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With the explosion of the landmines, over a thousand soul masters were injured, and the remaining ones dared not advance another step, uncertain if more mines lay hidden ahead.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Ghostly Shadow Earth Altar Hand!"
Suddenly, Ghost Douluo summoned his soul power and struck. Countless black hands burst from the ground, crushing all the landmines planted ahead. A thunderous string of explosions echoed endlessly.
"Damn it! More of these cursed landmines!"
Yue Guan's face twisted ferociously, his eyes filled with venom as he snarled. The memory of nearly losing a leg to one of these mines filled his heart with rage.
"Old Ghost, leave the artillery shells from the sky to me. You clear out the mines buried underground. Everyone else, retreat at full speed—this place is no longer safe!"
"Sixth Soul Skill: Golden Petal Flowing Mist!"
Yue Guan immediately released his sixth soul skill. In an instant, countless throwing knives shot into the air, scattering like a swarm of locusts to intercept the shells raining down from the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
When the knives and shells collided, they erupted in a chain of explosions, unleashing deafening blasts that roared like heavenly dragons.
In the sky, knives and shells clashed violently, while below, countless black ghostly hands crushed the buried landmines, their detonations resounding endlessly.
"Your Excellency Gengjin, let us go into battle!"
Niu Gao, patriarch of the Defense Clan, could not hold back. He was now an eighty-first-level Defense-type Battle Soul Douluo, his defensive power rivaling that of a Titled Douluo. Once he activated his Martial Soul Avatar, he was nearly impregnable.
For this expedition, Dai Pojun had brought along the patriarchs of the Agility Clan, the Defense Clan, and the Breaking Clan.
Seeing the Spirit Hall army about to charge out of the valley, Niu Gao hurriedly urged action.
But Lin Qiuyang remained calm and unhurried. "Relax. They won't be leaving today."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His words had barely faded when a barrage of explosions erupted from the distant valley, shaking the heavens and drawing everyone's attention.
Just as the soul master army was about to break free, both sides of the valley suddenly exploded. The powerful blasts shattered the rock walls!
In an instant, countless boulders rained down like a torrential storm, crashing heavily onto the soul master army.
The attack came so suddenly that by the time the soul masters realized it was another trap, boulder-sized rocks were already smashing down on their heads. With a sickening crunch, many non-combat soul masters, such as support and healing types, were instantly crushed into a bloody pulp.
Even the combat-type soul masters, though they unleashed their soul skills to defend at once, still suffered heavy casualties.
Worse yet, the collapsed rock walls formed a small mountain of rubble, blocking the army's path and completely sealing them inside the valley.
It turned out Lin Qiuyang had anticipated that once Spirit Hall's army was ambushed, they would immediately launch a full-scale charge to escape.
So, not only had he ordered a minefield, but he had also planted vast amounts of high-grade explosives on the cliffs near the valley exit, guarded around the clock.
The moment Spirit Hall tried to break through, the explosives would be ignited, sealing off their escape entirely—trapping them for the slaughter.
"Soldiers! Focus all fire on the enemy's combatants! Anyone who kills a single soul master will be rewarded with one hundred gold soul coins! Fire with everything you've got! Unleash every last shell!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The soldiers roared. The artillerymen quickly shifted their cannons away from Titled Douluo like Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo, aiming instead at the weaker soul masters before unleashing a full barrage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thunder of cannons shook the air as artillerymen fired madly. The ordinary soldiers lit grenades and hurled them down in droves.
"Bring up the fire oil!"
Lin Qiuyang bellowed. Immediately, men from both sides of the valley carried out more than twenty giant vats filled with boiling oil.
"Release!"
At his command, the vats were tipped. With a series of crashes, the containers shattered and scalding oil poured down onto the Spirit Hall soul masters, making them howl in agony.
At the same time, soldiers atop the valley hurled incendiary bombs, and the flames instantly ignited the oil. The soul masters of Spirit Hall were set ablaze, transformed into human fireballs before being reduced to ashes.
Only a handful of Defense-type soul masters, along with those with water and ice attributes, managed to extinguish the flames and survive.
Even so, more than two thousand soul masters had been burned to death by the incendiary bombs and boiling oil.
Of the over four thousand who remained just moments ago, only fifteen hundred were still alive after falling into Lin Qiuyang's ambush.
It was hard to imagine that just half a month ago, this had been an army of ten thousand. In such a short time, more than four-fifths had perished on foreign soil—a testament to the brutality of war.
Though the Spirit Hall soul masters were a pitiful sight, the slaughter continued.
"Damn it! That old bastard Lin Qiuyang really intends to wipe us all out here!" Yue Guan cursed angrily. His soul power had not yet fully recovered, and the strain of resisting the endless bombardment was crushing him.
"Hmph! Lin Qiuyang—he's just a Soul Douluo! Watch me take his head!"
As she spoke, the Lingyuan Douluo spread her blazing wings and soared into the air.
"Lingyuan! Be careful!" the Demon Bear Douluo shouted in warning.
In a flash, with a fierce gust of wind, the Lingyuan Douluo appeared before Lin Qiuyang, having activated her Martial Soul Avatar and transformed into a Blazing Spirit Kite.
"Lin Qiuyang, today you die!"
She then turned her fiery gaze toward Niu Gao and Yang Wudi, killing intent flashing in her eyes as she snarled, "So, the patriarchs of the Breaking Clan and Defense Clan are here as well? In that case, you can all die together!"
"I wouldn't be so sure!"
Lin Qiuyang's power suddenly erupted as he summoned his Blackiron Sword Martial Soul. Two yellow, two purple, and five black soul rings—nine in total—materialized beneath his feet. The aura of a Titled Douluo swept across the battlefield!
With the Blackiron Sword in hand, he pointed it at the Lingyuan Douluo high above. A corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile as he sneered, "Elder Lingyuan, you may not be the one taking a life today!"
Seeing the nine soul rings beneath his feet, Lingyuan Douluo's pupils widened in shock. Her face filled with disbelief. "You—you actually became a Titled Douluo?"
"That's right. Thanks to the Crown Prince's aid, I am now a Titled Douluo. Elder Lingyuan, not only will I not die today, but this place will become your grave!"
"Sixth Soul Skill: Blades of Sword and Shadow!"
As his sixth soul ring flashed, countless phantoms of the Blackiron Sword appeared behind him. At his command, they shot like a storm toward Lingyuan Douluo!
"Damn it!"
"Third Soul Skill: Flame Amplification!"
"Fourth Soul Skill: Scorching Waves!"
As expected of a veteran Titled Douluo, Lingyuan Douluo unleashed two soul skills at once. Empowered by her third skill, the searing heat waves she conjured became even more terrifying!
(End of Chapter)