CHAPTER 455: CHAPTER 255: NEW RECRUITS RETREAT ON THE SANDBOX

The energy tides emanating from the Netherworld, through complex fissures, coalesced into that Black Moon, radiating the Twisting Power to every corner of the pollution zone.

Numerous lower servants were affected and driven, instinctively absorbing it with the hope of completing their evolution.

As for advanced followers like the human-faced spiders, they consciously mastered the methods of utilization from the blessings of the Chaos Great Demon.

That is, they constructed "nests" — through an esoteric ritual, using special materials to build an altar, thereby enhancing the success rate of evolution.

The priest leader of the human-faced spider clan was full of confusion, dominating twenty percent of the ecological niche within the pollution zone reaching thousands of kilometers deep.

At least forty percent of the energy tides released by the Black Moon were intercepted and directed towards the nests created by the human-faced spider clan.

"Most of the clan’s elites have actually failed. The nest hatching success rate is usually around sixty percent. Such a situation shouldn’t occur."

The priest leader gritted its teeth as the Heng Province New Star Governor’s Mansion’s battle lines continued to advance, and as the primary line of resistance, the human-faced spider clan was under immense pressure.

It had earned four-tenths of the Black Moon’s energy tide’s "grace" through massive sacrifices.

The purpose was to allow the clan’s elites to pursue the path of evolution and enhance power.

"Who’s playing tricks?"

The priest leader kneeled in prayer, linking its Spiritual Power with that enormous golden vertical pupil, its spirit at the Sitting and Forgetting level felt incredibly insignificant.

Rumble!

The will of the Chaos Great Demon seemed tangible, as heavy as a towering mountain tens of thousands of meters high, crushing the priest leader’s "frail" spirit in comparison.

Crack, crack...

The priest leader’s entire decaying body seemed about to shatter.

In just a few seconds, it suffered agony akin to an eternity, until the Spiritual Power link was severed, returning to itself!

"Pompey’s hunting target! The root cause of the nest hatching failure is actually a human? It seems that Pompey is already in dire straits."

The high priest obtained a vague answer, a dizzy and confused vision, with a faint glimpse of a young face.

"Who should go to the outpost base? Stealing the source of our clan’s power should receive severe punishment."

The high priest pondered for a moment, his Spiritual Power shot like an electric wave, quickly locking onto a fellow clan member dozens of kilometers away.

"Tia! Pompey might have been killed, he died at the hands of a human, bring that ’killer’ back."

The high priest’s majestic voice echoed in the mind, and the tall female named ’Tia’ gently clasped her palm.

With a "snap", the neck snapped like a fragile stalk in the field, tilting to one side.

"Did that guy Pompey finally pay the price for his arrogance?"

Tia tossed the corpse aside like throwing away garbage.

"Remember, Tia, capture alive. Just a human daring to absorb the Power of Black Moon indicates profound potential and extraordinary heritage.

Just right to serve as a ’superior offering’ to please the Great Demon!"

The high priest issued a command from a distant place.

"As you command!"

Tia, who had just completed her evolution in the nest, grinned.

This powerful female of the human-faced spider clan stood two meters tall, her graceful figure full of explosive power, appearing both agile and magnificent.

Beneath her feet lay numerous corpses, all donned in standard military uniforms of the Dongxia warriors, as if reaped wheat stacked along the ridge.

"Perfect, I haven’t played enough yet."

Tia stepped forward, the energy tides contained within the nest tempered her body, and even pushed her Life Force to greater heights.

Even what was once comparable Pompey, solving it now would be nothing more than a punch.

...

...

At the command center of White Poplar Barrier City, City Lord Yao Guodong held his hands on the war sand table, tiger eyes under thick brows fixedly watching.

Data in the sand table updated every minute, detailing casualty numbers and damage ratio on the local battlefield, all clearly displayed.

"The western front shows a seesaw battle. Our troops are ample, morale high, and we should push forward fiercely to catch up with the eastern front’s pace."

Yao Guodong, with a robust build and thick hair, although over seventy, remained vigorous like a man in his prime.

He said in a booming voice:

"What is the Governor’s Mansion staff doing, not letting us expand the battle lines and continue advancing, nor retracting to build a defensive line, just dragging on like this."

The object of Yao Guodong’s question was not an overseer officer sent by the Governor’s Mansion, but a split consciousness of the Tai Monarch.

In a high hat and long robe, the counterpart bore an ancient visage, though aged only seventeen or eighteen, with rather youthful brows and eyes.

The Tai Monarch’s avatar spoke with hands in pockets, in a gentle voice:

"Please maintain composure, City Lord. The Governor’s Mansion has its focus not on a single battlefield or a single line.

Lord Governor was born from the battle group, having commanded several large-scale famous campaigns, certainly not an amateur in military strategy.

Moreover, both the east and west line battlefields are overseen by the Tai Monarch, analyzing the war situation. The hesitation from the Governor’s Mansion to command the western line to advance at full speed suggests there are considerations."

Yao Guodong had pondered these words of the Tai Monarch many times; as a martial man, he considered himself lacking in strategic vision, unable to match the Governor’s Mansion’s far-sightedness.

However, after guarding the Barrier City for more than a decade, witnessing numerous fine young men falling in the pollution zone, the near meaningless consumption of forces troubled Yao Guodong deeply.

"The depths of the pollution zone are extraordinarily long, without deploying large-scale military forces for sweeping and subsequent clearing operations.

All actions remain futile!"

Yao Guodong gazed at a certain point on the war sand table, straightened his back, and pointed with a raised hand: