"All of them here?" Yun Fan asked, his voice filled with disbelief. Lin Qian shook his head repeatedly.
"Of course not, they're only a small portion."
"...A portion?" Yun Fan was left speechless by Lin Qian's response. He stood still, processing the meaning of his grandson's words. After a moment, a terrifying thought crept into Yun Fan's mind, causing his voice to become stiff as he asked, "Qian'er, just how many of these Ninth Stage Transcendent experts do you have under your command?"
"There are merely 800 Ninth Stage Transcendent experts involved in this attack on the Yun family," Lin Qian replied absentmindedly, his focus still on the battle map projected by his Emperor's Eyes, closely monitoring the progress of the war.
"Ugh!" Yun Fan clutched his chest, feeling his heart tighten painfully as the words echoed repeatedly in his mind.
"Merely 800 Ninth Stage Transcendents... merely 800 Ninth Stage Transcendents..."
Even with Yun Fan's hardened experience as a veteran warrior, his composure faltered under the weight of such a revelation. Even Yun Rong, the most powerful among them, stood speechless, her mouth slightly agape.
Lin Di rubbed his temples, at a loss for words, while Yun Yunyan forced a dry laugh, gazing at her son with a mixture of emotions.
As for Yun Qingfeng, he had already fainted on the deck, knocked unconscious from the shock of it all.
Though the Central Region had a sizable population, and the number of Transcendent experts was not small, those at the Ninth Stage, just a step away from becoming saints, numbered no more than a thousand across the entire region.
Yet Lin Qian had brought 800 such experts to attack the Yun family. It was no wonder they were all so shocked.
"With that many, as long as we keep Yun Hu occupied, victory in this war is practically assured," Yun Rong finally said, recovering her composure and shaking her head in disbelief.
Lin Qian nodded in agreement. "That's why I'll be relying on you for that task, Grandmother."
After he spoke, Lin Qian turned his cold gaze toward the imposing walls of the Yun family's cities and ordered, "Fire!"
Whoosh!
As Lin Qian's command echoed through the air, a piercing screech rang out from behind. A blazing white beam of soul force shot down from the distant sky at blinding speed, crashing into the heart of the fortress ahead.
For a moment, nothing happened. The beam seemed to disappear into the fortress, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.
Suddenly, the white beam erupted in a violent explosion, followed by the deafening roar of destruction as a mushroom cloud billowed into the sky. In an instant, the entire city was reduced to ruins, razed to the ground before their eyes.
When the smoke finally began to clear, nothing remained of the once-proud city except for a massive crater.
Yun Fan and the others stood frozen, their hearts racing as they took in the sight. They swallowed hard, unable to suppress the cold shivers that ran down their spines.
Standing aboard the Huaxia Imperial Flagship, Yun Rong swiftly turned her gaze toward the direction from which the soul force had come, her pupils narrowing.
Her soul sense surged outward, scanning the distant landscape. On a mountaintop far away, a large, pristine white structure stood, its rectangular cannon barrels still emitting faint wisps of smoke. It was clear that this devastating attack had come from that mysterious building.
Compared to the ordinary soul cannons, this pure white building was much larger, and Yun Rong had noticed it earlier, inspecting it closely. However, she hadn't expected it to have such power, or to be capable of firing over such an immense distance.
From their current position, which was roughly in the center of the province, that Destructive Shock Cannon had traversed half a province to annihilate the city in an instant.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before they could react, two more soul beams streaked past overhead, aimed at distant targets.
Boom!
The sound of explosions echoed from afar, followed by powerful shockwaves rippling through the air, buffeting the faces of those on the flagship.
In the distance, another white beam of soul force shot skyward from the ground, followed by an inferno that replaced the blinding light. Black smoke rose into the sky in the shape of another mushroom cloud—yet another city had been reduced to ashes.
However, what was most unsettling was that although the city had been completely destroyed, the defensive arrays remained intact, suspended in the air, undamaged by the attacks. Golden dragons continued to swirl around the pillars of light, their energy undiminished, as the Huaxia World Array remained strong.
The soul cannon attacks could not penetrate the influence of the Huaxia Empire's arrays. The Array Virus had turned the enemy's formations into conduits of spiritual energy that maintained their stability, even amid the destruction.
On the horizon, the others could see what appeared to be shooting stars streaking across the sky.
They had noticed them earlier, unsure of what they were. Now, they understood: those meteoric streaks were the devastating attacks that obliterated entire cities in mere moments.
"Have you ever experienced true despair?" Lin Di suddenly recalled something his son had once said while they were in the Ten Thousand Medicine Valley.
Now, it seemed that the Yun family was indeed experiencing that very despair.
The capabilities of the Huaxia Empire were terrifying. The soul martial continent's empires and kingdoms typically trained their soul warriors into well-organized armies, formidable in battle.
Initially, they had assumed that the Huaxia Empire's army would be similar.
However, after standing by Lin Qian and witnessing the war firsthand, they realized they had been utterly wrong.
From the start of the battle until now, not a single Huaxia Empire soldier had been injured. With the Huaxia World Array in place, the enemy had no defenses left.
The relentless bombardment from the soul cannons ensured that the Yun family forces never even had the chance to engage. They were reduced to ashes before ever setting foot on the battlefield.
As for the towns and villages, they were easily cleaned up by the Beast Corps, clad in their armored soul weapons. The Yun family couldn't resist—the difference in strength was too great.
The Yun family stood no chance against the Huaxia Empire. It was like a child facing a towering giant—completely helpless.
The assault was overwhelming. By this point, there wasn't even a need to fight. Every city targeted had already been turned to rubble by the Destructive Shock Cannons, leaving no survivors.
At the forefront of the Huaxia Imperial Flagship, Lin Qian slowly closed his eyes. A single tear escaped, sliding down his face.
"I'm sorry… but I have no choice."
When Lin Qian reopened his eyes, his expression was firm, his resolve unshaken.
"But I will make sure justice is served for all of you."