While giving his final brief to the troops, Huo Yuhao made use of every moment to restore his soul power through sealed milk bottles and to recover his mental energy through focused meditation.
The battle ahead would be taxing—mentally and physically. To command a thousand-man army through shared spiritual detection would drain even the strongest of soul masters. But he was ready. He had to be.
The location chosen for the New First Army's staging area was strategically ideal—a high ridge covered in dense black forest. The natural elevation provided both concealment and a wide vantage point, perfect for observing enemy movements and launching a coordinated strike.
Through long-distance spiritual detection, Huo Yuhao offered the entire army a brief glimpse into the battlefield ahead. The projection of his spiritual sharing allowed each soldier to witness the layout of the enemy encampment nearly five li away. Nestled in the flatlands beneath snow-draped mountains, the enemy's tents and military structures sprawled in neat rows.
The cold northern wind continued to howl, muffling the awed whispers of the soldiers as they absorbed the miracle they'd just seen. What kind of divine ability allowed them to view such distant details with such clarity?
Naturally, a spiritual sharing of this magnitude couldn't be maintained for long—it consumed far too much energy. After granting the soldiers a quick look to familiarize themselves with the terrain, Huo Yuhao terminated the full-army projection and redirected the feed exclusively to the team leaders of each combat unit.
From this moment forward, Huo Yuhao's focus would be absolute. As the sole commander using real-time spiritual detection sharing, he would direct the flow of battle like a conductor guiding a symphony of war. The unparalleled tactical advantage granted by this ability—this divine gift—was about to be unveiled in its entirety.
"Assault teams, fire support squads, and fixed-mount soul cannon teams," Huo Yuhao's voice rang out in the minds of his commanders, "stand by for coordinated engagement. Focus on maximum elimination of enemy combatants."
"Sniper teams, be ready for decapitation strikes on key targets."
"Power armor teams, stealthily advance to within one li of the enemy encampment. Prepare for rapid deployment. When needed, activate your linked soul barrier arrays to shield the main force's retreat."
With these silent mental orders, the New First Army's blitz operation commenced.
The sniper division was the smallest of all—only ten members in total. Their size, however, belied their value. Each sniper was a soldier hand-picked for elite qualities, the very best among hundreds of candidates.
To become a sniper in the New First Army, three demanding criteria had to be met. First, the soldier needed enough physical strength to control the massive recoil of the high-energy condensed-charge rifles, even while equipped with a lightweight exoskeleton. Second, they had to possess extraordinary accuracy. Though the rifles fired high-velocity, straight-line energy beams with no bullet drop and were equipped with fifty-times magnification scopes, they allowed for only a single shot. The thunderous sound of each blast would immediately give away their location. That one shot had to count—it had to kill. Environmental factors like wind and breathing could affect even laser-based projectiles. Lastly, snipers needed razor-sharp battlefield awareness. They had to locate key enemy units using thermal and soul energy detection scopes, assess which targets warranted elimination, and know precisely when to pull the trigger.
The requirements were so rigorous that out of three hundred applicants, only ten passed.
Now, those ten elite sharpshooters moved silently under Huo Yuhao's mental guidance, slipping into sniper positions scattered across high ground. Each sniper received full spiritual detection assistance—Huo Yuhao personally fed them exact coordinates and battlefield overlays to maximize their effectiveness.
"Falcon squad in position."
On a rise northwest of the enemy camp, roughly three li away, four snipers crouched low among the snow and brush, adjusting their scopes and syncing their breathing with their rifles.
"Confirmed," Huo Yuhao responded through the shared network, eyes tracking the movements of his forward teams.
Soon after, the other two sniper squads—Hyena and Swordfish—reported in as well, taking up flanking positions to the southwest and east. Each sniper nestled behind natural cover, rifles braced, scopes scanning the distant lights of the enemy encampment.
Chen Fenglin, a sniper in Falcon Squad, lay prone in the snow, his heart calm and steady. Through his scope, he watched enemy silhouettes moving within their perimeter. He couldn't help but marvel again at the weapon in his hands—a state-of-the-art fully charged soul rifle.
Its power was immense. Within five kilometers, it could kill any unshielded enemy below the Soul Sage level with a single shot. But what awed him most was the scope. With a fifty-times zoom lens and built-in thermal and spiritual energy tracking, it could spot a mosquito across three li of distance and assist with aiming in real time.
Chen Fenglin exhaled slowly, adjusting his aim. Once all sniper teams were in position, the next phase would begin.
Elsewhere, the fixed-mount soul cannon team was assembling their hardware—one hundred high-caliber launchers capable of firing up to level-eight stationary soul cannon shells. Beside them, the fire support team prepared mobile artillery platforms, ready to unleash the opening salvo that would mark the start of the battle.
"Fire support team, in position."
"Assault team, in position! Ready to launch!"
Upon hearing these reports, Huo Yuhao inhaled deeply and gave the order that would ignite the northern sky.
"Cannon team, load one level-eight soul shell, nine level-seven shells, thirty level-six shells, and fifty standard rounds. Prepare to fire—volley launch!"
With his command, the gunners sprang into motion. Their rigorous training kicked in, and every action was executed in unison. The entire cannon team fired simultaneously, their launchers roaring to life. A hundred shells arced gracefully through the air like comets streaking toward the enemy.
It would take ten seconds for the shells to reach the target—but less than a second for the sound to get there.
Inside the enemy encampment, the thunderous booms shattered the silence of the night. Soldiers bolted awake in panic. Shouts erupted. Alarms rang. Guards screamed warnings across the camp as chaos ensued.
The Northern Second Soul Engineer Regiment had no idea what was coming.
But soon, they would.
(End of Chapter)
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