Chapter 106: A Stalemate at Heavenfire City

In the eighth millennium of the Sword Qi Era, countless battles broke out between the Demon Race and the Human Race, with Heavenfire City at the center of it all. Over a hundred skirmishes left the humans’ million-strong army fighting desperately, while the demon forces remained stuck at the city’s edge, unable to break through.

The ground for miles was littered with corpses. The earth soaked up blood to a depth of three feet, and the sky above was filled with circling crows.

A thousand miles outside Heavenfire City, the Demon Race made camp.

A million demon soldiers were split into two armies. Moran and Muyan each commanded five hundred thousand on either flank.

Inside the command tent Moran was at his wits’ end, eyes fixed on the map as he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, occasionally glancing out at the camp beyond.

“Report—report!” A voice rang out from just outside, shattering the tension in the tent.

A demon messenger dashed in gasping for breath, dropping to one knee with a heavy thud.

Moran’s face lit up as he looked at the kneeling orderly. “Get up! Has there been progress on the front lines? Tell me you’ve brought some good news!”

Sweat poured down the messenger’s back as he trembled. “Marshal, the right flank has fallen. We only managed to reclaim it after paying a heavy price.”

“What did you say? Damn it!” Moran’s eyes turned bloodshot. He slammed a fist onto the map, then ripped it to shreds.

Heartbroken, Moran squeezed his eyes shut and let out a roar towards the heavens. “These damn humans! Why are they so stubborn? This can’t go on!”

“Go to the left command tent and bring Commander Muyan here right away. Tell him I have urgent matters to discuss!” Moran turned to the messenger with a sharp wave of his hand.

The orderly rose and bowed respectfully. “Yes, Commander!” With that, he hurried out of the tent.

………………

Meanwhile, inside the left command tent, Muyan was on edge. He anxiously poured over the map, sighing every so often. The other demon officers were powerless to help—none of them had expected this situation.

The plan had been to use Heavenfire City as a springboard for a full-scale invasion of the Sword Qi Continent, but the humans beat them there.

No one was surprised by that. The humans had always seemed easy to defeat, yet there was an unexpected twist: an unstoppable force called the Armor-Breaking Army clung to them like a patch of tenacious glue. No matter where they went, this army was right behind, impossible to shake off.

Time and again, the Armor-Breaking Army struck their elite units head-on, like iron beasts that held back the entire million-strong demon force. They moved like ghosts—there one moment, gone the next.

One careless mistake, and disaster struck—the demons lost an entire vanguard unit because of it.

They’d considered going all out in a head-on assault, but the humans inside the city countered every move. They never met the demons in open battle. If the demon forces tried to withdraw, the humans would chase them down relentlessly.

Muyan sank heavily onto his command chair, face dark as iron. His cold gaze swept the room. “Anyone have ideas? How do we break this stalemate?”

The demon lieutenants drooped their heads in defeat. “For now, all we can do is surround the city and force them into open combat.”

“I say instead of moping, let’s go for a direct assault and break through head-on!” Bruce, a massive officer, slammed the table in anger as he stood up.

Another, the slender Frando, jumped up to object. “That’s too rash. It might sound good, but even if we succeed we’ll pay a huge price in our warriors’ lives!”

Bruce snorted and sat back down. “Fine, then. Let’s hear what brilliant idea you’ve got. If it’s better than mine, I’ll agree with hands and feet!”

Frando scratched his head, suddenly sheepish. “Well, I… actually haven’t come up with anything yet.”

Bruce scowled at that. He slammed the table again. “Then why speak up at all? You’re just a weakling with no brains. Total waste!”

Frando shot to his feet, face red with anger. “At least I use my head. Unlike you—charging a city by piling up demon lives!”

Bruce’s eyes blazed as he glared back. “So what if I’m muscle and not brains? Still better than a coward like you!”

Frando wasn’t about to back down either, cheeks flushed. “Bulging muscles won’t win the war. You’re nothing but cannon fodder!”

Bruce smashed his chair to pieces behind him. “Frando, come on then! Let’s see if my muscle or your brains come out on top!”

Frando gritted his teeth, glaring at Bruce. “Fine, let’s see if your brute strength can do anything besides get us killed!”

Tension crackled between the two as a brawl threatened to explode right there.

Muyan’s face turned stormy. He barked, “Enough! Both of you! Frando, Bruce—while the armies face each other you two dare shake our morale? If it were any other time, I’d see you both executed!”

“Thank you, Commander, for your mercy. We won’t act out again.” The two immediately fell to their knees.

Muyan shot the room an impatient look. “The rest of you, leave. I need a moment alone.”

“Yes, Commander. We’ll take our leave.” The officers filed out without protest.

“Unbelievable,” Muyan sighed alone, his gaze cold as the others left. “First time leading an army, and we’re off to a terrible start. If only I didn’t have a few pigs among my troops…”