CHAPTER 394: CHAPTER 394: ASSEMBLY

Swoosh~

The snow-white steel blade flashed with a chilling gleam, carrying immense power as it struck down a turban-wrapped, dark-skinned man.

Poof~

A fountain of blood spurted from his mouth as the man turned into a shadowy figure, crashing backward through a dozen trees, carving a deep trench before finally halting at the base of a towering tree.

Seeing the slowly approaching black-clothed youth, a flicker of panic flashed in the man’s eyes.

He was an elite extraordinary, here in this Illusion Realm to make money, not to become cannon fodder!

"Wait a minute..."

Swoosh~

Not giving him any chance for idle talk, the snow-white steel blade flashed and vanished, slicing both him and the towering tree behind him in half.

"Tsk tsk, not only do the enemies refuse to surrender, they dare to fight back!"

"Truly seeking their own demise!"

With a mischievous grin, Zhu Haomiao swirled his blade with a flourish, taking a deep, somewhat intoxicated breath.

The sins that others couldn’t see mixed with the Source Quality and melded into his body, sinking deep into the essence of his soul.

[Jealousy] +21

[Greed Coin] +9

Smacking his lips, sensing the Original Sin progress bar move forward slightly, Zhu Haomiao sighed with a hint of dissatisfaction.

In the later stages, the ’nutrition’ from a single descender was barely better than nothing; it would be best to use the Original Sin Secret Ceremony for large-scale harvesting...

With this thought, Zhu Haomiao looked up at the sky, his retinas reflecting blood-red particles unseen by others, densely covering the entire sky.

Amid the faint noise, he realized he was part of a larger-scale Original Sin Secret Ceremony—War!

The only problem was, unlike a specific ceremony, it was uncertain when this abstract ritual could "settle."

Nevertheless, once completed, the rewards would surely be substantial!

Licking his lips, just as Zhu Haomiao was envisioning the future, a mysterious golden light blossomed from the depths of his spirit and body.

[Penetration Force]: LV.4→LV.6 (Perfect·Thunderbolt)

[Qi] +21

[Essence] +12

[God] +9

Infinite energy surged from within him, massive amounts of virtual memories poured into his mind, overwhelming Zhu Haomiao to the point of being dazed, taking several minutes to digest all the information.

Carefully sensing and savoring it, before he could attempt to harness the new power, his wrist-mounted smart terminal vibrated frantically.

"What’s the matter?"

"Commander, the enemy is gathering on a large scale."

His eyes lighting up, Zhu Haomiao raised an excited eyebrow.

"I’m on my way back!"

A few minutes later, returning to the frontline command post, the black-clothed youth lifted the curtain and stepped into the sci-fi-styled tent.

The tent’s space was noticeably larger than it appeared from the outside, with countless screens neatly aligned, constantly rolling various information.

At the center, a gigantic satellite map pulsed with dangerous red light.

Walking beside Bai Linglong to stand shoulder to shoulder, Zhu Haomiao looked up at the map.

"Where are the enemies gathering?"

"Here."

With a thought, Bai Linglong brought up the relevant information on the screen.

"Only the elite centaurs are gathering?"

"Yes, Brother’s men are unresponsive, still plundering around."

Hearing this, Zhu Haomiao rubbed his chin, slightly furrowing his brow.

"What’s going on? Does Brother look down on me that much?"

Even the natives knew to concentrate their forces to prevent being picked off one by one, so why was Brother still "roaming?"

"Maybe it’s because there are too many of them and they need to spread out to use their advantage."

As she spoke, Bai Linglong pointed at a string of data on the screen.

"Although we’ve wiped out nearly a hundred thousand of them in recent times, they’ve constantly brought in more reinforcements into Yong State."

"The total forces not only haven’t decreased, but have even increased."

"Combined with us pushing back some of the frontlines, compressing their space, the staff department predicts they’re trying to coordinate with the centaur main force, tying us down with attacks from all sides..."

Listening to Bai Linglong, Zhu Haomiao pondered for a moment, focusing on the massive red dot at the center of the screen.

"No problem, as long as we shatter their main force, the rest will be like scattered sand."

"Then we need to start gathering."

"No need, continue to sweep with each squad, herding all enemies to the designated battlefield."

"Huh?"

Giving Zhu Haomiao an odd look, Bai Linglong pursed her lips with a strange expression.

"Without assembling the army, who’s going to deal with the centaur main force?"

"Me."

"Just you alone?"

"Of course, haven’t I said it before, you just need to round them up, leave the rest to me!"

Seeing the relaxed and carefree manner of the black-clothed youth, Bai Linglong wanted to speak but hesitated repeatedly.

I thought ’leave it to you’ meant you’d lead the charge as the spearhead...

Turns out you plan to go in alone?

Ignoring Bai Linglong’s reaction, Zhu Haomiao watched the gathering small red dots on the map with interest, rubbing his chin.

"How long until they finish gathering?"

"Probably one or two more days."

"What’s the scale?"

"Expected to exceed a hundred thousand, all elite centaur warriors."

"Very good!"

Watching the enthusiastic black-clothed youth, Bai Linglong fell into a deep silence, feeling her worldview subtly shaken.

Being able to fight thousands is just a saying, not a call for you to really charge through alone!

And they have plenty of experts, including a Child of Destiny!

If you were to get surrounded and killed...

Subconsciously wanting to dissuade him, she swallowed back her words upon seeing Zhu Haomiao’s excited gaze fixed on the screen, his deep, dark eyes gleaming with excitement.

Even if I don’t understand it, he must have a reason for doing this...

...

Woo woo woo~

The deep horn sound penetrated the expanse, gradually animating the camps stretching over ten miles, as countless tall and robust centaurs awoke from their deep sleep, starting to prepare for departure.

"We’re going out today, right?"

"It should be, the last group returned yesterday, there must be a big move."

"Hope I can claim more two-legged sheep heads this time, then I can return home to marry Tata’er."

Seeing the hopeful expression on his young comrade’s face, the mature centaur fell silent for a moment, patting his shoulder.

"Don’t be careless; stay alive first."

Hearing the downer comment, the young centaur gave his elder a strange look.

Once renowned as a warrior of their tribe, why had he become so cautious?

Seeming to realize his young comrade’s thoughts, the mature centaur’s gaze turned distant, and a tragic image flashed through his mind.

In the muddy deluge, trapped [Da Zhen] infantry resisted the charge with their flesh and blood, shouting and roaring, slicing their comrades to pieces.

They seemed unaware of pain or fear, those blood-red eyes, lingering in his mind, inerasable.

"[Da Zhen] soldiers are not two-legged sheep; they’re man-eating wolves!"