Anywhere where humans and Orcs lived had been bombarded with so many weapons of war over the six or so centuries that their civilization had managed to drag itself along for that, now, the entire land had turned into one giant swamp.
There was not a single piece of land solid enough to support Hao Xuan's weight, forcing him to continuously run over patches of black quicksand and hidden whirlpools.
Bringing the floodlight proved to be the right choice as well since without it Hao Xuan would have had to move at a snail's pace and even then it would have been extraordinarily dangerous.
Although there were no living beings present to get in his way, the terrain proved to be more than deadly enough on its own. There were some areas that he couldn't even get close to because the rampant energies were so strong there.