Daqin Zhentiansi

Where the sword energy passed, space was silently torn apart like fragile cloth!

The earth groaned in agony, unable to bear the weight any longer. A massive chasm, unfathomably deep and hundreds of feet wide, suddenly opened up amidst the demonic tide as the sword energy advanced!

At the edge of the chasm, space is distorted, and the laws of nature are shattered!

The tens of thousands of Netherwolf demon riders charging forward were as if they had crashed into an invisible wall of sighs. Before they could even let out a scream, they and their demon wolves were silently reduced to the finest dust the instant they touched the hazy sword energy! As if they had never existed!
One sword!
Just one sword!
Tens of thousands of ferocious demon riders were annihilated!
The surging demonic tide was forcibly cleaved open, creating an insurmountable barrier!
Mo Chenzhou flashed and appeared beside Chen Hui, who was falling exhausted, and scooped him up with one hand.

He didn't even glance at the demon army below, now deathly silent because of his sword strike. His gaze swept over the still stubbornly burning Star Orbit Stone in Chen Hui's hand, and he said in a deep voice, "The starfire has been ignited, reinforcements are on their way. Hold on!"

Tianjian Gorge, the core of the fortress.

The "Sky Mirror" mirror surface rippled like water, instantly capturing the point of eerie blue starlight piercing through the demonic clouds atop Falling Star Cliff!

The runes in the mirror flowed, rapidly analyzing the starlight's trajectory, intensity, and the subtle spatial disturbances it left behind as it pierced through the demonic clouds.

Almost simultaneously, the core of the mother disk of the "Earth Listening Mother-Child Disc" received a faint earth vein spiritual resonance signal transmitted back from the child disk in the Falling Star Sea region, which was generated by the sparks.

Chen Wu's voice rang urgently in Zhang Yuan's ear: "My lord! Falling Star Sea Spark! Coordinates locked! The spark's trajectory pierces through the demonic clouds; the optimal energy dissipation point is located at the joint of the Tianxuan VII and Demon Skeleton IX ships!"

"Its shield experienced periodic fluctuations and lows due to the concentrated fire on Chenhui!"

Zhang Yuan stood atop the central battle formation, his dark black python robe fluttering even without wind.

His eyes swirled with chaotic true essence, instantly merging the images from the Observation Mirror, the data from the Earth Listening Disc, and his own divine sense's grasp of the overall battlefield situation into one.

Without the slightest hesitation, he used his divine sense to instantly connect with the control core of the "Frost Prison Crossbow Towers" that were spread throughout the Tianjian Gorge defense line and several key nodes in the Ice Plains and Thousand Blade Mountains.

The cold, authoritative decree, imbued with absolute power, resounded throughout the souls of all the crossbow tower-controlling cultivators:

"All Frostbolt Towers, heed my command!"

"Target: Tianxuan Seven and Demon Corpse Nine!"

"Using stars as a guide—"

Zhang Yuan raised his hand, and a point of spiritual light shot into the array plate. The trajectory of that point of dark blue starlight was instantly magnified and marked, clearly pointing to the weakest joint of the energy shield of the two Myriad Soul Bone Ships!
"A volley of icy bullets—"

"put!!!"

"Buzz—Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!"

In an instant, dozens of Frost Prison Ballistae Towers burst forth with a dazzling deep blue light!
The frozen arrows, condensed to their ultimate form, tore through the sky like a reversed deep blue meteor shower. Following the precise trajectory guided by Zhang Yuan's divine sense and using the invisible coordinates of the starlight ignited by Chen Hui, they traversed vast distances and launched a fierce attack!
"Boom! Boom! Crack—!!!"

The two massive Soul Bone Ships were slightly adjusting their posture due to the concentrated fire on Falling Star Cliff, and their shield fluctuations were at a low point.

The arrow, imbued with the ultimate freezing and extinction runes and the light of the demon-slaying talisman, struck their most vulnerable joints with surgical precision!

A piercing sound of metal twisting, freezing, and cracking exploded!

The left propulsion engine joint of the Tianxuan Seven ships was instantly frozen and shattered, causing the massive hull to lose its balance and spin downwards!

The central main energy transmission bone chain of the Demon Bone Ship was pierced, frozen, and broken by several arrows, triggering a chain reaction of explosions. The entire giant ship disintegrated in the collision of the ghostly blue ice flames and the filthy demonic light, turning into a sky full of burning wreckage and fire rain, which fell into the filthy Falling Star Sea!
The fall of the two giant ships created a brief but dazzling display of destructive fireworks over the Sea of ​​Falling Stars.

That faint blue spark, illuminated by the explosion's flames, appeared even weaker, yet all the more resolute and unyielding.

Zhang Yuan's gaze pierced through the void, landing in the direction of Falling Star Cliff, and then sweeping over the terrifying ravines left by Mo Chenzhou's earth-shattering sword strike in the Thousand Blade Mountains.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and a wisp of chaotic energy quietly separated from his body, silently merging into the void.

----------------

The eastern section, the "Pan Shi" section of the Jianji Great Wall.

The wind whipped up frozen earth and the smell of blood, blowing over the newly constructed, still rough, low wall made of a mixture of black iron and boulders.

Behind the wall was the newly reorganized "Guardian Camp," whose members were all half-demon survivors from the frozen soil of Xuzhou.

Their skin was rough, bearing the marks and scars of long-term enslavement, and the numbness in their eyes had been replaced by a deep-seated, almost burning hatred.

Instead of broken farm tools or scavenged bone clubs, they now carried "Mountain-Splitting" standard stone hammers, heavy axes, and black iron short spears, hastily produced by the Yongtian Ministry of Works. Although uniform in style, they were absolutely sturdy and sharp.

Commander A'Ruo, once a fearless warrior under Yin Lin, now stands at the forefront of the defensive line, her figure as agile as a female leopard.

The mountain-splitting stone hammer in her hand was taller than her, its head covered with sharp spikes that gleamed with a cold, hard black light in the dim daylight.

A wave of foul demonic energy rushed towards her, accompanied by heavy footsteps. A crystal-armored war demon covered in flowing dark purple crystal armor tore through the wind and snow, and a cold annihilation diamond spike pierced straight at her face!
"Roar--!"

Instead of retreating, Aruo advanced, letting out a beast-like roar.

She didn't confront the deadly rhomboid cone head-on. Instead, she twisted her waist to the limit and slid to the side at an incredible angle. The stone hammer, carrying all her strength and years of pent-up humiliation, slammed hard into the side of the demon soldier's supporting leg's knee!

"Crack!"

There was a teeth-grinding sound of bones cracking!

The massive body of the Crystal Armored War Demon staggered.

Before it could roar in pain or adjust its posture, A'Ruo used the momentum of the spin to swing the second hammer in a wide arc like thunder, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, and smashed it down on its head covered with crystal armor!

"These are not slave bones! These are weapons for defending our land!"

"Bang——!!!"

The dark amethyst armor shattered instantly!

Black blood and brain matter, mixed with filthy demonic energy, splattered like exploding berries onto the cold walls and Aruo's scarred face.

The heavy, crystal-armored body crashed down, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Defend the land! Defend the land! Defend the land!"

Behind her, the entire Weitu Camp erupted in cheers!

The old patriarch of the Rock Armor Tribe, his beard and hair bristling, his arms covered in rock-like patterns and muscles bulging, wielded an equally heavy stone hammer, smashing another demon soldier who rushed at him, denting his shoulder and armor!
Countless half-demon warriors, newly freed from their shackles, roared with the ancient, blood-stained war horns of Xuzhou, their eyes bloodshot, as they slashed and stabbed wildly with their newly acquired weapons!
Those without weapons used their bodies to ram into the gaps in the demon soldiers' armor with their teeth!

A small gap in the defensive line, corroded by magical energy, was instantly filled and sealed off by the flesh and blood of the half-demon warriors!
Hatred transformed into the courage to perish together, and the rudimentary fortifications, under their fearless defense, miraculously withstood this wave of attack.

Cannon fodder is being forged into sharp blades through bloodshed! Not far away, in another defense zone designated as the "Arrowhead" assault sequence, the atmosphere suddenly turned violent.

One of the direct descendants of the Shaking Mountain Demon Emperor, a descendant of the Lava Demon Dragon named "Rock Roar".

He witnessed several Mountain-Shaking War Beasts, which had been assigned to the same team, explode in the formation with their eyes bloodshot and bodies swollen due to excessive exposure to Soul-Eating Demonic Energy, howling in pain!

The scorching demon blood and fragments of demonic energy splattered, injuring nearby human soldiers.

The lava demon blood originating from the Shaking Mountain Demon Emperor within Rock Roar instantly went out of control!

"Oooh-ooh!!!"

The agonizing roar transformed into a deafening beastly howl.

His body suddenly swelled up, and his skin cracked inch by inch.

Crimson magma gushed out from the crack, instantly transforming into a colossal beast ten feet tall, its body flowing with scorching lava!
The rampaging demonic power lost its reason and became indiscriminate in its dealings with friend and foe.

Fueled by a furious rage that could destroy everything, they charged fiercely toward the friendly vanguard formation, which was in disarray due to the self-destruction of their war beasts!
A close call!
"Whoosh—Clang clang clang!"

Several thick chains of prison-suppressing chains, wrapped with dark gold "Power Suppresses the Ten Directions" Dao patterns, tore through space like a whip of judgment from the Netherworld, precisely wrapping around the lava behemoth's neck, waist, abdomen, and limb joints!

The chains tightened, emitting a piercing metallic scraping sound. The dark gold Dao patterns shone brightly, and a cold, domineering, and heavy dragon-elephant prison-suppressing power, like an ancient divine mountain, crashed down!
"Roar!"

The lava behemoth that the Rock Roar had conjured let out an even more painful roar.

The violent momentum was abruptly stopped.

The lava body struggled violently, crashing into the ground and sending lava flying everywhere.

But the chains that held the prison in place remained unmoved; instead, they tightened even more.

The powerful suppressive force even caused the lava on the surface of the body to begin to solidify and cool.

Just then, a force that was not destructive but rather carried a peculiar intention came through the chains.

Cold as iron, yet crystal clear, it was directly imprinted into the depths of the chaotic and rampaging soul of Yanluo:
"Hate demon? Then set the fire on where it should burn!"

The voice was as majestic as the law of heaven, instantly piercing through the chaotic magma mist!
As if struck by a sudden enlightenment, the frenzied crimson color in the giant lava eye of the Roaring Rock abruptly stopped, then began to fluctuate violently.

The chains carried not only suppression, but also a powerful will that compelled it to refocus and direct that burning rage and power!
"Roar……"

The deep roar changed tone; it was no longer an unconscious act of destruction, but rather a directional one.

The main force of the demon army, emanating a foul and demonic aura that it utterly loathed, was pouring in from its flanks!

Almost the instant the madness in Iwaro's eyes subsided and reignited its directed rage, the Prison Chains snapped back with a "clatter," as if they were alive, and vanished instantly.

The pressure vanished, but the killing intent remained!
"Follow me—burn away all evil!"

The rocks roared, their sound waves shattering the wind and snow!
Its massive lava body suddenly turned around.

The rampaging demonic power around him no longer spread out in a disorderly manner, but instead compressed and condensed inwards, turning the magma into something like viscous, scorching molten steel!
It no longer fights alone.

With a wave of its giant lava claw, dozens of other mountain-shaking war beasts, their eyes also blazing with fury and untainted by the demonic influence, immediately responded, roaring as they gathered behind it, forming a sharp cone of flowing lava and ferocious demonic bodies!

"Feng Ya - Break the Demon!"

The rocks roared, and the lava spikes burst forth with terrifying speed, slamming into the flank of the demon army!
Wherever it passed, the demonic soldiers melted like wax figures thrown into a furnace, and the sturdy bone armor shattered under the extreme heat and brute force!
The giant claw of the rock roared out and precisely grabbed a crystal-armored war demon overseer who was giving orders. Amidst the demon's horrified demonic light, it tore the war demon, armor and body, in two!
The scalding demonic blood poured onto its lava body, making a sizzling sound, adding to its ferocity!

For the first time, the demon race, using the human race's systematic "arrowhead" combat tactics, tore open a crack in their glory under the banner of the Great Qin!

On a low hill in the distance, Zhang Yuanxuan's black python robe fluttered in the wind as he calmly withdrew his gaze.

The precise "suppression," "guidance," and "release" he just executed were a testament to his masterful control over the power of the Dragon Elephant Prison Monument.

He said in a deep voice to Zhan Hou Jin Yuelin, who was standing solemnly beside him, "I bestow upon Yan Pao's troops the essential jade slip of the 'Spearhead Formation Breaking Technique.' This 'Lava Spearhead' can serve as our weapon for breaking through enemy lines on the eastern front."

"Order its troops to be formally incorporated into the 'Rock Edge' rotational combat readiness sequence."

"As you command, Lord Marquis!" Jin Yuelin's eyes flashed with admiration, and he immediately accepted the order and left.

On the eastern front of Zhao Zhou, a new force combining the wisdom of human battle formations with the berserk talents of the demon race was forged and formed!

Yongtian Imperial City, Military Affairs Office.

On the enormous light and shadow sand table, the dark purple area that originally represented the chaos and ruin of eastern Zhao Zhou is now being stubbornly pierced, divided, and illuminated by several new rays of light, carrying crimson and dark gold hues.

The star curtain representing the "Iron Wall of the Sky" is barely holding on, while several nodes of the eastern section of the "Sword Ridge Great Wall" stretching below are flashing with a blinding red light, representing fierce battles.

Minister of War Zhou Chang pointed to the crack torn open by the crimson arrow representing the "Lava Arrow" in the demonic tide on the sand table, and the dark golden light of the "Guardian Camp" firmly nailed to the pass like a rock behind it, his voice carrying an undisguised tremor.

"Lord Qingyang... truly possesses divine and supernatural abilities! In just ten days, he actually used the remnants of Xuzhou as 'rock' and the remaining forces of the demon race as 'arrows' to forge the bones of this 'Great Wall of Swords' in this desolate land of Zhaozhou!"

"Such domineering power can turn the rotten into the miraculous!"

How could Zhao Zhou, as the Minister of War, not know about the dire situation in the country?

In his view, holding onto Tianjian Gorge was already the limit.

However, the front line that Zhang Yuan is now pushing forward to establish is far beyond his expectations.

Beside him, Grand Secretary Wang Anzhi, his hand stroking his beard trembling slightly, looked at the unit designations on the sand table marked "Guardian Battalion" and "Lava Arrowhead," his expression complex: "Using hatred as fuel, tempering blades with blood... we have forged the half-demon remnants and unruly demon races, once regarded as cannon fodder and burdens, into usable soldiers, integrating them into the Qin Dynasty's battle formation system..."

"This strategy was risky, but it yielded remarkable results! Marquis Qingyang's courage and methods are beyond the reach of ordinary people. In this way, the eastern front has a strong foothold and is no longer an easy path for demons to roam freely."

Most people probably wouldn't dare to do that.

Firstly, the demon race and the remnants of the ancient people are unruly and not just anyone can subdue them, nor are just anyone willing to employ them.

Secondly, not everyone can stop the criticisms within the Qin court.

Only Marquis Zhang Yuan of Qingyang remained fearless. (End of Chapter)