The army assembled, its terrifying aura filling the entire battlefield.
The weakest among these fifty thousand troops were sixth-grade martial artists, while the strongest reached the peak of Grandmaster realm.
Though Grandmasters were formidable, they had to tread carefully when facing a vast army.
Standing at the rear of the troops, Qin Hanchu quietly observed the rapidly forming battle array.
"Divine Arrow Camp, advance!"
With a fierce roar, over a thousand martial artists wielding powerful bows stepped forward to the front of the army!
The Wu clan also mobilized, beginning their troop deployments.
This battle, to a certain extent, mirrored ancient warfare.
Shields, strong bows, and long spears—these cold weapons were the main theme of the day.
"Battle!"
"Battle!"
"Battle!"
As the generals roared, the fifty thousand soldiers bellowed in unison.
The sonic waves converged, making the atmosphere on the battlefield even more oppressive.
Beneath the shouts, the soldiers' morale steadily climbed.
*Bang, bang!*
The battle formation began to advance forward.
Under the command of the generals, the shield bearers moved to the sides of the archers, providing them with cover.
"Archers, prepare!"
At the command, all archers drew their bows to the full extent.
"Archers, prepare!" Simultaneously, the archers of the Mo clan were also ready to fire.
As both sides entered firing range, the command to release arrows was given at the same time.
*Swoosh, swoosh!*
A sky full of arrows shot out from both formations, hurtling towards the opposing ranks.
"Shields!"
Having finished firing, the archers immediately crouched down.
The shield bearers raised their shields, forming a wall of defense!
The arrows from both sides collided in mid-air, with countless shafts being intercepted.
Yet, many arrows still managed to reach the enemy formation.
*Bang, bang!*
Arrows struck the thick shields, producing sounds like metal clashing against metal.
"Charge!" The Mo clan's general was the first to issue the order to attack, and the army charged forward with roars.
The archers rose again to fire, providing cover for their advancing comrades.
"Shoot down the invading enemies!" the Wu clan's general roared.
A barrage of arrows rained down upon the charging Mo clan army.
Concurrently, the Mo clan's archers began their interception.
Arrows from both sides collided in the air.
*Swoosh, swoosh…*
*Bang, bang!*
Many Mo clan martial artists were hit by the incoming arrows and fell to the ground.
At the same time, the Mo clan's arrows reached the Wu clan's formation.
Those archers who couldn't dodge in time were successively shot down.
The war had officially begun!
As arrows clashed, the Mo clan martial artists charged towards the Wu clan's formations like a surging tide.
Close-quarters combat was imminent!
"Kill!"
With a roar from the Wu clan's general, the Wu clan army marched forward majestically to meet them.
The two armies crashed into each other with thunderous force!
Grandmaster realm generals were the first to plunge into the enemy ranks, their long sabers reaping lives!
As the two armies collided, the archers drew their swords and charged forward.
In such a large-scale battle, lives felt as cheap as withered grass.
As the instigator of this conflict, Qin Hanchu remained unfazed.
The blood debt was incurred when the eight ancient clans besieged the Qin clan.
Today's battle was merely collecting a small amount of interest.
As the battle progressed, more and more wounded and sick were brought back.
Qin Hanchu and other logistics personnel also became busy.
As a battlefield doctor, Qin Hanchu spared no effort in treating the wounded for the Mo clan.
Holding fine needles, Qin Hanchu moved among the injured.
What others could not stop, Qin Hanchu stemmed with just a few needles.
Once the bleeding was stopped, other physicians could proceed with the rescue.
The shouts of battle continued, and people continued to fall on the battlefield.
As the fighting intensified, even Grandmaster realm powerhouses sustained casualties.
Five severely wounded Grandmasters alone had already been sent back!
"Who will win this battle?" In the conference hall of the Ye clan, the Ye clan leader asked softly.
"The Mo clan currently has the upper hand, but this is ultimately the Wu clan's home ground, and their advantage won't last long."
"This battle is both a probe and an oppression. It remains to be seen if the Wu clan can withstand the Mo clan's pressure!"
"What is the Zhao and Li clan's reaction?" the Ye clan leader asked.
"No movement yet."
The Zhao and Li clans were allies of the Wu clan. If the Wu clan couldn't hold on, these two families shouldn't stand idly by.
As for the Ye clan, they were allied with the Wang clan, where the Alliance Leader resided, and would not be drawn into this battle.
"Let them fight. We'll just watch the show," the Ye clan leader said.
The Ye and Wang clans wouldn't mind seeing a fight to the death between the two forces.
Even the Qin clan in the Valley of Evils was watching this major battle via live broadcast.
"Good! I didn't expect Hanchu to instigate the Dragon Gate conflict so quickly."
"The more brutal this battle, the better!" the Great Elder exclaimed excitedly.
"I wonder if other ancient clans will get involved. It would be best if things got even messier," Elder Lu Song commented.
The Great-Grandmother smiled, "We must be prepared. Once the time is right, we will return to Dragon Gate."
This battle lasted for over three hours.
The Wu clan was forced to retreat repeatedly, clearly at a disadvantage.
In desperation, they had to send reinforcements.
The Mo clan was not foolish; they would not venture too deep before the reinforcements arrived.
Under the order of their general, the Mo clan army began to withdraw.
After the ceasefire, both sides began to clear the battlefield.
According to the Mo clan's statistics, the Wu clan had over two thousand casualties, with countless severely and lightly wounded.
The Mo clan suffered over thirteen hundred casualties in this battle, including one late-stage Grandmaster and three mid-to-late stage Grandmasters.
Of course, the opposing side also had Grandmaster realm casualties, and their numbers were even greater than the Mo clan's.
Qin Hanchu was extremely busy now; there were simply too many injured.
After four hours, Qin Hanchu finally had time to rest.
"Physician Qin, you've worked hard," at this moment, the Tiger Commander of the Mo clan's vanguard approached.
Qin Hanchu smiled, "Compared to them, what I've done is nothing."
"I've already heard. If it weren't for Physician Qin's valiant rescue efforts, our death toll would have been even higher."
"Because of your treatment, many soldiers were able to keep their lives."
Although the Tiger Commander's status was noble, Qin Hanchu, with his clan token, was not of lower standing.
"Does Commander Tiger have other matters to discuss with me?"
"If there's nothing else, I'd like to go rest," Qin Hanchu said.
"Nothing else, I just came to express my gratitude."
"Physician Qin, please go back and rest. We will continue to rely on you for the treatment of our soldiers later." The Tiger Commander clasped his hands in a salute.
Qin Hanchu returned the salute and then turned to walk towards the distant camp.
At the Wu clan's headquarters, all the high-ranking officials gathered.
The battle today had put the Wu clan under immense pressure.
In terms of numbers, they had more than the Mo clan, yet the Mo clan had gained the upper hand in this battle.
This indicated that the Mo clan's overall strength was far superior to the Wu clan's.
If the fighting were to continue, the Wu clan's losses would be unimaginable.
"Continue fighting, or negotiate with the Mo clan?" Wu Zhenhai asked solemnly.