Boom! Boom!
The once raging river waters erupted, sending massive soul power beams, each seven to eight zhang (about 23-26 feet) wide, blazing with blinding white light, shooting directly into the densely packed Qin army ranks.
The sudden appearance of these colossal soul power beams cut into the Qin army with an overwhelming force, but their destructive power seemed somewhat limited.
Those hit by the beams were merely knocked aside, coughing up blood but only sustaining injuries, not fatal wounds.
"What are those?" The leading general of the Qin army frowned in confusion as he watched the massive beams forcefully make their way through his troops. Despite their formidable aura, the beams seemed unexpectedly weak in impact.
On the battleship, the people observing the soul power beams had similar doubts as the Qin general.
Zhou Yian, watching the beams pierce through the Qin army, also had a puzzled expression. "Is that all?"
However, the next development answered everyone's questions.
The heavy cannons, classified among soul power cannons for their massive area damage and destructive force, could only be fired twice in a day. But a single shot from them was enough to leave a lasting impression on any enemy.
After the blinding white beams pushed through the Qin army, they halted and condensed into blinding spheres of soul power.
Zing! Zing! Zing!
The intense white light from the spheres suddenly condensed into finger-thin beams of soul power, radiating outward in all directions.
The Qin soldiers closest to the spheres were immediately pierced by these tiny beams, their bodies riddled with holes like pincushions. Their life force drained away as they fell from the sky.
And the deadly beams didn't stop there. After piercing through the soldiers, they continued to strike others further away.
In the blink of an eye, large swaths of soldiers were skewered by the beams. Those struck in vital spots perished instantly, while the rest were gravely wounded and unable to continue fighting.
The concentrated soul power beams rendered the soldiers' armor and protective soul energy useless.
With just a single blast, over a hundred thousand Central Qin Regular Army soldiers perished, along with thousands of the Eight Directions Regular Army. Countless more were injured.
"What kind of attack is this? So powerful!" The elders aboard the battleship gasped in awe.
Even though these elders, being at the Awakening Realm, could likely cause even more devastation with their own hands, doing so would prompt the Qin army's Awakening Realm experts to counterattack.
For now, it seemed both sides had tacitly agreed not to deploy their Awakening Realm warriors, allowing the battle to be fought solely by their armies.
Boom!
Before the elders could fully process the destruction, the river below the Qin army erupted again. Another colossal soul power beam, identical to the previous one, surged into the Qin ranks with overwhelming force.
By now, the Qin soldiers had learned that while the initial strike of these beams seemed harmless, once they condensed into spheres and exploded, the true nightmare began.
"Get out of here!" One of the Qin generals raised his weapon, a war hammer fully equipped with his soul power, and swung it fiercely at the incoming beam.
The hammer, adorned with fearsome spikes, glowed with intense red energy as it smashed into the white soul power beam.
*Sparks flew as the two forces collided. The general was sent flying backward, tumbling through the air for over ten zhang before he managed to stabilize himself. His arms trembled from the impact of the clash.
Yet, the general smiled with satisfaction, for the soul power beam that had wreaked such havoc had been shattered by his strike, disintegrating into countless white sparks.
"Don't panic! Regroup! These soul power attacks can be dealt with by us generals!" The hammer-wielding general raised his weapon triumphantly, rallying his troops.
"Glory to the general!" The soldiers, both from the Central Qin Regular Army and the Eight Directions Regular Army, cheered in relief.
Seeing that the devastating attack could be countered by their generals, and not with much difficulty, they began to regain their composure.
"Blocked? Sure, one of you can handle one beam, and six generals might block six beams, but can you block five hundred?" As everyone was beginning to feel more confident, Lin Qian's words sent a chill down their spines.
Five hundred?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Lin Qian's words echoed, the river below the Qin army erupted repeatedly, unleashing blast after blast. Just as he had said, five hundred beams of soul power burst forth!
Splurt!
The wine-loving elder from the Xiaoyao Sect, who had just taken a sip, spat out his drink in shock, his eyes bulging at the sight.
Even Fang Shuiwen, Zhou Yian, and Yang Guixiang, the three elders aboard the battleship, were dumbfounded by the spectacle before them.
On the Qin side, the generals who had been rallying their troops with raised weapons froze in place. Their movements became stiff as they stared at the incoming soul power beams, unsure of what to do.
The Qin soldiers, who had been cheering moments ago, were now wide-eyed and speechless, unable to even think of running.
But where could they run to?
Lin Qian had placed five hundred heavy cannons all around the riverbeds, and the attacks were coming from every direction.
The only escape route led straight to Lin Qian's battleship, but that path was blocked by the formation barrier, and the sudden cannon assault left them no time to break through.
Watching the devastation unfold as the heavy cannon fire sealed the enemy's retreat, the elders on the battleship finally understood the true purpose of the barrier.
Screams of agony filled the air as the exploding beams turned the battlefield into a scene of white-hot carnage. The elders from the three factions felt a chill run down their spines.
They now recalled Lin Qian's words about not losing a single soldier, and it was clear that he had meant every word.
Sitting comfortably, enjoying their feast, they watched as the Qin army suffered catastrophic losses.
"Thank heavens Lin Qian isn't our enemy," Li Xiaotian thought with a shiver as he looked at the still-calm Lin Qian, continuing to enjoy his meal. "Who could ever face an enemy like this?"