The battle erupted instantly. Long Shiwu, wielding his longsword, severed the arm of an intermediate Imperial-level cultivator with a single strike before charging towards a late-stage Imperial-level expert within the enemy ranks.
Long Shiwu’s longsword was a Heavenly Soldier, left behind by the sixteen sects who attacked Zheng City. Li Xiaotian had gifted it to him.
Above the forest, sixty Dragon God mechs were at full power. Seven or eight mechs surrounded an intermediate Imperial-level cultivator, attacking relentlessly. No matter how strong the opponent was, they dared not confront them directly.
Simultaneously, the remaining Imperial-level cultivators of Great Qin found their match. Apart from Long Shiwu, who was single-handedly engaging the late-stage Imperial-level expert, everyone else was attacking their opponents in pairs or trios.
This was essentially a brawl. Long Shiwu and his allies knew their strength. If the numbers were similar, they would undoubtedly lose. Therefore, they relied on mass production to achieve qualitative change. Regardless of the opponent's strength, overwhelming numbers would suffice.
"Boom!" In just a few breaths, an intermediate Imperial-level martial artist had their body obliterated by eight Dragon God mechs. Immediately after, the eight Dragon God mechs swiftly joined other combat groups.
They had only one hour, so they needed to maximize their effectiveness.
"Damn it! Retreat, don't engage them head-on, just drain their energy!"
Someone shouted a warning, but it was utterly useless. They couldn't retreat. Dragon God mechs surrounded them from all directions; where could they possibly retreat?
Long Shiwu and his allies, along with the Dragon God mechs, totaling nearly eighty Imperial-level cultivators, were surrounding and attacking the dozen or so individuals from the sixteen sects. No matter how strong the opponents were, they could only struggle desperately.
"Hateful! Doesn't Great Qin want to protect the other four cities? Concentrating all your strength here to protect one city while losing the other four is idiotic!"
Someone cursed, filled with indignation. If they themselves were in such a situation, wouldn't the attackers of the other four cities have an easy time?
The thought made them feel unbalanced, as if they had suffered a great loss.
"Heh heh, the other four cities? You won't be able to take a single city tonight. Whoever comes will die!"
An Imperial-level cultivator from Great Qin said with a cold, mocking tone.
"What's going on?" The people from the sixteen sects paled upon hearing this. They had been contemplating whether to call for reinforcements, but hearing the opponent’s words, they wondered if the other four cities were also in such a state.
How was this possible? When did Great Qin possess such strength?
"Stop wasting words with them, finish the battle quickly, and strive to kill them all within an hour!"
A voice emanated from within a Dragon God mech. It was a woman, her tone icy and filled with killing intent.
This was Zhang Mengyao, who had volunteered to join the battle to avenge the "big guy."
"Kill!!!"
Shouts erupted as the Great Qin forces became frenzied. Their eyes were bloodshot, especially those piloting the Dragon God mechs. They charged madly towards the enemy. While the opponents were fully focused on dealing with the mechs, the pilots inside suddenly emerged from their machines, unleashing a sword strike before quickly retreating. As they left, they self-destructed their mechs.
The leading expert of the opposing side’s eyes turned red at this sight. He possessed late-stage Imperial-level strength but was powerless to change the tide of the battle.
Furthermore, he was being relentlessly engaged by Long Shiwu. Despite sustaining several heavy blows and serious injuries from him, Long Shiwu continued to cling to him, filling him with rage.
"Die!!!" the old man roared, his eyes fixed on Long Shiwu as he unleashed a punch.
"Pfft!" Long Shiwu spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward, but he immediately lunged forward again, his expression ferocious, his eyes filled with hatred.
"Long Yi!!! My good brother!!! Watch closely as we slaughter all these people from the sixteen sects!"
Long Shiwu roared, tears streaming down his face, but it did not impede his fighting.
Concurrently, several Dragon God mechs surrounded them, joining Long Shiwu in confronting the late-stage Imperial-level expert.
"Despicable!!!" The members of the sixteen sects roared and struggled desperately. At this point, they no longer intended to ambush Great Qin but were focused solely on how to escape tonight.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Terrifying fluctuations continuously echoed through the sky above the forest as one by one, the members of the sixteen sects perished.
Until a soul-wrenching roar, the sky above the forest fell silent.
Forty minutes!
Long Shiwu and his comrades took forty minutes. They lost one Imperial-level martial artist and had over twenty Dragon God mechs destroyed, completely annihilating all the attackers!
At the same time, outside Zheng City, Li Xiaotian stood covered in blood, holding his saber. His body exuded a terrifying aura, and a ghastly black mist obscured the sky outside Zheng City.
Apart from Li Xiaotian, no one else remained at the scene. However, the surrounding ravaged mountains and forests indicated the ferocity of the battle that had taken place.
On the other side, Kong Wenbin killed the last opponent with a spear thrust and let out a long roar, releasing his pent-up frustration.
Then, Kong Wenbin knelt in the direction of Zheng City and wept bitterly.
"Brother Long Yi, Wenbin has avenged you!!! These people are just interest. You must watch over us; it won't be long before all the members of the sixteen sects join you below!"
Of Great Qin's five cities, three had achieved victory! All invaders were eradicated!