As the five people looked up, they saw a dozen figures clad in soft armor flying swiftly through the air. The emerald-green armor made them resemble a gust of wind cutting through the sky as they sped away.
The sudden appearance of these figures filled the five with curiosity. Their eyes followed the figures closely, eager to see what these unexpected arrivals were planning to do.
At that moment, the defensive formation atop the Blackhorn Clan's mountain city flared to life, accompanied by a long, resonating hum that echoed in everyone's ears.
"The Blackhorn Clan has detected us. They've activated the formation, and that sound is their alarm," Yue Liqun said, his expression grim as he watched the soul power from the mountain city's defensive formation pulse with vibrant light.
The brilliance of the formation indicated that it was fully operational, and judging by the intensity of the light, it was clear that this was no ordinary defensive measure.
In battles between Soul Martial Artists, the greatest casualties often occurred during attempts to breach such formations. If one tried to forcefully break through, the soul warriors at the front lines would suffer the heaviest losses, as they would be the first to clash directly with the enemy's defenses.
Moreover, with the formation aiding the defenders, they would naturally have a significant advantage. Even if one avoided a head-on clash and instead used formation masters to dismantle the defensive array, those formation masters would still need to be protected, requiring a safe environment for them to work.
This, too, would result in heavy casualties for those tasked with defending the formation masters, as the enemy would undoubtedly launch fierce attacks to prevent the breach.
At this moment, within the massive Blackhorn mountain city, the Blackhorn Clan's troops were already on high alert. Their crimson tongues licked their lips as they eagerly awaited the arrival of the enemy.
However, when they saw the approaching army of a hundred thousand Blood Warriors, they were stunned.
Resources in the Four Territories were scarce, so the Four Clans typically equipped their fighters with poor-quality soul gear—nothing to envy. But the army before them was entirely different from anything they had ever seen. The soldiers were outfitted with soul gear so refined that it made the Blackhorn troops green with envy.
The Blood Warrior army, led by Yaonie, suddenly halted its advance, puzzling both the Blackhorn defenders and Yue Liqun's group, who were observing from a distance. Why had they stopped so suddenly?
"Could it be that they've lost their nerve?" Yue Liqun speculated, seeing the army come to an inexplicable halt.
Lin Qian, hearing Yue Liqun's remark, tossed a fruit into his mouth and turned to him with a smirk. "If Yaonie heard you say that, he'd probably chop your head off with a single stroke."
"Besides, the attack should only begin once the formation has been blasted open. Rushing in now would just be throwing away lives."
With that, Lin Qian gestured for everyone to keep watching the scene ahead. "If you have doubts, just wait and see. Don't speak out of turn and make a fool of yourself."
After hearing Lin Qian's words, the five resumed watching the battlefield, their confusion deepening.
Why had Yaonie's forces suddenly frozen in place, and how did they plan to breach the formation?
At that moment, they noticed that the green-clad figures had already passed over Yaonie's troops. Each one held a small, glowing object, which they hurled towards the mountain city's stone walls with great force.
The objects they threw were no larger than a palm, and Yue Liqun and the others, with their cultivation, could clearly see that these were metallic discs, seemingly unremarkable.
Not only were they puzzled, but the Blackhorn Clan members within the mountain city also sneered at the sight of the small metallic discs. What could such tiny objects possibly do?
Moreover, the city's defensive formation was still active. There was no way these discs could even reach the walls.
But to their shock, the discs passed through the formation's barrier effortlessly and embedded themselves firmly into the stone walls, their sharp edges slicing into the rock and holding fast.
Both the Blackhorn Clan members in the city and the five observers outside wore expressions of disbelief. They hadn't expected the discs to penetrate the formation so easily.
Moments later, faint glows began to emanate from the discs, spreading quickly across the mountain city's defensive array.
The formation virus worked swiftly. In the blink of an eye, the glow had spread from the discs and infiltrated the city's protective array.
Once inside, the formation virus began its work immediately, causing the entire array to destabilize and lose its usual steady rhythm.
In an instant, the once-impenetrable barrier of the formation flickered erratically, its previously solid glow fluctuating wildly.
"What the…" The five stared in disbelief. They quickly realized that the destabilization of the defensive formation was directly linked to the discs that had been thrown by the green-clad figures.
They all turned to look at Lin Qian, their faces full of questions.
At that moment, Lin Qian was leisurely sipping from his wine cup, a look of contentment on his face.
"Your Majesty, what's going on?" Wang Qiongxing couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and asked Lin Qian, eager to understand what had just happened.
As a formation master himself, Wang Qiongxing knew better than anyone the power and complexity of such defensive arrays. That was why he had been so concerned earlier. Yet now, with just a few metallic discs, the formation had been thrown into disarray. Such a miraculous feat was beyond anything they had ever heard of.
"Those are formation viruses. Once deployed, they can infiltrate an enemy's formation and disrupt it according to preset instructions," Lin Qian explained with a smile as he continued to watch the scene unfold.
"Now that the formation is in disarray, it's time to bring it down completely!" With Lin Qian's declaration, the five turned their gaze back to the battlefield, eager to see what would happen next.
They quickly noticed that something else was happening, though they couldn't quite make sense of it.
"Your Majesty, what are they building so quickly over there?" Yue Liqun asked, pointing ahead in confusion.
"That? That's a heavy soul cannon for siege warfare!"