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Chapter 450: The Twelfth Troop Takes the Field (I)

“You are newly formed and do not have a full complement. Your equipment is incomplete, so you will assist the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Troops in ad hoc defense!

“Central command has issued standing orders that the chain of command shall pass down in order of seniority! If we all fall in battle, the Third Troop of the Ninth Division will answer to you! In the same vein, your men will fall under my command if you perish in the battlefield!” announced the Silver Armor as soon as Li Hao presented himself.

The soldier looked at the young man, solemn respect in its empty gaze. “We are to defend our homes and resist enemies! No retreat, no desertion! Our sacred land lies behind us, the people live if the city stands, the people die if the city falls! Our orders are to stalwartly defend the eastern gate! We are not to take a single step back without receiving such orders, do you understand?”

“I do!” Li Hao thumped his chest.

Some derision entered the Silver Armor’s empty gaze. That was wrong! But whatever, you guys are a newly formed unit and it looks like you haven’t undergone training. Then forget it, it’s rare enough that rookies are willing to reinforce the frontlines, what else can we ask for?

I just hope they don’t disturb the army formations! How long has it been since fresh blood joined the Ninth Division?

Endless eons! So long that the division had forgotten when the last batch of recruits was.

The army had lain quiet for countless years before revitalizing with bits and pieces of their memories. That was already rare enough for the Silver Armor. And with the arrival of new recruits, it put the leader of the Seventh Troop in great spirits.

“As a mobile unit, you will assist the three troops in defending the eastern gates. Your merits will be counted at double the rate after battle. This is an exception for new recruits, so treasure the opportunity well!”

“Merits?” Li Hao blinked. What merits?

The Silver Armor was used to idiotic questions from new recruits and didn’t bother answering.

“The enemy has temporarily retreated, but they will soon attack anew. There are some powerhouses among them, it is a pity that our souls have been scattered to the four winds and our strength is less than ten percent of what it once was. Otherwise... But there is nothing to be done when a tiger that goes down to the plains is bullied by dogs. We are weak and fragile, so we must be cautious and prudent. We cannot take rash action!”

Less than ten percent of their strength...

Li Hao was flabbergasted by the statement. So in the past, these Silver Armors had been stronger than when they reawakened! How terrifying was that! And this was just a troop leader. There were division leaders, commanders, ranking officers, the commander-in-chief... He could fathom the hierarchy just from the medallion he’d received.

This was also just the reserve defenders of the Ninth Division! So that meant there were at least nine divisions with multiple troops to them, then they would roll up to a corp...

The scale of the army gave him heart palpitations! Did it number in the millions at its peak? Perhaps there were one hundred thousand in each of their corps! Just how glorious was the ancient civilization?? It boggled the mind!

This particular troop leader seemed quite busy. He quickly set Li Hao aside and dashed up the city walls, appearing over the ramparts. Li Hao followed him in a flash of light. There were two more Silver Armors on top to begin with, and now there were four total.

......

At the same time.

Outside.

Someone in the plaza squinted at the city gates. “Look over there! Is there an additional Silver Armor on the gates?”

His words raised a disturbance through the crowd and many followed his gaze. Some people’s eyesight proved sharp enough, others could not. Those who could see the newcomer jumped with shock.

“Another Silver Armor means another one thousand Black Armors!”

“So we’ve got one thousand more enemies?”

“Oh my... heavens... we’re doomed!”

“Why is there another one? Didn’t they say there’s only four because of the four directions? Is it five now? Just how many Black Armors are there in the city??”

A hubbub of discussion arose as some fretted while others cursed. The hell was this! They were just here to earn money, not to die. Hundreds of them had died as soon as they entered, and now there was a new Silver Armor!

......

Hou Xiaochen was also frowning. The new Silver Armor perplexed him and overthrew some of their previous theories. There might be more than defenders of the four directions in the city. There could be other army units.

Each unit rivaled the Silver Moon Guards and they were more powerful inside the city. Their terrifying might was awful to consider. Hou Xiaochen had only raised a thousand people over the years, but an army several thousand strong had appeared in a short period of time. And this had just been an army left behind to stand guard in the ancient civilization!

The Parity King, Green Moon, Elder Crimson Light, and others walked over. They were also finding the situation difficult to manage.

“Director Hou, this was not within our expectations.” The Parity King frowned. “How many Black Armors are there inside the city? We won’t have much of an effect if we continue to devote our effort here—the enemy just grows more numerous!

“We don’t have much time, only three days. If we don’t leave then, there doesn’t seem to be stories of anyone surviving a month yet. We won’t make it to the next opening!”

They would either have to abandon the inner city after three days or try to brute force their way! They needed to breach those defenses!

The major factions had observed the action thus far and waited for the right moment. It was time to settle on a plan. Do they go for a strong offensive or what?

If they chose to give up... Everyone had waited for a month and made ample preparations for this excavation. They’d finally entered the ruins, so what was this talk of giving up! They’d come with so many Novas that were yet to take the field!

It was just a few thousand Black Armors. They were nothing if the Silver Armors didn’t erupt with full strength. That made the latter peak Sunflare at most, a level that could be found all throughout the expedition.

The more the situation stood thus, the more that people felt there was a lot of treasure inside the city. Even if there wasn’t, a few thousand sets of black armor were a priceless treasure. One or two hundred wasn’t much, but thousands or ten thousand could create an elite military unit!

Ten thousand troops with Solar defensive capabilities charging together... That made for a terrifying scene! Even now, a few thousand Black Armors rushing together had still killed several hundred supernaturals, despite powerhouses in residence.

“What thoughts do you guys have?” Hou Xiaochen asked calmly.

“We work together!” The Parity King cut straight to the chase. “We’ll mow down the Black Armors and assign one of the four Silver Armors to the three great organizations and Silver Moon authorities. Each faction will take care of one Silver Armor. The rest can handle the Black Armors!

“That should cover our bases. Even if the Silver Armor awakens, it will be late Nova at most. We should be able to contain one late Nova with all the strength we’ve brought, so we’re not afraid of that eventuality either!”

As strong as the Silver Armor was, each of the four factions was confident in their abilities to handle one late Nova. Green Moon herself was a late Nova, what was there to be afraid of?

As for the numerous Black Armors, so were there many supernaturals present. Black Armors were initial Sunflare at most; most in the expedition were Sunflares, with plenty of Solars present. There were a few wandering Novas as well, such as Xu Feng and some other formidable martial masters.

“Has anyone seen Southern Fist?” asked Elder Crimson Light from Celestial. “The guy’s gone missing, has he slipped into the city?”

He Yong was a loud and abrasive fellow. It was an unfamiliar sight that he hadn’t been present for the earlier battle.

“Did he die in the second passageway?”

“Who knows?”

“......” No one knew where He Yong had gone, but some had indeed died in the second passageway. There were many casualties in the earlier melee as well. When all was added together, only fifteen hundred were left of the nearly two thousand expedition team.

A large portion was gone! Of course, it was survival of the fittest. Those who’d died were fools, idiots, or weaklings who hadn’t done any homework before entering the ruins. Who else should die, if not they? They only knew that mysterious power stones covered the ground here. It was a good thing they had died, it would make the rest of the group exercise their wits more.

Hou Xiaochen didn’t say anything. Southern Fist? He wasn’t the only one. Li Hao and Hong Yitang were also nowhere to be found!

“Alright!” He nodded after some consideration. “We’ll take care of one Silver Armor, but there are many Black Armors and the rest might not be able to unite as one...”

Someone representing the wandering cultivators approached them from a distance—Xu Feng!

The dapper gentleman strode in with dashing flair. “Seniors, it is my honor to receive everyone’s approval and represent the wandering cultivators to discuss how we might handle the trouble we find ourselves in...”

Hou Xiaochen smiled and didn’t respond. Green Moon flicked a disdainful glance at the young man. Celestial’s Elder Crimson Light didn’t make a sound. Only the Parity King’s stern face split with a slight smile.

“We happen to be discussing with Director Hou as well. We will take care of the Silver Armors while the wandering cultivators and some of our people eliminate the Black Armors. Without their superiors, the Black Armors are easy to manage. They lose their battle capabilities after one minute away from the ground!

“The Bronze Armors are harder to handle, but with a Nova like Sir Xu on the wandering cultivator side, you should be able to eliminate Sunflares like the Bronze Armors. Are you amenable to this division, Sir Xu?”

There were indeed a bit too many Black Armors, but they were weak. Strictly speaking, the reawakened Silver Armors were the most frightening.

“Of course!” Xu Feng smiled. “We look to the seniors to eliminate the hardest opponents. Leave the rest to us!”

This was absolutely fine and even better than they thought. They’d been worried that these guys would continue watching from the sidelines.