Chapter 326: Wipe Out the Cai State in One Go

In the very center of the battlefield, a brutal one-sided massacre was underway. Luo Guanjie, the grand marshal of Cai State, clenched his teeth and ordered the hundreds of thousands of elite troops flying in the sky to launch an attack. Yet reality was always so despairing.

Just as Cai State launched its final attack, Yan Zhengqing issued the ultimate order: the Ten Thousand Sword Formation activated.

Back then, Jin Kingdom’s Grand Marshal Li Lisong had used over ten thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators and over ten thousand flying swords of magical artifact grade to form a Ten Thousand Sword Formation that swept through several miles in one breath, slaughtering over ten thousand elite soldiers of Anyang.

Now, Anyang had similarly deployed over ten thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators for the formation, but the weapons used had upgraded from magical artifacts to spiritual treasures. Over ten thousand flying swords of spiritual treasure grade soared into the air—what a sight that was!

With a dragon’s roar, divine light burst skyward; the chilling sword aura shredded the white clouds in the sky.

Magical artifacts could only unleash about fifty percent of a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s power; spiritual treasures, however, could amplify it to around twice that level. And that didn’t even account for the offensive capabilities of the treasures themselves.

A sword dragon bathed in divine radiance roared into the sky. Composed entirely of flying swords and sword aura, the divine dragon had barely appeared when the formation on Anyang’s Great Wall started trembling, seemingly unable to withstand the dragon’s pressure. The elites of Anyang surrounding the formation were even forced to retreat step by step under its overwhelming force.

“At least the power of a half-step Nascent Soul stage expert!” exclaimed one of the Nascent Soul cultivators stationed at Anyang’s border defense, turning in astonishment.

At that moment, the sword dragon let out a sky-shaking roar and suddenly shot forward like a dragon leaping from the sea, gracefully weaving its way toward the hundreds of thousands of elite Cai State troops in the sky. It looked elegant, but its momentum was terrifying.

Even before the sword dragon reached them, many of Cai State’s Qi Refining elites had already gone pale and trembled violently. Soon, many who could barely maintain flight through magic plummeted from the sky; by the time the dragon arrived, thousands had already fallen.

Those who fell were the lucky ones. Those who didn’t were swept into the sword dragon.

As soon as the elegant sword dragon entered Cai State’s army, hundreds of soldiers instantly turned into blood mist. The dragon twisted and flicked its tail as if stretching its body, and each movement caused hundreds or thousands more to shatter like bubbles. Whether Foundation Establishment or Golden Core stage, none could withstand a single blow from the sword dragon formed by the Ten Thousand Sword Formation.

Like an iron rod smashing into eggs, the dragon swam gracefully while waves of red rolled around it. In an instant, the dragon had circled once, and within a three-to-five-hundred-zhang radius, nearly thirty thousand elite Cai State soldiers, both in the sky and on the ground, vanished like foam under the scorching sun.

All that remained was a thick cloud of rolling blood mist, covering six to seven hundred zhang and still spreading rapidly. A nauseatingly sweet stench permeated the air, mixed with the burnt odor from incendiary bombs, turning the battlefield into a living hell.

Even many seasoned veterans couldn’t bear to witness such carnage. Soldiers from both Anyang and Cai State hunched over, unable to face the gruesome sight. The battlefield was truly humanity’s closest creation to hell.

And yet, the war was not over. The soldiers of Cai State had no way out, and Anyang had no intention of stopping the slaughter. To kill the chicken to scare the monkey, one must not be soft. Shells continued to fall; machine guns and cannons kept reaping lives. Another wave of 600 to 700 propeller planes reappeared in the sky.

But this time, they weren’t dropping incendiary bombs—they were dumping barrels of fuel. Incendiary bombs were too expensive. With fire already raging across the battlefield, fuel achieved similar effects at a much lower cost.

Barrels of fuel dropped. Many were hit mid-air by cannons, exploding and igniting into flames—the only color and sound left on the battlefield. Those that landed intact shattered on impact, fuel splashing, flames spreading.

Magic could extinguish fire, but manpower was finite. Exhausted from continuous fighting and firefighting, many Cai State soldiers finally succumbed to the flames—screams of agony and despair so intense they drowned out the explosions.

Overhead, the sword dragon formed by the Ten Thousand Sword Formation began its second sweep. Though smaller due to energy consumption, it was still overwhelmingly powerful. The power of a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator was still far beyond what ordinary soldiers could withstand. Wherever the sword dragon passed, blood mist exploded.

Hot on its tail, Anyang’s elites followed to slaughter the remaining forces. Of the hundred thousand or more elites who had tried to fly past Anyang’s defense line, within just two quarters of an hour, only about thirty thousand remained—disoriented and broken in spirit. They tried to flee through the sky, but thousands of mercenaries and adventurers had been lying in wait around the battlefield.

Well-rested and well-prepared, these mercenaries left the fleeing soldiers with almost no escape. Of course, with tens of thousands trying to run, some were bound to get away, but the lucky few were negligible.

In less than half an hour, the air again rang with the roar of supersonic and subsonic aircraft. A dozen resupply planes began another wave of “carpet bombing.”

Luo Guanjie’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. The entire nature of warfare had changed. Cai State’s 500,000-strong army was collapsing. Anyang’s front lines stood like eternal blue stone, unshakable. Cai State’s attacks were like waves, crashing again and again, only to shatter against the stone.

Wave after wave of attacks followed, but the number of soldiers dwindled. In such a war, there was no such thing as tactics—only consumption. Consumption of supplies, consumption of lives.

After the second sweep, the Ten Thousand Sword Formation paused briefly—then began a third attack.

“It can attack three times?!” Luo Guanjie watched in horror as the elegant sword dragon swept across his ranks again, a bloody tide in its wake. His heart turned cold. Anyang… had become this powerful? Under the sword formation’s slaughter, Golden Core cultivators were no different from eggs. Two of Cai State’s Nascent Soul experts tried to intercept—only to be swatted away by the dragon’s tail.

Just one strike nearly killed them. Their bodies crisscrossed with wounds like mesh, and even their powerful souls were pierced. After just one encounter, they had no choice but to flee.

Again, the sky thundered as more supersonic and subsonic aircraft flew past. Each pass brought unspeakable slaughter. Hundreds of propeller planes followed, dumping fuel barrels. Explosions and flames erupted as the exhausted Cai State soldiers could no longer douse the fire.

Screams of despair filled the air. The killing intent and hopelessness rose to the heavens, casting a shadow over the battlefield. But the one-sided slaughter wasn’t over. The horror continued.

The battlefield had turned into a sea of fire. Fuel barrels rained down constantly, each one erupting into towering flames. No survivors—no mercy. Li Xian was tired of endless, ruthless war. Prolonged conflict would wear Anyang down. To avoid that and buy time for development, Anyang had to terrify all its enemies. When people spoke of Anyang, they must do so with heartfelt dread!

Less than two hours into the battle, it had become a one-sided massacre. Cai State’s 500,000 troops had collapsed in the flames. The elites and experts capable of aerial combat had been nearly wiped out.

The propeller planes, like tireless ants, kept delivering more barrels of fuel. Fires exploded and shot dozens of meters into the air. Even with formations for protection, the soldiers on Anyang’s Great Wall could feel the heat.

Some soldiers vomited, unable to stomach the hellish slaughter before them. But the seasoned, resolute veterans of Anyang stood silently, watching the flames. They knew war was killing—kill the enemy or be killed. Showing mercy to the enemy was foolishness.

Still, the scene was beyond brutal.

Even so, the deaths spurred some Cai State soldiers to fight for survival. Tens of thousands regrouped and tried to break out from the rear. If they couldn’t attack forward, they’d retreat. Perhaps they could cut a path through.

Unfortunately, at that moment, Yan Zhengqing became the coldest executioner. Against those attempting a breakout, he immediately deployed supersonic and subsonic aircraft to begin a ruthless slaughter.

Anyang’s word had always been reliable—at least so far. Politically may be different, but in military and commercial matters, Anyang had always been exemplary.

This massacre was no exception. Standard industrialized killing. Standard mechanized warfare. Human life was minuscule in the face of machines. Even Nascent Soul cultivators could be ground down by the engines of war. Besides, Anyang had its own Nascent Soul cultivators!

Five of them, along with over 500 Golden Core cultivators, flew at 300 meters altitude using flying spiritual treasures. Covered in powerful gear, they patrolled the sky. Any enemy general or expert organizing troops would be beheaded on sight.

For miles, the area had become a sea of fire. Even at 300 meters, the heat was unbearable. But protected by spiritual treasures, Anyang’s elites were unfazed. If they exhausted their energy, they had pills and liquid spiritual energy.

Beyond that, tens of thousands of adventurers had come to reap “points and merit.” Nearly all surviving Cai State soldiers were slaughtered by adventurers and mercenary groups.

When it came to killing, cultivators were very desensitized—especially when it was profitable and morally justified. Cai State was the aggressor—no doubt about it. So, the adventurers and mercenaries killed without guilt. Especially the locals of Anyang, particularly merchants, who harbored hatred for the invaders.

War had affected their business—an unforgivable sin. In the cultivation world, the three greatest hates: the murder of father or son, the theft of a wife or destiny, and the severing of one’s income.

Thus, mercenary groups backed by merchant guilds showed no mercy to fleeing Cai State soldiers. Surrender? Sorry. The Wise King had already declared: no survivors!

Atop the Great Wall of Anyang’s border, Yan Zhengqing saw the near-total destruction of Cai State’s 500,000-strong force and was struck by a bold idea: Should we take this chance… and destroy Cai State in one blow?