The light-powered soul cannons fired in unison, releasing thunderous blasts as they struck the maddened crowd rushing forward.
The Strong Archers and Light Archers raised their massive bows and longbows, suppressing the enemy with firepower, while Shieldbearers lifted their shields, unwavering in their defense. The Spearmen, Power Halberdiers, and Brutal Shields once again sliced through the battlefield, allowing the Agile Swordsmen and Shock Swordsmen to control the chaos, leaving the Frenzied Warriors and Blood Warriors to engage in slaughter.
The Shadow Assassins moved like phantoms, lurking in the battlefield's shadows, executing their targets with precision. The Swift Wind unit swiftly traversed the battlefield, clearing out enemies and injecting formation viruses into enemy defenses. The Silver Moon Direwolves, acting like meat grinders, flanked the battle, tearing any enemies that crossed their path into shreds with their ferocious power.
Under the command of the warlords and beast generals, the Imperial Army and Beast Army unleashed their full potential.
Emperor's Might!
The imperial aura surrounding Lin Qian enveloped the soldiers, causing them to glow with a brilliant golden light.
Emperor on the Battlefield!
At the same time, the combat power of the Imperial Army and Beast Army surged dramatically, far surpassing the effects of Imperial Command.
After all, Emperor on the Battlefield required Lin Qian to be physically present on the battlefield, whereas Imperial Command could be used from a distance. Naturally, the amplification power differed accordingly.
In an instant, the Blackhorn Kingdom's capital was engulfed in flames of war. The once-civilized inhabitants of the capital, from five different races, had lost all reason, driven only by the urge to kill. They rushed forward with reckless abandon, completely disregarding the suppressive fire behind them, driven to madness.
At this moment, Lin Qian was no longer focused on the battlefield. With the warlords and beast generals leading the charge, coupled with the amplification from his imperial abilities, winning this battle was guaranteed.
Instead, his attention was fixed on the center of the capital.
There, in the heart of the Blackhorn Kingdom's capital, stood the royal palace, and Lin Qian's golden eyes were locked on it.
The blood energy within the capital surged and roiled, flowing incessantly towards the palace, like a vast, raging river of blood.
Moreover, Lin Qian could clearly see that whenever one of the maddened five races was slain, a large amount of blood energy would rise from their blood, transforming into a crimson mist that spiraled upwards.
This blood energy, released upon death, also surged towards the palace.
Lin Qian was not surprised by this phenomenon. In fact, any of the Blackhorn soldiers who drank the corrupted military wine and went mad would exhibit the same behavior upon death.
What truly concerned Lin Qian was the massive crimson mist that shot up into the ceiling of the cavern above, furiously pouring into it.
From this sight, Lin Qian realized that the lake at the bottom of the ancient ruins was directly below the Blackhorn Kingdom's capital palace.
According to the clues he had previously gathered, the blood energy was supposed to be thin and scattered, but seeing the situation now, the state of Nanjiu Province in the Southern Territory was undoubtedly much worse.
The person responsible for all this was likely acting more boldly now, feeling the pressure from the ongoing invasion by the Huaxia Empire and urgently seeking to complete something.
For eight thousand years, the spiritual energy of Nanjiu Province in the Southern Territory had been siphoned away. A thousand years ago, the Blackhorn King suddenly became erratic and tyrannical. He devoured Yue Liqiu's wife, Shen Li, and used the military wine to drive the Blackhorn soldiers mad, extracting their blood and life energy through formations.
Clearly, the one orchestrating this from behind the scenes was no ordinary figure with vast ambitions.
"Prime Minister, how is the formation virus infiltration progressing?" Lin Qian asked Zhuge Ming, still gazing at the surging blood energy before him.
Lin Qian's voice echoed within the Heavenly Works Hall, where Zhuge Ming stood on a high platform, observing the tactical screens around him. He confidently replied, "No problem, Your Majesty. The defensive strength of the formation has been thoroughly weakened, and it can now be breached."
Lin Qian nodded, focusing on the palace. "Can we use the Grade C Destroyer Battleships on the palace?"
"Your Majesty, the defensive formation over the palace is composed entirely of pure soul energy, unlike the city walls which are embedded in the mountain. It cannot be destroyed with the Destroyer Battleships," Zhuge Ming explained, shaking his head. "However, the item Your Majesty requested the Fireworks Division to modify and enhance with soul energy has been completed."
"Is that so? Assemble it immediately and bring down that palace," Lin Qian ordered, quickly accessing the Xuanhuan Star and beginning to search.
In a blink of an eye, he found the disassembled components of the weapon and smiled in satisfaction, moving them into place.
Along with these components, he also transported a group of male artisans from the Fireworks Division, discreetly positioning them at a distance to avoid suspicion.
As soon as the 100,000 artisans appeared, they immediately set to work assembling the weapon.
Meanwhile, ten massive floating battleships were transported into position, their upper structures being dismantled and linked together.
"Guard it with all your strength until the construction is complete!" Lin Qian commanded, directing his forces to concentrate around the ten interconnected battleships, ready to defend them at all costs.
The warlords and beast generals moved in unison, swiftly shifting from an aggressive to a defensive stance, creating an impenetrable barrier.
The Huaxia Empire's battle formation now resembled an impregnable fortress, allowing nothing to slip through.
Yue Liqiu and the others, along with the recently joined Blackhorn elders, all noticed the unusual activity on the battlefield. They watched as a colossal structure began to take shape on the massive platform formed by the ten interconnected battleships.
This object seemed to be a solid, massive base, nearly covering the entire deck space of the ten battleships.
It's worth noting that a single floating battleship was as large as a city, and this base occupied the decks of ten such battleships. What on earth could it be?
As the mysterious structure continued to take shape, its true form slowly began to emerge.
Despite its enormous size and pristine white exterior, the structure bore a striking resemblance to a soul cannon!
Like a soul cannon, it was constructed on a base, with a barrel-like feature pointing towards the palace.
However, unlike the cylindrical barrel of a soul cannon, this weapon had a square barrel.
To avoid suspicion, Lin Qian couldn't simply summon this massive weapon fully assembled. Instead, he summoned the artisans and components to have them assemble it on-site.
Summoning it fully assembled wouldn't be stable; only by assembling it on-site, taking into account the surrounding environment, could its power be optimized.
As this imposing structure was completed, it left Yue Liqiu and the others speechless with awe. They couldn't imagine what would happen if this weapon were fired like a soul cannon...
A colossal base atop ten floating battleships supported a square barrel, with jointed supports below it, allowing the massive weapon to move.
"Prepare the Grade C Annihilation Cannon!" Lin Qian ordered, his gaze fixed ahead.
A low hum began as the massive weapon started to draw in the surrounding spiritual energy with tremendous force, like a whale inhaling vast amounts of water.