Chapter 696: Mastering Battle Intent!
Xiao Ze's words reverberated across the Great Daluo Army, their faces growing increasingly serious. Even the five commanders shared the same grave expressions.
An eight star Supreme not even the Great Daluo Army could guarantee a victory against such an opponent.
"Attack together!"
Grand Commander Feng Huo ordered, his voice resolute. The other four commanders nodded, their expressions tightening as they summoned the army's collective battle intent.
Above the sea of boundless battle intent, terrifying energy coalesced, forming an ominous force. Meanwhile, Xiao Ze stood calmly in midair, waiting silently for their strike.
Through observation, Xiao Ze quickly noticed discrepancies in the battle intent being directed. While all five commanders led equally large contingents, Feng Huo's battle intent was far stronger and more cohesive than the others'.
"His control over battle intent is remarkable," Xiao Ze mused. "It's not just his raw strength that earned him the position of Grand Commander. With some opportunities, he could even attempt to become a war formation master."
What happened next, however, piqued Xiao Ze's curiosity even further.
The five commanders each condensed a massive, ancient seal out of battle intent. Though their forms differed, Xiao Ze quickly discerned a pattern: the seals seemed designed to interlock.
As Xiao Ze considered the seals' purpose, the four other commanders sent their seals flying toward Feng Huo's. The seals slotted perfectly into the grooves left within Feng Huo's larger, more intricate battle intent seal.
"Ingenious," Xiao Ze murmured with interest.
"Although they can't create a true battle intent spirit, this method of combining their intent is clever and certainly enhances their power."
While this synthesis seemed simple on the surface, it was anything but. Combining different streams of battle intent typically resulted in violent rejection and explosive clashes.
The fact that the Great Daluo Army could merge their intent so seamlessly spoke to Feng Huo's exceptional skill.
"Lord Xiao Ze," Feng Huo called out, his face flushed with exertion. "This is the strongest battle intent strike of the Great Daluo Army. If you can withstand it, we will gladly follow your lead!"
As soon as he finished, Feng Huo propelled the enormous battle intent seal forward.
The ancient seal, nearly 100 meters in size, hurtled toward Xiao Ze at blinding speed, shattering space itself in its wake.
A violent storm of battle intent swept across the field, threatening to obliterate everything in its path.
Yet Xiao Ze remained unmoved.
Tightening his fist, he summoned an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy. The raw power radiating from his hand caused cracks to ripple through the surrounding space, even before he attacked.
Boom!
With a single punch, Xiao Ze met the colossal seal head on.
The clash of spiritual energy and battle intent exploded outward in a chaotic storm of destruction. Shockwaves swept through the area, shaking the towering peak itself.
The protective formations inscribed across the mountain flared to life, containing the storm's fury. But the molten lava below wasn't so lucky massive plumes of magma erupted skyward, painting the heavens a vivid crimson.
As the ancient seal shattered into countless fragments, Xiao Ze's spiritual energy rippled outward, dispelling the remaining battle intent.
"It seems I've won," Xiao Ze said, his tone calm.
The soldiers of the Great Daluo Army stared in stunned silence. Behind Xiao Ze, the descending lava painted a backdrop of fiery grandeur, an awe inspiring display of dominance.
Before the magma could touch the ground, Xiao Ze's golden flames erupted outward, incinerating the molten rock into nothingness.
The commanders swallowed hard, their gazes locked on the golden fire.
"If that flame had been directed at us…" Feng Huo thought, a cold sweat forming on his brow. "We'd have been reduced to ashes in an instant."
Grateful that Xiao Ze had fought them with restraint, the commanders knelt in the air, lowering their heads in submission.
"We submit fully. Hail, Supreme Commander!"
Their declaration broke the spell of silence, and the assembled soldiers followed suit, their voices ringing in unison:
"We submit fully. Hail, Supreme Commander!"
Looking at Xiao Ze now, their eyes held only reverence.
Though Xiao Ze had initially been met with resistance as an outsider, his overwhelming strength had erased any doubts. Strength was the language they respected most.
"Rise," Xiao Ze said, his voice steady yet warm. "If I can successfully harness battle intent, I will lead the Great Daluo Army to new heights. With our combined strength, we'll stand unshaken, even against a nine star Supreme."
His words ignited a spark of excitement in the soldiers' hearts.
Pride in their identity as members of the Great Daluo Army surged anew.
"Raise your battle intent!" Xiao Ze commanded, stepping forward.
With just three words, an aura of iron blooded resolve emanated from him, stirring the soldiers' spirits.
Though Xiao Ze had never truly experienced battle intent in the Great Thousand World, his experiences in the Dou Qi Continent and countless lives lived in the Bodhi Ancient Tree's hundred cycles of reincarnation provided a strong foundation.
Among those lifetimes, Xiao Ze had served as a warrior, general, and even the founder of an empire forged through conquest.
These experiences had tempered an unyielding will and honed an instinctive connection to the battlefield, qualities now brought to bear.
Walking into the swirling sea of battle intent, Xiao Ze began to shape it with his will.
Under his influence, the chaotic waves of energy transformed, forming weapons, seals, and symbols.
In just half a day, the commanders watched in astonishment as Xiao Ze molded the battle intent with unprecedented precision.
Though he had started clumsily, his rapid progress soon rivaled their own mastery.
"Is he really encountering battle intent for the first time?" one commander muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief.
As the hours passed, their amazement only grew.
Xiao Ze's talent was nothing short of monstrous.
By the time the sun began to set, Feng Huo couldn't help but recall Xiao Ze's earlier declaration:
"Could he truly become a war formation master?"
If so, the Great Daluo Army's full potential would finally be unleashed, transforming them into an unstoppable force.
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