However, after being hit by Ling Zhen's cannonball, the Metal Man rolled around on the ground, sending sparks flying, but it didn't die, despite the great dent in its chest.
It only lay face down on the ground for a few seconds. Before the humans could finish it off, it was back on its feet again.
After that, it resumed its suspending “flying” motion with the blue glow and kept throwing concealed weapons at the humans.
Pa!
However, the ground ahead of it on its course suddenly caved in, turning into a boiling magma pool. Flames surged from it, and black smoke rose high into the sky.
Whoosh…
But with the blue glow, the Metal Man went right through the magma. The scorching flames and the orange magma did no damage to it whatsoever.
Was the Metal Men so resistant to fire and high temperature?
Obviously not!
Because the magma was nothing but an illusion.
Ji Ye put away the Mirage Dragon Pearl in his hand. Apparently, the object containing Transcendent power was meaningless to the Metal Men, because they didn't depend on the regular visual sense to perceive things.
“Chu Yin!”
Ji Ye then waved his red wood s.h.i.+eld to block another two metal pieces that quickly flew at him. He spoke to Chu Yin, whom he s.h.i.+elded and was holding the Topaz Pipa.
He had taken Chu Yin with him not only because she had reached the Extraordinary level, but Ji Ye had also wondered if the sound attack would have a special effect on these Metal Men since the Forest Monster King was able to kill them.
Clang!
The pipa made an abrupt sound.
She didn't play a tune such as the “General's Command” or “Ambush on All Sides”, but she had directly activated the unique extraordinary power of the Topaz Pipa—[Soul s.n.a.t.c.her]!
At an angle the Topaz Pipa was facing, the Metal Man whose chest had yet to recover jolted suddenly in its quick movement. Right after that, the blue light disappeared in an instant, and it tumbled again. It fell, creating a series of sparks as it scratched against the metal ground.
“It's working!”
Chu Yin's eyes that were as beautiful as a cla.s.sical painting lit up under her long, black eyelashes.
Ji Ye gave her this Topaz Pipa as soon as she joined the Twin Dragon Mount settlement. Although it had been proven effective in the previous battles, because of the characteristics of music in the Land of Inheritance, it was mostly used as an auxiliary instrument to boost morale, and the true power of this Extraordinary object had never been exerted.
Inevitably, it made her feel rather guilty. Doubtlessly, now that the pipa had an effect on these powerful Metal Men, she was excited.
“Indeed, it's working!”
“Yes.” Ji Ye nodded.
It was true. The Metal Man reacted strongly to soundwaves.
But he still needed further rea.s.surance.
Because the extraordinary power of the Topaz Pipa wasn't actually a pure soundwave attack, but it was a mental attack that was delivered by soundwave!
The sound that Ji Ye named as “Soul s.n.a.t.c.her” could theoretically make any ordinary man's heart quicken and head go blank so that he would lose control of his mind for a brief moment.
However, the stronger mind its target had, the more they could resist the attack, and the little effect it would have on them.
It was obvious that this Metal Man had lost control sooner than an ordinary man would have. Not only did it fall on the ground, but even the blue light around it had also disappeared.
That was to say, the weakness of these Metal Men was either the soundwave or the mental attack.
“Xiaoqian!”
It was very easy for Ji Ye to test which attack worked.
“Yes, Master!”
Nie Xiaoqian, who was also standing behind Ji Ye, nodded.
She then fixed her gaze on a Metal Man that was glowing in blue and moving quickly, and she enshrouded it with her invisible mental power.
Nie Xiaoqian had fused all the mental power of the Quasi-Commander of the Mirage Monsters. Having been a soul once, the power of her mental attack was almost as great as that of a real Commander-level Hero!
Boom!
This time, the Metal Man she targeted didn't tumble. Instead, it flew off course like a drunken man and directly knocked off two wounded Metal Men on the ground, who had only just managed to get up.
The impact b.u.mped its head completely into its chest.
“Indeed, they have strong physical bodies, but they're very weak in their mental power!”
Ji Ye seemed enlightened.
These Metal Men were resistant to crus.h.i.+ng, fire, and even lightning…
However, they were almost helpless when facing mental attacks!
This wasn't mentioned in the information in either the forum of the Land of Inheritance or the Confederation Office.
But strictly speaking, it was normal.
Because Metal Men were extremely rare, and of the hundreds of thousands of human settlements, only a handful had run into them. Mental attack, on the other hand, was a very rare ability for humans, and it was very hard to test.
“Although… I wonder if one other attack method other than the mental power works as well?”
Moving his red wood s.h.i.+eld, Ji Ye blocked another attack from the Metal Men.
He then looked up at the sky. Although it didn't rain today, the sun wasn't too bright either.
“Well, let's give it a go!”
“Roar!”
The next second, the Totem Wolf Skin s.h.i.+vered in his arms, and the Soul Alpha Wolf appeared next to Ji Ye with a silent growl.
However, under the direct sunlight, even the Extraordinary Soul Alpha Wolf couldn't stop the black soul energy from dissipating!
Pa!
Seeing this, Ji Ye flicked his finger, turning a drop of his blood into mist and fusing it into the Soul Alpha Wolf's body.
Well, after mastering the Flood Dragon Bloodline, he finally could bleed himself without cutting his finger with the Black Serpent Sword.
Hum!
With the faint blood-red color in it, the Soul Alpha Wolf was much better at resisting the sunlight.
And a strong Extraordinary Rank-5 energy woke inside it.
Roar!
With another silent roar, it charged at the unlucky Metal Man, who had been knocked down three times in a row and had finally managed to get up.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
Sensing the attack of the Soul Alpha Wolf, the Metal Man, who had been injured repeatedly, shot two metal pieces at it.
But they went right through the Soul Alpha Wolf without causing any damage.
Seeing this, the Metal Man was alarmed. Blue light shone on it, and it was ready to fly so that it could keep some distance from the Soul Alpha Wolf.
Clang!
However, its power was eliminated as soon as it was about to move.
Because the soundwave of the Topaz Pipa and a mental attack hit it almost at the same time.
The Metal Men flew so fast that theoretically, even the Soul Alpha Wolf couldn't catch up with them. But at the current stage, they couldn't be faster than sound or mental power!
“Roar!”
The Metal Man fell to the ground. The next second, the Soul Alpha Wolf with the blood color pounced on it and enshrouded it with a great amount of the black soul energy.
Instantly, the unfortunate Metal Man slowed down.
Only a few seconds later, the Soul Alpha Wolf formed a physical shape, while the Metal Man on the ground had stopped moving.
[“Kill Metal Man (Extraordinary…), gain EXP… Honor…”]
Ji Ye knew that had it not been for the fact that they were at war, he would have sensed the notification.
The attack of the Soul Alpha Wolf was even more effective than the mental attack of Nie Xiaoqian and Chu Yin.
After all, the latter couldn't kill them directly.
Of course, strictly speaking, it had easily killed a Metal Man because of Nie Xiaoqian and Chu Yin's mental attacks.
These Metal Men didn't have very strong souls, but they weren't completely defenseless against soul attacks.
An extraordinary power like electromagnetism could cause a great casualty to soul creatures. The blue light on the Metal Men when they moved at high speed was probably powerful enough to destroy low-level soul creatures!
Moreover, the Metal Men had metal such as silver in their bodies. Such metal had a property of warding off evil spirits so that ordinary soul creatures wouldn't dare to venture in.
Of course, Soul Alpha Wolf was obviously no ordinary soul creature. Having devoured the thousand-year-old Tree Demon and the soul power of some Dark Guards in the Battlefield of Providence, its soul level had reached the peak of Extraordinary Rank-4. With the help of the additional blood, it had risen to Extraordinary Rank-5.
Even a soul creature of Extraordinary level couldn't withstand its devouring, let alone a metal creature, whose soul wasn't very strong.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
At that moment, the rest of the Metal Men suddenly stopped their attacks. Instead, they turned and retreated, flying deeper into their territory.
Apparently, all the setbacks and the death of a member had made them realize that something had gone wrong, and they chose to abandon the first line of defense.
Seeing this, the men of the Twin Dragon Mount weren't in a hurry to chase them.
Ji Ye reached out and took a silver ball with a faint grey glow that the Soul Alpha Wolf brought back in its mouth.
[Silver Liquid]
[Level: Extraordinary Rank-1]
[Rarity: Common (offering)]
[Description: The silver blood is the core of the Metal Men. It has the ability to refine metal and control basic electromagnetic power. Once it's fused into the metal, it could change some of the metal's property and could even enable some metal to change shape!]
“That's very powerful… What a pity. It's an offering!”
Seeing the description, Qin Yueyu looked surprised.
“The first item dropped is listed as an offering; maybe the next few we kill will all be offerings!”
Wu Qiao looked even more surprised.
If this spoil of war wasn't an offering, it was definitely going to be a Rare object.
Because it would have significant value to both individuals and the settlement.
If it was used in a sacrificial ritual and fused with the person summoned here, the person would probably obtain special abilities similar to that of the Metal Men. The object would also be a rare material of the top grade if it was used in the research and manufacture of alloys and weapons.
“Master, our enemy has fled. Are we going after them?” Yang Zhi asked, eager for more battle.
“We can, but we'll wait for a moment.”
Seeing the rising moon, Ji Ye said, “Li Qing, go back to the settlement and tell Elder Hu to bring us all the war spoils left behind by the Soul race. We'll launch our official attack after sunset!”
Chu Yin and Nie Xiaoqian were the only ones in the Twin Dragon Mount who had mental attack abilities. But a lot more members had soul attack abilities!
The Tiger Soul Saber in Wu Song's hands and Ji Ye's Totem Wolf Skin had such abilities, not to mention Ninth Uncle and Gongsun Sheng, the two Daoist priests.
More importantly, after killing the Soul race last time, the spoils they obtained contained some objects that had soul attack abilities, which they had stored in the settlement!