Chapter 574: Reconnaissance
A hundred miles north of Hangu Pass, the once clear sky was suddenly torn apart.
A massive portal suddenly rose from the ground, 150 meters long and 200 meters high. The dark red light curtain resembled a vertical sea of blood, with countless twisted runes flowing wildly across its surface.
Immediately afterwards, more than 700 figures rushed out from the door at the same time, spreading out into a fan-shaped formation in the high sky.
The four leading figures hovered at the forefront, each with a different aura, but all of them overshadowed everyone behind them. They were the four Celestial Realm experts from the Blood Abyss Demon Sect.
Li Zhan looked down at the vast land below, his bloodthirsty smile growing even stronger. He reached out and stroked the straight sword "End of the Road" at his waist.
"We've finally arrived. The air is fresh, but I wonder what blood tastes like here."
He licked his lips, a cruel glint in his eyes. "I hope the natives of this plane will let me hack and slash them a few times."
Nightshade shook his head slightly, a hint of solemnity flashing in his light gray pupils: "We cannot be careless. The sect leader has appointed me as the commander-in-chief of the front line, and all actions must be carried out according to the rules."
"First, send out reconnaissance troops to investigate the surrounding area. Based on our experience in several battles against the Nightmare Plane, the wonders they choose when their plane ruler is born are usually defensive in nature."
"That's why they can sometimes fight us to a draw, even though they are much weaker than us."
He gazed into the distance, his tone growing heavier: "But what I want to say is that the Dimensional Hearts that the Sect Master obtained in the past were basically from the Eternal Night Battlefield and the rewards from the Grand Sect Master."
According to the intelligence from the headquarters, this nightmare dimension that has never been breached consists of two extremes: one is extremely weak, and the other is extremely strong.
If it's the latter, they'll have three level 49 powerhouses and a level 49 territory guardian beast. If we really run into such a tough opponent, our Blood Abyss Plane won't fare well either.
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhan chuckled and said dismissively, "Then we should fight even more. The stronger the better; it's no fun to chop down someone who's too weak."
"Besides, Nightshade, what are you afraid of? According to the main sect's intelligence, even those extremely powerful Nightmare planes usually fight to a draw against us branch sects."
They simply don't have the strength to retaliate. The enemy has at most four level 49 combatants, and a maximum of 500,000 main force troops. How can they possibly wage a war of attrition against us?
Chongshan also spoke up in a low voice: "Yes, Night Shadow, aren't you being too cautious?"
Zanghua covered her mouth and chuckled, her tone gentle yet tinged with doubt: "Senior Brother Yeying, aren't you overestimating their strength? The reputation of our Blood Abyss Demon Sect is not just for show."
Ye Ying ignored the three men's questions and calmly said, "Since the sect leader has appointed me as the front-line commander, just do as I say. If any problems arise, the sect leader will punish me. You three just need to follow orders."
The three exchanged a glance, and out of respect for the sect leader's authority, they finally nodded.
"Order the reconnaissance troops to immediately search in the southeast, west, and south directions!" Nightshade commanded in a deep voice.
The reconnaissance troops received their orders and transformed into dozens of afterimages, speeding off in three directions.
Half an hour later, the reconnaissance team returned.
The lead scout disciple, covered in sweat and panting, reported to the four Supreme Elders: the enemy's main force is a hundred miles to the south, and no enemy towns or large armies have been found to the east or west.
He paused slightly, a serious expression appearing on his face. "In addition, the enemy's defensive fortification is extremely powerful; it is a giant city wall, about forty meters high."
Stretching extremely long from east to west, we tried to flank the city, but the walls seemed to completely enclose the area; a forced entry would teleport us back to where we started. A frontal assault seemed to be the only option.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhan was the first to explode: "A forty-meter-high city wall with teleportation capabilities? What the hell is this thing?! I've been fighting in the Nightmare Dimension for so many years, and I've never seen a spectacle that can seal off an entire battle line! And we still can't get around it?"
Chongshan slowly hoisted the Broken Stele Sword onto his shoulder, his voice still deep: "Face to face, my sword has never encountered a city gate that it cannot cut through."
Zanghua let out a soft "Eh," tilted her head, and said, "A ten-thousand-mile-long city wall, teleportation effects, and a height of forty meters—this is clearly the defensive configuration of an extremely powerful plane. Senior Brother Yeying, you're absolutely right."
Her tone carried a hint of surprise, but her beautiful eyes were beginning to show a scrutinizing quality.
Nightshade ignored their reactions and simply nodded: "Proceed according to plan. All Grandmasters and above will follow the vanguard to probe the enemy's advanced forces first."
"Yes, sir!" The reconnaissance troops accepted the order and flew down from the sky.
With the order given, the Blood Abyss Sect's massive army began to move slowly.
The 500,000 miscellaneous disciples and 200,000 outer disciples of the vanguard marched forward simultaneously, their footsteps merging into a continuous low-frequency sound across the open plain.
In the formation, 40,000 outer disciples wielding blue-quality stone-cracking bows were distributed in the middle and on both sides of the formation, while the remaining disciples mostly held green-quality black iron clubs or claw-like weapons.
More than six thousand innate inner disciples were evenly distributed in different sections of the queue, occupying a position further forward than the outer disciples.
Two thousand black-feathered kites took off from the formation and spread out into multiple rows at high altitude to provide air cover for the ground troops.
The siege equipment was propelled by the servant disciples: winch chariots with Sky Claw and Flying Tiger Rope, ladders, and Three Fiends Cloud Piercing Crossbows moved slowly in the ranks.
The central army, consisting of 100,000 outer disciples, 300,000 miscellaneous disciples, and 500 Xuanjia Horned Rhinoceroses, halted 50 li to the south, establishing a defensive line and preparing to provide support at any time.
The remaining troops were all organized into the rear guard to hold the line. If the battle at the front went badly, they would immediately retreat as a whole and not engage the enemy in close combat.
...
One hundred meters above the north gate tower of Hangu Pass, fourteen figures stood in a row, each surrounded by at least four golden halos.
Ten meters above the fourteen people, Feng Xue hovered alone in the air, her icy blue eyes coldly looking down at the earth, ready to launch a thunderous attack at any moment.
Liu Zhenshan and Lu Dingchuan were among them. After comprehensively considering their combat experience and overall strength, Lin Feng promoted them to Nightmare Generals.
At this moment, the two men each held a weapon and were positioned on either side of the formation.
Lin Feng stood at the forefront, the Wildfire Spear held diagonally behind him. He was gazing at the distant horizon, his mind constantly recalling the information recorded in the "Tongxin Huiyin".
A gold-quality plane can actually be upgraded to a dark gold quality plane.
There is only one way: kill the lord of the plane with the unique gold quality.
With enough luck, there is a one in ten chance of obtaining a Dark Gold quality Dimensional Core, thus completing the ultimate advancement of the dimensional plane.
However, it is also clearly written in "The Guiding of the Hearts" that due to the cover of the origin of nightmares, the lords of each plane have no way of knowing the true quality of each other's planes.