Battle for the Samfeng Province (7)

One might dare to think that the battles on the ground were less intense than the one in the sky, but they would be wrong, very wrong. In fact, it was just as intense, if not more! General Petra received constant updates and ushered her commands swiftly. "Retract the first and third front. Refocus our offensive in the second and break through in one go!" The messengers relayed her orders, causing the officers to pull the lines back and reorganize their forces. Before long, they prepared to surge toward the fallen Yijiang Gate. Their momentum threatened to flatten everything in their path!

"Deploy a box formation with the shield wall in front. Let them funnel in and flank them on three sides. Prepare the archers for the attack!" Unit Commander Haea calmly returned. The soldiers flowed seamlessly from their original line formation to a box formation, while rows of archers nocked their bows. On their mark, they could rain down death upon the invaders! It was a trap waiting to be sprung!

"Halt! Arcanists, prepare the long-range spells! Focus on the archers behind!" General Petra shouted. Her soldiers stopped just before the moat as hundreds of Magic Circles conjured into being.

"Hmph. Erect a three-fold shield wall and cover the archers. Hold your positions!" Hundreds of soldiers then raised their shields to the sky in a menacing fashion. It might have been dangerous had her opponents been Condensed Drop Arcanists like the Ten Dawns, but Gaseous Fog? They lacked the power to break through!

"How predictable," she scoffed. "Arcanists, refocus your spells to the ground underneath the walls. I want them destroyed!"

"Fall back from the walls and move towards the rear. Rear ranged units, cover their retreat!"

"Cavalry, charge through the first and third flanks. Surround the Yijiang Gate!"

"Deploy a two-fold shield wall and spearmen behind. Skewer the horses as they come close!"

"The glider squadrons will capture the walls. Do not let the enemy retake it!"

"All archers to attack the glider squadrons!"

The two sides pushed and pulled like the tides of the ocean. Sometimes attacking, sometimes defending, their strategies melded together in this elegant exchange of wit. On this chessboard, General Petra and Unit Commander Haea were like kings, controlling everything from above! Elizabeth and her friends were thoroughly stunned by it all. These two leaders might not be Instinct Realms or Blue Depths, but that did not mean they were weak. That ability to assess the situation, anticipate the changes, and adjust their strategies accordingly all in the span of a few seconds went beyond the norm. It was monstrous! They were monsters of the battlefield! It was no wonder they could command their armies, forces exceeding two hundred thousand soldiers, with ease! In thirty minutes, the battlefield had already changed hundreds of times over. Elizabeth felt sick. If the first thirty minutes was already this intense, she dreaded to imagine how intense the entire day might be. She looked to the skies and watched the other battlefield.

Boom! Boom! Boom! At this distance, with her Fundamental Realm senses, she could barely make out the shapes in the sky, as they exchanged countless blows. She had no idea who was winning or losing. It was Hidek and Lanar who saw the battle most clearly. They could strain their senses far more than Sir Winstin using their Martial Energy. To them, it was as clear as day… and their faces were tense! Their swords were on the verge of being drawn! But not for the reasons one might suspect. It was not because they were worried their master might lose and die. He might be their master, but that was it. They had no compelling reason to care if he died or not. No… Their faces were tense because they were focused on absorbing insight! This was a once-in-a-lifetime battle between an Instinct Realm swordsman, the very best of his generation, against five mysterious birds that somehow managed to even the odds. It practically screamed inspiration to the two swordsmen. Their Attainment Stages were rapidly rising!

The Sword King and the Featherwind Sect continued battling across the heavens. It was to reposition themselves, but to also avoid the areas of interference they were creating. A battle of their level, where they casually exchanged Rank 2 Lord or Rank 3 King attacks, created a chaotic storm of World Energy around them. This storm was fatal to Arcanists that used spells to rewrite reality because it could drastically reduce, if not outright negate, their potency. This was the same headache that plagued Elizabeth and Freon during the Battle of Liguang. Their spells lost their potency too quickly, rendering their strongest methods as their only options. Similarly, martial artists that used Martial Energy for external-acting techniques suffered too. The sole exception to this affliction were internal-acting abilities, since they did not affect the external world, but the internal body. However, neither side could rely on them alone. They were forced to relocate constantly.

Bang! The two sides collided and backed off from one another. The Sword King exhaled sharply and felt the metal in his lungs. He wiped away the blood from his eyes nonchalantly, but his appearance was terrifying to witness. His clothes were shredded, leaving windows to see his bloodied body underneath. He was practically dripping blood with every step! Although he possessed a strong recovery method, it was merely accelerating his body's natural recovery rate, so any damage that outpaced his recovery would stay. Not to mention, it required Martial Energy and his divided attention, both of which were sorely needed in his fight against the Featherwind Sect. Therefore, he focused his energies on healing his worst injuries and ignored the rest. He had to admit it: despite his Instinct Realm body and Condensed Drop Core, he was reaching his limit! The Featherwind Sect was a far greater threat than he imagined.

Still, that could not suppress his excitement. Ever since he created the Cloud Sea Style and became an Instinct Realm, he became unparalleled throughout the world yet, he lost the opportunity to go any further. He stagnated at the zenith. That was partly why he decided to nurture the next Sword King from among his disciples. He wanted to find someone who could match his sword! But now? He laughed! Against the Featherwind Sect, he did not need to hold back. He could unleash everything to his heart's content! And with every strike, his movements grew faster and sharper. His techniques became increasingly smoother and more refined. Like his disciples, his strength also grew at a shocking rate! This was the opportunity he sensed! This was his good fortune!

He charged at Elder Terus once more. That bird's ability to manipulate his perception was beyond annoying. It was one of the main reasons why this fight dragged on for so long! The bird responded in kind by immediately conjuring four gigantic Magic Circles around the Sword King. The clear blue skies were suddenly replaced by an endless starry expanse. Bloodline Ability: Starry Caged Sky! Elder Argo and Elder Crus led the charge with their own Bloodline Abilities. Elder Argo swept out with his wings and created a hundred deadly flying strikes that whistled with the wind. Each was potent enough to eviscerate an entire building! Elder Crus then created a hundred crane doppelgangers, which encased every one of Elder Argo's flying strikes. The newly strengthened attack multiplied until there were a thousand! It was a combination technique like the Ten Dawn's large-scale tactical spells!

The Sword King smiled and 'sheathed' his sword. Martial Energy swirled near his feet. Zing! He accelerated to ludicrous speeds and executed a single fatal strike. However, unlike before, where he simply used a simple lightning-fast strike, he used a martial technique! Cloud Sea Style: Heaven's Divide! A humongous crescent-shaped flying strike tore through a hundred cranes in an instant. On the second step, he did the same, destroying three hundred. On the third step, he destroyed six hundred! The combination technique was broken! On the fourth and fifth step, he attacked Elder Crus and Argo before they knew it. The speed was too fast! Boom! The two birds were blasted back as their armors fractured and dimmed. They were finally reaching their limits too. Moreover, Elder Crus spat out a mouthful of blood, fell unconscious, and plummeted towards the earth. Elder Unvo swept in and rescued her.

This five-step technique was called Cloud Sea Style: Tide Return which focused his energy into five consecutive strikes. Each strike would be stronger and faster than the previous, much like a wave growing in strength before returning. It was terrifying to face, but the other birds coordinated their assault on him. They knew five steps was his limit! Meanwhile, the Sword King's injuries worsened as his skin bled, his muscles tore, and his bones cracked. Even his energy sword flickered in and out of being. Anymore and his body might really fall apart. Yet, the Sword King had a crazy look in his eyes. He ignored the consequences and pushed his body harder until… Sixth step!

Boom! He thoroughly smashed through the sound barrier, leaving a sonic boom in his wake. His speed had peaked! He flashed above Elder Terus and slashed. Cloud Sea Style: Heaven's Divide! A mountainous flying strike, far larger than Demon Wind Requiem, descended upon the bird! Elder Ludin and Terus hastily conjured barriers, but the attack was too strong. He sliced through them all! Bang! The attack slammed into the ground with titanic strength, creating a gigantic explosion of snow, rock, and earth that touched the skies. Even the attack that destroyed Liguang seemed tiny in comparison! It looked like the apocalypse had come! The hundred thousand soldiers in Guanhuang were blown back by the monstrous shockwave as the entire city collapsed. Elizabeth and her friends were protected by Hidek and Lanar, but the four nearly fainted too. The shockwave was so powerful that it went beyond Guanhuang, reaching as far as the northern and southern fronts. It could be faintly felt throughout the province!