Sha Ming's expression was tense. Although the Sand Shadow Snake clan guarded the vast northern desert for the Heavenly Wind Human King, it was not due to their great power in the Heavenly Wind Dynasty, but rather their innate characteristic of being able to live in harsh desert environments year-round.
Only the Sand Shadow Snake clan leader, Sha Kui, was a strong cultivator at the first level of the Spirit Sea realm, with only two or three at the Spirit Channeling realm. Most of the others were at the Divine Mansion realm.
Gazing at the sand that had been pulverized into dust in the void, his heart ached immensely. Sand was an exceptionally talented genius of the younger generation of the Sand Shadow Snake clan, and now he had been killed in the void by a mysterious force.
For a moment, rage filled his chest. He vowed to make the burly man clad in crimson armor in the void pay a blood price, to be buried with Sand.
"Kill them! Avenge Sand!!"
"You, you! Go notify Sha Jin and Sha Cui, tell them to come quickly to my aid. I will flay him alive and make soup from him!"
"Yes, sir!"
Two Sand Shadow Snake soldiers responded hurriedly, turning and walking towards their rear, disappearing into the yellow sand.
Sha Ming summoned a refining hook.
"Chiii!"
Sha Ming drew a shallow blood groove on his hand with the refining hook, and drop by drop, blood stained its sharp edge. "Humans, deserve to die!!"
"Kill!"
"Roar roar roar!!"
The Sand Shadow Snake army behind them roared in fury. There was anger, but more so, a greedy desire for human flesh. Those human figures were like precious medicinal pills, a single bite of which would surely send one's soul soaring to the ninth heaven.
"Kill!!"
For a moment, the eyes of the Sand Shadow Snake soldiers burned with greedy red light, and a surging aura of blood lust filled the sky with yellow sand. Within the rolling blood lust, there was also a foul stench, extremely unpleasant.
The surging army, tens of miles away, was locked onto by Liao Hua. He smiled slightly, the crimson armor on his body glinting with traces of blood light.
The battlefield at this time had already been thoroughly scoured, with crimson flames everywhere.
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
An army of about a hundred thousand approached Liao Hua's battlefield in grand procession. From afar, a hearty voice rang out, "General Liao Hua, can you leave the army tens of miles away to me? I've been stationed in the region for so long, my very bones have grown stiff!"
"General Lu Kang, that army is yours to handle!" Liao Hua smiled. After participating in the battle of the Wu Dynasty capital, Lu Kang had basically been stationed in the region, handling prefectural affairs, and his hands had long been itching for a fight.
"Thank you!"
Lu Kang cupped his fists towards Liao Hua and then, commanding his army, directly cut across Liao Hua's battlefield, charging towards the surging blood lust in the distance.
...
"How is it?"
In a desert, hundreds of thousands of soldiers stood in solemn formation. Gan Ning, looking at the map, turned to Chen Gong beside him.
"General, the Sand Shadow Snake clan is like fish in water in this desert. We can't find them, nor do we have any place to search!" Chen Gong's expression was grave. Looking at the endless yellow sand, finding the Sand Shadow Snake clan's encampment in this territory was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Search! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find them!" Gan Ning frowned. The Sand Shadow Snake clan must be dealt with; they could not be left as a hidden threat.
Chen Gong, looking at the vast yellow sand, paced back and forth, observing Xu Chu and Gao Shun, who were both frowning. Suddenly, his brow unfurrowed, and a smile appeared.
"Strategist, why are you smiling?" Xu Chu asked, frowning. This was no time for the strategist to be speaking in riddles.
"My esteemed generals, their Sand Shadow Snake encampment is hard to find, but we can strike at the core strength of the Sand Shadow Snake clan everywhere. If they don't come out, we will whittle away at their heart bit by bit, forcing them to come out and fight us!"
"A mere Spirit Sea realm cultivator. If not for the influence of these ten thousand li of yellow sand, I would have dug him out long ago!"
Gan Ning snorted coldly. His own strength was at the seventh level of the Spirit Sea realm, yet he was blinded by the vast yellow sand, unable to locate the Sand Shadow Snake clan, who enjoyed such favorable terrain.
"Xu Chu, Gao Shun, each of you will lead ten thousand troops. Go and hunt down the Sand Shadow Snake clan's patrolling armies everywhere. They want to watch, do they? Then let them watch to their heart's content!"
A shadow fell over Chen Gong's stern face.
"Yes!"
Xu Chu and Gao Shun readily accepted the order and turned, leading their armies away, disappearing into the swirling yellow sand.
...
"Brothers, kill!!"
Sha Ming, gazing at the army raising layers of dust in the distance, his eyes suddenly blazed. His long tongue flicked greedily in the void, searching for the scent of humans. His face contorted, and then he roared.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
The army behind him became even more excited. The Sand Shadow Snake clan had been assigned to the northern desert by the Heavenly Wind Human King and were forbidden to leave this vast desert until death. Having not tasted fresh meat for years, the faint scent of human flesh mixed in the air now assaulted their nerves, causing the blood and qi within their bodies to boil.
"Ching!"
Lu Kang instantly drew his long sword and pointed it forward, "Kill!"
"Boom!!"
Instantly, the Han soldiers bent their bows and nocked their arrows. In a flash, their faces were cold. A rain of arrows filled the sky, glinting with layers of crimson Southern Ming Fire, erupting with fierce killing intent, instantly darkening the sky and covering the heavens!
"Hmph, just a fire arrow, putting on a show!"
"Defend! Tear through this rain of arrows!!"
Sha Ming said with arrogant disdain. The humans' mere fire arrow technique was not worth mentioning!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!"
Dense volleys of arrows, burning with raging Southern Ming Fire, tore through the air and instantly reached Sha Ming's army.
"Pfft!!"
The Southern Ming Fire was no ordinary flame; how could it be judged by common sense!
"Not good!!"
When the arrows were still ten zhang away from Sha Ming's army, countless Sand Shadow Snake soldiers bared their fangs and roared. The fierce flames were so hot that their earthy-brown skin cracked before the arrows even reached them, forming blisters.
"Defend! Quickly defend!!"
Sha Ming's pupils contracted sharply. This was no ordinary fire; they could not be careless. He instantly raised the refining hook in his hand.
The Sand Shadow Snake soldiers endured the intense burning pain on their skin. Gazing at the scorching Southern Ming Fire, fear began to creep into their hearts. The desire and greed for human flesh were gone from their eyes.
They squinted, constantly brandishing their refining hooks, doing their best to block the furiously shooting arrows.
"Clang!!"
From time to time, weapons fell from the Sand Shadow Snake army. Although the arrows were successfully struck down by the Sand Shadow Snake soldiers, the temperature of the Southern Ming Fire was simply too high.
"Ah!!"
Soldiers clutched their arms and roared madly!!
"Tear!!"
The moment their weapons were dropped, arrows instantly pierced their bodies, igniting layers of flames. In everyone's sight, they turned to ash in the blink of an eye.