Lu Yin and the others had managed to gradually get closer to the Forsaken Soldiers with the help of the sourcebox array. Even after they bulldozed their way through the second city, they still did not attract the attention of any of the powerhouses stationed on the array bases in the sky above them because every single one of the five array bases was suffering from a large-scale assault from the monsters. However, when Lu Yin and his group approached a third city ten days later, whether it was Aeternus’s Twelve Marquises or the various generals of the array bases, someone would definitely notice the commotion being kicked up in the New World down below.
This was not only because the third city was absolutely massive, but also because it was at a strategic location, which caused all five of the array bases to focus on the city no matter what else happened. Also, this was the city that lay closest to the Forsaken Soldiers, which made it the single most watched location in the entire New World.
Atop the second array base, Xia Yan had only just returned to the headquarters. He asked in complete disbelief, “What did you just say? Long Qi and the others are still alive?”
Liu Jing stood across from the general and enthusiastically replied, “Yes, General! According to a report from a reconnaissance team, they have spotted the Red Beam.”
Xia Yan’s eyes positively glowed from joy. The Red Beamwas the sourcebox array from the second forward basecamp that only Master Song had been capable of repairing. However, when the second forward basecamp had been abandoned and fallen down to the New World, Master Song had followed him back to headquarters and had not fallen down with the sourcebox array. In that case, who else possessed the ability to repair the sourcebox array?
The only possibility was Long Qi. He had managed to repair the second array base headquarter’s defensive sourcebox array, so it was not completely inconceivable for him to have done the same for Red beam.
“How many of them are still alive?” Xia Yan asked.
Liu Jing shook his head. “I’m not sure about the details, but I’ve heard that the estimate of survivors is a few millions.”
“That’s impossible. There weren’t even that many that fell down to the New World with the second forward basecamp. Where did a few million come from?” Xia Yan instantly refuted the report.
Liu Jing replied, “From the intel that we’ve gathered, the red sourcebox array is currently somewhere close to Xiang City, and if our guesses on their startpoint and path are correct, then Long Qi and the other survivors must have already passed by two cities. Both cities most likely had humans who had not yet been converted into corpse kings.”
Xia Yan gasped.
Liu Jing anxiously asked, “General, should we go down to rescue them?”
Xia Yan looked up and sighed. “How can we rescue them? All five of the array bases are entrenched in an ongoing battle, and even if that weren’t the case, it’s basically impossible to save anyone from the New World.”
“But…”
Before Liu Jing could say anything, Long Laogui arrived. The old powerhouse appeared to be in quite a sorry state, and he had clearly fought against some formidable opponents of his own. Despite his exhausted condition, he immediately said, “Xia Yan, Long Qi is still alive, isn’t he?”
Xia Yan replied, “Red beam is still active, and it’s currently full of millions of people as they make their way towards the Forsaken Soldiers. As for whether or not Long Qi is still alive, we can’t confirm anything yet.”
Long Laogui sullenly retorted, “Other than Long Qi, who else down there has the ability to repair that sourcebox array? We need to get him back up here!”
Xia Yan was put in an awkward position. It was not that he did not want to save Long Qi, but rather that he was unable to do so. However, if news that Long Qi was still alive had already spread, which was likely why Long Laogui had raced over to headquarters to ask about it, then Qing Chen was most likely already on his way over as well.
Just as Xia Yan thought of Qing Chen, the communication crystal on his wrist started vibrating. Xia Yan let out a sigh before answering.
“General Xia, if possible, I ask you to please save Long Qi. However, if this is truly asking for the impossible, then Humility’s Gate will not force the matter. The war takes precedence,” Qing Chen said openly, clearly with no intention of making things difficult for Xia Yan.
This amply demonstrated the difference between Humility’s Gate and the White Dragon Clan. Long Laogui hoped to use Lu Yin to improve the clan’s relationship with Master Deng Guo, as doing so would be a great benefit to the White Dragon Clan. In order to achieve that goal, the old man would not mind lowering himself. In contrast, while Qing Chen was obviously more personally concerned about Long Qi’s fate, he would not jeopardize the battlefield to save Long Qi either.
Xia Yan fell deep into thought. Even if he was an experienced commander on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, this battle was still a difficult obstacle to overcome. Long Qi was undeniably extremely important, but that was not because of his position as a member of the White Dragon Clan. Rather, it was because he had accomplished so many things for humanity while working with Humility’s Gate. If word leaked out that they did not intend to send reinforcements down to rescue him, everyone would suffer a major blow of morale. However, the worst part of it all was that the youth could not be saved even if Xia Yan was willing to try.
“General, Long Qi and the others are already approaching Xiang City.” Liu Jing quickly updated Xia Yan after receiving the latest reports from the reconnaissance team.
Xia Yan was caught off guard, and he immediately said, “Contact the Forsaken Soldiers! Tell them to launch an attack on Xiang City and to prepare to receive Long Qi and the others.”
As soon as he finished delivering that order, Xia Yan raised his hand and contacted the generals of the other four array bases. “Everyone, I believe you have already caught wind of the events progressing down in the New World. It is time for us to take action and hold down the Twelve Marquises.”
Xiang City was Aeternus’s northernmost city, and further north of the city, the Forsaken Soldiers could be found.
Xiang City was one of the few major cities that Aeternus controlled, and countless corpse kings lived within the city. The strongest of all of them was Marquis Xiang of the Twelve Marquises, and the city had been named after him.
Xiang City had been established for the sole sake of countering the Forsaken Soldiers, and it was also the primary reason why the Forsaken Soldiers were unable to venture deeper into the New World.
The space between Xiang City and the Forsaken Soldiers served as the most active battlefield out of anywhere on the entire New World.
As far as those in the Perennial World were concerned, and also according to what was recorded in the history books, there was a human city known as New City that stood in the New World. The Ever-Victorious Army which allowed nothing to stand in their way was based out of New City. That army was supposed to be humanity’s sharpest blade in advancing through the New World, but in reality, it was completely different from common knowledge.
There was no Ever-Victorious Army, and nor was there even a New City. The only ones in the New World were the Forsaken Soldiers who faced a continual siege from atop the Stacking Mountain Range.
The Stacking Mountain Range, where the Forsaken Soldiers were based out of, was actually connected to the Perennial World. It was considerably higher in elevation than the New World, and that was exactly why they were known as the Stacking Mountain Range. The closer one moved to the Mother Tree, the higher the ground was. This made the location easier to defend, though it was also difficult to attack from. The mountain’s existence as a rather impregnable fortress was the sole reason why the Forsaken Soldiers had been able to survive for so long.
One day, a pair of eyes opened within the Stacking Mountain Range. They looked over towards Xiang City, and their owner asked, “Receive? It looks like some big-shot fell down here with us. They were quite lucky to survive, and they’ve even made it all the way to Xiang City. Liu Hua, wanna attack together?”
“I’ll pass. All twelve of the marquises have gone up to attack the five array bases, and they’re being held down up there. At the moment, Xiang City doesn’t have any Semi-Progenitors, so you can handle things there on your own,” an echoing voice replied.
“Xiang City has a sourcebox array, and it won’t be easy to take down. You should consider this carefully. This mission came straight from a general, so there has to be some kind of VIP in the group that we’re supposed to greet. It has to be someone from one of the four ruling powers, and if anything happens to them, your sentence here might actually get extended.”
After a short pause, the same voice answered in a reluctant tone, “Fine. Who would have thought that this day would come for me? I, Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua, actually have to play escort for some VIPs. What a joke!”
“This person got all the way here from where the second forward basecamp fell down and is even willing to force their way through Xiang City. These are people worthy of being rescued.”
As the man spoke, many people emerged from within the Stacking Mountain Range and started making their way down towards Xiang City.
From the south of Xiang City, Red beam was drawing closer and closer to the city.
Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn as he looked at the massive city standing tall and proud off in the distance. He commented, “There should be a sourcebox array there.”
The city that they were looking at was easily over ten times larger than the previous two cities that they had run into. It was practically impossible for such a metropolis to not contain a sourcebox array.
In a serious tone, Mr. Guo replied, “That’s Xiang City. As long as we make it past here, we’ll be at the Stacking Mountain Range where the Forsaken Soldiers are based out of. Getting past here means success.”
The crowd grew excited. They had overcome their fated doom, and now, a chance at survival was before them. They could almost see their future laid out for them, and all they needed to do was grasp it.
“However, this will also be our greatest obstacle to surpass. Xiang City exists in order to defend against the Forsaken Soldiers, and Marquis Xiang, one of the Twelve Marquises, is the master of this city. He’s a Semi-Progenitor level powerhouse,” Mr. Guo’s somber voice spoke up once more.
Everyone felt their hair stand on end at his words. A Semi-Progenitor? Such an expert was absolutely unsurpassable for them. They had no way of standing up to such an opponent.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “Seeing how big the battle raging overhead is, it’s likely that Marquis Xiang isn’t in Xiang City.”
“Let’s hope that that’s true,” Mr. Guo replied.
Innumerable corpse kings had already moved to surround the humans, approaching from the city up ahead. They clearly intended to exterminate the humans, but every single one of the monsters was destroyed by a red beam of light.
If possible, Lu Yin and the rest would have preferred to take a detour around Xiang City, but the city stood right below the Stacking Mountain Range. No matter what they wanted to do, they had to push through the city for even a possibility of meeting up with the Forsaken Soldiers.
From Xiang City’s geographic location, Lu Yin was able to see that the Forsaken Soldiers held absolutely no power in the New World. Xiang City was essentially intended to block humanity’s route to the rest of the New World, and that was the only reason for its location.