Chapter 438: Evil Spirit Tree
The Westwind defense line, the Pan-human Alliance's final barrier.
Over a thousand asteroids had been hollowed out by humans, and giant cannons and fortifications had been built inside. They were like stationary warships, ready to defend against any invasion.
A long time ago, when humanity's other neighbor, the Na 'vi, had been restless, the Alliance had relied on a natural asteroid belt to build these bunkers. Many years had passed, and the Na' vi had yet to invade the Pan-human Alliance. Instead, it was the insectoids, who were far away from humanity, who had pushed the battlefield all the way to the Westwind defense line.
The last six hundred fleets of the Alliance, including the supercapital ships, the Freedom Cavalry, and even the armed forces of the Adjudicator Union and Monastic Order, had all gone into battle together at the Westwind defense line, ready to fight to the death against the insectoids! The fleets that were to protect the civilians were to evacuate as quickly as possible.
The soldiers used their last moments to call and write letters to their families, while those who had lost family members to the war were polishing their weapons over and over again. The atmosphere was tense and solemn.
In the command room.
Intelligence reports were quickly gathered here, and the military triumvirate had grim expressions on their faces.
"The situation isn't looking good. The insectoid main force has not rashly launched an attack. Instead, they've gathered six warps away from the Westwind defense line. It looks like they're planning to rely on their superior military strength to destroy our defense line in one fell swoop. At present, they've gathered over a thousand fleets, all of which are reorganized."
Chief of Staff Williams put down the phone and said. A thousand reorganized fleets were far more powerful than the Pan-human Alliance. Just the number of capital ships alone was over two thousand!
In a positional battle, the powerful defense and firepower of a capital ship was the key to victory. In terms of capital ship reserves, the Alliance was undoubtedly at an absolute disadvantage. Even though the Alliance had the Freedom Cavalry, there was no way that several dozen supercapital ships could withstand the attack of over two thousand ordinary capital ships.
More importantly, a thousand reorganized fleets were not the insectoids' full strength. By the time they finished gathering and launched their attack, there was a high chance that the number of fleets would exceed one thousand and five hundred! That was two and a half times the human military strength!
Tai's left eyelid twitched a few times as he said, "No matter what, the Alliance can't give up on the defense line and take the initiative to attack. Only by combining their forces with the battle fortresses can they unleash their full power. After all, those fortresses can't be moved.
"Without the support of the battleship, the fortress's defense will be greatly reduced, and without the support of the fortress's giant cannons, the battleship will lose half of its attack power. With the current situation, we have no other choice but to defend."
Williams chuckled, taking out some maple syrup from his pocket and tossing it into his mouth. "You're right. Our goal is to protect the evacuation of the civilian fleets and plant the seeds of revival for the Alliance. The longer we drag this out, the better it will be for us. Let us continue waiting."
…
At the end of the first level of the Divine Domain was a circular platform. The stone structure seemed ancient and vicissitudes of life. Just like Serenity's Gate, this platform was also black and white.
"This should be the passageway to the second floor. Why are there no stairs or doors?" Spiritshadow asked doubtfully.
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and said, "Won't you understand once we get there?"
The platform was wide enough for thousands of people to stand on. A few seconds after Xia Fei stepped onto the platform, a white beam of light suddenly shone down from the sky, enveloping his entire body. The next second, Xia Fei felt a warm sensation as his entire body rapidly soared upward.
By the time the pillar of light disappeared, Xia Fei had already arrived at the second level of the Holy Realm. The scenery around him had completely changed!
"What a miraculous ability! It's as if some sort of power instantly pulled you into another space! "Spiritshadow exclaimed.
Xia Fei found it inconceivable as well. In that instant, he had completely changed space. Aside from his body feeling suspended in the air for a moment, there was nothing else out of place. Could this be the effect of the Law of Space?
In front of him was a large swamp. The black lake water was knee-deep, and there were a few crooked trees that were half submerged in the water while the other half floated above the surface.
These trees were truly too strange. The black branches had no bark or leaves, and each one had a strange and ferocious appearance. It was like the Dark Forest where the legendary magicians resided. A large flock of One-eyed Crows perched on the branches, staring at Xia Fei.
Upon noticing Furball perching on Xia Fei's shoulder, these One-eyed Crows cawed. Some of them even panicked and fell into the water, while the other half flapped their wings and fled for their lives.
The score counter on his wrist vibrated, and Xia Fei glanced at it. His score was still increasing, and he was about to break the 100,000 mark!
The vibration was a sign that he had reached the second level. Looking at the map, he discovered that the second level of the Holy Realm was slightly smaller than the first, and there were practically no exotic beasts living here. There were only trees and swamps.
To reach the staircase leading to the third level, one had to pass through a swamp that was about a thousand miles long, and there was no other way.
Spiritshadow shook his head. "What a pity. The second level doesn't seem to have any exotic beasts, so we can't drive them to attack Uti's army like we did on the first level."
Xia Fei softly replied, "The same trick won't work after being used twice. Let's think of another way. In short, we need to eliminate as many of Uti's guards as we can along the way as we can while protecting ourselves.
"If we continue to whittle them down like this, by the time we reach the fourth or fifth level, there won't be many people left by Uti's side. That's our chance."
Spiritshadow looked around and unhappily said, "But this second level is too peaceful. There's nothing we can use."
"That's not necessarily true. Look!"
Phantom followed Xia Fei's finger and looked over, only to see a tree vine rolling up the carcass of the One-eyed Crow. Its movements were very slow, and when the carcass was less than half a meter away from the tree trunk, a large scar the size of a washbasin suddenly opened up like a mouth, revealing its sharp yellow teeth!
"Heavens! These trees actually have teeth! Just what kind of strange thing is this?! "Spiritshadow exclaimed.
Xia Fei observed carefully and discovered that every tree had a scar on them, most of them just one, while some of the thicker trees even had two or three!
These washbasin sized scars were not visible when they were closed up, just like the markings left behind by a tree branch that had been cut off a long time ago. However, these markings were not as simple as they looked, for there was a circular mouth hidden in the middle! The sharp teeth were like the enlarged version of a piranha!
Its movements were very, very slow. The strange tree picked up the crow's carcass and sent it into its mouth, and it actually took several minutes to traverse the half-meter distance.
* Squelch! *
The sharp teeth were about to land on the crow's carcass, and blood spurted out!
The moment the stench of blood was released, the tree actually came to life like a living creature! Like an octopus, it waved its nimble branches and let out a heart-palpitating roar!
Following that, the few trees around it also seemed to be affected, and their movements became even faster! They fought over the carcass in the water, and the trees actually started fighting each other due to the unequal distribution of the spoils!
Spiritshadow was speechless. "What's going on? These strange trees were moving as slow as snails just a moment ago, yet in the blink of an eye, they've become so fast and cruel. Could something have stimulated them?"
"It's the stench of blood!" Xia Fei excitedly said. "I can be sure that these strange trees are no ordinary creatures. Before we entered, these trees were already moving, but their movements were very slow. If I didn't look carefully, I wouldn't have noticed it. It's only when they're stimulated by the stench of blood that they reveal their true colors!"
"If they're so cruel, why didn't they attack you?"
Xia Fei smiled. "I have Breath Control to protect myself, so I don't have any aura, but Uti's team is different."
With that said, Xia Fei charged forward like a bolt of lightning!
"Celestial Moon!"
* Whoosh! *
The circular blades were unsheathed!
Several One-eyed Crows that were flying in the sky were instantly sliced into several pieces by the eighteen circular blades Xia Fei had unleashed! Blood rained down from the sky.
The trees in the swamp became savage and frenzied after smelling the blood. They fought over the corpses of the crows, and for a moment, the entire Dark Forest seemed to have gone mad!
There were not many creatures in the swamp. Aside from the crows, there were a few chameleons and a few strange looking crocodiles.
Xia Fei's Celestial Moon continued its slaughter, and gradually, the stench of blood began to spread throughout the Dark Forest. The blood melted into the water and was carried far away by the river.
It was like a chain reaction. Specter Nether! This huge swamp was getting more and more chaotic, and more and more strange trees were waking up from their half-asleep state. They were thirsting for life to come, thirsting for blood and slaughter!
* Bang! *
A twenty-meter-long crocodile king was thrown onto the platform by Xia Fei, and Celestial Moon immediately began working like a meat grinder. It did not take long before the crocodile was turned into meat paste, and Celestial Moon covered the entire platform. Anyone who entered the first level would immediately be stained with the stench of blood, becoming a target of the Dark Forest!
…
By the time Uti crawled out from the pile of corpses, it was already evening. It was his first day in the Holy Realm, and the hundred thousand elite insectoids had already suffered the most frenzied assault from the exotic beasts!
Those who were still alive were pale and had difficulty walking, while those who were injured were crying out in pain. Corpses and blood were all over the ground, and the scene was too horrible to look at!
Li Mo was sitting on a large boulder, holding a piece of meat that belonged to who knew who in his hand. He was chewing on it, and the sight of it made Uti's stomach churn, nearly causing him to vomit.
Fini, one of the Seven Champions, handed Uti a flask of wine. In order to keep his mind clear, Uti usually did not drink, but today, he could not help but take the flask and gulp it down.
"How are the casualties?" Uti asked in a deep voice.
"Close to fifty thousand. Most of them are warriors with lower cultivation and no experience in group combat. Our main force is still here," Fini said.
Uti felt a little more at ease when he heard that the main force was still here. Looking around, Uti asked, "Isn't there a little less people?"
Fini smiled bitterly. "I don't know why, but after this battle, the dark ability user Halleh and a group of about five thousand have disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Uti's face alternated between green and white. Halleh's cultivation was extremely high, and if something had happened to him, the severity of the problem could be easily imagined.
Fini could tell that his master was worried, so he consoled him. "My king, actually, no matter how many warriors there are, they're all cannon fodder. The most important thing is still the two experts hiding in the shadows and High Priest Ryun's disciple. As long as they're around, I'm sure you'll be able to pass without any worries.
"Our best course of action right now is to get to the fifth level as quickly as possible. According to historical records, the second level only has a few Evil Spirit Trees, and as long as we wash off the stench of blood from our bodies, we'll be able to easily pass through."
Easy?
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