The battle began again, and all eyes were fixed on Fu Xuan's army.
They had already seen Raiden Ei's forces.
Now it was Fu Xuan's turn to reveal hers.
With a casual wave of her hand—
900 Greater Werewolves.
700 Lizard Warriors.
300 Dragonflies.
80 Giant Lizards.
70 Behemoths.
90 Wyvern Kings.
60 Ultimate Hydras.
Compared to Raiden Ei's army, her forces looked pitifully small.
"Come," Fu Xuan said calmly. "Let us fight."
This time, Raiden Ei wasn't feeling smug at all.
Who knew what schemes this Diviner of the Divination Commission was hiding?
She had heard long ago that Fu Xuan could calculate fate itself—what if she fell into another trap?
"Very well," Raiden Ei replied.
Without wasting words, Fu Xuan began issuing commands.
As her army shifted, the audience noticed something strange.
The ranged Lizard Warriors held position at the rear.
In front of them, Giant Lizards formed a solid shield.
The Ultimate Hydras spread out across the field.
Around each Hydra clustered over a hundred Greater Werewolves and four to five Dragonflies.
Meanwhile, the Behemoths roamed along the flanks, seemingly without purpose—but their eyes never left Raiden Ei's Behemoths.
"So… armies can be split like this?"
Watching Fu Xuan break her forces into coordinated formations, many people's eyes lit up.
Only now did they realize that warfare wasn't about blindly charging forward with everything you had.
Her troops advanced steadily in Hydra-centered squads, applying constant pressure—and it worked.
"General!"
Kujou Sara couldn't sit still anymore.
Seeing the hill-sized Ultimate Hydras advancing, she couldn't help but worry for Raiden Ei.
She was used to fighting humans and hilichurls.
Creatures like Ultimate Hydras were on an entirely different level.
"Relax."
Yae Miko glanced at her lazily.
What was there to worry about?
She might tease Ei for being dense in social matters, but in battle?
She had absolute confidence.
After all—who was Raiden Ei?
A veteran of the Archon War.
This kind of battlefield wouldn't faze her.
Sure enough, after one glance at the enemy formation, Raiden Ei gave her orders.
"Ogres in front. Behemoths behind. Advance."
"Cyclops—target the flying Wyverns."
Everyone expected the Cyclopes to strike at the Lizard Warriors.
But Raiden Ei had already locked onto her true target—the Wyverns, also Tier-6 units.
The moment Fu Xuan split her army and left Wyverns and Behemoths exposed, Raiden Ei understood her plan.
She wanted to use Behemoths' special ability to annihilate Raiden Ei's Behemoths,
and have Wyverns tie down the Cyclopes from the air.
So Raiden Ei countered directly.
She sent Ogres to hold the Behemoths at bay, shielding her own Behemoths and buying time for them to charge.
Once the Behemoths broke through, even Ultimate Hydras—Tier-7 or not—would be torn apart.
After all, Behemoths ignored 80% of enemy defense.
No amount of armor mattered before them.
As for the Cyclopes?
Strike the Wyverns before they reached the lines.
Even if it came down to melee, Cyclopes had no reason to fear Wyverns.
Just as expected, Fu Xuan found herself under pressure.
The Wyverns in the sky took heavy losses under a single Cyclops volley.
If this continued, they'd be smashed out of the air entirely.
"Charge."
With no other choice, Fu Xuan ordered the Wyverns forward.
The moment they collided with the Cyclopes, a brutal melee erupted.
Wyverns clamped down with claws and fangs, refusing to let go as venom seeped into Cyclops flesh.
Cyclopes dropped their boulders, grabbed Wyverns by the head, slammed them down, and pummeled them mercilessly.
Blood and death filled the battlefield.
"This… this is war…"
Sushang's face went pale.
As a rookie Cloud Knight, she'd only ever patrolled streets and helped civilians.
Actual warfare was something she'd only heard about from her mother.
Seeing it firsthand made her heart tremble.
"Sushang… maybe you shouldn't be a Cloud Knight after all," Guinaifen said nervously.
"It's really dangerous…"
"What are you talking about?"
Sushang rolled her eyes.
Yes, it was terrifying—but if she feared the battlefield, what right did she have to wear the Cloud Knight uniform?
She trained for this very reason—to protect the Xianzhou and strike down its enemies.
The battlefield descended into total chaos.
Raiden Ei held a slight advantage, but it wasn't overwhelming.
"Why are their units so damn tanky?"
Raiden Ei frowned.
Aside from her Behemoths, most of her army struggled to deal meaningful damage.
Worse, her Behemoths had to constantly watch out for the roaming enemy Behemoths—one mistake, and Death Stare could erase them instantly.
She was so anxious she almost wanted to draw her blade and join the fight herself.
Thankfully, her numbers were clearly superior.
Led by the Behemoths, her army steadily pushed Fu Xuan's forces back.
Everyone could see it now.
Raiden Ei's victory was inevitable.
The only question was—how many of her troops would Fu Xuan take down with her?
As the battlefield shrank bit by bit, Fu Xuan's expression never changed.
She calmly commanded her remaining units, counterattacking where possible, occasionally slipping in low-tier spells to support her troops.
"Not bad."
In the audience, Jing Yuan nodded quietly.
Most of their forces were with Feixiao.
Fu Xuan had far fewer troops than her opponent—her goal from the start was attrition.
And she'd succeeded.
No reckless losses.
No wasted mana.
Everything was precise, disciplined, and methodical.
When the last Lizard Warrior fell, the system announcement echoed.
[Raiden Ei Wins]
"Acceptable."
Fu Xuan glanced at her mana—four points left.
Not enough for another spell.
Satisfied, she turned to look at Raiden Ei's remaining forces.
"Heh. Just one Behemoth and a few Cyclopes left."
"Don't get cocky."
Raiden Ei snorted and turned away.
But in that brief moment—
A strange smile flickered across her face.
No one else noticed.
Except Valerius.
"…What's going on here?"
Valerius frowned slightly.
If she'd lost that many troops, Raiden Ei should be hurting inside.
But she didn't look upset at all.
On the contrary—
She looked… calm.
"Something's going on here."
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