Chapter 425 - 409: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole, Yinshan Attacks
"The scale of the reinforcements will be based on Senior Shenxiao’s message."
"We’ll tentatively send fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators and one Crystal cultivator."
"We will call for volunteers first... If we don’t get enough, we’ll hold a mandatory lottery."
Su Ye made the final decision.
Of course.
He himself would not be part of the lottery.
’Send whoever you want, I’m not going anyway!’
’My Liangyi Immortal Jade and I cannot be separated for a single moment!’
...
「Two days later.」
The fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators had been selected.
Unsurprisingly, they were mostly grassroots cultivators with weak backgrounds or old men nearing the end of their lifespans.
Su Ye had personally presided over the selection, so there was no foul play involved. However, cultivators with connections could exert pressure or promise rewards beforehand to fill up the volunteer slots!
Once the slots were full, there was naturally no need for a lottery!
Of course, not everyone sent as reinforcements was one of these unlucky souls. There was also a small number of desperados hoping to snatch chestnuts from the fire and gamble on a fortuitous encounter!
Among them were two or three at Foundation Establishment Perfection, planning to use this opportunity to seek a Spiritual Object for their Crystal breakthrough!
Furthermore, although some of the older Foundation Establishment cultivators were in physical decline, the experience they had accumulated over their long lives made them even more dangerous!
Therefore, the combat strength of this team was still respectable.
As for the Crystal cultivator, it was the Commander of the Radiant Flame Guards, Zhao Mingde!
This Late-stage Crystal cultivator had volunteered to lead the reinforcement team!
VMM.
The sails were raised.
A spirit vessel sailed out of the Black Flame Fortress.
Led by Zhao Mingde, it headed toward Eagle’s Beak Cliff to provide reinforcements.
The existence of the Luotian Illusion Array meant they didn’t have to worry about being ambushed en route.
The only danger was the terrifyingly massive battle that awaited them upon reaching Eagle’s Beak Cliff!
An army of millions of insectoid beasts, dozens of Crystal cultivators, and two Golden Core masters in a standoff!
"However..."
Su Ye’s eyes flickered.
’Perhaps... staying in the Black Flame Fortress is actually more dangerous...’
A faint premonition had stirred in his heart, and it was precisely this feeling that had led him to secretly send a voice transmission, signaling for Zhao Mingde to volunteer for the trip to Eagle’s Beak Cliff.
Afterward.
Su Ye found an excuse to send the Xv Family siblings away on a supply run.
They would set off by ship to transport supplies for the Flame Alliance; the round trip would take at least three to four months.
"Next."
"It’s time to wait..."
A flash of eagerness appeared in Su Ye’s eyes.
He returned to the Luotian Array and worked overtime, continuing to construct his miniature Arrays.
...
「Several days later.」
The Black Flame Fortress.
Countless black lines, almost obscuring the entire surface of the sea, came shrieking toward them!
"Insect tide!"
"Quick, sound the alarm!"
The fortress defenders turned pale with fright and scrambled into the bell tower!
DONG! DONG! DONG!
The great bells rang out, their sound echoing throughout the fortress!
"Whoa..."
"This is truly a magnificent sight..."
Su Ye ascended to the front lines and looked up.
VMM!
A piercing buzz echoed from the sky!
Tens of thousands of strange flying creatures, like a black cloud, charged toward the fortress!
They were covered in a light exoskeleton, with mosquito-like mouthparts and razor-sharp claws. Their two pairs of membranous, insectoid wings vibrated at high speed!
"Careful!"
"It’s mutated mosquitoes! Activate the Array!"
VMM!
The anti-air Array activated!
Above the Black Flame Fortress, numerous runes lit up, and crimson trajectories shrieked forth!
BOOM!
A blaze of fire lit up the sky!
The black cloud of mutated mosquitoes was ninety percent wiped out by this volley!
However, a small number of mutated mosquitoes still made it close to the city walls.
With their wings vibrating at high frequency, the mutated mosquitoes dove down at extreme speed!
RIP!
Their blade-like claws swung out!
As if slicing fruit, one of them cut a young Qi Refining cultivator in half at the waist!
SQUELCH.
Blood sprayed out, and organs spilled onto the ground with a wet plop!
With such an injury, forget a Qi Refining cultivator—even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be dead beyond a doubt!
"Little brother!"
"You beast! You deserve to die!"
Beside him, another cultivator’s eyes were wide with fury!
Forming hand seals to cast a spell, he shot out a fireball that struck the mutated mosquito.
The searing tongues of flame instantly ignited the mutated mosquito’s entire body, turning it into a black, charred husk that emitted a pungent odor!
Life and death.
Man and insect.
Upon the city walls.
Scenes like this were everywhere.
Even so, Su Ye saw a mutated mosquito suck a cultivator dry into a desiccated corpse, after which its oval abdomen swelled dramatically and exploded!
Highly corrosive, toxic blood and sharp bone fragments burst out like a fragmentation bomb, injuring or even killing more than ten cultivators!
Overall, however, the fortress’s losses were not that great.
Most of the Qi Refining cultivators who were killed or injured were new recruits. As for the veterans, they already had experience dealing with the mutated mosquitoes, so their casualties were minimal—in the single digits.
"So this is a battlefield..."
"The great waves wash the sand."
There was neither joy nor sorrow in Su Ye’s gaze.
He knew that if they had been willing to increase the Spiritual Power consumption of the anti-air Array by another thirty percent, they could have completely annihilated this wave of mutated mosquitoes!
But... that wouldn’t have been cost-effective!
The current Spiritual Power supply was calculated by the magic spirit to be the most cost-effective.
The Spiritual Power consumed by the anti-air Array to kill the mutated mosquitoes was less than the Spiritual Power the Candle Python Cave spent to create them!
Over time, this would build an advantage!
Moreover, the mutated mosquito attack even helped the Flame Alliance’s side with screening.
It was a bloody process of elimination, filtering out elites with training potential and excellent combat awareness!
As for the cultivators who died in battle...
Heh...
...they were just dead!
"Consumables..."
Su Ye shook his head.
He could only say that, thankfully, he was now a person of great power and influence, a major figure second only to the Golden Core masters.
Otherwise, if he had been forced to participate in such a cruel battlefield back when he was at the Qi Refining stage? Even with his golden-finger panel, he couldn’t say for sure that he would have risen to prominence. He might have... died inexplicably in some random battle.
A strange look appeared in Su Ye’s eyes.
...
「Meanwhile.」
Out on the sea, vast numbers of insectoid beasts were storming the beaches!
There were Swift Beasts, like dire wolves, covered in Chitin Armor with extremely sharp claws and fangs.
There were Thorny Snakes that resembled giant pythons, rising up to spit corrosive acid. There were even Unicorn Ants over a hundred feet tall, veritable heavy siege engines...
These insectoid beasts created by the Candle Python Cave were fearless in the face of death. With blood-red eyes, they crashed against the Black Flame Fortress’s defensive lines like a tidal wave!
"Fire!"
"Cast!"
Magic cast by the cultivators and cannon fire from the Fortress Array rained down upon the battlefield with terrifying firepower!
At the same time, the Black Flame Fortress also had special measures that took advantage of the volcanic terrain!
WHOMP!
The ground cracked open, and scorching magma formed a moat, incinerating the insectoid beasts.
In addition, Molten Rock Puppets, formed from black rock with magma flowing over their bodies, emerged from the lava and clashed with the insect tide!
The tide of several hundred thousand insects was actually unable to advance a single inch!
As a key defensive stronghold of the Flame Alliance, the Black Flame Fortress’s Defense Power had clearly stood the test of time!
At this moment, amidst the insect tide, a fleshy hill over a thousand feet tall, covered in purplish-red blood vessels and cysts, slowly advanced, escorted by the swarm!
This fleshy hill reached the beachhead, and a purplish-red fungal carpet spread out from it.
The fungal carpet, like tentacles, delved deep into the island’s bedrock. You could see crimson magma being pumped through the tentacles and into the fleshy hill!
At the same time, specialized transport-type insectoid beasts were carrying the corpses of their fallen comrades from the front lines back to the fungal carpet, where they were rapidly decomposed.
A few breaths later, hundreds of embryos formed within the fleshy hill.
A moment later, the embryos burst!
ROAR!
A newly hatched insectoid beast, its body still slick with amniotic fluid, let out a roar, then launched a fearless charge toward the Black Flame Fortress!
However, seeing this, Wei Yang, who was standing next to Su Ye, actually breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not bad. There’s only one Flesh Nest."
"This wave should just be a diversionary attack..."
He was in the middle of speaking when his expression suddenly changed to one of utter terror!
From the direction of the Flesh Nest, a terrifying aura filled with cold, evil power swept over them, as if it could split the heavens and the earth!
"A Gold... a Golden Core?!!!"
Wei Yang looked absolutely horrified, completely losing his composure!