Lin Qian's eyes were cold as he stared at the Marquis of the Qin Dynasty before him. Without hesitation, he swung the Thunder Night Sword in his hand. "The Qin Dynasty will ultimately be nothing more than a stepping stone for the Huaxia Empire, allowing it to rise onto the stage of this world."
As the sword descended, lightning struck like divine retribution from the heavens, reducing the Marquis to nothing but dust, his existence erased from the world.
At the same time, the morale of the Qin Dynasty soldiers plummeted as they faced the relentless assault of the Imperial Army. Their resolve began to crumble.
No matter how bravely they fought, they couldn't withstand the Imperial Army's onslaught. Even when they managed to break through their enemies' protective soul force, their weapons merely sparked against the heavy armor of the Imperial soldiers, leaving only faint marks.
The disparity in strength, equipment, formations, and coordination became glaringly evident.
The Qin Dynasty's soldiers felt the crushing weight of these differences. Hope seemed distant and unattainable.
Their only wish was for the Marquis and Generals battling above to defeat the enemy elders. If the battle in the skies could be won and those powerful figures descended to aid them, the tide of the battle could still be turned.
"Hey, what's that?" In the midst of the fierce fighting, a soldier from the Eight Directions Army suddenly noticed a shadow looming in the distance. He turned his head and cried out in alarm.
As his shout echoed, many Qin soldiers looked up toward the distance, only to freeze in place, their bodies stiffening in shock.
At first, they couldn't make out what the massive black shadow was as it approached. But as it drew closer, they saw it clearly.
A cloud ship?
No, it didn't resemble the cloud ships they had seen or heard about.
Cloud ships were crafted from rare spiritual woods, a luxurious mode of travel that provided comfort over long journeys. The spiritual wood used in their construction was engraved with various formations that offered significant enhancements, such as gathering spiritual energy or calming the mind. Traveling aboard a cloud ship was meant to be a relaxing experience.
But this massive, nearly all-metal construct before them was unlike anything they had ever encountered. It resembled a mobile fortress of war, a colossal beast made for destruction.
The ship's hull gleamed with a cold metallic sheen, surrounded by a faint yellow soul force that didn't expand outward but clung tightly to the surface, as if the ship was wearing a layer of soul force armor.
The warship tore through the air, the currents swirling violently around it as it barreled straight toward the Qin army's ranks.
The first soldiers to spot the warship widened their eyes in disbelief, their breathing quickening as they realized the full scale of the approaching threat.
"Run!"
The soldier's desperate shout echoed across the battlefield, trying to warn those around him.
The warship continued to accelerate, growing larger and more imposing with each passing second. The oppressive aura it exuded was enough to paralyze even the bravest of warriors. The soldier had no doubt that if the warship collided with them, death would be certain.
But it was too late. Despite his timely warning, the message couldn't spread fast enough.
The battlefield was chaotic, filled with the deafening roars of battle and the explosive clashes of soul force. His shout was drowned out by the noise, reaching only those closest to him or those who had already noticed the approaching warship.
What terrified these soldiers even more was the eerie silence surrounding the massive warship as it bore down on them. Despite the turbulent air currents that whipped around it, there was no sound—no roar of engines, no thunderous noise of impact—just a looming, silent menace.
Realizing the imminent danger, the soldiers who had spotted the warship began to flee in panic, using every ounce of their soul force to escape, racing toward the flanks away from the approaching behemoth.
As their comrades watched them flee, confusion spread. Why were they running? And why were the Huaxia Imperial soldiers who had been fighting them suddenly retreating?
It wasn't until they finally saw the warship bearing down on them that they understood. The moment of realization brought with it a wave of terror.
"Run!"
The thought echoed in every soldier's mind as they pushed their bodies to the limit, forcing their soul force to explode forth in a desperate bid to escape.
But they had reacted too late.
Lin Qian had led the Huaxia Imperial Army into the heart of the Qin Dynasty's forces, and now the warship was charging in from the left flank.
The soldiers on the right side could only watch in horror as the massive metal beast smashed into their comrades.
The warship was like a monstrous meat grinder, its soul-force-covered hull tearing through the Qin army's ranks with brutal efficiency. Soldiers were crushed under its immense weight, their bodies reduced to nothing but pulp.
As the warship plowed through the Qin ranks, the sound of gears and machinery filled the air. Dark barrels emerged from the sides of the warship, aimed directly at the surrounding Qin soldiers.
From within the black barrels, multicolored beams of soul force began to gather, emanating a chilling and terrifying power.
"Fire!" Lin Qian's cold voice echoed across the battlefield. The soul force cannons on the warship recoiled slightly before unleashing concentrated beams of energy that tore through the densely packed ranks of the Qin army.