Chapter 2659 - The Art of the Sword

It could be said that the Swordgod Lin Clan was the only organization that had developed team battles with astralships as the main force. However, they had always been part of the Infinitum Bodhimanda. Therefore, their tactics were mostly used in small-scale battles against pirates. They had never been used on such a large scale as they were today, and they had naturally never been used against the ebons, sanctlighters, and other regal clans.

When the sword-ships suddenly turned and got into a formation with all their tips pointed at the Second Exterminatus Army, many controllers of their ships were stunned. In their understanding, it was time for a brawl with the astralships. Brawls were naturally chaotic. However, these Lin Clan members were using ships like an army?

At that instant, the biggest difference between the two sides was revealed.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Listen to my command.... Charge up!" Lin Xiao's voice only needed to reach the ears of hundreds of controllers of astralships, which was enough. He stared at the progress of the enemy's ragtag army and began counting.

The enemy's astralships were also charging up, but it was uneven and some even prematurely released their energy.

That indicated that, although both sides had a similar number of starships, the Second Exterminatus Army was composed of various factions under the ebons, and they had some problems in transmitting information and executing orders.

That problem had been ignored before the battle.

The Infinitum Bodhimanda had always prohibited starship battles on Ebonia. The astralships that belonged to the ebons could still form a unified rhythm like the Lin Clan's sword-ships, but the rest of them couldn’t coordinate well. It was a downside that the ebons hadn’t anticipated when they formed alliances.

Such differences wouldn’t have had a significant impact if the strength difference was substantial. But when both sides were evenly matched, those subtle differences became the key to opening up the gap.

On the side of the Second Exterminatus Army, the activation of their divine astralship formations resulted in a series of explosions, with some ships even going off course and nearly hitting their teammates!

On the other hand, the Lin Clan had formed a formation, and such situations were impossible. More importantly, the eruption of the miniature nova sources of hundreds of astralships occurred at the same instant.

"Three! Two! One! Attack!!" With Lin Xiao's passionate shout, the neatly arranged sword-ships all shimmered as surging nova source flowed from the sword bodies to sword tips. It burst out, forming colorful and gigantic sword energy beams.

Boom!

Unlike the enemy's eruption, the Lin Clan's astralships only made a single sound! But that one sound completely suppressed the chaotic noise from the enemy because it was solid, coordinated, and orderly. Every Lin Clan member knew that, in terms of talent, they weren’t particularly strong among the regal clans. The reason they had come so far was that they were united, willing to dedicate themselves to the clan, and proud of their bloodline! They were all part of the Lin Clan!

Inside the astralships, a billion Lin Clan members joined hands, their belief overwhelming.

In that moment, the sword energy columns erupted from hundreds of sword-ships and converged into one, forming a colorful, supermassive sword in the starry sky that shot out in an instant. Such a perfectly coordinated eruption was the result of the Lin Clan's ancestors honing their skills over countless generations spent wandering the starry sky, crossing interstellar trade routes and living on the edge. If they didn't do it this way, how could they ensure the safety of ordinary Lin Clan members who traveled far from home for a living?

The ancestors had always done the right thing, and it was the descendants who reaped the benefits!

The ebons and the other regal clans had never paid attention to how the lower-ranking Lin Clan offspring safely navigated the starry skies. Thus, they were completely unprepared for the fact that, in what seemed like two equally matched teams, the first wave of attacks would create such a gap.

"What?" Most of the Second Exterminatus Army believed that, in terms of astralships, theirs were larger, and their power was thus naturally stronger. But when they saw the colorful giant sword from the opposite side shooting toward them, they were dumbfounded.

"What’s that?!"

Too fast, too powerful!

The power of countless astralships from the Second Exterminatus Army collided with that colorful giant sword. Unsurprisingly, they instantly disintegrated, and the shockwaves even directly devoured quite a few ships.

This supermassive sword created an explosion of light that crushed the power of many ships and stabbed into the enemy army. Many of the Second Exterminatus Army's ships were directly sent flying by the shockwaves, their divine astralship formations damaged to some extent. One attack had directly broken the Second Exterminatus Army!

The burst of colorful nova source created a vortex that resembled fireworks. Sword energy scattered in all directions, causing many ships to tremble. In the front, two sanctuary-class ships had borne the brunt and been cleaved in twain! Many astral gods escaped from them, scattering into the starry sky. However, they were screaming in pain and some even died on the spot.

"How did this happen...?" Many people were dumbfounded on the spot. They’d already been frightened several times by the Lin Clan, and they even had curses in their hearts. They had originally thought that this would be their opportunity to wash away their shame, but in their first encounter, they were unexpectedly defeated by a single sword beam!

Losing the initiative and losing confidence were absolutely fatal! Most importantly, they simply didn't understand. Clearly, their strengths were equal, so how had they been defeated by a single attack?

The supermassive sword had left the Second Exterminatus Army—who originally had no formation—look even more like a group of headless flies, completely disorganized as they madly flailed and flew about in the starry sky.

The six regal clans could only control their own clan's ships for a moment. As the orders became chaotic, some clans didn't even know whose orders to follow. And that was a grave mistake in warfare.

The giant sword continued sweeping through, scattering the army, destroying ships, and slaying astral gods!

The result was like a thousand swords piercing the heart.

"Are we going to lose again?"

"Are we going to be embarrassed again?"

"Are we going to collapse again?"

Such remarks spread through the crowd in an instant.

"Shut up, all of you! We’re at a disadvantage in terms of coordination! From now on, everyone remain silent and listen to my orders! We aren’t burdened by normal gods and cargo, so as long as we coordinate well, we’ll definitely win the fight!" Fortunately, Shenxi Tianxi had quickly realized the problem and reacted, forcefully seizing control and frightening those who’d just spoken nonsense into silence.

Upon hearing his powerful words, many people felt a bit more at ease and their thirst for revenge resurfaced. However, they themselves didn’t know that even Shenxi Tianxi was feeling nervous, because he had to admit that even he hadn’t expected the Lin Clan to have such a foundation in astralship battles.

On Ebonia, everyone cared about their place on the reges mundi ranking, and astralships were neglected. That oversight had directly led to the neglect of abilities like the Lin Clan's! What kind of difference could such abilities create?