Chapter 1304: Kuailei Elite Troops

Two months later, the day for the great counterattack that Emperor Xia had spoken of arrived.

The Foreign Tribe on the other side had never fully recovered and kept taking a defensive stance.

Therefore, during this period the Imperial army also fought rather at will. When they wanted to train troops they went out to spar, then withdrew; neither side lingered in battle.

This time, to pave the way for the elite troops sent by Emperor Xia, the Imperial army launched a massive offensive.

Ye Liuyun and Qin Peng were assigned to participate, but only brought troops to watch the spectacle.

When the battle was halfway through, Qin Peng said doubtfully, "Something's not right!"

"What's wrong?" Ye Liuyun replied, seeing nothing amiss.

"The Foreign Tribe seems not to be fighting earnestly at all, but retreating in an orderly fashion!" Qin Peng said, pointing out some doubts to Ye Liuyun.

Only then did Ye Liuyun realize that the Foreign Tribe had long been preparing to retreat.

It appeared they were fleeing after defeat, but in fact their withdrawal was highly organized. They simply concealed it well, deliberately leaving a portion of their forces for the Great Summer Empire's army to consume.

Thus the whole battle seemed a total victory for the Great Summer Empire, even wiping out many enemies, but in reality those were the ones the Foreign Tribe had intentionally left behind.

When things go against the norm, there must be a monster!

Ye Liuyun immediately reported the situation to Emperor Xia.

Their discord could not delay such a major matter.

Emperor Xia, though somewhat worried, said, "I will dispatch that elite troop right away. No scheme of theirs will work against absolute strength."

Yet he did not overstate it; he also notified other commanders, urging caution.

Ye Liuyun agreed with Emperor Xia's reasoning, but still told Qin Peng to ready for battle and be prepared to rescue the Imperial army at any time.

Originally they had not intended to join the fight. Now the situation had changed, forcing them to adjust.

At the very least he could not let the Foreign Tribe's trick succeed easily.

Other armies, after receiving Emperor Xia's notice, also became cautious, slowing their advance and proceeding steadily.

A few days later, another massive force of the Great Summer Empire, numbering fifty thousand and well‑equipped, entered the battlefield.

"They're Kuailei! Fifty thousand Kuailei! Where did the Great Summer Empire get its artificer?" Ye Liuyun exclaimed in amazement at the sight of the army.

This entire force consisted of Kuailei—exactly fifty thousand, all at the Earth Sovereign level. Each Kuailei wore a full set of Sovereign‑grade equipment.

Their warships did not seem much inferior to Ye Liuyun's.

Moreover, each Kuailei was paired with a ferocious beast of comparable level.

The combat power of this army was no small matter; even Ye Liuyun's elite troops could not be confident of victory.

However, Ye Liuyun worried that Kuailei lacked the flexibility of humans and would only follow dead‑hand orders.

Yet the Leader accompanying them was a Soul Cultivator, with a seemingly malicious old man at his side.

When the other Leaders raised the same doubt, that malicious old man laughed.

"Take another close look—how do these Kuailei differ from the ones you've seen before?"

Hearing this, Ye Liuyun and the others examined them carefully. Ye Liuyun first used his Golden Pupil and found the Kuailei only slightly more complex in design, seemingly no different.

But when he probed with Divine Sense, he was shocked. These Kuailei each possessed a Soul.

The artificer, seeing their astonished expressions, laughed heartily.

"Allow me to introduce myself—Ling Haokun, known as the Ghost Hand Artificer!" the malicious old man boasted.

However, most of the Leaders present had never dealt with an artificer and knew nothing of this party, let alone his reputation.

So they could only say a simple "Much honored!"

This left Ling Haokun very dissatisfied; he instantly thought the Leaders were all country bumpkins!

The clone also asked Zhuge Feiyu for information on the Ghost Hand Artificer Ling Haokun.

Soon, Ye Liuyun received Zhuge Feiyu's reply.

"That Ghost Hand Artificer is famous in the artificer world. Both righteous and wicked, he studies all sorts of oddities, most of which are harmful. Yet his artificing skill is truly unrivaled."

Upon learning that the Ghost Hand Artificer had forged a Kuailei army, Zhuge Feiyu could not help but sigh.

"He truly lives up to his name. Fifty thousand Soul‑bearing Kuailei! He must have killed fifty thousand Martial Cultivators, extracted their Souls, and used them to craft these Kuailei."

Ye Liuyun heard this and was shocked as well.

To verify Zhuge Feiyu's speculation, Ye Liuyun also asked Ling Haokun.

"Master Ghost Hand, where do the Souls of these Kuailei come from?"

The Ghost Hand was pleased to be called master.

"You need not worry; these Souls were not taken from innocent slaughter but captured on the battlefield from the Foreign Tribe and Demon Cultivators," Ling Haokun explained.

"Then can these Souls obey our commands?" a commander immediately asked.

"Ha ha, you can rest assured. After capturing those Souls, I refined them with a special elixir; now they recognize only me as their master and remember nothing of their past."

"The Imperial Family truly produces talent!" Ye Liuyun said, merely admiring the Imperial Family's depth without further thought.

He thought Emperor Xia must have subjected Ling Haokun to countless tests before giving him free rein; otherwise such resources would not be wasted on a joke.

The other Leaders, skeptical, conducted on‑site tests and found them flawless.

Thus everyone returned to their camps, ready to cooperate with the Kuailei army in the upcoming assault.

Even after seeing such a powerful Kuailei army, Ye Liuyun remained vigilant, staying far behind the main force, always prepared to intervene.

At the battle's outset, the Kuailei army surged like a blade through bamboo, routing the Foreign Tribe.

"Why do I still feel the Foreign Tribe is feigning defeat?" Qin Peng said to Ye Liuyun.

They watched every battle closely. Although the Foreign Tribe's defeat showed no obvious order this time, Qin Peng sensed something off, feeling the army's advance was too smooth.

Moreover, they were now striking straight into the heart of the Foreign Tribe's main camp.

Should anything go wrong, they would instantly be surrounded by the Foreign Tribe.

Yet the Imperial army surged onward; even when Ye Liuyun warned them, no one paid attention.

Some Leaders, they all thought about killing enemies to gain merit. Now with this Kuailei army present, they are basically invincible. This opportunity to gain merit, how could they give it up?

Only the Demon Race army, having heeded Ye Liuyun's suggestion, followed behind him to press the battle.