The Return of the King
The battle at the main south gate had become Lam Minh's one-man stage. He was like a whirlwind of death, sweeping away everything in his path.
[Received 2800 Immortality Points.]
[Received 3500 Immortality Points.]
[Received 2600 Immortality Points.]
The notifications continuously flashed in his mind, but he no longer paid them any attention. His entire will and spirit had merged with the Thuan Thien sword, immersed in a state of frenzied combat.
After nearly half an hour of slaughter, all twenty Foundation Establishment creatures lay dead at his feet. The main south gate was temporarily secured.
But the price paid was not small. The spiritual energy in his body had been depleted by more than half. Although he wasn't severely injured, the continuous high-intensity fighting had left him exhausted.
He stood amidst the pile of corpses, panting, and looked towards the enemy's main army.
In the sky, the air battle was still raging fiercely. At the foot of the wall, tens of thousands of Madakaros were still frantically attacking. The battle was still far from over.
And at the very rear of the enemy army, on a high hill, three figures still stood there, observing silently.
They were the three Nascent Soul Realm commanders.
They made no move. Not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't dare.
From the hidden launch silos within Thang Long Fortress, dozens of intercontinental ballistic missiles, armed with nuclear warheads, had been raised and were aimed directly at their position.
This was a deterrent, a state of mutual restraint.
Humanity knew that even though nuclear weapons were powerful, they could only severely injure these Nascent Soul creatures, and it would be difficult to kill them completely. And if they did open fire, Thang Long Fortress would also be affected by the radioactive fallout, becoming a dead land.
The Madakaros also knew that if they made a move, they would face a rain of nuclear fire. Even if they didn't die, being severely injured in the midst of a chaotic battlefield was not a good outcome.
So, they waited. Waited until their vanguard broke through the wall, disrupting the defense system, at which point they would make their move to end the battle.
Lam Minh understood this well. His mission, and that of all the other soldiers, was to hold on, to repel the vanguard's attack at all costs.
The battle dragged on.
One day... two days... five days...
Thang Long Fortress became a true furnace. The sound of gunfire and roars never ceased. Both sides suffered heavy losses.
The bodies of soldiers and Madakaros piled up at the foot of the wall. The stench of blood and gunpowder was thick in the air.
Lam Minh, as a peak combat force, became a beacon on the battlefield. He no longer stayed in one position, but constantly moved, appearing at the most critical locations.
Wherever the defensive line was about to break, he appeared, using his sword qi to wipe out a swath of enemies.
Wherever there was an enemy Foundation Establishment commander, he appeared, charging in alone with his sword to assassinate them.
Wherever the soldiers' morale faltered, he appeared, his presence like a stimulant, causing them to roar and fight on.
The name "Second Lieutenant Asura" began to spread throughout both the human and Madakaros armies. The enemy feared his name, while his comrades cheered at the sight of him.
But he was not a god.
After ten days and nights of non-stop fighting, despite replenishing his spiritual energy with Spirit Stones and elixirs, his body and spirit had reached their limit.
He stood on a shattered section of the wall, his body covered in wounds. The Thuan Thien sword in his hand no longer shone so brightly. He looked down below, and his heart felt as if it were being squeezed.
He saw the young soldiers, those who had been laughing and talking with him just a few days ago, now fallen.
He saw Lieutenant Khoa, the man who had treated him to goat hotpot, being pierced through the chest by a Late-stage Foundation Establishment creature.
He saw Sergeant Toan, the man who had called him a benefactor, using his own body to embrace an enemy's energy bomb to save his comrades.
He had tried, tried his very best. He had killed countless Foundation Establishment creatures, countless Qi Refining ones. His Immortality Points had long surpassed the 160,000 mark, enough for him to break through to the Peak stage.
But he didn't dare.
Breaking through a major realm required time and tranquility. In the midst of this chaotic battlefield, a single second of carelessness would mean more deaths, and he didn't want to waste time on a breakthrough right now.
He felt helpless.
An absolute, overwhelming helplessness. The strength of a single individual, no matter how great, was too small in the face of a brutal, total war.
Just then, from the enemy's side, a long horn blast sounded.
The attacking Madakaros suddenly retreated in unison, clearing a path.
From the rear, the three Nascent Soul creatures began to advance slowly.
It seemed their patience had run out. They had decided to end this battle themselves.
One Late-stage Nascent Soul. Two Mid-stage Nascent Soul.
A terrifying pressure from the three Nascent Soul-level auras crashed down, making the entire Thang Long Fortress seem on the verge of collapse. The surviving soldiers felt their souls freeze, unable to move.
Lam Minh gritted his teeth, trying to resist the pressure. He knew the decisive moment had come.
He looked towards the command center. He knew the nuclear missiles were ready. But he also knew that was the last resort, a "mutual destruction" solution.
"NO!"
He let out a roar. He couldn't let things end like this.
He gathered his last bit of spiritual energy, leaped from the wall, and with his sword alone, charged straight at the three advancing gods of death.
"You want to destroy this place?" he yelled, his voice hoarse. "YOU'LL HAVE TO STEP OVER MY DEAD BODY FIRST!"
A mad act, a foolishly brave charge.
The leading Late-stage Nascent Soul creature looked at him, its eyes filled with contempt.
"A mere Foundation Establishment ant, daring to block our path? Ridiculous."
It just gently waved its hand.
An invisible but indescribably powerful wave of energy shot towards Lam Minh.
He felt as if he had been hit by a mountain. The Thuan Thien sword was knocked from his hand. His entire body flew backward, crashed into the wall, and then fell like a broken doll.
He coughed up a large mouthful of blood, the bones throughout his body feeling as if they had shattered. His consciousness began to fade.
"Is this the end...?" he thought. "In this life... can I still not change anything...?"
Despair began to envelop him.
Just then.
The entire sky suddenly darkened. It wasn't dark clouds. It was a pressure even more terrifying than the three Nascent Soul creatures combined, descending from the heavens.
A deep, majestic, ancient voice, carrying an endless draconic might, echoed across the entire battlefield, causing both sides to tremble.
"You dare bully my descendant, you little Fish Goblins?"
A streak of golden light tore through the sky, descending between Lam Minh and the three Nascent Soul creatures.
When the light faded, a figure appeared.
Lac Long Quan.
...
"You dare bully my descendant, you little Fish Goblins?"
The voice, not angry but full of authority, carried an ancient bloodline pressure that made not only the three Nascent Soul creatures, but every Madakaros on the battlefield feel their souls tremble. It was a primal fear, an absolute suppression of the Dragon race over all aquatic species.
Lam Minh, lying on the brink of death, heard this familiar voice and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but curve into a smile.
"Uncle... you finally decided to show up... This time... what a grand entrance..."
The three Nascent Soul creatures looked at the newly appeared platinum-haired man, their eyes filled with horror and disbelief.
"Who... who are you?" the Late-stage Nascent Soul commander growled, trying to suppress the fear in his heart. "This aura... it's the Dragon race! Impossible! The Dragon race vanished thousands of years ago!"
"Vanished?" Lac Long Quan gave a cold laugh, a laugh that carried the contempt of a king. "I simply couldn't be bothered with you little杂鱼 (trash fish). Today, you have crossed the line."
He didn't say any more. He knew that against these creatures, words were meaningless.
He held out his hand. A golden light condensed in his palm, forming a magnificent long spear, its shaft carved with coiling dragons. This was his true divine weapon, the Dragon Soul Spear.
"Let me see," he said, pointing the tip of his spear at the three Nascent Soul creatures. "If the cultivation of you Fish Goblins has improved at all after several thousand years."
"YOU'RE COURTING DEATH!"
The Late-stage Nascent Soul roared. Though it feared the draconic might, the pride of a powerful expert would not allow it to retreat. Besides, there were three of them, and only one of the opponent.
The three Nascent Soul creatures attacked simultaneously. Countless Nascent Soul-level spells and abilities were unleashed, creating a destructive storm of energy that swept towards Lac Long Quan.
Facing an attack that could level an entire city, Lac Long Quan remained calm.
"Is that all?"
He brandished the Dragon Soul Spear. A perfect golden circle appeared before him, like an unbreakable shield.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
All the attacks from the three Nascent Soul creatures dissipated like snow meeting fire upon hitting the golden shield, unable to cause even the slightest damage.
"How is this possible?" all three were horrified.
"My turn," Lac Long Quan said.
He vanished on the spot, his speed even faster than a Golden Core's teleportation. He appeared right in front of one of the Mid-stage Nascent Soul creatures.
The Dragon Soul Spear in his hand thrust forward. It looked like a very simple thrust, with no flashy sword qi or energy.
But the Mid-stage Nascent Soul felt as if the entire world was collapsing on it. It frantically used all its strength to defend.
STAB!
All layers of defense were useless. The spearhead pierced through its shoulder, carrying a domineering Dragon qi that destroyed its meridians from within.
"Ah!" It let out a pained scream, its entire arm nearly crippled.
Without stopping there, Lac Long Quan spun, the shaft of his spear sweeping horizontally, striking the other Mid-stage Nascent Soul creature.
BAM!
The second creature was sent flying like a cannonball, coughing up blood, with who knows how many broken ribs.
In just one move, two Mid-stage Nascent Soul experts were severely injured!
The Late-stage Nascent Soul commander, seeing this, was utterly horrified. It knew they had encountered an unbeatable existence. This person's strength, though also at Late-stage Nascent Soul, far surpassed its own. This was a qualitative difference, a difference in bloodline, in cultivation technique.
"RETREAT!" it screamed, without a shred of hesitation.
It rushed to support its two heavily injured comrades, intending to fight its way out.
"Trying to leave?" Lac Long Quan laughed coldly. "You think it's that easy?"
He was about to give chase, but then he glanced at Lam Minh, who was lying half-dead on the ground. He knew that if he chased them, he might be able to kill one or two, but there was a risk the remaining one could turn back and attack Thang Long Fortress. Besides, his main purpose was not to kill, but to deter.
He stopped, withdrew his spear, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the aura of a king enveloping the entire battlefield.
"Go back and tell your master," he said, his voice echoing everywhere. "This land belongs to my descendants. From now on, if you dare to take another step past the Great Wall, I will personally come to your den and pull you out by the roots. Scram!"
The three Nascent Soul creatures, as if granted a great amnesty, didn't dare say a word, and pathetically supported each other as they fled.
The remaining Madakaros, seeing their commander flee, also panicked and screamed, trampling over each other in a chaotic retreat never seen before.
The large-scale general offensive, which had lasted for ten days and nights, ended in a way no one could have ever expected.
With his strength alone, Lac Long Quan had repelled an entire army.
On the wall, the human soldiers, after a moment of stunned silence, erupted in cheers. They didn't know who that man was, but they knew he was their guardian deity, the savior of humanity.
Lac Long Quan paid no attention to the cheers. He quickly went to Lam Minh's side, supporting him with one hand while channeling a pure stream of Dragon qi into his body with the other to heal his wounds.
"You've got some real guts, kid," he said with a wry smile. "Daring to face three Nascent Soul creatures by yourself."
"Uncle... you were... too late..." Lam Minh whispered, then passed out in the arms of his "ancestor."
Lac Long Quan looked at his heavily injured "descendant," a look of affection and pride in his eyes.
"Rest easy," he murmured. "From now on, I am here. No one can bully you anymore."
He raised his head and looked towards the distant horizon, where the enemy had retreated.
A new balance, a new order, had been established. And it began with the return of a king.