As Luo Feng and the Captain's groups of soldiers waited silently near the edge of the True God battlefield like predators seeking an opportunity, the most frenzied fighting within the entire Nine Smoke Marsh battle was undoubtedly occurring at the 'Lord of Flame' level—a battle of sheer, maniacal intensity. Countless weaker or poorly defended Lords of Flame perished.
The Lords of Flame from both Xuan Yu Mountain and Nine Smoke Marsh numbered well over ten million combined! And by now, one-third of them had already fallen! This was a trial by fire, a ruthless selection process! The Lords of Flame who survived this forging and endured this terrifying sifting might very well rapidly break through to become True Gods!
"That idiot Yin He! Still trying to get True God corpses? Do you think True God corpses are so easy to obtain?" Wu He flicked his tail, weaving rapidly across the vast expanse of the Nine Smoke Marsh battlefield, occasionally letting out crazed roars as he charged towards the tribal warriors of the 'Xuan Yu Mountain' faction.
"Kill!"
"Kill these bastards from Xuan Yu Mountain!" Wu He roared, bellowing commands.
Other strange beasts accompanied him, roaring in unison, charging the tribal warriors.
After all, the Nine Smoke Marsh was too immense, and the number of Lords of Flame too great. New Lords of Flame might be born while old ones perished... Therefore, for any single Lord of Flame, knowing even 80% of their comrades in the Nine Smoke Marsh was an achievement. Seeing Wu He was a strange beast and was fighting alongside them against the 'Xuan Yu Mountain' tribal warriors, they simply assumed he was an unfamiliar companion.
"Kill, kill." Wu He engaged in frenzied slaughter, but whenever a beast beside him fell, he would swiftly collect the dropped weapons, armor, and other gear.
"After fighting for three months, I've only earned 1,200 military merits." Wu He felt a creeping anxiety within.
But the battlefield was too large.
He could only collect dropped weapons and armor nearby! And he had to carefully evade numerous dangers, as the battlefield was chaotic; one moment of carelessness could mean even his demise.
...
In another sector of the immense Nine Smoke Marsh battlefield.
"Everyone, be extremely cautious. While our strength ranks high among the Lords of Flame, this is a war involving over ten million Lords of Flame! Qu Luo Yi and the other one fell precisely because they weren't careful enough. We are still far short of military merits; we must remain vigilant and careful," led by Ku Fa, a contingent of soldiers was also mixed into the fray.
They were all disguised as tribal warriors, naturally posing as members of the 'Xuan Yu Mountain' faction.
"Yes."
"Understood."
"We still need so many military merits." Every soldier was intensely anxious.
On the surface, this was true. But deep down, these soldiers understood: if one comrade died, the weapons and armor previously acquired from the Nine Smoke Marsh beasts by that comrade would become theirs. The ten soldiers combined had just surpassed ten thousand pieces of weaponry and armor, enough to exchange for over ten thousand military merits, guaranteeing at least one soldier could survive this mission.
A comrade's death was, ironically, beneficial to them. However, no one wished for their own death.
...
Ku Fa's group, Yu Luo's group, and the solitary Wu He were all striving within the Lord of Flame battlefield to snatch up weapons and armor belonging to the 'Nine Smoke Marsh faction,' though they could supplement this with a small portion of salvaged gear from slain 'Xuan Yu Mountain' powerhouses. As long as the army couldn't detect any discrepancies, it would suffice!
But the Nine Smoke Marsh was simply too vast! How much salvaged equipment could these three groups possibly acquire? It was destined... that most of them would either die on the battlefield or face court-martial later!
Even so! They dared not venture into the True God battlefield.
...
At the edge of the True God battlefield, this engagement had already spanned nearly four months.
Luo Feng remained calmly waiting for his moment. But the Captain’s contingent of soldiers had descended into internal strife.
"Captain! You are always so fearful of this and that. Once this war passes, how will we ever have a chance to amass massive military merits?" A lean soldier clad in dark gold armor transmitted furiously, "Without merits, we'll just have to flee. But the army will hunt us down; even if we escape temporarily, we won't live long. We must earn military merits too."
"Right, Captain, we can't keep going like this."
"We need to live too!"
"We need merits!"
Several soldiers were desperate, and the others looked anxiously toward the Captain.
The Captain's cold eyes, situated beneath his massive curved horns, swept over the surroundings. He understood his subordinates were truly panicked. He, who could acquire a True God corpse, could afford not to rush, but his soldiers could not maintain such composure.
"Entering the True God battlefield now is sending ourselves to die," the Captain stated coldly.
"We know that means death, so we won't go there. But... countless Lords of Flame are fighting right now—that's all military merit! If we have enough time, by scavenging massive amounts of weapons and armor, we can absolutely accumulate enough merits. Our chances of survival on the Lord of Flame battlefield are quite high."
"Yes, Captain."
"Let's go to the Lord of Flame battlefield."
Everyone looked toward the Captain.
The Captain merely sneered: "Scavenging weapons and armor to get ten thousand military merits? How long will that take? Those who want to go, feel free; I won't stop you. However, at a critical moment, I will send you a message through the communication token, telling you my coordinates. At that time, you must rush over immediately. Otherwise..."
"Yes, Captain."
"Understood, Captain."
"When the Captain calls, we'll be there instantly."
"Captain, we are heading to the battlefield now."
"We await the Captain's orders at all times."
The soldiers responded immediately, and one by one, they slipped away quietly and swiftly. In mere moments, the Captain's entire contingent of soldiers had vanished.
The Captain shook his head and gave a cold laugh: "Faced with death, it seems everyone becomes desperate."
He inwardly disdained these soldiers, but they were all still Mang He Army soldiers, and united, they could exert sufficient fighting power. Used correctly... they could make certain missions much easier to survive. He wouldn't easily abandon this contingent until the final moment.
...
Luo Feng and the Captain, stationed at different locations near the edge of the True God battlefield, both lay hidden, poised to bare their fangs.
...
"Roar~~~" The long-necked, eight-hooved strange beast True God, its single eye on its narrow head glinting with cunning, roamed the entire perimeter of the True God battlefield.
Its strength had already diminished considerably. True Gods of its type, lacking True God battle armor, were inherently inferior to those True Gods who had 'joined the army'! Typically, trivial matters like cleaning battlefields, patrolling, or retrieving friendly corpses were handled by these True Gods. They understood this stemmed from insufficient strength, so they constantly trained themselves. But during massive decisive battles like this... once they felt their strength significantly drop, they would choose to repeatedly evade and flee.
"Damn it."
"Once a True God dies, their weapons and armor detach from their bodies and are seized by the enemy who killed them. I haven't managed to acquire a single piece." The eight-hooved strange beast True God seethed internally.
True God-level weapons and armor were incredibly precious. While lesser sets of armor and weapons were common, possessed by the vast majority of Lords of Flame. In the Jin World, even a hundred or a thousand 'Peak Treasures' couldn't purchase a single 'Ultimate Treasure'!
"I must obtain a set of True God battle armor."
"Absolutely."
The eight-hooved strange beast True God wandered again and again, repeatedly avoiding confrontation, searching for an opportunity. If a True God wearing True God battle armor perished, it would certainly fight to snatch it! However, such True Gods rarely fell, and even if they did... its chance of seizing the spoils would be slim; otherwise, it wouldn't be lacking True God armor even now.
...
Wandering repeatedly. In different zones of the True God battlefield.
"If there were no other True Gods here," the Captain muttered anxiously, "just this eight-hooved beast alone, if I utilized my mechanical stream treasures, in a one-on-one fight, I could certainly kill it after a prolonged battle. But this is the True God battlefield! It has already collected over thirty True God corpses from the Nine Smoke Marsh faction."
In another location.
Luo Feng’s eyes were as calm as the sea; he silently fixed his lock on the eight-hooved strange beast True God, simultaneously calculating their relative positions.
"Its strength has significantly decreased."
"It lacks the protection of Ultimate Treasure armor!"
"I am confident I can kill it in an extremely short time."
Luo Feng fixed the strange beast True God’s position. As the beast wandered, Luo Feng began to move stealthily. His speed wasn't fast, preventing large fluctuations that might be detected by divine power. He gradually pressed inward towards the True God battlefield, his speed painstakingly slow. At this moment... Luo Feng possessed immense patience.
This gradual approach took over three days.
These three-plus days of closing the distance allowed Luo Feng to enter the True God battlefield. Following this, Luo Feng stopped, waiting for the eight-hooved strange beast True God to wander closer.
"Wait."
"Wait."
"Wait for that instant of explosion." Luo Feng continuously built up his momentum.
The mere three days spent approaching, plus the time spent waiting now, caused Luo Feng's entire state to soar... All his thoughts and distractions were purged; everything condensed into a single point, one objective—to kill this eight-hooved strange beast True God using the fastest speed and shortest time possible!
This absolute singularity of thought naturally spurred his potential... Subtly, Luo Feng felt an intense urge to draw his blade. Why is breakthroughs only achieved in life-and-death battles? Because under the shadow of death, the instincts of life naturally converge all thoughts, erupting forth with terrifying potential.
This was a staggeringly perilous situation! To kill one True God amidst ten thousand True Gods! How insane? Because of this insanity, an even more fervent desire burned within Luo Feng’s heart.
"Opportunity."
"Opportunity."
"Opportunity." Luo Feng's eyes focused only on the eight-hooved strange beast True God wandering in the distance.
At this moment, the eight-hooved strange beast True God was extremely cautious, unwilling to engage powerful True Gods from the Xuan Yu Mountain faction, engaging only in skirmishes with weaker tribal True Gods. Gradually, it neared Luo Feng's position, approaching... approaching...
Luo Feng, still as unmoving as a stone, his previously dim eyes suddenly ignited. The entire being exploded from seeming inertness in an instant.
"This is the moment!"
Luo Feng burst forth instantly.
Boom!
His speed erupted immediately, his divine power began to burn wildly, Boom! Annihilation Volume One! Boom! Burning with even greater intensity, Annihilation Volume Two! This was one of the two greatest gains Luo Feng had made in increasing his power over 8 million epochs... mastering the second volume of Annihilation!
"What!" The eight-hooved strange beast True God, patrolling cautiously on the edge, whipped its narrow head around. Its single eye stared in shock at the rear, where a massive, indistinct blade shadow, carrying an overwhelmingly ferocious aura, was directly crushing down...