That crimson-faced soldier strode toward Luo Feng, grinning as he transmitted his voice: "Galaxy, did you truly think changing your appearance, wearing a messy mop of hair, would fool us? No matter how you shift, your divine power aura never changes. Get close enough, and we'll recognize you instantly."
Luo Feng’s gaze swept around: "There must be more than just you."
"Captain and the others have arrived, spread out around the vicinity," the crimson-faced soldier transmitted. "We saw your strength on the edge of the True God battlefield. Escaping easily from several True Gods... I don't have the confidence that even one of us can hold you down."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the distant chaos of the Xuan Yu Mountain army, over a dozen figures began closing in from all sides.
Luo Feng scanned them; one figure was clearly the Captain, sporting those enormous curved horns! The others were the soldiers under the Captain’s command.
"New recruit Galaxy, you're stronger than we anticipated."
"Your strength is truly impressive."
"We are willing to accept you, to have you join our ranks."
The soldiers transmitted their messages in unison.
Even the Captain looked at Luo Feng and transmitted: "New recruit Galaxy!"
"Captain," Luo Feng replied, looking at the leader. When he first joined the Python River Army, this Captain hadn't given him, a mere newcomer, a second glance. Now, the Captain wore a friendly smile.
"We didn't accept you before simply because normal new recruits are weak, but your strength... has earned our acknowledgment," the Captain stated plainly. "All you need to do is contribute True God corpses for us to share. Then, within our small squad, the other soldiers will fully respect you, and I am even willing to relinquish my position as Captain... for you to take over!"
"Yes, we are willing to serve you as Captain."
"As long as Galaxy helps us out, we can all survive!"
"Galaxy!"
Every soldier looked at Luo Feng with anticipation; the Captain, too, watched him, seemingly selfless, ready to give up his rank.
Luo Feng’s gaze swept over them: "Is that true?"
"Of course, it’s true."
"We will immediately make you Captain," the soldiers transmitted hastily.
Luo Feng merely smiled, a cold indifference playing in his expression. He transmitted back: "But what does your survival or death have to do with me?"
Instantly, there was stunned silence; every soldier froze.
"Weren't you indifferent to the survival of new recruits before?" Luo Feng grinned cruelly. "Why are you suddenly talking about camaraderie?"
He had seen through it all long ago. What Captain? What camaraderie? It was all a joke. The brutal screening of the army caused batch after batch of soldiers to perish. These veteran soldiers, accustomed to seeing others fall, only cared about surviving long enough to become True Gods themselves. Who would care about the empty title of Captain?
These soldiers followed the Captain only because he was powerful.
If survival was at stake, these soldiers would likely abandon their Captain in an instant.
...
Including the Captain, all eighteen soldiers looked grim. They hadn't expected this new recruit, Luo Feng, to be so oblivious to the situation.
"Galaxy!" the horned Captain transmitted angrily. "There are currently fifty True Gods hunting you. They’ve already guessed... that you must be among one of the groups of Law Masters in the Xuan Yu Mountain region. The Law Master battles are split into many areas, and quite a few of those areas have True Gods observing from afar, looking for you. Not far above us, there is a True God spying on this location."
Luo Feng looked up toward the distant sky.
Indeed, a winding, coiling beast-like True God was observing this massive battlefield from afar.
"I know," Luo Feng transmitted back. "But from that far away, it can't recognize me."
"But we can tell it," the horned Captain transmitted. "We only need to make eye contact with it, and it will immediately notice us. If we move our mouths, and it sees the shape of our words... it will know what we are saying."
"Oh?" Luo Feng smiled faintly.
"Once you are discovered, that True God only needs to give one command, and it will immediately order the large contingent of Law Masters from Nine Smoke Marsh to surround you. You won't have anywhere to run then," the horned Captain fixed his gaze on Luo Feng. "You will certainly perish! Make your choice: either give us the majority of the True God corpses and safely take some back to the camp, or die here with nothing!"
"Choose."
"Galaxy, the chance of survival for our current military mission is extremely slim. If you force us, then we all die together."
"If we die, we’ll drag you down with us."
Every soldier stared at Luo Feng.
Luo Feng shook his head: "Then go ahead and die. I will return to the camp with thirty-five True God corpses."
With that, he turned abruptly, simultaneously roaring: "Kill the scum from Nine Smoke Marsh!" and transforming into a streak of light, charging into the distance.
...
All eighteen soldiers, including the Captain, were utterly astonished. They hadn't expected that even at this juncture, the new recruit Galaxy would show such fearlessness. Did this new recruit truly believe... he could escape the encirclement of the entire Nine Smoke Marsh power?
Despite their shock, their reaction speed was incredible!
The moment Luo Feng moved, the eighteen of them moved simultaneously.
"You want us to die? New recruit, you die too!"
"Damn Galaxy."
"Damn it."
"You forced our hand." Some soldiers’ faces twisted in ferocity, their eyes alight with madness, all rushing towards him.
But at this moment, the high-speed flying Luo Feng merely sneered.
Boom! Boom!
He unleashed the second volume of Annihilation, his speed increasing to a terrifying degree, rapidly distancing himself from the soldiers.
"You think you can chase me?" Luo Feng cared not in the least.
"Galaxy, don't think you can escape." Among the pursuers, the fastest was the horned Captain. The Captain had assumed the new recruit would have some reservations... allowing him leverage to force Galaxy, but the reality was vastly different; this new recruit simply fled without hesitation.
The other soldiers had never witnessed Luo Feng unleash his full power, but the horned Captain had. He knew if the new recruit truly went all out, the other soldiers stood no chance of stopping him.
Tss tss tss~~~ A pair of massive black wings quickly materialized on the Captain’s back, their edges fringed with ribbons of black silk.
Whoosh~~~~
Hundreds of these black silk ribbons from the colossal black wings swiftly tore through the air, enveloping the area. Even at Luo Feng's speed, he couldn't outpace the speed of these weapons. Luo Feng felt the world suddenly dim... Looking back, he saw those ribbons, like massive black serpents, rushing toward him instantly.
"Get lost!" Luo Feng held a large hammer in each hand.
Because he had been disguising himself among the Law Masters of Xuan Yu Mountain and wished to avoid detection by the beast-like True God observing the battlefield from afar, he deliberately used a pair of large hammers for combat.
"Whoosh~~" The twin hammers swept through an arc.
The intensely burning divine power energy imbued the hammers with astonishing might, successfully sweeping some of the black ribbons back a short distance. However, even with this delay, a massive sphere of black ribbons had already formed, completely trapping and enclosing him.
"Extremely tough, immensely powerful," Luo Feng sensed the power of the ribbons through his hammers, unable to hide his shock. "This Captain hasn't used any secret techniques, yet just the mere coiling of these ribbons possesses such strength—it defies common sense."
Great power usually required secret techniques or similar enhancements. Just the ribbons alone were this formidable?
"Could it be a Mechanist stream treasure?" Luo Feng deduced instantly. "To break through, I’d need to use the Blood Shadow Blade and execute my strongest blade arts. But truly getting bogged down here will waste too much time. I might actually be discovered by that beast-like True God in the end."
...
The brief clash between the Captain and the new recruit Galaxy caused some confusion among the other tribal warriors watching from a distance, but it was only slight confusion. After all, judging only by appearance, the Captain’s attack seemed merely like a ‘psionic weapon’ attempting to restrain the target. They were only wondering... why they were fighting now, even if past grudges existed? Was it over spoils of war?
"The Captain's Black Cloud Wings are truly formidable."
"The Black Cloud Wings fly incredibly fast, bind strongly, and offer excellent self-protection—they are absolute treasures for escape and survival."
The other soldiers watched with intense envy.
Just then— "Boom!"
The black sphere enveloped by the numerous black ribbons suddenly began flying toward the distance at an impossibly high speed. One section of the black sphere actually bulged outward.
It was as if a monster inside the sphere composed of black ribbons was flying at ultra-high speed, forcibly dragging the entire black sphere along with it.
"Tss tss tss~~~" The black ribbons began to stretch and separate one by one, revealing the bow of an ancient warship. The surface of this ancient warship was tightly wrapped by the black ribbons, which heavily restrained it, yet the warship’s speed continued to surge, seemingly unaffected.
Ultra-high speed flight! The velocity kept climbing!
"What!" The Captain’s face drained of color in alarm.
"Such immense thrust power." The Captain used his Black Cloud Wings to their limit, desperately trying to hold onto the ancient warship.
But the ancient warship was too powerful; it was immovable. Instead, it began dragging the Captain along at an ultra-high speed toward the distance.
"Captain, weren't you planning to take me to see a True God? Then let's go see him," the ancient warship dragged the Captain, soaring rapidly toward the distant high heavens.
How potent was the thrust of the Tomb Ship? When unleashed, how could a mere Universe Master hope to stop it?
Whoosh!
The warship accelerated rapidly, continuously flying toward the distant heights. On the outermost edge of this battlefield, high in the sky, a coiling, beast-like True God was observing.
"Stop, stop!" the Captain roared, "Are you trying to die?"
"Haha... let's go see the True God together, and we'll see who dies," the ancient warship maintained its high speed, flying directly toward the beast-like True God.
The Captain finally panicked.
One must remember: He had also stolen a True God corpse! Although the True Gods of Nine Smoke Marsh desperately wanted to capture Luo Feng, now Luo Feng was hidden within the warship, emitting no aura. The beast-like True God likely couldn't confirm Luo Feng’s identity, but would instead confirm the Captain as the first to steal a True God corpse, and would certainly not let the Captain slip away.
"You are ruthless," the Captain was furious but had no choice but to yield. The black ribbons originally wrapped around the ancient warship quickly loosened, and the Captain rapidly separated from the vessel.
"With a Mechanist Dao Blade, he also possesses a Mechanist warship? And the ship’s power is so immense that even my mechanical 'Black Cloud Wings' couldn't hold it back." The Captain hung suspended in mid-air, watching the ancient warship dive rapidly into the distance, plunging into the swampy grass, his heart filled with bitterness.
"I didn't know you had a Mechanist warship! That's how you escaped!"
"You might escape this time, but I don't believe you can escape again," the Captain gritted his teeth.
...
A moment later, among the tens of thousands of roaring and bellowing alien beasts of the Nine Smoke Marsh forces, vast numbers of them charged toward the Xuan Yu Mountain side.
"Kill! Kill the scum of Xuan Yu Mountain!" A golden-horned behemoth resembling a giant lizard with wings roared furiously, charging toward the Xuan Yu Mountain forces amidst the Nine Smoke Marsh army.
——