Chapter 269 - 159: Flying Sword (2)
The sword in the air paid them no mind. Only when they once again approached the death line did the sword transform back into ten thousand blades, instantly slaying the soldiers in that area.
Mei Yuan saw this and made his own judgment.
"They’re strong, certainly, but their strength has its limits. Have the soldiers in that sector loosen their formation. Redeploy troops to other fronts and press for a breakthrough."
"On this front, we’ll focus on tying them down. Just let it kill them."
The Northern Expedition Legion quickly adjusted its tactics.
However, when they launched major offensives on other fronts, Sword Immortals under Li Hua’s command appeared there as well.
The number of Sword Immortals in Li Hua’s territory had already surpassed 300. Unlike the demons in Lin Yu’s territory, the requirements to become a Sword Immortal were higher and the difficulty greater, but their strength was also superior.
The lowest rank for a Sword Immortal was Legendary. Through further cultivation, they could become Mythical, and it was said that with enough luck, they could even break through to Epic or Divine—a path to the heavens.
Besides the bodyguard of Mythical rank who was always by Li Hua’s side, Li Hua’s territory also had four other Mythical Sword Immortals. The 300-plus Legendary Sword Immortals could also form small squads and, through coordination, possess the combat strength to challenge a Mythical-rank opponent (at their current level).
Of course, this wasn’t Li Hua’s full strength. He had only dispatched his Mythical Sword Immortal bodyguard and 100 Legendary Sword Immortals, but that was more than enough to buy time.
These Sword Immortals were positioned across the entire front line. Flying swords weaved back and forth through the Northern Expedition Legion’s ranks, and with each pass, another of their soldiers died.
While clearing out the Northern Expedition soldiers who broke past the death line, these swords also had time to help the soldiers in the rear intercept aerial attacks, and they even cleared out some of the safe zones established by the Northern Expedition Legion.
As for the sword of the Mythical Sword Immortal who had acted first, it stopped toying around. It occasionally provided support to other fronts, only returning to its designated area to wipe out the Northern Expedition soldiers once they had amassed in sufficient numbers.
After all, this was a real battle. The Mythical Sword Immortal wasn’t some NPC who would only mind his own sector and ignore everything else.
"Damn it, how are there so many heroes? And they’re all the same type?"
On the observation platform of the Northern Expedition Legion’s Central Army Camp, Mei Yuan watched his army being suppressed by the flying swords and ground his teeth.
"My lord, what should we do? These heroes have never appeared before. Their energy reserves must be full."
"What should we do? Keep charging! Don’t stop! I want to see just how many they can kill!"
"They can’t possibly have the power to kill us all. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have waited until now to act. They would have flown over and wiped us out in one go long ago."
"Once they’re out of energy, we’ll see who’s stronger—us or them!"
...
The Northern Expedition Legion’s offensive momentum was thwarted, but they didn’t give up. They continued to assault the Sword Immortals’ defensive line, intending to exhaust their energy.
Unfortunately for them, these Sword Immortals were very different from heroes summoned with Scrolls.
The Sword Immortals possessed complete sets of Cultivation Techniques. In contrast, most summoned heroes could only use skills based on their own innate talents; the few who came with their own Techniques couldn’t pass them on to others.
To equip one’s heroes with complete sets of Cultivation Techniques, a lord typically had to unlock the Technology Tree in the third stage and then use it to research universal Techniques for their territory’s members.
Or, they could construct a special building, like the Sword Tower in Li Hua’s territory.
With Cultivation Techniques, their energy recovery rate was far higher than that of heroes without them. Furthermore, after using up some of their energy, these Sword Immortals had all consumed Spiritual Honey, making their energy recovery even faster.
Moreover, the Sword Immortals’ attack style was unique. Their attacks were incredibly precise, striking only their targets without hitting empty ground and causing needless waste. This consumed very little energy. The only drawback was that it was more mentally taxing, but that mental energy could also be recovered through their Cultivation Techniques.
As a result, the Sword Immortals’ sustained combat capability was off the charts.
After the Sword Immortals intervened, the Northern Expedition Legion’s assault continued for several hours. By the time the sun began to set, the Sword Immortals were still active on the battlefield.
On the Northern Expedition Legion’s side, Mei Yuan and the lords around him were like frost-bitten eggplants—limp and listless.
They sat in their chairs on the observation platform, staring blankly at the battlefield, silently praying for the moment the Sword Immortals would finally be exhausted.
"They’re retreating! Look, they’re retreating!!!"
Suddenly, the joyous shout of a lord snapped everyone to attention.
They fixed their gaze on the sky and saw the imperious flying swords all flying back in unison, ignoring the Northern Expedition Legion below.
"Finally! They’ve finally run out of energy."
"What are our casualties?"
"Reporting! Total casualties are currently 600,000. We have 5.5 million troops remaining."
"Our core forces are down to 2.5 million."
The aide-de-camp whispered this last part.
"Impressive. They killed 500,000 of our soldiers in a single afternoon. But it doesn’t matter. We still have plenty of troops!"
"Order everyone to intensify the attack!"
"Order..."
Mei Yuan’s eyes lit up. He leaped to his feet and rattled off a series of commands.
"My lord, it’s getting dark!" a trusted subordinate said worriedly.
"Dark? Dark is good! We won’t give them any time to rest and recover tonight. We will completely drain their energy."
"One of our units has already slipped behind their lines."
"Tomorrow, they’ll get the news. Combined with our harassment tactics tonight, they will definitely retreat."
Mei Yuan’s eyes were bloodshot as he spoke with resolute conviction.
Beside him, the Invisible Sentinel, Bess, watched everything coldly.
She interjected nonchalantly, "You still haven’t obtained the Space Stone. Without the Space Stone, you can’t build a Teleportation Array to return. Don’t screw this up."
"Don’t worry, Lady Bess. Tomorrow is the last day. Even if our offensive doesn’t go well, we can at least hold out until the end of tomorrow."
"I hope so. Luckily, those heroes who just fought can’t fly and have limited range. Otherwise, if they flew over here, they could have wiped us all out directly."
...
The soldiers of the Northern Expedition Legion also saw the flying swords retreat, and their rock-bottom morale instantly surged.
After receiving their orders, they once again pressed toward the death line.
This time, there were no attacks from the Immortal Swords. Instead, they were met by attacks from ranged units.
The energy of the first wave of the Sniper Corps’ ranged units, who had been on the flanking walls earlier in the day, had fully recovered. They took their positions on the walls again, striking at the Northern Expedition Legion’s assault troops.
The soldiers of the Northern Expedition Legion hesitated for a moment, but as long as it wasn’t a terrifying weapon like the flying swords, they were fearless.
The Northern Expedition Legion soldiers, who had been trudging forward in a deathly silent queue to be slaughtered by the flying swords, now let out mighty war cries. The sounds of battle once again echoed across the field.
The two sides were once again locked in a bloody exchange.
-----------------
Lin Kong looked at the Northern Expedition Legion on the battlefield, who showed no signs of wanting a truce, and shook his head.
’Looks like the assassin raid we prepared for tonight is off the table. The Northern Expedition Legion is posturing as if they’ll fight until dawn. They’re clearly trying to bully the Sniper Corps for their smaller numbers.’
The terrain of this pass restricted the Northern Expedition Legion’s deployment, preventing them from using their vast numbers to encircle the Sniper Corps directly. But it also restricted the Sniper Corps, making it impossible for them to circle around to other fronts and strategically harass the Northern Expedition Legion.
’What a waste of those prepared assassins. They won’t be of any use tonight.’
’With their fragile bodies, they’d probably die an obscure death amidst this overwhelming barrage of ranged attacks.’
After lamenting for a moment, a new message came through the Light Chain Communicator.
"Monkey, Monkey, this is Number One. Come in, over."
"Monkey copies. Go ahead."
"Descend the mountain immediately. Find an opportunity to pick the fruit."
"Understood."
It turned out that headquarters, having been briefed on the battlefield situation, had decided to act ahead of schedule.
If the Northern Expedition Legion were allowed to keep fighting like this, the Sniper Corps might really not be able to hold out.