By the time Cheng Lixue had offered a warning, some had already reacted.
At this moment, as they heard Gu Chifeng bellowing, the Sword Heavy Artillery Unit’s Heavenly Masters, Heavenly Master Apprentices, and Demon God Guards rapidly entered combat mode.
The flying sword in his hand struggled violently, but he held onto it with a vice-like grip.
The robust physique of an Intermediate War General made it seem as though his blood was burning.
Add to that, the Heavenly Master Zong Heng who accompanied the army moved swiftly towards him, taking out a special liquid and sprinkling it onto the sword, causing the spirit of the flying sword to fade away quickly.
This made it even less likely for the flying sword to escape the confines of Gu Chifeng’s grasp.
However, at this time, the crowd was surging.
Dozens of people suddenly burst out from the dense woods miles away.
What was astonishing was that among those dozens of people, more than ten flying swords were launched.
Even though Gu Xiliu and another Demon God Guard in charge of the Short Range Defense Cannon fired their cannons frantically, they still couldn’t stop the numerous flying swords.
Had it not seemed as if the attackers deliberately spared the two Short Range Defense Cannons from destruction, Gu Xiliu and the other might have even faced fatal peril.
Right then, the sound of cannon fire thundered.
Members of the Sword Heavy Artillery Unit had reacted, and they fired at will.
But as the heavy cannon fired, a flying sword, like a streak of light, flashed across the body of the gunner in the blink of an eye.
After killing the gunner, the sword swiftly redirected itself, and in less than a breath’s time, it had killed a trainee and five elites operating that very Sword Heavy Cannon.
Instantly, that cannon fell silent.
And similar scenes...
Were happening in several places.
Gu Chifeng and Cheng Lixue, who never expected to be attacked within the territory of Jiangzhou State, could not react in time and suffered heavy losses.
Dozens, even hundreds of individuals, under the cover of the flying swords, charged into the ranks of the artillerymen with incredible speed.
More than a dozen of them even rushed directly towards Gu Xiliu.
Judging from the speed they displayed...
All of these people were Refining Gods!
Two Primordial Spirits, fourteen Divinity Transformations!
And approximately eighty Refining Gods!
Nearly a hundred of them wore specially crafted armor that concealed their entire body and face.
Their efficiency in slaying was exceedingly fast, and they quickly broke through the ranks of the Demon God Guards, penetrating the artillery position.
Moreover, these attackers had very clear objectives; they did not entangle with the Demon God Guards in combat and, using their movement techniques vastly superior to those of the Demon God Guards, they carried away several Sword Heavy Cannons and even managed to seize a few "Thunder" Gatling Guns, then turned to retreat immediately.
Meanwhile, at Gu Xiliu’s side...
"Their target is our War Spiritual Artifacts!"
Gu Xiliu roared, and without hesitation, struck out with his foot, causing the Short Range Defense Cannon in his possession to break apart.
Sparks flew in all directions.
Another War General followed suit, pulling out his sword high in the air.
But before he could manage to destroy the Short Range Defense Cannon, a torrent of sword light, accompanied by a tearing rush of wind, pierced his body.
Although his physique was comparable to that of a Great Demon, he could not withstand this strike. As he was pierced, his body, along with the sword, flew back dozens of meters, slamming heavily onto the ground and continuing to slide for another seven or eight meters, creating a trench in the soil.
Seizing the opportunity, a Refining God Immortal stepped forward with large strides, his True Qi bursting out, lifted the Short Range Defense Cannon, twisted his body, and quickly fled into the distance.
The others, following his lead, carried the guns and cannons and likewise retreated.
The flying swords of the Divinity Transformation Cultivators moved like lightning, sweeping freely across the battlefield, killing the remaining gunners and destroying the Sword Heavy Cannons.
To avoid being bombarded during their retreat.
"Preserve the War Spiritual Artifacts!"
Leading the Demon God Guards, he chased urgently.
But the flying swords of the Divinity Transformation Cultivators, who had destroyed the Sword Heavy Cannons, cut off any pursuit by slashing through the flow.
Even the weakest among these nearly one hundred attackers were of the Refining God Realm, with exquisite movement techniques; aside from Gu Chifeng and Gu Xiliu, the others couldn’t keep up at all.
Even if it wasn’t for the attackers carrying the heavy cannons and thereby being slowed down, Gu Chifeng and Gu Xiliu wouldn’t have any advantage in the chase.
The greatest shortcoming of the Demon God Guards was their shallow foundation; most of their time was devoted to the cultivation of the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method, so when would they have time to learn any movement techniques or secret techniques?
Gu Chifeng, along with more than ten people by his side, had barely chased for several miles when they were forced to stop due to the flying swords’ interception, ultimately watching helplessly as the group disappeared into the wilderness.
From the start of the attack until the rapid retreat of the group, the whole process took less than ten minutes.
In such a brief period of time, the thousands of Demon God Guards nearby simply couldn’t manage to encircle them.
Ten minutes later, a War General approached Gu Chifeng with a grave expression, saying, "We lost four hundred and three people... among them, three hundred and twelve Demon God Guards, eighty-nine Heavenly Master Apprentices, and two Heavenly Masters."
This was also a disciple of the Gu family.
His name was Gu Lanxin.
He was just below the tier of Gu Chifeng, Gu Luochen, Gu Qingmei, and others.
"Three hundred and twelve Demon God Guards, eighty-nine apprentices, and two Heavenly Masters..."
When Gu Chifeng heard this number,
Neither the battle of Yuntian City nor the recent battle at Gourd Valley had resulted in such heavy casualties for the Demon God Guards.
Not even half as many.
They had lost so many.
The key issue is that we lost two Heavenly Masters!
Thinking of the Patriarch’s instructions, Gu Chifeng couldn’t help but feel a burning rage.
"These people launched their attack too swiftly, and in addition, the three Short Range Defense Cannons we had were modified, switching from Divine Thought scanning to blood Qi scanning to better aim at Devils, which left us totally unprepared..."
Gu Lanxin’s expression was somewhat dim.
"Another critical point is our level of vigilance and reaction speed!"
Gu Chifeng said in a deep voice, "What of it that nearly a hundred Refining Gods, more than a dozen Divinity Transformation Cultivators, and two Primordial Spirit Monarchs? With so many of us, if we could have encircled them, we would have been able to completely grind them down! But... we didn’t. Caught off guard, we were thrown into chaos, and we failed to form an effective Battle Formation to encircle the target in time, allowing them to make a quick escape after their raid! This resulted in heavy losses for the Sword Heavy Artillery Unit; it was our dereliction of duty!"
Gu Chifeng’s words caused Gu Lanxin and the Demon God Guards beside him to lower their heads in guilt.
In this period, the Demon God Guards were nearly always chasing victories, fighting when the winds were in their favor. And with their numbers having expanded from the initial thousand when they first left Star State to now over ten thousand, a tenfold surge, everyone felt like they had become immensely powerful.
At least, they believed they were unmatched across Tiannan.
It was this arrogance that led to them being caught off guard.
"How many Sword Heavy Cannons and ’Thunder’ Gatling Guns did we lose?"
"Although we destroyed quite a few Sword Heavy Cannons as soon as we realized the situation was unfavorable, with flying swords intercepting, the numbers we managed to destroy weren’t high. It’s estimated... that sixty Sword Heavy Cannons were taken away, and as for the ’Thunder’ Gatling Guns, twelve of them."
This number weighed heavily on Gu Chifeng’s heart.
With so many heavy cannons ending up in enemy hands, once they managed to replicate them and began using these heavy cannons against them...
"To be able to mobilize two Primordial Spirit Monarchs, fourteen Divinity Transformation Cultivators and eighty Refining Gods, aside from a few top powers in Tiannan, no others come to mind, but these attackers aren’t from any of those powers."
At this moment, Cheng Lixue walked over and threw a corpse, stripped of its armor, in front of them, "Look at their appearance, covered with the roughness left by sea wind... and considering the scale of these people... their identity is not hard to guess."
"Overseas Lizhou State."
Gu Chifeng’s expression turned ugly.
When Lingxiao City took over the territory of Jiangzhou Dragon Sparrow Manor, they had dealings with the powers from Fish Dragon City and the Overseas Twelve Islands.
Back then, Fish Dragon City was controlled jointly by Dragon Sparrow Manor, Lizhou State, and the Overseas Twelve Islands.
However, after Gu Jinlai occupied Jiangzhou, unwilling to share Fish Dragon City with Lizhou State and the Overseas Twelve Islands anymore, he commanded them to either abide by Lingxiao City’s regulations or leave Fish Dragon City.
At that time, with Gu Jinlai personally stationed in Fish Dragon City and speaking from a position of strength, Xu Haiqing, the envoy representing Lizhou State and the Overseas Twelve Islands, was bluntly rejected by him.
In the end, Lizhou State and the Overseas Twelve Islands forces withdrew from Fish Dragon City dejectedly.
He remembered, when the Patriarch left, he specifically instructed Xin Tianqi to be wary of the movements of the overseas forces to prevent them from retaking Fish Dragon City.
They did not wait for the retaliation from Fish Dragon City, but what came was this assault targeted at their Demon God Guards...
Or rather, an assault targeting the many War Spiritual Artifacts of Lingxiao City.
Sixty Sword Heavy Cannons.
That equated to one hundred and eighty portions of Immortal Essence Gold!
This was close to half the assets of a top power.
Lizhou State and the Overseas Twelve Islands had struck a lethal blow.
Striking right at Lingxiao City’s sore point.
Yet these people all concealed their identities, and even though Lingxiao City knew the culprits were Lizhou State and the Overseas Twelve Islands, they had no clue where to start.
These forces were located in the Eastern Sea, and within the regions controlled by Lingxiao City, apart from some ships in Jiangzhou, there was not a single naval force worth mentioning.
Even if they truly decided to mobilize troops to retaliate against Lizhou State, it was likely their ships would sink before even reaching Lizhou.
Moreover, aside from Primordial Spirit Monarchs, even High-level War Generals would meet their end if trapped in the vast sea, let alone ordinary Heavenly Masters and Demon God Guards.
"Commander, what do we do next...?"
Gu Lanxin looked towards Gu Chifeng.
Gu Chifeng forcibly controlled his emotions and took a deep breath, "Split our forces in two, one will take the injured to Dragon Roar City for recuperation, and the other..."
He looked back, "The Patriarch is still waiting for our support in the Haitian City battlefield. Even though we lost the Sword Heavy Cannons, the Demon God Guards... must still step onto the battlefield, and consider it atonement for the mistake of losing so many War Spiritual Artifacts."
Gu Lanxin acknowledged.
This surprise attack...
was definitely the biggest setback the Demon God Guards had encountered since their establishment.
With the full move-in of the Yellow Sky Sect, the city was filled with the weight of impending war.
And because of Yellow Sky City’s tragic defeat, a somber cloud of grief enveloped the city, casting a very oppressive atmosphere across it.
At this time, in the main hall of the original City Lord Mansion, Zhang Lingjian, Zhang Taiping, and Yu Xuanjing listened to the Elder’s report, with very grave expressions on their faces.
"The Devil... has actually descended upon us!?"
"Damn it! Does this Demon Bird really think the Yellow Sky Sect is easy to bully!?"
The Monarchs vented their anger.
There was silence for a while...
The three of them stopped.
"What should we do next?"
"You think the Yellow Sky Sect is afraid of this beast?! Now that things have come to this..."
Zhang Taiping spoke with resolution, "We have no choice but to rely on the Power of Fate to fight these Devils to death or life. With some luck, I might be able to leverage the tremendous power surge at that time..."
His eyes flickered with light, as if he had other plans in mind.