Shells thundered.
Blades clashed.
The foot of Ancestral Spirit Mountain had become a slaughterhouse of flesh and blood. Thousands upon thousands from the two sides fought together, each breath bringing a flood of casualties as screams, howls, and roars merged into one.
"Kill!"
A dozen or more warriors of the Village of the Hazy Moon drew their weapons and swarmed a single man with murderous intent-the Black Tortoise Guard commander surnamed Li.
As a Lesser Celestial Circuit expert, Commander Li showed no fear of their encirclement. The steel saber in his hand spun like a top, its rapid slashes making the air hiss.
Clang, clang, clang!
Commander Li intercepted their attacks again and again with his steel saber. As their weapons collided in showers of sparks, his blade wheeled around and sent a head flying skyward.
There was not a trace of joy on Commander Li's face. Instead, his heart lurched as an enormous explosion suddenly erupted overhead, tearing through the sky like a thunderbolt out of the blue.
His ears rang. Then he felt a fierce gale press down, sending great swaths of dust and earth flying, along with fallen weapons and broken stones.
Commander Li felt disaster bearing down on him and instinctively hurled himself backward. He unleashed all his True Qi in that retreat, covering seventy feet in an instant. The dozen or so men behind him were knocked flying, their bones and sinews shattered.
Almost as he retreated, a black shadow descended from the sky, seeming to carry the weight of countless tons as it crashed into the ground like a meteor.
Rumble!
The ground shook. Within a hundred feet, the earth rose in waves like a tsunami, walls of mud curling upward. Exploding force became hundreds of fragmented arrows that shot outward, instantly riddling several