The world of Jin was vast and boundless. The contingent of 800 warriors from the Gan Ye Tribe, along with Luo Feng, moved forward under the guidance of the True God "Bei Yan," occasionally utilizing instantaneous movement and at other times flying at high velocity. The journey itself revealed numerous dangers, causing a sense of novelty among the tribal warriors who had never adventured in the Jin World before.
"I've long heard that Jiuyan Marsh is guarded by monstrous beasts belonging to three Void True Gods, commanding large hordes of creatures," Bei Feng looked down, sighing in wonder. "Even the Dong Jun (East Army) sends quite a few forces to attack Jiuyan Marsh to train their warriors. It truly lives up to its formidable reputation."
Luo Feng also gazed down.
It was an immeasurably immense marsh, shrouded in swirling mist. Monstrous beasts materialized vaguely within the vapor, and the sheer number of True God-level existences was staggering.
This constituted a terrifying force, perhaps ten times stronger than the Gan Ye Tribe itself.
"Three Void True Gods," Luo Feng murmured, equally astonished.
In truth, one could discern that the Jin World was principally divided into two major factions: the tribal forces and the monstrous beast forces. Both sides, however, submitted to the dominion of the Army. The Army was the truly supreme authority; yet, for the purpose of tempering their warriors, the Army would dispatch ordinary soldiers to attack certain monstrous beast factions or tribal forces.
However, such 'attacks' were always low-intensity skirmishes, requiring no intervention from a Void True God.
They advanced continuously.
Even Luo Feng, a mere 'pseudo-traveler,' found his horizons broadened, marveling at the sheer number of formidable beings within the Jin World.
"The Gan Ye Tribe alone has several hundred, even a thousand True Gods. In places like Jiuyan Marsh, there are tens of thousands of True Gods," Luo Feng mused internally. "The Jin World is filled with countless tribes and countless beasts—just how many powerhouses must the Army possess?" True God Bei Yan led the way, and thanks to the supreme flying warship—a Supreme Treasure—the journey was safe, though everyone’s experience was significantly enriched.
After advancing for approximately three months.
"We are about to reach the Dong Jun military camp," True God Bei Yan proclaimed loudly, observing the distant horizon.
"The Dong Jun military camp?"
The tribal warriors all looked forward. Luo Feng scrutinized the distance intently. An endless pressure radiated faintly from the edge of the sky. As the warship sped closer, the view gradually clarified, revealing endless, rolling military barracks stretching across the horizon.
"This is the Dong Jun military camp," Luo Feng felt a surge of anticipation.
He knew that the armies in the Jin World were divided into four forces: East, South, West, and North. Although all were loyal to His Majesty the God King, these four armies were perpetually locked in competition with one another.
"It's so immense!" As they drew nearer, the warriors of the Gan Ye Tribe couldn't help but exclaim.
It was truly breathtaking.
The barracks stretched out of sight, an unbroken expanse of military encampments, where densely packed warriors were visible everywhere. The most common sight, naturally, was the 'Universe Masters.' Beyond the countless warriors, there were also 'monstrous beasts' that had joined the Army—creatures of every conceivable form, astounding the assembled warriors, including Luo Feng.
"What is that?"
"Hmph?"
"So tall?"
The tribal warriors suddenly noticed magnificent, strange structures standing deep within the camp. Each structure soared hundreds of millions of kilometers high; the nearby warriors appeared minuscule by comparison.
"Hmm?" Luo Feng observed carefully. These colossal structures, reaching hundreds of millions of kilometers, resembled 'gigantic spherical fortresses.' At a glance, there seemed to be thousands of these spherical fortresses. In addition to these, surrounding and beneath them were masses of strange creatures resembling winged birds.
"Those are Machines!" True God Bei Yan exclaimed in awe. "Those are powerful mechanisms created by the Mechanical Life forms!"
"Machines?"
"Are these the mechanisms that allow many warriors to combine their power for devastating attacks?"
"The legendary machines capable of easily annihilating Void True Gods?" The tribal warriors became incredibly excited.
Luo Feng also watched with fervent interest. He was certainly aware of mechanical-stream treasures, but previously he only knew about them through the inheritance of the Duan Dong River lineage. Seeing actual mechanical-stream treasures in person was rare. And those objects in the distance were a massive collection of mechanical-stream artifacts.
"Annihilate Void True Gods?" True God Bei Yan nodded. "Yes. Look, the tallest spherical machine, named 'Jin Luo Heaven and Earth,' requires at least one million True Gods to be fully operated. Its maximum capacity can reach ten million True Gods. They only need to unleash a single, collective strike to exterminate a swarm of Void True Gods."
Luo Feng was greatly shocked.
Ten million True Gods at maximum capacity? Such a mechanism would rank among the absolute pinnacle, even according to records of ancient civilization heritage.
"The proudest creations of my Jin World are the Jin Luo Heaven and Earth," True God Bei Yan said proudly. "The materials used are optimized to the extreme, achieving peak might. Furthermore, they are capable of mass production! Over endless ages, the Dong Jun alone has manufactured countless Jin Luo Heaven and Earth constructs. Even if all warriors of the Four Lost Armies used the 'Jin Luo Heaven and Earth,' they wouldn't be enough. We built far too many—they were originally intended for His Majesty the God King, meant for campaigns abroad.
But His Majesty the God King hasn't summoned his warriors for a very, very long time."
Luo Feng nodded silently.
Such ultimate weapons as the Jin Luo Heaven and Earth were indeed intended for external conquest. Internal struggles within the Jin World would never deploy such machinery.
"Look, those smaller, bird-like machines next to the Jin Luo Heaven and Earth are the famous 'Jiu Xiu.' They are also one of the greatest prides of my Jin World," True God Bei Yan introduced. "The Jiu Xiu requires at least a hundred True Gods to power it, but can accommodate up to a thousand True Gods at most."
"The Jiu Xiu are renowned for their speed and agility! Their defenses are also formidable. Although their offensive capability is limited to just one type of attack, they are extremely effective in large-scale warfare," True God Bei Yan explained.
Luo Feng listened and nodded slightly.
Not every type of machine was suited for truly massive warfare.
The Ancient Civilization, teeming with powerhouses, conducted horrific large-scale battles between its major factions. Some mechanisms... might simply be destroyed the moment they hit the battlefield. While mechanisms are immensely useful when one’s own power level is lower, they tend to become disadvantaged when facing entities at the level of Third Generation Ancestors or God Kings.
However, for True Gods and Void True Gods, mechanisms are incredibly useful!
A good mechanism must be adaptable to war, manufacturable on a large scale, and utilize materials as sparingly as possible... this indeed involved complex considerations.
"That God King must have perished long ago," Luo Feng thought. "Without the God King’s summons, the armies of the Jin World can only follow previous directives: continuously manufacture mechanisms, continuously prepare forces, waiting for the call. But perhaps they will never receive it. These mechanisms... will likely just go to waste." Luo Feng shook his head internally.
He held no ambition for those mechanisms, either.
Because...
They required too many powerhouses. The Jin Luo Heaven and Earth needed at least a million True Gods! How could one possibly gather that many in the 'Sea of Universe'? Even the Jiu Xiu required at least a hundred True Gods, still far exceeding the capacity the Sea of Universe could bear.
"The Ancient Civilization was truly formidable," Luo Feng mused with emotion.
Given such power, Luo Feng wasn't surprised.
The existence of a super mechanical-stream ultimate treasure like the Cosmic Boat allowed Luo Feng to faintly perceive the ultimate level of power the Ancient Civilization could wield. Even an average person could easily deduce that if the combat power of one Cosmic Boat could fully manifest as True Gods, even hundreds of millions of True Gods would be nothing but ants.
"It's a pity that the Cosmic Boat was damaged and remains stationary forever."
"And that humanoid creature, suspected to be the God King, lies there forever."
"The successive predecessors of the Duan Dong River lineage have all perished, leaving only me," Luo Feng sighed at the cruelty of fate.
Only by observing the Jin World could one glimpse vestiges of the Ancient Civilization.
The Dong Jun military camp was unimaginably vast.
About a quarter of the entire Jin World's tribal and monstrous beast factions would come to the Dong Jun territory to join its ranks. Thus, 'warriors' arrived daily to enlist. Screening and assessment were already extremely strict, causing the line of warriors waiting for assessment to stretch into an endless queue that could not be seen from end to end.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" As the warship descended, on a nearby plain, two other palace-level treasures were seen landing easily—evidently, they were also delivering warriors.
"Quick, hurry out!" "Don't be so slow, move it!" Under True God Bei Yan’s shouts, the 800 warriors of the Gan Ye Tribe, including Luo Feng, quickly disembarked, arriving on the plain.
"Go over there, join the line," True God Bei Yan commanded repeatedly. "Wait for screening. You little whelps... don't fail even at joining the Army." With True God Bei Yan, who knew everything, leading the way, everything proceeded swiftly.
The 800 tribal warriors, including Luo Feng, soon arrived at the very end of the long, coiled queue and promptly began to wait their turn.
"Uncle, how long will this take?" Bei Feng asked anxiously.
Luo Feng also looked ahead. It was truly a sea of faces—no, beyond humanoid creatures, there were also numerous monstrous beasts mixed in. Clearly, not just tribal forces were joining the Army.
"It looks like there are about 800,000 waiting in line right now," True God Bei Yan judged with a sweeping glance. "At the normal pace, your turn should come in about half a month. Just wait.
Don't rush, everyone. Calm down and prepare yourselves. In the most basic screening to just join the Army, only about one-third normally succeed; the other two-thirds perish."
Luo Feng’s eyebrows jumped.
Two-thirds perish just trying to join the Army?
"Don't bring shame upon the Gan Ye Tribe," True God Bei Yan roared. He then immediately left, going over to converse with some of the other True Gods in the distance. "Haha, Zan Xie Tribe, your warriors have arrived too. Oh, the little ones look promising."
Those True Gods exchanged pleasantries.
True God Bei Yan certainly wouldn't leave in a hurry; he would wait, at least to see how many of his Gan Ye Tribe warriors managed to enter the Army this time.
Time elapsed.
Warriors from various tribes and beasts from different territories underwent continuous, bloody screening. Roars, howls, and cries of agony constantly echoed from the front of the line, indicating the extreme cruelty of the Army's selection process. Luo Feng continuously moved forward with the queue, and indeed, after half a month, it was their turn.
"Next batch, three thousand people, all come in," as a monstrous beast with blood-red curved horns surveyed and roared, the 3,000 warriors (including beasts) from the Gan Ye Tribe and Luo Feng were all ushered forward to undergo the bloody screening process for joining the Army.