Page 637

So, the only option was to launch a preemptive attack.

"Kill—" With a roar, the Beast Slaughter Array opened and closed, instantly appearing before Chen Xuanfeng. Twelve different weapons, brimming with surging power, spun like a whirlwind toward the Human Sword Master.

Chen Xuanfeng remained rooted, his hands executing the exquisite techniques of the "Heart-Crushing Palm." With twelve consecutive strikes—both forehand and backhand—a series of metallic clangs rang out as all twelve weapons were repelled. In the past, Chen Xuanfeng possessed both combat energy and true qi, yet he could only use his innate true qi to supplement his combat energy, unable to reverse the process and convert the violent combat energy into true qi. However, after reaching the Saint Domain, his combat energy gradually returned to its purest form, becoming refined and condensed, allowing it to fuse with his true qi in reverse. This enabled many martial arts from his past life to unleash a hundredfold their original power.

The twelve Orc Warriors at the Sword Emperor level attacked with their weapons, only to be repelled and forced back into their formation. Knowing they faced a Sword Master, even with restrictions in place, they understood that no Sword Master could be easily countered. Thus, they sought to disperse the counterforce through their array. Yet, the moment they channeled the recoil into the array, a destructive force erupted from within their bodies. Not just those twelve, but all warriors—including the three Orc Sword Emperors—were struck. Instantly, half the warriors spat blood.

Chen Xuanfeng had anticipated their strategy the moment he saw their array. He deliberately employed the Heart-Crushing Palm, a technique that delivered penetrating lunar-attribute damage through rigid force, bypassing any defense. In his hands now, it was even more versatile. The twelve palm strikes concealed dozens of hidden forces, which dispersed into the bodies of all the Orcs through their movements.

"Careful! Shift to the Cyclone Array!" Heideman shouted. The Beast Slaughter Array transformed again as the dozens of Orc Warriors scattered, encircling Chen Xuanfeng. The three Orc Sword Emperors took the innermost positions, closest to Chen Xuanfeng—only they could engage the Saint Domain expert directly. The outer Sword Masters, though weaker, had diverse combat energy and magical abilities. Those skilled in healing immediately cast restorative spells on their comrades, while others either supported the three Sword Emperors or disrupted Chen Xuanfeng. The coordination and variations were endless.

Yet Chen Xuanfeng remained utterly composed, alternating between the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, Heart-Crushing Palm, and Great Fiend-Subduing Fist. "Using an array to besiege me? Do you think you're employing the 'Six Stars Demon-Slaying Array'? Without a fused domain to lock down space, what array could possibly contain a Sword Master?"

With that, his figure flickered, instantly breaking free from the three Orc Sword Emperors' encirclement—even exiting the Beast Slaughter Array entirely—only to charge back in. Striking east and west, weaving in and out, within a few moves, he had already felled over twenty Orc Warriors, throwing the entire array into disarray. However, these warriors had integrated Warcraft physiology into their bloodlines, granting them extraordinary resilience. Combined with Chen Xuanfeng's restraint, though they suffered heavy blows, none sustained fatal injuries.

The three Orc Sword Emperors were shocked. Together, they unleashed their full power, combining the 10th-tier magical abilities of their super-beast lineage with their combat energy's lunar attributes.

"10th-tier Sand Magic—'Sandstorm Requiem,' merged with the Sword Emperor's lunar attribute 'Crown of Earth,' and the martial-magic technique 'Sand Emperor Devouring Heaven Array'!" Centered around the partially insectoid Shaklo, the earth within nearly a kilometer radius shattered under his earth-based power. Countless grains of sand and dust erupted from the fissures, each seemingly loose yet carrying force enough to split stone and pierce metal. The swirling sands within the cracked earth pulsed, ready to explode at any moment.

"10th-tier Lightning Magic—'Annihilating Thunderstorm,' merged with the Sword Emperor's lunar attribute 'Lightning Avatar,' and the martial-magic technique 'Tenfold Thunder Wings'!" Freddy's outstretched Thunder Eagle wings released a storm of feather-shaped violet lightning. Clusters of electric feathers blotted out the sky, their interwoven threads forming an inescapable net of thunder.

"10th-tier Water Magic—'Cerulean Twin Dragon Vortex,' merged with the Sword Emperor's lunar attribute 'Thousand Flowing Waves,' and the martial-magic technique 'Cerulean Sea of Ten Thousand Dragons'!" The veteran Heideman summoned the power of water, his cerulean magic surging like a furious sea under the propulsion of combat energy. Beneath the waves, countless undercurrents writhed like battling sea dragons, roaring endlessly.

Above, lightning blotted out the sun; below, yellow sands devoured the sky. Between heaven and earth, a tempest raged. In an instant, the world turned upside down as the three Orc Sword Emperors revealed their true strength, sealing the battlefield within an endless storm of power.

"THE Celestial Saint, behold! This is the true killing array we Orcs have prepared for human Sword Masters. Even Saint Domain power cannot escape our blockade!" Heideman's voice echoed from within the cerulean tides.

Standing amidst the kilometer-wide maelstrom of power, Chen Xuanfeng remained unmoved. An immense, formless force radiated from him, nullifying all lightning, sand, and waves within three meters of his body. "Impressive. Seeing this power, I finally believe the effort THE War God Temple and Samantha invested in researching Orcs was worthwhile. Your attacks combine the range and effect of 10th-tier magic with the precision and lethality of combat energy. Even the domains of human Sword Masters would be suppressed. If not for your inability to sustain this for long, the three of you might truly rival a divine weapon-wielding Sword Master."

"Hah! THE Celestial Saint, though we cannot endlessly expend power like a Saint Domain expert, we can prolong this killing array temporarily. If you plan to endure the ten-minute limit purely through defense, you will be disappointed." Freddy, hovering aloft on his thunder wings, laughed heartily. In his view, even a Saint Domain expert like Chen Xuanfeng—without divine weapons or domain—could only defend within their array.

After all, when Samantha himself, wielding the "Cataclysm Demon Axe" and deploying his domain, had evaluated this array, he had lasted barely ten minutes before capitalizing on their depleting magic to defeat them.