Chapter 367: Chapter 367

To be honest, just standing on the steps of the Goddess Hall, looking down at this enormous army, the densely packed people, the majestic phalanx, the banners fluttering, is already enough to make one’s heart surge with excitement.

But outside of this direct army, there are still large numbers of feudal domain troops and domain explorers gathering, countless banners stretching endlessly.

Most of these banners are not war command items, but replicas made by the explorers’ domain tailors to mark their own camps. Although they have no attribute effects, their momentum is indeed grandiose.

Lu Weite gazed from a distance at Lin Rui, who stood with heroic poise and spirited demeanor on the steps, and at the cloud-like iron armor and majestic phalanx below, feeling a shock he could not suppress in his heart.

The Grand Commander Richthofen of the Templar Order made no errors from beginning to end, yet quickly lost all advantages.

No commander would prioritize breaking through a village upon hearing that a knight squad was killed by an unassuming explorer force in a remote frontier, ignoring the current glaring adversaries.

But just after a brief delay of one or two cycles, he completely lost his former enormous advantage, and even this small force in the distant frontier became the fatal crisis of his defeat.

The battle between the Templar Order and Count Frans, evenly matched, would immediately plunge fiercely into the abyss of defeat with the intervention of the Golden Pansy Domain.

And Lin Rui, standing on the high platform, remained untroubled. The Templar Order’s Grand Commander, in his arrogance, underestimated the Golden Pansy Domain, this frontier force.

Let the domain’s army bring him a deeply memorable lesson!

Lin Rui didn’t even make complicated military mobilizations; the domain’s three armies, with generous treatment, excellent equipment, and momentum like a rainbow.

He simply waved his hand and ordered the three armies, "Set out, and crush the enemy army for me!"

The soldiers of the three armies raised their arms and roared fervently.

The griffin riders, soaring in the air, were the first to raise the blue ground with golden emblem Extreme Battle Banner and fly past the vast wide army array, heading outside the domain. Their banner guns also carried the blue Heavy Gun Banner, with the golden clan badge shining brilliantly, leading the large domain army to successively march outwards.

Lin Rui took a glance at Empress Wutong, unparalleled charm, standing in a red dress at the top of the Holy Temple, then turned to Terion beside him, saying, "The domain is entrusted to you. If there’s an unforeseen urgent crisis, don’t recklessly fight to the bitter end, seek Wutong for help. Though she seems cold, she’s really tender at heart. She’ll take action if the domain is in trouble. As for the cost, I’ll negotiate with her when I return."

Terion laughed heartily, patting his chest as a guarantee, "Rest assured, my Lord, the domain’s safety is in my hands, I promise it’s foolproof."

Lin Rui nodded, then instructed the civil servant Soro on the focus of development: "You need to recruit more domain people. When we return from this battle, the domain’s wealth will surely expand rapidly, then the domain will usher in a wave of military expansion."

Soro immediately bowed and accepted the order: "I will certainly live up to the Lord’s great trust."

"Good. Then I’m off!" After arranging everything, Lin Rui and his men boarded the back of the [War Machine: Scorpion Roar Type II].

The domain had three war machines, each capable of carrying six soldiers on its back, making it an excellent vehicle. Lin Rui anticipated capturing another sizable batch of war machines from raiding the Templar Order Treasury this time.

Audrey sat beside Lin Rui, her pet Idiot Dragon also occupying a space, its tail curled and nestled beside Audrey’s leg.

Lin Rui glanced at it: "When can this Idiot Dragon carry people?"

Audrey patted its head, her smile bright, "Very soon. It has several ways to grow larger, the most traditional being the natural growth cycle, and the effects of the Territorial Essence are also effective on it."

"Another quicker method is like ours, by slaughtering monsters, continuously growing stronger in battle. Once it reaches Tier Five, I can install a saddle on its back and sit on it."

"Additionally, the dragon’s stomach can absorb ores and gems to help strengthen their bodies and increase size. After it consumed its eggshell, it grew quite a bit."

Hearing this, Lin Rui lowered his head again to examine this legendary-level giant dragon closely, honestly finding it hard to see it as a dragon just a few days old.

When it was first born, it was just a small thing, able to curl up on Audrey’s ample bosom, and the tip of Su Xi’s long knife could pierce it through.

But in just a few days, its body coiled up, its size comparable to a massive black war bear.

Its size was clearly abnormal, as no newborn dragon should grow to this extent in just a few days.

It was entirely the domain’s Sacred Treasures and Miracle Buildings that forcefully pushed its size up, especially the [Legendary Wonder: Titan Sky Mountain] which enhances the size of domain animals by 50%. This had a significant impact on both the griffins and dragons.

Lin Rui patted its head to wake it, then asked, "You’ve grown so fat lately, can you still fly?"

Death’s Wings lifted its fierce head, roaring angrily, "I’m a legendary giant dragon! A nemesis of life, the darkness of history, the master of death, the king of destruction! All frail humans shall end beneath my wings, and you ask if I can fly?"

A long knife was knocked on its fierce dragon horn: "Quiet down."

Before the cold voice fell, the dragon, which had been raging as if to destroy the world, immediately reined in its aura and behaved like a compliant pup, "Yes, little mom, I’ll shut up now."

Lin Rui showed a satisfied smile, "As long as you can fly, when we get to the Templar Order Fortress, you fly in and attract their fire."

Death’s Wings snorted out a puff of hot air, roaring angrily, "Attract their fire? Why even bother with that! Just watch as I, alone, a dragon, raze the city!"

Lin Rui’s smile broadened, "That’s the best outcome."

The domain army, exceptionally elite, marched at full speed, swift as the wind. Although the Undead Army was slightly slower, they had no fatigue value and could march day and night continuously, so the elite forward and the main force of the army didn’t spread too far apart, with banners stretching over dozens of miles, even able to see the front and rear ends meeting.

Before a force of this scale, no brash creatures would dare approach. As the three armies advanced at top speed, they reached the first Templar Order fortress by the morning of the third day.

Lu Weite, a director of the Lusen Chamber of Commerce, stood beside Lin Rui, pointing at the fortress and introducing it to Lin Rui: "This is Lauren Fortress, built backing Lauren Mountain, with a large number of defensive arrow towers and castles on the ground walls. The key point is that it has several tens of meters of underground space, where they hired dwarven artisans to dig a large number of caves and tunnels into the deep mountains, used as their production base and treasury."

"A lot of the Templar Order’s armaments are produced here, so it’s too well-known to be hidden. The Templar Order simply chose not to hide it, maintaining a large garrison here usually."

Lin Rui nodded; choosing this fortress for the first assault was indeed a very good decision. The Templar Order wasn’t prepared for an attack, so their defense here was at its weakest. Once a treasury had been looted, it would immediately reinforce its defenses here, making it much more difficult to attack afterward.

Moreover, this is an almost semi-public fortress, suddenly ambushed, even the Templar Order will struggle to defend it. Once a treasury is ransacked, the battle tactics of the Templar Order will change. Taking it again would be hard.

With this in mind, Lin Rui gave the sign to Death’s Wings with a wave of his hand: "Go!"

Death’s Wings immediately raised its head and roared, spreading its fierce wings and soaring into the air. It swept over the top of the fortress, opening its ferocious maw and unleashing a breath of fire that ignited blazes across the place. It soared above the city, then opened its menacing jaws, sending a light across the entire fortress. Lin Rui’s voice rang out: "Attack, all forces forward!"

With the order given, the army surged forward like a hurricane, armor shining in the sunlight. A fierce force flooding towards Lauren Fortress like a tide.