Chapter 2549: One-Sided

"Leave the city and engage the enemy!" Daoist Chang roared.

Escape was impossible. A massive Unification City like theirs could not outrun a Unification Realm cultivator.

Defending was also futile; a prolonged defense would only lead to the destruction of their grand array. Their only option was to shift from a passive to an active stance.

In terms of the number of Unification Realm cultivators, they were not at a disadvantage. Therefore, he believed that the outcome of a true battle was still uncertain.

The group of Unification Realm cultivators within the city had been feeling stifled. Hearing their City Lord's command, they immediately became incensed and eager for battle.

So, a moment later, when Lu Ye returned to the battlefield, he saw the enemy's many Unification Realm cultivators, led by Daoist Chang, emerging from the city to meet them in battle.

"City Lord Zhao, this one is yours!" Yuan Xi shouted, looking at the leading Daoist Chang. "Can you handle him?"

Given Yuan Xi's strength, she could naturally defeat Daoist Chang. However, her goal in this battle was not merely victory, but to eliminate as many enemies as possible.

Thus, she did not want to get entangled with the enemy City Lord. She intended to target the regular Unification Realm cultivators, believing that quickly killing one or two would swiftly turn the tide.

City Lord Zhao immediately nodded. "No problem!"

Both were Barren-tier City Lords, so their strength should be comparable. Why would one fear the other? He also understood Yuan Xi's intention: his role was simply to tie down the strongest enemy, leaving the rest to her.

As he finished speaking, he charged directly towards Daoist Chang. Daoist Chang had no desire to engage him, his anger was directed at Yuan Xi, but with City Lord Zhao pressing him, he had no choice but to respond.

The great battle erupted. Nearly twenty Unification Realm cultivators from both sides sought out opponents and clashed. There were one-on-one duels, two-on-two skirmishes, and even chaotic melees involving four or five individuals. In an instant, the battlefield became a tangled mess of fighting.

This time, Yuan Xi was not aiming to fight multiple opponents simultaneously; she simply wanted to quickly eliminate a few enemies. However, despite her intentions, enemies sought her out.

It was Daoist Ning and his companions who approached her.

His Heavenly-tier city had been destroyed right under his nose, naturally filling him with immense hatred for Yuan Xi. Thus, as soon as he exited the city, he and one of his subordinates confronted Yuan Xi.

He was self-aware enough to know that without the boost from his Unification City, he was no longer a City Lord and dared not face Yuan Xi alone.

He had thought that even a two-on-one fight wouldn't go too badly.

However, one brief clash was enough for him to realize he had underestimated her. Yuan Xi's strength was unlike anything he had ever witnessed. Even with their combined efforts, they were immediately put on the defensive, causing cold sweat to pour from him.

He wanted to call for help, but everyone on the surrounding battlefield had their own opponent. Who had time to assist him?

As the battle raged fiercely, Lu Ye plunged into the fray, his gaze fixed on Lotus's opponent.

This individual was truly unlucky. Among their many Unification Realm cultivators, City Lord Zhao was currently the strongest apart from Yuan Xi, but City Lord Zhao was busy with the Barren-tier City Lord, so Lu Ye didn't need to worry about him.

Of the remaining fighters, the strongest was undoubtedly Lotus. Without the boost from an Unification City, her strength was only slightly inferior to Yuan Xi's.

Thus, the person who chose Lotus as their opponent was in for a very bad time.

Although Lotus was the Mistress of Golden Stamen Pavilion and possessed her own establishment in the Unification World, she usually lived a secluded life, rarely venturing out. Most matters within the pavilion were handled by Third Mistress and several other Unification Realm cultivators.

Few had ever seen Lotus's true face.

If this Unification Realm cultivator had known that their opponent was the renowned Mistress of Golden Stamen Pavilion, they would never have acted so rashly.

From the very first clash, they were already suppressed.

Lotus's spiritual weapon was simple and unadorned, appearing like a charred piece of wood. Yet, with a gentle swing, it unleashed lightning like dragons, not only fearsomely powerful and impossible to withstand head-on, but even a mere graze would cause one's body to go numb and stiff.

This was a sub-treasure born from the ultimate treasure, the Startling Thunderwood.

Seeing Lu Ye's figure approach swiftly from a distance, Lotus swung her spiritual weapon again.

Her opponent, seeing this, was terrified. Having already suffered several times, they knew the immense power of Lotus's methods and immediately tried to withdraw.

Unexpectedly, Lotus gave him a charming smile.

With that smile, the dragon-like lightning suddenly spread out, forming a massive net of thunder that enveloped the Unification Realm cultivator. Its coverage was extensive.

Such a sudden change in attack was unexpected and left no time for evasion.

The Unification Realm cultivator could only forcibly activate their protective spiritual energy to defend themselves. Immediately, their body stiffened, trembling like a sieve.

Before they could recover, their peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a blade light sweeping towards them.

Their protective spiritual energy was about to break, and the thunderous power was rampaging through their body, leaving no time to reform it.

A chill ran down their neck, and their head flew off. They hadn't even seen who had struck the fatal blow.

"Thank you, Mistress!" Lu Ye said with an expression of admiration.

Killing an enemy so swiftly was not his sole ability, but rather Lotus's skill.

This was because Lotus had created the perfect opportunity for him to strike at the most opportune moment. All he had to do was unleash a single slash at that precise time.

It was that simple.

It wasn't just him; any cultivator capable of killing would have succeeded with ease at that moment.

As the life force of the Unification Realm cultivator vanished, cultivators from both sides were startled. The battle had only just begun, and no one had expected a Unification Realm cultivator to fall so soon.

The only one unaffected was Yuan Xi.

The death of a Unification Realm cultivator, regardless of which side, meant no loss to her. Among the many Unification Realm cultivators involved, Lotus was the only one connected to her.

And given Lotus's strength, no accidents could possibly befall her on such a battlefield.

Daoist Ning and his companion, already intimidated by Yuan Xi's strength, were further disrupted by the death of the Unification Realm cultivator. Their situation quickly deteriorated, and within a mere dozen breaths, both were wounded.

Yuan Xi seized the opportunity to press her relentless attack!

"No need to be so polite, Grand Commander," Lotus said on the other side, her lips curving into a smile. "We are all colleagues now. You help me, I help you, and bit by bit, we'll become family. Let's go find the next one."

Family, huh... A peculiar feeling arose in Lu Ye's heart.

He had never considered it that deeply before. Observing the interactions among cultivators in other Unification Cities, there didn't seem to be a family-like atmosphere. Human nature was inherently selfish; even true family members could turn against each other, let alone cultivators gathered in an Unification City for various reasons.

However, his time in Yuan Xi City had been very pleasant, and he found himself looking forward to the future.

Following behind Lotus, they quickly arrived at a second battlefield.

Here, four Unification Realm cultivators were engaged in two-on-two combat, which had initially been evenly matched. But seeing Lotus and Lu Ye charging in with aggressive intent, the two enemy Unification Realm cultivators instantly panicked.

In such a situation, with one side suddenly receiving two reinforcements, the other naturally became anxious and uneasy.

The two Unification Realm cultivators immediately tried to disengage from the battle, but having already clashed, withdrawing was not an easy task.

By the time Lotus arrived and joined the fight, the situation instantly became a one-sided rout.

Lu Ye waited nearby, poised to act. While he could have joined the fight directly, doing so would prevent him from striking at the most opportune moment to kill enemies.

He wanted to ensure he delivered the final, fatal blow.

A moment later, he moved again, his figure flashing past a Unification Realm cultivator, leaving a spray of hot blood in his wake.

He found that coordinating with Lotus to kill enemies was even smoother and more seamless than with Yuan Xi. It wasn't that Lotus's fighting style inherently suited him better.

The key was that Lotus's spiritual weapon's power perfectly complemented his own. Its violent lightning force, while shattering an enemy's protective spiritual energy, could also stiffen their body.

Lu Ye only needed to seize this fleeting vulnerability to easily eliminate the enemy.

Although Yuan Xi's strength was considerably greater, she couldn't achieve such efficient coordination with Lu Ye.

Almost simultaneously with Lu Ye slaying the second Unification Realm cultivator, the aura of another Unification Realm cultivator vanished on a different part of the battlefield.

Lu Ye turned his head and saw that one of Yuan Xi's opponents had been killed.

In a short time, three Unification Realm cultivators had fallen.

Daoist Chang, who was fighting City Lord Zhao, was on the verge of madness.

When he had decided to leave the city and face them, he believed that the number of Unification Realm cultivators on both sides was similar, perhaps even with his side having one or two more, suggesting an evenly matched battle.

He thought that by demonstrating the difficulty of defeating them, the enemy would naturally retreat.

However, he never imagined the situation would unfold this way. Shortly after the battle began, three of his Unification Realm cultivators had been killed one after another, and Daoist Ning's situation also looked dire.

He knew clearly that there was only one reason for such an absurd outcome: the enemy's killer Unification Realm cultivators were overwhelmingly powerful, which allowed them to achieve such results in a short time.

This was the worst nightmare for the disadvantaged side in a major battle, because any loss of personnel would only widen the disadvantage, eventually reaching an irreversible point.

He had just recently taken in four new Unification Realm cultivators, only to lose three again, two of whom were his original capable subordinates. He truly couldn't tell if this was a loss or a gain.

A scream reached Daoist Chang's ears, startling him, as he recognized it as Daoist Ning's voice.

Daoist Ning... was likely beyond saving.

He suddenly recalled the absurd demand Yuan Xi had made of him earlier.

If he had handed over that dark-skinned big man then, would all this trouble have been avoided?

But under those circumstances, he couldn't have easily surrendered anyone.

Turning his head to glance at his Unification City, Daoist Chang sighed deeply.

Under normal circumstances, after such a battle loss, they could retreat to their Unification City for safety. However, they had engaged in battle precisely because their defensive grand array was difficult to maintain. How could they retreat now?

Although the defensive grand array was still active, it was already damaged. Retreating now would only be a temporary measure, akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. If the city were breached, their fate would undoubtedly be even more tragic.

In such a predicament, he had no other choice.

"Retreat!" he roared, unleashing a fierce blow at City Lord Zhao. As City Lord Zhao was forced back, a burst of bloody mist exploded around Daoist Chang, and he swiftly fled into the distance.

City Lord Zhao frowned slightly but did not pursue. Since the enemy's Unification City remained intact, he actually had no effective way to deal with them. A forced pursuit would only waste spiritual power.

Watching Daoist Chang flee, he turned and sped towards the nearest battlefield.