The battle between two Soul Douluo-level powerhouses erupted with earth-shattering force, as if slicing through the dark night itself. One side radiated a bottomless black void, while the other blazed with piercing lightning. In their Martial Soul True Body state, every collision sent shockwaves rippling through the air, accompanied by deafening roars. The small island trembled under the force of their clash, and waves surged one after another, gradually washing away the bloodstains on the port's walls.
Meanwhile, the twenty-plus Soul Emperor-level soldiers of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion who had accompanied Wang Xiao engaged in fierce combat with the gathered soldiers of the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion.
In terms of numbers, the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion held a significant advantage.
As one of the Sun Moon Empire's elite soul engineer legions, the regiment was at full strength with 200 soldiers. Even though a squad had been wiped out earlier on the wall by Wang Xiao's group, there were still at least 160 remaining.
After accounting for the twenty or so soldiers stationed at the castle to guard Xu Zihuang, the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion still outnumbered Wang Xiao's forces by roughly seven to one.
However, in terms of overall cultivation, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had the clear upper hand. Every soldier brought by Wang Xiao was a Soul Emperor above rank 60, while the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion barely had ten soldiers above rank 60 in total.
The nature of the battle between soul masters and soul engineers was vastly different from traditional warfare. Numbers alone didn't guarantee victory—individual strength was often more critical. Martial souls were as varied as the stars, and soul skills offered countless unpredictable combinations. Coordinating in such battles wasn't as simple as it seemed.
For example, in the team battles long established on Douluo Continent, the number of participants rarely exceeded seven per side. Even such small teams required years of practice to achieve seamless cooperation.
The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, split into teams of three to five, efficiently disrupted the enemy's formations. Their smaller groups operated independently while maintaining coordination, overwhelming the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion through superior individual strength and teamwork.
This was a testament to the once-dominant strength of the complete Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion.
"Don't lose your composure! They're only twenty strong. Their energy consumption will be far greater than ours. As long as we hold out, the tide of battle will inevitably turn in our favor!"
A steady voice rang out from the front lines of the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion, bringing momentary relief to the disoriented soldiers.
"It's Vice Legion Commander Qiu Ying!"
The soldiers turned toward the source of the voice with visible relief.
Qiu Ying was a middle-aged man with a ruddy complexion, clad in the same deep-blue armor as the rest. Despite his short stature of just over 1.6 meters, his body was unnaturally thick and stocky. What was most peculiar, however, was his disproportionately small limbs, which made him look like a hunchback.
His entire body was covered in pentagonal white-gray scales, extending from his face to his back, forming a massive dome-like shell that nearly concealed his limbs.
Qiu Ying, the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion's vice legion commander, was second only to Hai Xiao in rank and a bona fide Soul Sage.
His arrival immediately stabilized the faltering formation of the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion.
However, the three soldiers of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion nearest to Qiu Ying reacted with grim expressions. Among them, a thin green haired young man wielding twin green soul-powered rapiers had a fierce glint in his eyes. His sixth soul ring, the only black one, flashed, transforming him into ten green phantoms as he leapt toward Qiu Ying's neck from behind.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Green Shadow Strike!"
"Qing Mu! Don't be reckless! That old man's martial soul is an Armadillo Bear—breaking his defense isn't that simple!" Shouted a middle-aged man beside Qing Mu, trying to stop him. However, his martial soul wasn't suited for speed, and he couldn't intervene in time.
In the blink of an eye, over ten green afterimages appeared behind Qiu Ying, raining down strikes on his neck with the precision of a downpour.
"Hmph."
Qiu Ying turned his head slightly to glance at Qing Mu, his expression cold. Without hesitation, he retracted his limbs and head into the dome-like shell on his back. His hunched body curled further, his head and legs locking together to form a seamless sphere.
The sphere, covered in white-gray pentagonal scales, suddenly shot upward and smashed into the incoming green afterimages.
Though Qing Mu's Green Shadow Strike was a ten-thousand-year soul skill, far from a simple clone technique—each afterimage retained 50% of his full strength—it came with a drawback. Whenever a clone was destroyed, Qing Mu would suffer a portion of the damage as backlash.
As Qiu Ying's sphere shattered one afterimage after another, Qing Mu's face grew pale. Gritting his teeth, he scattered the remaining clones in all directions.
Meanwhile, Qing Mu's two companions, both Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion veterans, drove back nearby enemies to assist him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions echoed as soul skills and soul tools collided. The two blocked incoming attacks from the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion soldiers, allowing Qing Mu to recover. He panted heavily, his face flushed with shame.
"Brother Tang, Uncle Fu, I was too reckless this time."
The older man, Qing Mu, had called Uncle Fu, who warned him earlier, and was clearly displeased but refrained from scolding him in the midst of battle. He only let out an angry growl.
"Get up! Who taught you to turn your back on the enemy during a fight?!"
Before Qing Mu could respond, a thick beam from a soul-guided shock cannon shot past his ear. A nearby soldier of the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion was struck dead on the spot, his blood splattering across Qing Mu's armor.
Frozen in place, Qing Mu glanced at the mangled corpse behind him, then quickly rose, tightening his grip on his green rapiers and adopting a defensive stance.
Qiu Ying, having failed to finish off Qing Mu, clicked his tongue in mild annoyance but didn't dwell on it. He was confident that, with time, victory would inevitably belong to the Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion.
That confidence hinged, however, on their legion commander being able to hold off Wang Xiao.
With this in mind, Qiu Ying's expression shifted as he looked up at the sky, where the phantom of a monstrous devil ray clashed with the black-winged tiger.
What he saw left him horrified: their legion commander, Hai Xiao, was clearly being pushed back.