Above West Fortress, there was a gigantic white net, densely covering the humans. Sharp claws and destructive elements collided in the sky, and piercing cries and magical roars echoed across the heavens.
The area around the fortress, spanning more than ten kilometers, had become a battlefield. The number of humans was completely disproportionate to the White Demon Eagles. Even the Army Mages of West Fortress, when deployed, could only form squares on the ground, their sole purpose being to bombard the White Demon Eagles flying at lower altitudes.
At the middle level of the sky, that was the primary battlefield for the High-Level Mages with flight abilities and the White Demon Eagle army. The power of High-level magic could often annihilate hundreds of servant-level creatures in an instant, possessing immense destructive force. Even though the number of High-Level Mages was completely disproportionate to the White Demon Eagles, there was no sign of them retreating.
As the sun fully set, the backup White Magic Falcons made use of the darkness that slowly covered the land and flew out from their perches.
The sky, dimly lit by what was left of the sun was covered with white feathers. They looked like clouds, huge enough to shroud the entire sky while slowly approaching the fortress. The spectacular view immediately sent chills down everyone's spine.
The White Magic Falcons had just launched an even fiercer attack. The countless White Magic Falcons seemed to have found a delicacy. They had turned into white ghastly demons with a strong bloodlust, descending upon the human world.
They flew across the mountains and the woods west of the fortress. Meanwhile, the most important line of defense on the human side was currently trapped by terror due to the plague.
The Battlemages gathered themselves, standing on the defense towers in lines. Most of the Basic and Intermediate Magicians were unable to do any serious damage to flying demon beasts. As a matter of fact, the main firepower of West Fortress was made up of the huge number of Basic and Intermediate Magicians.
Currently, the humans had no choice but to send the elites among elites to station the scattered defense towers. The fortress itself was no longer part of the line of defense. The towers were the actual barrier stopping the White Magic Falcons from invading human territory.
Many Magicians were flying in the sky above West Fortress. Without the Heavenly Eagles, some of the Advanced Magicians could not even join the battle. Everyone was wearing a stern expression. They would be lying if they claimed they were not afraid of facing the overwhelming army of White Magic Falcons. They were just too many of them. Even Advanced Magicians were at risk of dying in the battle.
It quickly turned into a standoff between humans and demon beasts. The numbers on the human side were too few. The battle felt rather one-sided on the surface. However, the humans did not dare take a step backward. There were too many helpless civilians behind the line of defense. If the White Magic Falcons crossed the line of defense, they would bring a true massacre to the city.
——
In the main meeting room of West Fortress, Councilman Zhu Meng stood in front of the window providing a clear view of the sky. The expression on his face was extremely grave. He took a puff of a cigarette and extinguished it with a pinch straight away, "Wu Pingjing, follow me to the battle."
"Councilman, how can you join the battle yourself?" said Royal Guard Li Jin.
"We are left with no choice. If I don't go, who's going to handle that Ruler-level beast?" replied the Councilman.
"That's right, not only do we need to deal with the large numbers of White Magic Falcons, we have to find a way to stop the Ruler-level demon beast, too. Councilman, Wu Pingjing, Elders Tang Zhong and Li Tian, please handle the Ruler-level creature," agreed Army Adviser Yun Feng.
The four nodded heavily. They were prepared to fight the Ruler-level demon beast to the death.
Elder Court Li Tian glanced at Councilman Zhu Meng before looking at Army Adviser Yun Feng and said, "The White Magic Falcons are deadly serious with their invasion this time. Does anyone not wonder why the demon beasts who stayed at West Ridge peacefully would attack our city all of a sudden?"
"These assholes are intelligent, too. They are simply taking advantage of our situation, since our defense is severely impacted because of the plague. They wouldn't let such a great opportunity slip past them. They have always wanted to take over our city. The peace we had was just so that we would let our guard down," said the Army Advisor of West Fortress, Yun Feng.
Councilman Zhu Meng glanced at Li Tian and asked in a serious tone, "Elder Li Tian, you sound like you know something?"
"My subordinate Leng Qing has learned the truth of the plague from several young and brave Magicians. It wasn't a natural disaster, but man-made!" said Elder Li Tian in a heavy tone.
The plague was not a natural disaster, it was man-made!
The words echoed in the meeting room, leaving everyone in astonishment.
"Elder Li Tian, what do you possibly mean by that?" asked Army Advisor Yun Feng curiously.
"Surely everyone knows that the source of the outbreak at West Fortress was the blood serums that were transported here from White Town. The blood serums contain a kind of Diseased Blood retrieved from the Malicious Epidemic Rats. As the virus broke out in the patients' bodies, it eventually turned into an epidemic disease..." said Li Tian.
The goateed Councilman Luo Mian interrupted before Li Tian could finish, "Our first priority now is to deal with the White Magic Falcons. We should worry about the plague later."
Elder Li Tian glanced at the guilty-conscious Councilman Luo Mian and said with a hollow laugh, "Everyone might not know this, but the White Magic Falcons are only invading us because of the plague!
"The Malicious Epidemic Rats are the White Magic Falcon's favorite food. Also, they can utilize the Diseased Blood of the Malicious Epidemic Rats to improve their bloodline!
"Therefore, when the White Magic Falcons smell the Malicious Epidemic Rats, they hunt them down at all costs. Many people in the city are infected, thus the blood in their bodies has become the Diseased Blood of the Malicious Epidemic Rats!"
Li Tian paused for a brief moment, his gaze never leaving Councilman Luo Mian. Everything was happening because of his greed, yet he was still inside the meeting room while Vice Elder Wang Yi had become his scapegoat. He had also put the blame on the Black Totem Snake. Such an evil-hearted person, Li Tian felt a strong urge to execute the Councilman right on the spot!
"The White Magic Falcons have launched such a heavy attack because they assume every infected patient is a Malicious Epidemic Rat, a delicacy, a resource that will make them stronger!" Elder Li Tian finished furiously.
The others were absolutely astounded when they finished hearing his words.
"Are you telling me that the White Magic Falcons are only attacking us because they are targeting the people affected by the plague?" Councilman Zhu Meng asked in disbelief.
"That's right! Didn't you realize that the White Magic Falcons are not trying to destroy the fortress? After we moved all the infected from White Town and the fortress to Hangzhou City, the demon beasts have already set their eyes on the city instead!" Li Tian said heavily.
Hangzhou was currently in a grave situation. Li Tian could not care less about sparing anyone's sensibilities. He was determined to reveal Councilman Luo Mian's conspiracy to everyone during the meeting, so they would realize the true cause of the battle!
As a Magician, Li Tian strongly believed that every Magician had the obligation of stopping the demon beasts from infiltrating their territory with their lives at stake, but it did not mean that the Magicians would have to sacrifice their precious lives for a man-made disaster resulting from one man's greed!
Only in large cities like Hangzhou were there a considerable number of High-Level Mages. If it were a smaller city, facing such a tribal invasion would undoubtedly lead to a bloodbath.
And in the higher cloud battlefield, that was the place of fierce combat between the Four-Clawed Demon Eagles and the true powerhouses among humans. Whether it was the Four-Clawed Demon Eagles, who were Commander Level of the White Demon Eagles, or the human Palace Guards, Guardian Leaders, and Judgment Association members, any casualty on either side would greatly impact the overall situation of both parties!
There were ten Four-Clawed Demon Eagles. Their bodies were so large they nearly resembled clouds. Four claws suddenly extending from their white bodies were powerful enough to shatter a mountain!
Such creatures, even one, could threaten a city, let alone ten. However, if it were only these ten Commander Level demon beasts, it would not be much of a problem for Hangzhou's defenses. Instead, above them, in the chilling sky, a giant eagle with silver feathers was the greatest threat!
The giant eagle's feathers were completely different from all the White Demon Eagles, showing not a single trace of mixed color, a pure silver-white that displayed its noble sovereignty. The metallic luster it emitted further indicated that its feathers were absolutely sharper than steel blades!
"Luo Mian... It seems like you're hiding lots of things from me?" Councilman Zhu Meng seemed to be aware of something. His eyes fixed on Councilman Luo Mian.
Councilman Luo Mian continued to wear a smile. There was hardly any sign of fear on his face. "We'll settle it later, but right now we have more urgent matters on hand. Our enemies are right before us, should we waste our time further with infighting?"
General Yun Feng nodded. "The backup army of White Magic Falcons will arrive at our line of defense in two hours. Our defense can mostly hold on for another three hours before they break through and invade Hangzhou City. We have five hours left to either stop the invasion of the White Magic Falcons, or eliminate the Ruler-level demon beast!"
"Precisely!" Councilman Luo Mian quickly nodded, as if he were afraid that someone else would bring up the blood serums again.
Leng Qing stepped forward and said, "If the White Magic Falcons are invading because of the plague, I believe that our first priority is to find the cure to the plague instead. The White Magic Falcons will lose their targets, and it would be easier for us to drive them back."
"It sounds like you've already found the cure to the plague?" said Councilman Luo Mian with a weird grin.
"That's true. Even Mr. Lu was clueless about how to deal with the plague. How could we possibly find the cure within five hours to resolve the situation?"
"We've already found out what the antidote is. It's a special type of herb which only grows on West Ridge, the Red Falcon Herb. If we could pluck some of them, we can quickly find a cure for the infected," said Leng Qing.
The crowd immediately focused on Leng Qing, especially Councilman Zhu Meng. His eyes flickered with excitement as he blurted out, "Are you sure that the Red Falcon Herb is the cure for the disease?"
Leng Qing nodded, "Absolutely."
"Hehe, let's say the Red Falcon Herb could possibly be the cure for the plague, how can we possibly set foot on West Ridge in the current situation? It's roosting place for the White Magic Falcons. Are you stupid enough to assume that it's safe because the White Magic Falcons have all moved out to invade us? Even a battalion would have trouble reaching there in one piece. Do you seriously think we have extra men to spend on such ridiculous speculation?" Councilman Luo Mian laughed grimly.
Leng Qing and the Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian glared at the gloating Councilman Luo Mian, especially the former, who swore heavily in her heart that she would send him into jail right away after the situation was resolved.
The crowd frowned too. They finally found the solution to the plague, which would also stop the invasion of the White Magic Falcons, but it turned out to be at the most dangerous place.
"Right, the White Magic Falcons are the same species as the Heavenly Eagles. Normally, the White Magic Falcons won't attack a Heavenly Eagle. If we could send one Heavenly Eagle to sneak into West Ridge and retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs, can't we easily solve the problem?" General Yun Feng blurted out.
Commander Ming Kuo, who was standing beside General Yun Feng quickly whispered into his ear, "General, you forgot that you ordered all the Heavenly Eagles to be killed..."
General Yun Feng pulled a long face and glared at the Commander, as if he were trying to say "Thanks, but no thanks for the reminder"...
Not a single Heavenly Eagle could be found in the fortress. Even if there were one, it would have turned rebellious due to the presence of the Ruler-level falcon. How could a Heavenly Eagle possibly sneak into West Ridge?
The meeting room soon fell into dead silence, as none of them could come up with a plausible plan to resolve the crisis. Suddenly, a young man barged into the room from the door and slammed into the table. Two infuriated soldiers immediately came in, trying to throw him out of the room. The young man screamed at the top of his lungs, "I have a way to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs! I have a way to get the antidote!"
General Yun Feng glanced at the kid and snapped, "Where did this brat come from? Drag him out and punish him with the discipline stick."
"We're having an important meeting here. Why is a kid allowed to barge in?!" Councilman Luo Mian snapped.
"Wait, this young man helped us to determine the source of the plague. Let's listen to what he's trying to say," interrupted Leng Qing.
"Let him speak, then," said the Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian.
Councilman Luo Mian burst into laughter. "I thought I'm only here to discuss how we're going deal with the situation, and yet not only were you falsely accusing me, you are suggesting that we should listen to a kid. If that's how useless you are, I will not waste my time further here."
Councilman Luo Mian rose from his seat and left the room, as if he had nothing to do with the matters on hand.
The people exchanged glances with one another, not knowing what to do.
Leng Qing asked Wang Xiaojun patiently, "You mentioned that you have a way to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs. What is it?"
Mo Fan and Lingling, who were previously waiting outside of the room with Wang Xiaojun, had entered the room too. Mo Fan was keen to know what he had in mind that would allow them to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs from the White Magic Falcons' nests. As Councilman Luo Mian had mentioned, they would need a team of elites to reach West Ridge.
Wang Xiaojun glanced at the authoritative figures whom he had no chance of meeting in his daily life. Despite feeling slightly intimidated, he cleared his throat and said, "There's still a Heavenly Eagle left in the fortress! He listens to my orders. I'll ride him to sneak into West Ridge to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs. I'm the most familiar with him."
Commander Ming Kuo yelled, "Didn't we order all Heavenly Eagles executed? Why would you still have one!"
"I disobeyed the order and let the Heavenly Eagle that I raised since I was young go," replied Wang Xiaojun in a soft voice.
General Yun Feng's eyes flickered. He had disobeyed the order at the perfect time!
However, the Commander frowned and shook his head, "It's useless. We've lost control of the Heavenly Eagles because of the Ruler-level Falcon. We're fortunate enough that they didn't attack us. How could he obey your order still?"
As if he were scared that the soldiers would throw him out of the room, Wang Xiaojun blurted out, "My Heavenly Eagle has a mixed lineage. His plumage is gray, so I can't really tell what breed he is. I tried to contact him yesterday and managed to get a response, as I thought he was also controlled by the Ruler-level demon beast. However, he actually came to me after the summon, which indicates that he is not under the control of the Ruler-lever demon beast."