Chapter 2941: Chapter 2941
"How many of these goodies have you produced?" Ye Liuyun immediately asked Qiong Qi.
Qiong Qi replied, "This is just a prototype—there are still some design flaws to iron out. But we’ve already made three similar finished products. You can use these to hold the line for now. After that, we’ll deliver three more every three days."
Not wanting Ye Liuyun to grow impatient, he explained further: "We’re refining them in the spatial world of your doppelganger, with all our top weapon-refining master working together. This is the fastest we can go.
"Besides, the soldiers piloting these spheres need time to train, so this pace works out perfectly. Just make do with what you have for now—we’ll keep improving this superweapon. Consider this a live combat test."
With that, Qiong Qi released three massive spheres. A squad of eighteen soldiers stood ready—six stationed beside each one.
"Good! These three alone should be enough to hold off the Ancient Demon army for a while!" Ye Liuyun nodded in approval, instructing the soldiers to rest on standby until orders came. He also warned them that when battle began, he would teleport the entire sphere out, so they should be prepared at all times.
Qiong Qi then added, "You’ll need to stock up on extra source energy for them. These things pack a punch, but they guzzle power! Just one energy cannon firing continuously for an hour can drain an entire source energy reserve!"
Ye Liuyun, however, wasn’t concerned about the consumption. He chuckled, "Doesn’t matter! Besides, if we’re blasting a single target nonstop for an hour with full power, even an entire planet would be reduced to dust. What kind of enemy would make us go that hard?"
"Hahaha!" Qiong Qi laughed heartily but still cautioned, "Don’t get too cocky! These are top-tier weapons—make sure the enemy doesn’t snatch them!"
Ye Liuyun grinned and nodded, but then a thought struck him. "What if the enemy tries to teleport the whole sphere away using spatial power?"
Qiong Qi scoffed. "You think we’d overlook something that basic? We’ve already built anti-teleportation arrays inside the spheres. Even if the outer shell gets blown apart, no one can take them.
"Plus, they’re powered by source energy. How many people in the world can even *move* something fueled by that kind of power?"
With all his worries laid to rest, Ye Liuyun circled the massive sphere a few times, admiring it. The thing was enormous—towering ten times his height. Just dropping it would probably crush a few Ancient Demons flat.
Without hesitation, he distributed three units of primal energy to each squad of soldiers. The troops promptly installed one into their orbs, stashed away the remaining two, and readied themselves for battle.
Ye Liuyun also instructed them, "Once the fighting starts, don’t hold back on expending energy—just avoid outright wastefulness!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers chorused in unison.
Ye Liuyun then immediately issued orders to Black Mountain and the Tiger-headed Demi-king, preparing them for the imminent campaign.
Afterward, he communicated telepathically with the Divine Mandate Token, commanding it to absorb the planet it was anchored to.
The moment the planet vanished, the ancient demon forces on the opposing side knew the war had begun.
Ye Liuyun no longer deployed the Lynx Battleships to harass the ancient demon army. Instead, he scouted for a suitable landing zone. Concealed beneath his invisibility cloak, he advanced first before unleashing the entire demon army onto the field.
He himself donned two layers of armor as a precaution against ambush. The beasts and the women in his retinue were kept safely out of the fray, and no defensive formations were set up. Once the demon forces had assembled into formation, they began their march toward the ancient demon legions.
Thanks to recent ample resource replenishments, the demon soldiers had all seen improvements in their cultivation levels. The prospect of seizing even more ancient demon treasures had them brimming with excitement, their morale soaring.
On the opposing side, the ancient demon army mobilized in full, regiment after regiment advancing to meet Ye Liuyun’s forces.
Inside Ye Liuyun’s spatial realm, the three massive orbs stood with their doors wide open. Six soldiers sat in meditation at the entrances, awaiting orders.
"This battle rests on your shoulders," Ye Liuyun murmured, taking a deep breath before issuing commands.
"Lynx Battleships—first squad, ascend to the void and monitor enemy reinforcements and planetary movements. Second squad, track the enemy army’s maneuvers. All remaining Lynx Battleships, hover above our demon forces and stand by for combat.
"All war chariots and puppet beasts, advance to the front lines and prepare to charge. Every unit must ready their energy cannons—no one fires without my direct order!"
The commands cascaded down the ranks, and the soldiers sprang into action. The Lynx Battleships soared into the sky, while war chariots and puppet beasts were deployed, forming a bristling vanguard before the demon army.
The demonic army had deployed energy cannons along the outermost flanks—front, rear, left, and right. Several rows of soldiers at the back had also activated the miniature energy cannons mounted on their armor, as the entire force advanced steadily.
Soon, intelligence about the ancient demon army was relayed back through the Spirit Cat battleships. Ye Liuyun learned that the 500,000-strong vanguard of the ancient demons was actually their weakest contingent—clearly intended as cannon fodder.
As the two armies marched forward, they were on the verge of clashing. The ancient demons at the front had already begun accelerating, preparing to charge headlong into Ye Liuyun’s forces, aiming to scatter them through sheer brute force.
But the moment they picked up speed, swarms of Spirit Cat battleships surged forward, bombarding and intercepting them, forcing their advance to slow.
"Gradually increase the speed of the war chariots and puppet beasts—create distance from the main army!" Ye Liuyun commanded.
The two forces were now so close that the distant echoes of battleship fire and the roars of the ancient demons could faintly be heard.
At his order, the war chariots and puppet beasts accelerated, pulling ahead of the main army.
Before long, the vanguards of both sides came into sight of each other.
Ye Liuyun’s first clone donned an invisibility cloak, leaving the Flying Demon Wolf and the fifty-eight demonic beasts behind for Ye Liuyun before heading into the void to oversee the entire battlefield.
Once the clone was in position, Ye Liuyun immediately recalled the Spirit Cat battleships, signaling the start of the true battle.
With the Spirit Cat battleships no longer obstructing them, the ancient demon army launched a full-frontal charge—still utterly devoid of tactical formation.
Seeing this reckless approach, Ye Liuyun felt a weight lift from his mind.
"Engage!"
He issued the command, delegating full control of the army to Black Mountain and the Tiger-Headed Demi-Beast King while he focused solely on the unfolding battle.
Under Black Mountain’s direction, the war chariots and puppet beasts immediately opened fire on the charging ancient demons, holding their ground rather than advancing. Behind them, the demonic army halted in place, fortifying their defenses.
From the very outset, the ancient demons suffered heavy losses under the relentless bombardment from the war chariots and puppet beasts. Even when they managed to close the distance, the front lines of the demonic army unleashed their energy cannons, shielding the war machines and preventing the ancient demons from fully engaging them.
