Chapter 654: 653. Air Raid
Under the siege of three legions from the Yi Dynasty, the Izumo People's tanks were of little use; their defensive line collapsed and disintegrated, resulting in heavy losses.
At this moment, the "Mortal Auxiliary Army" was cleaning up the battlefield.
Two of the "Baihe Gully Trio" brothers—Zhu Bentong and Zhu Benming—were a pair of twins.
They didn't rely on their elder brother's power to throw their weight around but honestly worked alongside the main troops.
Apart from reclaiming various weapons and equipment, it was midsummer, so they had to burn the Izumo People's corpses in pits right away to prevent an epidemic.
"Tsk tsk~ So many have died, including old men and little children, it seems all the males have gone to the battlefield, how tragic."
"The several great masters don't intend to exterminate the Izumo People; otherwise, the assembly lines and mines would be short of labor."
The brothers' faces were covered with cloth as they chatted leisurely and worked with ease. Both were at the peak of the Bone Tempering Realm and had not broken through to Organ Refining to stabilize their foundation.
"Big brother has been fighting on the front line all this time; he should be able to earn a piece of fiefdom, right?"
"Hard to say, the competition is too fierce. It's already a case of too many monks and too little porridge, and suddenly thousands of experts appeared out of nowhere at the New Year's Banquet ... it's tough!"
Their voices were very soft when discussing, but the term "New Year's Banquet" vaguely carried through, prompting their colleagues to eagerly bring up a man's topic:
"The number one beauty in the martial arts world is Fairy Bailu from the Wudang Sect. Isn't the Wudang Sect fighting in Izumo? Has anyone seen her?"
"I've seen her from a distance once, the Taoist robe couldn't hide her enchanting figure~ She's not inferior to the previous generation's Yun Qinglan."
Talking about this, nobody felt tired from working; everyone chatted with enthusiasm, and their movements grew even faster.
Just then, a thunderous roar came from the sky.
Everyone looked up to see three huge Spiritual Sparrowhawks tearing through the sky, wrapped in a sonic boom as they flew towards the direction of Cherry Capital.
"Is that the Celestial Lord's Spiritual Pet?"
"It looks like they're carrying something in their talons?"
The Military Soldiers were puzzled for a few moments and then resumed their tasks, paying no further mind.
They tossed all sorts of corpses with tragic deaths into the large pits they had dug in advance.
The "Mortal Auxiliary Army" were all in the Bone Tempering Realm, possessing the strength of Olympic weightlifters, so this task was nothing to them.
Just as Zhu Bentong and Zhu Benming were pouring oil over the pile of corpses, preparing to ignite it, Zhu Benming suddenly noticed a body twitching in the corner.
He went straight over and pulled the person out, discovering a boy not old enough to grow a beard.
The boy was Dong Shilang, who suddenly opened his eyes and brandished a dagger given by his mother, swinging it all around, and shouting incoherently in Izumo language.
A few comrades with guns came over and lost interest immediately upon seeing him.
Such civilians hastily conscripted without training were too common on their way here and no longer piqued their curiosity.
Zhu Benming slapped away Dong Shilang's dagger and said irritably, "You're lucky to encounter the First Legion. Beat it, go get a Good Citizen Certificate."
If he had encountered the Third Legion, with its strong feudal military style, the boy would likely have been killed on the spot.
~~~~~~~~
The pile of corpses was ignited, and thick smoke billowed into the sky, filling the air with the repulsive smell of charred protein.
Dong Shilang, who had narrowly escaped death, staggered away, uncertain of where to go.
He didn't commit seppuku with his mother's dagger and had no interest in getting any Good Citizen Certificate; he aimlessly walked towards the direction of Cherry Capital, completely distraught.
At that moment, all Dong Shilang wanted was to return home, to his own family-run tempura shop, small but warm...
He walked eastward, heading towards the place he longed for in his heart.
After walking for an unknown length of time, just as it was getting dark and Dong Shilang felt he was nearing his destination, what came into view wasn't the familiar city but a blaze reaching up to the sky!
~~~~~~~~~~
At this moment, three Spiritual Sparrowhawks were circling above the city, launching their attack.
To crush the Izumo People's resistance as quickly as possible, break their national morale, and to guard against the enemy's potential use of something like "Tactical Ghosts", the military's higher-ups, including Zuogong, organized this aerial assault.
The size of the Spiritual Sparrowhawks was even larger than heavy combat aircraft, especially their wingspan. Every time they swooped down to "drop bombs", it felt as if they obstructed the entire sky.
From time to time, the Spiritual Sparrowhawks opened their mouths to unleash a "Roaring Bombardment", or released various types of bombs attached to their bodies with True Qi.
Izumo was situated on a seismic belt, and the majority of its buildings and factories were made of wood, which made the Star Alliance Country's "Incendiary Bombs" extremely effective. Soon, the entire city was engulfed in flames.
Er Ya and Ali were sitting on Ru Yi's back, in charge of commanding, or more accurately, "advising", the actions of the three Spiritual Sparrowhawks.
"Noble and beautiful Demon King Ru Yi, we should head to the ammunition factory now. Please fly towards the southwest~"
Ali made the suggestion in a soft and flattering voice, mixing in various forms of flattery.
Ru Yi felt quite pleased and flew towards the direction of the ammunition factory, giving face.
The other two companions also followed suit, shooting out "Roaring Bombardments" from their mouths.
The power of these bombardments, resembling artillery fire, instantaneously lifted the factory buildings into the air, only to set off the original stockpile of cannonballs inside, resulting in a magnificent fireworks display.
Er Ya assessed the targets, "Steel mill, gas company, ammunition factory... Next, let's go to the Imperial Palace!"
By this time, explosions from cannon fire were bursting around them.
It was Izumo's anti-aircraft artillery. Though fierce, these guns were not equipped with radar, making it difficult to hit the supersonic Spiritual Sparrowhawks.
Of course, even if they were hit, it wasn't much of a big deal, it would just be a bit of a mess at most.
As they arrived near the Imperial Palace, accompanied by the thunderous blasts of sonic booms, a Flying Sword streaked through the air towards them!
This was a Magic Artifact, clearly a Spirit Refining Practitioner from Izumo had taken action.
With this fastest Flying Sword leading, other various flying Magic Artifacts also took the opportunity to entangle them.
There was a wide variety of these, including Kunai, Prayer Beads, katanas, and more.
But other than that Flying Sword, the rest were too slow to pose a threat.
The Spiritual Sparrowhawks swung their claws, and invisible blades flew out, blasting these obnoxious items out of the sky.
Afterward, with their sharp eyes, they swiftly scanned for the Spirit Refining Practitioner's whereabouts.
In magical combat, concealing one's own position is also a crucial skill, preventing the opponent from finding you and being forced to withstand attacks.
But the Spiritual Sparrowhawks' piercing vision was an extremely powerful Innate Divine Ability. They could even see through Lu Yao's protective screens that shield the viewing of live erotic art, and it only took a moment to locate the target.
"Over there!"
The Spiritual Sparrowhawks flew toward the center of Cherry Capital's Shibuya District, where an ancient and aromatic building stood.
Er Ya had done her homework and immediately recognized this place as the "Meiji Shrine," which enshrines the spirits of past Emperors and is the head of Izumo Divine Path.
At this moment, there was an elderly man dressed in white Shinto robes inside, facing the three Spiritual Sparrowhawks through numerous walls.
"In this era... to think there are such formidable Transformative Demon Kings..."
The elder lamented helplessly in the Izumo language, ready to meet his fate due to the vast disparity in their levels of cultivation.
However, he resolved to struggle before his death!
The elder called back his Flying Sword, first spraying it with the Blood of the Heart, followed by his Divine Soul leaving the body to enter the sword.
In this way, even if his physical body died, his Divine Soul could still control the Magical Treasure for a while without any issues.
This was clearly a last stand! But this Shinto priest was not a reckless man, having a thorough plan in place.
At this moment, another man dressed in black, a middle-aged man, was woodenly staring at Er Ya sitting atop the Spiritual Sparrowhawk.
He had no signs of life about him and was indeed Izumo's master Ninja, the current "Wind Demon Kotaro".