As the mist dispersed, a ripple went through the assembled army. Everyone looked up, soft light spilling down, catching on their faces and in their eyes, coating them in a gentle radiance. They gazed upon the ancient palace nestled in the clouds with reverence, their eyes burning with fanaticism.
Within the Celestial Alliance, Samshit’s standing was equivalent to Ye Chen’s position in the Brightness Base City—he was regarded as a god, omnipotent.
Hummm.
The horns sounded, and the great army continued its advance.
Within the majestic palace, Samshit, one hand resting behind his back, slowly turned and entered the main hall. Moments later, several figures darted inside, approaching Samshit and bowing respectfully.
“My Lord.” A powerfully built youth, his head full of dark hair and a purple saber strapped to his back, spoke with deep deference. “According to Torgol, who was dispatched ahead, the Brightness Base City is resolute and refuses to surrender. Not only that, but they have detained him within the city and intentionally caused him injury!”
Samshit was seated on his cold crystal chair, swirling a glass of red wine. His voice was flat, betraying no discernible emotion. “Call him in.”
“Yes!” The purple-saber youth nodded, turned, and departed.
Not long after, he returned, escorting a middle-aged man with sharp, striking features—it was Torgol.
“My Lord!” Seeing Samshit, Torgol immediately dropped to his knees, his demeanor wretched. “It is all my incompetence that has diminished the majesty of our Celestial Alliance. I beg the Alliance Leader to spare my life.”
Samshit remained calm. “Explain the reason.”
“Yes!” Torgol looked utterly panicked, yet inwardly he sneered, thinking, The Brightness Base City has enraged the Alliance Leader. You are all finished this time!
He slowly recounted his trip to the Brightness Base City, though he significantly altered many details.
“My Lord, I treated them with courtesy when I arrived at the Brightness Base City. Unexpectedly, Xu Tianguo was ungrateful and tried to put me in my place. Upon seeing the invitation letter written in your own hand, he merely glanced at it before tearing it to dust! Moreover, he detained me, giving the excuse that he wanted me to stay a few days, but the real reason was to prevent me from reporting back. Fortunately, I was clever enough to use a communicator to report the situation.”
Torgol’s face was alight with feigned indignation. “Finally, when they realized their scheme was exposed, they tried to kill me! I shouted that an envoy between two armies must not be harmed, but Xu Tianguo ignored it. I was lucky to escape.”
A cold glint flashed in Samshit’s eyes. He spoke with a chilling tone, “The truly formidable entity in that Brightness Base City is Ye Chen. Did you see that person?”
Torgol shook his head. “No. Xu Tianguo said that with my standing, I was unworthy to meet Ye Chen. He said that if I wanted to see him, it would only be if the Alliance Leader himself came in person, and he must arrive on foot, without any blades or attendants.”
Samshit’s fist clenched slightly. “A fine Ye Chen indeed!”
Seeing his anger, Torgol was secretly delighted, though he feigned sorrow outwardly. “It is all my fault, My Lord. I leave the judgment to you.”
Samshit waved a hand. “You may leave.” His eyes flickered to two crooked characters embroidered on Torgol’s armor, and his brow furrowed. “What is that?”
Although he had acquired the ruins of the Atlantean civilization and possessed the Knowledge Tower, giving him knowledge of Chinese characters, these two were messy and indistinct.
Torgol’s face flushed with shame. “My Lord, after I fled, one of their City Management Department personnel embroidered these onto me. They are the characters for ‘Wang Ba’ [cuckold].”
Bang!
The armrest of Samshit’s cold crystal dragon throne dented inward. His face turned ashen, and a fierce, cold light flared in his eyes. “Insolent!” He suddenly paused, his brow knitting. “You said, the City Management Department?”
Torgol nodded firmly. “It is absolutely correct. That person was wearing the uniform of the City Management Department and had a medal.”
Samshit’s brow was deeply furrowed. “Even a minor City Management Department harbors someone powerful enough to injure you? It seems this Brightness Base City does possess some hidden depths… However, to think they can block our path with this alone is simply overestimating themselves!”
Torgol quickly agreed. “Yes, yes, yes…”
Samshit waved his hand dismissively. “You may leave now!”
Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Torgol quickly rose and took his leave, inwardly ecstatic. Thinking of Yang Baiyu’s shame, he ground his teeth. Once we conquer the Base City, I will make your life a living hell!
After Torgol departed, Samshit’s expression calmed, but his eyes became terrifyingly deep. “Accelerate the advance. Let me see for myself just what ability the founder of the Brightness Base City possesses!”
Silence filled the hall, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
One day passed. Outside the Brightness Base City, an area of over a hundred kilometers of glacier had melted into the sea, and many frozen monsters within had revived, now swimming and chasing each other freely.
Furthermore, through the transport efforts of the Purple Cloud Island Master, the white-robed elder, and others, nearly half of the Black Snail Bug Legion, stationed far in the Antarctic, had been moved back. This resulted in the hundred-mile ocean teeming with moving dragons and running beasts, an extremely chaotic scene, yet because the high-level island monsters controlled by the Black Snail Bug Legion maintained order, no internal slaughter occurred.
Looking down from the edge of the ocean, dark shapes swam beneath the azure water—a terrifying sight. If a living person fell in, they would instantly be torn to shreds by the swarm of sea beasts. On the second day, the senior leadership of the Brightness Base City felt a surge of joy—Bai Long and the others had emerged from seclusion!
After a year and a half of closed-door cultivation, the combat skills and battle instincts of Bai Long, Mo Feng, Zhuge Fan, Ye Zhu, and the others had reached an extraordinarily high level. With this group returned, the entire Base City seemed to revitalize.
In the main hall.
Bai Long and the others gathered around Xu Tianguo, inquiring about the events of the recent period. Upon learning of Ye Chen’s year-and-a-half disappearance, Ye Zhu gasped aloud, but relaxed only after hearing that he was safe.
“What? A faction of the Celestial Alliance has recently formed?”
“And they plan to attack us?”
Bai Long and the others were astonished.
Xu Tianguo shook his head, his expression grave. “This time, the survival of the Base City is at stake. That Celestial Alliance faction far surpasses the Brightness Base City, and their Alliance Leader is an extremely fearsome figure. Once he manages to tie down the President, one charge from their army could lead to the annihilation of the Brightness Base City!”
Mo Feng remained silent.
Bai Long couldn't help but ask, “Is there no way to avoid the fight?”
Xu Tianguo shook his head. “Their grand ambition is to rule the globe; a battle between us is inevitable!”
Yue Dan shrugged, his expression relaxed. “It’s death either way. If a fight truly breaks out, I’ll take a few enemies down with me. That alone would make this life worthwhile.”
Bai Long shot him a look, then turned to Xu Tianguo. “Where is Ye Chen?”
“He is in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Ghost God Realm!” Xu Tianguo sighed. “When the great battle begins, I will inform him. Otherwise, with just us, dealing with the Celestial Alliance Leader will be extremely difficult.”
Bai Long scratched his head. “Then there’s nothing we can do for now. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
The others exchanged glances, shrugged, and maintained a relaxed demeanor, not taking the threat too seriously. Xu Tianguo watched them, shaking his head with a wry smile.
After the meeting, Ye Zhu went to the exterior of the hall where Ye Chen was cultivating. She sat down quietly, gazing at the door, lost in thought.
Through her perception of energy, she could sense an incredibly terrifying aura contained within this side hall—like an ancient, savage beast, exuding surging killing intent. Thus, the guards at the door were not ordinary maids, but two Great Generals from the Military Affairs Department!
Generals who dominated the outside world were standing guard here.
A strange light glimmered in Ye Zhu’s eyes; no one knew what she was contemplating.
A calm before the storm settled over the Base City, until the third morning when the city’s alarm bells rang out, waking everyone.
In the distance, beneath the dark clouds overhead, a thin black line curved toward them, gradually approaching. It was an immense swarm of figures, dark and vast, stretching beyond sight!
According to scouts, the enemy force numbered five million! The remaining five million soldiers were still stationed at the Celestial Alliance headquarters, but even the five million already advancing meant they outnumbered the Brightness Base City soldiers by ten to one!
Although the quality of the Brightness Base City warriors meant one could take on ten, in mass combat, even great strength could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers—they could be buried by the tide, unless one reached Ye Chen's level, capable of ignoring the implications of mass fighting.
Above the army floated a majestic palace, causing hearts to tremble with fear. If this palace fell, it would crush countless soldiers beneath it.
“Report!”
“Report!”
“My Lord, large numbers of troops have been spotted three hundred miles ahead! Their vanguard has already entered the suburbs of Wuhan City!”
“Report! The enemy army is transporting large-scale military weaponry!”
Scouts from the Reconnaissance Battalion rushed back one after another, reporting to the Intelligence Bureau, which then vetted the useful information and forwarded it to Xu Tianguo.
“They are almost here?” Xu Tianguo sat atop the highest structure in the Ancient Martial City, his eyes narrowing slightly. “They are still a hundred miles away from the small ocean controlled by the Black Snail Bug Legion…”
He turned to his assistant and commanded, “Prepare the anti-air, anti-missile, and anti-nuclear weapon systems and troops. We must absolutely prevent them from launching large-scale weapons!”
If this hundred-mile-wide ocean area was to be destroyed, the only means would be nuclear weapons. If their nuclear capability could be contained, this ocean would truly become a massive asset!
Within the Base City! The Military Department housed a Division of Strategists, dedicated to gathering military talent from the peaceful era. Though most of them were elderly with low physical prowess, their status in the Base City was highly respected.
These seasoned veterans, full of intricate schemes, could certainly devise methods to neutralize the enemy's large weaponry—for example, activating the relic’s miniature satellite system to monitor enemy movements, or dispatching large numbers of troops for short-range engagements. Once the distance was closed, the enemy would have no opportunity to deploy nuclear weapons.
The entrance to the Ancient Martial Relic was opened to its maximum extent; it looked as if the entire Ancient Martial City had descended onto the land. Bai Long and Mo Feng led a contingent of generals, along with the three Yang Baiyu brothers of the City Management Department, and two thousand personnel from the City Management Department!
After a year and a half of development, these two thousand City Management personnel had all reached the 1500-level standard!
With the Base City’s Earth Spirit Spring as a foundation, after two years and two months, everyone who consumed a mouthful of the Earth Spirit Spring could reach level 350! Given the inherent talent of the City Management personnel, they could reach level 1000 through self-effort in one and a half years alone. Furthermore, the Base City had supplied many resources, so their progress was terrifyingly swift.