Lin Qian remained seated high on the Nine-Dragon Throne, but he was no longer alone. Behind him, a massive army had appeared, filling the once vast sky above City Two until it became crowded.
The army that appeared behind Lin Qian was diverse, with each group having its own distinct characteristics. Among them were forces that Yuan Xiang recognized: Blood War, Strong Feather, and Gale. However, the remaining nine units were unfamiliar to him.
What shocked Yuan Xiang the most was that each of these uniquely dressed soldiers numbered a million strong. Altogether, there were twelve different types of soldiers, totaling twelve million men!
Yuan Xiang wasn't the only one shocked; Bai Ximing and Wu Zhanshuang were equally stunned. Where did this sudden army of twelve million come from?
Moreover, the equipment of this army was exceptionally refined, showing that they were no ordinary craftsmen repairing buildings in the city. These were clearly seasoned warriors.
The only consolation for Bai Ximing and Wu Zhanshuang was that although this army had appeared out of nowhere, it numbered only twelve million, which was significantly smaller than their force of sixty million—five times as many!
"Wu Zhanshuang, have your people prepare the soul beasts for the first wave. Let them test the waters," Bai Ximing said to Wu Zhanshuang, eyeing Lin Qian's seemingly manageable army with suspicion.
Wu Zhanshuang nodded in agreement. He had already planned to do just that.
The soul beasts they had controlled on the Battle Plains were intended to be disposable pawns, meant to pave the way for the invasion of human territories. Their time to be sacrificed had simply come sooner than expected.
The screeches of eagles suddenly filled the air as a vast number of avian soul beasts swooped down from the sky toward City Two. Their eyes, now blood-red, had lost any semblance of intelligence, driven solely by the bloodthirsty orders of the Wuxing tribe.
These foolish creatures knew only one thing: the command to tear apart every enemy before them.
As the soul beasts descended from all directions, Lin Qian remained utterly calm. He simply called out, "Light Feather!"
With Lin Qian's command, a group of soldiers clad in light armor stepped forward, taking positions around the barrier. They raised their longbows and began channeling soul power into them.
As the soul power flowed into the bows, ten arrows materialized on each bowstring. The soldiers, dressed similarly to the Strong Feather unit, drew their bows and released the arrows with a sharp twang.
Buzz!
With the bowstrings vibrating, ten arrows formed of soul power shot forth, striking the descending soul beasts.
However, the feathers of these avian soul beasts were as tough as metal, and the arrows merely sparked against them before shattering. Although the arrows failed to penetrate their iron-like feathers, the impact still shook the creatures' insides.
Seeing this, Bai Ximing couldn't help but sneer. "Even though I don't know how you conjured up so many soldiers, it seems they're not that strong."
Lin Qian ignored Bai Ximing's mockery.
Even Yuan Xiang, standing beside Lin Qian, looked puzzled. Lin Qian's summoned forces had always surprised him with their capabilities, but this Light Feather unit seemed too simple.
"Light Feather's special skill is Rapid Fire. The only catch is that the skill requires them to fire one shot first, then wait for ten breaths before it takes effect—just like now," Lin Qian explained, seemingly reading Yuan Xiang's thoughts.
"A skill?" Yuan Xiang asked.
"You could think of it as a soul technique," Lin Qian replied.
Buzz!
As Lin Qian finished speaking, the Light Feather soldiers, who had lowered their bows, raised them once more. This time, their hands never left the bowstrings.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, a river of arrows formed in front of each Light Feather soldier, surging toward the incoming soul beasts.
The Light Feather soldiers moved with incredible speed, and their bows rapidly generated soul power arrows, which were released as soon as they formed.
Ten arrows might not be enough to penetrate the iron feathers of these soul beasts, especially those at the life-and-death stage. However, ten arrows could lead to a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand!
At this moment, within the range of the Light Feather unit's circular attack, the arrows resembled a cascading waterfall. The avian soul beasts diving toward them were like fish swimming upstream, struggling against the overwhelming torrent of arrows.
The soul beasts were bombarded by the relentless arrow barrage, their bodies exploding under the sheer force of the impact.
"When Rapid Fire is active, each Light Feather soldier can shoot a hundred arrows in one breath. With a million soldiers, that's a hundred million arrows per breath. Do you really think those iron feathers can withstand such a barrage?" Lin Qian asked with a chuckle, seeing Yuan Xiang's astonished expression.
Yuan Xiang was speechless. For someone at the life-and-death stage, reaching this level of prowess was impressive, but to have a million such skilled soldiers under Lin Qian's command was beyond belief.
"I must have underestimated his abilities," Yuan Xiang thought, shaken. "If these people continue to grow alongside him, they could sweep across the entire Soul Martial Continent without opposition."
"But raising so many talents to this level would require an immense amount of resources."
What Yuan Xiang didn't realize was that these soldiers were only mid-level, low-tier units. Once Lin Qian's strength increased, he could summon even more powerful forces from the empire without needing to nurture them from scratch.
After twenty breaths, the Light Feather unit's firing rate noticeably slowed. The Rapid Fire skill wasn't something that could be sustained indefinitely.
Wu Zhanshuang clenched his fists tightly, watching as the ground was littered with the corpses of soul beasts, devoured by the Wind Wolves and Swift Wolves. His expression grew darker with every moment.
In just twenty breaths, out of the thirty million avian soul beasts that had charged forward, over eight million had been lost!
In such a short span of time!
"Lin Qian, do you dare to face me in a duel?" Bai Ximing, desperate after witnessing the destruction, pointed at Lin Qian and challenged him, hoping to draw him out. "Or will you cower behind your walls forever, you coward?"