Chapter 193: Active Offense

The battle had begun. More than twenty of our cultivators were advancing towards the enemy, with Body Cultivators in the lead, followed by Weapon Cultivators, then Spell Cultivators and Ghost Cultivators. Hua Ci was positioned at the very back, accompanied by two cultivators who stayed by her side, shielding her from potential attacks.

The power of spells and artifacts began to manifest as both sides engaged from a distance, clashing fiercely and stirring up spiritual energy.

Lu Ye and Lu Yushan stood at the highest point of their island, not participating in the battle. They had a more critical mission. Lu Yushan sat cross-legged in front of Lu Ye, his spiritual energy surging as he subtly controlled his spider constructs, guiding them to infiltrate the enemy's Chess Island undetected.

Their aggressive frontal assault was merely a diversion to occupy the enemy's attention, facilitating Lu Yushan's covert operation. Otherwise, the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators would easily spot the unusual spiders, as there were virtually no living creatures on Chess Islands.

Lu Ye stood there for two reasons: firstly, to protect Lu Yushan, who was controlling the mechanical constructs, and secondly, to await the opportune moment.

The enemy's formation master had to be eliminated; otherwise, even if Hua Ci's abilities were effective, their side would still incur losses.

After observing for a moment, he turned to look at the sea. Another Chess Island was drifting towards them, expected to merge with their island in about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

They didn't know if the newcomers were friend or foe, so there was no time for delay. If another few dozen Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators arrived, their forces would inevitably be caught in a pincer attack.

The intensity of the battle's aftershocks grew fiercer until, at a certain moment, Lu Yushan opened his eyes and stood up, declaring, "They're all in position!"

Lu Ye nodded. "Let's move."

He stepped forward, holding Lu Yushan by the arms. Fiery red spiritual energy flowed from his back, forming wings, and he shot into the sky, soaring directly towards the battlefield.

From the rear of their formation, Hua Ci sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations from their direction. She turned to see Lu Ye flying towards them with Lu Yushan. Their eyes met, and she gave a slight nod.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Ye carried Lu Yushan past their own formation. This sight astonished the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators, who all turned pale with shock.

Although they didn't know what the Vast Sky Alliance was planning, it was clearly a major move. Several streaks of light immediately changed direction and swept towards Lu Ye, but they lost their momentum before they could get close.

The range of artifacts wielded by Seventh-Order cultivators was limited. How could Lu Ye possibly allow himself to easily enter their attack range? It could be said that while activating his Winged Spirit-Pattern, he was invincible.

Lu Yushan, held in front of Lu Ye, was apprehensive for a moment, but realizing the enemies couldn't reach him, he relaxed. He formed a hand seal and softly uttered, "Explode!"

Within the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge formation, the hidden spiders began to detonate one by one. This greatly startled the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators; none of them knew what was happening.

However, the exploding spiders caused them no apparent harm.

As they remained suspicious, Hua Ci took action. A visible circle of emerald-green energy radiated explosively from her, passing over their own cultivators and enveloping the enemy cultivators.

A dozen or so Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators panicked, because at that moment, the spiritual energy within their bodies became obscure and sluggish, just as it had before. They had encountered this phenomenon when they invaded the enemy's Chess Island previously, suffering heavy casualties in that battle. After returning to their own island, it took considerable effort to clear the toxins that had invaded their bodies and restore their spiritual energy circulation.

They no longer dared to carelessly trespass onto the enemy's small island, having remained on their own Chess Island. Yet, even so, they couldn't avoid the enemy's methods.

Instantly, several streaks of artifact light were knocked down.

At the rear of the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge formation, a man in green robes watched with a grave expression, holding a formation disc. He was waiting for the Vast Sky Alliance members to step into a specific area before activating the pre-arranged formation's power.

He had a vague premonition that this day would end badly, but even in death, he wouldn't make it easy for the Vast Sky Alliance. He would, at the very least, drag a few down with him.

However, at that very moment, an immense sense of danger enveloped him. He suddenly looked up and saw a bright point of light blossoming in the sky. As time passed, the light grew increasingly brilliant, transforming into what seemed like a small sun within a short span.

The sense of danger emanated precisely from the sky.

"It's that Mechanist!" a cultivator guarding him exclaimed in a low voice.

Lu Yushan had previously blasted a Seventh-Order cultivator's chest with a single shot, a scene that remained fresh in the memories of the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators. Seeing the sun-like light bloom, they instantly knew who was preparing to attack.

They also saw someone grasping the Mechanist from behind, a person with fiery red spiritual energy wings flowing from his back.

"Don't let him get close!" another person shouted. Two streaks of light immediately flew towards them, weaving and darting. If Lu Ye dared to approach, he would instantly face a barrage of attacks.

But Lu Ye simply carried Lu Yushan to a stop outside the range of their artifact attacks. No matter how swiftly the two streaks of light darted, they couldn't harm them in the slightest.

A grotesque smile gradually spread across Lu Yushan's face. After several full breaths of concentration, the uniquely shaped artifact in his hand was fully charged.

"Thunder Dragon's Roar!" Lu Yushan bellowed.

A blinding light descended from the sky, forming a pillar of light that blasted directly towards the formation master's location. As the light passed, the two streaks of artifact light that were intercepting it were directly sent flying.

The moment Lu Yushan unleashed the power of his artifact, the formation master sensed something was wrong and hastily dodged sideways. Simultaneously, a Ten Thousand Devils Ridge Body Cultivator, who was protecting him closely, stood before him like a mountain, wielding a shield artifact. As he activated his spiritual energy, the shield flashed brightly.

However, even the most intense light was obscured by the descending pillar of light.

The powerful spiritual energy fluctuations slowly dissipated, with glowing particles, like fireflies, vanishing from sky to ground.

Looking at the area enveloped by the pillar of light, the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge Body Cultivator's shield artifact was covered in cracks and shattered with a crash. At the same time, the Body Cultivator spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to his knees.

The green-robed formation master was unharmed, but he was disoriented by the intense impact.

Just as he began to scramble up, a figure descended from the sky, followed by a flash of brilliant blade light across his eyes.

Not far away, Lu Yushan landed with a thud, spitting out dirt. He looked at Lu Ye, who had already plunged into the enemy's rear formation, and grimaced in pain, "That's just typical!"

After he fired his shot, Lu Ye immediately dropped him. If it weren't for his Seventh-Order cultivation, which gave him some aerial maneuverability, he would likely have fallen to his death.

Despite his words, there was no resentment. He knew Lu Ye wanted to kill the formation master as quickly as possible. He hastily got up and rushed forward, carrying his Thunder Dragon Cannon.

However, after only a few steps, he saw Lu Ye shoot back into the sky, blood spurting from his body, with several streaks of light relentlessly chasing him.

"Got him!" Lu Ye yelled loudly.

"Charge!" Gao Tai roared from within the Vast Sky Alliance formation, being the first to rush forward. With the enemy formation master dead, the pre-arranged formations were now inert and undirected, leaving them with no further concerns.

The battle quickly concluded. Without a formation master, their strength weakened by Hua Ci, and facing an absolute numerical disadvantage, the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge side was no match. One by one, they fell, quickly being wiped out.

It was another resounding victory. Apart from a few minor injuries, no one died, with Lu Ye sustaining the most severe wounds.

Using his ability to fly, he had charged into the enemy's rear. While slaying the formation master, he was also wounded by several other Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators. Fortunately, these were only superficial flesh wounds, nothing serious.

"Keep fighting, don't stop! Another Chess Island is approaching," Lu Ye said.

After Lu Ye spoke, the group immediately understood his ruse. The Spell Cultivators promptly cast spells, while others engaged in artifact combat, creating a fierce battle. Clanging sounds and spiritual energy fluctuations carried far into the distance.

Lan Yudie took two people to hide nearby and investigate the situation.

Moments later, the ground shook as the two Chess Islands collided.

A short while later, a message came from Lan Yudie: there was no need to keep up the pretense; the newcomers were actually from the Vast Sky Alliance, and there were more than a dozen of them.

The two groups merged, increasing their combined forces to nearly forty cultivators.

However, compared to Lu Ye's group, these dozen or so newcomers were in a much more disheveled state. Almost everyone was injured, their clothes stained with blood, and some were severely wounded, practically on the verge of death.

Upon learning there was a healer on their island, the dozen-plus cultivators were overjoyed. Hua Ci proceeded to treat their wounds one by one, according to the severity of their injuries.

Thanks to the Battlefield Imprint, information spread quickly throughout the Chess Sea. By now, almost everyone in the Vast Sky Alliance knew that the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge had come prepared, intending to massacre Vast Sky Alliance cultivators.

However, even with this intelligence, the Vast Sky Alliance couldn't change the overall situation. All Vast Sky Alliance members now held a single hope: to merge with the Chess Island where the Jade Blood Sect was located. Rumor had it that not only did they have a healer capable of treating injuries, but also several massive Spirit Gathering Spirit-Patterns that allowed for rapid recovery.

Yet, they had no control over which Chess Island they would merge with. Most Vast Sky Alliance cultivators could only try to stick together and minimize casualties in battle, so they would have the strength to resist when they encountered enemies again.

It must be said that, to a certain extent, the Chess Island where Lu Ye and his group were located had disrupted the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge's deployment. If they hadn't killed those Ten Thousand Devils Ridge cultivators, the smaller Ten Thousand Devils Ridge groups would have continuously expanded and converged. In that scenario, any Vast Sky Alliance cultivator who encountered them would have faced certain death, and the Ten Thousand Devils Ridge's advantage would have snowballed.

Their elimination of Ten Thousand Devils Ridge members was not merely about slaying enemies; it also, to a large extent, prevented the demise of many of their own cultivators.

Gao Tai had previously joked that they bore the heavy responsibility of saving the Vast Sky Alliance, and though it was a jest, the situation was indeed slowly evolving in that direction.

With this successful collaboration experience, Lu Ye and his group's methods of eliminating enemies also became more flexible. They no longer had to passively wait and could, if necessary, take the initiative to attack.

To that end, Lu Yushan of the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion and his junior apprentice sister were urgently fabricating small mechanical constructs.