While all the demon territories were being shaken by the situation, the border of the Hongchen Kingdom was literally shaking. High in the sky, the nine suns expanded suddenly and flew straight toward the Blood Sun. Despite the battle, many soldiers watched the sky as it was filled with arrows exploding all over the place. The soldiers on the ground were relying on heavy defense formations while many Accomplished Demons were chasing small elite groups of Spirit Warriors. Most of the fight was now taking place quite literally over the heads of the demons.
On the other side of the barrier, General Yun Po and Silver Wolf General Long Cheng were getting ready for another assault when Long Cheng gave new orders. While Long Cheng was on the battlefield, Yun Po was in charge of the forces. However, Long Cheng had the absolute authority. As soon as he got back, he regained control but kept Yun Po in command of the battle. At that moment, he didn't hesitate and didn't even think about Yun Po's feelings. Besides, Yun Po was an intelligent man. Although he wasn't completely sure about Long Cheng's order, he followed it immediately.
All Spirit Warriors on the other side of the barrier were called back instantly. Unfortunately, the barrier had now become a terrifying battlefield, with arrows exploding all over the place and manifesting dreadful phenomena. Still, they had received the order to retreat by all means possible and as soon as possible.
Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan was surprised. Not only did they begin to retreat, but they didn't even hide their intentions. Suddenly retreating in the middle of such a fight, right in the heart of their enemy's battle formations, was almost suicidal. In fact, a few Spirit Warriors were injured on the spot but still kept on retreating. That being said, they weren't flying away with abandon. In each squad, at least one Spirit Warrior was taking care of protecting their rear. As a matter of fact, those were the ones who got injured. Such a position was incredibly dangerous, and this would cause a lot of casualties.
Shanyin Guan couldn't understand Long Cheng's decision at that moment. Then, he heard Lu Xiaoya's voice.
"Empyrean Asura's attack failed, but the barrier is too weak. The backlash from the destruction of his attack will take down the barrier. The humans are already assuming defensive formations."
In that moment, Shanyin Guan realized. He should have realized it much sooner. Honestly, the barrier had been there even before his own parents or grandparents were born. In his mind, it was a fact of nature. But, today, nature would be overturned. Looking more closely, Shanyin Guan saw cracks all over the place. There were golden and silver marks in space. It appeared as though space itself was wounded. The barrier, the network of array formations protecting the Hongchen Kingdom, was about to fall apart. Ironically, the destruction of Empyrean Asura's attack would be the last nail. It would be the last pebble thrown at the wall before it collapsed. And what a pebble it was!
The sky turned into fire as the nine suns exploded against the Blood Sun. The fabric of reality seemed to be torn apart as the black sky shattered like melting crystal. Behind this veil of darkness, the sudden glow of the real Sun almost blinded the demons who were looking up. Most humans had already been ordered not to look directly at the scene. This would give them a very small advantage, but they had to take whatever they could. At the moment, of the hundred thousand humans, only a handful had actually been killed. However, there were still around two hundred and seventy thousand demons. Only thirty thousand had been killed in total. Despite this heavy toll, the demons were still almost three times as many as the humans. Even though they were disorganized, they were also looking for blood.
The humans didn't hesitate at all, they suddenly converged their attacks on very specific spots. Several Spirit Warrior archers also targeted the demon generals directly.
The entire world shook as the Blood Sun and 'Houyi's Nine Suns' exploded in the sky. In that explosion, the barrier appeared in full for an instant. It was as if time had stopped. Over the entire Hongchen Kingdom, a large dome of gold appeared out of nothing. It was covered in silver lines and runes. The craftsmanship was extraordinary. Everyone could only admire it. Many humans weren't sure what it meant. To be honest, they knew deep down, but they couldn't accept it. In temples, in sects, in institutes, in every capital of every province, everywhere, all the humans understood. Their ultimate wall, the absolute defense left behind by Emperor Nuwa, was gone. Now, any demon could enter the Hongchen Kingdom. As this thought crossed their minds, the dome scattered into a myriad of pieces.
Instead of falling to the ground, the pieces flew upward and fluttered into the emptiness above. They crossed the veil and melted away where no one could see them. Mankind was so shocked that it didn't even have time to be afraid.
On the battlefield, the human soldiers had no time at all to even be shocked. They simply obeyed Silver Wolf General Long Cheng. He had accepted this reality before it even became reality.
A deer appeared in the air. It ran from the human territory toward the demon army. Although it was running in the air, its hooves were producing flowers in midair. Even after the deer had gone, the flowers remained in the air as if the air were the ground and soil. The deer was completely covered in vibrant green moss. In fact, it wasn't clear whether it was an animal covered in moss or a bush in the form of an animal. Suddenly, its antlers grew and grew. The very next instant, they shot outward in almost every direction. They became like snakes moving faster than the eye could follow.
'Spring of the Blooming Stag'!
The antlers mainly targeted demon generals. As a matter of fact, they only targeted demons who were not under the Silver Wolf Marshal. Two of them got stabbed in the heart because they were simply not paying enough attention. Three others evaded the attack at the very last moment, they got slightly injured. All the other generals either blocked, parried, or easily dodged.
The 'Spring of the Blooming Stag' was a martial art amplified by an array formation. Four 7th-grade Spirit Warriors had activated it with the help of a dozen weaker Spirit Warriors.
'Ninefold Resonance Suppression'!
Many array formations were activated at the same time throughout the human territory. Thankfully, they had reacted in time and were ready for the assault of the demons. There was no point in trying to prevent it. Like a stampede, it was going to happen. Now, they had to alter the flow of the stampede in order to keep control of the battlefield. Humans simply lacked the numbers to guard a vast border. As such, they had to make sure to protect their flanks and to lead the demons where they wanted them.
Three gigantic bells fell from the heavens at strategic locations. The moment they touched the ground, they shook. However, no sound emanated from them. Everyone could see the air vibrating around the bells. The bells themselves were shaking. People could imagine the sound produced by such gigantic bells, but no one could actually hear it. In fact, if they closed their eyes, it was as if the bells simply didn't exist at all.
Demons who got too close suddenly felt their heads split in two. The sound was not transmitted by the air, it only vibrated their bones. A few weak demons quite literally burst open as their bones exploded. Pieces of the shattered bones flew all around and injured other demons. Like a giant tide, the demon armies kept pouring toward human territory, walking on dead corpses if need be.
'Heavenly and Earthly Judgment Pillars'!
Alongside the bells, thirty-six pillars fell from the heavens above. No one could see where they stopped in the sky. Unlike the bells, they made a very powerful boom when they collided with the ground. A few demons who were too close were even crushed either by the pillars themselves or by the air pressure. At the very same moment, seventy-two pillars rose from the ground, shattering the rocks and even piercing a few mountains. They were set all over the human territory. From above, one would have been able to see several constellations reminding them of those in the night sky.
'Palace of Immutable Silence'!
Behind the human forces, high in the sky, mist began to form. A cloud appeared. On top of this cloud, there was a palace. It was almost invisible, but its presence was striking. No one could ignore it in the least. It was looming over all in an eerie silence. Many demons simply stopped moving and were stuck staring at this palace in the clouds. Among them, some kowtowed to the ground and died in peace. Others tried to fight back but couldn't. More powerful demons sent waves of killing intent all over the place to break them out of their trance. Even those who got pulled out of it didn't all make it. Some were so shaken that they didn't even know where they were or who they were. They were wandering around in absolute silence and confusion, as though they were looking for something, their eyes lost in the distance.
Entire divisions of demons got lost in array formations. Even captains and majors couldn't easily break through them. Lu Xiaoya was observing the battlefield. Even she was horrified. Despite the destruction of the Hongchen Kingdom's impenetrable barrier, they had so many powerful array formations all over the place. Moreover, they also had incredible battle formations. Demons would have to rely on their sheer number. The fastest way to break apart those array formations was also the most barbaric. Any array formation required energy to function, Wandering Qi. Even array formations that could replenish themselves through nature could not reliably release an infinite amount of energy at any given time. As such, they could break through using a barrage of blood.
Demons were almost throwing themselves forward. Of course, slaves were used first. They were sent directly into the array formations to break them apart through sheer number. Such a strategy was absolutely hateful. Unfortunately, it was also very effective. Slaves and weaker demons were sacrificed by the thousands so that stronger divisions could get through. Human archers were firing all over the battlefield, trying to target demons who were getting too close to specific locations.
In the sky, commandants and generals were not immune. Many traps had been laid in the air. Powerful array formations were designed to stop the enemy. Here and there, explosions occurred. At one point, a powerful sonic boom was heard. Around an Accomplished Demon, all air had suddenly disappeared. The vacuum itself caused intense pain to the Accomplished Demon as his eyes began to boil and his lungs collapsed. But before he could even try to escape, the space he was in sucked in air to fill itself. The pressure was so intense that it crushed him. His limbs were broken, and he was spitting out blood, but he was still alive. At that moment, several weaker Spirit Warriors who had been concealed flew toward him and used a battle formation. He couldn't fight back and was killed before he could retreat.
While the demons were throwing themselves on the battlefield, the humans were throwing everything they had. The elite Spirit Warrior squads who had been preserved thanks to Silver Wolf General Long Cheng's timely decision flew all over the battlefield to target powerful Accomplished Demons, leaving the ground forces to deal with the weaker demons. Flying was such an advantage that the humans had to try to gain air superiority first. Often, a war was first won in the air before it could be won on the ground. In fact, no general remembered a battle that had been lost in the air and still been won in the end. If one lost air superiority, their best outcome was to not be obliterated, but they had almost no chance of actually winning. They might not lose, though.
General Yun Po's attention wavered for only an instant. On the front line, he recognized the aura of his son, Commandant Yun Ping. General Yun Po was seized by intense fear at the possibility of his son's death. However, he couldn't get distracted from the war. If his son was to live, they had to win this war anyway. Hopefully, he wouldn't win just to find his son's corpse at the end of it all. No! His son was strong. Yun Ping would make it, no matter what!
'Thunder Breaking Wall', 'Walls of the High Palace in the Sky'!
Yun Ping fully manifested his Spear Spirit. His left arm was made of flesh and blood. In fact, anyone who didn't know that he had lost it would never have imagined that this arm didn't actually exist. With his Spear Spirit unleashed, Yun Ping was leading several battalions at key locations. Commandant Yun Ping even had twenty colonels under his command. Indeed, his role was essential. They were all using the same martial art. Walls of lightning bolts appeared throughout the battlefield. They were made of spears but also of literal lightning. Waves of demons crashed against those walls. Two of those walls were shattered on the spot, and several humans were crushed to death under the corpses of the demons, while other demons attacked from behind. Hundreds of humans were slaughtered. However, Yun Ping's battalion stood strong, and all his other battalions resisted the first wave. Then, they pushed back.
The war had just started on the human side. Thousands of humans and demons had already died. This was Hell.