Chapter 271: Earth Venerable Melee! |
Reforming a group of Dragon-Man souls had allowed you to gather a lot of intelligence.
For example, this Dragon-Man Sixth Expeditionary Army had a total strength of two hundred thousand.
It didn’t sound like much.
But these two hundred thousand were all elites, their realms all above the Fourth Realm, with top-tier fighting will and war spirit.
Furthermore, they had countless Five-Element Demon Spirit armies, Exotic Beast armies captured from other worlds and controlled using Dragon-Man technology, and numerous large-scale destructive Spirit Artifacts.
Plus, these "engineers" were constantly building bizarre facilities that favored Dragon-Man warfare.
You could tell.
When the Dragon-Man tribe waged world wars, they didn’t rely on their lower-ranking tribesmen.
The number of them participating in battle wasn’t large; they mainly relied on "technology" and top-tier combat power above Martial King.
If every world war required sacrificing the lives of low-ranking tribesmen to fill the gap, the Dragon-Man tribe’s rear wouldn’t be able to produce people fast enough to keep up with the death rate on the front lines.
“Frighteningly professional.”
When it came to world wars, the Dragon-Man tribe was still that authoritative.
Afterwards, you casually destroyed the Demon Sealing Nets in the area, told Black Wind to rest in the Cauldron Realm, and flew through the air towards the Holy Lands to assist the Three Great Holy Lands’ people with their retreat.
All Dragon-Man soldiers could fly, so their marching speed was very fast.
Moreover, from those "engineers," you also learned that their actual marching speed was faster than you had imagined.
There was a subspecies within the Dragon-Man tribe called the Swift-Winged Race.
This type of Dragon-Man was born with extremely high flight speed, and after cultivation, they could become as fast as lightning, even faster than Martial Kings and Martial Saints!
But the Swift-Winged Race was extremely fragile, and while their souls wouldn’t be taken by the Underworld after death, they couldn’t directly swap into another tribesman’s body.
The Swift-Winged Race typically had two uses.
The first was as scout vanguards, similar to light cavalry scouts among mortals.
The second was, like the group of Dragon-Men you just dealt with, serving as engineers.
Using their own extremely high flight speed, they would lead the main force, releasing "Wind-Soaring Seeds" into space as they flew.
These colorful seeds would float in the air for a short time without dispersing, forming an aerial path that resembled a rainbow.
Any living being on the Wind-Soaring Seeds would become light, as if a breeze was lifting their feet. Not only could they fly faster, but it also saved energy.
The Dragon-Man army used this to achieve extremely high marching speeds. Even with a large number of soldiers, they remained orderly and advanced at full speed, preventing the enemy from resting and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
“In that case, I’ll hitch a ride on your highway!”
You used Myriad Ghosts Go to Market, releasing a large number of soul bodies to search everywhere for that "rainbow road."
It didn’t take long to find it.
Flying on the rainbow road, you felt both light and energy-efficient, as if some force was pushing you from behind, helping you accelerate.
“The Dragon-Man tribe really has a lot of good stuff...”
Following this rainbow road, you pursued relentlessly.
However, a few days later, a tall Dragon-Man figure stood blocking the middle of the road.
“Ninth-rank Earth Venerable! Broken Star! Here to seek guidance!”
Without a doubt, that Tenth-rank Earth Venerable with the foul mouth, after escaping, must have returned to the main force and reported your situation.
With Broken Star blocking the way, you were forced into battle.
This fight wasn’t as easy.
Broken Star might not have known what Heartsteel was, but he had learned your characteristics from Moss, so he didn’t bring any subordinates with him.
After you released the Water Demon Spirit, he prioritized destroying it.
Fortunately, this only slowed down the rate at which Heartsteel’s stacks were built, not prevented it entirely.
Coupled with the fact that you were still the Alien's Biological Father, along with high-multiplier bonuses like Qilin Arm and Serious Punch, plus top-tier Martial Arts at Return to Simplicity and Pinnacle, and a collection of Immortal Artifacts.
When it came to single combat, a Ninth-rank Earth Venerable was still no match.
“Impressive indeed! Hahaha!
It’s been so long since I’ve encountered an opponent that gets me this excited! As expected of the human world, which once flourished—it’s still much stronger than those messy, random planes out there!
Well then, let me test my ultimate killing move!
Nine Heavens Thunder Dragon Horn Strike!!”
Broken Star’s dragon horns flashed with electric light. The surrounding air crackled and popped. The terrifying pressure caused the sea to roar in fury.
Broken Star transformed into a bolt of lightning and sped away into the distance.
You, who were already prepared to receive his attack, were left frozen in place.
“Holy sh*t!!!”
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner mocked you.
“Pal! They’re toying with you! Hahaha!”
A few days later, you encountered another roadblock.
This time it was an Eighth-rank Earth Venerable, Broken Bridge.
It was still a one-on-one fight, and you won.
This time, you were prepared. You had all the Immortal Artifacts ready in the area, determined to capture him the moment he tried to flee.
Unfortunately, from the Tenth-rank down to the Eighth-rank, the combat prowess of these Earth Venerables was continuously increasing.
Capturing an Eighth-rank Earth Venerable determined to escape required a bit of luck, and you had come just short of success.
The Dragon-Man tribe was deliberately blocking you, trying to prevent you from reinforcing the Holy Lands.
“It seems they know I’m different from the others.”
This wasn’t surprising.
Decades ago, you had already been targeted by them.
Now, they had probably confirmed your identity.
They knew you were a tough nut to crack, so they were stalling for time first.
And so, you had originally wanted to catch up to the Dragon-Man main force, but because of the Earth Venerables’ relay melee, your progress was delayed.
By the time you reached the Free and Unfettered Holy Land, all you saw were crumbling ruins.
Those familiar islands had almost all sunk.
Corpses floated on the sea surface—some human, some Dragon-Man, and some otherworldly war beasts brought by the Dragon-Men.
Countless fragments of armor and weapons drifted with the waves.
In the sky, a faintly fading rainbow road pointed straight towards the continent, indicating that this Dragon-Man army was still pushing forward towards the land.
“Why didn’t the Free and Unfettered God contact me? They should have reported the enemy’s progress...”
During this time, Shen Qingshan had contacted you.
He told you that the Starry Domains was under a fierce assault from the Dragon-Man army.
With the Sky-Earth Barrier plus the Icy Sealing Formation, it should have been extremely difficult to break through.
But the enemy didn’t even deploy any Celestial or Earth Venerables; they just used some strange cannons to blast it open.
Both sides were now engaged in a war of attrition at this breach.
Those directly fighting the Shen Family weren’t the Dragon-Men themselves, but the bizarre otherworldly giant beasts they controlled.
Just then, the Free and Unfettered Token rang.
“Is this the Free and Unfettered God?”
“No, it’s me, Shangguan Yingtai!”
Shangguan Yingtai, the Saint Master of the Mountain and Sea Holy Land. She was a female Saint Master with peak Martial Saint cultivation, said to be just one step away from the Martial God Realm—essentially a Half-step Martial God.
“Have the Dragon-Man troops arrived?”
“Yes! Our Mountain and Sea and the Sky Vault have combined our forces. We were heading to the Great Wastes to rendezvous with the Demon Tribe, but the Dragon-Men caught up! We’re in battle right now!”