Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

On the march.

Tanks and tracked vehicles continuously converged around them, and each student entered their designated position within the marching formation according to their allocation.

The heavy machine gunners played an important role for the tanks.

The cultivators from Xuanwu Heavenly Palace were exceptionally skilled at concealment spells, always managing to evade radar detection and making sudden advances into a five-kilometer range; this was when heavy machine gunners could truly demonstrate their value.

"When we landed, why didn't I see any Taoist soldiers?"

Jiang Ding, moving much faster than the main force, was now a dozen kilometers away and asked in passing.

The newly-emerged artificial intelligence, Array Spirit, was capable of providing reliable communications for at least several hundred kilometers.

"According to the usual battle plans, they would land first, deplete the enemy's living forces, disrupt their deployments, and aren't deployed with us," Zhou Xiuling responded without a second thought.

"Oh."

Jiang Ding concealed his form, lightly touching his toes on the occasional rocks that appeared in the wilderness, sprinting at the highest speed possible for Peak of Eaglet Innate, drawing closer to the 10th Division.

From time to time, he encountered monsters with strong concealment abilities but no longer dealt with them himself. Instead, he would report the coordinates and let the troops behind deal with them at least ten minutes later.

Humm!

After advancing over seventy kilometers, the Taiqing Flying Sword on his sleeve vibrated as a warning.

Jiang Ding stopped in his tracks, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the sandy ground beneath a giant boulder in the distance, deep underground, more than ten meters below.

"Good spot."

"Not to mention it blocks the artillery from the sky, it also allows for an escape at any time."

Even the Armor Piercing Bullets of the Xianmen Sect couldn't break through such thick rock in a short time.

"Must be at least mid-stage Foundation Building."

Jiang Ding surmised.

Otherwise, the Taiqing Flying Sword wouldn't have reacted so strongly. At most, a slight vibration would suffice as a courtesy to a Qi Practitioner.

A cultivator of such a realm, even if he was just practicing a 'common' Foundation Building spell at the 'Decree' level, was not someone Jiang Ding could contend with – the realm difference was too overwhelming.

"High-value target identified."

"Mid-stage Foundation Building cultivator or above, coordinates... buried at least ten meters underground and possibly protected by a concealment defensive formation; requesting artillery strike."

"Received! Please wait for my unit to enter the thirty-kilometer interference zone!"

Zhou Lingling's excited voice immediately returned.

Jiang Ding calmed his mind, emptied his thoughts, and gradually adjusted his breathing to slow down his blood flow in concert with the Top-grade Special Magic Tool Surveillance Camouflage to minimize his life signs as much as possible.

Only his Sword Intent became sharper.

"Position ready!"

"Fire!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the sky, streaks of white appeared, flying in parallel trajectories, giving the impression they were just passing by.

Among them, thirty-six Armor Piercing Bullets were particularly agile, the aura of the 'Earth Cracking' spell they carried was stronger than the other shells, and they were interconnected with lines resembling a formation.

Influencing thirty-six tanks simultaneously was an ability possessed by a First-order War Commander controlling a Second-order Infantry Spirit Radar!

Although only enhanced with First-order Spells, coupled with the innate strong penetration power and magic-breaking capability of the Magic Arts-Breaking Steel, multiple hits could easily eliminate Foundation-building cultivators!

"It's impossible for them to find me."

Deep beneath the sandy ground, a diminutive elder's heartbeat quickened, yet he affirmed confidently, not losing his composure.

Practicing the Second-order stealth technique 'Earth Escape Technique', combined with setting up a Second-order Shape hiding and breath hiding array method, even the war magic tools of the Eastern Devil School couldn't discover him!

Unless he was so unlucky as to encounter an extraordinarily exceptional person like a Taoist disciple or substitute Daoist Master from Xuanwu Heavenly Palace.

But that was impossible, as the movement center of the Eastern Devil School's big army wasn't here.

This place was merely on the periphery of the big army.

The passing group of over a hundred Armor Piercing Bullets subtly lowered their warheads, their speed abruptly increasing.

"Not good!"

The diminutive old man's face changed, and in a swift motion, he jumped up and skimmed close to the ground, flying off into the distance.

The Earth Escaping Technique at the Foundation Building Level could only penetrate thirty steps into the ground at most. Go any deeper, and one would be crushed by the overwhelming gravity, and movement would be slow—making one an easy target for the armor-piercing bullets imbued with the Earth Cracking Technique!

Boom! Rumble!

Over a hundred armor-piercing bullets whistled through the air, forming a net that engulfed the short elder.

Dust and smoke rose everywhere, and numerous chunks of flesh and corpses appeared, along with scattered pieces of Taoist Robes.

"Target alive, requesting to continue the strike!"

Jiang Ding's eyes were slightly cold.

Many of those chunks of flesh were still steaming, blood still flowing, and the aura similar to that of Foundation Builders. It must have been that they were still alive when they were recently extracted.

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

Another three hundred plus armor-piercing bullets fell from the sky, no longer concealing anything.

"When did the Eastern Devil School's magic..."

The diminutive old man's figure appeared again, his expression one of panic as he fled into the distance. Without hesitation, he used his essence blood to increase his speed several-fold, trying to escape this bizarre place.

Another wave of armor-piercing bullets in a net formation approached. Most were dodged, but the remaining seven, enhanced by Zhou Lingling, a First-order War Commander with the Breaking Method enhancement, struck their target.

Amidst a grating, teeth-clenching noise, several high-velocity armor-piercing bullets shattered the old man's earthen yellow shield, breaking through his bulletproof barrier—a barrier that not even heavy machinegun fire could penetrate—and grazed past his shoulder, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.

"Ah!"

The short old man, now only half a body remaining, screamed in agony but still refused to give up. The earthen yellow magic light surged, diving into the ground, melding into it.

"I am willing to surrender to the Xianmen Sect!"

"Friend, stop! Come out and talk!"

The air vibrated with the sound of a hoarse and thunderous shout that spread in all directions.

In response to his plea came another round of over three hundred armor-piercing bullets, now imbued with the Earth Cracking Technique, which pounded into the ground. The flashing magic light sliced through the soil and rocks as if they were butter, revealing the fleeing figure of the diminutive elder.

"No!"

Boom!

An earth-shattering explosion occurred at the deep pit where the Foundation Building cultivator was, with countless fragments of Magic Arts-Breaking Steel mixed with sand, flesh, and fragments of Magic Tools spraying in every direction.

A brief silence ensued.

"Target dead."

Jiang Ding closed his eyes, utilizing his Sword Intent to sense the truth, and then he reported.

Without delaying to deal with the battlefield or to collect the spoils of war, he sped towards the direction of the 10th Division, no longer maintaining a state of full True Qi.

Second-order stealth Formation Method.

Second-order stealth technique.

Second-order disguised corpses.

All of these greatly amazed him at the concealment abilities of the Foundation Building-stage cultivators from the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace, unsettling him.

If he had not been there, even a First-order War Commander who could control a Second-order Infantry Radar armored command vehicle would not likely have discovered such heavily concealed enemies.

After hastily advancing several tens of kilometers in half an hour, he was about to enter the battle zone.

"...the 10th Division..."

Through the communication channel came the downcast voice of Zhou Lingling.

"All personnel killed in action."

"Six First-order War Commanders, six tank regiments, nine infantry regiments, over ten thousand people, all perished for the nation."

Jiang Ding did not respond to her words but silently gazed ahead.

Gunsmoke pervaded the air, with craters everywhere, the ground strewn with zombie limbs, mingled with the scent of charred flesh, and the stench was overpowering.

In the midst of these monstrous bodies at the center, tanks were either sliced in half, toppled, or their gun barrels split down the middle, cut edges smooth and clean.

Around the tanks, young bodies dressed in school uniforms and camouflage lay everywhere, horrifically mutilated, mixed with shattered firearms, with thick blood staining the ground.

This scene, spread over several kilometers, was endless as far as the eye could see.