March of the Dead—it should be said that this was the true face of yatsufusa. To single-handedly command an army of the dead in battle, only this could live up to the title of March of the Dead.
The army of corpse soldiers that now overwhelmed the Great Leader of the Foreign People was different from the eight corpse puppets that could be stored in yatsufusa's space. In yatsufusa's Teigu design, the yatsufusa corpse puppets were the generals of the army of the dead, while the active living corpses were merely soldiers. When they were infected by the waves of death and became active, they could not recover their damaged bodies, nor could they retain their memories or combat experience from when they were alive. They also could not be stored in a specialized Teigu dimensional space and carried around; they could only be instantly transformed from corpses on the spot. Living corpses could only fight based on the controller's will, driven by the instinct for slaughter.
The controlled corpse soldiers could only retain basic physical strength, but because they were dead, the brain's safety inhibition effect on physical strength disappeared after death. Therefore, the living corpses' strength was actually greater than when they were alive. At the same time, they retained the terrifying resilience and immortality common to undead creatures. They cared not for their bodies or vital points; unless completely smashed to pieces, they could continue to move and kill according to the controller's will.
The number of converted corpse soldiers also could not exceed ten thousand; this was yatsufusa's limit. If it exceeded this, yatsufusa's Teigu core would overload and be damaged. These ten thousand soldiers also needed to be driven by the Teigu User's soul light. For Lin, even if one corpse soldier was only a slight drain, ten thousand combined was a considerable burden.
But in comparison, the Great Leader of the Foreign People, surrounded by layers of living corpse soldiers, was in true grave danger. Even if he brought out his true strength, he could not escape his current predicament—
"Boom!!!"
At this moment, the Great Leader of the Foreign People had already discarded the hunting knife in his left hand, fully wielding the Teigu warhammer in his hand. After Lin's self-created ice meteor was smashed by that hammer, Lin already understood that the hammer's true ability was actually vibration.
It generated shockwaves at the moment of impact between objects, disrupting the molecular structure links of the object, thereby achieving the goal of shattering the target. To some extent, the harder the object, the easier it was to be smashed by this hammer, hence it was called "Shatterer of All Hardness."
Theoretically, only striking a physical object could generate shockwaves, allowing the shockwave's power to directly destroy the object's internal structure. However, the Great Leader of the Foreign People before her made Lin admit that she had underestimated him. As someone who held a status equivalent to an Imperial Grand General among the Northern Nomads, his strength was comparable to, or even surpassed, an Imperial Grand General!
He could even strike the air with his warhammer to generate shockwaves! The air vibrated by the warhammer striking forward instantly twisted the bodies of a large number of corpse soldiers in front of him into pretzels, sending them flying far away, never to get up again. One hammer blow to the ground, and the vibrating, shattering earth instantly pulverized and sent flying all corpse soldiers within a radius of tens of meters, scattering them across the entire battlefield.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!..."
Each swing of that short-handled, one-handed Teigu warhammer erupted with a deafening roar like thunder. The intensely vibrating atmosphere sent the surging tide of corpse soldiers flying into the air and scattering everywhere. Undeniably, this was a deeper application of the Teigu's abilities.
The forty-eight Teigu, each possessed more than one layer of ability restrictions and their respective secret techniques. The methods of activation and the levels displayed also varied. Some only had two levels of division, like Murasame and Noble Chariot; their surface Teigu abilities were excellent, but activating deeper ability restrictions was extremely difficult. Others, like demons extract, had extremely high usage requirements and immense load and consumption; their initial equipped effect was not as strong as Noble Chariot, but theoretically, they possessed the potential for infinite evolution.
yatsufusa in Lin's hand was also an extremely stable Teigu, but the March of the Dead, this secret technique that embodied the fundamental meaning of yatsufusa's design, was actually displayed for the first time in Lin's hands since the demonic blade was forged.
If one were to truly categorize the levels of Teigu ability usage, they could basically be divided into three stages: surface application, in-depth application, and awakening application.
Surface application means being able to use the most basic abilities immediately upon picking up the Teigu.
In-depth application is further developed as the Teigu User's mastery and understanding of the Teigu deepen, generally reaching the level of a Super Danger Beast in its prime.
The number of Teigu capable of awakening application is truly few and far between. This level first requires the Teigu itself to possess the ability to fuse with the Teigu User's body, directly changing the Teigu User's life form to a non-human state. In this form, the Teigu completely integrates with the Teigu User, and the Teigu's abilities become the Teigu User's own abilities. The Teigu User's human rationality is generally also submerged by the wildness of the Teigu's abilities, and the intensity of the ability will directly erupt to an unimaginable level, surpassing that of a Super Danger Beast.
However, no matter how the Great Leader of the Foreign People resisted and struggled, he could not escape his fate of destruction. Even if his warhammer could shatter fifty corpse soldiers with one blow, fifty more bodies would immediately rise. yatsufusa's March of the Dead limit could not exceed ten thousand, but it could remain constant! As long as there were usable corpses on the battlefield, there would always be ten thousand wolf-like corpse soldiers fighting. And at this moment, the corpses on the battlefield exceeded one hundred thousand!
Even if he shattered fifty with one hammer, ten thousand corpse soldiers would require two hundred blows, and one hundred thousand corpses would require two thousand blows. And at this moment, the total number of soldiers from both sides on the battlefield exceeded three hundred thousand! No one would think that the warhammer that could smash all hard objects was a feather-light artifact, would they? And how much strength would it take to strike the air for a large-scale destructive attack?
The life-and-death struggle of war continued, without a single superfluous word. The metallic clash of swords was the only communication between them, and the heads beneath their blades were the only desired trophies.
The slaughter continued until nightfall. In the cold north wind of the night, countless lives vanished from this world.
Lin sheathed yatsufusa, standing on the high ice platform, gazing at the first ray of morning light rising among the distant snow-capped mountains, then sweeping her gaze to the base of the ice platform.
At this moment, the Northern Region Grand Commander seemed unable to lift the one-handed Teigu warhammer. His massive body, over three meters tall, knelt on the ground, the warhammer resting beside him as he gasped for breath. Within a radius of three hundred meters around him, half a meter thick of skeletal debris was spread, already frozen into a solid mass by the night's heavy snowfall. His body was also riddled with wounds; his blood-soaked beast skin clothing was tattered, revealing countless dense injuries from swords, claws, and teeth, some light, some heavy. Several large wounds already faintly showed bone, and where his right eye should be, there was only a ferocious claw mark and a chilling bloody hole.
This Great Leader of the Northern Nomads was undoubtedly at the end of his rope. The battle on the battlefield had already ended. There was not a single soldier of the Northern Nomads' army to be seen on the entire battlefield. The continuous black-armored cavalry of the Seventh Expeditionary Force had surrounded him tightly, their spears and swords pointed, poised and ready. They only waited for Lin's command, and tens of thousands of javelins and throwing axes would engulf him.
Over fifty thousand revived corpse soldiers had already been smashed to pieces by that warhammer. The waves of death emanating from yatsufusa could no longer reach the more distant corpses, and there was no longer any need to specifically convert them.
Lin, from her elevated position, looked down at the defeated man's disheveled state with the demeanor of a victor, and said calmly:
"You have lost."
"Yes, we have lost..."
The Northern Region brute, kneeling on the ground, admitted defeat with a voice full of infinite bitterness. Not just himself, but all the main fighting forces of the entire Northern Region tribe were concentrated here. Now, being annihilated together meant the defeat of all the Northern Region people. The entire Northern Region snowfield no longer had any fighting force that could contend with this Imperial army.
"But you also dream of invading this snowy region... This God-given wind and snow is an eternal blessing from the heavens to us Northern Region warriors. Its embrace is not something you weak Imperial people can withstand!"
Indeed, while not the bitter words of a loser, it was a fact. The reason why the Empire was helpless against the Foreign People who constantly harassed the Northern Region snowfield was precisely because they could not cross the severe cold of this snowy region. Unlike the Northern Nomads, who were completely adapted to low temperatures, the Empire's soldiers' combat capabilities would directly decline once they entered high-altitude cold areas, and the transportation of logistical supplies was also a huge problem. All of this was because of this perpetually windswept sky; it was the greatest protection for the Northern Region's creatures from Imperial encroachment.
Lin looked at him expressionlessly, tilted her head slightly, and said:
"Finished your last words?"
The Northern Region Grand Commander, gasping for air with his head bowed, replied in a low, weak voice:
"Not yet... Not yet... Just one more sentence..."
"From the perspective of the Northern Nomads, you are a tough man. I'll give you a chance, speak."
"Then... go to hell!!!"
The Northern Region Grand Commander, who had been holding back, suddenly exploded with a roar, standing up and throwing the Imperial Armament warhammer in his hand at Rin, who was standing on higher ground, with a speed no one could react to!
The warhammer, thrown with full force, cut a diagonal straight line faster than a cannonball, tumbling through the air. The warhammer vibrated and distorted the atmosphere. At this moment, even if one could react, there was no room to dodge; anything blocking it would be shattered! This was the Northern Region Grand Commander's final, desperate strike. Having failed to kill an enemy in a war, he wanted to use this method to compensate for his regret before his death!
Let me drag you to hell with the Imperial Armament made by your Empire!
Unfortunately... this was ultimately just his plan.
Facing the Imperial Armament warhammer that had flown close in an instant, Rin's expression did not change in the slightest. At the moment the warhammer, which made the entire space vibrate, flew before her, Rin neither dodged nor blocked. Instead, she quietly raised her right arm, spread the five fingers of her right hand, and then gently grasped the handle of the warhammer tumbling through the air... Then, the shattered Imperial Armament warhammer settled steadily into Rin's hand.
Tossing the short-handled warhammer in her hand repeatedly, it spun three times in the air before falling precisely into Rin's hand. Rin, playing with it as easily as an inflatable toy hammer, looked at the dumbfounded Northern Region Grand Commander and said:
"Is your final will to return the Imperial Armament you illegally occupied to the Empire? Commendable."
Then Rin gripped the single-handed warhammer and raised it above her head, looking at the completely lost Northern Region Grand Commander and saying indifferently:
"As a reward for you, I'll use it to send you on your way."
Then she swung the warhammer in her hand downwards—
"Boom!!!"
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