Beast Taming: Bloodline Golden Hand-Chapter 645 - 430: Calm Before the Storm

"What the Divine Race desires is not only the dragon veins but also their dignity."

"If we hadn’t crushed the Divine Race in the previous battle, they could first seize the other six dragon veins before confronting us again."

"But now, things are different. That is the significance of our last battle."

"Therefore, our Spirit Alliance must also prepare in advance." The Great Elder surveyed the crowd, "I propose that our Spirit Alliance split into three armies to guard the surroundings of the Spirit Academy, support each other, and keep the enemy outside!"

The crowd nodded, and Chen Ming began his detailed deductions and discussions, ultimately deciding:

Eastern Army: Led by Great Elder Yu Xiu, Lin Chen, Little Insect King, and others, to guard the eastern direction of the Spirit Academy, a crucial path to its core area, expected to bear the most direct pressure.

Little Insect King has the army of the Insect King, leading in intelligence, with a massive number.

Southern Army: Comprised of Chen Ming and his elite hunters, to guard the southern forest area, using the complex terrain to ambush enemies.

Monster Hunters are more suited for jungle warfare and guerrilla warfare, making this proposal the best.

Northern Army: Led by Xu Pingzhi, along with the people of Thunder City, to guard the junction of the northern plains.

Finally, Chen Ming spoke: "Everyone, let me have a final word."

"This war is not a battle for personal glory, but a battle of life and death."

"If there are disagreements, feel free to speak up."

"It doesn’t matter if we adopt them or not; at least we can face only the enemy, entrusting our backs to reliable teammates."

"Lastly..."

"Good luck to us all!"

With Chen Ming’s words, everyone felt a heavy weight on them.

The war has begun!

This time, they face the Divine Race, an opponent they had never imagined.

Can the Human Race truly win?

...

Divine Race Territory

On the colossal plaza beyond the space rift.

The vast army of the Divine Race had already gathered, murderous aura soaring to the sky, various battle flags fluttering, representing different Divine Race tribes.

The leaders of the four Divine Races stood at the forefront of the formation.

Xuanyuan Zhou glanced over Gu Zhong, Jiang Dong, Ji Ding, and others, slowly speaking: "The Human Race has consolidated its forces, guarding three dragon veins. This battle, with the momentum of thunder, should simultaneously break through these three cores, rendering them unable to care for both head and tail, deciding victory in one stroke!"

Gu Zhong immediately stepped forward, voice filled with repressed hatred and murderous intent:

"Spirit Academy! Our Ancient Race wants to flatten it ourselves! Use their blood to honor the spirits of the late elders, Gu Feng and Gu Zheng!"

Xuanyuan Zhou looked at him and said indifferently: "The Spirit Academy has that Celestial Spirit Body and the newly established Spirit Alliance, not to be underestimated. Elder Gu Zhong, are you confident?"

"If this enmity is not avenged, how can our Ancient Race stand in the forest of the Divine Race?!" Gu Zhong growled.

Xuanyuan Zhou nodded: "Fine. The main force of the Spirit Academy will be handled by your Ancient Race. I will send a unit of Divine Race elites to assist you."

He continued to assign: "Elder Jiang, the Qilin Race is good at sieging and endurance, leave the Western Regions and Western Alliance to you."

Jiang Dong bowed his hands.

"Elder Ji," Xuanyuan Zhou looked at Ji Ding of the Divine Tiger Race, "the Celestial Capital is the hub of the Human Race, strongest and with solid defenses. Rely on your Divine Tiger Race as the main force; my Dragon Race elites will join you to break through their defenses head-on!"

Ji Ding’s eyes flashed sharply: "Just what I wanted!"

The strategy decided, the three armies were assigned.

Xuanyuan Zhou soared into the air, hovering above the countless Divine Race army, his voice like roaring thunder spreading in all directions:

"The Human Race is vile, usurping the dragon veins and harming our kin, now forming alliances to resist, unrepentant!"

"This battle is a sacred battle! For the glory of the Divine Race!

"To seize what rightfully belongs to us!"

"The order of the world should be redefined by us!"

He suddenly waved his hand, pointing towards the vast Human Race’s mountains and rivers beyond the space rift, issuing an earth-shaking roar:

"March!"

Boom!

The space rift suddenly expanded, countless Divine Race warriors surged forth like a tide, carrying an aura of destruction, dividing into three routes and advancing fiercely!

...

At this moment, the Cangling Ancient Country seemed to maintain its usual operation on the surface, like the last trace of false tranquility before a storm.

In the fields, farmers continued to bend over and till the land, but their movements were a bit hurried and absent-minded. They occasionally looked up at the gloomy sky, unable to hide the worry in their eyes.

On the roads leading to major cities, merchant caravans continued without end, camel bells jingling, but the number of caravan guards had noticeably increased, each one vigilant, transporting mostly wartime supplies like grain, herbs, and ores.

In the towns, the streets seemed bustling, and the sounds of haggling were constant. Yet, upon closer inspection, one would find that people’s faces lacked the leisure of the past, replaced with haste and unease. It was as if an invisible string tightened in the air, making it hard for people to breathe.

An indescribable oppression and tension, like a silent plague, permeated every corner.

Among the crowd moving against the flow, the figures of an old man and a young woman appeared particularly abrupt.

The elder had white hair and beard, a lean face, wore a gray robe washed to a pale hue, but his steps were extraordinarily steady, with eyes that were gentle yet profound.

Following him was a young woman in a plain white dress, her face delicate...

This was Bai Ling.

They were heading in the opposite direction of most people, towards the central area where Eight Trigrams City once stood.

A kind-hearted middle-aged Beastmaster saw the direction they were heading and couldn’t help but stop to advise:

"Old man, you’re approaching the dragon vein area. The situation is tense now; I’ve heard the Divine Race army could attack at any moment. It’s very dangerous! You and your granddaughter should not go any further, quickly find a place to take shelter."

The old healer stopped, smiled kindly at the Beastmaster, with a tranquility that transcended worldly matters:

"Thank you, young man, for your kindness. No worries, I’m merely going to that ruin area to find some special herbs, then I’ll return."

The Beastmaster, seeing his persuasion was useless, sighed, shook his head, and hurried away.

Bai Ling silently followed behind the old healer; the further they walked, the heavier her heart became.

This road, she naturally recognized.

It was here that the Calamity-Devouring Beast fell.

"Teacher," Bai Ling looked at the scattered, panicked figures around, and couldn’t help but ask softly, 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What has happened? Is... is there another powerful Demon Beast causing chaos?"

Having been away from the world for long, she was unaware of recent upheavals.

"This time," the old healer didn’t turn back, his voice calm yet with a hint of gravity, "is far more serious than the chaos of Demon Beasts."

He didn’t hide it, explaining to Bai Ling in detail about the Divine Race’s emergence, broken negotiations, the Celestial Capital’s edict, and the impending full-scale war between the Human Race and Divine Race.

After hearing this, Bai Ling’s beautiful eyes immediately overflowed with urgency and worry.

"Does that mean... Lin Chen, Teacher Liu Gu, and the Spirit Academy... they could be in great trouble?"

"Not could be," the old healer’s tone remained calm, "but certainly will be in dire straits."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ling’s heart burned with anxiety, instinctively wanting to head towards the Spirit Academy.

"And what can you do if you go?" the old healer’s voice was as tranquil as an ancient well,

"With your current strength, even if you go, you probably won’t change anything. More likely, you’ll only add a corpse to the count."

Bai Ling hesitated, but the rest of her words were caught in her throat.

Now, she was a cripple; what good would going back do?

"Everyone has their own fate, Lin Chen and the others have their calamities, as do you."

The old healer paused, turned to look at her, eyes kind yet deep:

"You also have your own mission to complete, your own unique path to walk."

Bai Ling was startled by his words; she was not obtuse and immediately recalled the profound words the old healer had told her while taking her on journeys before.

"Teacher, you mean..." she seemed to have grasped something, her heart involuntarily speeding up.

"Indeed." The old healer looked at her, gaze affirming, and slowly said, "The time has come!"

He paused, his voice carrying a strange kind of magic, penetrating directly into Bai Ling’s heart:

"Your training is over. Do you want to see your Spirit Beast again?"

Before the words were finished, the already gloomy sky suddenly darkened completely at a speed visible to the naked eye, like ink pouring over, instantly turning day into night!

Then, rather than pre-storm thunder, an extremely oppressive rumble came from the sky’s high altitude, streaks of ghastly white lightning like hideous pythons, wildly thrashing through the dense, unbroken clouds!

Yet, not a single raindrop fell from the sky.

In the electric flickers, thunder, and twisting, shaking void, a group of figures exuding terrifying auras suddenly appeared like ghosts, a murderous presence descending upon them!

It was the vanguard army of the Divine Race!