Chapter 205 : The Undying Legion! The Final Reckoning!
Chapter 205: The Undying Legion! The Final Reckoning!
After watching the live broadcast—
Hang Yu gained a much clearer understanding of the strength of Zhang Xiu's forces.
Zhang Xiu's army could generally be divided into the Black Iron Battalion elite infantry, the Liangzhou Battalion elite cavalry, the Blood Spear Battalion personal guard force, and the combined units commanded by Deng Zhi and Han Ji.
Among them—
The Blood Spear Battalion did not have many members.
Yet their combat power was exceptionally fierce.
The Scourge Army simply could not withstand them.
The leader of the Blood Spear Death Soldiers was Zhang Hong.
Based on intelligence gathered from Zhang Zhongjing, Wen Dai, and others, along with observations from this battle—
It was not difficult to conclude that the Old Spear King had spared absolutely no effort in cultivating the Little Spear King.
Not only had he taught him his famous ultimate art, Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear, without reservation and helped him cultivate it to mastery—
He had even passed on the "Corpse Mountain Blood Sea Spear" that he himself had created over the past century.
The Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear was a complete spear cultivation art focused on agility, variation, and overwhelming speed.
That's right.
Just like the Wild Flame Tyrant Blade Hang Yu had recently comprehended—
It was not an ordinary skill.
It was a cultivation art-type skill.
Every complete cultivation art contained numerous techniques and moves.
The Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear was no exception.
It included at least eight powerful spear techniques.
Each technique was already formidable on its own.
Once integrated into a complete system—
Their power far surpassed that of most ordinary skills of the same grade.
As for the "Corpse Mountain Blood Sea Spear"?
The name was naturally just Hang Yu's guess.
He had no idea what the skill's actual name was.
However—
The spear technique clearly required the life force of the Blood Spear Death Soldiers to activate.
Whenever it was used—
Its terrifying aura surged forth like mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
The Corpse Mountain Blood Sea Spear was neither a cultivation art nor an ordinary skill.
Rather—
It resembled a secret technique like Martial Saint Three Blades.
Learning requirements were extraordinarily harsh.
Mastering it was even more difficult.
The Essence Point cost was equally staggering.
Of course—
Its power and effects were correspondingly tremendous.
The technique's specialty lay in dealing massive defense-ignoring damage.
This perfectly complemented the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear—
Which was versatile, swift, and deadly, but somewhat lacking in raw attack power.
Overall—
Under normal circumstances, Zhang Hong only possessed the strength of a second- or third-rate Commander.
However—
Once empowered by the Blood Spear Battalion's life force—
His actual combat capability absolutely reached the level of a first-rate Commander among peers.
As for the Blood Spear Death Soldiers he commanded—
There were only slightly over three hundred sixty of them.
Every single one was a high-quality Tier-3 Elite.
Each wore a Black Iron Helmet, pitch-black demonic armor, and wielded a crimson spear.
Clearly—
They had not mastered the complete Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear cultivation art.
They had only learned several spear techniques from it.
Even so—
That alone was enough to grant them extraordinary battlefield effectiveness.
Thus—
They rapidly inflicted heavy losses upon the players.
Hang Yu glanced at the battle records.
【Player "Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind" has died. Abyssal Essence +8,000...】
【Player "Blind Swordsman" has died. Abyssal Essence +12,500...】
【Player "Balding Hero from Staying Up Late" has died. Abyssal Essence +6,400...】
【...】
【Player "Ye Li Meng" has died. Abyssal Essence +40,000...】
【Player "Black-Eyed Rui Ge" has died. Abyssal Essence +40,000...】
【Player "Chi Mei Wang Liang" has died. Abyssal Essence +40,000...】
【...】
When the battle finally ended—
Virtually all 2,300-plus players had been killed.
This single harvest generated approximately 8.6 million Essence Points.
Hang Yu was very satisfied.
His generous rewards through quests had not been wasted.
The Scourge Army was growing rapidly.
This was a positive feedback snowball effect.
The more Scourge Army players there were—
The higher their levels became—
The more Essence Points they generated for the Lord.
Likewise—
The more Essence Points Hang Yu earned—
The more he could invest back into the Scourge Army.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
Without limit.
Of course—
The pace had to be carefully controlled.
The Scourge Army needed sufficient strength.
Yet they could not become too powerful too quickly.
Hang Yu always needed to maintain balance.
Players could neither be too strong nor too weak.
Territory expansion and development efficiency had to be maintained.
Player enjoyment and gameplay satisfaction also had to be preserved.
At the same time—
The territory's Essence Point income needed to remain stable.
This time—
Aside from the enormous Essence Point income—
The Scourge Army achieved respectable results.
They killed Hu Che'er.
They also eliminated more than four hundred Black Iron Heavy Infantry.
Native units had the lowest drop rates among all enemy types.
They were inferior to Starsea enemies.
They were inferior to Abyss creatures.
Hu Che'er was a Tier-3 Commander.
Among the hundreds of soldiers killed, over thirty were Tier-3 Elites.
Had these enemies been humanoid Abyss monsters of equivalent rank—
The battle would have generated at least four million Essence Points.
Yet through the Treasure Gathering Spirit Pearl—
Hang Yu only recovered slightly over one million.
No magic stones.
As for other loot—
It was almost negligible.
The reason was simple.
Native units could not be directly refined.
After death—
Their corpses remained intact.
Players could strip equipment directly from the bodies.
They did not undergo systematic refinement and become loot spheres granted by the Stars.
This was one reason Hang Yu disliked killing natives.
While natives dropped Essence Points—
And occasionally other items—
Their overall drop rates were far too low.
Even with Heavenly Dao blessings—
The results were unsatisfactory.
Although equipment could be looted directly—
Most pieces suffered severe battle damage.
Many were unsuitable for immediate use.
Repairing and modifying them often incurred significant costs.
Of course—
The inability to directly refine natives did not mean Star Lords could not profit from them.
In fact—
Lords possessed many methods to extract greater value from native populations.
For example—
They could be processed through specialized Star facilities before execution.
Hang Yu already possessed several relevant facility blueprints.
One was an Execution Platform.
Another was a Star Arena.
The latter came from a treasure chest in Xinye City.
The former had been acquired alongside the Dungeon blueprint.
The purpose of a Star Execution Platform was precisely to execute allied units or neutral natives.
Doing so allowed the recovery of additional resources.
Which in turn subsidized territorial development.
Population itself was a strategic resource.
Not merely because more people and more territory strengthened a Star Lord.
In emergencies—
Population itself became a form of expendable material.
Through facilities such as dungeons, execution grounds, and arenas—
Lords could extract Essence Points, magic stones, and even skill stones from them.
This was why—
Most Star Lords were cold and cruel.
Especially when their own survival was threatened.
At such times—
They would resort to any means necessary.
And the territory's inhabitants inevitably suffered.
This was also one of the primary reasons why most natives distrusted Star Lords.
After all—
Different races rarely shared the same heart.
No one expected an alien Lord to truly regard natives as equals.
Hang Yu's success in winning the loyalty of Zhou Cang, Zhang Zhongjing, and others—
Was largely because he himself was human.
Enough digression.
Back to the battlefield.
Hang Yu noticed that after reviving—
The Scourge Army players did not remain in the city.
Instead—
They exited through the eastern gate once more.
They gathered at a second ambush site.
“After getting beaten once...”
“They still won't give up?”
Hang Yu estimated the timing.
Only fourteen hours had passed since the new Lord War began.
The enemy Lord's scouts had probably already infiltrated Wolong Mountain.
However—
A full-scale attack would not come so quickly.
Even if the enemy launched an offensive—
Wolong Mountain provided sufficient strategic depth.
There would still be two or three days of buffer time.
Most of the population in the region had already been relocated.
After learning of the Lord's appearance in the north—
Several northern villages had also evacuated urgently.
Even if the region came under attack—
Losses would remain manageable for the time being.
The Scourge Army's second defensive line was only twenty-some li from Luoshui.
Under such circumstances—
Harvesting another wave of leeks should not take long.
The players were so enthusiastic.
There was no reason not to indulge them.
Hopefully—
Zhang Xiu, acting as the sickle, would work efficiently.
Hang Yu remained seated in the main city and continued observing.
...
“Report, Boss!”
“Most people have arrived!”
Ye Li Meng nodded.
“Good. Everyone performed well earlier. We've already wiped out nearly five hundred Black Iron infantry and even killed Hu Che'er, one of Zhang Xiu's top generals. That's definitely a major achievement!”
“Yeah!”
“Even though we died once!”
“We'll definitely earn it back when the quest rewards are calculated!”
Little Bell still felt lingering fear.
“The Blood Spear Death Soldiers are incredibly troublesome!”
Chi Mei Wang Liang nodded.
“Exactly. Especially Zhang Hong. Even in his normal state he's no weaker than Hu Che'er. Once he absorbs the Blood Spear Battalion's aura and enters his second state, he's even more terrifying.”
Salty Fish Pierce disagreed.
“Terrifying? I don't think so.”
“I just think their spear techniques look incredibly cool. Hopefully we can learn them after this battle!”
“We'll get the chance!”
“Everyone get ready!”
“The enemy will be here soon!”
The Scourge Army had chosen a riverbank as their next ambush site.
Before them flowed a deep and rapid tributary of the Luo River.
To reach the main city—
The Wan City Army needed to cross it.
Nearby boats and floating bridges had already been dismantled by the players.
“If they force a crossing—”
“We'll attack while they're halfway across!”
“Haha, we're freaking geniuses!”
Just as the players were congratulating themselves—
The Wan City Army entered view.
Upon seeing the force waiting on the opposite bank—
Zhang Xiu and his commanders first felt surprise.
Then disbelief.
Zhang Hong.
Han Ji.
Deng Zhi.
All stood stunned.
Because the army before them was not a fresh force.
It was precisely the army they had annihilated not long ago.
“What is going on?”
“How are they alive again?!”
“I thought something felt strange before. After these Starsea citizens died, their bodies completely vanished, leaving no trace of aura behind... It seems they truly possess immortal bodies!”
The Scourge Army's bug-like ability was enough to shock—or despair—any opponent.
As turmoil spread through Zhang Xiu's forces—
The Scourge Army players erupted into arrogant laughter.
Ye Li Meng shouted loudly:
“Idiots! Do you finally understand now? With the immortal bodies granted by Lord Feather, you'll never defeat us no matter what you do!”
Salty Fish Pierce yelled:
“Zhang Xiu, so what if you're strong? Strength alone means nothing! Out here, it's all about backing! We've got Lord Feather behind us! We don't even take Dian Wei seriously! Why would we fear little nobodies like you?”
Midnight Pig Slayer laughed.
“Come on then! Fight again! We're immortal cockroaches! We'll annoy you to death if nothing else!”
Chi Mei Wang Liang protested.
“Old Pig, watch your mouth! Since when did the Scourge Army become cockroaches?”
“Sorry, sorry!”
Black-Eyed Rui Ge shouted:
“Surrender! It's not too late!”
“That's right!”
“If you don't want to die, surrender!”
“This is your final chance!”
“...”
The Scourge Army's second resurrection delivered an even greater shock to the Wan City Army.
Many soldiers wavered.
The army's morale suffered visibly.
Han Ji asked:
“City Lord, what should we do?”
Zhang Xiu's expression darkened.
“An arrow cannot return once released. I refuse to believe their resurrection comes without cost!”
“This place lies only a short distance from the Star Lord's core city. Even if they can revive rapidly, once we destroy the core or kill the Lord—”
“No matter how extraordinary their abilities are, they will vanish forever!”
That was true.
The Scourge Army's bizarre abilities were troublesome.
Yet this was the Star Lord's primary force.
Their strength alone could not stop the Wan City Army.
Nor could they reverse the situation quickly.
The Starsea citizens depended entirely upon the Star Lord.
Without the Star Lord—
Their power.
Their abilities.
Even their very existence—
Would disappear instantly.
Zhang Hong shouted:
“Blood Spears! Charge! Follow me into battle!”
Zhang Xiu directly deployed the Blood Spear Battalion.
After confirming the Scourge Army truly possessed resurrection abilities—
He now desired only one thing.
A swift conclusion.
The longer this dragged on—
The higher the cost.
While the players continued showing off and mocking from across the river—
Zhang Hong suddenly led several hundred Blood Spear Death Soldiers forward.
Ignoring the river entirely—
They sprinted across the water's surface using extraordinary movement techniques.
In moments—
They reached the opposite shore and arrived before the players.
“Holy crap!”
“What the hell?!”
“What happened to attacking them mid-crossing?!”
“These bastards know qinggong?!”
The Scourge Army had clearly oversimplified things.
By conventional military logic—
This truly was an excellent ambush location.
However—
Tactics and military strategy only mattered when individual combat power remained relatively comparable.
In this fantastical world—
Absolute power rendered such tricks largely meaningless.
“Hundred Birds Emerge from the Forest!”
The Little Spear King struck first.
His spear shook.
Dozens of spear lights exploded forth like meteors.
They instantly shattered Mad Blade Old Wang's defenses.
Wounds appeared across his arms and legs.
“What a ferocious attack!”
Mad Blade Old Wang attempted to retreat.
“Hundred Birds Return to the Nest!”
Zhang Hong attacked again.
The chaotic storm of spear lights suddenly condensed into one gigantic spear aura.
It pierced through the shield.
Then through Mad Blade Old Wang's chest.
【Player "Mad Blade Old Wang" has died. Essence +40,000...】
Before the players could organize a counterattack—
The Blood Spear Death Soldiers had already arrived.
“Hundred Birds Emerge from the Forest!”
Almost every Blood Spear Death Soldier opened with this technique.
Though they could not unleash dozens of spear lights like Zhang Hong—
Each could still release seven to ten attacks instantly.
Every strike was extraordinarily swift and deadly.
At the same time—
Deng Zhi's archers.
Han Ji's spellcasters.
Also began their bombardment.
【Player "Drunken Sleep" has died. Abyssal Essence +10,000...】
【Player "Yellowed Memory" has died. Abyssal Essence +8,000...】
【Player "Graywood" has died. Abyssal Essence +17,500...】
【Player "Second Nie Caichen" has died. Abyssal Essence +17,500...】
【...】
The Scourge Army immediately suffered significant casualties.
Yet they refused to collapse.
Adjusting tactics—
Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Toasting the Moon, Lone Boat, Street-Slaughter Berserker, and several other elite players joined forces to hold back Zhang Hong.
Meanwhile—
Ye Li Meng, Little Bell, Chi Mei Wang Liang, Little Ma, Niu Shisan, and others launched a counteroffensive against the Blood Spear Death Soldiers.
Zhang Hong was far harder to kill than Hu Che'er.
In that case—
Why not eliminate as many Blood Spear Death Soldiers as possible?
This was Zhang Xiu's most important military force.
Every death represented a significant loss.
Though powerful—
They were still merely Tier-3 Elites.
Given the Scourge Army's current strength—
Killing Tier-3 Elite units was no longer particularly difficult.
Under the players' relentless counterattack—
Casualties soon appeared among the Blood Spear Battalion.
Yet something strange happened.
When a Blood Spear Death Soldier's life reached zero—
His body convulsed violently.
Then—
His flesh was rapidly drained by the tar-like black demonic armor.
Afterward—
The armor itself evaporated.
Leaving only a skeleton.
The evaporated armor transformed into streams of flowing black matter.
These streams instantly entered nearby Blood Spear Death Soldiers.
Their health rapidly recovered.
Not only that—
After absorbing fallen comrades—
The surviving Blood Spear Death Soldiers became stronger.
“Something's wrong!”
Toasting the Moon noticed first.
“These guys seem connected!”
Black-Eyed Rui Ge frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Their strength appears shared. The fewer there are, the stronger each individual becomes.”
Toasting the Moon spoke gravely.
“Here's a rough example. Suppose the entire Blood Spear Battalion possesses a total combat strength of one hundred. If there are one hundred soldiers, each has strength one. If we kill fifty, the remaining fifty each become strength two.”
“That's ridiculous!”
“Then they aren't weakening at all!”
“They're becoming even harder to deal with!”
“How is that even possible?!”
“...”
The players could not comprehend the phenomenon.
Yet as more Blood Spear Death Soldiers died—
The survivors, including Zhang Hong, grew stronger and stronger.
Pressure on the players increased steadily.
At that moment—
Zhang Xiu deployed the Liangzhou Battalion.
Several commanders led fifteen hundred elite cavalry into battle.
These riders activated some unknown enhancement skill.
They too crossed the river directly.
The Scourge Army was completely overwhelmed.
Although they continued resisting desperately—
And several players performed impressively—
Even killing multiple Wan City cavalrymen under impossible circumstances—
The final outcome remained unchanged.
Total collapse.
The battle ended in less than a quarter of an hour.
When Zhang Xiu finally arrived with the rest of his forces—
The Starsea army had once again been annihilated.
Yet as before—
Their corpses vanished immediately after death.
Without leaving the slightest trace behind.
“I have a feeling... they're still not dead.”
Han Ji and Deng Zhi looked grim.
When Abyss creatures died—
Their remains were eventually reclaimed by the dream.
But that process was slow.
Some aura or residue always remained.
These Starsea citizens—
Vanished instantly.
Not even a hint remained.
It was profoundly unsettling.
“None of that matters!”
Zhang Xiu said.
“The priority is conquering Luoshui City!”
He finally understood.
No wonder this army kept appearing again and again.
Because they could revive.
They could endlessly wear down opponents.
If he hesitated—
There would undoubtedly be a third interception.
A fourth.
And beyond.
This raid had originally involved only five thousand elite troops.
The goal was speed.
But at this rate—
How many would remain after several more rounds?
Now that he had stepped onto the gambling table—
There was no turning back.
Only forward.
Zhang Xiu continued onward with the remaining four thousand soldiers.
Soon—
Luoshui City appeared in the distance.
The city was not particularly large.
Yet it radiated an extraordinarily intense Starsea aura.
It was clearly the Star Lord's capital.
At that moment—
A noisy crowd gathered outside the gates.
Thousands of players stood assembled.
To the near despair of the Wan City Army—
The familiar faces had returned once again.
In fact—
Because many players had rushed back from other areas after hearing the news—
The Scourge Army had actually grown larger.
The more they fought—
The more players appeared.
Impossible to kill.
Absolutely impossible to kill.
Had they not witnessed it personally—
They could never have imagined immortal beings truly existed.
Could such an army really be defeated?
Even Han Ji and Deng Zhi began having second thoughts.
They recalled Wen Pin's warning.
This invasion might have been a mistake.
Zhang Xiu may have fallen into Hang Yu's trap.
And through temporary greed—
They had all become passengers on the same war chariot.
Unable to dismount.
“Old Spear King!”
“Long time no see!”
A calm and authoritative voice echoed from atop the city walls.
Arrow towers lined Luoshui City's walls.
Inside every tower stood powerful members of the Azure Dragon Guard.
Upon the gate tower directly ahead—
A young man clad in dark-gold armor slowly emerged.
In his left hand was a staff radiating spatial energy.
In his right—
A majestic two-edged spear.
At the same time—
Two figures stepped forward beside him.
One was the Abyssal-bodied Demon Zhou Cang.
The other was the white-haired, sage-like Divine Physician Zhang Zhongjing.
The previous battles had merely been minor skirmishes.
Using Zhang Xiu, such a sharp sickle, without taking advantage of him would have been a waste.
Now the leeks had been harvested.
Lord Hang Yu was very satisfied.
That was enough.
Under the conditions of a Lord War—
Too much time could not be wasted here.
Hang Yu decided to enter the battlefield personally.
And bring this campaign to its final conclusion.