Yet, how could Lei Dong’s elite forces, the Hidden Dragon Army and the Fierce Ghost Army, be underestimated? Even with Lei Dong having concealed a vast amount of strength, he could still reliably block the enemy forces outside the Chaos Alien Dimension. That seemingly simple fortress stood like an insurmountable Great Wall.

After nearly a month of continuous assaults, apart from the pointless loss of hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder, the Holy Radiance King’s allied forces had achieved nothing. On the contrary, they faced protests from the various native races due to the heavy casualties sustained by their indigenous troops, leading some to become passively resistant in battle. Indeed, why should only they be the ones sent to die, while some elite races were allowed to observe the fighting from the rear and rest?

After continuous communication between the Holy Radiance King and the Abyss Lord, they unanimously agreed that they could not (ShuShuWu Alas, despite their meticulous calculations, neither could have imagined that the comprehensive strength Lei Dong had displayed thus far was merely a fraction of his true power. The defenders on the simple fortress appeared numerous and seemingly decreasing, but only a small fraction knew that the garrison troops were constantly rotating in and out of the Grotto-Heavens for rest and to accumulate combat experience. Consequently, although they had fought continuously for a month, resulting in the deaths of several hundred thousand enemy soldiers, Lei Dong’s strength had not diminished; instead, it had surged considerably. In the Grotto-Heavens, the time flow ratio was one to ten, and this vast amount of time was enough for many individuals already at the peak of the Golden Core stage to advance to the Nascent Soul stage. And Lei Dong, sparing no expense, was pouring all his resources into forging his true powerful army. The souls of the hundreds of thousands of enemy troops were also valuable, providing Lei Dong with an immense amount of Chaos Spiritual Energy. Coupled with the yield from the numerous Chaos Spirit Gathering Arrays he had arranged over the past month, he had acquired a total of six Chaos Crystals.

The reason Lei Dong maintained a low profile was twofold: first, he did not wish to expose his true capabilities, which concerned the ‘Three’ (Rén); second, he needed to buy himself more time. Since he controlled the Chaos Alien Dimension, every day spent there benefited him further. If the Holy Radiance King and the others were not in a hurry, why should Lei Dong be?

On Lei Dong’s side, the war was commanded by Ding Wanyan. Among Lei Dong’s faction, Ding Wanyan always held the status of Lei Dong’s officially wedded primary wife, and her royal lineage lent her an air of inherent grace and nobility. Thus, in the eyes of both the Hidden Dragon Army and the Fierce Ghost Army, she was their matriarch, deeply respected. Furthermore, she was no mere ornament; not only was her personal combat prowess outstanding, but she was particularly adept at mediation and logistical coordination, silently managing the myriad details of supply and overall resource allocation for Lei Dong.

Because Ding Wanyan performed so excellently in this area, she commanded immense prestige within Lei Dong’s faction, and everyone was thoroughly convinced by her authority. When the Master was absent, all major and minor affairs were decided by the Mistress.

Warlords such as Dongfang Fu, Tianmo, Lei Long, and Zhenmao were all assigned to Ding Wanyan’s command. This battle fully demonstrated the profound secret of delaying time.

This day seemed perfectly ordinary. However, following the tide-like rush of cannon fodder armies, an elite force of Cyclops emerged. These Cyclops had inherited some of the War Giants’ innate power, making them astonishingly large. As soon as they appeared, they began hurling colossal boulders, each the size of a small mountain, toward the simple fortress.

Those stones struck above the fortress, met by the Mountain Protecting Defense Array, which rippled violently upon impact. Under the fierce barrage, the array began to look unstable, on the verge of collapse.

Standing on the city wall, Ding Wanyan watched the scene from afar, her brow slightly furrowed. Although she didn't take the mere few hundred Cyclops too seriously, she understood this was a signal. The enemy was starting to lose true patience and was preparing to expend any cost necessary to breach the fortress and storm into the Chaos Alien World.

Lei Dong’s decision to lead his army here was originally to buy time for his allies, and secondarily, to gain as many advantages as possible. However, sacrificing too many of his subordinates to counter the desperate assault by the Abyss Lord and the Holy Radiance King was simply not worth the cost; the losses would exceed the gains.

Deeply aware of Lei Dong’s intentions, Ding Wanyan hesitated no longer and activated a communication array, beginning to disseminate certain messages and orders externally. Just as she finished, her expression suddenly shifted, and a wave of discomfort washed over her, an irrepressible urge to vomit rising.

“Wanyan, are you alright?” Dongfang Fu, who had been close friends with Ding Wanyan since childhood, rushed forward and supported her, asking with concern, “You’ve been guarding the wall constantly recently; perhaps your mind is too tense? Are you feeling fatigued?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Ding Wanyan shook her head. With her initial-stage Soul Transformation cultivation, her physical resilience was already at an astonishing level, far beyond what others could imagine. Never mind commanding the defense for a month; even a year wouldn't cause such exhaustion. Immediately, she guided her divine sense inward to inspect her own body. Suddenly, her face revealed an expression mixing shock and delight.

“Wanyan, what is it?” Dongfang Fu asked, confused.

“Nothing, I just zoned out for a moment,” Ding Wanyan replied, a hint of blissful smile touching her lips. She placed a slender hand gently over her lower abdomen and instructed, “Dongfang, would you trouble yourself to lead five hundred White Armor troops to eliminate those Cyclops? Otherwise, if we allow them to continue running rampant, our protective array will shatter.”

Dongfang Fu, of course, would not refuse. Although she had never formally declared her allegiance to Lei Dong’s faction, almost everyone, including herself, tacitly accepted her as a core member of Lei Dong’s forces. Moreover, Lei Dong treated her exceptionally well; all her benefits were almost identical to Wanyan’s. Otherwise, no matter how exceptional Dongfang Fu’s innate talent was, it would have been impossible for her to advance to the Soul Transformation realm in just a few short centuries.

Clad in black, high-grade spiritual treasure battle armor, Dongfang Fu led five hundred Winged God Clan White Armor troops, plunging into the enemy ranks like a sharp blade. Wherever they passed, ice and snow boiled, and blood sprayed; their target was fixed directly upon the group of Cyclops.

When a Soul Transformation expert enters the enemy ranks, it is like a wolf among sheep—unrivaled. Even those existing at the Nascent Soul level could hardly withstand two fierce blows from Dongfang Fu. Furthermore, she was not alone; the five hundred White Armor soldiers behind her, though controlled by a Mind Demon, still retained their formidable power and fought with a terrifying, fearless frenzy.

In a battlefield suppressed by an Anti-Air Array, this terrifying vanguard unit charged forth with overwhelming might. How could the native troops, who were barely more than cannon fodder, hope to resist? After forcefully carving a path of slaughter, Dongfang Fu let out a piercing, battle-frenzied cry. Her form blurred, moving almost into a thin line, as the profound ice energy surrounding her transformed into countless sharp blades, rampaging like a violent whirlwind. Dozens of fearsome and brutally strong Cyclops were directly sliced and torn into pieces.

“Shi Shen experts,” several powerful Cyclops cried out in fear and misery, their morale plummeting instantly.

But Dongfang Fu was the complete opposite. Having perfectly inherited and innovated upon the traditions of the Tianmo lineage, on the battlefield, she was like a savage God of Slaughter. When her battle intent reached its peak, even the Cyclops at the Nascent Soul level could not withstand one or two of her moves before crashing down.

In mere moments, more than two hundred Cyclops were slain by Dongfang Fu and her contingent. The remaining Cyclops, terrified, began to lose cohesion and retreated toward the spatial rifts.

“Aooo-aaooo~” An exceptionally tall Cyclops, whose body seemed forged from black iron, strode across from within a rift. The aura emanating from it was oppressive and suffocating. Moreover, after it squeezed through the spatial rift and appeared in the Chaos Alien Dimension, its size continued to surge.

In just a few breaths, its figure swelled by dozens of feet, becoming a terrifying giant thirty to forty feet tall, comparable to a high-rise building.

“Roar~” Seeing the pulverized corpses of its kinsmen scattered everywhere, the giant was instantly engulfed in furious rage. It roared at Dongfang Fu, and then an invisible sound wave spread out in a fan shape. The surrounding space itself was blasted into fragments by the terrifying sonic attack, creating patches of black holes, and the fragments were carried outward by the shockwave.

Dongfang Fu was slightly alarmed. She immediately retracted the pervasive profound ice energy and formed an arched, crystalline ice wall in front of her. The wall resisted most of the sound wave and spatial debris before shattering explosively. A few spatial fragments managed to shred seven or eight White Armored soldiers.

“Daga King, Daga King!” Upon seeing their tribal kingly leader appear, the demoralized Cyclops suddenly found their backbone. They roared loudly in the abyssal native tongue, turning to charge back toward the White Armored soldiers.

The Cyclops King, Daga, was considered a notable figure among the experts of the Six Domains and Nine Provinces. Although far inferior to supreme beings like the Netherworld Ghost Emperor or the Abyss Lord, he was at least widely recognized as one of the peak experts. He was also the king of the Cyclops race.

Facing this long-renowned, established peak expert, Dongfang Fu did not retreat a single step; instead, her fighting spirit soared even higher. Her figure flickered slightly, and she summoned a vast expanse of profound ice energy with a graceful hand: “Daga, since you dare show yourself here today, this is the day you die.”

Hiss~

The profound ice energy condensed in the void into ten thousand icy blades, raining down upon Daga from all directions.

“Insolent little human,” the Cyclops King Daga was not unintelligent, and a trace of cunning flashed through his savage eyes. A thick, bronze-colored protective aura coalesced around his body, allowing him to withstand the icy blades head-on. He strode forward to charge at Dongfang Fu, his massive hand swinging, and suddenly a colossal cudgel appeared in his grip, which he swung down at Dongfang Fu with unparalleled dominance.