By the time the main attacking force from the White Eagles tribe appeared on the horizon, the city had finally managed to form some kind of defense. In theory, it should function properly, but only a truly deadly battle would show.
Hangzhou had about one million two hundred thousand residents. Of them, around twenty percent had awakened their magic, essentially making them at least Initial-level mages. A quarter million mages, while the White Eagles numbered only about fifty thousand. Five-to-one numerical superiority! Even if it takes ten mages to guaranteedly kill a monster of the same level, with half that number we should definitely put up a fight, maybe even repel them! Or not?
In reality, it was far from rosy. Of those two hundred fifty thousand mages, only ten percent were truly combat-ready by stats, or even less. Why? Simple: desire and talent. Without that talent, even gorging on resources won't make anything decent out of you, and if those resources aren't there…
So people who burned with dreams of becoming all-powerful mages in their youth get disappointed after awakening and can't control even one star of their element in months. Inevitably, the question arises: do I even need this? Most answer no and abandon cultivation for business or prestigious jobs.
That left only twenty-five thousand mages to defend the city, the vast majority at first or second step Initial level, making their lethality extremely low. Mid-level mages among them: about ten percent, or two and a half thousand. And most weren't at max step for their level, with Soul Seeds numbering only a few dozen per Totem, and not the best quality. What can you do—clans buy up the best.
As you see, human numerical superiority over the flying monsters crumbled like a house of cards, turning into a two-to-one disadvantage for us. Good thing that while gathering all these combat-ready folks across the city—sometimes forcibly, since not everyone wanted possible death—those on the walls, with my help, managed to wipe out the recon squad.
Now the walls were simply bristling with mages, and a group like the previous one we'd erase from the earth in under an hour. But there was no similar group. Just a numerically superior enemy; looking at it from afar made most knees shake, some even fainted. What can you do if some "combat-ready" mages got certified just to show off?
Can release magic? Combat-ready! Nobody cares you've only seen monsters in pictures or as military mounts under asses. Got the cert—man the walls. Well, I hope my hopes of ending this fight ASAP come true, or a ton of people die today if the Serpent delays his appearance by a measly hour.
"They're flying, and he's among them—I can sense it," Zhu Men declared dramatically, sniffing the air. The man knows how to set the mood, gotta give him that.
"Then we proceed with my plan, as agreed?" I double-checked one last time with all participants in the impending main battle.
"Yes. You devised a surprisingly effective strategy combining all our elements. If it succeeds, your mythical reinforcements might not even be needed," Tan Zhong said, and everyone around—even Luo Mian—nodded eagerly. Their blood boiled at the thought of killing the Silver Sky Sovereign. Eh, naive old-timers and their followers.
"Don't underestimate Warlords' power, especially those who've risen above junior. They're not just monsters anymore. They're battle-hardened death machines who know their weaknesses inside out and how to cover them. If we hold him until reinforcements arrive, that'll be enough," I tried to cool their enthusiasm a bit, but not too much. Good morale would only help in battle.
"I sense him—let's rise," Zhu Men commanded, spreading his wings and ascending high into the air.
We all followed, forming a specific formation. Zhu Men, clad in lightning armor and gleaming with his thunder spear, led the attack tip. Luo Mian and I flanked him slightly farther back. Wu Pin Jin tried to suppress his presence maximally, hovering behind the rest. He wasn't great at it—we were all mid-cast, auras boiling like volcanoes on the brink—but among us, he seemed dimmest, so his efforts weren't wasted.
As for Tan Zhong and Li Tian, though they took off with us, they stayed low at first. Once we cleared the city walls and were about a kilometer out, they landed, seemingly waiting for something. Their auras were also suppressed, but clumsily. Looked like they were hiding to deal with the White Eagles tribe while we distracted the Warlord.
Finally, the flying bird pyramid appeared, visible to all with good eyesight. At the bottom flew numerous Servants: about forty-two to forty-three thousand. Above them: Pack Chieftains, around seven to eight thousand. Higher still: a proud dozen Commanders-in-Chief, two with peak auras among them.
It was clear at a glance the White Eagles favored strict hierarchy. Servants flew lowest to take the brunt of spells, sparing higher ranks. Since humans attack from ground up, this tactic would mostly kill Servants, while ground mages weren't safe from high-altitude dives.
White Eagles from Pack Chieftain up could ranged attack with feathers. Not very powerful, but energy-charged, ignoring them caused serious damage. At Commander-in-Chief level, with harder feathers, it wasn't "rock to the forehead" but "wooden arrow to the eye." Not lethal with focus, but attention-draining.
Our quartet flew over the whole pyramid, showing the White Eagles their place and challenging its apex. And there—he emerged from the clouds!
With a loud cry, spreading magnificent silver wings, the Silver Sky Sovereign appeared in all his predatory glory, gazing at us with contempt. His size, though no match for the Totem Serpent, was an astonishing three hundred meters, seeming larger wings-spread. He rightly saw us as bugs.
Without wasting time on impossible interspecies chats at his level, he flapped and sent a bunch of Servants, handful of Pack Chieftains, and one peak Commander-in-Chief at us, while the rest of the pyramid flew on to the city. Mda, this Silver Sky Sovereign lives up to rumors of his cautious nature.
But we prepared for this!
"Fading Impulse!" With Zhu Men's roar, massive gates to another dimension opened behind him, unleashing a vast sea of flame explosively, sweeping the attacking rabble and forcing the Warlord to shield with wings against the shockwave and heat.
The battle officially began!