Chapter 91: The Grave Situation
Chapter 91: The Grave Situation
The Reinforcement Department showed signs of an impending storm.
No one on-site could feel relaxed.
As the Inspector Envoys arrived, heavyweight figures from the Seven Great Sects reached the front lines. Large numbers of cultivators at the Spirit Condensation Stage and Epiphany Stage were also drafted in to make final preparations for reclaiming the Core Battle Zone.
“What is the current situation in the Core Battle Zone?”
Chang Baimei took personal command, his expression grave.
“My Lord, 170 war zones in the Core Battle Zone have already fallen. Just now, two more war zones were lost, and the number is still increasing. We’ve never encountered such an intense large-scale offensive before. The intelligence center is analyzing the true reason behind the Monster Beasts’ actions.”
A voice abruptly interjected:
“Analysis my foot!”
“The First Defense Line is about to collapse, and you’re still analyzing the reason! The top priority is to repel this Monster Beast attack immediately!”
The Northern District Inspector Envoy furiously cut off a cultivator’s report, shouting sharply:
“Is the Reinforcement Department’s rescue team ready or not?”
“No.”
The head of the intelligence center answered quietly.
The Northern District Inspector Envoy flared up instantly, his eyebrows raised with authority even without visible anger:
“Unacceptable! The war situation has deteriorated to this extent, and your rescue team recruitment isn’t even finished. What have you been doing?!”
“Envoy Lian, please calm down.”
“Baimei, you’re in command?” Inspector Envoy Lian suppressed his anger slightly, restraining his furious expression as he pressed further, “Tell me, why isn’t the rescue team ready yet?”
“Envoy Lian!”
Elder Honglian stepped out from behind Chang Baimei:
“Last month’s Demon Beast Mist incident caused heavy losses in the Two Realms Mountain Reinforcement Department. The teams sent to the Seven Great Sects to recruit additional personnel are still on the way. We have a severe shortage of people. Moreover, this situation erupted suddenly, and the deterioration was unexpectedly rapid. Lord Baimei has already ordered preparations to activate the Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array.”
Envoy Lian’s expression immediately tightened:
“Is it that serious?”
“The timing of the Monster Beast attack is extremely critical! It happened less than a day after the shift change between old and new guards, when vigilance was low…” Elder Honglian explained solemnly:
“The timing of the attack is very intriguing!”
“Furthermore, this offensive follows closely after last month’s Demon Beast Mist incident. In hundreds of years, there has never been such a short interval between two large-scale invasions.”
“This anomaly is also quite thought-provoking.”
Envoy Lian and the group of Spirit Coalescence Elders behind him all showed grave and uneasy expressions.
An abnormal occurrence always hints at something sinister!
Especially when two oddities appear one after another.
Something was clearly wrong.
However…
They merely sensed that something was off but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
Elder Honglian continued explaining:
“From the start of the incident until now, less than half an hour has passed. Nearly 200 war zones in the Two Realms Mountain core area have fallen. Over 300 Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts have been eliminated, but the Sky Passage is still continuously transporting more Monster Beasts. Clearly… the offensive has only just begun.”
By the end of his words, everyone’s expressions darkened, their moods quite complicated.
Such a fierce and deadly offensive was only the beginning…
If the Two Realms Mountain made any mistakes or left gaps in their defense arrangements once the subsequent attacks unfolded, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Therefore!”
Elder Honglian stated firmly, word by word:
“To avoid larger-scale losses, Lord Baimei has ordered the Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array to be on standby. It must interrupt the Monster Beast offensive as it spreads out, after which follow-up troops will enter to regain control of the situation.”
After discussing among themselves, Envoy Lian and the other Spirit Coalescence Elders tacitly agreed that this was indeed the most timely and decisive course of action.
“But after this battle, the Two Realms Mountain will have suffered too many casualties. We must carry out another temporary recruitment from the major sects.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
Just then, the head of the intelligence center relayed a message:
“My Lords!”
“The core area has completely fallen. Over 60% of the Fourth War Zone has been lost, and the trend is still spreading.”
Everyone showed expressions of gravity and sorrow.
“Let’s proceed as Lord Baimei suggested. Prepare to activate the Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array.” Northern District Inspector Envoy Lian Zong sighed softly.
“Yes!”
Ten minutes passed…
The head of the intelligence center stood up again and approached Chang Baimei:
“My Lord! The Fourth War Zone has basically fallen! Only three war zones are still holding out.”
“Oh?”
Hearing this, Chang Baimei’s white eyebrows twitched slightly, revealing a hint of surprise.
The Monster Beast offensive grew increasingly fierce, with several Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts even gathering to assault the same war zone. Most war zones were powerless to resist and fell one after another—this was not unusual. But being able to hold out for so long under such disadvantages proved that the combat strength of these three war zones was extraordinary…
Including Lian Zong, curiosity was piqued:
“Who are the Tower Guards?”
“The Tower Guard of Warzone Three Eleven is the Yuding Sect’s renowned formation master, a Late Concentration Stage cultivator named Gu Jingfeng.”
Chang Baimei’s expression froze.
Lian Zong also showed extreme astonishment.
“Jingfeng? When… did he enter the war zone?”
“This is troublesome. Jingfeng is the most promising among Yuding Sect’s young Late Concentration Stage talents to advance to the Mystic Light Stage. He once single-handedly set up the Eight Directions Landscape Formation, trapping and killing seven Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts. No wonder he could hold out until now.”
“What about the other two war zones?”
“The Tower Guard of Warzone Three Twenty is a lone Spirit Coalescence Elder, a Ghost Cultivator. He’s probably frantically collecting Evil Spirits of Monster Beasts in the war zone. With his strength, he can also hold out for a while… But this last war zone is very close to the core area.”
“Someone can still survive over there?”
Everyone in the room showed astonishment.
The higher the number, the closer it was to the core area, meaning the attacks were more frequent and fierce.
Could it be another remarkable individual who sneaked in through connections to have fun?
Lian Zong and Chang Baimei felt a headache coming on!
Such individuals dying inexplicably at Two Realms Mountain would be a huge loss.
However…
When the head of the intelligence center reached this point, his expression turned exceptionally strange, and he stammered: “I don’t know if it’s a registration error, but the records show that the Tower Guard defending Warzone Three Ninety-Seven is Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Elder Qin Huai.”
“Him?”
“Lord Baimei, do you know him?”
Hmm, during the Demon Beast Mist incident, he was encountered. He was a good Tower Guard. Who would have thought… Chang Baimei sighed quietly to himself, never imagining such unlucky things would all happen to Qin Huai, and both times gave him a surprise.
But!
Chang Baimei showed a puzzled expression:
“Qin Huai is only at Mid Spirit-Concentrating Stage, his cultivation and strength aren’t outstanding. How could he hold out for so long?”
A group of people all found it hard to believe.
At that moment, Honglian calmly reminded:
“Sir, you’ve forgotten. Lu Hangzhi is under Qin Huai’s command. As long as there’s enough Spirit Honey, Qin Huai can continuously power the attack formation.”
“You’re mistaken.”
Chang Baimei stared at Honglian and said seriously:
“In principle, the Matrix Tower can indeed provide an endless supply of energy and offer powerful formation power, but that’s under normal, ordinary circumstances.”
“You mean the formation has limits.”
“Of course.”
Chang Baimei nodded with some anxiety: “Activating the formation continuously will draw energy from the Matrix Tower’s own Supreme Grade Spirit Stones and Spirit-Concentrating Inner Cores. Once the usage reaches a certain level, it will cause the Matrix Tower’s own energy to become unstable, ultimately leading to a weakening of the Matrix Tower’s formation power, eventual dissipation, and even losing the ability to activate the Reverse Two Forms Annihilation Array.”
“So serious?”
“Now you understand why I didn’t contact Lu Hangzhi and Qin Huai right away to get their method of producing Spirit Honey?”
“…”
Honglian broke out in a sweat on her forehead:
“Once Spirit Coalescence Elders become overly reliant on the Matrix Tower’s power, they will massively drain the Magic Power from the Supreme Grade Spirit Stones and heavily deplete the high-quality Spirit-Concentrating Inner Cores. In the end, it could even seriously threaten the Second Defense Line—the Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array.”
By the end, her face had turned pale.
“Exactly so.”
Chang Baimei sighed slightly: “Relying on Spirit Honey can’t solve the problem at Two Realms Mountain. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have spent hundreds of years and sacrificed so many determined individuals.”
“Sir!”
The head of the intelligence center reported:
“Ghost Cultivator has fallen!”
“War Zone Three Twenty has fallen.”
“Currently, only War Zone Three Eleven, defended by Gu Jinfeng, and War Zone Three Ninety-Seven, defended by Qin Huai, remain.”
“Additionally! War Zone Three is beginning to call for urgent help.”
Hearing this, Chang Baimei asked sternly:
“Are the replacement troops and reinforcement troops from the Reinforcement Department ready?”
“All standing by!”
“Very good.”
Chang Baimei glanced at Lian Zong, received a supportive look from the latter, and then issued a firm order, “Activate the Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array immediately!”
“The replacement and reinforcement troops are to set out at the same time. Once the Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array clears the area, immediately enter the war zones and re-establish them.”
“Yes!”
“Honglian!”
“Your subordinate is here.”
Elder Honglian was slightly taken aback and stepped out from behind Chang Baimei.
Chang Baimei’s gaze was firm as he declared decisively:
“Gu Jingfeng is a formation genius of the Yuding Sect and is highly important for the future establishment of a new defense line at Two Realms Mountain. I do not wish for him to be sacrificed meaninglessly in such a pointless battle. I now order you to immediately form a rescue team of twenty Spirit-Concentrating cultivators. Penetrate into the fourth region. Before the Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array clears the area and the Monster Beasts launch another attack, at all costs, ensure Gu Jingfeng’s safe evacuation from the war zone.”
“Your subordinate obeys the command!”
Elder Honglian did not hesitate and immediately selected a group of people, leaving the Reinforcement Department.
After leaving the Reinforcement Department, Elder Honglian took out a Messaging Talisman:
“It’s me.”
“Elder Honglian?”
Lu Hangzhi’s voice came from the Messaging Talisman.
“What’s the situation on your end now?”
Elder Honglian asked expressionlessly while rushing, speeding along like the wind!
“Very bad.”
Lu Hangzhi answered with a bitter laugh:
“Including the two Spirit-Concentrating Monster Beasts we just killed, we’ve eliminated fourteen Spirit-Concentrating Monster Beasts and countless Epiphany Stage Monster Beasts. Revered Qin just told me that there’s a problem with the Matrix Tower; the formation’s power is decreasing. What’s going on? Is the Matrix Tower designed by the Yuding Sect a shoddy project?”
“No time for chit-chat. Tell Revered Qin to get ready. The ‘Chain Sacrificial Detonation Array’ is about to be activated. Once it starts, your chance to escape will come! Head southeast immediately, enter War Zone Three Eleven. I will meet you there.” Elder Honglian put down the Messaging Talisman.