In an instant, Niu Mang and Xie Zhong clashed!
At the same time, Xie Zhong let out a thunderous shout, “Attack…”
Rumble…
Tens of thousands of Flying Tiger City soldiers charged forward with earth-shaking steps!
“Slaughter them all…” Seeing this, Niu Mang knew it was a fight to the death and roared in fury.
Tens of thousands of Rhino City soldiers surged out, rushing headlong into the fray!
The two sides collided in a chaotic melee!
Fierce winds whipped up sand and grit across the thousands-of-miles-long border, churning the already dim yellow sky into deeper chaos. The setting sun, stained an eerie dark purple by the smoke of battle, hung like a bleeding, solitary eye, gazing helplessly over this hellish battlefield. The withered yellow grass had long been trampled into a muddy slurry, mixed with dark red blood, tracing grotesque veins across the sodden earth.
Beneath a sky roiling with blood-red clouds, the armies of Rhino City and Flying Tiger City crashed together like two torrents.
Three hundred feet above, Xie Zhong flicked his fingers, and thirty-six black heavy swords suddenly hovered in mid-air. The swords’ dark glow wove into an intricate runic array. In an instant, the air within a ten-mile radius warped strangely, transforming into countless razor-sharp air blades that sliced towards Rhino City’s ranks.
Among Rhino City’s eight Protectors, the white-haired Xuanbing Elder reacted first. With a sweep of his sleeve, biting frost spread from his feet. In the blink of an eye, the ground solidified into a thousand-layered ice crystal barrier. The air blades struck the ice, unleashing a deafening roar, with shards of ice scattering like a dazzling river of stars plummeting to earth.
Yet, Flying Tiger City’s cultivators followed with “Nether Fire Rain.” Pitch-black flames streaked across the sky, trailing long tails. Wherever they landed, the ice melted instantly, sending up billows of white steam.
“Form the array!” Rhino City’s array masters bellowed in unison. Over a hundred cultivators formed hand seals, and a massive golden array pattern appeared beneath their feet. A golden pillar of light shot skyward, transforming into a golden shield that blocked most of the Nether Fire Rain.
Still, stray flames pierced the defence, landing among Rhino City’s soldiers. In moments, several cultivators were reduced to ashes, leaving only charred remains.
Simultaneously, Flying Tiger City’s soldiers unleashed the “Black Python Strangle Array.” Dozens of cultivators formed seals, and the ground erupted with countless black pythons, their gaping maws lunging at Rhino City’s troops.
Rhino City’s cultivators fought back with spells. Some summoned gales, sending the pythons tumbling. Others conjured lightning, striking the serpents fiercely. For a moment, the brilliance of spells intertwined with the dark shadows of the pythons, turning the battlefield into a colossal furnace, with searing energy raging in all directions.
High above the battlefield’s centre, the duel between Niu Mang and Xie Zhong grew fiercer.
Xie Zhong was wreathed in dark demonic energy, forming a hundred-foot-tall phantom of a demonic wolf that lunged at Niu Mang with its bloodied jaws.
“You’ve resorted to demonic arts to boost your cultivation,” Niu Mang said gravely, a golden divine ox phantom materialising behind him.
The divine ox roared and charged at the demonic wolf. Their collision warped space, creating a massive vortex that sucked in the surrounding clouds.
“Niu Mang, you’re doomed today!” Xie Zhong sneered, producing a black longbow. He nocked an arrow, its tip brimming with terrifying black energy.
As he released the string, the arrow became a streak of black light, tearing through the sky, too fast for the naked eye to follow.
Niu Mang’s face paled. He hurriedly cast “Divine Ox Shield,” golden light coalescing around him into a massive shield.
The arrow struck the shield, unleashing an earth-shattering explosion. Golden light and black energy clashed, their shockwave sweeping outwards like a hurricane.
Below, cultivators were thrown about, and many weaker ones were swept into the air, their fates unknown.
