Chapter 128: The Phantom Reappears
Chapter 128: The Phantom Reappears
The powerful Blood Slaves ignored death and possessed the most deadly killing abilities, but summoning Blood Slaves of this level required sacrificing a large amount of Essential Blood to succeed!
Even after creation, the Blood Slaves needed a huge amount of Essential Blood to be consumed every moment. Otherwise, their cultivation realm would weaken slowly over time!
The fierce battle at Two Realms Mountain was the best place to nurture Blood Slaves. Not only were Monster Beasts endless and blood continuously available, but the Spirit Concentrated Peak Stage Blood Slaves summoned by Luo Sen were almost invincible.
Once the seven Blood Slaves entered the battle, they quickly cleared all the Monster Beasts from Combat Zone 620. They killed as many as twenty Monster Beasts at the Late Concentration Stage. Then they moved to relieve several nearby war zones that had suffered heavy casualties. The Beast Tide suddenly stalled, and morale in the Core Battle Zone surged greatly!
Luo Sen immediately became the focus of all the cultivators!
“Luo Sen is mighty!”
“Kill all these damned beasts!”
“Crush them! Haha! This is so satisfying!!”
Seeing that the Blood Slaves’ momentum only grew, Luo Sen’s confidence exploded under the cheers and encouragement of the cultivators. The steadiness on his face was gradually covered by a strange arrogance. With a wicked laugh, he gave the order, “Charge!” The seven Blood Slaves resolutely launched a counter-charge towards the beast horde at the mountain peak.
Although Lu Hangzhi vaguely felt Luo Sen’s actions were somewhat inappropriate, it was the first time since arriving at Two Realms Mountain that he saw someone launch an attack towards the peak. After a moment of silence, he threw out two bottles of Spirit Honey, as a form of support for Luo Sen’s bold and aggressive move.
He also wanted to see how far the seven Spirit Concentrated Peak Stage Blood Slaves, which existed like killing machines, could penetrate towards the peak of Two Realms Mountain.
“Thanks!”
Luo Sen accepted the Spirit Honey without courtesy, his confidence greatly boosted. Following closely, he commanded the Blood Slaves to charge into the densest parts of the Beast Tide, moving bit by bit closer to the mountain peak.
With the disturbance caused by the seven Blood Slaves, the Beast Tide fell into even greater chaos. Elder Lu and the others also found themselves idle, silently watching the Blood Slaves and Luo Sen moving further away, their expressions grave.
Just then.
Honglian arrived!
She was accompanied by over fifty Spirit Coalescence Elders.
When the group reached Combat Zone 619, they saw at a glance the two Matrix Towers standing tall in the war zone. Then they saw the seven extraordinary Blood Slaves rampaging through the Beast Tide. Their movements were agile as they slaughtered their way forward, unstoppable.
“Holy crap!”
“This…”
The group of Spirit Coalescence Elders who came to assist could hardly believe their eyes.
Was this the core battle zone mentioned in the message, said to have only a few people left?
What was the meaning of the war zone being safe and sound?
The nearby war zones had clearly fallen, yet the zone was densely packed with the dismembered bodies and flesh of Monster Beasts…
What puzzled them even more was that the seven beast-like Blood Slaves were charging and killing within the Beast Tide, cutting through it so cleanly and efficiently, with flesh and blood flying everywhere.
Honglian forcibly suppressed the doubts in her heart and entered the war zone.
Lu Hangzhi timely emerged from the Matrix Tower;
Elder Lu and the others also came forward to greet her:
“Lady Honglian.”
“Greetings, Inspector Envoy.”
“Everyone, no need for formalities.”
Honglian said sincerely,
“Everyone has worked hard.”
Seeing the hidden confusion in Honglian’s eyes, Lu Hangzhi quietly transmitted a summary of the general situation here via spiritual sense.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Learning that Lu Hangzhi’s war zone had faced the desperate situation of two neighboring zones falling and a three-sided siege and fierce attack within just a few minutes, even though Honglian hadn’t experienced it personally, she could feel the despair of that time. She transmitted two words via spiritual sense.
Lu Hangzhi smiled and said,
“For the war zone to remain standing, Elder Lu, who was responsible for guarding and commanding here, truly deserves the most credit.”
Elder Lu was a senior. Seeing Honglian look towards Lu Hangzhi immediately after landing and her lips moving, he felt somewhat displeased. But upon hearing Lu Hangzhi’s words of praise, he immediately became embarrassed and laughed heartily,
“Haha… Young brother Hangzhi flatters me. This old man also survived this disaster thanks to your assistance. If you hadn’t taken over the skies at the critical moment and proactively summoned the Matrix Tower to hold the line when the neighboring zone fell, this war zone would have fallen long ago.”
At this moment, Elder Lu’s impression of Lu Hangzhi improved even more.
Chen Xiangxiang and Buming felt the same.
“Indeed!”
“If you hadn’t bought time for Venerable Luo Sen, how could we have this peace now?”
“Being able to hold on wasn’t the achievement of just one or two people; it was the result of everyone working together!” Having said that, Lu Hangzhi changed his tone, “Moreover, Venerable Luo Sen is still fighting. Discussing merits and rewards should wait until the battle is settled, and let the superior decide. How about we lend Venerable Luo Sen a hand now?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Right!
Luo Sen was still fighting the Monster Beasts;
It was too early to talk about rewards now.
Elder Lu looked at Lu Hangzhi, frequently nodding in appreciation.
Honglian also turned her gaze solemnly towards the direction of Two Realms Mountain’s peak.
They saw the seven Blood Slaves, under Luo Sen’s command, had already advanced two or three miles. The path was littered with corpses, and the scent of blood filled the sky…
Although Luo Sen was full of confidence, he still cautiously maintained some distance from the Blood Slaves, not going too far from the war zone.
However, the Beast Tide’s offensive was completely blocked;
The frequency and number of drops from the Sky Passage also significantly decreased.
This was a sign that the offensive was faltering and nearing its end.
Very good news.
Lu Hangzhi thought to himself:
In this battle, when discussing merits, Luo Sen’s contribution would be greater.
The Evil Cultivator’s ability to challenge across realms was indeed extraordinary! If every Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Evil Cultivator could unleash such shocking power, Two Realms Mountain would have been taken over by Evil Cultivators long ago.
“The Beast Tide attack is about to stop!”
“Let’s keep the remaining Monster Beasts here; don’t let them return to their lair.”
Honglian led the group of Venerable Ones to land behind Luo Sen and said.
No one spoke, but they unanimously began to employ their respective methods.
Lu Hangzhi did not join in.
Firstly, because deploying the Sword Formation was a bit troublesome, and secondly, his Spiritual Sense attack range was too small. Standing here, he couldn’t threaten even a few Monster Beasts, so he simply didn’t make a move.
Nonetheless, the fifty Spirit Coalescence Elders who followed Honglian to the core battle zone were all at Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage, Late Concentration Stage, or even Peak Stage cultivators.
Over fifty Spirit Coalescence Elders attacking together created a terrifying commotion!
Three brilliant red fire lotuses shot out from Honglian’s hands. They flew four or five miles before blooming…
BOOM!!!
The area of effect was extremely wide, and the power was no less than a full-force strike from a Matrix Tower. Three patches of beast hordes, each a mile in diameter, were instantly vaporized…
Immediately after, a blue icy river Meteorite fell from the sky with a whooshing sound. When it landed, the ground shook violently. All Monster Beasts within a radius of one mile were Ice Sealed into statues, then exploded simultaneously, ice shards flying everywhere;
BOOM!
The force was like a thunderbolt.
Spiritual Peak crashed down.
The world-ending tornado struck.
Under the full power of the Spirit Coalescence Elders, the core battle area that stretched several miles toward the peak of Two Realms Mountain became a focal point for various natural disasters. Thousands of Monster Beasts fell into hell. Except for those at the Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage who barely escaped, the rest of the Monster Beasts all perished…
Just then.
Seven Blood Slaves stood stupidly in place when, from beneath the ground, black thorny roots suddenly burst forth. Like lightning, they wrapped tightly around the Blood Slaves from below.
The seemingly ordinary black thorns deeply pierced into the Blood Slaves’ bodies!
Sucking!
The roots wriggled rapidly like blood-sucking mouthparts.
The Blood Slaves instinctively reached out to tear off the thorny vines.
But before they could complete the action, their thick, elephant-like arms shriveled up. Their muscles withered, and moisture drained away rapidly.
In an instant, the seven Blood Slaves—who had slain thousands of Monster Beasts—were drained of all their essence and blood by these bizarre thorns. Their cultivation levels plummeted to the Epiphany Stage, and they turned into piles of useless bones that crumbled into dust…
The event was so sudden. Not only did Luo Sen fail to react, but even Honglian and the others had not anticipated such a thing. Before they could even attempt to help, the seven Blood Slaves were completely wiped out. Then, the mysterious, strange thorny vines retracted back into the holes they had emerged from.
“Ah!! My Blood Slaves!”
Luo Sen let out a pained cry, on the verge of tears but unable to shed any.
Lu Hangzhi felt a chill in his heart.
To so easily destroy seven Blood Slaves at the Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage—what level of power did that thing possess?
Another Monster Beast at the Mystic Light Stage?
Thinking this, Lu Hangzhi couldn’t help but glance at Honglian, only to meet her unusually grave gaze.
“Clean up the battlefield, then withdraw!”
If the Two Realms Mountain defense line had sufficient personnel, she would have liked to investigate the strange Monster Beast’s origins, but now…
It clearly wasn’t the right time.
The Monster Beasts at the mountain peak seemed to share Honglian’s sentiment. With their advance halted and morale broken, continuing the attack held no benefit. The remaining Monster Beasts turned back and were recalled. This assault on the southern front ultimately led to the collapse of only five war zones.
However, for the entire southern war zone, it was undoubtedly a glorious victory!
It was rare for a Beast Tide to attack a single direction at Two Realms Mountain…
Moreover.
Despite the severe shortage of manpower, they not only held the line without significant casualties but also fiercely repelled the Monster Beasts’ advance, buying precious time to rest and regroup. Honglian was very satisfied with the Core Battle Zone’s performance.
After the battlefield was cleared, the results were tallied.
In this battle, Combat Zone 619 eliminated ninety-seven Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts: fifty-nine at the Early Spirit Concentration Stage, twenty-four at the Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage, thirteen at the Late Concentration Stage, and one at the Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage. Combined with the eight Late Concentration Stage and one Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage Monster Beasts killed earlier, it was a remarkable achievement.
However…
“Now is still not the time for rewards,”
Honglian said, her smile fading as she looked at everyone apologetically. “The Reinforcement Department still faces a severe manpower shortage and cannot replenish the various war zones. The earliest batch of reinforcements will arrive at Two Realms Mountain tomorrow at noon. I hope everyone can take this time to rest and hold the line for one more day. Only when our numbers are replenished will the Two Realms Mountain defense be truly secure.”
“…”
Morale plummeted among the group. Everyone wore expressions of difficulty.
The Core Battle Zone was now filled with weary and wounded soldiers. Without reinforcements, spirits were low, and the joy of their recent victory evaporated instantly.
This situation was obvious!
Lu Hangzhi had long been aware of the Reinforcement Department’s struggles. Without hesitation, he voiced his full support:
“Milady, Hangzhi is willing to guard Combat Zone 618. However, I will need a new Matrix Tower.”
“Excellent.”
Honglian felt somewhat relieved.
“According to the rules of the Core Battle Zone, at least three Spirit Coalescence Elders are required to guard a zone. You may select two Elders from the people I brought to assist you in guarding Combat Zone 618.”
“In that case, I would like to recruit Venerable Luo Sen into my team. I wonder if Venerable Luo is willing.” Lu Hangzhi already had someone in mind.
Luo Sen, who had been grieving the loss of his seven Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage Monster Beast skeletons, immediately perked up and agreed without hesitation.
Not only him, but Luo Sen’s two companions also expressed their willingness to join!