Start of the Real Battle

The three beast kings attacked the shield formation directly from above and created dazzlingly fearsome displays of green, red, and white light. The combined spiritual energy clashing in the sky was the greatest display of power seen in several generations. The defenders on the walls and commoners not cowering in basements all stared up at the mountaintop in fear and wonder.

Everyone trusted the Lion Lord and the Eagle Lord. Those two were infallible in the eyes of the citizens of Beast God City. Yet at the same time, there were those that remembered the simple fact that it was two Spirit Kings against three. Commoners did not understand or care for the power struggles at the top of the mountains but they still held the Snake Lord in their hearts. His death which caused sorrow in the past was now causing panic and uncertainty.

It was uncertain if they would all survive this war.

"Beast God Sanctum!"

"Beast God Sanctum!"

The cultivators and soldiers around the city erupted in loud chants to support their masters and rouse their own spirits. The commoners soon joined in and lent their meager voices and strength.

The combined desires of millions of people seemed to bolster the spirits of the human immortals defending the formation. The formation responded to their will and the subsequent attacks were repulsed completely. There was even room for a slight counterattack that pushed the beast kings away from their original position.

"Bah! These smart humans are too smart." King Huo Tu spat out red flames.

"My troops have arrived in the east. They are ready to attack as soon as the formation falls." Queen Sundew said, "Let's separate and see if the formation is indeed as strong as before. I think it definitely is not and we can force a path through for my children!"

"Okay, let's go!"

The three kings charged down the mountain in three different directions. The humans immediately gave chase. The formation was a completely enclosed shell. The top of the mountain contained the activation runes but they did need to remain there. Instead, it was important to directly confront attacks at the source as that would keep the formation in the best shape.

He Zicheng followed Queen Sundew, not because he had a thing for insects but because it was the strongest beast king. He was still the strongest human immortal and it was his responsibility. He completely transformed and showcased his full power.

The mantis claws and green fog collided against new sections of the shield as they flew down. The attacks left cracks and dents but He Zicheng managed to repair the damage quickly with his spiritual energy. The pair were evenly matched and ended up somewhere around the northern gates.

Qu Shen followed the martial monkey and went to the west. The six human Spirit Lords remained tightly together chased after the flame toad towards the southeast. The battle was now separated into three and given the size of the city, it would be hard for anyone to send or receive help.

It became quickly apparent that the southeastern front was the critical battle. Six Spirit Lords together could not put out the same spiritual energy as a single Spirit King. This was never going to be the case as such a feat would require perhaps fifteen or twenty instead of the six that were present.

This weakness was partially offset by the shield formation. It offloaded the stress at a single point onto the whole array and allowed the other two Spirit Kings to lend their strength across the vast distances to assist. However, the shield formation was still not good enough to offset the difference in strength, especially given the great distances that now separated the three different battles.

"Smart humans, take this! And this!" King Huo Tu yelled as it continued a non-stop attack.

It shot out fireballs from its hands so quickly that seemed like two crimson rivers. The edge of the shield that touched the ground was bombarded ceaselessly. Everything was consumed entirely by flaming explosions. It was so much, no one could see what was happening.

"Resist!" He Xinghan screamed as he anchored the formation.

"Resist!" The other five Spirit Lords yelled.

The shield was wavering…

The human side doubled efforts.

The shield solidified again but the toad also doubled its attacks.

A third stream of fire shot out from its mouth, twice as large as the first two. An even greater firestorm erupted and this time, the wavering could not be stopped!

"No! It opened!" The ape-like human immortal yelled in alarm.

Indeed, the toad's flames finally punched through a hole several meters wide at ground-level. It's flames continuously pushed back the white shield that was trying to close the opening.

However, the difference in strength could not be overcome and it was too late. The spiritual energy of the six immortals was continuously pushed back. The two human kings were occupied and could not come to help. There was now a clear, visible route directly to the city.

After another minute, the hole widened by another two meters. The toad was satisfied with this flew forward. It intended to enter the formation and destroy it from the inside. If managed to do so, it would be a complete disaster for the city. The six defending immortals would die and so would millions of humans.

"Resist!" He Xinghan yelled again.

The six Spirit Lords should have escaped with their lives but they did not back from the charging Spirit King. They stayed put and continued to power the white shield array. Each human face that was still filled with determination and hardly any fear.

The toad king became suspicious at this sight and quickly slowed its approach. It proceeded forward cautiously and when the tip of its spiritual aura touched where the shield used to be, a massive surge of spiritual erupted.

The toad king was blasted backward by a violent repelling force. The beast was sent tumbling to the ground and carved a trail in the ground half a kilometer long.

King Huo Tu picked itself back up and yelled angrily, "Smart humans, peh! That hurt!"

It flew back to the six human immortals but the opening had been repaired and there was no sign of the previous breakthrough.

"Fine, let's try this again!"

Three rivers of fire shot out once more. The difference in strength was still there and it soon resulted in another breach. The toad was smart enough to not try the same thing again and instead casually threw a boulder instead.

The amount of strength behind the throw was merely at the Spirit Initiate Realm. It passed through where the shield was supposed to be without any reaction and tumbled to the ground on the other side. The toad grinned and tried with a second boulder, this time with the strength of a Spirit Lord. This one crashed against the invisible barrier and was turned to dust by the automatic defense of the formation.

"I see, I see. Smart humans. King Huo Tu is just as smart as you all!" The toad laughed.

It continued the assault on the shield and increased the width of the breach to over ten meters.

"Come forth! Attack the city!" It then yelled out.

A series of inhuman screeches and hisses came from the hills behind it. A horde of insects soon crawled into sight. They were a mix of all kinds of colors, red, green, blue, black, and gray. It was hard to distinguish head from tail, claws from wings. That wasn't all as a cloud of flying insects advanced above the horde. It was dense enough to block out the sun and contained flying beasts of all sizes. They ranged from small as mosquitos to large as dogs.

The combined force was a fearsome sight. There were hundreds of thousands, no… millions of insects. Their combined aura was every bit as impressive as the entire defending force of mortal humans.

"Forward!" King Huo Tu commanded.

The front row of metallic gray beetles scuttled forward. Each was the size of an ox with a smooth armored front and a long straight horn. This vanguard directly passed through the opening safely and continued on towards the city.

The six human immortals floating above did not even glance down. They did not dare spare a single breath in protecting the shield array lest the hole got even bigger. It was now up to the elders and the disciples to do their jobs. If they could not fight off these beasts, then there was no hope for the city.

The rest of the horde followed the brigade of beetles. It was a flood of insects and the goal of each one of them was to kill humans.

The defenders on the walls let out a loud roar of defiance and readied their weapons.

The real battle of the war finally started!