"Boom!!!"
In broad daylight, the entire Bamboo Forest Mountain range was engulfed in thick smoke, rising rapidly, with flames spreading throughout the camp, especially the main tent.
The grand, temporary tent that had once been quite luxurious was now reduced to ashes.
"Help!"
"Run!"
"Where are the enemies? Why can't we see any trace of them?"
Inside the camp, chaos ensued. Numerous Soul Masters looked around in confusion, having survived the explosion but not knowing where the enemy was located.
"Look up! There are Soul Guidance Devices!"
Someone shouted in alarm.
Only then did everyone look toward the sky, where hundreds of devices shimmered with a blinding silver light under the sun, buzzing loudly. All hearts beat like drumbeats as everyone stared in shock at this sight.
"Is this the Soul Guidance Device? It's beautiful!" one Soul Master exclaimed in awe.
"Beautiful my ass! Attack now!" The team leader promptly kicked him hard.
"Don't panic, follow my orders. Soldiers, split into groups of one hundred, with the centurion leading, fire arrows at the Soul Guidance Devices in the sky!"
At last, several figures appeared in the sky. The one leading them was none other than the Glorious Duke, whose strength as an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo was evident—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black…
Following him were the other four Dukes, each revealing their strength.
At this point, the morale of the soldiers slowly began to recover and rise.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Several kilometers away.
Under a concealed cliff.
Nearly a hundred mechs and around a thousand people were gathered, sitting in an orderly manner on the ground, seemingly recovering and meditating. Though peaceful, there was an underlying sharpness, like a sword waiting to be drawn.
"Linglong, what's the situation?"
Linglong, chewing on a crispy bamboo leaf, smiled slightly.
"With the first wave of the Level 5 unmanned Soul Guidance Devices' attack, the enemy's death toll has already surpassed a thousand. Thanks to the precise targeting, many of the targets were within the Soul Master's range. Four Soul Saints have been eliminated, twenty Soul Emperors are dead, and at least two hundred Soul Kings and below."
"Not enough." Juzi said
"Understood!" Linglong nodded, her fingers swiftly moving. With the development of Soul Guidance Devices, she could now control unmanned devices through mechs. The most important thing... one person could control it!
She watched the dense arrows coming and the Soul Masters with wings growing from their backs flying toward the sky. A grin spread across her face.
"Energy shields!"
With a command, hundreds of unmanned Soul Guidance Devices instantly formed shields around them, blocking the countless arrows and even the ranged and close attacks from the Soul Masters.
"Now... auto-lock the targets. Boom!"
Inside the energy shield, red lights suddenly glowed in the unmanned drones, which rushed toward the high-level Soul Masters on the ground.
A Soul Saint stared in confusion at this scene, his pupils enlarging as he saw three silver unmanned drones heading towards him. He felt a sense of urgency, gripping a purple greatsword that had four holes in the back with small iron rings hanging on it—a four-ringed purple sword.
"Second and third soul skills, Hunter's Blade Slash!"
He yelled, swinging the long blade.
The air rippled as the blade cut through the sky.
At a distance of a few dozen meters, a slash split the three drones in half, with metallic shards falling like rain.
"That was easy?" The Soul Saint frowned.
But the red light on the drones became more intense, and he suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Not good!" he thought.
At the same time, the Glorious Duke's frantic voice rang out: "Retreat! These Soul Guidance Devices have self-destruct functions!"
But it was already too late.
A series of explosions erupted, echoing throughout the valley.
The unmanned drones exploded in an instant, engulfing the sky and most of the high-level Soul Masters.
Without invincible shields or sufficient defensive measures, within seconds, three Soul Saints—who hadn't even had time to scream in agony—were reduced to blood mist, dying instantly.
But these were the exceptions.
Most of the Soul Saints who had reached that rank were no slouches.
Some activated their martial souls, others were defensive-type Soul Masters, but even with quick reactions, they couldn't avoid either light injuries or heavy blows.
As for Soul Emperors... after the baptism, only a few remained.
"Damn it! Is this what Soul Masters are capable of?" the Glorious Duke gritted his teeth in anger, his eyes flashing with a mix of terror and shock.
After all, in their original plan, they had intended to hold off this force, or better yet, catch them off guard, then turn their guns on Mingdu!
But they never imagined that they would fail miserably at the hands of a beast-soul-guided unit. Even more unbearable was that the enemies hadn't even shown themselves! What they faced now were only cold, mechanical devices.
"Prepare..."
Just as he was holding back his fear and commanding his forces to regroup.
A series of meteors flashed across the sky, heading straight for him.
He froze, watching strange red humanoid machines propelled by powerful thrusters, heavy and forceful, their metal curves flashing in the sunlight.
Then a sharp female voice sounded.
"Attack!"
On these "iron boxes," metal cannon barrels flipped out, and Soul Guidance Cannons roared, firing at his position...
...
"Poof!"
The Glorious Duke spat out blood before falling unconscious, his son, who had lost an arm, hurriedly helping him escape through the bamboo forest.
Zhao Yang's face was pale, no longer carrying the arrogance from before. He felt like a lost dog, utterly broken and despairing. His arm was shattered by a mech's direct hit.
His once-proud strength—Soul Emperor—he had even closed off and broken through to Soul Saint in order to prepare for the impending rebellion. But just when he was ready to show off his skills, he was hit with a devastating blow.
Was a Soul Saint strong?
In his mind, they were already among the strongest.
But on the other side, there were nearly two hundred Soul Saints!
Each red mech represented a Soul Saint! They were even among the strongest Soul Saints.
They first bombarded with silver iron boxes, then self-destructed, wiping out at least half of their forces.
Then, over a hundred red mechs swooped down, ruthlessly piercing through their ranks and connecting the previous attacks. Their enemies kept retreating, and soon, the frontlines collapsed. A large number of soldiers in red armor arrived to reinforce the attack.
Zhao Yang closed his eyes in pain.
This battle had wiped out everything the Glorious Duke had built.
Of the remaining four Dukes, two were dead, and two were captured. Only he and his father managed to escape by the skin of their teeth...
What once seemed like an unbreakable formation had shattered with a single touch. His pride and confidence were completely shattered.
He carried his father, jumping from bamboo stalk to bamboo stalk.
The pain from the arm that had been blasted off by a red mech's cannon still radiated deeply.
But as he lost himself in his thoughts.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion rang out.
A blazing light shot through the air, hitting his chest and leaving a gaping hole.
"Poof..."
Zhao Yang spat out blood as his body lost balance like a broken sack and fell to the ground.
"How dare you defy His Highness' orders? I thought you had some strength, but is this all you've got..." A voice of disdain rang out.
As his eyelids grew heavy and his vision blurred, Zhao Yang saw the shadows of several mechs appearing in the bamboo forest under the falling shadows...
(End of Chapter)