In his lifetime, he had faced countless challenges and never once been defeated; he feared no one, not even those ancient behemoths that existed only in legend.

Actually, by his side, there were three Martial Saints: two were his sons, and one was a subordinate. However, to defend Storm City and resist Tuoba Fangchang's attack, he had left his third son, Xuanyuan Xuan, along with that Martial Saint subordinate and the vast majority of Grandmasters behind to assist his eldest son, Xuanyuan Long. His seventh son, Xuanyuan Jing, was tasked with assassinating Ye Jingyu but was unexpectedly injured by a shockwave and was currently recuperating in Medicine City.

In other words, the high-tier combat strength remaining by his side, besides himself, was only his second son, Xuanyuan Lin, and the few Grandmasters surrounding Xuanyuan Lin. These Grandmasters were utterly useless when facing formidable beings like Martial Saints.

Seeing his father-king charge forward directly, Xuanyuan Lin knew he truly couldn't offer assistance. He immediately took over command from Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan. On the path of martial arts, he was far inferior to his father, but in the art of war, he was certain he would eventually surpass him.

As for the other soldiers, seeing Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan willingly engage the enemy, they erupted in fervent roars. Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan was their God of War, an eternally undefeated myth in their hearts. Yet, many among them had never seen Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan fight, let alone witness him in action. Seeing him slowly ascend into the air now, how could they not be thrilled?

"Mr. Lin, I trouble you!" Feeling the soaring morale of the soldiers, a confident smile played on Xuanyuan Lin's face. He then turned and respectfully addressed a man clad in long robes.

"It is our honor to serve Your Highness and the King. Everyone, let us begin!" Mr. Lin returned the bow with equal deference and then addressed the twelve men standing behind him.

These men were individually slender, their physical bodies extremely fragile, but their souls were immensely powerful. As Mr. Lin finished speaking, the twelve men simultaneously recited an incantation, and magnificent scarlet light erupted from their hands at the same moment...

Soul Masters...

And not just any Soul Masters—they were at the Spirit Manifestation realm...

Twelve Soul Masters at the Spirit Manifestation realm—what kind of terrifying combat power was that?

This was far more potent than twelve Grandmasters; this was absolutely capable of instantly killing a Martial Saint. A Martial Saint's physical body wasn't overwhelmingly strong; you might evade the attack of one Spirit Manifestation Soul Master, but could you evade the attacks of twelve?

Back then, Ye Jingyu's Heaven and Earth Star Spirit Arrow had nearly killed Bai Tianyu. If there had been twelve Heaven and Earth Star Spirit Arrows then, even one as strong as Bai Tianyu would have ended up utterly annihilated...

These were none other than the famed Thirteen Battle Soul Warriors who served by Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan's side. Mr. Lin was already a standard Soul Immortal, and the other twelve were all existing at the Spirit Manifestation realm...

This was undeniably a terrifying force. No one would have expected Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan to bring them here directly...

But it made sense when one considered that Storm City possessed twelve Primordial Spirit Cannons, which any Soul Master reaching the Soul Manifestation realm could operate. The power of those cannons was enough to match a strike from a Spirit Manifestation Soul Master. It was just a pity that the barrels were fixed onto the city walls, being a weapon of war bestowed upon the Tianyuan Empire by the Primordial Spirit Sect; they were completely immobile.

As the twelve men chanted silently, streams of crimson light shot forth simultaneously from their hands, coalescing in the air into a colossal vortex. An indescribable pressure immediately manifested, and the surrounding Fire elemental energy furiously converged toward that spot...

Just as the twelve men were about to unleash their soul technique, the main gate of Yun Jing City suddenly burst open...

Xuanyuan Lin, including Mr. Lin, were momentarily stunned. Could the Southern Cloud Empire possibly be surrendering?

But then, Xuanyuan Lin watched as a black torrent surged forth, accompanied by earth-shattering rumbles that echoed across the entire battlefield...

Every observer wore an expression of disbelief. Had the Southern Cloud Empire chosen to attack proactively? Was this not courting death? The armies of the Southern Cloud Empire had already been beaten into submission by him and his father-king, their morale crushed. To have the courage to simply hold out defensively under such circumstances would have been commendable; for them to launch an offensive now—was this not suicide?

However, very quickly, Xuanyuan Lin's mouth involuntarily formed an 'O'. He saw that what poured out from the city gates were not cavalry, or rather, not soldiers riding warhorses, but a legion of warriors mounted on gargantuan beasts...

The Horned Rhinos—were these the monstrous beasts rumored to have effortlessly conquered Lingyan City back then?

Each one stood over ten feet tall, each one resembling a veritable war machine. And upon their backs were the powerful warriors hailing from the Southern Barrens—this was undoubtedly an elite force, warriors honed to the absolute pinnacle of sharpness...

"Quickly, quickly, do not attack the city walls yet! Focus fire on that contingent of cavalry! We absolutely cannot allow them to approach our formation, or our army of three hundred thousand will instantly descend into chaos!" In that first glance, Xuanyuan Lin recognized the terrifying potential of this legion. Such monstrous beasts were beyond the resistance of mortal strength. Once they broke through, the Nine Palaces Formation set up by his father-king would be shattered instantly.

As Xuanyuan Lin finished speaking, the twelve Soul Masters simultaneously roared, "Doomsday Flame Dragon!" The moment the words fell, the fiery red vortex transformed into a gigantic fire dragon—a dragon easily several hundred feet long—that lunged directly toward Ye Jingyu... In that instant, the gaze of everyone on the battlefield was drawn to this colossal fire dragon, their eyes filled with horrified shock...

Since Ye Jingyu's return, Chi Yixiu had brought two thousand Chi Yi tribesmen and five thousand archers, along with four hundred Horned Rhinos, which had been kept in the mountains behind Dan Yun Villa. However, on the day Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan led his army to besiege the city, Luo Ruofeng had immediately sent men to bring these behemoths into the city, knowing that sooner or later these beasts would serve a purpose.

Of course, this was also related to Luo Ruofeng's inability to command the Chi Yi warriors. If the Chi Yi tribesmen obeyed him, he would have long since led these beasts to the border battlefield.

Why would he wait until this moment to deploy them?

But at this juncture, with the return of Chi Yixiu and the others, this host of Chi Yi warriors charged toward the endless enemy army like caged tigers, fighting with immortal resolve...

Ye Jingyu led the vanguard, charging toward the main army at maximum speed astride Ni Bo. With Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan lured away, there was no one left in the enemy ranks he feared. He intended to use this opportunity to catch the Tianyuan Empire's army completely off guard, ideally shattering their formation and crushing their morale before returning to capture Xuanyuan Xiao Zhan with his comrades. This was the entirety of his plan to seize the king!

But at that moment, seeing such a massive fire dragon rushing toward him and his group, his expression abruptly changed...