Thud! Thud! Thud!
Compared to the violent impact of the Assault Warship against the royal city, the sound of the Melting Flame Soul Cannons was much quieter, almost insignificant in comparison. However, when the three hundred blazing soul-powered blasts struck the remnants of the royal city and exploded, no one thought they were insignificant anymore.
The intense explosions instantly engulfed the entire royal city in a sea of flames. The Blackhorn warriors who had just barely survived the terrifying collision were now faced with an overwhelming inferno.
At that moment, these Blackhorn warriors felt as if they were facing the end of the world.
The raging flames, carrying immense heat, relentlessly devoured their protective soul energy, no matter how hard they tried to resist. The protective barriers were quickly eroded by the searing heat.
As the flames engulfed them from all sides, the Blackhorn warriors, disoriented and panicked, stumbled blindly like headless chickens. Despite their efforts, they couldn't escape the inferno. Their soul energy was soon depleted, and their weakened bodies were consumed by the flames.
Thick smoke billowed into the sky as Lin Qian watched Shen Zhixing's bewildered expression from afar, feeling immensely satisfied.
"Burn it all to ashes," Lin Qian thought with grim satisfaction. "Twenty years? What will Shen Zhixing have left to challenge the Blackhorn King in twenty years?"
Beside him, Yue Liqun was equally stunned. He had only just witnessed the Melting Flame Soul Cannons on the Huaxia Empire's Class C Assault Warship unleashing their devastating soul-powered attacks, setting the remaining two-thirds of the royal city ablaze.
"Do you know what this is called?" Lin Qian laughed heartily as he patted Yue Liqun's shoulder, still watching the burning city. "Let me tell you—this is called an instant explosion, teaching you a lesson!"
"An instant explosion, teaching you a lesson?"
Yue Liqun found Lin Qian's words both novel and satisfying.
At this moment, Yue Liqun had a clear understanding of the Huaxia Empire's power. He realized that Shen Zhixing's forces had been completely annihilated, and the Reverse King's Palace, which Shen Zhixing had controlled through various means, had been utterly destroyed in the explosion.
The Huaxia Empire's Class C Assault Warship slowly descended to the ground. Despite its overwhelming power, it had limitations. The soul energy stored within the warship was exhausted after the attack, and the remaining energy allowed it to land smoothly before it, too, was depleted.
Shen Zhixing, trembling with rage, turned to face Lin Qian's location. By now, he was fully aware of the perpetrator. The metal beast that had crushed his royal city was unlike anything in the underground world of Gu Lin. The only possible explanation was that it came from the surface world. And standing not far away, gloating at his misfortune, was Lin Qian, the very man responsible.
Shen Zhixing knew his forces were finished. Of the lower-level Awakening Realm warriors, only about twenty had survived. Among the higher-level warriors, only ten remained.
As for the Life-and-Death Realm and Void Breaking Realm survivors, they numbered just a few thousand. Shen Zhixing was on the verge of a breakdown as he realized that the formidable power he had painstakingly amassed, his key to seizing the Blackhorn throne, had been reduced to ashes in the inferno, their remains scattered as black smoke in the wind.
He had witnessed, through his soul force, his subordinates' frantic attempts to flee the city. But instead of escaping, they only exhausted their soul energy faster, and once that protection was gone, their fragile bodies stood no chance against the raging flames.
Shen Zhixing had watched helplessly as his most precious assets were consumed by the unrelenting inferno.
With the destruction of the Reverse King's Palace, the Thirteenth Prince of the Blackhorn Kingdom was left with nothing but his title.
At this moment, Shen Zhixing wanted nothing more than to flay Lin Qian alive and grind his bones to dust!
"Lin Qian!" Shen Zhixing roared, his dark purple face flushed with rage.
"Sometimes anger can boost a person's strength. For example, Shen Zhixing right now has likely seen his combat power increase by ten or twenty percent due to his rage." Lin Qian ignored Shen Zhixing's furious outburst and turned to Yue Liqun. "But remember, when anger drives a person to lose their reason, it makes them incredibly foolish. Such opponents are the easiest to defeat."
"I understand that, but Your Majesty, Shen Zhixing is still a Grandmaster-level Awakening Realm warrior. Even after losing his forces to the fire, he hasn't completely lost his reason. Breaking his mental state seems difficult," Yue Liqun said, glancing at the still-burning city.
"The fire isn't fierce enough yet, but we can add fuel to it," Lin Qian replied with a sly smile. "A man like Shen Zhixing—if I don't make him die from rage, I won't consider it a victory."
Yue Liqun was surprised to hear Lin Qian speak so crudely, but he found it satisfying. He was also eager to see what "adding fuel to the fire" would look like.
"Shen Zhixing, the gathering site you attacked earlier is now part of my Huaxia Empire," Lin Qian called out to Shen Zhixing, his voice carrying over the distance. "You killed my subjects and dared to threaten me and my subordinates. I'll repay you in kind."
"Repay in kind..." Yue Liqun thought Lin Qian's words were an understatement.
Shen Zhixing's actions had indeed been excessive, but they were more akin to biting hard into Lin Qian. Meanwhile, Lin Qian's response was more like using iron teeth to bite back, intending to kill outright!
But as curious as Yue Liqun was about Lin Qian's next move, he couldn't see any sign of Shen Zhixing losing his reason.
"Lin Qian..." Shen Zhixing began, but Lin Qian's soul-infused voice cut him off sharply.
"How dare you interrupt me before I finish speaking? Such audacity!" Lin Qian glared at Shen Zhixing, rebuking him.
Yue Liqun noticed that Shen Zhixing's face grew even darker, his anger rising as he prepared to retort, only for Lin Qian to speak again, seizing the moment.
"Shen Zhixing, let me ask you—was a Blackhorn warrior named Shen Yi your most beloved son?" Lin Qian's words caused Shen Zhixing's expression to change drastically. His eyes widened, and the furious heaving of his chest stilled as if he had never been angry in the first place.
Standing beside Lin Qian, Yue Liqun watched Shen Zhixing's eerie calmness and immediately understood what Lin Qian meant by "adding fuel to the fire."
"I killed him not long ago," Lin Qian declared.