It must be said, the soldiers of these hidden sects are truly formidable. Their spirit of fearless self-sacrifice is truly astonishing. Of the remaining sixty thousand soldiers, more than ten thousand perished due to this spirit of dedication. From an initial hundred thousand, fewer than fifty thousand remain.
"All listen to my command! Those in the center formation who have comprehended spatial laws, enter the void to escape. Those who have not, regroup and rest in place!" At this moment, a cultivator at the Extreme Perfection realm from the Divine Oracle Hall's divine sense swept across the entire soldier formation. For them, who had lived for millions of years, death was commonplace. This was especially true for them, who had been trained as expendables since childhood.
"Listen! If any of you escape, help us destroy the Ten Directions Empire and the Fuxian Empire. If possible, destroy those hidden sects as well, and avenge us!"
Similarly, a commander of the Demon King Hall at the Extreme Perfection realm shouted. He had personally witnessed the one covered in black armor from the Ten Directions Empire charge into their formation and devour thousands of their demon soldiers. Therefore, his hatred for Black Ant was etched into his very bones.
"If we live, we will avenge our brothers!"
The soldiers who had comprehended spatial laws and were preparing to tear space to escape roared upon hearing the Demon King Hall commander's words. No one cared about the truthfulness of their vows; they all tore through space and entered the void.
Even some who had not comprehended spatial laws, fearing death, followed and entered the void. In the blink of an eye, the field that originally held over forty thousand soldiers was left with just over thirty thousand. More than ten thousand soldiers had torn through space or left with those who had comprehended spatial laws.
"Damn, this formation is like a bug. If the heavenly laws of the real world had a complaint system, I'd definitely report them for cheating." Mu Zimin stared blankly at the terrifying energy clouds within the soldier formation, marveling and feeling helpless.
"Stop gawking. With such terrifying energy backing them, we need to hurry and help, or more people will escape." Yue Xia was the first to move, charging towards the soldiers.
Thirty-seven Quasi-Emperors and fifty beasts comparable to Quasi-Emperors surrounded the more than thirty thousand Extreme Perfection cultivators. In less than ten minutes, their accumulated energy reserves were depleted. The cultivators in the formations looked listless, their true essence nearly exhausted.
Many were even burning their vital blood to sustain themselves.
"So many Extreme Perfection cultivators, a pity. Old Wang, Old Qin, leave these guys to you. Everyone else, return to your legions. The empire's conquest cannot stop."
Yue Xia spoke as he looked at the remaining less than ten thousand soldiers.
Compared to Wang Chen, Qin Zhan and the others had barely experienced close-quarters combat, nor had they experienced large-scale wars between cultivators. For these remaining over ten thousand, exhausted Extreme Perfection cultivators, it was a chance for them to practice, to draw first blood, and to gain experience.
"Alright, we'll handle it here. This time, we'll have bragging rights with Old Song and the others." Qin Zhan understood Yue Xia's intentions. As a big shot in the military, without experiencing bloodshed and a glorious battle, establishing prestige in the future would be difficult.
After Yue Xia and his group left, only Qin Zhan, Wang Chen, and over ten thousand soldiers of the Fuxian Empire remained in the star domain.
"Old Wang, it's our turn to perform. A competition?" Qin Zhan switched to a single-handed greatsword. His profession, like Zhou Ningdong's, was that of a General, a close-combat class. However, influenced by Ye Yun, they had acquired many area-of-effect skills.
"Haha, then let's compete!"
Wang Chen formed swords with his fingers, and Yue Zhi materialized into thousands, like a vast army, each one aimed at a single person.
"Holy crap, you're cheating! Half each, whoever kills more treats!" Qin Zhan panicked. He had forgotten that this Sword Immortal, Wang Chen, was a bug in area attacks. After all, his ten thousand sword shadows each possessed combat power comparable to an early-to-mid stage Extreme Perfection cultivator.
"Fine!"
Wang Chen said with a smile. The moment his words fell, Qin Zhan's entire body vanished before him.
"Charge! Sweep through three thousand miles!"
"Uncle Qin, you're being lazy!"
Wang Chen cried out in alarm and, with his ten thousand long swords trailing behind him like a rainbow, charged into the listless soldiers.
The Extreme Perfection soldiers were now too weak to fight. They had already burned their vital blood and couldn't even self-destruct. They could only watch helplessly as two figures, thousands of times stronger than themselves, raised their butcher knives.
"Haha, Uncle Qin, I was one step ahead of you. Six thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, three more than yours." A few minutes later, Wang Chen laughed heartily at Qin Zhan, who was still fiercely fighting. The Yue Zhi sword floated beneath him, allowing him to sit and admire.
How could an ordinary profession compare to him, the unique Sword Immortal of the human star domain?
"You win, what are you preparing to treat me to tonight?" A few minutes later, Qin Zhan walked over with a helpless expression.
"Treat me? No, Old Qin, you clearly lost, so why should I treat you? You... you're playing word games and tricked me."
Wang Chen was stunned by Qin Zhan's words, then finally understood.
"Heh heh, I heard you developed a wine brewed with thirty-six kinds of herbs in the medicinal garden. You have to prepare a few barrels for your elder brother tonight, right?" Qin Zhan chuckled, putting an arm around Wang Chen's shoulder.
"As fellow humans, and as people from Hua Yi Nation, and as your superior, you wouldn't be so inconsiderate, would you?"
...
Wang Chen looked speechlessly at this former leader of Hua Yi Nation. The words he had intended to refuse were swallowed back down.
Damn it... Who was the blabbermouth who sold me out? They know about it even though I did it so secretly. Do they have to make me work this hard!
"You can drink, but His Majesty must not know. Otherwise, it's a small matter if my private use of herbs is discovered, but a major one if all the wine is stolen by him." Wang Chen could only reluctantly agree.
Little did they know that their entire conversation had been overheard by Ye Yun, whom Wang Chen had been trying so hard to guard against. When they returned to the Imperial Palace, the two jars of wine that had been placed in the time formation were replaced with two jars of water that had been stored for tens of thousands of years.