A Chaotic World 237 Line of Beasts

But right when the Scarlet Moon Army soldiers thought that everything was going just the way they wanted, the sudden cry of a beast caused Nanlan Qianxue to furrow her brows.
She decisively withdrew her outstretched sword arm, leaping back just before an armoured tail smashed into the ground where she had been standing.
Bang-!
The powerful impact created a mini crater on the ground, with cracks spreading out like a spiderweb.
Nanlan Qianxue could not help but feel slight perspiration in her palms at this moment.
This heavy impact was not something that could be treated lightly!
Had she hesitated for just a split second longer, who knew what would have happened to her?
Looking up, Nanlan Qianxue finally saw the creature that stood at the other end of the long armoured tail.
It looked just like a giant tortoise. Standing at the height of a person, it had a long tail and multiple spikes pointing out from all over its shell.
No, not just from its shell.
These spikes were pointing out from all over its body. From its short stubby legs, to its long tail, to its neck, even its head had two spikes pointing out like horns.
Its movement was considered relatively slow, but that did not apply to its tail.
The end of its tail looked just like a bone mace with spikes, and it swung around with such speed that made it extremely difficult to avoid.
As if that was not enough, there was not just one of it.
Looking around, Nanlan Qianxue found herself coming face to face with an entire line of these beasts. It seemed like the enemy had specially prepared them as a secondary layer of defence!
The monster tortoises growled menacingly while waving their tails in the air, their sole presence intimidating enough to cause the entire offense of the Scarlet Moon Army to grind to a halt.
Everyone had seen the impact caused when one of them struck the ground with its tail, and none of them were confident of defending against such an attack.
In fact, had it not been Nanlan Qianxue who was leading the charge, that strike would have almost certainly claimed one of their lives!
How would they dare to move forward carelessly in such a situation?
"Be careful!" Nanqing Haowen hurriedly shouted from behind. "Those are Thornback Tortoises. Adult Thornback Tortoises are Peak Essence Condensation realm beasts that have relatively slow movement speed, but are extremely powerful, especially its tail attack!"
Nanqing Haowen could not help but feel worried for the frontlines when he noticed the Thornback Tortoises.
Thanks to their strong physiques, beasts generally possessed combat strength greater than martial artists of the same cultivation level. Usually, multiple martial artists would have to work together to bring down a beast of the same cultivation level.
It was already tough enough for Essence Condensation realm martial artists to take down an ordinary Peak Essence Condensation realm beast, but the Thornback Tortoise was going to be even more of a challenge.
Taking down a single one would be relatively easy for an entire army, but the problem was that there was an entire line of them here!
While they were relatively slow, it was not as though they were stationary, and their sheer numbers meant that the Scarlet Moon Army could not simply ignore them.
If the Scarlet Moon Army soldiers tried to bypass them, it would be equivalent to abandoning this entire area of the battlefield.
Even if they chose to ignore the Thornback Tortoises and focus on the Dragon Cauldron Army soldiers in the area, it would not work.
As long as they were engaged in battle, the Thornback Tortoises could easily approach. Once they got in range, each swing of a tail could claim the life of a Scarlet Moon Army soldier.
If left unchecked, these Thornback Tortoises could really wreck the entire ground battle!
With the Thornback Tortoises appearing as a support, the Dragon Cauldron Army soldiers seemed to have regained their bearings as well.
They stopped retreating and held their ground, following right behind the Thornback Tortoises as they pushed forward step by step in an attempt to regain control over the line of battle.
This was a trump card prepared by the higher ups. From the looks of unease on the faces of the Scarlet Moon Army soldiers, it seemed that the plan was working out perfectly well!
The Thornback Tortoises advanced, smashing through the stretched frontlines of the Scarlet Moon Army.
Soldier after soldier was crushed to death, completely helpless against the power behind the armoured tails.
Those on the side of the Scarlet Moon Army were just starting to back off in fear when a sole figure broke away from line of the hesitating soldiers, charging straight towards the Thornback Tortoises.
At this moment, soldiers on both sides were dumbstruck as they looked on.
Her facial features were beautiful, and her movements graceful. But what they admired more right now was her courage and decisiveness.
Charging alone into the line of Thornback Tortoises?
That was something that none of them would have dared to even consider!
Nanqing Haowen stared on in shock as well.
He just warned them of the potential dangers, and yet it was as though his words had completely fallen on deaf ears.
That crazy woman!
Nanlan Qianxue tightened her grip on the Frost Jade Sword as she stared these beasts in the face.
Peak Essence Condensation realm?
So what of it?
Lu Tianzi could already fight at the Origin Core level. What would it make her if she could not even handle opponents at the Essence Condensation realm?
Whoosh-!
The sound of the wind accompanied the long armoured tail that swung straight at her.
However, Nanlan Qianxue was ready for it.
With a quick tap of her feet, the light body of the young lady left the ground.
Her body turned gracefully in mid-air, just barely avoiding the powerful tail swing. The protruding spikes on the long armoured tail extended its reach, but were still kept perfectly out of range from cutting her soft skin.
It was a clean dodge, but she needed more than that to continue advancing.
As Nanlan Qianxue landed on the ground once more, two other armoured tails were already coming straight at her.
The Frost Jade Sword flickered, and an aura of frost permeated the air.
This slowed the oncoming attacks just enough for Nanlan Qianxue to leap out of the way once again, her sword slicing across one of the armoured tails as she escaped.
It was not exactly a deep wound, but she had still managed to cut through the tough armoured skin, directly exposing the flesh underneath and causing the Thornback Tortoise to growl in pain.
The sight of blood coupled with the low growl finally woke up the Scarlet Moon Army soldiers who had been staring in a daze.
It is not impossible!
We can beat them!
The hesitation in their hearts vanished as they charged forward once more.
Nanqing Haowen could only stare wide-eyed as he continued to chase up from behind.
They were both at the Intermediate Essence Condensation realm, but Nanqing Haowen knew that there was no way he could have done what Nanlan Qianxue just did.
Even though his Black Maned Shadow Lion was an Origin Core realm beast, it was still young, and had yet to fully mature into the powerhouse that it could become.
Faced with multiple Thornback Tortoises, even escaping unscathed would have been difficult for him. Yet Nanlan Qianxue had not only remained unharmed, she actually ran right in and successfully drew blood!
Since when had Nanlan Qianxue become this strong?
Nevertheless, the unexpected outcome was a good one, and Nanqing Haowen finally let out a deep sigh of relief.
Now, the tides had turned once again.
By running in and proving that she was more than capable of handling the Thornback Tortoises, Nanlan Qianxue had just single-handedly reinvigorated the morale of the Scarlet Moon Army!
Even if it would be a difficult fight, they still had to try and give it their all if they wanted to achieve victory.
The regular soldiers might not be able to handle the Thornback Tortoises, but they could at least keep the Dragon Cauldron Army soldiers at bay, allowing the stronger ones among them to concentrate on dealing with the beasts.
And at this moment, the strongest one of them all had finally arrived.
Worried about Nanlan Qianxue having to face the beasts on her own, Lu Tianzi had temporarily left his squad behind, running straight up to join Nanlan Qianxue at the forefront of battle.
He knew that even though Nanlan Qianxue was able to jump ranks and fight the Thornback Tortoises, things were never so straightforward in battle. A single moment of carelessness could result in dire consequences.
Thus, he had to try and help as much as possible, at least until they could stabilise the situation.
In any case, there was no way he could concentrate on converting the formation nodes with their frontlines in tatters.
With his speed, he arrived before everyone else, be it Beimu Fei, Nanqing Haowen, or any other squads.
The Thornback Tortoises noticed his arrival as well, and an armoured tail immediately came right at him.
Lu Tianzi did not cower, and neither did he perform any flashy evasive technique like what Nanlan Qianxue did.
Instead, Lu Tianzi only drove the Slaughter Essence within his inner world in response.
His new sword, the Moon Culler, tore through the air, moving to clash directly against the armoured tail that was heading straight towards him.
Everyone on both sides looked on anxiously.
The Scarlet Moon Army soldiers were worried that Lu Tianzi might be overdoing it by going for a direct confrontation without first testing the strength of the Thornback Tortoises, while the Dragon Cauldron Army soldiers were worried that Lu Tianzi might actually be able to do it.
But contrary to their thoughts, Lu Tianzi was not worried at all.
Slash-!
The sword cut straight through the armoured skin, breaking the protruding spikes, and splitting the tail into two.
Lu Tianzi did not stop there either, moving forward and slashing out with the Moon Culler once more. And with this second slash, he directly decapitated the Thornback Tortoise that had attacked him.
The battle around him almost came to a standstill as everyone tried to digest what just happened.
This was a Peak Essence Condensation realm beast known for its toughness and power, one that was supposed to herald the counterattack of the Dragon Cauldron Army. Even so, it had actually been taken out in a matter of two sword strikes.
Everyone had thought that Nanlan Qianxue's showing of strength was impressive, but this was completely off the charts!
The hearts of the Dragon Cauldron Army soldiers sunk at such a sight. They had actually been fighting against a monster like this all along?
No matter what, they had to avoid wherever Nanlu Tianzi went for the rest of the battle!

Chapter end