Paragon Of Sin

The battlefield became chaotic. A mere mortal was chasing Battalion Commanders of an Ascended army and not a single one of these Ascended beings were able to halt the edge of his saber from reaping lives. 

More importantly, his dodging maneuvers and tactics were as if he had eyes across the entire Battlefield. While they felt the spiritual pressure, their innate energies, even their spiritual sense, couldn't extend outwards, so they were unable to confirm if it was just pressure or sense descending upon them without a bout of weakness and subsequent neutralization on the battlefield.

The Legion Commander's aura violently stirred as he watched this mortal slice through his trained army like a sharp knife through bread! It became worse when the saber light he could emit was unleashed, taking down dozens, if not a hundred soldiers who were unprepared to handle it. 

The Legion Commander was furious! His leaders and commanders were being seized by an extraordinary force, and those that didn't heed his earlier warning, they had stupidly activated the raw poison coursing through their bodies and became easy pickings for the saber light. Wei Wuyin would send out rays of concentrated, focused saber light towards those that broke out of his spell, ending their lives from afar in their weakened states.

Their deaths were sometimes so swift that it seemed as if Wei Wuyin had predicted their awakening down to the millisecond! Their weakness subjected them to their most vulnerable moments, and their reactions were horrifically delayed as a result. Additionally, these saber lights would sometimes move as if they had a will of their own, surfing past the bodies of soldiers. The soldiers themselves would dodge these lethal lights instinctively if they were unaware that it was targeted towards their leaders. If they were aware, they would launch themselves heroic in an attempt to hinder the saber lights.

Wei Wuyin would sometimes 'look' in his direction with a bright grin, as if to say: "I can send out projectiles through your soldiers too." The sheer mocking from that simple expression induced enraging, earth-shaking emotions from the Legion Commander. He wanted nothing more than to kill this dastardly mortal in the most brutal fashion. 

For a Legion Commander to watch his soldiers die in battle was to be expected, but that did little to assuage the guilt he felt for each of their deaths. If he could use just a fragment of his own power, Wei Wuyin would be utterly insignificant. Yet he was also poisoned, awaiting for the needed time for it to run its short life as the poison expert had suggested. 

The now-deceased poison expert wasn't incorrect in their assessment. There was a limited amount of time until the poison dispersed, both inside their bodies and in the ambient environment. This was a further consequence of its raw state, a mixture of mortal poison and mystic material. Its chemical bonds were too fragile, and it'll break down into separate components. 

Perhaps it would still be somewhat effective against mortals. Still, the Myriad Gravestone Poison wouldn't affect Ascended beings no matter how potent it was in its original state as a mortal-graded poison. It was only because of the essence of the World-Devouring Rose that such effective results were produced.

Knowing this, the Legion Commander issued out a series of orders. Almost instantly, the army pushed away in an orderly retreat as Wei Wuyin's killing momentum continued. They were spreading out, and the soul-fixed commanders were being dragged off elsewhere in every direction! These commanders were protected by shield-wielding soldiers. 

Moreover, the frequency of arrows and spears launched had increased. Wei Wuyin soon became bogged down by explosive waves of projectiles. He skillfully wielded his saber, slicing and deflecting about to handle all those life-seekers! The sounds of metal clashing with metal endlessly echoed. 

Wei Wuyin found himself facing waves of two hundred to three hundred arrows at a time, with each half-second passing! The sheer volume was monstrous, yet he kept pressing forward and sent saber light soaring through the air alongside saber howls! 

Despite this, Wei Wuyin remained absolutely calm as if he wasn't being pressured a single lick! Instead, he would send mocking grins comfortably to the Legion Commander to elicit huffs and fierce yet hurriedly controlled rage. To be mocked by a mere mortal as an Ascended is like an ant mocking a full-grown titan. It was laughable to an outside party but infuriating to the one subjected to it. They would want to squash them vehemently.

However, the Legion Commander was cool-headed, yet the subsequent event took him off-guard.

SPURT! 

WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH!

"Argh!"

An arrow hit a Spirit of War's thigh, causing him to take a knee in pain and shock.

"Wh-WHY?! YO-" An arrow pierced that Spirit of War's skull from behind with extreme precision, piercing out from his glabella. The life in his eyes dimmed instantly, and his eyeballs escaped his skull from the sheer force. It was brutal as white fluid leaked from his eyes, reflected within his pupils as madness was being betrayed.

An archer smiled as he shouted in excitement, "I killed him!" Yet the other soldiers saw this and were startled. 

This scene didn't only happen in one location, but multiple simultaneously. The archers and spear throwers launched precise strikes at their allies, fiercely proud at landing a decisive kill. They even turned to the Legion Commander with smiles on their faces and elation in their eyes.

Instantly, the battlefield descended into chaos as some soldiers sliced at the neck of their allies. Some rushed forward to protect their commanders against other Spirits of War. A few even walked away as if no one was in front of them, job well done written all over their face. 

The Legion Commander's eyes through his dragon-head contracted. He hurriedly inspected the battlefield and noticed faint, illusory seven-colored roots extending outwards from the ground and wrapping themselves around certain limbs of his men. What the…

Wei Wuyin used this opportunity to launch a fiercely powerful saber ray towards the Legion Commander. It was extremely fast, his strongest attack unleashed in the battlefield. All the Spirits of War in its path were killed, unable to impede its speed in the slightest. 

The Legion Commander lifted his bracer and swung his arm towards the ray despite not looking in its direction. A burst of saber light erupted. When it dissipated, the Legion Commander was staring at Wei Wuyin with grimness. At the moment, Wei Wuyin had just severed three heads in a single swing of his saber, following fully through in magnificent fashion. 

As if noticing the dark gaze, Wei Wuyin turned to the Legion Commander, shrugged his shoulders, and then expertly somersaulted upwards to dodge a lethal sword strike from a soldier and sliced their head in half. He moved away from the Legion Commander to kill more. 

But this caused the Legion Commander to fume fiercely. That look and shrug. It said a single sentence: "I had to try, right?" Yet it was entirely unbothered by the failure, killing his men without hesitation and ease.

A mortal! 

A MERE FREAKING MORTAL!

His rage was blazing with the heat of a thousand solar stars! 

However, the issue wasn't Wei Wuyin. His eyes looked toward the gigantic spiritual image of a seven-colored tree that had low opacity in its form unlike the others, like ghosts depicted in stories. It felt like a phantom of a tree despite its gargantuan size. 

Yet its roots were the problem. It was nestled within the earthen layer somehow ,and its roots seemed to be multiplying, somehow affecting the perception and senses of his soldiers to confuse ally for enemy and enemy for ally. Some of these soldiers didn't react even in their last moments when the saber met their necks. 

How could a mere mortal have so many means? How could he be so fast?! Poison? Perception alteration? A saber at the mystic-rank? Four Soul Idols?! Each one was extremely terrifying!

"AHHHHHH!" The sound of someone falling resounded. The Legion Commander's heart chilled as he looked at the distance, noticing numerous holes had just popped up on the Battlefield, and soldiers were all falling fiercely downwards. Then, as if alive, these holes closed. 

Who knew how far their depths went! If it went to the depths of the continent, then these soldiers were already lost.

From sounds of betrayals and vengeful anger to deathly wails and severing of flesh, to screams of panic and fear after being caught by surprise, all of this was pressing heavily upon the Legion Commander's psyche! Was he fighting a mere mortal or an environmentally-manipulator, poison expert, perception-altering, elite saber-wielding soldier?! And he had to just wait it out?!

"Twenty-eight…"

6,421 Spirits of War roared in their hearts!