"Father! Father! Wake up, please wake up! Doctor! Get a doctor!" At this moment, Tie Zhu, who was responsible for defending the position of the Mu Xing Palace, was shouting loudly as he rushed to the side of General Tie Dao. He checked the general's injuries while urgently calling for medical personnel, causing chaos among the nearby troops who were deeply concerned about General Tie Dao's serious condition.
"You bunch of ants! Just because you stumbled upon a way to disrupt the teleportation channel unexpectedly doesn't mean you've got it all figured out! Hmph! Let's see who dares to keep barking now!" The Destroyer glanced coldly at General Tie Dao, whom Dream Jia had just rescued in time, and snorted disdainfully. He then waved the exaggeratedly large sword in his hand, indifferently observing as the Eternal Mu Xing fleet, having witnessed his power, immediately ceased their attack on the teleportation channel and retreated in fear.
"You only managed to hit that ship by chance with a lucky shot from your bow! Hmph! What's there to be so proud of?!" Dao Lao was indeed concerned about General Tie Dao's condition, but with the enemy so close, he couldn't afford to lose his momentum. Thus, he could only speak with a feigned indifference.
Due to the immense power of the Destroyer's previous attack and the indiscriminate damage it caused to their own soldiers, not only the Mu Xingians but even the Mastanian griffins, in their struggle to avoid being killed by the Destroyer, chose to stay as far away from him as possible. As a result, the only ones left confronting the Destroyer in mid-air, holding the Light Annihilation Staff with one hand, were Dao Lao himself.
However, the Destroyer clearly didn't regard the slender old man Dao Lao as a threat. Thus, he adopted Dao Lao's casual manner, standing boldly in mid-air while casually surveying the situation. "Ah, what a pitiful bunch! Even if you manage to stop us for a moment, you won't be able to stop us for a lifetime! We Mastanians will eventually conquer Mu Xing and turn all of you into the cradle for a new generation of Mastanians!"
"Hmph! You're dreaming! As long as we destroy all these teleportation channels, what can you and your Mastanians do against us?" Dao Lao retorted.
The Destroyer smirked at this and nodded, "True, you're right. So, to prevent that from happening, I'll just have to kill you few pests from the Spirit Realm first. Then, I'll take my time tormenting these ugly camel-deer creatures!"
With that said, the Destroyer spread his wings again, wielding his huge sword as he charged towards Dao Lao. Soon, the two were locked in mid-air combat. Dao Lao wasted no time in employing various techniques of his staff, but the Destroyer, equally unreserved, retaliated without restraint, quickly gaining the upper hand after countering Dao Lao's initial onslaught.
Fortunately, Dream Jia and Hao Yun arrived shortly thereafter and joined the fray, preventing Dao Lao, who was beginning to falter under the pressure, from falling into a more passive position. However, due to the Destroyer's vastly enhanced strength compared to their initial encounter, even with the three of them attacking together, they couldn't make a dent in the Destroyer's defenses. More accurately, if their battle armor hadn't been able to generate protective shields, they would likely have been defeated long ago in their confrontation with the Destroyer.
Although the three priests were engaged in a fierce battle with the Destroyer, unable to continue leading the charge to destroy the teleportation channels, and General Tie Dao was incapacitated by his severe injuries, the fleet of the Eternal Mu Xing did not give up. Under the command of the officers who had participated in the recent attacks on the teleportation channels, they continued to assault the Mastanian teleportation channels.
However, without the strong firepower support of Dao Lao and Dream Jia in the aerial combat against the Mastanian griffins, they not only failed to destroy the enemy's teleportation channels again in a outnumbered situation, but also suffered heavy casualties in the aerial battle due to the clear disparity in strength. Moreover, as the war continued to intensify, the issue of the Eternal Mu Xing's lack of hard power became increasingly serious. Combined with the continuous influx of Mastanians through the teleportation channels, the overall strategic situation on Mu Xing became increasingly unfavorable for the Mu Xingians.
Fortunately, despite the Mastanians' significant increase in strength, they still couldn't fully exert their combat capabilities comfortably under the influence of the powerful Celestial Shield. Otherwise, without effective command from their important leaders, the Eternal Mu Xing defenders would likely have already collapsed under the Mastanians' relentless assaults.
Facing an increasing number of Mastanians, the defensive pressure on the Mu Xingians grew, and in some areas, defenses were already crumbling. What made matters worse was that under the relentless attack of the Mastanians, the defense line constructed at the Rainbow Tunnel exit on the Mu Xing side was on the verge of collapse, with the risk of complete collapse at any moment. As more and more Mastanians charged out from the Rainbow Tunnel and Mastanian griffins flew out from the teleportation channels inserted into the Celestial Shield, the Mu Xing defenders were facing attacks from both sides, making it only a matter of time before they abandoned the defense of the Rainbow Tunnel.
"Everyone, listen up! All stationed troops in various parts of Mu Xing immediately retract the defense lines and gather towards the direction of the Mu Xing Palace! Due to the enemy's fierce assault, we must quickly rebuild our defense lines and concentrate all firepower on the main battlefield above the Mu Xing Palace! Only by finding a way to defeat the Destroyer and his vanguard troops, can we possibly organize a large-scale counterattack against the Mastanians! Warriors! Everyone prepare for a decisive battle against the Mastanians!" At this critical moment when the battle situation became increasingly unfavorable, the voice of Her Majesty finally came through the communication devices of the Eternal Mu Xingians.
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Yan Chaoyue's voice was highly infectious and rallying, so much so that the Eternal Mu Xing soldiers, who had been demoralized just a moment ago due to the intense battle, suddenly regained their spirits as if injected with vigor. Quickly following Her Majesty's orders, they tactically began to retreat while simultaneously engaging the defensive lines.
After reissuing combat orders and double-checking the status of the celestial shield, Yan Chaoyue finally breathed a sigh of relief and locked the formation once again. With the Destroyer ceasing his assault on the celestial shield and focusing on battling Haoyun and the others, Yan Chaoyue's pressure had eased. Now, with Yan Chaoyue reinforcing the formation, as long as the Destroyer didn't resume attacking the celestial shield, it could hold for some time.
Therefore, Yan Chaoyue delegated the command of ground operations to Hilve and a group of junior generals. She stretched out her arms, allowing the twelve Phoenix Spines behind her to form a pair of shimmering light wings. Then, Yan Chaoyue leaped into the sky, swiftly ascending, and with a rain of energy swords shot from the flapping wings of light, she blocked a massive sword that was about to strike Haoyun's head. She said, "Haoyun, let me handle this! You go down and help guard the formation maintaining the celestial shield, and assist Hilve and Tie Zhu!"
"Alright! Chaoyue sister, be careful! This guy is really tough to deal with!" Haoyun gasped back in response, swiftly withdrawing from battle with the Destroyer and returning to the ground.
Haoyun's decisive retreat wasn't because he couldn't defeat the Destroyer and gave up. It was because the Destroyer's strength was indeed overwhelming, rendering Haoyun ineffective in combat against him. Therefore, rather than remaining a burden, it was more effective for him to return to the ground early and assist the defenders of Mu Xing Palace against the Mastanians' assault, maximizing his contribution.
"Hehehe! You finally come up to see me, Your Majesty. I didn't expect you to be more than just an ordinary priest. Now, you've piqued my interest even more!" The Destroyer licked his giant sword with his long tongue, implying he had discerned Yan Chaoyue's true identity through insights from King Earl's residual consciousness.
Yan Chaoyue remained silent, glaring at the Destroyer with eyes full of fury. Dao Lao and Dream Jia took advantage of the moment when the Destroyer and Yan Chaoyue confronted each other to swiftly recover their strength, joining Yan Chaoyue in a triangular encirclement against the Destroyer.
"Chaoyue, don't underestimate him! The Destroyer's strength has far surpassed what it used to be. If not for the protective shields of our battle armors, we might have been defeated long ago," Dao Lao quickly reminded, observing Yan Chaoyue preparing for an attack.
"Oh! Dear Majesty, please don't be so nervous! Rest assured, I won't resort to any tricks this time. Because you insects aren't worthy of me using any stratagems!" Although surrounded by three priests, the Destroyer mocked indifferently.
"Now, all I need to do is dispose of you trash, and then no one can stop us from occupying Mu Xing! Tsk tsk tsk! I wonder what the taste of the divine power on you three will be like! I really can't wait to see how much my strength will grow after draining your divine power! Hehehe, thinking about it makes me quite excited!" The Destroyer licked his mouth full of thorns grimly.
"Pah! Dream on! Let's see if you've got what it takes!" Yan Chaoyue sneered with disdain. Then, she bent her body, charging towards the Destroyer like a cannonball shot out of a cannon. At the same time, Dao Lao and Dream Jia, as if having already planned with Yan Chaoyue, launched attacks from both sides against the Destroyer. Three gods and one demon instantly created chaos in the air.
"Featherfall Blossom! Lethal Feather Blades!"
"Three Whips to the Ghost! One Pillar Shaking the Heavens!"
"One Shot to the Soul! Thousand Wounds!"
The three priests continuously unleashed various skills, dazzling with colorful techniques in the sky. However, the figure emitting a purple-black demonic aura remained indifferent to these attacks, freely maneuvering in the air, calmly and methodically countering every assault from the three priests.
"Soul-shattering Spirit Breaker!"
After enduring successive attacks from Yan Chaoyue and his companions, the Destroyer also shouted out his own sword technique. The Destroyer swiftly evaded the combined assault of the three priests, immediately rotating his body horizontally in midair. With a fluid motion, he swung his massive sword towards the direction of the three priests, unleashing several crescent-shaped sword qi waves. From a distance, the dark red crescent-shaped sword qi emanating from the Destroyer seemed like a giant crimson lotus blooming in the sky—both magnificent and terrifying, filled with an inescapable sense of despair.
Watching the Destroyer effortlessly neutralize the dense attacks of the three priests once again with such domineering and unreasonable moves, Dao Lao, Dream Jia, and Yan Chaoyue couldn't help but feel frustrated. They thought to themselves, "Damn it! Is this the strength of a half-step Celestial Fury level Demonic Spirit? How can he be so powerful? At this rate, we're no match for him at all!"
Because Dao Lao and Dream Jia had heard from Haoyun about the story of "three shoemakers challenging a Zhuge Liang," they had indeed, like three shoemakers, joined forces to win victory after victory while trapped in the Fragrant Nebula, successfully escaping the clutches of the Countess. Therefore, even now facing the Destroyer, who possessed absolute strength superiority, Dao Lao and Dream Jia still believed in the feasibility of this theory. After the Destroyer repeatedly neutralized their attacks, they continued to try to unite with Yan Chaoyue's attacks to inflict maximum damage on the Destroyer.
While outwardly the Destroyer scorned Dao Lao and the others immensely, inwardly, even though he could easily neutralize the priests' techniques, he concentrated fully to resist, ensuring not to expose any weaknesses due to carelessness. On the contrary, when the Destroyer launched attacks against Dao Lao and the others, the three had to focus 100% to neutralize the Destroyer's assaults. As the battle progressed, the gap in strength between the two sides became increasingly apparent. This led to Dao Lao and the others struggling to defend effectively, increasingly relying on the battle armor's protective shield to withstand the Destroyer's fancy attacks.
However, this brought about another issue. While Dao Lao and the others' battle armor shields were exceptionally sturdy, the overwhelming power of the Destroyer's attacks meant that the Yin Realm battle armor shields couldn't fully absorb the force of the Destroyer's attacks. As a result, some of the shockwaves produced upon colliding with the shields transmitted through to the bodies of the three priests.