Clumsy Control

Under the command of General Yue Wu, the army under Jiujiang Marquis moved like an enormous fireball, with Luo Feng and his servant Morosa at the forefront. As they advanced, Luo Feng marveled at the power of the formation. "This is incredible," he thought, observing the flames around him, the combined force of thousands of Eternal True Gods united by the formation. "This kind of large-scale military formation only exists at the Eternal True God level," Luo Feng realized, understanding that such formations would be impossible for Chaos Masters, who were much fewer in number across the Origin Continent.

As the massive fireball pressed forward, suddenly, explosions erupted from below. The Heart Shadow Sect had set up the "Dark Prison World Formation" in the Chaos A district long before Jiujiang Marquis' army arrived. The formation revealed itself as the army advanced, with countless green chains appearing from the void to bind the massive fireball.

General Yue Wu, seated calmly at the formation's center, communicated to the army, "This is the Heart Shadow Sect's 'Dark Prison World Formation.' Given their current strength, they likely can only manage this and the 'Great Annihilation Formation.' We don't need to confront them head-on; our goal is to reach the city lord's mansion."

The massive fireball rotated, breaking some of the chains while moving closer to the city lord's mansion. Inside the mansion, the heads of the five major families, along with other Eternal True Gods like Mo Li Feiyun, Diao Rongqi, and Mo Yuhu, watched the intense battle above.

"Crush them!" the command echoed.

As the fireball clashed with the chains, a new formation, the "Great Annihilation Formation," emerged like a rolling storm cloud. It collided with the massive fireball, causing countless flames to scatter and the chains to break and reform continuously.

At the front of the fireball, Luo Feng, towering over the battlefield, unleashed a powerful slash that tore through the sky and struck the Great Annihilation Formation. The massive flame-infused blade caused the formation to tremble, and many of the Eternal True Gods within it felt their souls ache.

"It's Luo He," someone within the formation identified. "Luo He is the vanguard of the army. Be cautious," they warned, causing the hidden super-large mechanical treasures within the formation to hesitate.

"Heart Demon Yuan and Shadow Demon General, you're up," the Heart Shadow Sect's leader commanded.

"Understood."

From within the formation, a black avian figure and a humanoid shadow emerged simultaneously—Heart Demon Yuan, controlled by Elder Xinyan, and Shadow Demon General, controlled by Qiu Yi.

"Junior Brother Qiu Yi, Luo He's willpower is terrifying. Focus on defense and don't try to attack," Elder Xinyan advised, knowing that the Shadow Demon General was even stronger than Heart Demon Yuan.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother," Qiu Yi responded confidently.

"Two of their gate-guarding treasures?" Luo Feng was surprised, but he quickly struck twice with his "Refined Heart" technique. The radiant blade lights carried his willpower like a sharp edge.

Elder Xinyan, leading his Eternal True Gods and Void True Gods, used Heart Demon Yuan to unify their willpower, which, combined with the strength of the formation, was enough to resist Luo Feng's apparent Chaos-level peak willpower.

This time, they were focused on defense. During their last encounter, Heart Demon Yuan's willpower had actively attacked Luo Feng's divine body, leading to a disastrous outcome as they collided with his mountain-like willpower. But now, with their willpower restored and focused on defense, they were no longer afraid.

The battle continued as Heart Demon Yuan and Shadow Demon General, supported by the Great Annihilation Formation, clashed with Luo Feng, who also had the support of his army's formation. Luo Feng's blade techniques were varied—sometimes violent and fierce, sometimes silent and deep, and sometimes utilizing the enemy's strength against them.

"Last time, Heart Demon Yuan couldn't fully display its power. This time, I'm seeing its true strength," Luo Feng felt invigorated. After five eras of cultivation, he hadn't had such a satisfying fight in a long time. He was using his opponents as whetstones to test the many techniques he had developed.

"Brother Luo He, just focus on defense. Our goal is to reach the city lord's mansion," General Yue Wu transmitted to Luo Feng.

"Don't worry," Luo Feng replied.

General Yue Wu was pleased with Luo He's performance as the army's vanguard. His individual strength and powerful will made it difficult for the Heart Shadow Sect to penetrate their formation.

But then, both Luo Feng and General Yue Wu were shocked to see a massive warship approaching. This warship was covered in countless glowing formations, exuding a terrifying aura. As it charged forward, it tore through space, leaving cracks in its wake.

"Crush them!" commanded Feng Yuqi, the three-eyed man inside the warship, which was manned by over five hundred Eternal True Gods.

The warship's terrifying power bore down on Luo Feng, who was the spearhead of the Jiujiang Marquis' army formation.

"Where did this come from?" Luo Feng immediately recognized the warship from intelligence reports on the armies of the two great ancient nations. "This is a military warship from the Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom."

The Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom was known for its superior mechanical treasures and warships, which were far more advanced than those of other nations. The warship before them was a mobile formation of immense power, surpassing even the Great Annihilation Formation in its threat.

"That's a Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom warship, a mobile fortress of terrifying power. Don't confront it head-on!" General Yue Wu's voice echoed through the army formation as it transformed from a massive fireball into an enormous flowing river.

The flowing river of the formation moved with unpredictable grace, pulling away from Heart Demon Yuan and Shadow Demon General, widening the distance between them.

The giant warship tried to charge into the flowing formation, but the fluidity and unpredictability of the formation made it impossible for the warship to make contact.

"This—" the Heart Shadow Sect's leader was furious. The Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom's warship, if controlled by Yue Wu, would have been far more effective. But in the hands of the Heart Shadow Sect, it was clumsy and could only charge headlong, unable to catch the slippery river formation.

Instead, the Dark Prison World Formation and Great Annihilation Formation, which were more suited to the sect's capabilities, could only continue to obstruct and harass the flowing river formation.

In what seemed like a long time but was only a matter of seconds, the flowing formation slipped into the city lord's mansion.

"Excellent!" the silver-haired Jiujiang Marquis cheered as he watched from afar. "Yue Wu is truly the best formation master below the Chaos level in the Yu Kingdom. His control over the army formation is clearly more refined than that of the Heart Shadow Sect. They've finally entered the city lord's mansion."

"Once they control the city lord's mansion and the city itself, the odds of victory will be greatly in our favor," the Jiujiang Marquis thought, his hopes rising.

Meanwhile, the dark-armored Liuyin Marquis frowned as he watched. "The formation contains over three thousand Eternal True Gods, including powerful ones like Luo He and Yonghu. With Yue Wu leading the formation, the Heart Shadow Sect won't be able to stop them."

"This time, they focused on escaping into the city lord's mansion."

"But escaping won't win the battle. In the end, they'll have to face each other head-on," the Liuyin Marquis mused. "I don't care how many from the Heart Shadow Sect die, but if Jiujiang Marquis loses most of his army, what will he do then?"

At the same time, the master of the Yan Feng Pavilion, Di Chuyu, and his deputy were also watching the battle leisurely.

"Yue Wu from the Yu Kingdom has remarkable formation skills," Di Chuyu observed from afar. "Even among the Eternal True Gods in our Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom, it's rare to see someone with such strong formation abilities."

"Even in fringe nations, there are always a few talented individuals," the deputy pavilion master remarked.

Di Chuyu shook his head. "This warship from our Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom has intricate formations and immense power, but in the hands of the Heart Shadow Sect, it's so clumsy—only capable of brute force!"

"The only ones worth mentioning in the Heart Shadow Sect are the two who control the Heart Demon Yuan and the Shadow Demon General. The rest aren't worth mentioning," the deputy added. "But the Heart Shadow Sect is backed by the Liuyin Marquis, and I know his temperament well. Since he's decided to wage this war... it will be very difficult for the Jiujiang Marquis to win."

Even though they were from the Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom's royal family, both were wary of the Liuyin Marquis.

The Liuyin Marquis was someone whose accumulation and realm had brought him to the brink of becoming a God-King.

"The Liuyin Marquis is not to be trifled with," Di Chuyu remarked. "Unless something extraordinary happens, the Jiujiang Marquis is likely to lose this battle."

The deputy agreed. Having traveled across many nations on the Origin Continent, they had seen enough to understand that the true battle was between the two Chaos Masters behind the scenes.

The Liuyin Marquis had only sent a hired force, the Heart Shadow Sect, and had yet to mobilize his true strength. Despite this, he had already forced the Jiujiang Marquis to spend a fortune recruiting powerful allies.

Luo Feng and his servant Morosa continued to advance through the city lord's mansion, focused on their mission.

"Prepare for the final confrontation," Luo Feng thought as the battle reached its climax.

The outcome of this war would not only determine the control of Huyang City but also set the stage for future conflicts between the two marquises.

Luo Feng knew that the challenges ahead would only become more intense as the stakes grew higher.