627: The battle ended in a crushing defeat.

However, there were no lack of calm individuals among the crowd.

Several Cultivators with shallow cultivation or meticulous minds did not act rashly. Instead, they quietly retreated half a step, coldly observing the battle from the sidelines.

They vaguely felt that the formation of this suddenly appearing army was no small matter, and those steel machines were definitely no ordinary Mortal objects. Although the words of that Purple-robed Cultivator earlier were inspiring, they were perhaps a bit too optimistic.

They planned to see how the battle fared first before deciding whether to join the fray or seek another chance to escape. After all, among those prepared to flee the city, no one was willing to throw away their life easily.

Facing the Spells and Magic Treasures brazenly attacking them, the Imperial Soldiers' faces showed no ripples of emotion, and their gazes beneath their helmets remained as cold as iron.

Before the Cultivators' killing moves could reach the front of the formation, the Commander gave an order, and hundreds of energy guns pulled their triggers simultaneously.

In an instant, countless laser beams tore through the sky, pouring down toward the group of Cultivators like a meteor shower. The air was thick with the scorched smell of high-speed energy operation, and the light was so blinding that people could hardly keep their eyes open.

The Hovering Armed Vehicles in the rear had long been ready. Their heavy cannon barrels fired thick beams of energy, which exploded into massive energy vortexes the moment they hit the ground, tearing everything around them to shreds.

The muzzles of the Walkers also precisely locked onto those high-level Cultivators with powerful Auras. Explosions sounded one after another, dust soared into the sky, and even the earth trembled violently.

The entire battlefield was instantly enveloped by dense energy attacks. The speed of the laser beams far exceeded the reaction limits of the Cultivators.

Those Escape Techniques and Movement Arts they usually took pride in while traversing heaven and earth appeared so laughable in the face of absolute speed and firepower.

Just as the Cultivators were about to circulate their Spiritual Qi to dodge, the lasers had already pierced through their bodies. When they tried to summon Magic Treasures to block, they found that the energy beams could directly penetrate the defensive barriers of their Magical Artifacts.

"I can't dodge it at all! Damn it!"

One Cultivator roared as he summoned his Life-bound Shield. Amidst the flickering spiritual light, he barely blocked three small lasers, but in the next second, two thick energy cannons followed in quick succession. The shield was instantly covered in cracks and shattered with a bang. The residual power of the lasers did not diminish, cutting him directly in half at the waist, splashing blood and internal organs across the yellow sand.

The rest of the Cultivators were also in a desperate situation, forced to exhaust all their Spiritual Qi to manifest their Protective Aura for a hard block.

The Protective Aura of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator was as fragile as thin paper under the laser rain, torn apart in the blink of an eye. The Nascent Soul Dharma Idol summoned by a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator was hit by dozens of lasers the moment it appeared. The Dharma Idol let out a shrill wail and instantly dissipated, causing the original body to suffer heavy injuries and spray a wild mouthful of blood.

Their proud cultivation and Divine Abilities were utterly powerless in the face of the Imperial troops' dense firepower.

"Fuck, I was too careless... If I had known, I wouldn't have charged..."

A Golden Core Stage Cultivator staggered backward, looking down at the bowl-sized bloody hole in his chest. The charred edges were still emitting green smoke, and internal organs mixed with blood gushed out. The bone-piercing pain made his vision go dark.

He had cultivated for over two hundred years to condense his Golden Core, thinking he could preserve his life in these chaotic times, but he never expected to fall at the hands of these Soldiers who possessed no Spiritual Qi at all.

Regret gnawed at his mind like a venomous snake. He wanted to say more, but his throat could only produce the sound of gurgling bloody froth.

Before his voice could fade, an even thicker incandescent red laser had already locked onto his head.

He couldn't even see the trajectory of the light; he only felt a sudden whiteness before his eyes. In the next second, his head exploded like a shattered watermelon.

Red blood, white brain matter, and broken bone fragments mixed with charred flesh splattered everywhere, landing on the robes of the surrounding Cultivators and bringing a pungent, fishy stench.

This one-sided slaughter lasted only a few minutes.

The spiritual light of Spells on the battlefield had long been covered by the glow of energy lasers. The roars and wails of the Cultivators gradually subsided, leaving only the hum of continuous energy gun fire, the roar of explosions, and the dull sound of Walkers grinding over corpses.

Whether it was a Cultivator who had condensed a Golden Core with a Lifespan of five hundred years, or a Soul Transformation or Nascent Soul powerhouse capable of overturning seas, they all appeared vulnerable under the Imperial troops' dense, no-blind-spot firepower network.

The defenses they exhausted their Spiritual Qi to maintain were torn apart layer by layer. Their proud Divine Abilities and Spells didn't even have a chance to get close to the enemy lines. In the end, they were either pierced by lasers or blown to pieces by energy cannons. Without exception, they all met an end where no whole corpse remained.

The yellow sand was dyed dark red by blood. Broken fragments of Magic Treasures, severed limbs, and charred remains were scattered across the ground. The air was filled with the stench of blood, scorched flesh, and gunpowder smoke.

The Imperial Soldiers maintained their firing positions until the Commander confirmed there were no more signs of life on the battlefield. Only then did they slowly put away their energy guns. The entire process was terrifyingly quiet, as if they had just cleared a patch of weeds rather than slaughtered a group of Cultivators who once soared through the heavens.

In the rear of the battlefield, those Cultivators who had not rashly charged forward were already chilled to the bone, their legs turning weak.

Hiding behind cover, they watched with their own eyes as their fellow Daoists, who were aggressive just moments ago, were slaughtered like wheat by the energy lasers. That bloody and tragic scene was deeply etched into their eyes, making even their breathing tremble.

"This... what kind of sorcerous Sharp Weapon is this?"

A middle-aged Cultivator clamped his hand over his mouth to keep from crying out, his voice filled with unbelievable terror.

He had cultivated for over three hundred years and had seen the most overbearing Magic Treasures and experienced the most insidious Spells, yet he had never seen a weapon so invincible and murderous.

Those Cultivator bodies, which could easily tear through mountain rocks and resist thunder and fire, were more fragile than paper before those cold beams of light. They were killed at will, no different from Mortals.

The smell of blood and scorched flesh in the air drifted over with the wind, so pungent it made one gag, adding layer upon layer to the chill in their hearts.

Among the crowd, those few Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators with unfathomable Auras had also retracted all their external Spiritual Qi. Their expressions were so solemn they looked like they could drip water.

Their gazes were fixed on the broken remains in the center of the battlefield, and several familiar Auras made their hearts sink.

Among the Cultivators who had charged forward, there were clearly several Soul Transformation Stage peers who were as famous as them, and in terms of cultivation and Divine Abilities, they were about the same.

But even so, they still failed to last even the time it takes for an incense stick to burn under the dense firepower, ultimately ending up with not even a bone left intact.

"Even the Soul Transformation Stage is so vulnerable..."

A white-haired Soul Transformation Cultivator muttered to himself. His fingertips instinctively tightened and then slowly relaxed, the arrogance in his eyes long since replaced by deep dread.

They considered themselves capable of dominating a region, but in the face of such mysterious and absolute power, their so-called cultivation Realms appeared utterly pale and powerless.

Just then, the Imperial Soldiers' amplified voice rang out again, still just as cold and heartless, without the slightest room for negotiation.

"Surrender! Drop your weapons immediately and hand over all Storage Devices, or you will be annihilated on the spot!"