Chapter 10: Battle of Attack and Defense (Part 1)

Seeing a professional’s war for the first time, Guo Shieru almost popped his eyes out. It was no less intense than the hot-weapon wars in his past life—indeed, even more brutal. He saw many extraordinary combat weapons, including rune bombs that could be launched over long distances, long-range chariot bombardments, and various offensive talismans, which left him dazzled.

Guo Shieru suddenly realized that the strength of the so-called four ancient families was vastly inferior compared to those here, at least when it came to warfare. On the territory of the Gu Xi Long family, when they fought against mutants, the Gu Xi Long family didn’t possess such weapons or skills, lacked the capability for large-scale warfare, and had insufficient human resources. They even had to recruit professionals from lower-tier continents to serve as cannon fodder.

Guo Shieru sat on the altar, with Luo Zhan and the handsome old man standing behind him. The handsome old man still only showed part of his body, scanning the surroundings. Eagle Demon followed beside him, sitting on his own phantom altar. The altar offered strong protection, so they preferred not to use flying vehicles.

Nan You also sat on his own altar and said, “The enemy’s forces aren’t many. Judging from the current situation, they should retreat within a day.”

Guo Shieru narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance. He sensed that there were skilled fighters in the high skies on the opposite side as well, but they clearly had no intention of attacking. They were just drifting around, their intentions unknown.

This time, the Gu Nan family sent two patriarchs: Patriarch Nan Qin and Guo Shieru. Patriarch Nan Qin was with another army, part of the Northern Army. Guo Shieru’s army belonged to the Southern Army. Patriarch Nan Qiang remained in the rear camp, which also needed a patriarch-level figure to guard it.

No wonder Patriarch Nan Qiang was willing to pay a high price to bring Guo Shieru along. With such a patriarch-level professional by their side, they wouldn’t have to fear the enemy sending a patriarch-level expert. After all, a patriarch-level expert—a professional with an altar of level three or higher—could, if unchecked, not only destroy an entire army but also collapse hundreds of thousands of troops. In this world, patriarch-level experts were like nuclear weapons from his past life, with terrifying destructive power.

As long as the patriarch-level figures on both sides didn’t intervene or only fought among themselves, the lower-ranking armies would be safe. They could rely on their own strength to defeat the enemy without having to deal with invincible patriarch-level experts.

Guo Shier slowly realized this. He wasn’t stupid—many things in this world were different from his past life. He had been striving to adapt, and he had done so well, growing from a child into one of the top experts in this world. Of course, he understood that there were even more formidable experts in this world, though he hadn’t encountered them yet.

The Eagle Demon peeked down below, looking eager to go down and fight. Luo Zhan urged loudly, “Eagle, stay put. You have nothing to do here.”

Guo Shier continued to observe the battle below carefully. Having been a soldier in his past life, he naturally had an interest in warfare in this world. In his view, the battles here combined the characteristics of melee and ranged combat—ranged weapons like bombs formed from various talismans were used from a distance, while talismans were used for close combat, which was quite distinctive.

With the vision-enhancing spell cast on his eyes, Guo Shier could see the battle on the ground clearly.

The professionals in the front row each held a huge talisman shield, glowing with talismanic light. These shields had strong defensive capabilities and could withstand considerable attacks. Rows of professionals and rows of talisman shields formed simple defensive lines to resist the enemy’s assaults.

These people were all Talisman-Warrior professionals, with those behind them being Spellcaster professionals. Guo Shier noticed that most of these professionals were at the master level, with few being Grand Masters. He immediately realized that master-level professionals were the most basic soldiers and couldn’t help but shake his head in sigh. In the Northern Talisman Sect, master-level professionals were top figures, but here they were just ordinary soldiers.

In fact, Guo Shier hadn’t realized that master-level professionals weren’t at the bottom in ancient clans. In the army, they belonged to the elite troops, not true cannon fodder. Behind them were numerous support soldiers, including even spellcasting apprentices. Those soldiers would only become cannon fodder when necessary.

Guo Shier knew well that master-level professionals were extremely powerful, both in terms of offensive and defensive abilities. As soldiers, they should be the strongest. Although Grand Masters, Saint Masters, and Supreme Saint Masters were even more formidable, their numbers were limited, and a small portion of them served as military officers.

Grand Masters, Saint Masters, and Supreme Saint Masters were mostly on hunting vehicles and flying vehicles, with aerial battles being led by them.

Besides the battles on the ground, fierce aerial fights also broke out from time to time, with various chase cars clashing in combat. Unlike the air battles in his past life, those here were even more brutal and complex. Sometimes, when a chase car was destroyed, a great sage would emerge from it, and if one wasn’t careful, they could be instantly killed in retaliation by that sage.

It was a relatively flat area with only a few sparse trees, all of which had long been cut down. The armies of the Gu Nan family and the Gu Jin family were facing off against each other. So far, it was only small-scale battles, with no full-scale attack yet. Even so, Guo Shier was utterly fascinated by what he saw.

It was clear that both armies were covered by defensive talisman arrays, which neutralized most distant attacks, preventing them from reaching the enemy troops.

Although the explosions were deafening, the number of deaths was low. The small-scale battles, however, were bloody and fierce. All the fighters were master-level professionals with excellent physical conditions, powerful attacks, and extreme speed. Once combat began, it was truly exhilarating to watch. The Eagle Demon was drawn to such battles—he loved violent fights the most.

Several squads rushed out of their respective teams and started fighting. The armies on both sides shouted wildly, and the excitement and enthusiasm when they defeated their enemies made others want to join in the fighting as well.

At that moment, two more squads rushed out of their teams to engage in battle—each composed entirely of Talisman Martial Masters. Each squad had seven members: one captain and six fighters. This was the squad structure Guo Shier was familiar with. Since arriving here, he had learned about the local squad organization. Similarly, the army was structured with squads as the smallest combat units, just like a platoon in his past life.

The masters of the Gu Nan family wore light cyan armor, while those of the Gu Jin family wore black armor. It was easy to tell them apart, even when they fought together, allowing one to clearly distinguish friends from enemies.

Boom!

Two Talisman Martial Masters collided head-on, wielding their talisman shields. The immense force sent both of them flying backward. One of them roared, raised his long sword, and swung it fiercely.

As the two started fighting, the professionals from the two squads also charged at each other, embarking on a brutal and bloody struggle.

The Eagle Demon could no longer sit still. He pounded the altar beneath him with his fists, his face red with excitement. He shouted in a low voice, “Great! Great! Damn… so impressive! Haha, that’s it—keep fighting like that!”

Luo Zhan smiled and said, “The Eagle is getting aggressive again.”

Guo Shier said, “It’s useless. He’ll hardly have another chance to fight like a master. With the Void Form Altar and master-level professionals… he can kill anyone without even lifting a hand. Uncle Eagle Demon won’t be able to fight like before anymore.”
Eagle Demon immediately lost his spirit and said dejectedly, “Yeah, it’ll be hard to engage in close combat from now on.”
Luo Zhan didn’t understand at first and asked, “Why can’t we fight close?”
Eagle Demon rolled his eyes and said, “Unless you’re willing to fight me!”
Luo Zhan shrunk back and said, “I’m not looking for death by fighting you!”
Eagle Demon spread his hands and said, “See? Even a high-level Grand Sage like you isn’t willing to fight me. If I were to seek out a master of the Void Form Altar, do you think they’d fight me? Everyone’s sitting on the altar—how can there be close combat?”
Luo Zhan laughed and said, “Actually, it’s possible. You can put away the altar and use your life essence talisman to fight up there.”
Guo Shier said, “That’s just bullying. Uncle Eagle Demon wouldn’t do that.”
Eagle Demon said, “Shier really understands me. Without a worthy opponent, I’d rather not. It’s boring to fight.”
Handsome Old Man said, “These petty fights are really boring. Sigh, what’s the point of testing? Just charge in together—what are those stupid commanders thinking? He acted like he was enjoying the spectacle.”
Guo Shier knew what Handsome Old Man was thinking and felt a chill. He said, “Handsome Old Man, large-scale battles mean many people will die.”
Handsome Old Man replied repeatedly, “What’s there to fear about death? Everyone dies sooner or later.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but scold, “Heartless old man.”
Eagle Demon said, “A winner has been determined!”
Guo Shier looked down. Two squads were fighting, and in the end, only one person remained alive. He was leaning on a long sword, with blood constantly flowing from his body—clearly on the verge of collapse. He sighed, “It’s hard for him to hold on, but the Gunan family has won this time.” Immediately, the professionals from the Gunan family erupted in thunderous cheers.
“This world is truly cruel…” Guo Shier murmured. Handsome Old Man couldn’t hold back again and said, “That’s not cruelty—that’s bravery!”
Eagle Demon agreed, “Yeah, that man is a true hero—admirable!”
Guo Shier merely sighed again. He couldn’t change this world and could only passively adapt. Fortunately, he wasn’t the type to get stuck in details. He said, “If that man survives, I guess the Gunan family will focus on training him.”

The handsome old man sighed and said, “There will be no more fighting today. Look, both sides are retreating.”
Indeed, the armies were pulling back. It seemed there was some unspoken agreement between them; they began retreating almost simultaneously and soon returned to their defensive formations and camps.