Chapter 1026: Defeat and Retreat

The first killing of Ji Ting was an assassination by Dao Qi Sha.

According to Dao Qi Sha, killing Ji Ting was like killing a chick; he basically had no defenses and was easily slain by Dao Qi Sha's sword.

The second killing of Ji Ting came after Xiahou Wuming and he had tangled for over ten exchanges, probing each other's methods; then Xiahou Wuming erupted in attack, activated the Wu tribe bloodline, transformed into the primordial ancient Geng Metal demon god, and tore him to pieces.

When Ji Ting again surged forth with the restored peak Demon Suppression Army, Xiahou Wuming roared hoarsely and beheaded Ji Ting for the third time.

But this time, Ji Ting and Xiahou Wuming fought fiercely; after Xiahou Wuming activated the Wu tribe bloodline, he also spent a full quarter of an hour before seizing the gap between Ji Ting's two great divine abilities and beheading him with a single strike.

After three beheadings of Ji Ting, the Demon Suppression Army was also completely annihilated three times.

First annihilation: the Demon Suppression infantry were like targets, covered in a barrage of fire from the Wuguo army and killed without any resistance.

Second annihilation: they had learned to form arrays, raise shields, gather the strength of many infantry, and employ defensive divine abilities to block Wuguo warship cannon fire. Although they were likewise swept clean by the Wuguo army, they also used thunder magic to destroy over three hundred Wuguo warships.

Third annihilation: while Xiahou Wuming and Ji Ting were locked in battle, the Demon Suppression Army could already charge to the front of the Wuguo fleet, and even Demon Suppression commanders Ji Chan and Ji Ming had broken into the Wuguo formation to slaughter freely.

This time, the Demon Suppression Army destroyed over a thousand standard Wuguo warships, and even inflicted considerable damage on Xiahou Wuming's flagship.

This time, the Demon Suppression Army directly engaged the Wuguo Heavenly Martial Army.

The Heavenly Martial Army had absolute superiority in cultivation and battlefield experience, but the Demon Suppression Army had absolute superiority in numbers. After two hours of fierce fighting, the Heavenly Martial Army suffered nearly a million casualties, and the giant god-beings were shattered nearly three million, yet the victor remained the Wuguo army.

What is shocking is that, in the third engagement, over three hundred newly promoted Wuguo Venerables were all injured.

This collective promotion of Wuguo saw that every recipient of a promotion quota was an elder with the deepest reserves of their clan or family, each possessing supernatural abilities beyond ordinary people. These elders of the great families were all richly endowed, each having several or more fine spirit treasures for protection.

But those Demon Suppression commanders were not Venerables; yet within them flowed an extremely strong power that could unleash destructive force not inferior to that of a Venerable.

Even the slipperiest, most escape-prone Dao Qi Sha had an ear blown off by a bolt of thunderlight, and the other Wuguo Venerables, to varying degrees light or heavy, all suffered some injury.

Although the worst was merely a broken two or three ribs, this omen is not good.

Xiang Feixie's battlefield slaughter experience was the richest, yet after the third annihilation of the Demon Suppression Army, Xiang Feixie shouted sternly: "This omen is wrong; these fellows are not merely naive fledglings."

After a moment's contemplation, Xiang Feixie roared: "They seem like a group of veteran soldiers who have forgotten how to fight; in our clash they are… awakening their battlefield experience, battlefield memory…"

Below Xiahou Wuming, all the Wuguo officers present turned pale.

After three engagements, they had the most direct and clear impression: these Demon Suppression troops' cultivation and strength had not increased, but their combat power, battlefield experience, and on-the-spot reactions were indeed continually increasing.

From being pure raw recruits, they have now become equivalent to veteran soldiers who have undergone three to five life‑and‑death battles on the battlefield.

They cannot yet be called elite, but they can be considered veteran soldiers who have witnessed the cruelty of the battlefield.

At the very least, they will not be clueless and incapable; they have already been able to make some appropriate responses to changing battlefield conditions.

A dull thud of footsteps approached.

Ji Ting, his whole body crackling with plasma, emerged once more from the depths of the floating clouds with his army.

"The grandeur of the Heavenly Court is beyond your imagination." Ji Ting's aura perfectly merged with his vast battle formation behind him: "The majesty of the Heavenly Court absolutely brooks no infringement."

"You heretical demons and evil paths, all of you deserve to die." Ji Ting, looking fiercely with thunder‑spitting eyes at Xiahou Wuming, said: "Not only you, but all your kin and anyone related to you—the Heavenly Court will uproot you completely and eradicate you to the root."

When Ji Ting and his cohorts were annihilated for the third time, these Demon Suppression infantry had merely learned to change formations and mastered the most basic means of meeting enemy formations on the battlefield.

But this time, vast silver‑blue thunderclouds roiled above the Demon Suppression formation; towering thousand‑zhang giants composed entirely of thunderlight roared skyward, and the immense magical power surging from the Demon Suppression infantry poured into Ji Ting, Ji Chan, Ji Ming and the other commanders, boosting their strength a hundredfold or more.

They had not only learned to change formations; they also inexplicably knew how to condense the formation's killing intent into a martial soul, and by imbuing it into their own commanders and themselves, they greatly enhanced the formation's combat power.

Xiahou Wuming's expression changed.

Xiang Feixie and the others' expressions changed.

Dao Qi Sha swallowed hard, then shook his head desperately.

No matter how strong, cunning, or agile an assassin, they would absolutely not attempt to assassinate a commander who dwells within a formation and has been infused with the martial soul.

Under the support of the vast formation, those commanders wield inconceivable power; with a mere raise of hand or lift of foot they can unleash destructive force a hundred times or more greater than usual.

If Dao Qi Sha dared to assassinate Ji Ting now, all it would take is a flick of the little finger, and he might well be blown to smithereens; such an obvious suicide mission—how could the old sly fox Dao Qi Sha ever agree to it?

"Commander, this battle won't be easy to fight." Dao Qi Sha licked the corner of his mouth: "Fortunately, fortunately, this bunch of cutthroats have no heavy weaponry!"

The second batch of reinforcements, over three hundred Wuguo Venerables, brought tens of thousands of standard warships.

At this moment, these warships have already laid out a volley formation in the sky; countless light cannons flash with brilliant colors, and they have locked onto the Demon Suppression formation.

Even if the formation were drilled to perfection and its power were maximized, using the formation to charge against a warship volley is inherently disadvantageous; here the Wuguo possess tens of thousands of new‑style warships, which is their greatest advantage at present.

What if all these warships were blown up?

Given Wuguo's current national strength and the production capacity of the newly built factories of Da Tie, tens of thousands of warships could be easily replenished within a month.

Xiahou Wuming nodded slowly, his right hand gripping a transmission jade talisman into which he quickly entered a message.

The jade talisman trembled slightly; the message had already been sent.

Ji Ting roared loudly; in his hand appeared a twenty‑four‑section silver spear crackling with thunderlight, about six feet long. As he lightly waved it, bolts of lightning dragons burst forth, shattering the sky‑filling plasma and unleashing terrifying thunderclaps of awesome might.

He stepped through the void, leading his massive formation steadily toward the Wuguo army.

After advancing several dozen li, he was about to enter the optimal range of the Wuguo warship volley when Ji Ting suddenly halted.

He raised the silver spear, lightly tapped his own head, then burst into loud laughter: "Hahaha, I remember—we still have this treasure… hahaha!"

He turned, and with his right hand he lightly swayed the silver spear toward the vast floating clouds behind him.

Then a low rumble of thunder rolled on continuously; countless piercing electric lights in the floating clouds intersected densely, the electric lights collided, splashing innumerable clumps of thunder‑fire, causing the surrounding clouds to churn incessantly.

The cloud layer suddenly burst open—one, two, three… nearly a thousand dragon‑headed, phoenix‑tailed vessels, wholly silver‑blue, enveloped in heavy, water‑like currents, ancient and mysterious in design, surged forth from the floating clouds.

Each of these warships matches the length of Xiahou Wuming's flagship; within the heavy currents, countless intricate and splendid divine patterns appear, interlocked like the tightest gear set, spinning rapidly in the current, drawing in the surrounding heavenly and earthly essence and unleashing horrifying thunderous undulations.

Xiahou Wuming and the assembled Wuguo officers stiffened slightly, then simultaneously glared at Dao Qi Sha.

"You foul‑mouthed wretch!" Xiang Feixie pointed fiercely at Dao Qi Sha.

"My mother—!" Dao Qi Sha covered his mouth, shaking his head repeatedly: "Where did this Heavenly Court come from? These flying vessels look pretty good."

Xiahou Wuming's face twitched, and he said in a low voice: "Not just good—this aura, this aura…"

Xiahou Wuming had something left unsaid: the aura of these nearly thousand dragon‑headed, phoenix‑tailed warships far surpasses that of his flagship; only the divine vessel Wu Zhou, the ten‑zhang‑long dragon‑headed craft that Wu Tie uses for his outings, could barely compare.

The Demon Suppression formation stirred; each of the warships that flew out from the floating clouds carried about ten thousand infantry who leapt into the air and landed upon the ships.

Then these infantry rushed into the cabins.

Immediately afterward, I saw these warships' bodies suddenly flare with lightning light, bursting out clusters of dazzling thunderfire that wildly bombarded the surroundings. Nearly a thousand warships, like headless flies, lurched forward with their bows swaying wildly.

Boom— a tremendous roar, hundreds of Demon Pacifying Office warships lost control and piled up, crashing into each other; their hulls were unscathed, but the lightning entwined around their hulls surged against each other, instantly vast sheets of plasma sprayed across the sky.

Moreover, the previously released thunderfire erupted, clusters of terrifying plasma thunderclouds exploding, instantly in the Demon Pacifying Office army formation below, vast swaths of its soldiers were blown to pieces.

Friendly fire, large-scale friendly fire.

Our own warships, unintentionally leaking firepower, covered our own battle formation.

In the astonished gaze of Xiahou Wuming and others, nearly a thousand Demon Pacifying Office warships went berserk, outright wiping out about eighty percent of Ji Ting's Demon Pacifying Office battle formation behind him.

Bolts of lightning exploded, and Ji Ting's furious roar echoed through the heavens: 'You're all pigs? Even pigs are smarter than you…… Bastards, what are you thinking? You should know how to use these Demon Pacifying Thunder God Vessels, you should know how to use them!'

Ji Ting jumped and shouted: 'Ji Ming, go, behead all these fools, let them sober up properly.'

Ji Ming led a large group of soldiers charging toward the tangled Thunder God Vessels.

Xiahou Wuming, seizing the moment, waved his hand forward: 'Attack!'

Wuguo's tens of thousands of warships simultaneously shot out piercing beams of light, as countless Giant Divine Soldiers' chest armor plates slid open, revealing the dense launch nests inside……

However, the launch nests were sparsely filled, retaining only a few Chaos Fire Crossbows.

The final batch of Chaos Fire Crossbows fired, clusters of black-red mushroom clouds rising slowly in the air. The Giant Divine Soldiers lifted their heads, their eyes shooting out piercing red light; tens of millions of Giant Divine Soldiers focused fire on a single Thunder God Vessel, the thick-as-a-fist high-temperature red light instantly shattering the lightning entwining the vessel's exterior.

From bow to stern, the converging red light slowly swept across.

Thus, a mighty Thunder God Vessel was torn cleanly in two, like butter under a knife.

Wuguo's fleet barrage rolled over wave after wave; the Demon Pacifying Office's battle formation failed to exert its proper strength, and under the fierce blows of the Wuguo army it dissipated for the fourth time.

Xiahou Wuming joined forces with a dozen or so generals, surrounded and beat Ji Ting to death on the spot.

As Ji Ting's body exploded into plasma and vanished across the sky, his hoarse shout echoed through the heavens: 'I will return, you wait; this time it will be different, different!'

Nearly a thousand Thunder God Vessels shot back like lightning into the Floating Cloud Depths.

On the Thunder God Vessels, countless Demon Pacifying Office armored troops were beheaded in batches, their bodies swiftly turning to ash in the lightning.

Xiahou Wuming led the Wuguo army charging into the Floating Cloud Depths, wanting to see what eerie mystery lay within these thick clouds, which somehow allowed Ji Ting and his ilk to continually resurrect and be reborn.

But as soon as they stepped onto the edge of the Floating Clouds, towering Divine Formations erupted with terrifying electric arcs from within the clouds; Xiahou Wuming and company couldn't dodge in time, countless bolts of lightning swept in, instantly swallowing thousands of Wuguo soldiers and blasting to pieces hundreds of thousands of Giant Divine Soldiers at the forefront.

At Xiahou Wuming's order, the Wuguo army swiftly retreated; even so, Xiang Feixie and a group of belligerent generals were struck by lightning, each scorched and smoking, black smoke continually pouring from their seven orifices.

"This heavenly court is truly eerie." Xiahou Wuming stared in shock at the surging lightning within the heavy clouds, and shouted sternly: "Where on earth did they come from?"

Boom, boom, boom— in no time, the heavens exploded with thunder; Ji Ting stood on a Thunder God Vessel, lofty and proud, commanding the Demon Pacifying Office army once again as it surged out from the Floating Cloud Depths.

Xiahou Wuming's face twitched violently, he gritted his teeth and shouted angrily: 'All warships switch to Giant Divine Soldier control, warships cover the rear, other troops form ranks, and all forcefully move toward the central Glazed Pure Land.'

Even though Xiahou Wuming had fought all his life and seen countless monsters and demons, in the past, within the Flame Dynasty's Fire Heritage Grand Formation, even those Demon Lords, Devil Lords, Ghost Lords, and Monster Lords, if trapped in the formation, once beheaded, they would truly perish.

Never before have I seen such a thing—how can Ji Ting and his ilk not die?

This is the fifth time.

They have already been completely wiped out four times.

This is the fifth time.

"The Floating Cloud Depths must certainly hold the Mysterious Void…… Perhaps Your Majesty will take interest." Xiahou Wuming swiftly relayed what he had seen and heard here to Wu Tie.

Wuguo's army retreated at full strength; tens of thousands of warships, now controlled by giant divine soldiers, split into three groups in the rear, providing cross cover and taking turns to retreat, becoming tangled with nearly a thousand Thunder God ships.

Wuguo's new-style warships fired their main guns at the enemy hulls, but the enemy hulls remained virtually unscathed.

Then a bolt of lightning from the enemy's main gun struck, and Wuguo's new-style warships suddenly lit up all over, then with a 'Boom' shattered into pieces.

Xiahou Wuming and the others, helpless, lost as many as over twenty thousand warships along the way, continually retreating backward.