“Little Tiger, get your troops ready! You’ll lead the first charge!”
“Got it, Sister Lei!” Little Tiger had been waiting for this order and immediately rallied his troops. He led Cloud Peak’s cavalry unit.
“Tong Hu, you follow up. Make sure to clear a path for the rear troops!”
“Yes!”
Aside from the cavalry, Tong Hu and Xiao Li’s couple team were the best when it came to charging. They had taken Tong Hu’s personal style to the extreme.
“Chuyin, Little Ye, you two guard the flanks. Xiao Min, take your people and protect the ranged weapon units as well as Sister Hong and Master Le. Everyone else follow behind me and the couple team. Wait for my orders!”
Xia Lei issued commands rapidly.
“Don’t hold back on anything. As long as we can reach your boss, use everything— crystal grenades, bullets, skills, and even your secret stashes. If anyone holds back, don’t blame me for coming after them!”
After speaking, Xia Lei pulled out a small, exquisite box from her hands. When she opened it, a golden light enveloped her perfect figure. Then, a thin layer of armor appeared, clinging tightly to her body.
That wasn’t all. When the light from the box faded, Xia Lei threw the box to the ground. With a bang, light splashed out, this time not onto her body but around her, settling on her shoulders, sides, and feet.
Then, the light solidified into six delicate, floating cannons.
It seemed that Xia Lei had activated the combat suit’s ability. Behind her, a hemispherical energy shield made up of hexagonal panels resembling a giant soccer ball cut in half, protected her back and sides.
Her previously empty hands now held two exquisitely engraved combat knives, also gold grade. Many recognized these as the “Sadness Twin Blades,” which had previously been blue-grade. Clearly, Ye Zhongming had found a way to upgrade them.
Many had only speculated that Ye Zhongming would not shortchange Xia Lei, but this has been confirmed.
She had become the second Cloud Peak member, after Liang Chuyin, to be fully equipped with gold-grade gear!
Yangos, seeing this from above, quickly spat out a dragon breath, incinerating thousands of flying demons to calm its nerves. It was glad it hadn’t talked back earlier, or Xia Lei’s equipment would have been aimed at it.
Indeed, not only was Ye Zhongming untouchable, but his women were equally fearsome.
The evil dragon decided that from now on, it would keep a low profile in Cloud Peak. Humans were too terrifying. You never knew what equipment they had hidden away. It was despicable, sneaky, and utterly contemptible.
“My people, follow me!”
Xia Lei’s voice was mechanical. This command was for her personal unit, the Flower Lightning Team.
“Charge forward. Either we all die, or they all die. Otherwise, this battle isn’t over!”
With that, she led her team out of the formation.
On the other side, Little Tiger, seeing Xia Lei move, let out a roar, mounted his steed, and raised his massive Horse Slaying Blade. “Follow me! Let’s kill these damn monsters!”
With that shout, Cloud Peak’s cavalry unit charged.
It wasn’t obvious when they were within the Cloud Peak formation, but once they charged, the momentum was terrifying.
Little Tiger’s unit was called “Vanguard,” and now, many understand why.
Their momentum was comparable to that of the demon charge!
The cavalry unit was divided into four parts. The riders’ mounts were all Cloud Hooves on the left and right flanks. These creatures were now being bred en masse in Cloud Peak. They weren’t high-level, mostly at level two, with some at level three and only a few exceptional ones reaching level four.
In terms of combat power, these Cloud Hooves weren’t outstanding.
Moreover, they only wore simple leather armor, with metal plates protecting only their faces and necks. Though many had a silver sheen, it was clear that the emphasis was on lightness.
The riders on their backs mostly wore silver leather armor.
These over 5,000 riders were Cloud Peak’s light cavalry.
Of course, “light” was relative.
The weapons of Cloud Peak’s light cavalry were varied. Half used firearms, some used bows, while others used more unconventional weapons like crossbows, slingshots, laser guns, hand cannons, and so on. But without exception, they were all ranged weapons.
Their role was harassment and diversion.
The light cavalry was fast and agile, used for long-range attacks and skirmishing on the battlefield’s edges.
But it would be a mistake to think that Cloud Peak’s light cavalry only had ranged capabilities. These warriors carried melee weapons on their mounts or beside them. Some even had exaggerated long-handled war hammers. When needed, they could transform into true cavalry and charge at the enemy.
With light cavalry, there were naturally heavy cavalry. Cloud Peak’s heavy cavalry consisted of 2,000 level-four war bears.
These war bears were uniform in level, equipment, and even the riders were similarly burly.
The number of war bears wasn’t as high as in the Thousand Beasts Villa, but their levels were comparable. Many of these were bred by Cloud Peak, evolving from level three.
This was a well-thought-out plan. Other level-three or exceptionally talented bears had reached level five, but Cloud Peak had set them aside as reserves.
Cavalry charges relied on momentum and synchronization. Only then could the full power of a cavalry charge be unleashed. If the mounts were of different levels, their speeds would vary, disrupting the formation. This would lead to uneven engagement, preventing a decisive breakthrough and defeating the purpose of cavalry.
Cloud Peak’s war bears were clad in heavy armor, with only their eyes and sharp claws exposed. The riders also wore metal armor, with only their eyes visible, and wielded terrifying five-meter-long lances. The tips weren’t particularly sharp, just arrowhead-like points, but they were enough to pierce enemy defenses with the force of the charge.
Cloud Peak’s equipment was naturally top-notch. Being the first to engage the enemy, the heavy cavalry received special attention from Ye Zhongming. All the mounts wore green grade armor, while the riders’ armor was silver grade, but their lances were green grade, with some captains wielding blue grade ones!
It was easy to imagine that after this battle, once Ye Zhongming had the time, this would become another fully green-grade unit in Cloud Peak.
The war bears also carried massive long swords, the heavy cavalry’s melee weapons. If they were forced into a stalemate, this would be their reliance. They were also green grade.
Behind the heavy cavalry was a unit of around 3,000 very special cavalry. Their mounts were a bizarre assortment—mutated black gorillas, mutated mad bulls, mutated blade-horned sheep, monsters, mutated fire ostriches, and two-headed giraffes, among others.
They followed the heavy cavalry disorganizedly, wielding equally varied weapons.
Some carried rocket launchers, some sniper rifles, and others even held mortar-like weapons, flamethrowers, or backpacks filled with demon crystal grenades.
Their role was to provide long-range support against high-level enemies or fortified defenses that the heavy cavalry encountered. They also protected the heavy cavalry’s rear. If the light cavalry couldn’t return in time, they would deal with any enemies appearing here.
This was a unique branch of cavalry in the apocalypse, essentially the cleanup crew for the main force.
Though starting later, this cavalry unit overtook Xia Lei’s team on the side and was the first to crash into the demon formation.
The brutal melee had begun.