flying knives, but those knives were also destroyed by the explosions. He didn’t have unlimited knives. So, after clearing the immediate areas using the flying knives, he continued his assault using his Alpha Flying Knives. Six large knives flew ahead and struck the discs.

By now, Amon’s Flying Sword art had reached peak mastery. At the grandmaster level, he didn’t find it difficult to control six knives at once, similar to Xin Dhaije, who used six longswords. At this mastery, his flying knives could fly further away from him, and he could also inject energy into them remotely to increase their durability. This way, his flying knives wouldn’t be so easily destroyed, and he didn’t need to keep on crafting new ones.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep