"Western Plains.
Bull Clan.
Countless ships battled high above, experts lay dead all over the fields.
On a warpath, Feng Wuqing took the Shou Clan on a devastating campaign throughout the plains, slaughtering wantonly.
Their two clans could not live under the same sky after what had happened.
Due to the fearsome battle back then, most of their strongest forces had been killed off, and only their hidden experts were left over, those Unchained Bull Demons hidden away.
Yet, under the intense fire of the entire fleet, even an Unchained Expert could not resist for long.
It was not long until the Western Plains Bull Clan were completely eradicated."
Extract from Cao Yue's "Warpath."
-
Placing down the brush, Cao Yue felt her heart vibrating like a drum as the cannon fire continued down upon the final bastion of the Western Plains Bull Clan.
They'd started by organizing attacks on the outermost cities of the Western Plains Bull Clan, attacking by cover of night and surrounding the place, before laying waste to it and capturing any ships they had.
With their warriors mostly already dead, the front lines of the Bull Clan which were already in disorder due to the sudden attacks, were shattered.
Ships taken the fleet grew to thirty interceptors with the crown of the fleet being the Warship used by Feng Wuqing to launch these invasions into their territory.
Over the course of a year-long expedition, nearly a hundred thousand Bull Demons had been directly slaughtered by the relentless and sudden attacks by the Shou Clan, which were growing in strength every day.
Feng Wuqing, Cao Yue's master, had broken through twice in the course of the two months, using pills, rare materials and all sorts of things to assist in her breakthroughs.
She stood at the Fifth step of Law Realm, and her strength could easily rival a peak Law Realm Expert in raw strength.
Her feats had spread around the entire Lower Demon Realm by now, causing the many Surface Empires to take notice of the Shou Clan's might.
Now, above the final city of the Bull Clan, their entire empire crippled and the plains on fire, Feng Wuqing calmly evaluated them, her eyes older now like a battle hardened tactician.
Feng Wuqing's voice was rang like a siren in the minds of the people of the city below. "This is the fleet under command of Feng Wuqing. From this point forward, for the crime of attacking the capital of the Shou, Shouki, the Western Plains Bull Clan is set for execution. If your experts come out now, we will spare the children."
It was a tactic she used regularly.
To cause chaos in the city by giving the ultimatum that if the higher ups sacrifice, everyone can live.
Though the higher ups never listen, the people riot and the formation goes down.
That is the normal procedure.
This was no different.
Within a few hours, the formation began to go down following violence in the streets and Bull Demons rioting.
The moment it did go down, she raised a hand.
Liu Gang stepped onto a sword alongside the Warrior Hall, they floated between the various ships, prepared to defend them from any assault of enemy cultivators.
Xiao Wun stood beside Cao Yue, as a protector as ordered by Feng Wuqing.
Yui Luo had the fleet already prepared and the cannon arrays warm, prepared for action at any moment.
Those experts left within the Bull Clan rushed out!
Domains flourished throughout the sky.
"Fire."
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Barrage after barrage flew out immediately, and precisely!
Those experts in the Law Realm were directly put down!
The fleet of the capital of the Bull Demons was weaker, and under Liu Gang's leadership, he lead an assault onto their ships whilst the Law Realm Experts and their leader, the only Unchained Expert left, were being held down by the hundreds of cannon rounds firing every second.
Without anyone in the Law Realm to defend the fleet, they were quickly overrun!
Those ten ships left with no one to pilot them were taken over by Liu Gang's forces and directly fired upon those experts.
They had no opportunity to fight back.
Such was the nature of these ships called strategic weapons, with shields and powerful array inscribed, as well as a lifespan able to fire hundreds of shots before running out of Qi, they were the aces of the battlefield in the right hands.
Once the experts all died, Feng Wuqing glanced over those civilians on the ground, who were running from the city.
"Pull any future problems from the root." Her cruel gaze which fell over them killed those without cultivation directly.
Liu Gang lead his small fleet in a rampage.
Executioners stationed on the ground outside the city caught those fleeing civilians and directly stole their lives without a second thought.
Those who signed up for the role of Executioners were typically those who had lost everything in the attack at Shouki.
They wanted nothing short of absolute genocide.
Other empires watched this final battle from the sidelines, many had been sent out to observe the situation, after all, such a war could not be ignored.
Though, they did not step in for the coalition between them was simply in order to combat the Flying Isles Clans, and not for each other.
Many instead had ideas of taking over the land once the war was over.
Among them were the Bird Demons of the Northern Wastes.
Those who'd fought against them as well.
When Feng Wuqing laid eyes upon their viewers back then, she'd directly slaughtered them, leaving only one to send back a message.
Your next.
And true to her word, the fleet now Fifty interceptors, a force which could directly wipe out a small nation in a night, turned towards the Northern Wastes.
Using the immense wealth of the Shou Clan, blood stones were cut down quickly as they teleported towards the north, stopping in Shouki.
Cao Yue got off, and got new parchments whilst Xiao Wun went and collected as many Blood Stones as possible.
Liu Gang ordered his men to rest and did the same whilst Yui Luo began trying to do the maintenance alongside her crews on the new interceptors such as changing sails and reforging the cannon arrays so that blood stones could be used.
—
Within the inner area of the Shou Clan, Feng Wuqing watched children training from the side.
Three hundred second generation recruits of the Shou Clan.
The requirements were that the children be first and foremost, willing. That the parent's were willing was also a requirement. That the child was under ten years of age, but over six was also required.
The final requirement was willpower.
Out of the three hundred here, already half had dropped out from the original number of six hundred disciples.
The tests were harsh, made to fight against Undying Soldiers in one to one combat.
Those left here after nearly a year of training were able to call themselves the Second Generation, granted that privilege by their own merits and would soon be getting their own uniforms.
The oath carved into their minds, not by words, but through actions.
Fights had been common at first, but now they stood as a group. One would not let the other fail, and the group would not allow anyone to fall behind.
If one lost, they all lost.
If one could not win, then they would all step forth.
They were no longer a divided front like the common fights which had occurred nearly a year ago.
Catching the eye of the instructor, she waved her hand before he could bow.
Yet, the children also noticed, and while many had never seen her, they knew immediately by the pattern on her robe that she was beyond even their instructor and gave respectful greetings.
"We are going north, to campaign against the Bird Demons of the Wastes." Her words rang through the chamber filled with hundreds, those instructors looked however, distraught to hear the news.
She knew of what they worried and smiled in response, "We did not lose a single soul."
Immediately, the instructors seemed to loosen their faces and big smiles radiated off them, though they knew it was far from over, they were also well aware that next, it would be their turn.
Others entered, dawning the instructor robes, Executioners fresh off the battlefield here to switch places.
The original instructors dawned hooded robes and ax's ready for chopping, switching places with the new instructors.
Beneath the hood, one could see incredibly cruel, blood thirsty eyes.
A chill ran down the spines of the Juniors in the hall.
They'd never seen such a gleefully brutal expression on their instructor faces, nor felt such a cruel aura before.
They'd always been kind, and patient with them.
The Juniors cupped their fists, "Thank you for your instructions!"