The Era of Gods

116  Chapter 116: Positioning Finished - A Stunning Reward

As per the agreement, there was no limit on the number of troops for this battle.

This was because Lin Xiao's Clan was mainly composed of Fishman Followers. If the number of soldiers on each side did not exceed a thousand, it would be manageable, but having more than that would be too disadvantageous for him.

He didn't hide this fact, nor was there a need to.

In the past, Shang Xiaoxue would not have even given a second glance to such a clan that mainly comprised the lower-race Fishmen, but after the previous battle, he dared not underestimate them anymore.

Although during the last battle, the Fishmen were crushed when they encountered his Centaur forces, he could see that Lin Xiao's Fishmen were not ordinary. If it hadn't been for his Centaurs being heavily armed to the teeth, the outcome would be uncertain with the same equipment, and this intrigued him.

Having confirmed the conditions of the plane, Lin Xiao immediately deployed four hundred Naga and ten thousand Fishmen, sending nearly all his battle-ready forces, all of whom were at least First Level Fishman Warriors. With the addition of the all-rounder Warrior Profession Card, their combat power exceeded Level 2 but was still a bit shy from Level 3.

If these were Level 2 Fishman Warriors equipped with a Profession, or if the Professional Level was increased by one, they could be comparable to Level 3 forces.

In contrast to his nearly total mobilization, Shang Xiaoxue also launched a massive force of over two thousand fully armed Centaur Cavalry, led by a Centaur Hero, appearing on the plains at the edge of the plane.

Shang Xiaoxue's Divine Realm had almost three thousand Centaurs in total, with more than five thousand Kobolds.

The Kobolds were his initial race, but after acquiring the new race of Centaurs, the Kobolds became a vassal race, mainly occupied with mining and blacksmithing.

The wealthy Shang Xiaoxue acquired a set of Blacksmith's Professional Cards, turning a portion of the Kobolds into dedicated blacksmiths. Half of the weapons and equipment used by his Centaurs were forged by these Kobold blacksmiths, which made Lin Xiao drool with envy—he too wished for such a set.

Just like the last time, Lin Xiao did not command this time either and let Slarda take the lead freely, since this was a simulation challenge, death was not real.

With him acting this way, Shang Xiaoxue naturally wouldn't show weakness. After quickly instructing his own Hero, he stopped giving orders. Both men sat beneath the Vault of Heaven looking over the Earth, the vast prairie was dissected by several rivers and swamps, as both armies converged towards the center of the plane under their respective Heroes' command.

In less than an hour, the two armies converged on opposite sides of a small river that bisected the entire plane. The river was shallow and calm, leaving the commanding Centaur Hero with no hesitation to order an attack.

But Slarda on the opposite bank was quicker to react, ordering the Fishmen to use the Salted Fish Charge and take the initiative to enter the river first.

The current Salted Fish Charge didn't require a target for deployment; in an instant, it covered fifty meters, allowing them to rush into the river first and occupy the advantageous terrain.

This river was more than a dozen meters wide. Although the water was calm and shallow, about a meter deep, the center could reach close to two meters. The large Centaurs could wade directly across, but now there was a large group of Fishmen in the river.

At the moment the Centaurs were crossing the river, Slarda loudly exclaimed,

"Stop them."

The numerous Fishmen that had rushed into the river surged out. Their sturdy and powerful tails lashed out, using the skill 'Thunder Strike' to create a booming explosion. The river water expanded and twisted around the Fishmen, with the force generated by the skill lifting a several-meter-high wave that slammed in all directions, the immense water pressure brutally scattering the Centaurs who had entered the river, tumbling them around. Those who were closer were directly stunned and fell into the river, the power far greater than when used on land.

During this chaos, the numerous Fishmen swarmed and dragged the felled Centaurs into the water, pinning them down.

However, the water was too shallow. In deep water, this move would have been fatal, but in the shallows that were less than two meters deep, it was ineffective, as the Centaurs could easily find their footing with a push of their legs.

But this delay was enough for more Fishmen and even Naga to arrive and support them, forming a defensive line along the several-kilometers-long river channel and firmly keeping the Centaurs on the other side of the small river.

What followed was a stalemate between the two sides.

The Fishmen and Naga could not do anything to the Centaurs on the bank, and the Centaurs could not affect the Fishmen in the water. Even with javelins, as is well known, the refraction of light in water makes it difficult to aim, and unless one has experienced fishing, precision can be dismissed. Two thousand Centaurs threw more than twenty thousand javelins, but less than a thousand Fishmen were killed. After throwing all their javelins, the battle situation was at a complete stalemate.

Luckily this was only a simulation challenge, and since it was at a standstill, they didn't need to fight anymore.

But after that, they continued challenging in different terrains in the simulation.

There were terrains suited for Naga and Fishmen with water, terrains that favored the Centaurs with open barren lands, forest terrains not particularly advantageous for either, and even volcanic terrains that were detrimental to Naga merpeople.

Different terrains required different troop deployments. This was not only to gain experience for the combatant clans but also to increase both their experiences.

With such experience, they could make better decisions when encountering such harsh plane environments in the future.

After five or six exchanges, the others joined in the discussions too. Lin Xiao immediately sent out mass invitations, and soon enough, replies came pouring in, entering the challenge mode.

Tang Ling was the one who responded; he gave Lin Xiao an odd smile before stepping into the virtual plane first.

His Clan consisted of Bull Monsters, not the Beastmen race Minotaurs but Bull Monsters, a powerful species that lived in the Dark Territory beneath the surface. With human bodies and bull heads, standing over two meters tall and extremely robust, they were an excellent species of heavy infantry specialized in siege warfare.

Estimating that he was eager to defeat Lin Xiao, he dispatched more than three thousand fully armed Bull Monsters in one go.

Fully armored with a steel helmet that only revealed the eyes, a two-handed battle axe, and a row of small throwing axes the size of a palm at his waist, he was armed to the teeth.

There was no suspense in this round of battle, as the front row of Fishman warriors was immediately flattened by the Minotaur's organized ranks; no matter how high their morale or how tenacious their fighting, the disparity in their weapons and equipment was just too great.

The Fishmen tenaciously resisted without retreating even in death, stubbornly holding on even after more than half had fallen.

Tang Ling stood above the plane, in the Vault of Heaven, with her arms crossed, looking down smugly at the battlefield.

Lin Xiao sat cross-legged in the Void, expressionless as he overlooked the Earth. His face showed no dismay, but he was carefully observing the battlefield and Slarda's performance in the fight.

Almost like he was cast from the same mold as Lin Xiao, when he was still able to remain calm and observe the battlefield, Slarda, even when his subordinates were at such a disadvantage, maintained a degree of composure, standing on a boulder observing the enemy with a cold eye.

Above the Vault of Heaven, unbeknownst to them, more than a dozen figures had appeared. Seeing the almost one-sided battle, Bai Ze shook his head and said,

"This guy is bullying people again."

A few pretty girls looked down at the battlefield, and one of them shook her head and said,

"The Fishmen are hopeless, they're definitely going to lose."

No one refuted this; an absolute disparity couldn't possibly be overturned.

At that moment, one of the girls with green light shining from her pupils suggested,

"Shall we make a bet on how long he can last?"

Shen Yuexin frowned upon hearing this and shook her head saying,

"They are our companions, let's not embarrass them."

Bai Cheng also nodded and said,

"There's no need for a bet. Our classmate Lin Xiao does have strength; he just doesn't have the same resources as us. If he had our resources, some of us might not necessarily be better than him."

Just then, there was a change in the plane. Slarda, who had been observing the enemy, suddenly summoned all the reservists to leave the central army and charged directly into the raging battlefield.

With him at the forefront, nearly two hundred Naga followed closely behind, like a sharp knife thrusting directly into the Minotaurs' lines, which had become somewhat scattered without them noticing.

Leading the charge, Slarda leaped over fifty meters, descending from the sky and unleashing a Thunder Shatter which kicked up a thick layer of broken stones, clearing an area over twenty meters wide. The nearest circle of Minotaurs was instantly killed by the shockwave, and those in the outer circle were blown away, stunned.

Then, with a Salted Fish Charge, he brutally smashed through a line of Minotaurs, crossing a hundred meters in a single breath, and fiercely slammed into a Minotaur Hero who had somehow come into his sight.

This towering Minotaur Hero, standing at three meters tall and being only an ordinary hero, was far less powerful than Slarda and had no time to react to this swift and berserk strike.

At the critical moment, Tang Ling precisely issued a Divine-mandate to the guards around the Minotaur Hero. A group of guards rushed forward one after another, and the Minotaur Hero grabbed a guard beside him to use as a meat shield.

"Bang!"

With the huge shadow crashing down, a group of Minotaurs were sent flying simultaneously while the thick snake tail swept the surrounding Minotaurs off their feet. Slarda leaped up violently and brought down an anchor from the ship, smacking the Minotaur Hero into the ground mid-air, causing the thick armor on his chest to dent deeply upon landing.

Unfortunately, the Minotaurs had already reacted by then. A large number of Minotaurs surrounded him, layers upon layers blocking his path.

Tang Ling took direct command of all the Clans within the plane, using her god-like perspective to finely direct the actions of all Clans, easily dissolving Slarda's plan.

The Minotaurs, who were already at an advantage, saw their combat power explode exponentially with the cheat-like god-like commanding perspective. And with Slarda trapped, the situation quickly deteriorated.

"No chance now."

"The equipment gap is too wide."

Everyone looked at Lin Xiao not with mockery, but with complexity in their eyes.

After this battle, they clearly saw that Lin Xiao's Fishman Followers far exceeded ordinary Fishmen in combat power. Surprisingly, those Fishmen, whom they had thought were pathetically weak, were so powerful that they could even stand up against some Level 2 Minotaurs in terms of strength. That was outrageous.

But what surprised them the most was the tenacity of the Fishmen; even when more than half had been reduced, they still fought with extreme determination.

Now that more than seventy percent had been lost and they still hadn't collapsed, that was truly incredible. They asked themselves if their own Clans had suffered over half casualties in battle, their morale would have already been shaky, and they would have needed the Supervising Team to prevent a collapse. If the casualties exceeded seventy percent, even with the Supervising Team, they couldn't hold on, except for a few core members, others with less devout faith would usually collapse.