The first outpost was built atop a cliff, with an excellent geographical location that could effectively monitor a vast surrounding area.
However, despite the excellent location and elite soldiers, they couldnât prevent an enemy ambush!
On this day, the first outpost stood guard as usual. Yet, with no wars for years, the warriors inevitably became somewhat lax.
"Hey, look, what is that?"
Suddenly, a soldier shouted loudly.
The person next to him immediately looked over!
"Wow, itâs a unicorn bull! What a catch, haha, quick, letâs slay it, then we can have a feast tonight!"
Such luck wasnât common for the first outpost, and in reality, whenever such a demon beast appeared, they would take action to slay it!
Regardless of their duty or for themselves, they wouldnât let any demon beast step into the Da Yue Empire!
Soon, two soldiers dashed out; slaying a single unicorn bull was trivial, so naturally, no one paid much attention.
But no sooner had they set out, they realized something unusual. First, the unicorn bull seemed extremely frantic and was evidently injured, indicating it had escaped from an enemy hunt.
Yet, the two soldiers didnât think much of it, only considering that an injured unicorn bull was easier to slay.
Thus, without any hesitation, they charged forward.
In their minds, such good fortune was uncommon. Besides, if they couldnât even kill a unicorn bull, wouldnât their comrades laugh at them?
"Wait!"
Suddenly, one of them shouted softly!
Longtime partnership and high-quality training made his partner prepare for battle without a momentâs hesitation, vigilantly scanning the surroundings!
Yet, unfortunately, he was ready but not entirely serious, as they never thought genuine danger lurked here!
"Whatâs the matter? Did you find something?"
"Not sure, but I seem to have heard something!"
"Much ado about nothing, what could there be here? Do you really think there are enemies?"
Hearing his partnerâs words, the soldier let his guard down, as neither they nor any other border guard had ever believed real enemies would appear.
After all, if an enemy truly crossed the buffer zone, it would mean war!
Yet, the Western Frontier had been peaceful for decades, with no wars.
So they relaxed!
But just then, suddenly, hundreds of attacks surged at them simultaneously!
The attacks were fiercely rapid with immense power, evidently the elites of the enemy!
"Enemy attack!"
Trained as they were, the two soldiers were able to simultaneously shout "enemy attack" amidst the suddenness!
Sadly, their shouting was already too late.
For the attacks had landed upon them!
Besides, they were some distance from the outpost, so their cries couldnât alert their comrades!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Sudden violent attacks arrived, and the two soldiers fell without any resistance!
Simultaneously, a hidden army emerged.
"General, weâve already entered the Da Yue Empire. Whatâs the next step?"
"Whatâs next? Remember our mission this time. We need to open a path for the army in the shortest time possible! Delay the enemyâs discovery of us as much as you can!"
"Yes, General!"
With this answer, the army advanced again.
The first outpost was yet unaware that an invasion had commenced!
Two soldiers responsible for duty still had leisure to jest.
"Hey, why are those two taking so long? Itâs just a unicorn bull; they still havenât returned after such a long time!"
"Whatever, weâll feast tonight anyway. Stand guard properly, or the captain might scold you later!"
...
"Look, thereâs a commotion over there, whatâs happening?"
Suddenly, in the forest by their outpost, countless birds flew up frantically. Evidently, someone was in the forest, yet nobody knew what was happening there!
Of course, they didnât suspect an invasion, only feeling curious!
Meanwhile, in the forest, soldiers frowned. Although cautious, they still made a commotion!
"Forget it. Since the enemy has noticed us anyway, letâs assault! Charge, quick victory!"
"Yes!"
In an instant, five hundred pioneers accelerated, transforming into streams of light as they charged out!
They wore bright armor, wielding longswords uniformly, though some swords shone with white light, others red, and some others shone with red!
As these men charged out, they were immediately noticed!
"Who are they?"
"Not good, enemy attack! Itâs Demon Swordsmen!"
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Two men shouted loudly!
With this shout, the entire outpost charged out, and one person unhesitatingly dashed toward something akin to an altar outside the outpost!
This was a formation set up specifically at the border for reporting enemy attacks!
Once activated, the formation could release something akin to fireworks!
Of course, it wasnât truly fireworks, but rather a special spiritual power explosion!
The bright light not only quickly illuminated various places; more importantly, it emitted a special spiritual power fluctuation, allowing other altars to sense it and know that enemies were attacking!
If Ye Luo was here, he would surely say this is the Martial Realm version of beacon smoke!
Yet, puzzlingly, why is it that only the Western Frontier has such setups!
Of course, the reason is this formationâs high cost, and originally Da Yue Empireâs greatest border threat came from the Western Frontier, hence setting up such formations there.
But even then, not many were set up in the Western Frontier.
Indeed, itâs too expensive, and apart from swiftly transmitting messages, it has no other use!
Of course, the enemy wouldnât allow the soldier to succeed; just as he charged, unknown from where, multiple lights of spiritual power suddenly burst forth.
In an instant, the soldier was slain!
"Damn it, quick, activate the formation!"
Finally, the outpostâs squad leader emerged, seeing the enemies ahead and knowing that their numbers couldnât hold!
Thus, they must only fulfill their mission, sending out a report!
With this order, another two soldiers charged toward the formation.
Activating the formation was simple; it only required injecting spiritual power.
However, injecting spiritual power needed one to be close enough!
But as soon as the two moved, several spiritual power attacks rushed toward them.
At this moment, it was clear there were over thirty ambushers already lurking there.