Chapter 418: The Whole City at War

Two hundred Xihai veteran soldiers arranged themselves in a formation of five columns and forty rows. Their eyes were sharp and filled with anticipation, and the blood that had settled in their bodies for years boiled once more.

At this moment, everyone thought of their youth—their first time entering the barracks, spirited and vibrant, in the prime of their lives. They recalled the exhilarating battles of the past, slaying endless demons and monsters.

Now, they once again shouldered a heavy responsibility, prepared to fight their final battle in the twilight of their lives.

The remaining six hundred Xihai veteran soldiers were divided into thirty groups. Li Weiyi distributed thirty copies of the intelligence information and quickly assigned tasks to each group, asking, "The furthest yamen is eighty li from here. How long will it take to deliver the message?"

"If I can't deliver it in seven and a half minutes, take my head," said an old veteran.

A centenarian veteran from the Seventh Layer of the Dao Seed Realm stepped forward.

"I don't need seven and a half minutes; I can get there faster. Within a quarter-hour, all soldiers from that yamen will be assembled and dispatched. Anyone who dares to delay in battle, I'll personally see to his demise."

This was an old veteran of the Mutated Human species from the Ninth Layer of the Dao Seed Realm, formerly the Scout Commander of the Xihai veterans. He had repeatedly ventured deep into the Far West Ashlands for reconnaissance and had retired over a decade ago due to an injury to his Qi Sea. His movement speed was unmatched among those present.

Li Weiyi entrusted the task of delivering the message to the furthest yamen to this former Scout Commander. Then, looking at everyone else, he declared, "Speed is paramount in war. In today's battle, we must race against the enemy and against time. We must deliver a head-on blow before they can fully react."

"The enemies are martial arts masters; their reaction speed to crises is very quick. If the battle doesn't ignite across the entire city within a quarter-hour, it will be a disgrace to the Xihai veterans."

"Whether the enemy is passive or we are passive in this battle depends on you!"

"The confrontation between Transcendent beings and Grandmasters requires the support of the city's formations, which could be destroyed by the enemy at any moment. Your actions will determine whether you can quickly control the situation in the city and allow the formations to play their proper role!"

"The enemy might react midway and intercept you, so you must adapt on the fly and break into smaller groups. In short, you must complete your mission no matter what."

"Additionally, after purging the internal traitors, you must fill the gaps in the formation's defenses. Can you do it?"

The captains of the thirty veteran groups, their eyes burning with fire, declared, "There are no Xihai veterans who cannot complete their mission!"

Li Weiyi roared. "Tell all yamens that this is the decree of the Third Palace Master and Grand Historian. Life and death hang in the balance; there is no time to lose. Depart!"

Old Zhuang, one of the captains, met Li Weiyi's gaze. Li Weiyi nodded to him. Old Zhuang's entire body's arcane energy began to circulate; even with his lame leg, he moved with remarkable speed. He and the other Xihai veterans transformed into streams of human figures, swiftly darting through the crisscrossing alleyways.

Li Weiyi looked at Xingyuen, who understood instantly. The two secretly activated the Governor's official robes they wore.

A li away, the four Bloodprint Knights of the Dark Knight Legion were all puzzled, seeing that this group of veterans did not seem to be rushing to the Western Border immediately.

"What are they doing? They're actually distributing pamphlets," remarked a Bloodprint Knight, over five meters tall and with a pair of black feathered wings, sensing that something was amiss. But that area was enveloped by a psychic force field, preventing anyone from discerning their conversation. They could only feel that these crippled old bones suddenly radiated a strong killing intent.

Another Pure Immortal Body Bloodprint Knight commented, "Interesting. They actually drew out two hundred old soldiers and formed a battle array to face us. These past few days since we entered the city, many Lingxiao martial cultivators have foolishly tried to provoke us. Could it be that they also want to test the sharpness of our spears?"

"Something's very wrong," said the third Bloodprint Knight. "They've started moving, heading in different directions. No good! Those two hundred old soldiers have formed a battle array, and their battle intent is incredibly strong... All Dark Knight Legion members, listen up! Form battle arrays and prepare for combat!"

Even if the third Bloodprint Knight couldn't believe these veterans would dare to actively charge them, the moment the enemy's killing intent surged, he immediately ordered his forces to meet them. It's important to know that between two armies of equal strength, there's a world of difference in power between one that forms a battle array and one that doesn't. The former acts as a single entity, while the latter is a disorganized mess. That difference is like an army with high morale pursuing a routed one: a hundred thousand routed soldiers cannot stand against eight hundred elite "Tiger" soldiers.

"Roar! Roar! Roar..."

The two hundred Xihai veteran soldiers roared like wild beasts. The moment they raised their horse-slaying blades with both hands, all the blade tips aligned in a perfectly straight line, in harmony with the laws of Heaven. Everyone's Dao Heart Manifestation, essence, qi, spirit, and battle intent merged into one, forming a giant resembling the "King of Xihai," tens of zhang tall.

"Whoosh!"

From their armor and the horse-slaying blades in their hands, countless formation runes and scriptures flew out. The formation runes transformed into a three-li diameter formation plate, covering the sky and the earth, turning the space into a crucible that enveloped the Dark Knight Legion. The scriptures flew towards the "King of Xihai," transforming into scales on its armor.

Black flags fluttered, hurricanes enveloped several li of land, and the clang of weapons and thunder of war drums resounded. Sandstorms, clouds of mist, and images of thousands of horses and soldiers—various projections of battle intent—manifested in this realm. At this moment, even a Grandmaster of the Longevity Realm could be cut down with a single stroke.

The Dark Knight Legion naturally also had battle arrays, and they were top elites. In terms of individual combat strength, they even surpassed the Xihai veteran soldiers. But they were too arrogant and never imagined that an army from Lingxiao would suddenly unleash such powerful killing intent, as if to utterly annihilate them.

The moment the four Bloodprint Knights sensed danger, Li Weiyi and Xingyuen activated their Governor's official robes and performed spatial leaps.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two purple mist light clusters appeared within the Dark Knight Legion's formation. The two emerged from the purple mist clusters, releasing their Dao Heart Manifestations, which formed two explosive waves of energy, sending several nearby Dark Knights flying. Then, Li Weiyi and Xingyuen, wielding their combat weapons, launched a frenzied assault. Their goal was to cause as much chaos as possible and delay the Dark Knights from forming their battle array.

The Bloodprint Knight of the black-feathered Mutated Human species, over five meters tall, reacted in an instant. Leaping from the back of the Bone Giant, he hurled a spear at Xingyuen and unleashed a palm strike through the air at Li Weiyi. All four Bloodprint Knights were at the Ninth Layer of the Dao Seed Realm. The Bloodprint Knight was still twenty zhang away, but his mental energy had completely locked onto Li Weiyi. The handprint he unleashed was blood-red, like a burning sun, capable of leveling mountaintops.

"Roar!"

Li Weiyi's official robe emitted a dragon's roar. A misty giant dragon flew from his chest and collided with the incoming bloodprint. Last night, his Wind Mansion Dragon Seed had broken through from the peak of the Fourth Layer of the Dao Seed Realm to the Fifth Layer, and the dragon soul power he could command was significantly stronger than when he fought Xie Chucai.

"Boom!"

The dragon soul was shattered inch by inch by the bloodprint. The power contained within the bloodprint rapidly diminished, and its light grew dim.

"Combat!"

Li Weiyi manifested a Golden Crow Flame Armor, combining internal martial arts with external spiritual power. The two powers combined as he unleashed a palm strike, clashing with the incoming bloodprint, and his body violently recoiled. The radiating energy wave knocked three riders off their mounts. Li Weiyi retreated several zhang away, stabilizing himself without changing his expression. He looked at the infuriated Bloodprint Knight approaching him and said, "Now!"

"Whoosh!"

He activated his Governor's official robe, transforming into a purple mist light cluster, and vanished from his spot as spears pierced through where he had been. On the other side, Xingyuen used the Governor's official seal to block the spear thrown by the Bloodprint Knight. She then took a step back and used spatial evasion to leave.

The Bloodprint Knights arrived at the spot where Li Weiyi had just stood. "It's him!" they exclaimed. From the opponent's recent performance, it was clearly the Lingxiao prodigy who had defeated Xie Chucai at the Six Meditations Zen Monastery, a person he had heard many descriptions of. A person the Dark Knight Legion was determined to kill. What shocked the Bloodprint Knight was how a Six-Star Spirit Mind Master, with limited martial cultivation, could have withstood his palm strike.

He wanted to pursue, but brilliant blade light appeared above his head.

"Whoosh!"

The two hundred Xihai veteran soldiers, with perfect synchronicity, unleashed the Horse-Splitting Slash. They had practiced this slash for a century. The formation, the people, and the blades had long become one. Blade intent and blade energy overlapped, erupting from the hands of the tens of zhang tall "King of Xihai" and transforming into a bright river of blades, two to three li long.

The buildings on both sides of the alleyway erupted with "bang, bang" sounds. The defensive formations within Danyue Square were activated one by one. The Dark Knight Legion's battle array had only partially coalesced; the formation plate was only rudimentary, and there was a slight internal disarray. A ghostly white bone giant, with dishevelled hair, had only just begun to rise from their battle array.

"Boom!"

The one-li long street between the two armies exploded, creating a deep gully and sending rubble flying everywhere.

"Xihai! Xihai!"

The battle array rapidly advanced, unleashing a second slash.

"Xihai! Xihai!"

A third, a fourth slash... When the seventh slash fell, the Dark Knight Legion's battle array completely shattered. In the blade light, twenty to thirty knights screamed instantly; some were severed in two, some had limbs flying, and blood gushed like a waterfall. The Bloodprint Knight of the Mutated Human species, who was at the Ninth Layer of the Dao Seed Realm, was struck by a single slash, his armor shattering and his body turning into a bloody pulp.

With their battle array broken, it became a one-sided slaughter. The Xihai veteran soldiers' battle formation plate covered an area of three li, making it no easy feat to escape from the formation's reach.

The remaining three Bloodprint Knights, with tenacious wills, shouted, "Don't let your battle intent collapse!" The three brought out three Thousand-Character Artifacts—a battle flag, a war drum, and a war hammer—and with the combined efforts of all the Dark Knight Legion's martial cultivators, they continued to resist the veterans' battle array. If they routed, they would only die faster. If they could hold out for some time, the Transcendent beings of the Sacred Dark Family would surely detect the sudden crisis here and come to their rescue. It was utterly incomprehensible how they had suddenly unleashed such a massacre. Were these Lingxiao veterans mad?

Martial cultivators, merchants, courtesans, and officials living near Danyue Square—everyone was awakened from their sleep and looked towards the two armies battling on the hundred-zhang wide alleyway.

"These Dark Knights from outside the realm have been lording over us and acting superior since entering the city," someone said. "Finally, someone can deal with them."

"It has to be the world's finest iron army, the Xihai veterans!"

"These old veterans are slaughtering like this. Aren't they afraid of retaliation from the Demon Kingdom and the Sacred Dark Family?" another wondered. "There must be powerful figures scheming behind them; this will surely cause quite a stir. Ah, it's a bit radical. Who knows if it's a blessing or a curse."

"What's going on? The Square Formation and the Inner Formation are all activated!"

"The city's great defensive array has also activated, not just three layers, but all nine layers!" another exclaimed. "All nine layers of formations activated—this hasn't happened in a thousand years. What major event has occurred?"

"Only a Sage Spirit Royal Mind Master personally overseeing it can activate all nine layers of the great array," a knowledgeable person stated.

While Li Weiyi and the eight hundred veterans were acting, the same was happening at the City Defense Camp. Both sides acted simultaneously to ensure absolute success. Last night, several direct line Grandmasters of the Taishi family, including Taishi Qingshi and Liang Chu, personally took action and quietly cleared out the most critical positions within the City Defense Camp.

"All soldiers, listen to my command!" Liang Chu, a disciple of the Grand Historian, donned his armor and declared, "Follow me to Luantai Shaoqing Mansion to suppress the cult Grandmaster Yao Qian!" He then led an army forth with great momentum.

"Our mission is to seize the nine Earth Vein Towers in the South City as quickly as possible, establish defenses, and stabilize order in the South City," announced another leader. Taishi Bai addressed all the retainers of the Taishi family, then mounted his exotic beast and dashed out like lightning.