He then turned his head and looked at the monster tide surging forward once again.
Black, pitch-dark aura coiled around those monsters. Their eyes glowed crimson as they roared without cease.
The surrounding soldiers tightened their grips on their spears. Even Kitsune Saiguu and Kapatcir wore traces of tension on their faces.
Could Jiang Yan… really withstand such a ferocious monster tide?
Kitsune Saiguu suddenly recalled the scene when Jiang Yan had once faced Raiden Ei.
With Jiang Yan's strength, dealing with these monsters shouldn't be much of a problem.
Thinking this way, her heart finally settled a little.
Seven-colored light surged around Jiang Yan's body. He clenched his right fist, his whole figure bending forward like a fully drawn bowstring.
"Hoo…"
Jiang Yan let out a long breath. Immediately after, an invisible wave spread outward from his body.
In an instant, everyone nearby changed expression, instinctively retreating backward.
"Galaxy Collapse!"
As an ethereal, drifting voice reached their ears, an intense flash of light forced everyone to shut their eyes.
Jiang Yan's right fist swung out violently. A terrifying shockwave, accompanied by a sky-piercing拳芒, instantly engulfed nearly half of Narukami Island.
The entire island shook violently. Even Inazuma City far to the south could feel the fierce tremors.
Inazuma City
The sudden shaking of the earth startled everyone locked in fierce combat, including Torachiyo.
They all looked toward the north, only to see dazzling seven-colored light almost blotting out the sky in the direction of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
"What… is that?"
Torachiyo's pupils shrank, fear flashing through her eyes.
Kitsune Saiguu—what in the world is happening over there?!
The Wu Ma Skyborne Fortress rapidly ascended into the sky. From one section of the hull, a flying craft launched and sped toward the Grand Narukami Shrine.
The moment the ground trembled, Wu Ma had detected an overwhelmingly terrifying energy fluctuation.
Without hesitation, the captain dispatched a reconnaissance unit to the source of the light.
Not long after, the flying craft returned.
Then, the Wu Ma's excited voice rang out across the battlefield.
[Attention all units—Immortal Lord Jiang Yan has arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine.]
[This war… we are about to win!]
Hearing this announcement, Torachiyo froze for a moment—
Then burst into joy.
The Immortal Lord!
Jiang Yan had arrived!!
Even the soldiers still fighting nearby erupted into cheers.
Although many of them had never seen Jiang Yan in person, his reputation had long spread throughout Inazuma.
With such a powerful figure coming to support them, this battle was certain to end soon.
"Thank goodness…"
Only now did Torachiyo finally let out a breath of relief.
Jiang Yan's arrival gave her a pillar to rely on.
"All troops, hold this position!"
Torachiyo shouted loudly to the soldiers around her.
"Liyue's Tianquan has come to support us! We only need to hold on until he reaches here!"
"Hold fast—no matter what!!!"
She continuously rallied the troops.
"Yes!!"
The soldiers shouted in unison. The despair that once filled their eyes was gone.
Jiang Yan's arrival had given them immense confidence. Their morale soared, and their spears swung with renewed ferocity.
Outside the Grand Narukami Shrine
As the blinding light slowly faded, Kitsune Saiguu and the others opened their eyes.
They saw a figure clad in blue-and-gold battle robes standing between heaven and earth.
Before him stretched a vast expanse of pitch-black land.
Everyone shuddered.
One person trembled as they muttered,
"I remember… just now… there was…"
"A mountain there, wasn't there…?"
Some nodded, swallowing hard.
With that single punch, Jiang Yan had not only annihilated the entire monster tide—he had even flattened the surrounding mountains.
"So Liyue's Skyborne Fortress is here as well."
Jiang Yan had naturally sensed the earlier reconnaissance.
"Time's tight. I still need to make a trip to Khaenri'ah."
He muttered to himself, then turned to Kitsune Saiguu and the others.
"Clean up the battlefield here. Stay alert in case more monsters appear. I'll go check on Inazuma City."
Kitsune Saiguu nodded.
Jiang Yan turned around and rose into the air.
A streak of seven-colored light cut across the sky. In the blink of an eye, he arrived above Inazuma City.
"This time, no reminiscing. Let's finish this quickly."
Jiang Yan curled his lips into a smile and brought his palms together.
It really had been a long time since he last used this technique…
"Immortal Art: Wood Release—True Thousand Hands!"
As his words fell, countless trees burst out of the ground.
At the same time, the earth began to quake violently.
Torachiyo and the others hurriedly steadied themselves, staring in shock at the crazily growing forest behind them.
"Jiang Yan… is that you?"
Torachiyo murmured.
A colossal Buddha, over a thousand meters tall, slowly rose from the earth.
Jiang Yan descended from the sky and landed atop the Buddha's head.
His palms still pressed together, he shouted once more:
"Top Deity Transformation!"
In an instant, the thousand-armed halo behind the Buddha began to rotate. Countless arms extended outward, forming a curtain of fists that slammed down from the sky.
The monsters wailed miserably, fleeing in all directions, trying to escape the rain-like barrage of blows.
Every palm strike from the Buddha landed with a thunderous roar, crushing vast swathes of monsters.
When the duration of Top Deity Transformation ended, the ground was left riddled with countless dense craters.
Large numbers of monsters lay dead. Black blood soaked into the earth as faint dark mist lingered in the air.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the Great Buddha—and the near-instant extermination of most of the monsters—the soldiers below erupted into sky-shaking cheers.
Their reinforcements had arrived.
Victory was at hand!
Hearing the cheers below, Jiang Yan did not descend to join them. Instead, he clasped his hands together once more.
"Wood Release—Wood Clone Technique."
A wooden clone emerged behind him and bowed respectfully.
"Original body."
"I'll leave the Great Buddha to you," Jiang Yan said to the clone.
"Clear out the monsters at sea and those around Inazuma."
The clone nodded in acknowledgment.
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