Thanks to the successful connection via the Telepathic Relay, spatial teleportation between the Sanctum of Heaven and the outside world was no longer a difficulty. During our calibration training, the mages of the Black Flag Army's Spatial Division had already constructed a massive magic teleportation array deep within a hidden forest inside the Sanctum of Heaven. This allowed over ten thousand mages to easily transfer into the Sanctum without waiting for the beginning of the month!
One could say the Spatial Division had completely opened the channel connecting the Sanctum of Heaven to the outside world, and all of this was made possible thanks to the spatial magic data obtained from the Dragon Emperor Empire within the Path of Kings, as well as the Moon Sect's miraculous spatial teleportation gear: the Memory Set!
The previous training, where the Ten Thousand Man Thunder Array displayed astonishing destructive power, instilled great confidence in everyone regarding this upcoming operation. Speed First Report.
After a brief respite, we continued our advance toward the Heroic Ancient City!
One day later, the more than ten thousand elite mages arrived at their destination: the Heroic Ancient City!
The tall, thick city walls stood starkly against the hazy, vast horizon, and beneath those walls lay a sprawling, dense mass of Draconic creatures, arrayed in tight, rigid formations.
"So many of them," the crowd was momentarily stunned by the sheer number of Draconic creatures stretching out before them. Speed First Report.
A rough estimate suggested no less than a hundred thousand, and every one of them was a Draconic Warrior possessing astonishing combat strength.
"Could it be they were prepared for us?" Feng Qingtian sounded uneasy.
"It seems reaching the Gate of Heroes will require first breaking through this draconic defense line," Xingye said, his expression grave.
"No matter how many there are," Xing Zhan stated in a deep voice, "we charge straight through. I refuse to believe they can actually stop us."
"Form up," Feng Qingtian commanded. "Prepare for a forced advance."
"Yes, sir." Following orders, everyone immediately deployed the Thunder Array! A week of intensive training had brought these elite mages from various continents to a state of perfect obedience, capable of advancing and retreating with flawless coordination!
It took only five minutes to finalize the Thunder Array! The unified formation, the heavy killing intent in the air, seemed to solidify the atmosphere. Everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.
The final decisive battle was finally at hand!
"Advance slowly," Feng Qingtian, who was directing the overall movement of this Thunder Array, commanded.
Xia Ya and Xia Na were responsible for regulating the array's central energy nexus! As for me, I was assigned the critical role of main cannon attack, while Xingye and Xing Zhan were responsible for interception and defense!
The division of labor was simple and clear!
The unified Thunder Array moved like a slowly advancing giant tortoise, heading toward the city walls!
As if anticipating our arrival, the Draconic Legion had also adopted an offensive posture, moving before we even got close!
Rumble! A few dull war drums sounded like sudden thunder, causing the very earth to shake uncontrollably! Massive, black storm clouds instantly churned, sweeping toward us like a raging gale!
"Halt advance, prepare to attack," Feng Qingtian’s expression grew heavy as he slowly raised the greatsword in his hand. His deep, resonant voice was powerful enough to cut through even the earth-shattering booms.
"Magic convergence commencing!" Xia Ya, in charge of the array's magical core, roared.
All the mages immediately began channeling their power. Thick waves of magical fluctuation erupted, swirling rapidly like a vortex. After converging at the center, they flowed like a great river toward the Qian Palace position where I, Xingye, and Xing Zhan stood!
Meanwhile, Xingye and Xing Zhan meticulously calculated the approaching distance of the charging Draconic Legion!
Soon, the Draconic Legion reached within five hundred meters of us—precisely the effective attack range of the Ten Thousand Man Thunder Array!
"Attack," Feng Qingtian roared.
Xingye and Xing Zhan, who had been poised and ready, launched their attack simultaneously!
Both of them wielded the enhanced Blood Drinkers that Lu Tong had specifically forged for them earlier. Since they both specialized in swordsmanship, the shape of the Blood Drinkers was quite similar to the Dragon Shadow Sword, so they felt no awkwardness in wielding them. As for unleashing that devastatingly powerful Fireball technique, I was certainly an old hand at it. I had imparted all these skills to them without reservation over the past week!
To train soldiers for a thousand days is to use them in a single moment; the chance for actual combat had finally arrived!
Two beams of red light flashed out simultaneously! Like two colossal red rainbows, they shot far out and slammed violently into the dense, iron-clad formation of the Draconic Legion.
Boom! Then, a dull explosion and roar mixed with soaring debris and blood mist erupted violently, much like two miniature nuclear bombs detonating. The Orcs' tightly packed iron formation was ripped open, creating two sections of breach.
Just two Thunder Fireballs killed no fewer than two thousand Draconic Warriors!
Although everyone expected the might of the Ten Thousand Man Thunder to be astonishing, and they had witnessed the array's terrifying power during training, seeing the bloody devastation caused by just two Thunder Fireballs made many faces change color.
However, the toughness of the Draconic Legion also exceeded everyone's imagination!
Almost the instant the fireballs flew, a sky full of arrows, a furious torrent, swept towards them!
But we were prepared for this!
After thirty-plus years of continuous refinement, the forces participating in this operation were not just the people of the Azure Moon Vermilion Bird Alliance. There were also elite mage corps from the Demon Sealing Empire—the original Aotian Mage Corps, now reorganized into the Thunderflame Mage Corps.
Their signature technique, aside from the lethally powerful Dragon Flame, was undoubtedly their formidable defensive magic: the Demon Luo Sacred Shield!
One could say that the formation for this operation was no longer just the standard Thunder Array; it had incorporated many other miraculous formations!
"Demon Luo Sacred Shield!" Mo Luo Tianfeng roared! The Thunderflame Mages in the formation immediately raised enormous defensive light shields!
The arrows rained down fiercely, slamming against a shining, seven-colored barrier!
Thud, thud, thud!
Amidst dull impacts and booming sounds, the massive Demon Luo Sacred Shield acted like an inverted metal dome, violently flinging every incoming arrow far away!
Not a single sharp arrow managed to pierce the defense of the Demon Luo Sacred Shield!
It seems thirty years allowed the Demon Sealing Empire to make significant progress in researching the Demon Luo Sacred Shield; they actually managed to elevate its defensive capability to this intensity!
This brought much relief to everyone; at least safety was not an immediate problem!
But this was only temporary! While the power of the Thunder Fireballs was astounding, facing a Draconic Legion numbering close to a hundred thousand, two thousand casualties was a minuscule number. The gaps were refilled in an instant. Speed First Report.
The Draconic Warriors' charge did not slow in the least. In the blink of an eye, they closed to within four hundred meters!
"Continuous attacks," Feng Qingtian bellowed. "We absolutely cannot let them get close." Considering most present were mages, being forced to the front lines of the formation was extremely dangerous.
"Yes!" Xingye and Xing Zhan dared not be negligent! The Blood Drinkers in their hands flashed with severe, spectral light.
Mighty Thunder Fireballs, like mortar shells being fired, relentlessly blasted the surging black tide of iron!
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The constant, heavy roars made everyone's eardrums throb, and the violently shaking earth was like a massive drum being struck constantly. Limbs and body parts flew skyward, mixed with sheets of scarlet, swirling blood mist, punctuated by heart-wrenching screams!
Almost nothing survived being hit by the Thunder Fireballs; they were all blasted into fragments.
The entire world instantly transformed into a hazy, bloody hellscape!
The rapidly charging black tide seemed to crash against tightly arrayed reefs, mercilessly churned into pieces by the continuously exploding Thunder Fireballs!
The Draconic Legion's charge could not approach us; Xingye and Xing Zhan continuously unleashed Thunder Fireballs, holding the enemy back effectively at a distance of one hundred meters!
The combat operation of the Heavenly Realm Thunder was proceeding smoothly so far, but everyone understood that this was merely a warm-up match before the true decisive battle!
The real protagonists had yet to make their appearance!