Chapter 1603: Citywide Martial Law

Then the combat suit on his legs was instantly corroded away, crumbling into fragments that scattered across the ground.

The black mist took advantage of the moment to engulf his legs, and within mere moments, they had turned gray, withered, and shriveled thin.

"Ahhh!!!"

A terrified scream erupted from his mouth, but it lasted less than two seconds before a massive surge of black smoke enveloped his entire body.

Before long, his body completely withered away, transforming into a dried, gray human-shaped sculpture.

He was not the only victim. Such screams rang out continuously all around, and wherever the black mist passed, every Transcendent was killed, turned into dried gray sculptures like rows of withered tree stumps.

But just as they withered into death, from their corpses came a series of "pop," "pop," "pop" sounds.

The skin of their bodies split open, and suddenly, one after another, gorgeous red flowers burst forth from the withered forms, blooming with a haunting beauty in the dead of night!

And after the red flowers bloomed, they spewed forth even more black smoke.

From the moment the black mist was first noticed, to its rapid proliferation and spread across the entire city of Chang'an, it took less than five short minutes.

Sirens blared across the entire city, and a continuous stream of urgent intelligence reports poured into Li Changgong's ears.

"Commander, enemy attack! The enemy is here!"

"They're using some kind of bizarre smoke attack. This stuff is everywhere in Chang'an!"

By the time Li Changgong heard these words, he could already see the black mist blanketing the entire city.

Even in the darkest midnight hour, this black mist was incredibly distinct, because it was darker and deeper than the night itself.

Li Changgong showed not the slightest trace of panic.

He rose slowly from his seat, both hands pressing down on the twin long blades at his waist.

"All troops, hear my command! Attack! Kill every invader!"

Beneath Li Changgong, the Five Pole War Gods, the five most formidable combatants, stood at the ready.

"Yes, Commander!"

After the Sky War God Cheng Lanlan fell in battle, her replacement had quickly been filled.

No one was truly irreplaceable. There would always be new people rising to the top, and with the region's resources, cultivating a powerful Transcendent was hardly a difficult feat.

Though the method of the enemy attack was bizarre, in battles between Transcendents, one had seen every kind of strange and extraordinary ability imaginable.

Li Changgong did not rush to strike. As the commander, he needed to oversee the overall situation.

Moreover, the first thing he needed to do was find the Transcendent who was releasing the smoke.

"Judging by the ability's area of coverage and lethality, this is definitely an Epsilon-class Transcendent."

"Hiding within the smoke and trying to pick off our ordinary soldiers first. It's indeed a clever tactic."

"But if you truly think Chang'an can be breached so easily, then you've gravely underestimated what Li Changgong is capable of!"

A calm, composed smile graced Li Changgong's lips.

He stroked the hilt of his blade. This battle was one he had been waiting for!

Since assuming his position, he had yet to secure a major victory to solidify his standing. His clash with Zhang Yi had stripped him of all dignity.

So he decided to use this battle against foreign invaders to make the entire Northwest Major Region completely convinced of his supremacy!

"Bai Zhan, this is your moment to show your strength!"

Li Changgong issued the order to the Second Generation Sky War God, Bai Zhan.

At the central district of Chang'an, standing atop a hundred-meter-tall building, Bai Zhan received the command and smiled, nodding slightly.

"Yes, Commander!"

Yet somehow, the smile on his face seemed chillingly cold, so much so that one might think he wasn't a living, breathing human at all.

Bai Zhan looked around. In every direction across Chang'an, thick black smoke billowed, carried by the wind and rising to heights of over a hundred meters, advancing toward the central district like towering walls.

At this rate, within at most ten more minutes, the most important capital city of the Northwest Major Region would be completely engulfed by the black smoke!

Bai Zhan lowered his head and suddenly began to run.

Along the wall of tempered glass panels on the building's surface, he sprinted rapidly downward.

He was fast, and growing faster by the moment. The scenery around him began to blur, yet he continued to accelerate.

His extreme speed stirred up a mighty gale. When he landed on the ground, he charged toward the urban area ahead without losing any momentum.

There, the city was already completely shrouded in black mist.

Bai Zhan stared coldly ahead, his body nearly stretched into a straight line as he continued his furious sprint.

He ran so fast that the world before his eyes dissolved into mere streaks of light.

"Whoosh!"

The intense friction caused the areas he tore through to erupt in roaring flames!

The ground beneath his feet shattered violently. Cars along the roadside exploded. Even nearby high-rise buildings caught fire!

At ever-increasing speed, Bai Zhan charged directly into the smoke-shrouded district!

BOOM!!

Like a train smashing into a body of water, even smoke, when struck by the force of a high-pressure storm, produced a deafening explosion!

In an instant, the black mist in the streets of this district was scattered, and the asphalt roads were utterly destroyed along with it!

Bai Zhan weaved at breakneck speed through the streets and between the buildings of Chang'an. From a distance, a streak of fire could be seen tearing recklessly through the black mist.

Massive amounts of black smoke were dispersed on contact. No matter how fast it spread, it simply couldn't withstand such an impact.

The scene unfolding in Chang'an caused Silver Armor, who had been quietly observing everything from afar, to raise his head slightly.

Even seeing the towering flames, he showed not the slightest hint of concern.

Because the smoke blanketing the city had already reduced Chang'an's forces by a third, and they had achieved their invasion without any direct conflict.

From within the smoke behind him emerged the Black-White Commander and over a hundred Azure Armor warriors.

Silver Armor spoke to the Black-White Commander behind him. "Where is the enemy's command center?"

The Black-White Commander stepped forward, raised his right arm, and after a few taps, a complete three-dimensional map of Chang'an was projected from the front of his forearm.

He pointed to the tower where the Command Center was located.

"It's right here!"

Silver Armor said, "So the enemy's main commander is there as well. You all deal with the other human warriors. I'll go kill their commander. Tonight's mission must be concluded swiftly."

The moment he finished speaking, his entire form dissolved into a wisp of black mist, merging directly into the vast night and drifting toward the Command Center where Li Changgong was located.

The Black-White Commander made a decisive wave of his hand toward the Azure Armor warriors behind him.

"Tonight's objective is to kill every ability user in this city! To sever their future!"