Chapter 2306: Claiming Costs

Just moments after Ye Liuyun finished speaking, the local Martial Cultivators who rushed forward were wiped out again.

Zheng Huan immediately led the remaining men out of the city and then asked Ye Liuyun for aid.

He was still afraid Ye Liuyun might misunderstand, so he specifically explained that he was acting on the Elder's orders.

Ye Liuyun said nothing else, only that troops would be dispatched at once, and then ordered the soldiers to line up and leave the city toward the Holy Land army's garrison.

The Leader of the Holy Land army had been watching Ye Liuyun's movements.

Upon seeing Ye Liuyun's deployment, he immediately had the Formation Master reset the Defense Array and did not send troops to chase the fleeing Martial Cultivators.

Zheng Huan and his group didn't go far; they waited nearby to observe how Ye Liuyun fought.

After Ye Liuyun arrived with his troops, he ignored them, directing the Half‑Beast Legion to encircle the city and bombarding from all sides with battle chariots and Energy Cannons.

The battle chariots and Energy Cannons of the Sharp Blade Corps and Death Legion were concentrated on the front to strike the Defense Array.

Then, taking advantage of the unprepared, they released Magic Vine, preparing to breach the city.

Zheng Huan had previously witnessed the power of battle chariots and Energy Cannons, but he hadn't expected them to be so effective for siege.

The same Defense Array took them half a day to set up.

But Ye Liuyun shattered it in just a quarter of an hour.

Once the Defense Array fell, Magic Vine surged from underground into the city.

Ye Tiandao and the Death Legion sent all battle chariots charging into the city, breaking into the Holy Land soldiers' formation.

The moment the chariots appeared, the Leader of the Holy Land army realized the danger.

However, they were now surrounded on all sides; even if they broke outward, they would instantly be hit by those weapons, making a suicidal charge useless—better to hold the city to the end.

He reported the situation to the arriving reinforcements while organizing the soldiers for a desperate stand.

Yet the impact of the battle chariots and Energy Cannons immediately shattered their formation.

The Magic Vine's surprise attack also caught them off guard.

Immediately, the Sharp Blade Corps rushed straight at them; Ye Liuyun and his companions plunged in to hone their skills, followed by the Death Legion, all charging forward.

The five thousand Martial Cultivators that Zheng Huan had brought out, upon seeing Ye Liuyun breach the city so easily, began to complain about his strategy.

"So easy to break the Defense Array?"

"If we'd known, we could have let them help us siege!"

"Had we asked for aid earlier, we wouldn't have lost so many!"

They placed all the blame on Zheng Huan.

Montuo raised his voice to hush them: "What are you shouting about?"

"Those were the Elders' decisions; we already said we'd let the Elders request aid!"

His shout finally silenced the complaints.

Zheng Huan, watching Ye Liuyun easily shatter the Defense Array and disrupt the Holy Land army's formation, could only sigh helplessly.

He also realized the Elders had made a grave mistake; they lost so many lives, truly unnecessary.

These Elders tried to be clever, hoping to sap Ye Liuyun's strength, but they didn't expect his tactics to cost little.

This time Ye Liuyun deployed more battle chariots and Puppet Beasts than before.

Thus most of the fighting was handled by those machines, without expending soldiers.

Once the Holy Land soldiers failed to form a formation, they became ordinary Martial Cultivators with no advantage, perfect for Ye Liuyun and his companions to train against.

However, the Sharp Blade Corps and Death Legion fought more conservatively, not as recklessly as they did, focusing heavily on inter‑team defense.

Recalling that Ye Liuyun's main force arrived here without greeting them, Zheng Huan immediately thought Ye Liuyun might have discovered their little tricks and grew displeased.

At this point, over thirty thousand Holy Land soldiers remained inside the city; despite their numerical superiority, they could not form a formation, and most fell to Magic Vine, Puppet Beasts, and battle chariots.

Ye Liuyun, with the Sharp Blade Corps, broke through quite smoothly.

He did not confront the Leader, but rushed straight toward the Formation Master.

The Formation Master had indeed prepared the Formation Plate, but before he could activate it, Ye Liuyun's Red Eye seized him.

The Formation Master immediately triggered the attack Formation Plate, launching an assault on the nearby soldiers.

Ye Liuyun and his clone relaxed, began training, and after the Formation Plate failed, they placed a Slave Seal on him, sent him into Space World, and handed him to Qiong Qi.

Qiong Qi, unceremoniously, began Soul Search, extracting the Formation Master's array principles.

Their Leader was slain jointly by Zhao Hu and Mo Tianheng.

With the Leader dead, the army fell apart, destined for annihilation.

Some soldiers tried to break out of the city but were blasted dead by the Half‑Beast Legion.

In the end, only a little over five thousand soldiers surrendered.

After Ye Liuyun made them swear allegiance, he sealed them into Space World, to later be handed over to Han Mutong for command.

After the battle, the city became a hellish furnace, blood flowing like a river.

Ye Liuyun withdrew the Magic Vine; the Sharp Blade Corps and Death Legion also packed away their gear and regrouped outside the city.

The Half‑Beast Legion entered the city to clean the battlefield.

"Death toll and cultivation realms?"

Ye Liuyun asked Ye Tiandao and Yuan Hao.

"Eleven dead: ten at Ninth Layer Late Stage, one at Ninth Layer Summit."

"Thirty‑three dead, all at Ninth Layer Mid Stage."

The two replied respectively.

"Now also tally how many Divine Crystals were consumed."

Yuan Hao led troops to encircle the five thousand Martial Cultivators.

"We should demand compensation from them!"

Ye Liuyun immediately ordered Yuan Hao.

Yuan Hao also at once led his troops and surrounded the group of Martial Cultivators that Zheng Huan had brought to watch the spectacle.

The five thousand Martial Cultivators also panicked, still thinking that Ye Liuyun would take the opportunity to wipe them out.

"What are you doing?"

Zheng Huan, still confused, asked Ye Liuyun, still thinking Ye Liuyun would immediately retaliate against them.

"In this battle we lost one at Ninth Layer Summit, ten at Ninth Layer Late Stage, and thirty‑three at Ninth Layer Mid Stage."

According to our previous agreement, five‑fold compensation.

"Right?"

Ye Liuyun retorted, questioning Zheng Huan.

"That's correct! But we just finished the battle..."

Zheng Huan did not deny it.

But Ye Liuyun cut him off: "You know exactly what you did yourself.

I will start selecting people now; you just compensate according to the numbers.

Otherwise, I will treat you as having breached the contract!"

After speaking, Ye Liuyun ignored Zheng Huan, began scanning their realms with Golden Pupil, and then started pointing at them one by one.

Anyone he pointed at was immediately seized by Death Legion soldiers.

Soon, Ye Liuyun selected two hundred and twenty Martial Cultivators, including Zheng Huan and Meng Tuo.

At this moment, Tiger King, Ye Tiandao, and Yuan Hao also reported the amount of Divine Crystals they had expended.