CHAPTER 1864: CHAPTER 1857: PLUNGED INTO ANXIETY

During the fire suppression by the Advance Team, Luo’er also fired while retreating near the carriage. His Origin Submachine Gun was not equipped with a cooling component, so it quickly jammed due to overheating. Helplessly, he had to pull out a backup Model 47 Rifle to fire at the enemy.

"Luo’er, keeping this up won’t work, we must make a strategic transfer!" Tangmo said worriedly.

"Can the carriage still move?" Luo’er asked.

"The horses are startled; I’m worried they might run wild, especially since there are cultivators all around." Tangmo said.

"Then let’s abandon the carriage and go on foot." Luo’er pondered for a moment before decisively speaking.

"Abandoning the carriage, it’s loaded with luggage and there are two children..."

"Take whatever luggage you can, destroy the rest if you can’t. You take the two kids, we’ll move into the woods, otherwise, we’ll be surrounded on all sides." Luo’er contemplated.

"Abandoning the carriage, relying solely on foot will be daunting. Moreover, most importantly, sneaking into the forest will severely affect our speed. Our goal is to return to West Outer Heaven, not to circle around Kyushu with these people." Cheng Ziang pointed out.

"Then what to do?" Luo’er asked instinctively.

"Fight our way out!" Cheng Ziang turned his head to survey the surrounding enemy troops, speaking with murderous intent.

"If we fight our way out..."

"Luo’er," Cheng Ziang turned back once again, staring at him, speaking earnestly word by word, "If offended, offend thoroughly. If interfered, interfere completely. Do not hesitate!"

"Alright..." Luo’er bowed his head, pondering for a moment before lifting it again, resolutely commanding, "Direction, Qishi Mansion, carve out a bloody path for me, those who stand in my way, die!"

Rarely did he give such a bold command; this heroic aura uplifted the spirits of all the Advance Team members, rekindling that unyielding, pioneering spirit once again.

Actually, Cheng Ziang’s suggestion was not without personal motives; Hun Jiansi’s death caused him immense pain, leading to deep-seated hatred towards the Wu Family members, eager to tear them apart.

If Luo’er had decided on his own, he would certainly choose a plan with the least casualties on both sides, possibly even compromising to some extent, which Cheng Ziang did not wish to see.

All he wished was, whenever a Wu Family member appeared before him, to kill one by one, to comfort Hun Jiansi’s spirit in the afterlife.

Liseya and the Nascent Soul’s battle had reached a fever pitch; white flashes sporadically illuminated the gloomy sky, brightening it to the point of daylight flooding the ground.

Their combat lacked any fancy moves, focusing solely on accumulating and releasing magical power, competing on who could accumulate and store more magical power faster than their opponent.

Liseya did not enjoy such battles where victory and defeat were indistinct, yet she continued to face the Nascent Soul and fought higher and higher.

The reason was simple: to contain the Nascent Soul, preventing it from harming the Advance Team members on the ground.

As a Demigod, she understood well the destructiveness of Demigods towards mortals. A straightforward strike from her once severely wounded Luo’er, nearly killed him.

Even if Fulajie’er was assisting the Advance Team, that stubborn Captain was reluctant to let her hands be stained with blood, thus Fulajie’er was destined to be used only as a defensive force.

Fortunately, even without Liseya’s assistance, the Advance Team still demonstrated formidable combat prowess, using their modern weapons to effectively prevent the surrounding cultivators from advancing.

Due to the limitations of their weapons, the Advance Team had to alternate shooting to prevent all weapons from overheating and jamming simultaneously.

Luckily, their initial offensive had instilled significant psychological shock in the cultivators; after realizing the fate of those who fell, these imperial soldiers began hesitating. No one wanted to be the first to be shot and lose their Qitian.

For cultivators, the destruction of Qitian equates to losing everything, akin to death.

However, after engaging, these imperial soldiers seemed to realize the limitations of the Advance Team’s weapons, that the damage from the explosion of the Yuanzi Group could be blocked by ordinary shields, so as long as shield-bearers stood at the forefront, they could greatly minimize damage from Yuanzi weapons.

Fortunately, the Advance Team was not entirely equipped with Yuanzi weapons; they retained some conventional firearms.

These assault rifles reliant on gunpowder-propelled kinetic projectiles were unstoppable by a mere shield. Moreover, East Continent lacked the Western Continent’s mature Rune Armor, allowing the kinetic projectiles’ power to be maximized, not reduced to uselessness.

Hence, after fighting for over ten minutes, both sides tacitly agreed to a temporary ceasefire. The imperial soldiers merely raised their shields around the Advance Team, not daring to advance, while the Advance Team ceased firing to relieve the heating of the Origin Submachine Guns.

"Charge, all charge, what’s the point of standing around!"

Anxiang Yu rode the warhorse brought by the attendant and whipped the nearby imperial soldiers, cursing the Advance Team.

Seeing this, Baiyue directly turned his sniper rifle and shot him in the forehead.

With a loud bang, Anxiang Yu was knocked off his horse but managed to survive. The bullet penetrated the side of his helmet, deviating the trajectory, only grazing his scalp. Although bleeding profusely, he managed to save his life.

With the attendant’s support, he stood up embarrassingly, covering the wound on his head, although furious, he no longer dared to shout loudly.

The leader being suppressed made the imperial soldiers realize their opponents wielded firearms far surpassing bows and muskets, avoiding rash proximity.

In fact, unlike the Imperial Court army, cultivator-dependent Kyushu gate-keeper soldiers had a minimal ratio of long-range weaponry. Most times, these soldiers preferred relying on their own strength rather than external weapons.

The Advance Team became like a trapped beast; although an assault would eventually conquer, it also resulted in heavy losses. This forced the imperial soldiers into a dilemma, whether to risk total annihilation by launching a brazen attack.

Ground combat reached a stalemate, while aerial combat grew increasingly intense. The activity radius of Demigods was about four to five kilometers, with significant internal discrepancies depending on the Demigods’ strength.

Fulajie’er, crafted by the Ancient States, had the largest activity radius, exceeding five kilometers at its limit. Liseya, however, was slightly inferior, with a limit of only 3.5 kilometers.

As both were Demigods created by the Divine Machines, their differences indicated evident disparities even among Demigods, leading to suspicions that the Anxiang family’s patriarch may have differences in his activity radius from Liseya.

Nonetheless, these are mere figures on paper; when truly fighting, a distance discrepancy of one or two kilometers is barely noticeable.

The two kept ascending, even disappearing into the clouds. Those on the ground raised their heads, only able to see continuously flashing clouds, resembling lightning flickering within them.

Cheng Ziang gazed at the sky, furrowing his brow silently, seemingly deep in thought.

Beside him, Hu Daoke, hastily resolving the machine gun’s heat issue, also turned his face upwards, muttering unconsciously, "What’s the point of two Demigods fighting?"

His unintentional remark awakened Cheng Ziang’s confusion instantly.

Indeed, there’s little significance in a Demigod duel.

Because Demigods are not True Gods; True Gods can suffocate opponents by consuming the magic around them, thereby killing them.

But Demigods depend on vessels; without destroying the vessel, even depleting the magic around the opponent does not conclusively kill a Demigod.

That is to say, the battle between Liseya and that Nascent Soul was completely pointless, purely Liseya deliberately restraining the opponent to avoid directly threatening the ground’s Advance Team.

How about thinking differently?

Swapping roles between Liseya and Fulajie’er, having Fulajie’er repel the Nascent Soul, while Liseya attacks the encircling imperial soldiers.

This way, the stalemate can be broken.