292: Crushing, this is war

“Shield formation, rise!”

Numinous Flower, the Buddhist Battle General, roared, slamming his Monk's Staff heavily into the snow.

“Hah!”

Five hundred Shield Soldiers simultaneously let out a fierce shout, planting their man-high tower shields into the ground in front of them.

Immediately after, a translucent golden light shield shot up from the front of the shield formation, instantly expanding in front of the army, like a massive inverted golden bell, perfectly enveloping the entire thousand-man army.

On the light shield, Vague (mó hu) Buddhist runes flowed.

The very next second the light shield formed, the cannonballs arrived!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of deafening explosions echoed in front of the army formation.

Flames shot skyward, and the shockwaves from the explosions swept thick snow into the air, which then mixed with black gunpowder smoke and fell, almost engulfing the entire area.

Inside the steel factory, all the thugs revealed sinister smiles.

In their eyes, no one could survive such concentrated firepower.

“Hahahaha, what kind of bullshit Great General? He still got blasted into minced meat by my round of artillery fire!”

Pan Ergou laughed wildly, the flesh on his face trembling.

His subordinates around him joined in the jeering: “Boss is mighty, let’s see how they can still pretend!”

“They want to flatten us with this? Overestimating themselves!”

However, their laughter abruptly stopped.

“I… I’ll be damned?” A thug rubbed his eyes, muttering in disbelief, “What is that thing?!”

As the smoke from the explosions was dispersed by the cold wind, and the snow dust slowly settled.

That golden light shield still stood firmly there, its golden light resplendent, without the slightest damage.

Let alone cracks, not even a ripple appeared.

“This… How is this possible?”

Pan Ergou had a ghost-seeing expression on his face, snatching the binoculars and staring at the light shield.

His thugs, moreover, were all dumbfounded, unable to believe their own eyes.

“Impossible… This is absolutely impossible!”

That was their proud defense system, capable of tearing apart enemies several times their number, yet now it hadn’t even scratched the opponent’s fur?

How could this battle be fought?

“Three breaths have passed.”

General Ao Zhan’s indifferent voice rang out again.

“All units, attack!”

“Yes, sir!”

Numinous Flower roared, put away his Monk's Staff, and was the first to step forward.

The five hundred Shield Soldiers behind him simultaneously raised their tower shields, protecting themselves, and advanced, following his steps.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Chen Beixuan and the two others following behind felt their blood surge.

This was war!

“Stop them, detonate the landmines!”

From the watchtower of the steel factory, Pan Ergou’s deputy screamed hoarsely.

Following his command, a series of muffled explosions erupted from beneath the ground outside the factory area.

Boom! Boom!

Dozens of high-explosive landmines were simultaneously detonated, kicking up large amounts of snowy mud and broken rocks.

However.

Numinous Flower and the Shield Soldiers behind him were all covered in a faint golden light.

The violent shockwaves and shrapnel from the landmine explosions were all blocked by the shields.

The Shield Soldiers' footsteps did not falter, and they continued to advance.

Zzzzt—!

On the ground, large nets woven from high-voltage cables suddenly sprang up from the snow, flashing terrifying blue electric arcs, covering Numinous Flower, who was charging at the front.

“Hmph, a mere firefly.”

Numinous Flower snorted coldly, neither dodging nor evading.

He pushed his Monk's Staff forward with one hand, and the head of the staff flashed with golden light.

“Break!”

Those that came into contact with the golden light were instantly severed, cables splattered everywhere, electric arcs wildly lashed out in the air, and quickly extinguished as they lost their power.

All traps were useless in front of the Shield Soldier formation led by Numinous Flower.

All roadblocks and barbed wire were flattened!

“Archers, suppress their firing points!”

Tang Ketian, positioned on both flanks of the army formation, looked at their ranged attack positions.

“Yes, sir!”

Four hundred Archers had already locked onto the enemies hidden in the dark corners of the factory buildings and on the high towers.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of arrows formed a continuous chorus.

Arrows imbued with spiritual power shot towards every exposed firing point.

A thug who had just poked his head out, preparing to spray with a heavy machine gun, instantly gained a bloody hole in his forehead; his sinister smile had not yet faded before he fell headfirst.

A turret that had just turned its muzzle, was struck by a spinning armor-piercing arrow the second before it fired a shell, directly detonating the ammunition inside and exploding into a brilliant fireball.

This was a one-sided slaughter.

Pan Ergou’s subordinates were completely unable to organize an effective counterattack.

“Useless, all of them useless!” Pan Ergou fumed on his throne.

He couldn't understand why the territory buildings he had materialized at great cost were so vulnerable.

Just as he was roaring, a strange sound of a zither echoed in the center of the battlefield.

Ding—

Hua Li, holding her guqin, walked calmly, her fingertips plucking lightly.

An invisible sound wave swept across the entire battlefield.

The assassins who were preparing to launch a sneak attack from the shadows, and the thugs preparing to resist stubbornly, all froze simultaneously.

The fierce light in their eyes instantly vanished.

Some, as if seeing terrifying ghosts, held their heads and screamed madly.

Some, treating their companions as enemies, swung their knives and hacked, slaughtering each other.

Others simply threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, their minds completely broken.

The Soul-Stealing Melody, chaos for the mind.

Under Hua Li’s musical control, the already chaotic enemy army became an even greater disorganized mess.

Chen Beixuan and the two others following behind General Ao Zhan were completely stunned.

Lin Xiaoran’s mouth was wide open; his Spell, which he had been concentrating on for a long time, found no target to attack.

The enemies were either dead or insane.

Su Qingxue’s face was also filled with shock.

It was her first time experiencing so directly how terrifying the power an efficiently coordinated army could unleash was.

Only Chen Beixuan, his gaze did not linger on the corpses.

He was watching, learning.

Watching how the Shield Soldiers advanced, how the Archers selected targets, and when Hua Li’s zither music should sound to achieve the best effect.

The sword in his hand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement.

“Did you see clearly?” General Ao Zhan’s voice rang in their ears, “This is war. Not the one-on-one combat you imagine.”

“Here, an individual’s power can be infinitely amplified, and also infinitely diminished.”

“When to charge, when to defend, when to let your teammates handle it—this is what you need to learn.”

Just then, Chen Beixuan’s pupils slightly contracted.

His gaze locked onto a pile of discarded containers in the front-right.

There, a figure was quietly raising a dark, hollow tube, aiming at Tang Ketian, who was in the center of the formation, commanding the Archers.

It was a rocket launcher!

The person’s movements were so concealed that no one noticed.

And Tang Ketian’s position was exactly within a firing range.

There was no time to warn!

Before Lin Xiaoran and Su Qingxue could react, Chen Beixuan had already rushed out.

The long sword at his waist instantly unsheathed.

A clear sword light flashed across the chaotic battlefield.

Pfft!

The thug preparing to fire the rocket launcher suddenly stiffened, a thin line of blood appearing on his neck.

The next second, his head shot into the sky.

Blood stained the snow.

Chen Beixuan struck successfully, not pausing, his figure spun, and he returned to his original position, his long sword sheathed.

The entire process was fluid and extremely fast.

Su Qingxue and Lin Xiaoran only saw an afterimage flash by, and the battle was already over.

“Not bad.”

General Ao Zhan glanced at him, and for the first time, a hint of approval appeared in his eyes.

“You’re starting to get it.”

“But have you ever thought why Ketian’s Archers didn’t deal with him immediately?”

“Because their primary goal is to suppress the turrets and ensure the safe advance of the shield formation.”

“Your Leak repair (bǔ lòu) was very timely, but in a real battlefield, what you need to judge is not whether you can kill, but whether you should kill, and whether your actions will disrupt the rhythm of the entire formation.”

“As for you two,” his gaze swept over Su Qingxue and Lin Xiaoran, “put away your meager spiritual power.”

“On a battlefield of this scale, your Spells aren’t even fit to tickle the enemy.”

“Watch, learn, and then think about where your power should be used to leverage the entire battle situation.”

“This is why the Lord brought you here.”

At this moment, the Shield Soldier formation had already charged to the gates of the steel factory.

“Break the gate!” Numinous Flower roared.

Five hundred Shield Soldiers simultaneously concentrated their strength on their shields.

Boom!

That gate, welded from thick steel plates, strong enough to withstand a truck collision.

With a loud crash, it was dented inward, deformed, and finally collapsed with a roar!

The last barrier of the steel factory was broken!