A terrifying aura emanated from the ten thousand Blood War soldiers, and as Yaonie's words fell, he was the first to charge forward.
The moment Yaonie surged ahead, the ten thousand Blood War soldiers followed closely behind.
Yaonie didn't unleash his full speed because he needed to stay in sync with his troops.
The blood-colored aura from their Bloodthirst ability floated above the pale yellow Hua Xia attribute soul energy. With their identical soul energy attributes, their auras fused into one, as solid and inseparable as an iron wall.
Although the distance between the ten thousand Blood War soldiers gradually spread out, their auras remained interconnected.
As they neared the mountain fortress ahead, the openings in the mountain face grew larger, which had appeared only the size of a finger from afar.
However, as they drew closer, they realized each of those openings was at least seven to eight zhang wide.
"Be careful!" a Blackhorn Clan member at the Awakening Realm shouted to the others, his chest crystal flaring with soul energy.
After warning the others, a sinister grin appeared on his face. His purple-black soul energy, tinged with a faint trace of blood, surged from his palms, condensing into a purple-brown spear of soul energy, which he hurled at Yaonie.
The soul energy spear whistled through the air, aiming directly for Yaonie's face.
At the same time, the Blackhorn Clan member's racial talent activated, causing the soul energy spear to spin as it flew, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy and increasing its power.
The purple-black spear, now crackling with enhanced power, hurtled toward Yaonie's face with deadly intent.
"A pitiful attack, daring to disgrace yourself before me!" Yaonie's blood-red eyes seemed to blaze with fire as he roared. He raised his Cold Moon battle blade and slashed it down onto the purple-black spear.
The moment the blade collided with the purple-black spear, the spear's soul energy suddenly collapsed inward.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted as the purple-black spear detonated violently, engulfing Yaonie in a storm of soul energy.
"No!" Xu Wuwei, observing from a distance, cried out in alarm as he witnessed the scene.
The Blackhorn Clan excelled in manipulating soul energy, often pushing their attacks beyond the limits of their realm. When their soul energy left their bodies and drew in the surrounding spiritual energy, its power continuously increased.
The soul energy explosion created by the Blackhorn Clan member was clearly formidable. With Yaonie taking the attack head-on, he must have been seriously injured.
However, Xu Wuwei noticed that Lin Qian beside him showed no signs of worry. Instead, Lin Qian had a mocking expression on his face.
"You foolish human, daring to slash at my Explosive Purple Spear!" The Blackhorn Clan member who thought he had succeeded laughed triumphantly, approaching the thick black smoke with his chest crystal glowing even brighter, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
Another Explosive Purple Spear began forming in his hands.
In that instant, a large hand, encased in metal gauntlets and leather, suddenly emerged from the thick black smoke, shattering the soul energy gathering at the Blackhorn Clan member's chest and gripping his throat.
The Blackhorn Clan member watched in horror as the towering Yaonie stepped out from the dissipating smoke, steam rising from his body as the remnants of the explosion were blown away.
The Blackhorn Clan member, his throat locked in an iron grip, could not make a sound. His eyes widened in terror as he took in Yaonie's armor, still gleaming without a scratch, and a deep sense of despair filled his heart.
Yaonie's blood-red face twisted into a smile, his rows of sharp, white teeth flashing in front of the Blackhorn Clan member.
"Was that supposed to tickle? Pathetic!"
With those words, Yaonie's left hand tightened, crushing the Blackhorn Clan member's throat. His soul energy surged into the enemy's body like a blade, tearing apart the heart and dantian.
As he tossed the lifeless body aside, Yaonie's cold eyes focused on the Blackhorn Clan soldiers who were now pouring out of the mountain fortress.
With the barrier gone, there was no point in holding out inside the mountain. It would only lead to the fortress being damaged.
In the Blackhorn Clan's view, the enemy's numbers were much smaller than theirs. Apart from the large warrior leading them, they didn't see much of a threat.
The densely packed Blackhorn soldiers swarming out of the fortress also roared in defiance, their chest crystals glowing brightly as they channeled soul energy.
The Augmentation Crystals, a unique soul weapon of the Blackhorn Clan, greatly amplified their soul energy attacks when worn.
Facing the Blackhorn Clan's soul energy assaults, the Blood War soldiers did not even attempt to dodge. They swung their battle blades wide, hacking straight through.
Would the soul energy detonate upon impact?
No problem, they would endure it head-on.
In the midst of the repeated soul energy explosions and rising black smoke, the Blood War soldiers would emerge unscathed, continuing to swing their battle blades with ruthless precision, cleaving their stunned opponents in half.
Even when a Blackhorn soldier managed to block a strike with their soul energy defense, the sheer force of the blow would shake their internal organs as if they had been thrown into turmoil, causing them to vomit blood and collapse.
In that weakened state, they stood no chance of surviving the next attack.
As time passed, the Blackhorn Clan soldiers fighting the Blood War troops lost their earlier ferocity, their eyes filled with fear as they gazed at the heavily armored figures.
"Aaahhh!" A Blackhorn soldier at the Lifeblood Realm gathered soul energy rapidly, the Augmentation Crystal on his chest glowing intensely.
Like a madman, he flung sphere after sphere of condensed soul energy at a Blood War soldier in front of him. Each sphere exploded on contact, filling the air with the sound of detonations.
But as the soul energy spheres struck the Blood War soldier, the Hua Xia attribute soul energy surrounding the soldier absorbed much of the force. By the time the blasts reached the heavy armor, they were little more than decorative sparks.
The Blood War soldier continued his relentless advance, ignoring the barrage, until he stood before the despairing Blackhorn soldier.
Without hesitation, the Blood War soldier drove his battle blade through the enemy's body.
As he withdrew his blade, the Blood War soldier moved on to the next target.
Watching the scene unfold, Xu Wuwei and the others were terrified by what they saw.
Xu Wuwei had never witnessed a unit with such overwhelming power. Just as he was about to express his admiration, he heard Lin Qian sigh beside him.
"As expected, their combat strength is still too weak."
Upon hearing Lin Qian's disappointed words, Xu Wuwei nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.