The Martial Saint Iron Wall knelt on one knee, the Fallen Star Sword deeply embedded in the ground, supporting his swaying body. Blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth, leaving dark red marks on the scorched earth.
"Grown ups!"
A guard stumbled forward, only to be stopped by the Martial Saint Wind Chaser.
"Don't go over there! That sword has already started to backfire!"
The Martial Saint Heaven Burner was covered in blood, his right arm hanging limply at his side, yet he still stared intently at the center of the battlefield.
There, the Martial Saint Iron Wall's body was visibly withering away, while the light of the Fallen Star Sword grew ever brighter.
"Go... take the rest of you... and retreat..."
Martial Saint Iron Wall's voice was like sandpaper being rubbed, hoarse beyond recognition. Before he could finish the last word, his body began to convulse violently.
The runes on the Fallen Star Sword flickered wildly, greedily devouring their master's life force like a ravenous beast.
"No!!!"
The Martial Saint Wind Chaser's eyes were bloodshot, but he could only watch helplessly as his colleague turned into a dried-up corpse and finally collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The eerie black sword remained silently planted in its place, emitting an ominous glow.
"Retreat! All troops retreat!"
The roar of the Martial Saint Heaven Burner resounded across the battlefield.
The surviving imperial soldiers, as if granted a pardon, fled into the city, abandoning their armor and weapons.
The intelligent puppets did not pursue, but stood silently in formation, surrounding the black sword, their silver-gray shells gleaming coldly in the setting sun.
On the hill, Tsunade frowned slightly upon seeing this scene.
That sword...
"He's alive," Hatake Sakumo said in a deep voice.
Jiraiya stroked his chin and said, "It seems the Heavenly Martial Empire is hiding quite a few secrets."
The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden change occurred!
The Fallen Star Sword suddenly trembled violently, and the runes on its blade wriggled as if they were alive.
A jet-black beam of energy shot into the sky.
The sky seemed to be torn apart, the clouds churned, and a suffocating sense of oppression enveloped the battlefield.
"Alert!"
The intelligent puppets quickly retreated, simultaneously deploying a defensive formation.
However, some of the puppets' outer shells began to corrode and disintegrate after coming into contact with that energy.
"That sword is releasing some kind of corrosive Chakra!"
Tsunade frowned and immediately ordered, "All puppets, retreat to a safe distance to avoid being corrupted!"
"Let me do it."
Minato Namikaze took a step forward, his golden hair fluttering slightly in the energy storm.
The setting sun cast long shadows across the battlefield, tinging the silver-gray intelligent puppets with a blood-red hue.
Minato Namikaze suddenly vanished from his spot, a Yellow Flash streaking across the charred battlefield like a meteor.
When he reappeared, he was standing three meters in front of the eerie black sword, with scorched earth torn apart by an energy storm beneath his feet.
Swish Swish Swish--
Three specially made Kunai the air and embedded themselves into the ground around the black sword in a triangular formation.
The Kunai- like incantation glowed with a ghostly blue light the moment it touched the ground, creating a stark contrast with the writhing black runes on the sword's surface.
Minato Namikaze's slender fingers rapidly Hand Seals, and a pale blue Chakra aura emanated from his body.
This is a sealing system that has been improved by the Shinobi Alliance over many years.
It combines the Sealing Jutsu techniques of the Uzumaki Clan, Orochimaru's biotechnology, and energy field control theory.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, personally participated in the design, ultimately creating the battle system best suited to him.
Just then, complex sealing runes began to appear in the air.
These runes are not traditional single spells, but rather a complex sealing matrix with layers stacked on top of each other.
" Fire Sealing Method: Flame Seal!"
As the first seal was applied, the air around the black sword suddenly froze, and the surging black energy became still as if frozen.
Immediately afterwards, Minato Namikaze changed his fingers and formed a second hand seal.
" Four Symbols Seal!"
Four blue beams of light rose from the ground, forming a cubic barrier that completely enveloped the black sword.
The black sword began to tremble violently, its blade emitting a piercing buzzing sound.
However, Minato Namikaze did not pause at all; his hands had already completed the Hand Seals for the third technique.
" Eight Trigrams Seal!"
Eight golden chains emerged from the void, coiling around the outer edge of the Four Symbols Barrier as if they were living things.
The chains were covered with intricate sealing runes, each rune shimmering with a faint light, echoing each other to create an even stronger suppressive force.
With the completion of the triple seal, the energy storm on the battlefield began to weaken.
The previously rampant black energy was firmly imprisoned within the barrier, like a wild beast locked in a cage.
Minato Namikaze didn't stop; his fingers continued to change, forming the fourth hand seal.
" Five Elements Seal!"
When the final seal was completed, the entire battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
The sword's light completely dimmed, eventually transforming into an ordinary black iron longsword, which lay quietly in the ground, without any further trace of its sinister aura.
Minato Namikaze a long sigh, cautiously stepped forward, and pulled the black sword from the ground. Sealing runes flowed across the blade, gleaming faintly in the setting sun.
"It's a success?" Tsunade looked into the distance, her brows slightly relaxed.
When Minato Namikaze returned, Jiraiya stepped forward, examining the sealed black sword with awe.
"What exactly is this thing? It can actually devour Chakra and life force; it's really weird."
"I don't know, but its power is extraordinary," Minato said in a deep voice. "It needs to be brought back to the Shinobi Alliance for further research."
Hatake Sakumo stared intently at the black sword, his expression grave. "If there's more than one weapon like this..."
Tsunade scoffed, "That means there might be something even more dangerous lurking behind the Heavenly Martial Empire."
As she spoke, she turned and looked coldly at the dilapidated Dragon-Locking Pass in the distance.
On the city wall, the Martial Saint Wind Chaser gazed at the silver-gray sea of steel outside the city, his throat tightening.
Two thousand intelligent puppets regrouped, their metallic shells gleaming coldly in the setting sun, as if the fierce battle that had just taken place had had no effect on them.
Are you kidding me...?
The Third Knight Order were completely wiped out, and the garrison suffered 70% casualties, yet they only managed to kill less than a thousand, most of whom were killed by Martial Saint Iron Wall using Fallen Star.
Beneath the city wall, the last group of fleeing taxi soldiers were desperately squeezing through the city gate. They were disarmed and their eyes were glazed over; some were even too frightened to hold their weapons steady.
These once proud imperial warriors are now like lambs being chased by a pack of wolves.
The Martial Saint Heaven Burner gripped the battlements tightly with his one arm, watching helplessly as the silver-gray monsters slightly bent their knees beneath the city walls.
"Prepare to engage the enemy!"
His roar was immediately drowned out by the roar of metal clashing.
Two thousand intelligent puppets jumped simultaneously.
Their Swift Release Kekkei grants them movements so fast they become a blur of silver afterimages, and their mechanically modified joints unleash terrifying jumping power.
For them, the 30-meter-high city wall was nothing more than a simple step.
When the first wave of puppets landed on the city wall, the defenders didn't even have time to raise their weapons.
"Pfft!!!"
The sounds of bone blades popping out were continuous.
The front-line defenders only saw a flash of silver light before their bodies were pierced by the stark white bone blades. Blood splattered onto the city bricks, and before it could even flow, they were trampled into a bloody pulp by the puppets that leaped up after them.
"Form ranks! Form ranks!"
The Martial Saint Wind Chaser wielded his twin blades in a whirlwind, barely managing to cleave through two attacking puppets, but more silver figures swept past him from both sides, rushing towards the panicked defenders within the city.
He discovered with despair that these steel monsters were far more terrifying than described in the intelligence.
Their Swift Release makes them so fast they are invisible to the naked eye, while their Shikotsumyaku grants them terrifying melee capabilities.
Even more deadly is that they are tireless.
A puppet, its Chakra core pierced through its chest by a spear, sprang out a bone spur from its elbow before being destroyed, simultaneously piercing through three spearmen.
The other puppet, with all four limbs severed, used a bone whip that suddenly sprang out from its spine to cut all the guards within a five-meter radius in half at the waist.
The defenses on the city walls have collapsed.
The surviving defenders were harvested like wheat, and a silvery-gray wave was spreading along the horse trails into the city.
These puppets were incredibly efficient at killing, operating in groups of three to five, their coordination as seamless as a single unit.
Two puppets blocked the soldiers' retreat with bone blades, a third attacked from behind, and a fourth finished them off.
This tactical coordination created a perfect killing chain on the narrow city walls, and the corpses of the defenders quickly filled the crenellations.
"My lord! The city gates have fallen!"
The messenger, his face covered in blood, had barely finished shouting when he was suddenly impaled on the flagpole by a bone spike.
The Martial Saint Wind Chaser suddenly felt dizzy.
It's over!
Dragon-Locking Pass is truly doomed!
So far, only one Martial Saint from the opposing forces has appeared, and he sealed the Fallen Star Sword with a single move. The remaining four or five have made no move.
This is just one of the many fronts on which the Shinobi Alliance is attacking the Empire.
"Third team! Block the breach!"
The only response to the Martial Saint Heaven Burner was a chorus of screams.
A silver-gray figure rampaged across the city wall. A soldier had just raised his spear when a bone blade suddenly shot out and pierced his throat.
Before the other archer could even nock an arrow, he was pierced by all three puppets simultaneously.
The Martial Saint Wind Chaser's twin blades had already been chipped.
He leaned against the Heaven Burner, watching as yet another squad of soldiers was torn apart by bone blades.
The puppets moved incredibly fast, and even more terrifyingly, they were mimicking the defensive forces' tactical maneuvers.
"They're learning... damn it, they're stealing our sword techniques!"
Suddenly, a puppet unleashed the signature thrust of the Martial Saint Wind Chaser, its bone blade piercing precisely through an officer's throat.
Moreover, these techniques, once used, are immediately transmitted to other puppets through some unknown means.
The Fiery Fist of the Martial Saint Heaven Burner shattered the head of a puppet, but immediately three more puppets pounced from different angles.
"Retreat to the inner city!"
The Martial Saint Heaven Burner gave the order, but it was too late.
The next second, two thousand puppets simultaneously turned towards the two Martial Saint, their movements perfectly synchronized, the sound of bone blades snapping open merging into a trembling sound of death.
"Run!"
The Martial Saint Wind Chaser grabbed Heaven Burner and leaped off the city wall, but the silver-gray waves had already blocked all escape routes.
The Martial Saint Heaven Burner ignited his last flame on his one arm, letting out a beast-like roar as he charged towards the horde of puppets.
Flames engulfed three puppets, but more silver figures surged in from all directions, and a bone spike suddenly pierced his chest from behind.
The Martial Saint Wind Chaser wielded his twin blades in a whirlwind, shattering the joints of the five puppets.
Turning around, I saw that Heaven Burner had been nailed to the city wall, and blood was flowing down the cracks between the bricks.
He tried to rush over to help, but his legs were suddenly entangled by a bone whip.
At the last moment, the Martial Saint Wind Chaser saw the cold, single eye of the puppets in the distance. They slowly raised their mechanical arms, revealing the pitch-black muzzles of their cannons.
boom--
With a series of loud crashes, the last defenders of Dragon-Locking Pass fell into pools of blood, their blood seeping into the ancient city bricks and mingling with the blood of countless other guards.
The battle ended, and all the intelligent puppets immediately ceased their previous actions and began to systematically clean up the battlefield.
Repair your damaged companions and set up a temporary camp.
The entire process was eerily quiet, with only the sound of metal clashing echoing in the air.
Time passed slowly.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the majestic imperial city of Martial Capital, turning the glazed tiles of the nine-tiered palace into a blood-red hue.
Since the Shinobi Alliance launched its full-scale offensive.
In just one month, the territory of the Heavenly Martial Empire has shrunk by nearly half.
The Shinobi Alliance army, like several sharp knives, pierced the heart of the empire from different directions, forming a tight strategic encirclement.
The 15,000 intelligent puppets deployed by the Shinobi Alliance demonstrated an overwhelming advantage.
The tactical learning network allows individual puppets to share combat experience in real time, and the efficient energy replenishment system only requires periodic replacement of Chakra crystals for continuous combat.
In comparison.
The morale of the remaining imperial troops is low.
Of the five once-proud knightly orders, only one remains; thirty-seven important cities have fallen one after another; and eight of the twelve Martial Saint have perished.
The remaining high-level combat forces remained holed up in Martial Capital City, not daring to launch an attack easily.
The disruption of the economic lifeline further accelerated the collapse of the empire.
The Cold Iron Mining District, which accounts for 80% of the country's output, has collapsed, five of the seven major grain depots have been taken over, and all major trade routes have been cut off.
Grain prices in Martial Capital City skyrocketed.
The nobles began secretly transferring their assets, and various versions of the surrender terms circulated among the common people.
In the secret vault deep within the palace, seven of the twelve special weapons have been lost, all sealed by the Shinobi Alliance.
Gradually, three major factions emerged in the imperial court.
The most powerful faction, led by the prime minister, advocated using the forbidden weapons hidden in the imperial archives to fight the Shinobi Alliance to the death.
Heavenly Martial XIII clearly favored this faction, giving the "fight to the death" faction an absolute advantage in the court.
Meanwhile, the peace faction, led by the Finance Minister, was secretly working to reach a peace agreement with the Shinobi Alliance through clandestine channels.
However, its influence is quite limited under the current circumstances.
The escape group, composed of several ancient aristocratic families, faced the most difficult situation.
Since Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha appeared on the battlefield, the situation in Martial Capital has taken a sharp turn for the worse.
The man in red armor single-handedly annihilated the Second Knight Order; thirty thousand iron cavalrymen were like child's play before him.
When the two Martial Saint attacked together, Madara Uchiha simply raised his right hand, and two meteorites, each a hundred meters in diameter, fell from the sky, crushing the two Martial Saint along with half of the western city wall into dust.
If the Sword Saint hadn't wielded the three forbidden weapons to fight back and barely managed to hold off a not-so-serious Madara Uchiha, Martial Capital might have already fallen.
What's even more disheartening is that Hashirama Senju and his three thousand puppet army never made a move from beginning to end.
Now everyone understood.
The two of them have probably reached the legendary ' Martial God ' level of the Heavenly Martial Empire, and no human can contend with them.
According to intelligence, the Shinobi Alliance has at least three such individuals, while the Heavenly Martial Empire only has the Sword Saint, who wields three forbidden weapons, who can barely be considered one.
Such a huge gap leaves one with no hope whatsoever.