With Lin Qian's command, the soul cannons, their barrels glowing a scorching red from the intense soul power, recoiled sharply. A hundred fiery beams of soul energy erupted from the cannons, hurtling toward the one million strong Xunyin and Wuxing armies.
The brilliant red light illuminated the entire side of the city wall, quickly racing toward the two armies. The speed of the attack was so fast that the Xunyin and Wuxing warriors barely had time to stop their conversation before the beams were upon them.
"Defend!" The Xunyin leader, sensing the overwhelming power within the scorching soul energy, urgently shouted.
But it was too late!
Their casual attitude, coming here with a mindset of entertainment, meant that neither the Xunyin nor Wuxing soldiers had formed proper battle formations, nor had they even activated their soul power defenses.
Without any defense in place, the soul cannon beams tore through the alien ranks unhindered.
Sizzle!
The first to be hit was a Wuxing soldier who had taken over the body of a Qingshi tribesman. The soul cannon beam pierced straight through his chest, splitting him in two, melting his body in the process.
The soul cannon's power didn't stop there. It continued its deadly path, cutting through more enemies, severed limbs and bodies raining down from the sky.
When the beams reached the center of the million-strong army, they exploded with even greater intensity, unleashing blinding flashes of red light.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions rang out in rapid succession, the fiery blossoms of destruction engulfing many of the alien soldiers, burning them to ashes before they could even scream.
The shockwaves from the explosions sent those outside the immediate blast radius flying, leaving them staring in horror at the blazing inferno that had consumed their comrades.
On the city wall, the soul cannon barrels, still glowing red-hot, distorted the air around them as they slowly retracted back into the wall. The mechanisms of the wall groaned shut with a resounding thud.
Yuan Xiang, standing beside Lin Qian, stared wide-eyed at the chaotic scene below, where the alien armies were in complete disarray.
Earlier, Yuan Xiang had been confused when Lin Qian had installed so many black metal tubes within the walls. Now, he understood.
The power of the soul cannons was immense. From just that one volley, Yuan Xiang estimated that over ten thousand enemies had been wiped out.
In a single exchange, using those strange soul weapons, Lin Qian had inflicted massive casualties. It was terrifying.
At this level of battle, such power was overwhelming.
And it was clear from the expressions of the Xunyin and Wuxing soldiers that they no longer saw Lin Qian as a trivial opponent. They were now looking at him with fear and uncertainty.
The Xunyin leader's face had grown even more serious. They had never seen such powerful weapons before, likely something Lin Qian had installed after taking control of Gatekeeper City.
"This enemy is no joke. Everyone, stay alert. This is no easy mission—we could very well die here," the Xunyin leader barked, snapping his troops out of their earlier complacency.
"It seems that those cannons can only be fired once, or at least need time to recharge. We should attack now!" The Wuxing leader beside him suggested. "Let the beasts lead the charge and wear down the enemy's strength."
"Good plan. I'll leave it to you," the Xunyin leader agreed, nodding.
With a twisted grin, the Wuxing leader unleashed his powerful soul energy, sending out a wave of influence that agitated the Green Wind Wolf pack below.
In an instant, the wolves' eyes turned blood-red, locking onto Gatekeeper City as their target.
"Awooo!" The lead wolf howled, and the entire pack surged forward, a green wave of fury rushing toward the city.
As the wolves charged, Yuan Xiang glanced at Lin Qian with curiosity. He wondered how Lin Qian would respond to this new threat.
"Will you send out those powerful Blood Battle troops?" Yuan Xiang thought as he looked back toward the interior of the city.
But to his surprise, the Blood Battle soldiers remained motionless as the Green Wind Wolves advanced.
"The Blood Battle troops have already fought. Based on their performance, we have a rough estimate of the Imperial Army's strength. Now, it's time to test the effectiveness of our war beasts." Lin Qian's eyes sharpened as he focused on the approaching wolf pack. With a thought, figures began to emerge on the plains in front of the city walls.
"Awooo!!"
A thunderous howl echoed across the battlefield, but this time, it wasn't from the Green Wind Wolves. Instead, it came from the newly appeared beasts—giant blue wolves as tall as a person!
"What is this?" Yuan Xiang was shocked as he gazed at the massive wolves below. He had never seen such soul beasts before.
Compared to the Green Wind Wolves, these blue wolves were slightly smaller, with a crescent moon symbol on their foreheads and sharp, intelligent eyes.
Silver Moon Wolves—mid-level, lower-grade war beasts of the Huaxia Empire!
"Wait, are those soul beasts wearing armor?" Yuan Xiang exclaimed, astonished, as he looked at Lin Qian.
The blue Silver Moon Wolves were clad in exoskeleton-like armor that gleamed under the sunlight with a metallic sheen.
The armor that covered the wolves was intricately connected at the joints, allowing for full mobility. The armor also had small blades embedded within it.
Even the wolves' tails were reinforced with metal extensions, resembling scorpion stingers, clearly designed for deadly effectiveness.
The armor covered the wolves' heads, leaving their eyes protected by transparent crystal shields. Exploiting the wolves' eyes as a weakness would now be impossible.
"Those are custom-made protective goggles for the Silver Moon Wolves. You probably don't understand what goggles are, Senior, but they protect the eyes," Lin Qian explained with a shrug, seeing Yuan Xiang's bewildered expression. "War beasts are only truly war beasts when they're fully armored. Why would it surprise you that they use soul weapons?"