Endless Debt

In the era’s transformations, the most impressive changes are often not the innovations in productivity, but the evolution of war.

Xilin no longer remembers from which book he read this sentence, but at this moment, he feels deeply affected.

Under the great power and extreme capacity of the Seeker of Glory, Xilin’s command authority extends a remarkable kilometer away, easily twisting the remaining fighter jets into a burning fireball, guiding them to fall like fire meteors, triggering the ammunition one by one, an astonishing exploison tears the steel apart again, scattering countless shrapnel flying everywhere.

"Just like the knights of the old era, charging towards the trenches filled with iron wires, now, mortals armed with steel, wield their blades towards the Celestial God."

Xilin’s words solemnly, as if reciting a devout prayer.

He stands on the battlefield like a true Celestial God, slaughtering mortals wantonly, turning them into dirty blood and broken flesh, returning them to the earth, difficult to distinguish one from another.

Xilin couldn’t help but wonder whether the wrath of the scorched earth he had never seen was as tragic as it is now, and he is more worried, when the complete extraordinary war begins, will the scenes happening now be played out across the world?

Besides, Xilin realizes that while his King’s Shield Guard seems mighty, there is ultimately no supply, even personnel replenishment comes from splitting the King’s Secret Sword.

Indeed, he is like a sharp sword that has pierced the Kagader Empire, but only just pierced; Xilin’s enemies are too vast, so vast that they have countless Condensers, and with the conscripted mortal forces from the entirety of the Empire’s population, they will continually receive the advantage of Alchemy Armament under the full operation of the Gray Trade Association and Empire Factory.

This is a consumption war, the King’s Shield Guard facing the entire Empire’s consumption war, even if Xilin is the strongest Seeker of Glory in history, he cannot win such a consumption war.

Xilin can survive amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, but his Shield Guards cannot.

"Indeed, the comprehensive wars of the old era, lasting several months to years, are no longer applicable to the upcoming era."

As the King’s Secret Sword trains Xilin’s skills, Xilin also contemplates the future direction of extraordinary wars in the midst of the battle.

Xilin doesn’t ponder for too long, and easily arrives at an answer.

A speedy, lethal, heart-piercing flash strike.

Just like Xilin had done during secret wars, destroying the enemy’s decision-making centers and High Tier Condensers in one fell swoop, rendering the enemy completely powerless, paralyzed.

Thus, even if the enemy has a continuous supply of population, ample military storage, but when directly considering the power and interests, and without High Tier Condensers, they can only choose to surrender.

Essentially, the best way for Xilin to avoid sinking into the bloody quagmire is to strike directly, toppling the forbidden Pillar of Royal Authority he wishes to topple.

Unfortunately, Xilin doesn’t yet possess such strength; Beelzebub has been operating within the Kagader Royal Family for over a hundred years, who knows what traps lie ahead?

Moreover, Xilin realizes that being caught in a consumption war is not entirely disadvantageous; his presence can secure enough time for his friends in the north.

Relieving the immense pressure on the Rhine Alliance.

Thinking of this, Xilin smiles helplessly, it’s unavoidable, people inevitably need to make compromises for certain matters, especially when it’s indirectly beneficial to the Rhine Alliance.

Forget it, whatever it might be? As long as it can help Xilin break Beelzebub’s curse and liberate the Kagader Royal Family, Xilin doesn’t care.

A terrifying ethereal ripple attacks from high above, sweeping across the remaining soldiers on the ground like sound waves, quickly, Xilin discovers one Ether reaction after another attempting to hide, most of them are Prayer Believers and Condensers, unable to conceal themselves from Xilin’s perception.

Then, the invisible hand easily grasps them, crushing them into blood in its palm, under the great Tier disparity, they die without resistance.

Xilin makes a grasping motion, several blades rise from the blood, shedding sticky bloodstains, and return to Xilin’s back, joining the deadly yet divine Ring of Swords.

Through consecutive campaigns, Xilin killed numerous King’s Secret Swords and seized many Secret Swords from their corpses, some were gifted to the Shield Guards, some stayed with Xilin, though many Secret Swords’ abilities no longer assist Xilin, their Alchemy materials themselves can be seen as a sturdy enough Sharp Sword, for Xilin’s use.

Thus, the previously scattered Ring of Swords has now become incredibly dense, with at least a dozen Secret Swords surrounding Xilin’s back, yet Xilin still mainly uses those few Secret Swords.

Suddenly, several Defender Ether reactions rise up at close range, the King’s Secret Swords disguise themselves as soldiers, silently infiltrating beside Xilin, treading on their corpses.

Xilin hesitates for not even a moment, and the Ring of Swords surrounding him shoots out several blades simultaneously, rushing towards the ground.

Amidst high-speed slaughter, Xilin glimpses the cold masks and identical Ether reactions.

Ether linkage turns into a legion.

"Silent Ones!"

Xilin roars as he descends from the sky, amongst the scorched corpses, Silent Ones try to calmly face the descending Xilin, yet in their slightly trembling pupils, their unease is revealed.

As mercenaries exclusively blessed by Mammon, Xilin is certainly one of the enemies they least want to face.

The earth-shaking Ethereal Shock instantly releases, amid the quaking heavens and earth, the already shattered ground further disintegrates, dust and broken flesh fly, soldiers cannot even utter cries, like ants thrown to the surroundings.

Burnt steel debris easily swept up like paper balls, constantly advancing in all directions, leaving various deep and shallow scrapes on the ground.

When the storm calms, the core of the battlefield is completely sunken, as if a meteor had just crashed here, leaving a vast impact crater.

At the crater’s bottom, the Ring of Swords halts its rotation, Secret Swords poised like loaded bullets, ready to strike, Xilin gazes heavily at the front, holding the blazing Core Flame Sword.

After the flare, only half-bodied Silent Ones reveal a grim smile, assessing with a Defender’s Tier, such a wound should be fatal to the Silent One ahead, yet as another Silent One on the battlefield breathes their last, becoming the lone Silent One on site, their Ether strength surpasses the barriers, reaching a Seeker of Glory.

"I’ve always been curious, to what extent can you silent ones push your limits?" Xilin speaks, retrieving the Immovable Sword from his back, "When I drive you to your last member, can you break the limits of a Seeker of Glory?"

The only reply to Xilin is a hoarse laugh from the Silent One, then a Curved Pathway Rift tears open behind them, emitting a wicked, maddening aura.

From the darkness’s depths, the Throat of the Abyss drills into the Material Realm, and simultaneously more Curved Pathway Rifts unfold around the impact crater, foul and rotting blood scents surge.

In an instant, each Curved Pathway Rift acts like a gate suddenly opened, constant streams of blood overflow, flooding into the impact crater.

Blood and flesh writhe, mutate, proliferate, and from the gathered blood pool, one vicious zombie after another stands upright.

The arrival of the Throat of the Abyss simultaneously introduces Eternal Rotting Land.

Xilin’s expression doesn’t change, as the Secret Swords leave the Ring of Swords all at once, stirring up a blade dance.