Lord of the Desert

Chapter 548 Wolf Spine Warrior
On the second day of the eleventh month of the thirty-third year of Zhenghe, at 2 PM.

After being cleansed by heavy snow for several days, the sky was crystal clear and spotless, like a mirror.

Beneath the azure sky, a black-feathered eagle with a wingspan of over ten feet soared silently, reflecting the surrounding scenery—barren mountains, dense forests, battlefields, hills, and the army formations breaking through the snow—into its pearl-like blue eyes.

The long wind turns.

The raptor flew back on the wind, over the mottled white hills, and landed on top of a giant rock ten feet in size.

They use rhythmic calls, flapping their wings, and taking several steps sideways to convey specific messages through specific movements.

Then the ground suddenly shook, and as the dust swirled, the boulder under the eagle's claws actually stood up on its four legs.

From the top of the giant stone skull, true essence surged forth, dissolving into the atmosphere and projecting a colorful light curtain.

[To the southeast, twelve li away, two thousand men, few cavalry, unfamiliar banners; likely reserve troops to reinforce the beacon tower city.]

A few frames later, more light screens were projected, creating a silent yet noisy interplay.

[Two thousand men, organized as a Zhenbeiwei garrison, should be in perfect harmony with nature; perhaps two of them are completely integrated, and twenty or thirty are thoroughly familiar with the situation.]

[They are all young and strong humans, capable of providing the most spiritual energy, far superior to the nomura before us—even if we capture the old, weak, sick, and disabled, only three or four out of ten can be brought back alive…]

The complex exchange ended within two hundred milliseconds.

The giants' optical perspective shifted to the battlefield.

A fortified village, a hundred meters on each side, was surrounded by haphazardly laid barricades. The walls and tops were covered with sharpened wooden spears, resembling a porcupine with its back spikes raised.

On the north side, an eight-meter-high wall was leveled by an earthen bridge that rose from the ground. The blood splattered on the bridge surface quickly cooled in the icy wind, its color changing from reddish-orange to bluish-purple.

Clad in rattan armor, the wolf riders on foot, wielding hammers and shields, charged and probed in waves with a frenzied yet calm approach, wearing down the defenders' will to resist.

[We, the nine of us—two Great Awakened Ones, seven Awakened Ones—along with thirty-seven Dire Wolf Cavalry and one hundred and twenty First-Class Gray Wolves, can easily defeat an army of two thousand in open battle…]

In an instant, the nine giants reached a consensus.

Immediately, a muffled thud, like thunder and drums, resounded, and the wolf pack and knights obeyed the order and retreated in an orderly fashion.

The residents of Heiniu Village, unaware of what was happening, dared not make a move, but simply gripped their weapons and stared intently at the wall.

Not long after, three miles away, Hong Fan rode his horse up the hill, a large banner fluttering in the wind hanging to one side.

"That falcon just now was indeed the giant's spy."

Yang Haorang gazed intently at the wolf riders regrouping in the distance and solemnly spoke.

"The giant spirit is skilled at commanding wild beasts. It not only has fierce beasts such as bears, wolves, tigers and eagles under its command, but also gathers thousands of deer in large-scale battles. These deer serve as both logistical food for the stone slaves and can also be used for mass charges."

Hong Fan and his delegation were already aware of this.

Giant spirits are not made of flesh and blood and cannot reproduce. Each individual is created by splitting the soul of a living person and transforming it into an inanimate object. In addition, they can nourish humans and animals with their own spirit through rituals, either by promoting their cultivation or increasing their wisdom.

The continuous "southern hunt" is precisely to obtain nutrients for their growth.

"Those wolves must be the legendary dire wolves, right?"

Lu Yunshi looked at it from afar, and even from over a thousand meters away, he could still see the saliva dripping from its fangs and the muscle outline that its thick fur could not cover.

"Judging by their size, each one must weigh over a thousand pounds?"

"A thousand catties is considered small; the larger ones are nearly two meters tall at the shoulder and can weigh fourteen or fifteen hundred catties."

Yang Haorang replied.

"These kinds of strange beasts are not fast, but they are very resistant to cold and hunger. They can beat ordinary tigers in a one-on-one fight; ordinary beasts are not easy to take down unless they are fully armed and experienced in battle."

Upon hearing this, the military commanders and officers under the banner became slightly more serious.

The mount was no ordinary beast, and the rider on its back could not be weak either—when a giant beast weighing over a thousand pounds pounces and bites, an ordinary person would not be able to even withstand the load of shifting gears, let alone cooperate.

"Those wolf riders are the so-called Wolf Spine Warriors?"

Hong Fan asked.

The whip pointed at thirty-seven muscular, high-spirited giants; their bare skin was covered with intricate tattoos, which shimmered with a subtle glow.

“Exactly.” Yang Haorang replied with his hands clasped in greeting.

"These warriors are the most outstanding fighters in Wolfspine City. They are tattooed with magic circles by the giants, and after each initiation, they can exert five times their physical abilities for twenty or thirty days. They eat and live with their dire wolves and have a very good understanding with them. With the giants' blessing in battle, each of them is enough to hold their own against three or four warriors who have mastered the Piercing Realm."

"Five times the power? That's like elevating an ordinary person to the level of mastering eight or nine proper combat abilities. Is there no price to pay?"

Xu Yuntao asked.

He recalled the Biaofeng Guard of Huaiyang Kingdom—the royal bodyguard, heavily armored cavalry, and all its members were fully equipped—which, combined with the strength of three prefectures, numbered only two hundred men.

"It's just a matter of lifespan; most Wolfback Warriors don't live past forty-five."

Yang Haorang replied that he didn't take it seriously.

The northern frontier is bitterly cold; for ordinary people, living to fifty is already considered a long life, so shortening one's lifespan is essentially without consequence.

The upper level elevates one's cultivation level, while the lower level bestows power upon one.

After hearing this explanation, everyone understood the existence of the stone slaves.

The iron boots pounded the snow without stopping for a moment.

On the side of the hill, the Red Sand Army circled around, armor and weapons in hand, blades pointing northwest.

"We've run into them halfway through, we can't let them get away."

Gao Junxia spoke with excitement, his shirt slightly damp despite the snow and ice.

"With rocks and wild animals around, it'll be hard to find them if they get separated in the mountains!"

As soon as he started, the generals were about to clamor for battle, but then they saw thirty-seven wolf riders in the distance, fully equipped with saddles and weapons, forming a battle formation facing each other.

It's as if they're about to launch an attack.

"Clam?"

The generals couldn't help but smile.

"We don't know them, but luckily they don't know us either?!"

Hong Bo grinned maliciously, gently stroking the blade of the Beast-Devouring Sword of the Crimson-Faced Lion with his right hand.

Hong Fan suppressed his subordinates' excitement with his gaze and looked at Yang Haorang.

"What level is that nine-headed giant spirit?"

"Among the giant spirits, the strong are not necessarily the big, but the big are definitely strong; they do not practice martial arts, so it is difficult for them to directly change their realm."

The latter answered cautiously.

"Generally speaking, the strongest are roughly in a state of communion with the heavens, while the rest are in a state of complete integration, which varies. Giant spirits are skilled at manipulating innate spiritual energy, have a large attack range, and are reluctant to engage in close combat; it is pointless for mortals to deal with them, so martial artists should rush in to get close."

"Can we capture them?"

Hong Fan took off his cloak and handed it to his personal guard.

“They can be captured. Severing their limbs disrupts their circuits, rendering most giants immobile.”

Yang Haorang was quite excited upon seeing this.

"But the giants have no sense of pain, cannot be tortured, and are not afraid of death. In the past, any prisoners were either killed or imprisoned until they died. Although these stone skeletons do not eat, they need fire to obtain energy, otherwise they will also starve to death."

"understood."

Hong Fan clenched his knuckles, preparing to feel the giant's stone body with his fist.

With his current combat strength, breaking through an army single-handedly is not difficult for him. Those thirty-seven wolf riders may seem fierce, but he can kill them all in the time it takes to warm a cup of wine.

"Captain."

Xu Yuntao called him back.

"A sword is forged through tempering, and jade is valued through polishing. When I was in Xi'an, I studied military cases and learned that giants excelled in positional warfare but were relatively slow in their movements. Now that we've encountered such an opportunity, why not test the effectiveness of the new firearms?"

(End of this chapter)