Direct Confrontation

Psiuf~. "?!" Heian Ciemnosc's eyes widened as he barely caught a glimpse of something within the City; just a couple seconds before his sight left the transporting ships in the sky, he had to go through the hole the cannon teams behind them had just opened for them. Then, within just a 2-second frame, he saw a trail of bluish-white smoke ascend from somewhere in the enemy City at a speed slower only when compared to the vessel's maximum speed level.

Whiissshhhtleee- cruushhh- pam- BOO- PA BOOOOOOM.

The missile penetrated through one of the transporting ships as it passed way too close to the enemy City’s aerial space in the center from its belly to the top. It entered it from below but fortunately came out from above. The missile started self-detonation, seemingly understanding it had failed to hit somewhere important. But it was too late and inefficient to do it in time. It came out of the transporting ship, leaving melting metal plates with sparks and electric shocks spasming following the missile’s trail when it finally exploded dozens of meters above the vessel.

An initial explosion could be heard, cut off by the world’s nature as a smallish ball of explosion enveloped the missile. Half a second later, it exploded again, seemingly not having wholly gone off, forming a grave detonation a dozen meters in diameter that directly forced the transporting ship straight down against a few tall buildings of the enemy City. It crashed down and leveled down floor after floor from those structures before finding a way to level itself in the air.

WHIIIIIIISTLEEE~~... However, it had lost too many capabilities as it tried flying back to the army’s camp but couldn’t. The transporting ship leaned to the left and headed and prepared for a rough land northeast of the enemy City. Cheers could be heard as Heian Ciemnosc and the other teams behind them were slightly affected by the enemy’s morale sudden rise. Heian Ciemnosc, at the front, flashed with a fierce glint in his darkest eyes before shouting, his voice traveling kilometers behind himself!

“Enemy ahead. Give them back what they’ve done to our tr5ansporting ship!!” - “HUAAH!!!”

The crowd behind Heian Ciemnosc roared without hesitation, his Concealed Ornament Team being the loudest from the few thousand who opened their mouths and sounded their throats. Thus, the enemy, in Heian Ciemnosc’s Spirit Sense, was pulled back to reality as they alarmingly looked where the shouts and roars came from, echoing one after another as they entered the City.

“They’re comiiiiing! Over here! Don’t let them in!!” The enemy’s side also shouted, but there wasn’t a follow-up. They were too aware of what the Academy’s forces were capable of. But the sensation of shooting a transporting ship down still made them feel proud. They felt losing only came to those who thought about losing! And, right now, they all wanted and felt sure of victory.

Step, step, step- rumble… … step, step, step, step- rumble~... step, step, step- rumble~~~.

“Haaaaii!” - “Hiyaaaa!” The enemy heard the Academy’s troops coming closer and closer, their hearts tightening and releasing as their waist-high barriers were already set and waited for the student troops to arrive towards them. Then, a person finally showed up, followed by another 7. But the one at the front carried a strangely large protective, dark colored array formation. A second later, as those 8 closed in, the enemy saw thousands of student troops rushing and turning around the corner to face them as if knowing the streets well.

By instinct, the enemy cultivators cried out loud at the sight of so many enemies hurrying towards them. Suddenly, the ground beside the enemy’s left wing slid open, revealing a 2-meter-wide pillar soaring to the sky, a machine gun atop it. The moment it fully extended up, 100 meters above the streets, it aimed towards the protective dark array formation screen before shooting. However, it didn’t even slow the person holding it down.

Tararararararara- step step step step step step… tararara- CRASSHHHH- pshift pshift pshift…

Heian Ciemnosc saw the enemy and rushed towards them without a second thought, his right hand sent backwards and his palm opening to reveal his Vocón Link coming out. He stepped and immensely dashed forth in the last few tens of meters before the enemy’s lines, lowering his body and opening his mouth to reveal his dark fangs before swiping his whip horizontally! The sound of those barriers crashing apart sounded, followed by the Power Energy attacks nearest to him as they decimated the first row of enemies.

The enemy was taken aback and astounded at the sight of a whip more than a thousand meters long suddenly slashing at them. But those immediately behind them were shocked as thousands of Power Energy attacks flew towards them! The enemy began falling like bloody bags torn open by flying knives, leaving mutilated, cleaved, and divided corpses behind. A few thingies, devices slightly left open, and black colored flew in between the gaps made by those attacks.

Phhshk, phhshk, phhshk… crreeshhk… ckrsheerr… Decimating Flash Rollers flew farther beyond, deeper into the enemy lines, and opened yet another path, leaving a trail of only blood and flesh behind as everywhere it went through, the enemy tried to avoid with all possible means. Some even threw debris and corpses onto the flying tools, trying to stop them, but it was useless.

Whoosh-. A Spirit Rebirth realm enemy cultivator in the 5th stage tried to stop it himself. He covered his body with a layer of Power Energy and pure energy armor. However, just as he performed a pseudo-Art and transformed his hands into gauntlets made of scales, the Decimating Flash Roller self-imploded. In a moment, in a tens of meters radius, enemy cultivators were pulverized into incomplete remains, only their blood remaining.

Tlck-BOOM. The Spirit Rebirth realm cultivator, just a meter before catching the tool, was also affected and even killed! This tool could only injure those in the Spirit Rebirth realm. But with the closeness and momentum, this cultivator flew towards it. His eyes were pierced countless times, and his forehead into a beehive. His corpse was mostly intact, but he suffered, unlike the others, before his undeniable death.

“Chaaarge!” - “Fearless, get in and get your backs stabbed, arrgghh!!” The Academy’s student troops forced their way in after a momentary stalemate caused by themselves. They rushed into the lines where the Decimating Flash Rollers and the previous barrage of Power Energy attacks left open and started indiscriminately slashing, thrusting, bashing, and stabbing everywhere around them. Each step meant 3 to 5 enemies injured left for those behind them to kill off.

Heian Ciemnosc and his Concealed Ornament Team were already deep into the enemy’s lines. They were surprising and killing, in their shock, any enemy who realized they were not from the same side. Heian Ciemnosc’s Vocón Link grabbed onto many enemies at once, penetrating their solar plexus and timely devouring away their everything. The last person to be captured by his Vocón Link would be hugged around the waist and used as a heavy object to bash many enemies simultaneously.

After a couple swings, the person he last grabbed each time would have only legs and their spine remaining in Heian Ciemnosc’s grasp. Meanwhile, his left claw was met with many bodies’ flesh and bones, slicing through most of them like melting through butter. The sensation directly traveled to his heart. Heian Ciemnosc couldn’t help licking his lips occasionally, startling and confounding the enemy around him.

The COs fought together but left at times before reuniting once again, not letting the enemy surround them alone. The rest of the team worked in smallish teams, sometimes reuniting with their small team leaders and other times fighting together as a group of 80. The other teams under his name fought and brandished their weapons to stop any enemy trying to open up a gap in their formation. Their Power Energy attacks were especially ruthlessly mowing bodies like grass whenever they were presented with a situation.

In the air, one could constantly see a Spirit Rebirth realm student troop taking into the skies in the direction of a fellow student trooper’s team. They were moving to intercept the enemy’s Spirit Rebirth realm cultivators who tried breaking the balance. Even if they were at the beginning when the 1,500,000 was formed, any Spirit Rebirth realm student trooper would become used to this scenario and repeatable action. The enemy always tried targeting the most eminent Academy’s teams so that their side could gain the advantage.

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In the same way, the student troops were prohibited from entering into battle with those who weren’t in the Spirit Rebirth realm, and they had to equal their cultivation base with the assailant. Otherwise, if they sent their strongest Spirit Rebirth realm troopers to stop and kill the weaker enemy of the same realm, it would be disastrous when the enemy used their mightiest Spirit Rebirth realm cultivators to mow the student troops’ lives.

Whoosh, whoosh… tap tap, whistle~.

At this moment, Heian Ciemnosc had gone all the way to the rear, where his Concealed Ornament Team and the other 6 teams had formed a division, somewhat forcing the enemy’s rear incapable of retreating and fighting them head-on as the rest of the army continued to push forward. Some other team leader led their respective teams to accompany Heian Ciemnosc in forcefully encircling the enemy’s troops. But they were taking a little, although not suffering much.

Heian Ciemnosc had just finished 3 cultivators at the Ashes Soul realm 10th stage who thought they could besiege Heian Ciemnosc and render him into paste meat. The one he was killing off was a young man with long, curly hair as he looked up at the dark sky, his stomach revealing everything under his chest. His legs were sliced open from the middle, and his flesh and skin were separated like a tongue, exposing the bones in the middle.

A couple cultivators, both at the Spirit Formation realm 10th stage, descended after floating from the enemy’s rear, looking at Heian Ciemnosc like vipers and excited predators. One was slender and somewhat tall, the other a little bulky but looked remarkably nimble. After Heian Ciemnosc finished gobbling down someone’s lung, he looked at them casually before kicking the young man’s corpse to the side before walking towards the newcomers.

“Hey, slender fella, bulky fella,” Heian Ciemnosc stood 4 meters before the enemy cultivators as he spoke. The slender and bulky fellows frowned a little and grew a smile on their lips. They didn’t say anything in response, disregarding Heian Ciemnosc, but crossed their arms as their eyes seemingly laughed in silence.

“Eh, you seem pretty strong? What did you eat? Hahahaha. To grow this powerful, hmm?” The bulky fella spoke first. Heian Ciemnosc finished eating a last trace of someone’s skin, chewing on it as his right arm was low and the back of his hand faced these 2 fellows. The slender fella interjected and said, his was voice a bit high-pitched, “Is that something genuinely tasty? Eating people? I see you don’t discriminate. You even ate a few of our beautiful elves, eh.”

“Mnnn…” Heian Ciemnosc hummed with a little boy’s tone as he tilted his head to the left, looking at the bulky cultivator first before glancing at the slender one. The fellows looked at each other before taking a step forward, their feet moving close and together at once. Heian Ciemnosc spoke, halting their advance and making them shrink their pupils as his cultivation base’s fluctuations soared to the utmost.

Pshift-. “That’s enough time. My people won’t need me now,” Heian Ciemnosc made a grabbing motion with his right hand, visible to the fellow’s eyes, before opening it as a sound of Power Energy moving was heard. Their minds were surprised, and they quickly glanced behind Heian Ciemnosc, their eyes widening in shock.

As they spoke, Heian Ciemnosc’s COs looked at him constantly. They weren’t worried about him, just making sure of something. After they confirmed it, they returned to the enemy lines with their smallish teams as the other teams nearby helped keep the enemy’s rear at bay. After making their way through more enemy corpses, they helped the other team leaders lead their teams out and towards behind the enemy so they could sum up their forces.

At this realization, the two fellows became incensed! Being played so smoothly and casually, they couldn't even directly get angry. They looked at Heian Ciemnosc again, but he was already dashing forwards with his right arm seemingly swiping upwards.

When the 2 fellows lost their concentration at the realization, he dashed forth. His right hand let the Vocón Link start elongating as he began sending his forearm to the front, his arm using all the strength he could muster as dark Power Energy covered him. The Vocón Link finally appeared in these 2 enemy cultivators’ eyes. But it did so in the image of a blurry thing already in front of their faces.

SLAP. The slender fellow was slapped square on the face. His body was struck, flying backwards, leaving the bulky fellow behind and befuddled. But he still reacted, and tightening his muscles, he turned his head towards Heian Ciemnosc before taking a curved blade. Its handle was between each extreme. It had a few ornamental decorations at the outer corners, appearing like an addition to its body, looking glamorous.

Swish, whiiip-lash.

Heian Ciemnosc roughly stepped on the streets with his left foot, impulsing his body into the sky but floating so he would gain momentum and a good angle. When the bulky cultivator looked towards him, he was already one meter above the fella and his Vocón Link about to slash against the latter. The bulky cultivator lifted his blade and supported his arm with his other arm. Power Energy covered his body entirely, and the Vocón Link lashed down at him!

The bulky fellow felt his body losing balance, his eyes widening in shock. His waist and lower stomach felt empty as his body fell to the ground on his bum. Heian Ciemnosc didn’t stop there, however. His body floated forwards and down, jerking in that direction as his left palm came crashing down on the bulky cultivator’s face, forcing the back of his head to open a cracked hole in the streets!

Pam- crr- whoosh- pam. Whistle, swish-...

But just as Heian Ciemnosc’s right-handed claw-like hand was about to break open the bulky cultivator’s skin and steal some ribs. From his right, a too-fast figure came dashing towards him, sending a kick in his direction and threatening his life!

Heian Ciemnosc backed away, dodging the kick. But the slender cultivator stopped mid-air, twisted his waist, and kicked again with his right leg while the left one reposed after missing. Heian Ciemnosc’s covered right forearm by a layer of dark Power Energy received the attack, not moving him. But the slender cultivator took a staff out of his Covert Space bag and bashed it onto Heian Ciemnosc’s head!

Heian Ciemnosc escaped the strike again, his figure directly kicking the ground and dashing backwards while floating. He jerked his right hand, and the Vocón Link instantly lashed low and to the right in response. The slender cultivator ducked and missed the attack by just a second. A third of his hair was erased and fell all around him like brilliantine as if to remind him what he almost became as a whole.

‘That whip can move on its own?! It was just behind him after striking, but suddenly behind me? How is this possible?!’ A moment of silence ensued, pausing the fight as the nearby sounds of weapons clashing, embued with Power Energy and Power Energy attacks destroying bodies and clashing against each other, resounded in the not-so-far distance. The slender cultivator and Heian Ciemnosc looked at each other. The former grew greedy, thinking Heian Ciemnosc had an Artifact or Earth grade weapon.

As for Heian Ciemnosc, he looked at the 2 casually. The bulky cultivator stood up from his daze, thanking his partner as the latter nodded but didn’t dare take his eyes off Heian Ciemnosc and the Vocón Link lying limply behind Heian Ciemnosc.

Step. Step, step. Heian Ciemnosc took one step forward, leaning his body slightly low and holding his Vocón Link, and his claws noiselessly clicked. But it somehow made their sound inside the 2 cultivators’ hearts as they also stepped forth with their right and left feet, respectively. Seemingly concerned after evaluating Heian Ciemnosc’s strength. Still, they felt they could put this little kid down and break him. They just needed to go all out!

Dash. Heian Ciemnosc pressed forward, his Vocón Link was swiped on the ground, its sound fearful as it cracked the ground over a 10-meter distance. But their eyes were instead attracted to Heian Ciemnosc as he came close to them. Both parties faced off each other 2 seconds later, their bodies lunging towards each other!

Heian Ciemnosc carried the Vocón Link, dragging it in the air as he hopped one last time from the ground towards the 2 fellows. The slender man circled to Heian Ciemnosc’s right a little before using his speed to lunge at Heian Ciemnosc! The bulky fella wielded his circular blade on his right forearm, grasping it tightly as he recklessly started spinning. His weapon started forming a circular Power Energy attack, however!

Both enemies had Mortal weapons. He didn’t have one, but to them, he had something better!

And as the bulky cultivator seemed dumb in trying to show such a flashy move, Heian Ciemnosc suddenly understood, to the letter, what this move was capable of, making him feel threatened. On the other hand, the slender cultivator’s speed was too fast, surpassing Aleksander, who was already quicker than anyone in the same realm and even cultivators in the initial stages of the Spirit Rebirth realm.

As the latter lunged at him, Heian Ciemnosc didn’t have a chance to void or detour it. He had to face this enemy head-on. But on the other hand, the bulky fella’s move was dangerous. It started showing signs of that Power Energy attack growing and becoming more deadly.

Pshift, pshift, pshift, pshift, pshift.

Heian Ciemnosc’s Vocón Link was swiped upwards, taking less than 2 seconds. Leaving Heian Ciemnosc close to being tackled down by the slender cultivator. Ignoring the odds, Heian Ciemnosc separated his Vocón Link into 5. As it struck upwards, it stopped in midair and seemed stuck. Dark Power Energy traveled through them, and the 5 Vocón Links created circles in the air.

After just a few swift motions, they formed 2 inches thick black screens that seemed deathlier than the bulky cultivator’s move. Just as Heian Ciemnosc created those black screens attached to his Vocón Links, he was unavoidably tackled by the slender cultivator, whose staff moved to his back and locked him so he couldn’t get away!

THUD- whooooshhh~~...

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