The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 202: Attrition

Zuo Chuan’s orders were issued one after another. On the Sky Patrol Warship, the psychic thought amplification arrays and defensive arrays were fully activated, and the entire warship remained on the highest level of alert.

As a qualified captain, he would never underestimate any opponent. Even if the intelligence suggested that the enemy was clearly inferior.

Under the enhancement of the psychic thought amplification arrays, the primordial psyche cultivators aboard the Sky Patrol Warship continuously unleashed their psychic thoughts, probing toward the region shrouded in interference.

Compared to the Heavenly Palace cultivators stationed high above the nine heavens, with vast coverage but bad precision, the primordial psyche cultivators within the Sky Patrol Warship were undoubtedly far more accurate in their detection.

With the arrays’ amplification, their psychic thoughts surged forward across thousands of kilometers, even passing over the sword cultivators who were flying toward them at full speed, directly reaching the rear of the 5000-kilometer-wide battlefield. Then...

Like waves crashing against a shoreline, they were smashed to pieces by the twelve primordial psyche cultivators led by Yaoguang. The distance of five thousand kilometers between the two sides was simply too great. Even with amplification, the strength of psychic thought extending into this region was reduced to less than half. Under such conditions, how could the primordial psyche cultivators aboard the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship possibly perceive an area that the Sea Guardian Institute was deliberately concealing?

Not to mention that the one presiding over the concealment of this region was a powerful psyche cultivator who had already reached the Dharma Form Realm.

The primordial psyche cultivators aboard the Spring Rain relayed this situation back to Zuo Chuan, but he had no solution and could only order the Sky Patrol Warship to close in on the target at speed. The two sides drew closer and closer.

Finally, when the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship was still four thousand kilometers away from Yaoguang’s position, the Sea Guardian Institute’s sword cultivators, led by Tang Fenghua, launched their strike in advance, attacking while still fifteen hundred kilometers away from the Spring Rain.

”Chief, we have reached the designated position.” Tang Fenghua’s psychic consciousness voiced out.

”Good! Form the Eight-Nine Wind and Thunder Formation, and strike with full force! Leave the rest to me!”

”Yes.” Upon receiving the order, Tang Fenghua and the other seventy-one great sword cultivators moved at once. Flying swords tore through the void, forming an array art that resembled a violent tornado composed of seventy-two life-bound flying swords.

With Tang Fenghua’s improved Purple Firmament Type 15 flying sword as the head, the rest of the swords spun rapidly around it. As they rotated, fierce winds raged, and lightning flickered, making the whole array truly resemble a colossal wind-and-thunder dragon forged from flying swords, charging straight toward the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship.

The moment the Sea Guardian Institute struck, the primordial psyche cultivators aboard the Spring Rain detected it. When Zuo Chuan received the report, he was momentarily stunned. ”How is that possible?!”

An attack launched from fifteen hundred kilometers away?! Do they think they have the range amplification arrays of a fortified city? Or do they believe they themselves are riding a Sky Patrol Warship? Zuo Chuan thought in disbelief.

Although he did not believe that the Sea Guardian Institute’s sword formation could truly strike from such a distance, he still issued orders rapidly. ”Have the sword cultivators prepare to intercept! Feed the flying sword data detected by the psyche cultivators into the main control console!”

As he spoke, his gaze fixed on the projection above the console. There, a cluster of light points had already appeared. Beside them was a number: Seventy-two. On the other side was their Sky Patrol Warship. Although the distance between the two sides was shrinking rapidly, a thousand kilometers still separated them.

”Without an array’s amplification, even great sword cultivators who specialize in attack range can at best maintain damage within a thousand kilometers. Beyond that, not only will it be difficult to sustain an array, but even the attack trajectories will become nearly impossible to control. Once the distance exceeds a thousand kilometers, whether they can even accurately perceive their own life-bound flying swords becomes questionable...” As Zuo Chuan spoke, his eyes never left the console.

Soon enough, the flying swords had advanced to within eleven hundred kilometers of the warship. As expected, the array showed signs of disorder. But that disorder lasted only a brief moment before stabilizing once more.

”Primordial psyche! They have assistance and guidance from primordial psyche cultivators!” Zuo Chuan barked out an order. ”Forget those fools in the rear. Break their psychic-thought guidance over the flying swords. Sword cultivators, prepare to engage. Wait until they are within a hundred fifty kilometers of the warship, then strike. I want you to sever their life-bound flying swords at the first opportunity and cripple them heavily!”

His expression turned icy. Sword cultivators pushing their life-bound flying swords into ultra-limit attacks, forcing them to strike across fifteen hundred kilometers? Is that not the same as delivering their own life-bound flying swords straight to be destroyed?

With a soft humming sound, a surge of psychic-thought power, amplified by arrays, swept toward the incoming sword formation like a formless tidal wave. But just like the earlier probing of the area, when Yaoguang and the others were still preparing the Yin-Yang Disintegration Technique, this wave of psychic thought slammed into an unseen barrier and shattered completely, failing to cause even the slightest interference to the sword formation formed by the seventy-two flying swords.

This result caused Zuo Chuan’s expression to change instantly. The vice-captain responsible for coordinating the primordial psyche cultivators immediately transmitted a message via psychic thought. ”The enemy must have great cultivators who have survived the Purple Firmament Lightning Tribulation, and more than one! In addition, they appear to have mastered a completely new technique that can fuse the psychic thoughts of all psyche cultivators into a single whole. Even with amplification arrays, our primordial psyche cultivators cannot suppress them!”

”A new technique... Fusing all psychic thoughts into a single whole...” Zuo Chuan recalled the mysterious psychic arts the Nine Cauldrons Sect had displayed when crushing the Xuanming Sect. ”So this is the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s trump card?”

”Captain, the enemy’s sword formation is now only three hundred kilometers away.” The aide’s warning rang out.

”Have the sword cultivators engage immediately. Intercept with full force! At the same time, push the defensive arrays to maximum output...” Zuo Chuan changed his orders at once. But the gravity in his expression only deepened.

Sword lights tore through the void with loud whooshes! Under the amplification of the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship’s arrays, thirty-six sword cultivators of the Great Sun Sword Sect struck decisively. Streams of sword lights howled with piercing shrieks as they formed a sword formation and charged straight toward the Eight-Nine Wind and Thunder Sword Formation under Yaoguang’s control.

The two sword formations closed in, closer and closer, and finally collided in mid-air! What was truly shocking, however, was that the Eight-Nine Wind and Thunder Sword Formation, which had traversed more than thirteen hundred kilometers, still retained astonishing damage.

Amid roaring wind and thunder, the two sword formations collided and ground away at each other until both collapsed simultaneously. However...

Thirteen flying swords still cut through the void, breaking past the interception of the Great Sun Sword Sect’s sword cultivators amplified by the Sky Patrol Warship’s arrays, and shot straight toward the Sky Patrol Warship. At their head was Tang Fenghua’s improved Purple Firmament Type 15 flying sword.

”Prepare to take impact...” Zuo Chuan issued the order with a darkened expression.

Radiant light exploded outward with a boom. The thirteen flying swords slammed heavily into the Sky Patrol Warship’s defensive arrays, sending visible ripples spreading across the surface.

However, after crossing nearly fifteen hundred kilometers and breaking through the Spring Rain’s sword cultivator interception, those thirteen flying swords were already out of energy. Aside from causing a brief flicker in the Spring Rain’s defensive arrays, they inflicted no real damage.

Even so, Zuo Chuan’s expression turned completely black. An attack launched from fifteen hundred kilometers away has actually broken through our interception?! Since when did the Nine Cauldrons Sect possess such capabilities?! And our intelligence department knew nothing about it?!

***

Yaoguang could not see Zuo Chuan’s darkened face. His psychic mind followed the ripples spreading across the Sky Patrol Warship’s defensive arrays, probing inward layer by layer, while cross-referencing them against the vast knowledge of array arts within his mind.

From just this single exchange, he had already analyzed over thirty percent of the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship’s defensive arrays and amplification arrays. But it was still not enough.

”Tang Fenghua, advance another five hundred kilometers and launch a second round of attacks. When they attempt to intercept our attack, prioritize Wang Feng and the others. You and your team stay to the rear. I will guide you to strike at these points...” Yaoguang’s psychic thought was swiftly transmitted to Tang Fenghua.

”Understood!” Tang Fenghua replied.

Of the seventy-two flying swords, two had suffered some damage and required further nurturing, making them unable to participate in this round. However, the loss of two swords did not affect the Eight-Nine Wind and Thunder Sword Formation.

As both sides closed in once more, the distance between them had shrunk to just a thousand kilometers. At once, the second round of sword formation attacks erupted.

The Eight-Nine Wind and Thunder Sword Formation rolled with wind and thunder, slamming toward the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship. The Spring Rain was unwilling to yield. Its sword formation surged forward in response to intercept the incoming attack, accompanied by attacks from the spell cultivators.

However, the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship had only thirty-six sword cultivators. Against the Sea Guardian Institute, this meant that each of them effectively had to fight two opponents. Under normal circumstances, relying on equipment advantages, they might have managed it. But now, that equipment advantage had been partially evened out.

Facing Yaoguang’s flawless control over the Eight-Nine Wind and Thunder Sword Formation, the Spring Rain’s sword cultivators dispatched only thirty-three flying swords this time. Clearly, in the first clash, while two life-bound flying swords from the Sea Guardian Institute had been damaged, three flying swords on the Spring Rain’s side had also been injured.

The two sword formations collided again at a distance of a hundred fifty kilometers from the Spring Rain, detonating in a burst of blazing, violent energy. The shock not only tore apart the clouds across the sky but also whipped up massive tsunamis in the sea below.

This time, only eleven flying swords broke through the defenses and struck the Spring Rain. Yet the power retained by these eleven swords far exceeded that of the previous thirteen, sending a tremor through the entire Sky Patrol Warship.

”The Divine Heavenly Sword Punishment Formation has sustained minor damage.”

”One node of the Dragon Roar Sword Formation has been destroyed. Give me ten minutes, and I can repair it!”

”All twelve defensive arrays are operating normally!”

Reports streamed continuously to Zuo Chuan. Zuo Chuan frowned as he reviewed the damage to the arrays. Have the amplification arrays been affected?

”What about the sword cultivators?” he asked.

”Two more life-bound flying swords have been damaged. The damage is not severe, but they... appear to be deliberately targeting our arrays,” the aide replied.

”Targeting our arrays?!” Zuo Chuan snorted coldly. ”Do they think they can actually destroy this Sky Patrol Warship? With attacks of this level, give them an entire day, and they still wouldn’t be able to break all twelve defensive arrays.”

He looked toward the direction from which the sword formations were attacking. ”If they want to grind us down, then we will grind them down. I want to see just how many rounds of attacks of this strength they can unleash! Once their true origin is heavily depleted, offense and defense will reverse. When that happens, everyone in the Sea Guardian Institute will become our prisoners.”