The soul warrior from the Jinhua Trading Association, filled with terror, suddenly realized that, without him noticing, a figure clad in black soft armor and a hood had appeared behind him. Beneath the shadow of the hood, a pair of cold, emotionless eyes stared at him, making his blood run cold.
Thud!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed, and the soul warrior found that his dantian had been pierced, making it impossible to manipulate his soul power. At the same time, the man's hand clamped firmly over his mouth, preventing him from making even the faintest sound.
As his eyes widened in shock, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. His soul power surged uncontrollably out of his body, dissipating into the air with no way to stop it.
Both patrolling soul warriors from the Jinhua Trading Association were silently eliminated. After the two Nightshade assassins completed their task, they carefully dragged the bodies into the nearby bushes, hiding them from view.
After completing this, the two Nightshades signaled behind them, where Gale had been waiting in concealment, and he immediately received the message.
The same thing happened in other parts of the area. No patrol of the Jinhua Trading Association's soul warriors was spared as the lurking Nightshade forces executed them silently, hiding their bodies without a trace.
Even though the Jinhua Trading Association had established a tight patrol system, with teams of two constantly crossing paths, they were no match for the ghostly Nightshade assassins.
Using the features of the Lingmu Trees scattered around the camp to their advantage, the Nightshade assassins approached under the cover of shadows. Working in perfect coordination, they simultaneously took out the entire perimeter patrol without alerting a single soul.
The soul warriors stationed at the Jinhua Trading Association camp never expected that the Xia Empire's Nightshade forces would be able to eliminate their patrols so swiftly and quietly.
Thanks to the reconnaissance beasts, even the hidden sentries of the Jinhua Trading Association were easily identified and dealt with.
The soul warriors within the Jinhua Trading Association camp remained blissfully unaware that they were now entirely surrounded by the Xia Empire's forces.
At that moment, they were either meditating or chatting in their tents, fantasizing about how much loot they could claim when they advanced deeper into the Yuan family's territories. Some dreamt of surviving this battle and reaping great rewards.
But the looming danger was something they were completely oblivious to.
The Nightshade assassins, still hidden in the shadows, infiltrated the camp, using the reconnaissance beasts' eyes to map out the camp's layout in meticulous detail.
Being one of the top two trading organizations in the Central Region, the Jinhua Trading Association's wealth showed in the luxury of their camp. The tents were spacious and comfortable, with each soul warrior enjoying a personal bed and partitioned living space. Compared to other forces, who often had to sleep in the wilderness, their conditions were far superior.
Each tent was equipped with formations that protected against fire, water, and insects, as well as alarms that would sound if unfamiliar energy approached.
However, as the Xia Empire's forces surrounded the camp, they did not rush in recklessly. Gale was the first to approach, working in coordination with Nightshade to thoroughly scout the camp's layout. He placed metallic devices around the perimeter of the camp.
Waves of energy radiated from these devices, creating a formation that spread throughout the camp.
Inside the camp, the soul warriors of the Jinhua Trading Association remained unaware that the protective formations around their tents had been completely neutralized, leaving them defenseless.
Once the formations were confirmed to be disabled, the Xia Empire's forces began to advance into the camp.
Moving cautiously, the imperial forces approached without making a sound.
Most of the Jinhua Trading Association's soul warriors remained inside their tents, talking or training. Only a few, feeling stifled, had ventured outside to relax, but they were quickly dispatched by the Nightshade assassins. By now, the entire camp was full of soul warriors sheltered in their tents.
In the midst of all this, a young commander from the Xia Empire walked calmly toward the center of the camp. Despite his casual gait, his steps made no sound, moving with an eerie quietness that defied reason.
He appeared to walk without effort, yet not a single step created any noise—an incredible feat.
"Attack!"
Standing before the central tent of the camp, the young commander's voice rang out coldly. Though his voice was quiet, it resounded in the ears of every imperial soldier.
At his command, the imperial forces moved as one. Shield-bearers positioned themselves in front of the ranged units, while the rest of the elite soldiers rushed toward their designated targets with flawless precision.
The archers, Strongfeather and Swiftfeather, loosed arrows from long distances, taking out the enemy commanders, while the Bloodwarriors and Ragewarriors struck down their foes with deadly efficiency. Softsword and Vibrantsword followed suit, keeping the situation under tight control.
Lancewielder and Halberdmaster, accompanied by Towershield, ensured that the enemy soul warriors couldn't form a cohesive defense.
The battle erupted suddenly, catching the Jinhua Trading Association's soul warriors completely off guard. They had no time to prepare.
But that's the nature of war—enemies don't give you time to get ready.
Slash!
In the blink of an eye, the central tent was slashed open, and the overseer of the Jinhua Trading Association leaped out.
However, the moment he landed, a young commander clad in armor appeared before him, radiating a terrifying aura. The gleam of his sword reflected off the overseer's face.
Slash!
The sword strike, simple yet unstoppable, felt like a massive wave engulfing the overseer, leaving him no chance to escape.
Though the overseer was a powerful soul warrior at the second stage of the Transcendence Realm, he narrowly avoided a fatal blow. Still, his arm was severed, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
Clutching his severed arm and using soul power to suppress the bleeding, the overseer looked around in shock. The entire camp had descended into chaos, yet he had no idea how the enemy had gotten so close.
Even more terrifying was the fact that the soul warriors of the Jinhua Trading Association had nearly all been slaughtered, while the enemy had not suffered a single casualty.
"Who... who are you?" the overseer stammered, pressing his hand to his wounded arm as he stared in disbelief at the young commander before him.
"I am Lin Feng, general of the Xia Empire. My rank is Softsword," Lin Feng said, raising his azure sword calmly as his eyes locked onto the overseer. "By decree of the emperor: Any who invade the Xia Empire shall be killed without mercy."