From his vantage point in the rear, Qiang Hui also noticed the situation. Even though the vanguard still had over a thousand martial cultivators, the battle wasn’t immediately tipping in their favor.

What puzzled him was how the enemy had suddenly deployed all their Falcon-class warships, chariots, and puppet beasts at once—as if they weren’t the least bit concerned about his massive army of 200,000 waiting in reserve.

*Could there be an ambush? Or is that legendary martial expert lurking nearby?*

The thought made Qiang Hui scan his surroundings warily.

Unbeknownst to him, Ye Liuyun had already closed the distance under the cover of invisibility. Seeing Qiang Hui’s searching gaze, he wasted no time. Activating his temporal power, he launched a soul attack, branding Qiang Hui with a slave seal.

Though Qiang Hui was a fourth-level Dominator—his soul force far surpassing that of an ordinary martial cultivator—he was still no match for Ye Liuyun. Even before arriving here, Ye Liuyun’s soul power had already dwarfed his. And after absorbing the spiritual energy of numerous elite martial experts, subduing Qiang Hui had become effortless.

Once control was secured, Ye Liuyun commanded Qiang Hui to hold his forces in place. Then, he turned his attention to the remaining martial experts in the rear army.

As his temporal power neared depletion, Ye Liuyun summoned his doppelgänger, cloaked in invisibility, to take over the task.

The instant they switched, time resumed its flow. The rear guard suddenly realized that many of their comrades at the back had vanished without a trace. But before panic could set in, the doppelgänger reactivated temporal stasis, freezing time once more.

One by one, the doppelgänger subdued and collected the martial experts, only retreating to recover when his own temporal energy was nearly exhausted.

"Commander!" A martial cultivator urgently reported to Qiang Hui. "Some of our men have disappeared! Could it be that spatial translocation expert making his move?"

Following Ye Liuyun’s orders, Qiang Hui barked, "Stop panicking! We’re in the middle of a battle—no one disrupts morale! Form a defensive perimeter and stay alert. Even if they have elites, spatial abilities require recovery time!"

"Yes, sir!" The martial cultivator immediately relayed the command, organizing the remaining experts into a tight circle, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

Meanwhile, Qiang Hui’s 200,000-strong army stood motionless, mere spectators as the Death Legion shattered their vanguard’s formation with overwhelming firepower. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

They had equipment of their own, but the Death Legion had pooled the resources of a million soldiers—their sheer numerical advantage was undeniable.

As the two armies clashed, Yu Xiaofeng ordered the Falcon battleships to encircle the enemy’s vanguard of three hundred thousand troops.

The commanders under Qiang Hui’s command held his tactical prowess in high regard. Without explicit orders to mobilize the rear forces, they bided their time, awaiting the perfect moment to strike. None suspected their leader had already defected to the enemy.

Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger remained cloaked in the shadows, silently replenishing their temporal energy while awaiting another opportunity to strike.

The fifteen-hundred-strong Death Legion found themselves locked in a grueling battle against the remaining thousand martial cultivators. Most of the legionnaires were at the second level of Dominance, while half their opponents had reached the third level.

This single-tier disparity meant that even three legionnaires ganging up on one cultivator could barely hold their ground. Only by coordinating two or three squads could they gain a slight upper hand.

The battle hung in a precarious balance. Within moments, casualties mounted on both sides, with two to three hundred warriors already fallen.

Just then, Ye Liuyun’s temporal energy surged back to full strength, and he launched his second assault.

No matter what formations the martial cultivators adopted, they stood frozen like statues when time stood still, rendering their defenses utterly useless against Ye Liuyun. One by one, he whisked them away into his spatial realm, followed swiftly by his doppelganger repeating the process.

At full capacity, Ye Liuyun’s temporal power allowed him to capture roughly two hundred martial cultivators in one go. Between him and his doppelganger’s two strikes, over eight hundred allied warriors vanished from the battlefield.

Panic spread like wildfire among the remaining cultivators. At this rate, they’d all be snatched away before even engaging in proper combat.

Following Ye Liuyun’s instructions, Qiang Hui attempted to calm the terrified cultivators by ordering his troops to form protective rings around them. Though encircled by multiple layers of soldiers, unease still gnawed at the martial artists’ hearts.

It was then that two of Qiang Hui’s commanders approached him with urgent pleas: "Commander, our vanguard shows signs of collapse. If we don’t intervene now, they’ll be completely surrounded by the enemy’s million-strong force."

Qiang Hui nodded calmly. "Patience. Let the encirclement tighten first—then we strike."

"Yes, sir!" The two commanders, mistaking this for brilliant strategy, bowed and withdrew to their posts.

At this moment, the vanguard of the Allied Forces remained unaware of the situation, having received no orders. They could only continue their desperate resistance, awaiting Qiang Hui’s instructions. Gradually, they realized they were surrounded, yet they clung to the belief that Qiang Hui must have a plan—that he would surely rescue them in time. Though outmatched and suffering heavy casualties, they held their ground without panic.

Moreover, in the battle between martial cultivators, they were slowly gaining the upper hand. Once these cultivators were free to act, they might even turn the tide in their favor.

Just then, Ye Tiandao unleashed the Purple Kylin Snake once again. Having regained its temporal powers, the beast was ready for a second strike.

The moment it appeared, enemy martial cultivators spotted it and launched a coordinated assault. But their attacks were no match for the Purple Kylin Snake’s temporal abilities—before their strikes could land, everything froze midair.

"Damn these humans! They nearly blasted me to bits!"

The Purple Kylin Snake cursed, soaring into the air to evade the attacks. It swiftly eliminated the cultivators who had targeted it before turning its wrath on the others.

This time, with only about five hundred martial cultivators remaining, the beast had ample temporal power to slaughter them all. It even took the opportunity to kill a few extra soldiers before finally relenting, satisfied with its work.

The moment its temporal power faded, the spot where it had stood was instantly bombarded by countless attacks. The surrounding Blade Corps soldiers were sent flying.

The ground caved into a deep crater, fissures spiderwebbing toward the planet’s core. A chaotic storm of elemental energy erupted like a dazzling firework, detonating into a massive, scorching fireball.

Even Ye Tiandao, the Songstress, and Lan’er, standing some distance away, were caught in the blast. Fortunately, it was only the shockwave—their resilient bodies withstood the impact, though they were hurled backward, escaping with minor injuries.

The same couldn’t be said for the nearby Death Corps soldiers. Twenty or thirty perished instantly, while the severely wounded hastily downed drops of Life Spring Water to heal their injuries.

"You—!" Ye Tiandao was too furious to speak. Why couldn’t this creature at least move people out of the way? Protect its own allies? But then again, expecting such consideration from a beast was futile. Gritting her teeth, she recalled the Purple Kylin Snake without another word.