Qian Ye, standing high above, heard these words and smiled slightly. “Old man, your mouth is quite big. It seems necessary to broaden your horizons. Order: Kill that behemoth!”
The war cruiser retreated slightly, lowering its bow, and amidst the roar of its main cannon, a massive, blazing crossbow bolt shot towards the skeletal war elephant!
The war elephant sensed the immense threat, letting out a deafening roar, raising its front hooves high, and swinging its long nose, covered in heavy armor, in an attempt to block the crossbow bolt.
The elephant’s trunk swung but missed, as the speed of the crossbow bolt was far beyond the reaction time of the beast. The bolt struck the elephant’s head instantly, followed by an earth-shattering explosion, shattering the skull armor into pieces. After the explosion, a raging fire remained, causing the war elephant to wildly shake its head and trample, crushing countless werewolf warriors beneath its feet. The palace on its back also shattered, flinging out many priests and charioteers.
The war cruiser was the latest and most advanced battleship of the Empire, capable of severely damaging or even sinking a cruiser with a single shot from its main cannon. Though the skeletal war elephant looked terrifying, it was not like a battleship with force arrays embedded in its steel body. The bone armor could not compare to the armor plating of an Imperial warship. Under the barrage of the war cruiser’s main cannon, one hit was enough to render it combat ineffective.
The captain did not stop there; he locked onto the war elephant again and fired another round!
Qian Ye had given the order to kill the war elephant.
The Duke of Bones had already flown into the air, and seeing the cannon fire once more, he roared in anger, extending his hand to intercept the shot. A giant skeletal claw appeared in the air, grabbing the crossbow bolt and exploding it mid-air.
The Duke of Bones shuddered, and his bone armor cracked with a snap. Clearly, forcibly intercepting the war cruiser’s main cannon came at a cost.
However, the war cruiser’s main cannon recharged and roared again, firing another shot!
The war cruiser’s main cannon was adjusted to a critical state, and the crew and gunners worked frantically to ensure the highest possible rate of fire. One shot after another pounded the skeletal war elephant, while the Duke roared like thunder, striking each bolt out of the air with lightning speed.
Qian Ye let out a cold laugh, his eyes turning entirely blue, reflecting the image of the Duke of Bones. At his fingertips, a faint dark light feather appeared and disappeared.
The Duke of Bones suddenly felt a chill, and his movements slowed, allowing a crossbow bolt to slip through, striking the side of the war elephant’s head. This was a penetrating explosive bolt, embedding deep into the unprotected head of the war elephant, followed by an earth-shaking explosion, leaving a horrifying wound several meters wide, exposing even the skull inside.
The Duke of Bones finally stopped, fixing his gaze on Qian Ye. With Qian Ye nearby, ready to strike, he could not protect the war elephant. The power of the Imperial war cruiser far exceeded his imagination. Intercepting the main cannon shots had already been his limit, and unless he forcefully boarded the ship, he could not break out of this passive situation.
In the past few hundred years, he had never faced such a formidable aerial battleship. In the Emerald Sea, whether on land or in the sky, he had always been the undisputed king. But now, the throne of the sky had been overturned.
The Duke of Bones gritted his teeth. “You’re courting death!”
He moved, appearing in front of Qian Ye, extending his sharp claws to grab Qian Ye’s throat. Qian Ye neither dodged nor avoided, making the exact same move, reaching for the Duke of Bones’ throat.
Enraged, the Duke of Bones moved even faster, gripping Qian Ye’s hand mid-air, and began a test of strength.
This was the most primal collision of force and power, the favorite starting move for werewolves and spider-demons among the dark races. The demon and vampire races, due to their inherent physical traits, tended to focus more on speed and combat artistry, often viewing werewolves and spider-demons as crude. Nevertheless, the fact remained that vampires and werewolves were at a disadvantage in terms of sheer strength, let alone humans.
This unknown youngster daring to challenge him in a test of strength was simply courting death! Deeply offended, the Duke of Bones unleashed his force, adding three layers of strength to his grip, aiming to shatter Qian Ye’s hand and arm in one go!
An invisible force field centered on the two of them exploded, pushing the massive war cruiser down by dozens of meters. The deck was like it was hit by a hurricane, all external equipment was ripped off, and even the two secondary cannons fixed on the deck were torn away, rolling and flying far before crashing and killing over a dozen werewolves below.
After the hurricane, Qian Ye and the Duke of Bones appeared in the air. To everyone’s surprise, Qian Ye had actually held his ground against the Duke of Bones’ relentless attacks!
Although Qian Ye looked pale and was pushed back slightly, he managed to hold firm. In this moment, the Duke of Bones, who had sat on his throne for three hundred years, was finally knocked off his pedestal.
They separated, and Qian Ye’s figure flickered, soaring a hundred meters to avoid the Duke of Bones’ brain-piercing strike. The Duke’s attack missed, and he reappeared in front of Qian Ye, almost as fast as his teleportation. The Duke struck again, but Qian Ye crossed his arms, once more taking the blow head-on.
A thunderous boom echoed in the air. This time, Qian Ye was blasted back over ten meters, a trickle of blood running from his mouth, finally injured. However, such a result was beyond anyone’s expectations. Even the Great Corridor leaders, like Esca and Xu Jingxuan, had imagined Qian Ye could engage the Duke of Bones, but they never thought it would be in such a direct, hard-hitting confrontation.
The Duke of Bones was also greatly surprised. His eyes burning with rage, he decided to curb his arrogance, not rushing to attack but instead channeling his endless force into his claws, preparing for a lethal strike to kill his opponent.
Qian Ye was too young, so young that it chilled him. If he did not eliminate Qian Ye today, the throne of the Emerald Sea, even if preserved now, would surely fall into the hands of this young man in a few years.
Just as the Duke completed his charging, a burst of lightning appeared in the air behind him. A long whip, like a flying lightning dragon, lashed toward the back of his head. This whip was extremely powerful, and the Duke of Bones dared not take it lightly. He turned and deflected the lightning whip.
Carol’s figure emerged nearby, surrounded by crackling lightning, like a divine being from the heavens.
The Duke of Bones’ eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
Carol flicked the lightning whip, sending out another burst of lightning. “You don’t need to know who I am. If you don’t run now, it will be too late.”
“By just the two of you?” The Duke of Bones laughed wildly.
Carol sneered. “Try and see.”
As she raised her lightning whip to attack, Qian Ye suddenly called out to her, pointing downward. “I’ll hold him. You take care of his subordinates and descendants first.”
Carol glanced at Qian Ye. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Don’t worry. Such a weak duke can’t do much to me.”
“Alright, be careful. Don’t get yourself killed.”
“I’m not planning to die anytime soon.”
Without hesitation, Carol sprang into action, launching herself at the returning army of Emerald Sea werewolves.
At this moment, the Duke of Bones’ beard and hair fluttered without wind, surrounded by a light blue force flame, and his hands trembled with anger. Carol’s rank was not much lower than the Duke of Bones, and the power in her lightning whip was overwhelming. Together with Qian Ye, the Duke of Bones was likely to lose.
Yet, despite Qian Ye’s apparent strength, he still had a significant rank gap with the Duke of Bones. For Qian Ye to think he could fight the Duke alone was a grave insult. Since reigning over the Emerald Sea three hundred years ago, the Duke of Bones had never suffered such humiliation!
His expression still hidden behind a mask, no one knew his true thoughts. The Duke of Bones stood still in the air, letting Carol leave.
Once Carol was out of sight, the Duke’s eyes filled with murderous intent, fixating on Qian Ye.
In an instant, he appeared in front of Qian Ye, delivering a powerful punch! Qian Ye chose to meet it head-on and was blasted back several dozen meters.
The Duke of Bones pursued relentlessly, fists, elbows, knees, and legs attacking like a storm. Qian Ye could only defend, unable to counterattack.
Continuous rumbles of thunder echoed in the air, each one a clash between the Duke of Bones and Qian Ye’s forces. These clashes were raw and unyielding.
Qian Ye was clearly at a disadvantage, like a candle in the wind, barely holding on under the Duke’s assault. His force shield dimmed, on the verge of extinguishing.
Seeing Qian Ye struggling, the Duke slowed his attacks, but increased their power, each strike like a chisel or a mountain hammer, pounding the stubborn iron.
Qian Ye’s defense was compressed to a tiny area, every part of his body defending and capable of defending. In this small space, Qian Ye had pushed the art of combat to its extreme.
But it was still not enough. The Duke of Bones’ punches and kicks were incredibly fast and heavy. Even if he slowed down, he left no room for Qian Ye to exploit.
Every moment, countless attacks fell on Qian Ye. Any slight weakness in Qian Ye’s defense would be met with an immediate follow-up attack from the Duke.
This battle revealed why the Duke of Bones had ruled the Emerald Sea for three hundred years. It was not just a matter of rank and sheer power, but also his innate genius for combat.
Qian Ye’s force shield was constantly broken, and his body was battered. Even with his ancient vampire constitution, enduring such intense assaults was difficult. Each hit caused his force to fluctuate violently. The dark golden blood energy within him lay dormant, focusing on strengthening and repairing his internal organs.
The force shield flickered, breaking and regenerating, only to be broken again.
The dawn’s pure, fierce light formed a highly durable force shield. Even a thin layer, barely visible, required three to five focused blows from the Duke of Bones to break.
The shield broke and regenerated, repeating the cycle. Qian Ye was always at a disadvantage, seemingly unable to mount a counterattack. Every time the Duke of Bones’ fully charged blow seemed to tear Qian Ye apart, yet Qian Ye miraculously endured.
Gradually, this seemingly one-sided battle took on a different meaning. Even during the shield’s continuous regeneration, Qian Ye did not launch a single counterattack, choosing to focus solely on defense.
On the battlefield below, the situation became completely one-sided.
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