Chapter 407: Decapitating the Enemy Army
Because both sides of the Manticore tribe had so many scouts and spies, a true surprise attack on the army was impossible. Kai had still wanted them to attack early for several reasons: it let them choose the general site of the battle, it forced their opponents to mobilize desperately, and it distracted from Omilaena's mission.
Instead of attacking head on, where the fighting would be ugly for both sides, they traveled to the east. Slightly further, but from there they could attack the Quill faction first while the others mobilized to confront them. If all went well, they'd have eliminated enough of the enemy leadership that the opponent's morale would begin to fail.
When the armies came within sight of one another, Kai saw that they had mobilized more than predicted. He spotted the intended targets... but there were six Earth Souls rising up on flying swords, ahead of the weaker cultivators.
They gathered together in a circular formation with all of them facing forward, then the circle began to rotate. All of the participants linked their qi and raised their hands in the same symbol as they began a combined technique. Power surged within the center of the circle, pulsing so brightly that it lit up the battlefield in lurid green, then the mass began to change shape.
After twisting and throbbing, the qi transformed into a giant manticore shape. The technique broke away from the six Earth Souls who had created it, seeming to take on a life of its own, and surged toward the army.
Kai met it head-on in midair.
Just before they collided, he unleashed the strongest Baleful Breath he could. The manticore wasn't swept away instantly, powered by the qi of six Earth Souls, and it tried to push through the dark clouds. But Kai kept blowing, exhaling longer than he ever had, painting the sky black with hellish clouds, until finally the manticore qi was smothered.
All six Earth Souls coughed up blood as their formation was broken, some of them falling off their flying swords while others just sagged to the ground. A cry of horror went up from their tribe, while Kai's factions waited expectantly.
He raised his fist and let out a roar, harsher and more ragged than he'd planned. The tribe roared back and charged into battle, unleashing their techniques one after another. Some of the enemy cultivators stuck to their defensive positions, but others fled and some of their shields began to crumble.