The moment Qin Yi gave the order, a fierce offensive completely beyond the expectations of the Nie Kingdom's Shinigami descended without warning.
Experts from across the nation moved out at once, forcing the Nie Kingdom's forces to retreat step by step.
The Thirty-Six Venerables were regarded by everyone in the Nie Kingdom as overwhelmingly powerful figures. But at this moment, they had finally met their match. Worse still, their opponents possessed a terrifying strength that made even them tremble.
They couldn't hold the line anymore.
Under the massive assault, the Shinigami forces of the Nie Kingdom began collapsing at an astonishing speed. Once the defeat started, it spread like an avalanche. In a matter of moments, countless streets and territories were lost.
King Chengdui was only halfway to his destination when the infuriating news reached him.
No matter what, he had never imagined the battle would turn out like this. The armies he was so proud of, along with the Thirty-Six Venerables, had proven to be nothing more than paper tigers, collapsing at the first real blow.
For the first time, he began to doubt himself. He even began to doubt the strength of his own kingdom.
Qin's Nation seemed far more powerful than he had imagined.
This wasn't just about the strength of individual warriors. It was the power that erupted when an entire nation united its strength as one.
It was a kind of power completely different from anything he had ever understood.
"Your Majesty, the army can't hold out much longer. Of the Thirty-Six Venerables, five have already been taken out of the fight!"
The soldier's report was anything but good news, and King Chengdui's expression darkened immediately.
"So fast? What exactly is happening on the front lines?"
Even though he knew this wasn't the time to question his subordinates, he couldn't help asking.
"W-We don't know how to explain it. The enemy's methods are unlike anything we've ever seen or heard of."
The soldier answered bitterly.
King Chengdui frowned in confusion but did not press further. His eyes flashed.
"Yasuo, go to the front."
"I want you to eliminate every enemy expert."
"When the mission is complete, I will grant you your freedom and personally escort you back to your homeland."
At this critical moment, King Chengdui made the promise himself.
A king's word carried absolute weight. Once spoken, such a promise would not be broken. Though Chengdui appeared ruthless and mad on the surface, he understood the value of keeping his word.
"The fallen leaves still yearn to return to their roots, it seems."
Yasuo tightened his grip on his sword and turned back the way he had come.
"Remember your promise. Otherwise, even if it costs me my life, I will defend my honor."
His calm voice drifted away on the wind.
By the time the words faded, his figure had already vanished from King Chengdui's sight.
On the front lines...
"Wooooooosh!"
Drones streaked across the sky. As they reached the Shinigami below, bombs rained down from above while streams of bullets poured out. Explosions and waves of scorching heat swept across the battlefield as countless Shinigami were struck.
Immediately afterward, vast curtains of flying swords descended, covering the battlefield and cutting down Shinigami in an instant.
The combat methods used by Qin's Nation were indeed strange, and the Nie Kingdom's forces simply could not understand them.
After all, they were facing experts born from the fusion of multiple civilizations, each still retaining the unique characteristics of their original worlds.
Whenever the Nie Kingdom's soldiers finally adapted to one unfamiliar fighting style and adjusted their tactics accordingly, they would suddenly find themselves facing an entirely different one.
Against such unpredictable and ever-changing methods of warfare, the simple and straightforward Shinigami forces of the Nie Kingdom had no chance of keeping up. They were beaten completely senseless.
Line after line was pushed back.
The army of Qin's Nation advanced relentlessly, crushing everything in its path. Forces from four directions pressed forward simultaneously, attacking from both front and rear, gradually encircling the Nie Kingdom's army until even escape became impossible.
And so it continued.
The western army was routed almost the entire way.
Facing the Ninja Civilization, the first civilization established within Qin's Nation, the strength of the Hokage Corps ranked among the nation's very best.
Under the leadership of Uchiha Madara, a veteran of countless battles with exceptional personal strength, they were like a razor-sharp blade stabbing straight through the enemy army.
Of the four fronts, the western army collapsed first, and suffered the most crushing defeat.
"Advance! Advance! Advance!"
"The Great Wind! Qin Wind! The Great Wind! Qin Wind!"
Thunderous battle cries echoed across the battlefield. Masks spread across the faces of Qin's Nation's soldiers, transforming them into terrifying, skeletal figures.
Hollowfication, a method that dramatically multiplied combat power, was a skill every soldier was required to master.
Uchiha Madara walked forward through the tide of troops.
He stood at the very front, the sharpest and deadliest spearhead driving into the western army.
Along the way, Madara's expression remained indifferent, almost bored.
The so-called Venerables, legendary as the strongest warriors of the enemy forces, looked like complete amateurs to him. Their control over power was crude, and they couldn't even properly use the new abilities they had gained. After defeating three of them in a row, he had lost all interest.
Now, Madara strode forward with his arms folded.
Any Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom who charged at him would be blasted away by an invisible repulsive force before they could even touch him.
The force was terrifyingly powerful. Anyone struck by it was instantly torn apart, their body shattered beyond saving.
Suddenly, Madara stopped.
His eyes slowly lifted.
The black pupils changed at once, becoming the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"So, an expert has finally shown up?"
A glimmer of interest appeared in his eyes as he looked ahead.
The Nie Kingdom army stretched endlessly into the distance, with nothing visibly unusual among its ranks. Yet Madara knew with absolute certainty that somewhere ahead, a powerful figure was rapidly approaching.
It wasn't something he saw with his eyes, nor sensed with his spirit.
It was simply the instinctive awareness that existed between true experts.
A minute later, a man came into view.
A sword hung at his waist. His long hair was tied back, and his face carried the marks of countless years and hardships.
"State your name."
Madara spoke, the light in his eyes growing brighter.
At last, the Nie Kingdom had produced an expert worth looking at.
"I'm nothing more than a passerby."
The weathered man slowly drew his sword.
"As for my name, there's no need for you to know it."
His gaze was calm, his attitude casual to the extreme.
He walked forward step by step, placing himself directly in the fiercest part of the battlefield where the two armies clashed.
Immediately, Qin's Nation soldiers rushed toward him.
Yasuo took a step forward.
Something seemed to change about him at that moment. His body twisted several times in a way no one could quite understand, leaving behind afterimages. Before the Qin soldiers could even react, he had already slipped completely outside their attack range.
The technique was beyond everyone's expectations.
Even Madara's pupils contracted.
Even he couldn't understand what he had just seen.
But one thing was certain.
The man before him was strange.
He looked weak. No overwhelming power radiated from him. He carried none of the aura one would expect from a true expert.
And yet...
He gave off an indescribably dangerous feeling, one that made the hairs on the back of the neck stand up.
Sword in hand, Yasuo continued walking forward.
When faced with ordinary soldiers, he did not kill them. He simply dodged their attacks with ease or struck non-vital points, rendering them unable to continue fighting.
After only a few breaths, Yasuo stopped before Madara.
"I wonder..."
"Has the leader of Qin's Nation ever witnessed the Hayate?"
'The Wind Technique?'
(End of Chapter)
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