Long Xiaoyao was like a broken rag doll, with only a faint trace of Soul Power remaining to prove that he was still alive.
Both were exhausted and on the verge of death; they were too weak to fight, let alone move a finger.
They escaped the epicenter of the explosion, but were now completely free of the threat, leaving only endless pain and despair.
However, Xu Tianran's order had already been issued.
Dozens of Level 9 Soul Engineer, who were originally responsible for controlling the outer defense and monitoring, were also terrified by Toji and the horror of that explosion, but the emperor's strict orders and the duties of Soul Engineer forced them to bite the bullet and take action.
The piercing sound of the Soul Tool charging instantly resounded through the sky.
Thick beams of Soul Guidance Ray, each containing different Destruction properties, rained down from all directions towards the three targets: Toji, who stood tall in the air, and Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, who were on the verge of death in the ruins.
Furthermore, several powerful high-altitude suppression Soul Tool Turret began to condense Destruction beams of light capable of piercing through mountains.
Faced with this terrifying concentrated fire that could instantly destroy an entire Soul Engineer legion, Toji didn't even bother to lift an eyelid.
"Hmph, the noise of ants."
A cold snort, like a chilling wind from the depths of hell sweeping across the battlefield.
In Toji Teleportation, he appeared before the Soul Engineer, his greatsword transforming into a dark red storm of death.
The blade's gleam was no longer the ferocious and domineering force it displayed during its previous duel with Long Xiaoyao; instead, it was now imbued with precision, efficiency, and extreme cruelty.
The dark red blade light, like a venomous snake with Life, darted and slashed through the void.
Each strike precisely targets the weakest point of the Soul Guidance Ray, where its energy structure is most unstable.
Those powerful rays, capable of melting gold and iron and freezing space, shattered and annihilated like fragile glass the moment they came into contact with the dark red blade's light.
Even the aftershocks of the explosion were forcibly swallowed and suppressed by that fierce blade energy!
A Level 9 Soul Engineer was trying to approach and launch a sneak attack with a melee Soul Tool felt a flash of dark red light before his eyes, and his proud level nine melee Soul Tool Armor, along with his arms holding the weapon, instantly left his body.
He didn't even feel the pain before his vision was plunged into eternal darkness, his head pierced by a cunning blade of energy.
Another Soul Engineer, controlling a heavy cannon, watched helplessly as his Destruction beam, imbued with all his Soul Power, was fired, only to be precisely cleaved in two by a dark red blade of light that flowed upwards.
The light beams scattered to both sides like bamboo being sliced open, while the blade's momentum didn't diminish, instantly slicing through his body. He looked down and saw that his lower body was still in place, but his upper body had already slid off... his internal organs spraying out.
Screams, explosions, the sound of metal tearing apart, the muffled thuds of flesh being slashed... all intertwined in an instant into a bloody symphony of death.
Toji's figure moved through the dense soul-guided attacks as if they were nothing.
He didn't fight head-on; instead, with an incomprehensible combat instinct and speed beyond his limits, he moved and advanced through the gaps in the attacks.
Each swing of the blade inevitably takes the Life of one or even several Level 9 Soul Engineer.
Severed limbs and remains rained down from the sky, and blood stained the Mingdu palace walls and scorched ground of Mingdu. He was like an efficient, ruthless, ultimate machine born solely for killing, leaving behind only a vacuum of death and fear in his wake.
The attacks aimed at Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao were also not spared.
Any Soul Guidance Ray that approached the ruins were precisely intercepted and annihilated by the aftershocks of Toji's casually swung sword.
He seemed to have deliberately spared their lives, leaving them to await their final judgment in pain and despair, or perhaps... he simply found crushing dying insects utterly unpleasant.
Xu Tianran watched helplessly as his most elite Level 9 Soul Engineer group was easily harvested like straw.
With every breath, his trusted confidants, whom he had nurtured with countless resources, fell from grace.
That dark red figure, like a grim reaper, was treading a blood-soaked path paved with the corpses of the empire's top experts, relentlessly approaching the sky where he stood.
Fear, an unprecedented, chilling fear, like millions of venomous insects, instantly gnawed at Xu Tianran's marrow and soul.
All his calculations, all his trump cards, all his imperial majesty, became laughable and fragile soap bubbles in the face of that man's absolute power.
He wanted to escape, so Xu Tianran frantically activated the top-tier Flying Soul Tool under his seat, pushing the speed to the limit, and fled desperately towards the inner city of Mingdu, where the defenses were the most stringent.
All imperial majesty and dominance over the entire territory were utterly crushed by the instinct for survival.
He just wanted to get away from that devil.
However, compared to Toji, his speed was as slow as a tortoise crawl.
Almost the instant Xu Tianran activated the Soul Tool, Toji's figure disappeared.
The next moment, a dark red blade of light that tore through space appeared directly in front of Xu Tianran as if by Teleportation.
"No--!!!"
Xu Tianran let out a desperate roar, recklessly pouring his Soul Power into the shield of his Flying Soul Tool, while simultaneously wielding the Emperor's Scepter in his hand in an attempt to block.
"Clang!"
With a crisp crack, the level-nine soul-guiding gem embedded at the top of the scepter, along with half of the scepter itself, was easily severed like rotten wood.
The Flying Soul Tool instantly erupted with blinding energy sparks, and the shield shattered like paper.
Xu Tianran felt an irresistible force slam into his chest, as if he had been hit by a battering ram, and was blasted away from the Soul Tool, spitting out blood.
He crashed heavily onto the relatively intact glazed tile roof of a palace below, his magnificent dragon robe shattered, countless bones broken, and he was in a sorry state.
He struggled to get up, but a foot wearing an ordinary cloth boot had already silently stepped on his chest.
The force wasn't great, yet it seemed to contain the weight of a mountain, pinning him firmly to the cold tiles, rendering him unable to move even a finger. The chilling killing intent, like tangible needles, pierced every inch of his skin, freezing his blood and mind.
He looked up in horror.
Toji's figure blocked the light from the sky, standing against the light, his tall figure like a demon god descending.
He leaned forward slightly, and his angular, wildly untamed face was clearly reflected in Xu Tianran's pupils, which were dilated with fear.
A chilling smile curved his lips, devoid of mockery, revealing only an indifference towards lifeless things.
Hello, Xu Tianran.
Toji's voice was deep and calm, yet more chilling than any roar, clearly reaching Xu Tianran's ears and seemingly echoing throughout the deathly silent Mingdu.
Do you remember what I said?
Xu Tianran's throat gurgled; the immense fear almost rendered him speechless.