The movements of the Vermilion Bird Array and White Tiger Array were heard.

Everyone inside the Black Tortoise Array felt their blood boiling, their hearts surging with emotion.

Then they looked at each other, at the dark green turtle shells they wore, and all sighed deeply.

The ones responsible for defending the third stronghold, the Black Tortoise Array, were Zhan Ning, Yu Lian, and the knight order under their command.

After leaving the City of Extreme Evil and arriving at North County, with resources much more abundant than those in the City of Extreme Evil, Zhan Ning and Yu Lian successfully broke through, reaching the ranks of Tier Eight Judgment Knights.

Within their knight order, at least fifty are Tier Seven Judgment Knights.

Such a knight order, placed in any faction, would be a force to be reckoned with.

However, their opponent was the Imperial Third Knight Order, the Gray Mist Knight Order.

Even if not as prestigious as the top two Imperial Knight Orders, as the Imperial Third Knight Order, the Gray Mist Knight Order, including the commander, has six Tier Eight Knights and at least two hundred Tier Seven Knights.

Facing the Gray Mist Knight Order, Zhan Ning and Yu Lian have a slim chance of victory.

To have held out this long, they owe it all to the amplification of the Black Tortoise Array.

Yes, it’s the layer of dark green turtle shells they are wearing.

Don’t underestimate these turtle shells; their real name is the "Profound Turtle Shell Shield," possessing extremely powerful defense!

Even though the Gray Mist Knight Order deployed many, including five deputy commanders and over a hundred elite knights, they were unable to break through even a single Profound Turtle Shell Shield.

Instead, these knights with auras were left exhausted.

As everyone knows, the Knight’s Aura has a time limit, and after it expires, there’s a cooldown period.

Thus, the Gray Mist Knight Order not only failed to breach the enemy lines but also lost dozens when their aura expired, giving the opponents a chance to counterattack.

Thus, a bizarre yet harmonious scene emerged within the Black Tortoise Array:

The Gray Mist Knight Order and the Great Xia Knight Order were divided into two distinctly separate formations.

They didn’t activate their auras, nor did they charge and fight; instead, they sat on their warhorses, hurling insults at each other—engaging in a verbal battle.

The Gray Mist Knight Order felt aggrieved.

They clearly had the upper hand in hard power, with victory in sight, yet were inexplicably restrained by those damned turtle shells.

They couldn’t fight effectively or kill efficiently, so they decided not to activate their auras, sitting on their warhorses, venting through verbal slinging to soothe their frustrations.

On the side of the Great Xia Knight Order.

Initially, Zhan Ning and the others felt somewhat embarrassed by the insults, although as knights from the City of Extreme Evil, they didn’t adhere to the so-called knightly faith.

But the people from the Gray Mist Knight Order were particularly vile with their insults.

One of the Great Xia Knights was successfully provoked, activating his aura, clamped his thighs on his warhorse, and charged into the enemy formation.

The scene descended into chaos.

The knights of the Gray Mist Knight Order activated their auras, concentrating attacks on him, yet he managed to retreat unharmed.

It made people exclaim,

"The divine turtle may live long, but it can also take a beating!"

After this incident, the knights of the Great Xia Knight Order reorganized their words and began to ’cordially greet’ the opposition.

The standoff between both sides continued back and forth.

In the end, after all insults were exhausted and all hidden words were spoken, the entire Black Tortoise Array fell into silence for a long time.

While other strongholds were engulfed in fiery battles,

Their two legions, in comparison, appeared as if they were loafing on the job.

This led to the scene at the beginning, where Zhan Ning and Yu Lian sighed simultaneously.

Emotion and fervor urged them to abandon everything and fight to the death with the opponent.

Rationality, however, continuously reminded them that this was fine, that they could preserve their lives and still hold the array.

Thinking of this, their restless hearts calmed down once more.

Delay as much as possible, for as long as they can; just endure it this way.

While thinking this, Zhan Ning removed his helmet and mask. This time, he had specially prepared several props for the battle, the helmet and mask being among them, but he didn’t expect not to need them at the moment.

During the insults, he hadn’t held back either, and now felt thirsty from all the yelling and wanted a drink of water. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

But as he removed his helmet and mask, Zhan Ning sensed something was amiss.

The air in the entire Black Tortoise Array seemed to freeze.

Soon after, heavy breathing emanated from within the Gray Mist Knight Order, resembling a bull snorting through its nose.

"Zhan Ning! You are Zhan Ning!"

A knight from the Gray Mist Knight Order shouted vehemently, calling out Zhan Ning’s name.

Only then did the tone of the scene begin to abruptly change.

"You are..." Zhan Ning looked at the unfamiliar knight who called his name, having no recollection in his mind.

He could not be blamed for this.

Zhan Ning had spent countless years in the City of Extreme Evil, and memories of the outside world had long faded almost entirely.

"I am your son!" the other responded coldly.

Zhan Ning: "???"

Yu Lian: "???"

What a situation, with the Empire and Great Xia at war, and suddenly someone steps forward from the opposing formation declaring they are one’s son.

Isn’t this, in a sense, like demanding the other to call him ’father’?

Thinking of this, everyone on the side of Great Xia, including Yu Lian, gave Zhan Ning looks of newfound interest.

"I am not, I don’t, don’t talk nonsense!" Zhan Ning hastily denied thrice in succession.

He thought it might be some trick or possibly related to a special aura effect from the Gray Mist Knight Order, so he cautiously and rapidly denied it.

Seeing Zhan Ning unwilling to admit, the other continued in a cold, fierce tone:

"Fifty years ago, it was you who deceived my mother’s feelings and gave birth to me!"

"Before my mother died, her only wish left for me was to kill you!"

For some reason, when hearing the words "deceived feelings," everyone in the Great Xia Knight Order instinctively believed what the other said.

That was indeed quite like Zhan Ning!

And it wasn’t over yet; after that first person "bravely" stood up, accusations against Zhan Ning within the Gray Mist Knight Order began to spring up like mushrooms after a rain:

"Zhan Ning, you tricked my sister into believing you were destined to become a Judgment Knight, and she waited for you! In the end, you really became a Judgment Knight, and then her husband sent you to the City of Extreme Evil!"

"Zhan Ning, you put two green hats on me while I was breaking through to become a Judgment Knight; I must kill you today!"

"Zhan Ning, you deceived my great-grandmother’s feelings; my hatred for you knows no bounds!"

"..."

More and more accusations joined in.

The Great Xia Knight Order instantly turned into an audience of bystanders, watching as their Knight Order’s commander began to break out in a cold sweat.

Thankfully, the Profound Turtle Shell Shield allowed Zhan Ning to escape unscathed.

"Zhan Ning, we meet again."

At this moment, the knights of the Gray Mist Knight Order parted to the sides, and a clear, mature female voice emerged from the crowd.

As she removed her helmet, her golden wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, revealing a beautiful and enchanting woman!

"Seeing you again, let me introduce myself."

"Commander of the Gray Mist Knight Order, Fiona."