707 Controlling the Corpse! (2/2)

The cosmos itself was affected by the Night Immortal King's roars and his pull on the moon. Waves of energy rippled through the cosmos, surging outward. Space transformed into a lake, and endless ripples disturbed its surface. A journey that had required four days was violently shrunk to a single day!

One day might seem brief to some, but to the Federation cultivators fighting on the battlefield of Venus, it was a torturous eternity. The ninth line of defense had collapsed one day ago. The eighth, seventh, sixth, and fifth lines of defense were being blasted at relentlessly by endless waves of Dao Palace troops.

The Federation was faring horribly in the war. Their Anti-Spirit Bombs and the meticulous preparation that they had made hadn't nudged the battle in their favor. They could only stand firm and resist, drawing out the battle while awaiting their inevitable defeat.

More than half of their Dharmic Artifacts had been rendered useless, and a great portion of their array formations had been deactivated. The casualty count was sky-high. The Dao Palace also suffered great losses, but the worsening situation was gradually driving the Federation's morale into a downward spiral.

Everyone was waiting, not for Wang Baole's arrival, but for Duan Muque's command to blow up Venus. That was the critical maneuver for this battle. But… no such order came.

Duan Muque was ready to give the order, but he couldn't. Since the battle had commenced… more than three hundred thousand Dao Palace cultivators had rushed the Venusian line of defense, and countless enemy battleships had attacked. Five to six Soul Conduit realm cultivators, including Mie Liezi, had even entered the fray. The enemy had the planet surrounded, but… Daoist You Ran remained absent!

You Ran's absence meant that the enemy had not yet displayed its full strength. That meant that Duan Muque couldn't give the orders to blow up Venus. He had learned his lesson on Mercury. Then, the explosion of the planet had been swiftly overpowered by Daoist You Ran and his fearsome Death Dao Battleship.

\”We will keep waiting for Daoist You Ran to appear. When he turns up, we will activate the Solar System Array Formation to hold him down. That will be when we blow up Venus!\” Duan Muque stared unblinkingly at the screens before him. Scenes from the battlefield flashed across the screens and reflected onto his reddened eyes. His nerves were pulled tight to their very limits.

The fourth line of defense collapsed as they continued to wait. Feng Qiuran had summoned five projections and was doing her best to hold back the five enemy Soul Conduit realm cultivators. She might have fully recovered from her previous injuries, but the five-way fight was still challenging the limits of her capabilities. She risked new injury in order to keep the enemies away and prevent them from unleashing their full power.

The Dao Palace Nascent Soul realm cultivators should have given the Dao Palace an advantage on the battlefield. However, the Federation had drawn up a strategy that targeted this group specifically. The Core Formation realm cultivator leading each small Federation combat team had ignited an Anti-Spirit Bomb at the beginning of their fight. Dealing with the bombs became a source of headache for the Dao Palace Nascent Soul realm cultivators. As the battle continued, rescue efforts led by Zhao Yameng and the rest became increasingly challenging.

No one had the time for a breather. Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao could have used their status and chosen to station themselves behind the safety of the first line of defense, but they had chosen to head for the front lines in the end.

The rescue teams, which included Li Wuchen in their midst as well, had suffered great casualties during the battles of the past few days. Everyone was exhausted and stretched to their limits. Injuries accumulated and worsened. Regardless, retreat was not an option!

The combat teams were still deep in battle, engaged in a fierce fight. There was no reason for them to retreat and leave their comrades in the lurch!

Venus was one of the two key strongholds for the Federation. It was paramount to the Federation's survival. There was no way they could retreat and give it up!

\”Hold our ground!\” Zhao Yameng clenched her jaw and dashed forward. She saved a fellow Federation cultivator and blocked a blow from a Dao Palace Core Formation realm cultivator. The latter had a familiar face. He seemed to recognize Zhao Yameng as well and immediately drew back from her cautiously.

Kong Dao followed closely behind Zhao Yameng. The injury on his chest was deep, bone visible through its opening. He sucked in a quick breath, gritted his teeth, then flung his pills towards the cultivator whom they had just rescued.

There were multiple wounds on the cultivator. His face was pale, his lips streaked with bright crimson blood, and a bitter smile split his face in half. He was about to say something when the bright glowing barrier of the fourth line of defense suddenly… collapsed!

It happened too quickly. The precarious state of the Federation took a plunge for the worse. The cause of this was the sudden charge of a cultivator from the ranks of the Dao Palace cultivators. He appeared, then immediately attacked the array formation holding up the fourth line of defense. A Soul Conduit realm cultivation blasted at the fourth line of defense, tearing it apart and causing its collapse.

This cultivator was… Mie Liezi!

He blasted the fourth line of defense apart, dodged Feng Qiuran's hastily conjured projection, then headed straight for the third line of defense. He seemed intent on destroying every array formation in the area and forcing the Federation to deploy its trump card ahead of time!

\”Stop Mie Liezi!\” Li Xingwen's roar thundered across the entire third line of defense. He raced towards Mie Liezi with a sudden burst of speed. Sect Lord Xu had turned around and was doing the same. It seemed like both of them were too late.

The third line of defense was about to fall… it was then that a sudden shout erupted from behind the Never-Ending Clan and Dao Palace forces, overpowering the cacophony of battle!

The lunar stronghold approached from the distant starlit space, thundering as it drew near!