Chapter 166: Start of the battle. The sounds of people moving and armor being put on rang out through the entire camp, not a single word spoken as the soldiers carried grave faces. Yao Jun also returned to his tent, but it was only to store away the painting utensils he had yet to clean away. His own weapons and armor were either worn on his body or stored inside his body, so he had nothing that he really needed to prepare. Once he left the tent and met up with the rest of the people that made up the squad, he had to admit that even he was somewhat affected by the mood of the soldiers. While Yao Jun had participated in his fair share of battles, this would be the first time he had ever taken part in a battle of such a large scale, two armies of 100,000 soldiers battling. Azemar stood at the front of the 1000 people that made up his squad, surveying them with a solemn gaze. His eyes momentarily stopped on Yao Jun, who was standing in the back with a calm expression, but his gaze swiftly moved away. Besides Yao Jun, who was still clad in a simple robe, the rest of the people in the squad were all clad in an armor that was deep brown in color, tiny barbs decorating the arms and legs, arranged in a pattern that made them look like thorns on a vine. Azemar was clad in the bright green armor of a Squad Captain, his back straight as he spoke in a loud voice. “Listen up! We are about to head to the Scorched Valley battleground to face the Spark army of the Final Fire clan! The fight will be hard and bloody, but I still hope that everyone of you will be able to make it back alive! Let's go out and show off our strength!” The people of the squad responded with a loud shout, similar shouts ringing out from the other camps, filling the air with loud noise. The squad started to move, meeting up with the other squads and forming and orderly formation of squads as they moved away from the tents. The soldiers continued to march for half an hour, reaching a wide open area that was located a fair distance away from the tents. Diana and her two Legion Commanders were already standing in the wide open area, each clad in a thin armor that looked like a simple robe. When Diana saw the approaching army, she cleared her throat and spoke out. “It is likely that the squads will end up separated as the battle starts, so it will be up to each squad to keep an eye on its soldiers and make sure that everyone makes it home safely. Do not underestimate the soldiers of the Final Fire clan, they are perfectly suited for battle! Move out and proceed with caution!” The sound of the soldiers loudly hitting their armor rang out, perfectly unified. The ground beneath the army lit up, golden runes covering the earth for as far as the eye could see. Yao Jun felt space around them twist and and distort, a myriad of colors filling his vision as the teleportation array beneath them activated. After a a short moment of traveling through space, the myriad of colors that filled his vision vanished, his feet landing on solid ground. The first thing that hit Yao Jun was the smell of smoke and scorched earth. He moved his head slightly, taking in the surrounding sight. They were standing in what seemed to be a titanic valley, as Yao Jun could see two massive walls in the distance, rising into the heavens. They looked more like mountains than they did walls, but Yao Jun could see that the walls stretched on for as far as he could see, vanishing into the horizon. The valley was so large that it could easily house three more armies that were just as large as the one Yao Jun was currently part of. When Yao Jun checked the area behind the army, he could see what seemed to be tents in the distance, so he guessed that they would be resting there between battles. Why they hadn't just rested there to begin with, he did not know, but he also felt that now was not the time to ask. He turned his vision towards the front, checking out the environment at the bottom of the valley. The earth beneath them was dry and cracked, scorched black in many places. Yao Jun did not know how long this valley had been here or how it had been created, but as he checked out the front, he could even spot a few lakes and what seemed to be massive forests, so he guessed that the valley had been here for many years already. In the far distance, he could also see what seemed to be a large group of people, but they were so far away that he was unable to see them clearly. While he was checking the area, Diana spoke out again, her voice easily reaching all the soldiers. “As you can see, there is a campsite behind us, that is where we will be resting while we are not battling. There are about two years until the next Dust Tide, so we will not head back to the other camp until then, so I hope you brought everything you need! Squads 1 to 15 will be the first ones to start battling, the rest of you can head to the campsite and set it up. Squads 1 to 15! The enemy is straight ahead, fight valiantly and return alive!” A loud shout rang out from the soldiers, the army splitting into two. One part consisted of the 15 squads that were to head out and battle, and the other part consisted of the soldiers that were moving towards the campsite. Looking at the 15 squads that were moving out to battle, his squad included, Yao Jun felt like putting on a bitter smile. Squads 1 to 15 were the weakest squads, the highest cultivation level being squad 15, which had a captain at the late stage of the 6th Houtian sky. Looking at how Diana was treating this battle, sending out the weakest squads first, he was once again reminded of the words she had told him when they struck their deal. This army was their weakest army, and army used solely for the purpose of training the younger generation. Yao Jun even guessed that neither the World Tree clan or the Final Fire clan truly cared about the results of the battles that would happen in this Scorched Valley battlefield. After the thought struck him, he simply shook his head and tossed the thought aside, following his squad. None of that mattered to him, all that mattered was that he managed to gather enough heads and earn enough money to buy the information that he needed. As for the battle between the World Tree clan and the Final Fire clan, that was not something he would have to worry or care about, he was far too weak to do that. As the 15 squads moved further away from the other part of the army, Yao Jun slowly became able to properly see the army of the Final Fire clan. At first he was only able to see their number, but he quickly became able to see their features as well, a curious expression appearing on his face. The people of the Final Fire clan had the same shape and height as normal humans, but their skin was pitch black, almost looking like coal. Their skin was covered in glowing red lines that looked like cracks, and they had four arms instead of two, an extra pair of arms extending from their waist. Yao Jun also noticed that the army of the World Tree clan was slightly larger than the Final Fire clan army. But what he found truly curious was the fact that the people from the Final Fire clan were not clad in any armor, but only normal clothing. Yao Jun slowly made his way forward, stopping when he reached Reyner and the others. In a low voice, he whispered to Reyner. “Why are the people from the Final Fire clan not clad in armor?” Reyner jumped slightly when he heard Yao Jun's whisper. He quickly turned towards Yao Jun and was about to say something, but when he saw that Yao Jun was not wearing any armor, he could not help but curse slightly. “Lil' Jun? Why are ya not wearing yer bloody armor! Are ya trying to get yerself killed?!” Yao Jun smiled faintly when he heard Reyner's question. He had already expected to hear a question like that, so he raised his arm and pointed at the white bracelet that hung on his wrist. “Don't worry, I have my armor right here.” Reyner's eyes bulged slightly when he saw the bracelet on Yao Jun's arm. He was rather experienced, so he could easily tell that the bracelet was a powerful type of armor, stronger than the one he himself was wearing. He gave a slight nod, letting out a slight sigh of relief. “It seems the General really favors ya, that's a mighty fine armor. If ye have that, then I can rest easy.” After he spoke, Reyner turned his gaze towards the distance, his eyes landing on the army of the Final Fire clan that was waiting for them in the distance. They had already gotten so close that even he was able to see them clearly. In a low voice, he started to explain what he had already learned about the Final Fire clan. “Alright, ya were wondering why they ain't wearin' any armor? That's easy, it's cause they ain't got the need for it. The people from the Final Fire clan are all born for combat, they are the complete opposite of the people from the World Tree clan. Ya see, people from the World Tree clan have powerful souls, but their bodies are a wee bit weaker than you'd normally want them to be. But the people from the Final Fire clan, they got bodies as tough as any Demonic beast, their entire body can be counted as a weapon. But in return, they got souls that are a wee bit weaker than most.” Yao Jun could not help but raise an eyebrow when he heard the explanation, as this was the first he had ever heard about the people from the World Tree clan having strong souls and weaker bodies. He was also a bit surprised to find out that the people from the Final Fire clan had bodies comparable to Demonic beasts, as it most often required a lot of training to get bodies that strong. To have it since birth? That was often a great blessing. “I see, that's good information.” Yao Jun had a slight smile on his face. While inside the hidden realm, he had learned a sword technique that targeted the soul, so he was rather curious to see how effective it was against the people from the Final Fire clan. Reyner did not notice Yao Jun's slight smile, simply nodding his head. “Aye. If ya know someone who specializes in the laws of the soul, or the law of death, ya better stay close to that person. Ya should get to the back o' the squad Lil' Jun, it's beginning.” Reyner glanced at the sky after he finished talking, causing Yao Jun to do the same. The sky above the Final Fire clan army was filled with orbs of fire, each one looking like a miniature sun. As the orbs of fire shot towards the World Tree clan army, filling the sky with fire, Yao Jun started to move to the back of the squad, the slight smile on his face growing a little wider.