Yang Yu led his troop up the halfway mark of the volcano at a slow pace, the lush forest in front of his eyes giving way to sparse shrubbery.

Soon after, even the shrubbery disappeared, leaving behind only a few low-growing plants until all that remained in Yang Yu's view were multicolored pebbles in a completely barren landscape.

In view of Blazing Fire City's uniqueness, the defensive constructions that the Blazing Fire Clan once built were also very different from those of ordinary cities.

Apart from regular pasturing and the odd errands that take them outside, the Blazing Fire Clan rarely left the city where they lived.

They would pile up rocks at the entrance of their dwelling, blending the entrance seamlessly with the rubble-strewn wasteland.

If it were the first time someone had come here, they would have no way of knowing where among these heaps of rubble lay the entrance to the Blazing Fire Clan's city.

The Blazing Fire Clan would use the volcanic rock that suited their abilities to weave an invisible magic network around the cave entrance, like a burrowing spider.

Should any large creature enter their magic network, the Blazing Fire Clan guards would immediately sense it.

If these large creatures were deemed enemies, the brave warriors of the Blazing Fire Clan would use their powers to trigger an explosion of the rocks blocking the entrance, casting hot stones that scorch the surrounding foes.

At the same time, they would also ignite the magic laid out upon the ground, thereby creating widespread seas of fire on the slopes, making it difficult for enemies to escape.

The bare midpoint of Qinghe Volcano was partly for this reason.

If the enemies were particularly fierce and crossed the vast seas of fire, the narrow passage leading to Blazing Fire City was also very suitable for the deployment of flame magic.

The giant dragon rules protect those who are explicitly involved in the battlefield.

Initially, the Blazing Fire Clan had no intention of participating in the war; they were an independent race without conscription.

Thus, they were not bound by the giant dragon rules and could use large flame magic for defense and counterattack, resisting invasion.

Even so, the Luo Ze Empire still managed to conquer their city.

The peaceful Blazing Fire Clan had no choice but to seek refuge with the Wansheng Country and seek conscription.

How humans came to know the exact location of every entrance, and what method they used to break through the Blazing Fire Clan's defense, remains unknown to the clan members.

Many of the Blazing Fire Clan warriors guarding the entrances were captured by the Luo Ze Empire, their whereabouts unknown.

On the side of the Luo Ze Empire, it's very possible that they still possess secrets unknown to the Beastmen.

Yang Yu and Dongmu quickly devised a battle plan, sending out troops to probe the entrances identified by the Blazing Fire Clan, and then developing countermeasures based on the situation.

Soon, the first exploratory attack troop was assembled.

As their footing was all sharp rocks, this exploratory attack troop mainly consisted of nimble Beastmen hunters.

They used their agile skills to quickly approach the alleged entrance locations.

Suddenly, Bai Jin sensed a massive concentration of magic at the entrance.

Out of nowhere, a series of magic arrays formed in front of several piles of rubble, and countless flame spells were shot towards the vanguard of Wansheng Country's troops.

Bai Jin and the other Beastman Mages hurriedly began chanting spells, jointly covering the Beastman Army.

In an instant, several different powerful spells collided on the mountainside, unleashing torrents of energy leading to intense explosions again and again on the mountainside.

Amid the thunderous roars, numerous stones were lifted by the forceful magic, turning into powerful black bullets that pelted down on the bodies of the Beastman vanguard troops with a barrage of "bam" sounds.

Blood splattered, staining the pitch-black rocks, as several Beastman Soldiers fell there and then.

Beastman Magicians hurriedly converted their magic, halting their counterattacks and instead employed defense magic to cover their vanguard troops as they retreated.

As the vanguard suffered such swift and precise strikes, Dongmu's brow furrowed.

Humans, without the superior hearing and sense of smell that Beastmen possess, were still able to detect their approach through the piles of stones and launch such an attack.

How exactly did they realize we were approaching?

Could it be that among the debris, Humans had set up small Surveillance Magics, constantly monitoring the mountainside to allow for an immediate response?

Or was it possible that, like the Blazing Fire Clan, they could undetectably spread their magic power all around the cave entrances, using the vibrations of that power to detect the directions of the Beastman Army's movements?

Dongmu dared not jump to a conclusion.

Once the vanguard had fully withdrawn, Dongmu immediately ordered the Magicians and Archers to launch long-range attacks towards the cave entrances. However, their attacks were wholly intercepted by a pale blue Light Shield that had unfolded from within the cave.

It was a Barrier.

The Luo Ze Empire had installed Barriers at each entrance soon after they had seized Qinghe Volcano.

Staring at the impregnable pale blue Barrier that thwarted the Beastmen's repeated assaults, Yang Yu knew that this would be another tough battle.

When taking cities around Qinghe Volcano, Yang Yu had found that some cities had surprisingly little in the way of supplies, certainly not enough to support a prolonged combat.

Yet these cities didn't display an obvious shortage of supplies under Yang Yu's guerilla tactics and the strategy of rural areas encircling the cities.

Upon detailed investigation, Yang Yu found a small Teleportation Device in almost every city.

These devices, just the size of a box, were difficult for transporting people but could easily transmit Magic Scrolls storing supplies.

There were several specialists in charge of the Teleportation Devices, who would initiate a shutdown of the devices if the situation turned dire.

Receiving this news, the cities charged with storage would not dispatch supplies to that Magic Device.

On one occasion, Yang Yu had attempted a stealthy infiltration to seize the Teleportation Device when those soldiers were not alert, intending to freeload the opponent's supplies.

However, Yang Yu had not anticipated that to exchange for supplies, one would need to match the Luo Ze Empire's regularly changing encryption through a Crystal Ball.

From Bai Jin, Yang Yu learned that the magic utilized by these small Teleportation Devices primarily functioned for one-way transmissions, and several equivalent devices weren't capable of interconnection.

To timely deliver supplies to the troops, a more sophisticated and powerful Teleportation Device was required.

It was obvious where such a device was situated.

Even if the Teleportation Device set up in Blazing Fire City couldn't cover the entirety of Qinghe Volcano's surroundings, it was enough to cover the majority.

Furthermore, Yang Yu had learned from Bai Jin that if a large Teleportation Device were completed, not only could objects be transported, but people could be as well.

Simply being near the Teleportation Device and using Teleportation Magic, or directly constructing another Teleportation Device within its range, would allow the Luo Ze Empire to easily deploy soldiers around Qinghe Volcano.

As long as the Blazing Fire City of the Blazing Fire Clan wasn't taken down, the Luo Ze Empire still had the opportunity for significant operations in Qinghe Volcano.

Such a crucial location would naturally be heavily guarded.

The city had no walls, but this siege could perhaps be the toughest in history.

Blazing Fire City lay beneath a jumble of rocks, and beneath those rocks, who could guess what sort of oddities awaited them?

Perhaps snakes, or ants?

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