ATG: Formation Master c25

~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~

“Not only do these peasants declare that they won’t pay tribute to us… They even dare to announce that they are the Dragon Emperor!?” Feng Hengkong, the Emperor of Divine Phoenix Empire, exclaimed angrily as orange flames in the Throne Room roared to life, becoming pyres almost reaching the ceiling of the room.

For the Phoenix Emperor, the sheer gall of the Blue Wind Empire announcing that their ruler is the Dragon Emperor is like declaring that they are equal to them.

Such an idea is preposterous! The Divine Phoenix Empire's land is big enough to accommodate other empires and has some space left for extras!

Yet, a puny empire in the Far East dares to have ideas that they stand at the same level as them!?

“Enough! Send the word to the armies! We are invading!” The Emperor stood up from his throne as he motioned with his hand.

“Oh, and notify those peasants that they are getting invaded.”  Feng Hengkong snorted. Minimum decorum is necessary.

“At once, Royal Father!” His Crown Prince nodded as he scrambled out from the Throne Room. There was a grin on his face. These kinds of wars are the best way to gain some prestige!

Not long after that, massive armies of the Phoenix Empire began to mobilise, and word spread. The strongest Empire is invading the weakest. 

They are going to make an example of the Blue Wind Empire.

No one was surprised that it would be such a response. However, some were wondering, why? Did the Blue Wind go insane?

Did the newfound wealth get into their head? Or do they believe they can resist the Powerhouse of the Profound Sky Continent?

Other powers will examine this event closely; they want to see how well these formations perform on the battlefield.

~~~

Cang Long heard the news: The war had been declared, and he was certain it would happen. Their armies had already been mobilised to a considerable extent, and formation tactics had been spread. 

In the meantime, the formations set at the border were turned on; they were saturated long enough, and a massive-sized Box Formation was turned on.

By all means, they are ready for the attacks.

Roar

A dragon's roar spread through the border as a red dragon flew by. It had armour spreading through its body.

Riding the beast was a battle-armour-wearing prince. The armour of the beast and the prince was unique, as it had symbols. It was clear that this protection was not simple.

As the Emperor Profound Beast landed in the clearing, Cang Long’s subordinates and generals rushed over.

As the Crown Prince landed, he jumped off his mount and looked at his soldiers.

“My Prince! The Phoenix Army is almost upon us.” Ji Chen, one of Prince’s most loyal lieutenants, said in a serious tone.

“I know. I saw them from a distance.” The Prince took his helmet and gave it to one of his soldiers before they started to walk towards their command centre.

“I assume they are coming at us either way?” Cang Long is playing to their pride. 

He left his soldiers here, specifically just one league inside Phoenix territory, challenging them. The Phoenix Empire WILL play even if it knows this is a trap.

It’s as simple as that. They have a reputation to uphold as the superpower of the continent.

“They are and they are not stopping.” The soldier smiled while replying to him.

“Good, make sure the anti-fire field holds.” 

As he said, the prince walked to the top of the Formation Wall. It was like a fortress. Looking at the distance, he could see dust clouds rising, flags of Phoenix.

“They are quite eager.” A female said as she landed next to him.

“They are. Once you mock them a couple of times, they will charge at us with red eyes.” Cang Long joked as he looked at the pair of sisters who were dressed for war.

Both of them were dressed in Blue Wind robes that had battle armour on top. 

The Prince has been slowly converting Chu Yueli into his Cang family. He is making sure she understands that she is making progress.

“Indeed, and it is, working.” Chu Yuechan replied as she looked at the dust cloud that was getting bigger, a lot bigger.

The initial observation is that the Phoenix Empire mobilised over 10 million soldiers, ten times the number Cang Long had.

As they took their time, Cang Long summoned a chair and a table, followed by a mug of tea, which he began to sip while watching them get closer.

~~~

Snort

“These peasants think they can win because they built a huge wall? Preposterous! Our phoenix flames can burn everything in their path!” A Peak Throne that is leading the assault alongside two more late Thrones snorted in disgust.

After flying over and raising himself to the wall's level, he began to speak loudly, helped by his Profound Energy.

“Peasants of Blue Wind! Su—” Before he could finish a cup of tea, he ended up colliding with his head, the warm content spilt over his face and armour.

“I didn’t hear that, can you repeat it?” A young voice said from the walls.

The Throne began to shake as thousands of soldiers behind the walls started to laugh. It was very loud, and it infuriated the Phoenix Empire leaders.

“KILL THEM!!! KILL THEM ALL!”

With a roar, the front line jumped forward, arm-thrusting, and flames rushed out from their fists into the glowing formation walls.

The walls turned into glass mirrors as they all absorbed the flames, absorbing all of the attacks from the hundred thousand Phoenix soldiers.

“...” 

The leading Thrones and followers, Sky Profound experts, looked confused. But then the glass walls shattered, and all of the energies that had accumulated were lashed back.

Instead of simple flames that they have decent resistance thanks to their blood, the reflection was hot energy mixed with shards like glass. 

Such a thing accelerated at high speeds has a considerable amount of cutting power.

Just like that, the first rows, which included the most eager soldiers to earn merits, were shredded into pieces of flesh.

“Aghhh!!!”

“IT HURTS!” Soldiers who lost limbs screamed in pain.

The commander of Phoenix forces is a bit sweaty; he doesn’t know how to respond to this!

No one, no one in the whole continent could survive Phoenix flames! No walls, no fortifications! These are Phoenix God flames!

“Release the Thunderfire, " the young voice on the walls instructed. The next second, a portion of the walls opened up, metal sticks came out, and torrents of thunderous lightning blasts unleashed that continued to shred the Phoenix armies.

‘T-This can’t be happening!’

The commander panicked, but he decided to do what he knew best!

“You all come with me! We will overwhelm them with our superior cultivation!” The Peak Throne roared as he dashed towards the top of the wall.

He was followed by his two late Thrones and a battalion of Sky Profound experts.

“And… gotcha.”

Behind the wall, a big red face of a dragon appeared.

The Thrones and Sky Profound Experts looked surprised! How did they not sense that!?

The dragon roared as it jumped over the wall and lunged down on the experts from the Phoenix Empire.

‘Shit!!!’

The Peak Throne’s face paled as the dragon's foot went for him. He tried to resist, calling forth all of his cultivation. But the dragon's force was above his, and it ended up crushing him, his two friends, and several Sky Profound experts.

Upon landing, several more Earth Profound Soldiers became meat paste.

“Burning Heaven Arts: Ten Thousand Suns!” The beast’s red aura surged as fireballs manifested around him before rushing in all directions, causing explosions along the way.

“Run!”

“Retreat!”

“Agh!!!”

The appearance of a huge beast in a tight formation that can use profound arts was not on the menu for these soldiers.

Thousands of the Phoenix soldiers turned into ash, while others who dodged the dragon flames ended up becoming targets for Thunderfire users on the walls.

“Well, well. Let’s end this game.” Cang Long leisurely motioned with his hand.

“Activate Box Formation negative effects.” 

Formation lines appeared in the skies as the phoenix soldiers, who were still holding the battle formation, felt something happening.

“Now. Charge.” The Prince pulled out the Emperor Profound Sword, and two fairies followed after him as they joined the fight.

Lower sections of the wall opened up, revealing Blue Empire’s forces.

To Phoenix Empire’s surprise, all of them were in Earth Profound, with many experts in Sky Profound and even Thrones!

“Impossible! How can they be this strong!?” The warriors exclaimed in panicked surprise. 

The soldiers rushed to engage as the Phoenix soldiers tried to hold ground. They were trying to figure out who was in charge.

But the massive dragon in battle formation is very distracting!

The invading soldiers tried to use their bloodline, the Phoenix flames. Instead of the usual flamethrower, they got sparks and small flares. 

Unlike the warriors on the other side, Heavenly Sword Villa’s swordsmen and occasional Frozen Cloud fairies, who would use sword and ice.

Then, the Burning Heaven Clansmen who wield flaming swords, and the Xiao Sect men who throw bombs and use wind arts.

Lastly… the tight formation of spearmen who are pushing the phoenix lines.

“S-SHIT!!!”

The Phoenix guys began to panic as they tried to fight! It was a bloodbath.

Meanwhile, Cang Long realised that even after the initial and second surprises, their enemy numbers are annoyingly large.

In that case…

“Chan’er, shall we?”

He looked at his first fairy, and his eyes began to glow. A diamond symbol appeared on his forehead.

“Good point, there are still too many of them.” Her eyes glowed, and a diamond symbol appeared on her forehead.

The pair became massive blue pyres of flames as they began to shine like stars in the night sky.

Slowly, the flames turned into the size of mountains and morphed into humanoid forms.

“Blue Wind Dharma Body Arts! Divine Manifestation!” 

Two voices declared the name of the technique as giants manifested phoenix army formations.

“Phoenix Empire peasants, this is what true power looks like.” Cang Long used their words against them as the massive warrior motioned with his hand, and a blue sword appeared in his hand.

The soldiers, who were still on the ground and could only see the monster's toes, stared at this in disbelief. The two's appearance was the last straw for the struggling Phoenix warriors.

“Run! Get away!”

The formation shattered as the soldiers began to flee.

But this is where Cang Long smiled wickedly.

“Chan’er, if you would?” 

“One moment.” Her feminine warrior form did a hand motion. A massive symbol of ice appeared in front of the retreating soldiers. 

It glowed and turned the running away warriors into a block of ice.

“Heaven’s Might Absolute Sword! Final Form, Radiant Sword!” The massive construct swung a swinging sword motion as huge sword light erupted.

The practitioners from Heavenly Sword Villa were awed by how one of their techniques was used by the Crown Prince’s Dharma Body.

The sword light, which usually is only around thirty metres long, could now be seen for hundreds of miles as mountain tops were chopped off and everything in its path was destroyed. The shockwave erased the running away soldiers.

At that moment, all of the fighting stopped as the bulk of the remaining soldiers ceased to exist. Whatever was left immediately raised their hands in surrender.

What they saw now was beyond their wildest imagination.

This was the might of Monarch, if not above it.

As Cang Long finished the swing, he looked at his handywork. There was nothing left in the path of the swing.

With enemies gone, he looked to face the remnant. Only a few thousand phoenix warriors remain.

“Capture them, I have a use for them.” The Crown Prince said as he began to dismiss his Divine Manifestation.

Chu Yuechan followed his lead as the pair floated down where the phoenix warriors were herded.

The Formation Prince has a use for them. This was only the beginning of this empire’s fall.