Chapter 911: Hand-to-Hand Combat

With a *shick* sound, the rift Li Huowang wielded sliced through the mounted bandits, instantly severing them into several pieces. Their internal organs, mixed with their dying screams, scattered across the ground.

With a furious roar from Li Huowang, the ground within dozens of yards around him instantly transformed into a swamp, trapping all the bandits who couldn't escape.

As the liquefied sand and stone submerged every mouth and nostril, the swampy ground reverted to its original state.

This was Youdu of Daqi, where forces from the Tianchen Kingdom were launching a full-scale assault. Battlefields raged everywhere.

Li Huowang wasn't the only one fighting; Li Sui was also giving her all. Tentacles snaked out from Li Huowang's back, piercing ears at various intricate angles—in through a left ear, out through a right, and then into another person's head.

Dozens of tentacles were instantly strung with people, like candied hawthorns on a stick. As the tentacles twitched, all the bandits whose brains had been pierced by Li Sui's tendrils instantly transformed, raising their weapons and attacking their comrades.

For the two of them, dealing with these mountain bandits was undoubtedly overkill; the brigands and ruffians from the Tianchen Kingdom were no match at all.

However, no matter how many Li Huowang and Li Sui slew, countless more bandits and mountain brigands quickly filled the void. There were simply too many; it seemed the Tianchen Kingdom was using them as cannon fodder.

He realized that to deal with them, a more efficient method was needed.

"Damn it!" Raging flames instantly engulfed Li Huowang. The fire spread rapidly along Li Sui's tentacles, and soon, a magnificent and dazzling human torch blazed at the center of the battlefield.

As Li Huowang charged forward, the flames on his body—fueled by his own skin—carved a spectacular, burning long wall directly through Youdu City.

Wherever he went, bandits spontaneously combusted, experiencing the same excruciating pain Li Huowang endured.

Seeing everyone around him covered in flames, Li Huowang, still ablaze, stomped his feet and leaped onto a trebuchet. "Launch!" he roared. "Launch me towards where there are the most people outside the city! Let's see how many of them can burn!"

With a *whoosh*, the taut rope was severed by an axe, and Li Huowang was flung high into the air.

As Li Sui's tentacles spread out from his body, he became like a vast flaming net in mid-air, soaring towards the throngs below.

Just as Li Huowang was about to land, a rift suddenly opened in mid-air. Long, slender water sleeves emerged from within, spinning rapidly, and as they did, the flames on Li Huowang's body swiftly moved away, gradually extinguishing.

Not only the flames on Li Huowang were extinguished, but also the intense pain throughout his body. Both the fire and the pain were gone. The Unmentionable Army, capable of manipulating the Heavenly Dao, had arrived!

"They dare to come again!" Li Huowang immediately sat cross-legged, preparing to perform the Wangtian Baohao ritual.

However, the Unmentionable Army seemed to have found a way to counter Li Huowang's move. The moment they saw him sit cross-legged, the recently opened rift immediately closed, and the Unmentionable Army that had just emerged quickly retreated back to the Tianchen Kingdom.

But just as Li Huowang freed up his hands, preparing to burn all the bandits scattered across the mountains and plains, the Unmentionable Army reappeared from the rift. The enemy wielded the Xinpan's abilities with masterful skill. For a moment, Li Huowang was completely held back, unable to do anything.

"Father, the Daliang Sky Survey Department and the Daliang Imperial Army have arrived. They are all at the Daliang Altar of Heaven."

"Good! I'll go get them! You hold them off! I'll be right back!" Li Huowang quickly pulled out Li Sui, then, stomping firmly with his right foot onto his left, he rapidly flew towards the Altar of Heaven.

Just as the Unmentionable Army was about to give chase, Shangguan Yuting's illusions instantly appeared, constantly multiplying to block their pursuit.

By the time these illusions were swiftly dispelled, Li Huowang, far away, had already returned to Daliang through a rift.

Li Huowang descended from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground and instantly shattering the white marble floor tiles. Many people from various sects and factions were already gathered on the Daliang Altar of Heaven; Li Huowang even recognized some familiar faces.

Not only were members of the Sky Survey Department and the Imperial Guard present, but also some old eunuchs holding whisks. In such a short time, Daliang had summoned everyone they could temporarily mobilize.

With their help, although dealing with the Unmentionable Army would be challenging, at least Youdu City would not be overrun by the bandits and mountain brigands.

Seeing the Sky Survey Department members on the Altar of Heaven bowing to him, he said anxiously, "No time for chatter! Come with me quickly!"

With that, just as he had once delivered grain, he opened a rift, grabbing one person in each hand and throwing them through. "Beware!" he warned. "This time your opponents are the Tianchen military strategists—those with a crude demeanor and a pervasive murderous aura are them!"

As the Daliang Sky Survey Department and the Daliang military strategists rapidly arrived in Daqi, the situation gradually began to show signs of coming back under control.

These forces rapidly cleared out the bandits and mountain brigands within Youdu City and began to re-seal its four city gates.

However, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse the next moment. The Tianchen Kingdom swiftly countered, as hundreds of "Faceless" figures, clad in theatrical costumes, scattered throughout Youdu. They began to subtly manipulate the Heavenly Dao within the Daliang Sky Survey Department members.

Soon, a lama whose ten emotions and eight sufferings had been completely emptied fell to the ground like a withered corpse, motionless. This was only the beginning; against the "Faceless" who could manipulate the Heavenly Dao, they were utterly outmatched.

This couldn't continue. If all the Daliang Sky Survey Department members were eliminated, they would likely lose before the main confrontation even began.

"This is a trap! Their target isn't me; it's the Daliang Sky Survey Department!" Li Huowang immediately pressed his own face onto a nearby person's face, then sat cross-legged and began to perform Wangtian Baohao.

All the "Faceless" reacted again. Various portals leading back to the Tianchen Kingdom appeared around them, whisking them away to safety.

And at that very moment, Li Huowang, who was performing Wangtian Baohao, suddenly stopped. He peeled off the skin from his face, revealing Li Sui's countenance, which bore a striking resemblance to Shangguan Yuting.

The Li Huowang performing Wangtian Baohao was merely an illusion. The real Li Huowang had, at some unknown moment, followed behind one of the "Faceless" and entered the Tianchen Kingdom with him.

Witnessing the previous situation, Li Huowang had long realized that being constantly led by others was unsustainable; he had to seize the initiative!

As the saying goes, "to catch the bandits, first catch their leader." To defeat the Tianchen Kingdom, neither the Unmentionable Army nor anything else was the true key; only the Xinpan, which could open the passage between the Tianchen Kingdom and Daqi, was crucial!

Having just arrived in the Tianchen Kingdom, Li Huowang quickly scanned his surroundings. His gaze immediately fixed on a man in red with a fox mask, walking on stilts in the distance. That was the one!