As soldiers, commanding on the battlefield was a fundamental skill they possessed. While adjusting to life after leaving Blue Star took some time, their experience in combat command improved daily. This progress made beings like Yue Xia, who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, marvel at humans' position as the foremost among spirits.
"Marshal Yue, I think we can set up an ambush beyond the domain gate. We can launch a surprise attack the moment they enter the Hanlin Starfield," Liu Hai suggested without hesitation.
"Old Liu, why go to all that trouble? I'll lead the charge, just rush them head-on!" Hei Yi scoffed from the side. As a creature manifested by Ye Yun from within the game, Hei Yi held a unique status within the Empire, but his battlefield methods were rarely heeded.
In Yue Xia's words, this guy was a brute with no brains, solely focused on charging and killing.
"What do you all think?" Yue Xia turned to Jiu You. This former Emperor's Road walker had once again displayed his old ambition in several recent battles under Ye Yun's command.
"Marshal Yue, I actually had a discussion with Commander Li earlier. We have an absolute advantage in high-tier combatants for this engagement. Moreover, at this point in time, their forces are scattered across various corners of the starfield. If we dispatch enough people to tie down their Quasi-Emperors, the rest of our forces can break away and, at planet-unit speed, eliminate all the cultivators at the Extreme Realm scattered across the regions," Jiu You explained calmly.
"We currently have thirty-three Quasi-Emperors. If we dispatch twenty to engage them, we'll still have thirteen Quasi-Emperors left. This means we can eliminate enemy forces on at least thirteen planets, conservatively estimating a loss of one to two thousand of their troops," Li Chenxu added.
"However, if the ones tying down the enemy Quasi-Emperors strike first, it will alert the soldiers stationed on various planets. They will inevitably rush to their aid, and not in large, simultaneous waves. At that point, our forces can intercept them, inflicting even greater casualties. We estimate we can retain around thirty to fifty thousand Extreme Realm cultivators," Li Chenxu elaborated.
Conquerors at the Extreme Realm were not individuals that could be slain with mere divine sense. Unless their divine sense could break through the third-tier bottleneck and reach the fourth tier, they could only be defeated through brute force.
"Here's what we'll do. The opposing Quasi-Emperors are all seasoned veterans. I'll take twenty-three people to hold them off, preferably drawing them closer to the Hanlin Starfield. You six will intercept the Extreme Realm soldiers coming to reinforce. As for Di Zang, have them directly attack their rear," Yue Xia declared after surveying everyone and seeing no further objections.
As long as Extreme Realm cultivators were not massed together, six Quasi-Emperors could effectively intercept them.
"Then I'll notify Di Zang and the others?" Yue Di asked Yue Xia.
"Yes, tell them they'll make their move in five minutes, and we'll coordinate with them. Tell the monk not to hold back; I know exactly what his Buddhist kingdom is capable of," Yue Xia instructed.
"Yes! I'll go now!"
"Wang Chen, Jin Zhiyuan, Xie Yifeng, Hei Yi, Xing Lei, and Mo Li, the six of you are responsible for clearing out the reinforcing Extreme Realm soldiers. The rest will follow me to attack the flying sword. We might even be able to kill a Quasi-Emperor or two!"
"Yes!" Killing Quasi-Emperors—everyone's eyes lit up, and a surge of ferocity erupted from them.
They had been conquering the cosmos for several years. Apart from a very select few among the mid-to-high-tier Extreme Realm cultivators, they had rarely encountered or killed any of them. The thought of killing a Quasi-Emperor was beyond their wildest dreams, as, in their known history, no Quasi-Emperor had ever fallen to another's hand.
*Boom...*
Suddenly, a colossal roar erupted from a planet closest to another domain gate, reverberating throughout the entire starfield.
"Engage!" Yue Xia, in an instant, emerged from the void with everyone else and sped towards the flying sword.
"The enemy has appeared!" On the flying sword, Xian Cheng and others, their divine senses traversing the cosmos, smiled calmly as they observed Yue Xia and his forces charging towards them.
"Their numbers are greater than ours," Gui Yuan sneered.
"Don't be foolish. Numbers? Which one of us hasn't been capable of fighting above their level before? Mortals are nothing but insignificant ants," Shen Yu Dian's divine son, Yu Ming, chuckled faintly.
To them, cultivators from the mundane world were no different from ordinary mortals. Having undergone over a million years of cultivation within secluded sects, they had been reborn. To compensate for any shortcomings during their breakthroughs, they had even utilized the unique differences in various alien bloodlines, forcibly replenishing themselves with their vital essence.
*Boom...*
Before Yue Xia and his contingent could even act, Wang Chen, who was positioned to intercept reinforcements from another direction, struck first. The Yue Zhi sword manifested countless illusions, charging towards the flying sword, its sword energy surging with immense killing intent.
"A mere trick!" Xian Cheng snorted coldly. The flying sword beneath his feet vanished, transforming into a three-foot-long sword that, like a galloping dragon, charged towards the myriad of sword shadows.
"Great Pond Lotus Cover!" A Supreme Elder of the Buddhist sect, seated on a lotus throne behind Fa Tian, unleashed his Buddha power. Boundless Buddha energy surged from the lotus throne, forming a colossal canopy that shielded everyone.
"Break illusion, shatter form, Ice Heaven's Eye!" Shenzi Yu Ming opened the third eye on his brow. As his gaze swept over, an icy chill permeated the air, even causing the speed of Wang Chen's flying sword to falter slightly under the frost.
*Bang...*
Xian Cheng's flying sword clashed violently with the illusory projection of Wang Chen's Yue Zhi. However, the true Yue Zhi sword then lunged towards the protective Buddhist canopy.
"Heaven Collapse Finger!"
"Ice Seal!"
Fa Tian and Yu Ming simultaneously realized the extraordinary nature of the Yue Zhi sword's true form; the current Great Pond Lotus Cover could not withstand a single strike from it.
The third eye of Shen Yu Dian possessed the ability to pierce through illusions, almost embodying both offense and defense. Furthermore, through this third eye, they could directly harness the elements of heaven and earth to form their attacks, a process far quicker than a mage's attacks in the game.
*Clang...*
The long sword rang out sharply, as a block of ice tens of meters thick materialized before the Yue Zhi. Simultaneously, a golden light, the size of a thumb, shot from Fa Tian's hand, instantly targeting the Yue Zhi's blade.