Chapter 491: Us, North Sea
Chapter 491: Us, North Sea
Translator: Irene Editor: TYZ, CakeHermit
Cloud Castle was concealed by thick layers of cloud. The deep clouds were not only used as a cover, but also provided an outstanding defense.
The 32-kilometer-long North Sea Wall was the final defensive line against the Blood of God, but now, fragmentary nicks had already appeared on its surface.
Each castle possessed countless cloud mirrors, through which one could clearly observe the situation outside. Above the mirrors, densely crowded enemies rushed over from all directions.
What followed the blood elementalists was a concentrated azure arrow rain which would occasionally strike them.
The water elemental arrows that missed would explode into balls of cold, bone-piercing ice shards.
Blood elementalists swept by the cold air would temporarily turn rigid, after which a heavy, sturdy azure javelin would shoot out from within the cloud wall. Like a ray of lightning, it would strike the blood elementalists and leave a bowl-sized bloody hole in their bodies.
Yet, it was the attacks launched by the God-subduing Peaks that the blood elementalists feared most.
The God-subduing Peaks could use the five elements interchangeably, so their attacks could not be guarded against.
At times, an enormous silver sickle of light would sweep across the whole battlefield, and where it passed, blood elementalists would be severed in half at their waists. Fresh blood poured like rain and the mournful cries that filled the field left people’s hair standing on end.
From time to time, a few red, basket-sized fireballs would drop and explode mid-journey, scorching a radius of about thirty meters, leaving no survivors.
Countless sand puppets would also leap from the ground and cling tightly to the blood elementalists, pushing them toward the arrow rain.
Wood elementalists made fewer moves, fearing that the vines and plants would be infected by the blood poison.
Under the North Sea wall lay piles of skeletons.
Lu Manman blurted, "Is Ye Baiyi crazy?"
The atmosphere within Cloud Castle was extremely grave. In the evening, on the day the Holy Emperor ordered an attack, Ye Baiyi had launched an all-out attack. Enemies closed in like the tide, pressuring them immensely.
They were very experienced when it came to battling against the Blood of God, but this was completely different from past battles. The blood elementalists throwing themselves over were in a frenzied state. It was a fear-evoking sight.
The first wave of attacks lasted from that evening until the next daybreak.
The azure light ray produced by the water elemental energy and the red blood ray released by the blood elementalists lit the deep, despair-filled night as bright as daytime. It was eerily horrifying, as even the stars in the sky dimmed and lost their color.
The North Sea Division had never met with such a frantic attack.
When day broke, the morning light faintly lit up the horizon. The sun had yet to rise and the cold blue sky was blackened by smoke. The closely packed enemies retreated like the tide, leaving behind only corpses.
The wounded were lying amidst blood pools, wailing in anguish, yet none took pity on them.
Occasionally, the cloud wall would shoot fragmentary blue water elemental arrows, putting an end to their suffering.
Giving them a proper ending and sparing them from pain was the best kindness they could be served.
The captives and wounded were an intolerable burden to the North Sea Division. There was no one to manage the captives or treat the injured blood elementalists.
The anguished wails gradually faded and the battlefield regained its deathly stillness.
The sun rose, its sunlight unable to provide these fallen corpses with any warmth. The clouds floating in the blue sky were reflected on their lusterless and motionless eyes.
Afraid that the corpses would lead to an epidemic and that their fresh blood would be drawn by more blood elementalists, the God-subduing Peaks set them ablaze, burning them to ashes.
Wave after wave of attacks struck over three consecutive days.
Even with the North Sea Wall, everyone felt that they would be unable to continue to endure. Every day, the wall would have more nicks and the enemies once almost drilled their way through. Lu Manman had had to lead his team to personally kill off those blood elementalists.
Everyone rejoiced.
The division leader had requested that they strengthen the defensive structures and they dared not goof off. At that point, many had been incredulous at the order.
Structures built on the scale of the North Sea wall, in all of the Avalon of Five Elements’s history, could be counted on one’s fingers. Alright, actually there were none in the Avalon of Five Elements. It was uncertain if the North Sea Wall could be considered as a part of the history of the Avalon of Five Elements.
Now, however, everyone felt that the division leader stood tall and had foresight, had been wise and brilliant.
Even the North Sea Wall, built on an unprecedented scale, had almost been broken through by the enemies. If it had been the flimsy structure it once was, they might not have even been able to resist for three whole days.
Qi Xiuyuan’s expression was grave. "Ye Baiyi is throwing lives away, but other than this, there’s no other way out."
Helian Feier wrinkled her brows. "How many have died here?"
Three days of attacks had resulted in over three thousand deaths.
Such a severe loss was unimaginable for all of the North Sea Division. The bloody battle against the Blood of God had been ongoing for such a long time that it was obvious only their elites had come forward this time; they were far more capable than the soldiers from the previous battles.
As compared to the three thousand elites from the Blood of God, the North Sea Division was practically destroyed. They had no combat strength left. A combat division’s defeat was considered a heavy loss even in the former Avalon of Five Elements, but Ye Baiyi did not care.
"They have a lot of people," Shi Beihai stated calmly, his gaze sweeping across everyone present. In a low voice, he added, "We’d previously discussed how an all-out battle would start following Senior An Muda’s fall. This is an all-out battle that will only end when one party thoroughly loses, so throw away all unrealistic thoughts. This battle is going to be tougher than we can imagine."
The few others were silent. They knew that their leader was right.
Ignoring them, Shi Beihai continued, "Ye Baiyi is not a fool. He chose to do this, so he must have his own plans. What we have to do now is figure out what those plans are."
Helian Feier muttered, "Such disregard for casualties is so unlike Ye Baiyi. He takes very good care of his soldiers. I think he might have been pressured by the Holy Emperor into executing such extreme measures."
With bright and shiny eyes, Qi Xiuyuan added, "Can we think from their perspective? Ye Baiyi needs to break through the North Sea Wall. What would we do if we were in his position? It’s meaningless to launch a mild, probing attack. It could escalate easily, which is disadvantageous. High intensity attacks would mean high casualties. Our team damage is small, but take note that our essence elemental bean consumption is very large."
Helian Feier’s face changed slightly.
Shi Beihai turned around and asked Helian Feier, "Go find out how many essence elemental beans we have left."
At that, Helian Feier dashed out.
The expressions on people’s faces weren’t too great.
God-subduing Peaks did not require essence elemental beans because they possessed abundant amounts of elemental energy to begin with, but the recovery of the soldiers’ elemental energy and the North Sea Wall’s repairs required a high volume of essence elemental beans. Without elemental beans, the soldiers would need at least twenty hours to replenish their elemental energy.
If there weren’t enough essence elemental beans, then aside from the God-subduing Peaks which could continue operating indefinitely, the remaining elementalists’ combat strength would be greatly reduced.
For the past three days, they’d been hounded by their enemies, leaving them breathless. In such a highly tense state of affairs, no one had thought about essence elemental bean consumption.
Helian Feier returned a short while later, her face pale. "There’s only half of the reserve left. If the battle continues at this intensity, we won’t be able to withstand for much longer."
Cloud Castle fell into a complete silence.
Shi Beihai remained calm and collected. He turned to Qi Xiuyan and asked, "Are the mirage bean pods ready?"
Qi Xiuyuan was clueless as to why Boss decided to ask him about them now, but nodded nevertheless. "Done."
"Previously, I had you get in touch with the news villages. How did it go?"
"Yes. I contacted some of the biggest names."
Lightly drumming his fingers on the table, Shi Beihai said, "Take these mirage bean pods to them. Remember, tell them at the end that we’re in urgent need of essence elemental beans."
Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes lit up. "Yes!"
Lu Manman couldn’t help but ask, "Boss, are you worried that Skyheart City…"
Shi Beihai nodded without answering directly. Instead he explained, "Assistance has yet to arrive, so we’re still a lone army putting up this fight. Although I don’t know what the Elders Guild has in mind, it seems like they do not care if we’re able to withstand the attacks or not."
Everyone’s faces changed altogether.
"With the severing of ties between the aristocratic families and the new citizens, Ye Lin’s authority in the Elders Guild has become an issue. I understand that the three central divisions are dealing with Dai Gang, but what about Sky Edge and Infantry? Why aren’t they here yet?"
Shi Beihai appeared calm, but his words were cutting.
"It’s apparent from Madam Ye’s earlier speech that her people are all just cannon fodder." Shi Beihai shook his head. "Still plotting against her own people even at this point. How heart-wrenching."
Qi Xiuyuan looked at Shi Beihai as he spoke. "Then we…"
Shi Beihai shook his head. "I’m telling you guys all this not to rock your faith; I just want you all to know that this battle is going to be much tougher than you’d imagined."
Lu Manman said anxiously, "Sir, if they’re so heartless, why must we…"
Shi Beihai looked down, unable to continue. There wasn’t anger in his eyes, only tranquility. Yet, it was this calmness that rendered him unable to continue.
What no one had expected was for the usually conscientious leader to break into a smile. "Are we fighting for Ye Lin? No. We’re fighting for our families and relatives. Is the North Sea Division the Elders Guild’s North Sea Division? No. We defend and protect those behind us. Be it new citizens or aristocratic families, regardless of where they come from, this is our mission. The North Sea Division’s mission. Do not forget, soldiers."
At that, the smile on his face disappeared and was replaced by seriousness.
Those present could feel a gush of hot air rising straight to the top of their heads. They stood up and fervently made their salutations. "Yes!"
Shi Beihai surveyed his audience, light flickering in his narrowed eyes. He spoke quickly, with an imposing voice, "Order! Other than the usual operations of the God-subduing Peaks, all elementalists shall increase the demarcation of the front line from one hundred and fifty meters to four hundred and fifty meters."
"Yes!"
"Order! All elementalists shall split into three teams. Helian Feier, Lu Manman, and I will lead each team separately to battle and rest in batches!"
"Yes!"
"Order! Qi Xiuyuan, command all craftsmen to work on defensive structures and defensive lines from now onward. Confer power to conscript the locals and mobilize all local elementalists and craftsmen."
"Yes!"
Shi Beihai took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Everyone, this battle will persist for a very long time. Do not place hopes on others. Do not be discouraged by the enemy’s power. Do not lose spirit at temporary losses. Us, North Sea, shall never lose the will to fight."
"We, North Sea, shall never lose the will to fight!"