Living In Another World With A Farm Chapter 8364 - 341-repel the enemy (1)

The moment these individuals unsheathed their armaments, their cover was utterly blown. They wielded a variety of tools, many of which were the signature weapons of various other sects. Their true origins were obvious at a single glance, yet they persisted in masquerading as members of the Alliance of the 13 families. Even under direct questioning, they would likely maintain the facade of the Alliance and never confess their actual identities. Zhao Hai had anticipated this deception, so he remained unperturbed.

Witnessing their behavior, Zhao Hai couldn't suppress a faint smile. With a casual wave of his hand, the Blood Slaughter Sect disciples behind him reacted by striking their storage bags. In an instant, a massive tide of puppets materialized. Hundreds of thousands of these constructs emerged, blanketing the sky in a dense, metallic swarm.

The sudden deployment of this puppet army caused the expressions of the 13 Family Alliance members to pale. The sheer scale of the Blood Slaughter Sect’s puppet reserves was something they had never imagined. Stunned and overwhelmed, they stood frozen, unsure of how to respond to the mechanical horde.

In that moment of hesitation, Zhao Hai signaled again. The Blood Slaughter Sect disciples commanded their puppets to surge forward. This sudden movement finally snapped the forces of the 13 families back to reality. Pan Qianlong, realizing the gravity of the situation and why Zhao Hai had dared to confront them, let out a roar: "Prepare for battle! Everyone, stay alert!" As he shouted, he performed a hand seal, causing the massive scimitar beneath his feet to shrink rapidly. It transformed into a three-foot blade which he caught mid-air. With a fierce swing, he unleashed a crescent-shaped blade of black Qi that tore through the sky toward a puppet.

The saber Qi slammed into the puppet, causing it to stall before erupting in an explosion. However, since the blast occurred at a distance, Pan Qianlong remained unharmed. Meanwhile, the rest of the puppet army pressed on. Being mindless constructs, they were devoid of fear; even if they were being picked apart, not a single one showed any sign of retreating.

The other cultivators of the 13 Family Alliance joined the fray, engaging the puppet swarm. Although many puppets were shattered in the opening exchange, the effort seemed futile as more surged in to take their place. These puppets had shifted into the forms of massive swords, hacking and slashing at the enemy ranks. Their offensive was formidable, characterized by both high speed and crushing power. Furthermore, the puppets were forged from high-quality, razor-sharp materials. Several cultivators, either due to low cultivation or simple negligence, were cut down immediately.

Once the puppets closed the distance, they reverted to human forms. They began to spin with incredible velocity, making their strikes more devastating and relentless. This style of continuous, high-pressure combat proved suffocating for the defenders, and the casualty count among the cultivators began to climb rapidly.

Zhao Hai and his commanders were not idle observers. While directing the puppet offensive, they were also busy reaping spirits. Zhao Hai had issued strict instructions to harvest every single soul on the battlefield without exception. Naturally, this order did not apply to their own fallen comrades; the act of spirit-collecting was considered far too macabre to perform on one's own brothers-in-arms.

The disciples of the Blood Slaughter Sect were puzzled by Zhao Hai’s specific interest in these spirits, but since they were already familiar with the techniques for gathering Dark Souls, they followed his lead without protest. Zhao Hai even designated specific squads whose sole duty was to sweep the battlefield for these Dark Souls.

While Pan Qianlong didn't initially notice the spirit harvesting, he could tell the tide of battle was turning against them. Though an individual puppet might not be a match for a powerful cultivator, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Facing hundreds of thousands of fearless machines that would self-destruct upon nearing a target was a nightmare scenario. The 13 Family Alliance suffered heavy losses from these suicidal explosions.

Pan Qianlong was at a loss for words against such a mechanical legion. He hadn't expected the Blood Slaughter Sect to employ such a tactic, but he had to concede its effectiveness. Fighting these "iron lumps" was a thankless task, as they felt no pain and feared no death. Worse yet, destroying the puppets didn't actually harm the enemy cultivators, who remained safely at a distance. He had spent his energy destroying metal while the true enemy remained untouched, a realization that left him feeling frustrated and drained.

The thought of a tactical withdrawal began to dominate Pan Qianlong's mind. Retreat seemed the only viable option. The Blood Slaughter Sect's numbers were roughly equal to theirs, yet the enemy disciples hadn't even engaged in the fighting yet. They were inflicting massive casualties using only their puppets. If the Alliance exhausted themselves destroying the puppets, they would be defenseless when the actual disciples attacked. He feared that if they waited much longer, even an escape would be impossible. He began to desperately calculate a way to evacuate his men safely.

Zhao Hai remained motionless, observing the carnage with a calm gaze. He kept a close eye on the morale of his own disciples, who were watching the battle with visible excitement. After a long period of constant retreating, this counterattack was a massive relief. Seeing the puppets dismantle their enemies before they even had to draw their own weapons filled them with joy.

The enemy force, originally numbering nearly 100,000, had already seen nearly 10,000 fall. Surrounded by a sea of puppets, the Alliance cultivators felt isolated and trapped, causing their morale to plummet. In the rear, some cultivators began to desert the battlefield. Zhao Hai noted that those fleeing were mostly the auxiliary forces, not the core members of the 13 families. This confirmed that the Alliance was not a cohesive unit; many of these sects had likely been coerced into this campaign against the Blood Slaughter Sect.

This lack of unity was predictable. While the leaders of the 13 Family Alliance were arrogant, they weren't entirely blind. They knew that even a weakened Blood Slaughter Sect was a sleeping tiger. To provoke them so directly was essentially a suicide mission.

Of course, there were exceptions like the Fang clan, whose arrogance blinded them to the danger—otherwise, they wouldn't have dared attack Blood Gale Island. Nevertheless, it was clear that the 13 Family Alliance and the seven great sects were not working in perfect harmony.

The seven major sects were far from a united front, and the smaller sects involved were all looking out for their own interests. Everyone wanted the spoils of war, but no one wanted to pay the price in blood. Seeing this internal friction, Zhao Hai felt no anxiety. He was certain he could crush this fractured coalition.

As the desertions in the rear became more obvious, a chain reaction started. More and more cultivators turned and fled, and the situation quickly spiraled into a rout. By the time Pan Qianlong realized the extent of the chaos, it was too late to restore order. He had no choice but to roar: "All units, retreat!" As he spoke, his scimitar dissolved into a black mist, emitting a haunting ghostly wail that blanketed the puppets surrounding him.

However, the puppets immediately self-destructed within the mist, causing Pan Qianlong’s expression to darken. With a cold snort, he condensed the mist back into a giant curved blade, slicing the nearby puppets in half before they could explode again. Taking advantage of the opening, he took flight and vanished into the distance with incredible speed. Seeing their leader flee, the rest of the Alliance scrambled to escape.

The cultivators in the Art-Refining Realm had various techniques to facilitate their escape. However, those in the Art-Essence Realm found themselves in a dire situation. Entangled by the puppets and lacking powerful escape maneuvers, they were unable to break free from the mechanical swarm.

Zhao Hai didn't bother chasing the high-level leaders. Instead, he commanded in a deep voice: "Increase the pressure! Ignore the ones who already got away; we'll deal with them eventually. Focus on trapping everyone else. Do not let a single one of these remaining enemies escape!" The disciples roared in affirmation and intensified their assault.

By the time the dust settled, only about 70,000 of the original 100,000 cultivators had managed to flee. Nearly 30,000 had been left behind, their lives extinguished and their souls harvested. Their storage rings and equipment were stripped as well. Zhao Hai then gave a peculiar order: the disciples were to gather every scrap of broken magic weapons and destroyed puppet parts from the field. Though confused, the disciples complied diligently.

Despite their lack of understanding regarding his orders, the disciples no longer doubted Zhao Hai. Any lingering resentment or doubt from the previous retreats had been washed away by this decisive victory. They now understood that Zhao Hai’s retreats weren't born of cowardice, and that was all they needed to know.

Following the clash, Zhao Hai marched his forces back to Blood Stone Island to recuperate. He had deployed roughly 100,000 troops, which constituted nearly the entire strength of the Western defense line. While they were currently victorious, the 13 Family Alliance, backed by more powerful entities, had initially sent over 500,000 men to this front. This was only a fraction of what the enemy could potentially mobilize, whereas the Blood Slaughter Sect was already nearing its limit for reinforcements.