Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 419 - 419 0300 Go aside and take a breath _2

Chapter 419: Chapter 0300: Go aside and take a breath _2 Chapter 419: Chapter 0300: Go aside and take a breath _2 “Pass on my command, the first batch of men will strike, clearing the demonic birds around the defensive shield.” The captain commanded solemnly.

With the captain’s order, the first team gathered and set off. There were fifty of them in total, thirty of whom were combatants of the flight ship. The remaining twenty were selected from among the passengers, and were primarily at the Half-step Golden Core level.

The battle started fiercely right from the onset, with cultivators and demonic birds mutually slaughtering each other. The fight was extremely intense. The cultivators had superior single combat skills and higher fighting capacity, while the demonic birds excelled in number and possessed natural flying abilities. Both sides had their strengths and weaknesses, but overall, the cultivators seemed to have the upper hand.

However, before the captain could breathe a sigh of relief, hundreds more demonic birds flew over from a distance. This new flock was of even better quality, with more than a dozen at the Half-step Golden Core Level. Their arrival completely changed the balance of power between the cultivators and the birds, and the situation quickly became unfavorable for the cultivators outside the flight ship.

“Captain, the situation is getting worse. Shall we turn back and regroup?”

“What nonsense are you saying? Turning back now would be a death sentence. No matter how fast our flight ship is, could it possibly outpace these demonic birds? At least we still have morale on our side if we fight now. If we retreat, not only would we fail to escape, but we would also lose our morale. By then, we’d all die here. We must not retreat. We must continue to fight the demonic birds. Get in contact with Wanjie Commerce immediately, have them send a Gold Core Stage cultivator to aid us as soon as possible. If they could dispatch a Nascent Soul Ancestor, it would be even better. With a wave of his hand, he could easily wipe out these pesky birds.”

As the cultivator who made the suggestion left, the captain stared intently at the demonic birds outside and said, “Send out my orders, deploy the second batch of men.”

“Captain, should we send our remaining brothers?”

“What, are you stupid? Sending our brothers now is asking them to die. Send those passengers instead. If they die, it’s their bad luck, and we don’t have to take responsibility.” There was a chilling ruthlessness in the captain’s voice, showing his complete lack of regard for the lives of others.

Shortly after, some badges hung on the cultivators on deck began to glow. They were the selected combatants designated by the flight ship, or more accurately, the chosen sacrifices. At this moment, the power of the demonic birds was at its peak, and they were at their most formidable. Going onto the battlefield at this point was akin to a death sentence.

Some of these selected combatants stood up and moved towards the gathering point, while others ignored the flashing badges they carried or even crushed them into dust. They certainly wouldn’t willingly go to their deaths.

Qi Tian was among those chosen. He said nothing, merely stood up and silently moved towards the gathering point. Hu Niu, who couldn’t fly and had to stay behind, stood by him. Qi Tian affectionately patted Hu Niu’s head before he left. “She’s my mount,” he said, “anyone who bullies her or humiliates her in any way will not go unnoticed. I will seek justice for her, so don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

Hu Niu reluctantly nuzzled her head into Qi Tian’s arms. Qi Tian patted her head once more before he left.

The flight ship had a dedicated station for deployments. From this station, the combatants could go directly outside the defensive shield without having to turn it off, thus maximizing the safety of the flight ship.

“My dear sirs, I know it’s a hard task for us to throw you into battle, but it’s a desperate measure. Upon your victorious return, let’s drink and celebrate together. Good luck, my fellow companions.” The captain himself came to send Qi Tian and his team off.

Many people could guess that their expedition this time was a suicide mission commanded by the captain, yet no one voiced it out. After all, at a time like this, someone had to step up. Otherwise, everyone would die, but with someone stepping up, there might be a chance to survive.

The Array at the exit was activated. A dozen or so cultivators with a half-step Golden Core stage or similar level of strength, along with hundreds of cultivators of other realms, were all teleported out.

Qi Tian was standing on his flying sword. With a flash of light in front of his eyes, he found himself outside the defensive shield of the airship. He knew it was the power of the Teleportation Array. Never had he imagined that the airship had such an Array that could teleport them over such a short distance.

Before Qi Tian had a chance to express his feelings, a demonic bird nearby noticed him and silently pounced at him.

Qi Tian’s face didn’t change at all. He urged his flying sword to dart towards the demonic bird that was rushing at him.

Simultaneously, a Red Hoop Stick appeared in his hand. As they passed each other in the blink of an eye, the Red Hoop Stick was deployed, exploding the bird’s head with a single hit.

This late Foundation Establishment Stage demonic bird didn’t even get a chance to squawk before falling at Qi Tian’s hands. Immediately after, Qi Tian continued battling against the other demonic birds without stopping.

The strength of Qi Tian’s combat ability was beyond doubt. Even without activating the Heavenly Dao Engine, he possessed the strength of a half-step Golden Core Stage. Once he activated the Heavenly Dao Engine, he could dominate at the half-step Golden Core Level.

It’s just that the power gap between the Foundation Establishment Stage and the Gold Core Stage was so vast. Otherwise, with the help of the Heavenly Dao Engine, he might even have attained the strength of the first level of Golden Core Stage. But for now, more accumulation was required.

Although Qi Tian was powerful, he wasn’t the most standout figure. Several cultivators with half-step Golden Core strength had shown themselves to be far stronger. They had slain many more demonic birds than him and the birds swirling around them were dropping one after another. They quickly drew the attention of the half-step Golden Core demonic birds. Once these demonic birds efficiently solved their opponents, they surrounded these noticeable cultivators to slay them.

Qi Tian was astounded at the fact that the demonic birds knew the tactic of decapitation strikes. However, he did not intend to step in and assist them. They might not even need his help. Besides, he didn’t want to draw the attention of the half-step Golden Core demonic birds at the moment. After all, there were around fifty of them right now, while the human cultivator side had fewer than forty at the half-step Golden Core stage. If he made a move, he would have to face the possibility of being outnumbered. He decided to wait, expecting the airship to dispatch more combatants at the half-step Golden Core level.

Of course, Qi Tian was not planning to slack off. While beheading average demonic birds, he also activated the Heavenly Dao Engine, scanning the surrounding demonic birds. He directed his attention towards those demonic birds who were not very powerful, yet possessed a special blood lineage.

The hierarchical structure amongst demonic birds was even more chaotic than that of humans’. Many demonic birds carried the blood of higher order demonic birds. But after so many generations, even the descendants of these birds might be unaware of it. However, what they were not aware of didn’t matter, because in front of the Heavenly Dao Engine, they had no secrets, not even those they themselves weren’t aware of.

At present, more than five hundred demonic birds were besieging the airship including about fifty of half-step Golden Core level. The rest were below this level. Under the scan of the Heavenly Dao Engine, Qi Tian found the number of demonic birds with special bloodlines to be rather scarce, just around a dozen of them. More than half of them were half-step Golden Core demonic birds. The rest, five or six, were below the half-step Golden Core level. Amongst same-level demonic birds, they were notably wild and combative, making the cultivators they were up against struggle.

Qi Tian singled out a non-half-step Golden Core demonic bird closest to him and flew right at it. He addressed to the cultivator who was being beat down by that demonic bird, “Sir, I’m here to save you. Catch your breath on the side, leave this part to me.”