His cultivation level has skyrocketed! He's just one step away from reaching the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm!

Lin Yuan's calm gaze fell upon Ivan.

In that gaze, there was no pity, no relief, nor even any emotion.

It was as if he were looking at a stone.

Or, a corpse.

Ivan's heart gave a sudden, violent throb.

He knew that if he didn't still have some utility, in this man's eyes, he would likely be no different from those evaporated Shadow Demons.

Fear.

A primal Fear from the depths of his Soul, like a cold tide, flooded his entire body.

He struggled, trying to stand up from the ground.

But that heavy power armor, which had already lost its power source, now felt like a mountain pressing down on him.

"Ka... Kacha..."

Ivan gave a low roar and, using all his strength, forcibly snapped several joint buckles of the power armor.

He crawled out from that pile of scrap metal in a pathetic state.

His combat uniform was long since soaked with sweat and blood, and his single eye was bloodshot.

He didn't look at his subordinates, who were similarly in a daze.

He simply stumbled forward to stand before Lin Yuan.

Then, he stopped three paces away from Lin Yuan.

He took a deep breath and abruptly straightened his back, which was exhausted to its limit.

He raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and slammed it heavily against his left chest!

"Thump!"

A dull, heavy sound rang out.

This was the highest-ranking salute in the North Bear Country military!

It was used to pay the highest respect to a hero who had saved the entire nation, or to the gods they believed in!

"Winter Wolf Unit, Ivan!"

His voice was raspy, yet filled with an unprecedented, fanatical awe!

"On behalf of all my brothers, I thank you for your... divine grace!"

Behind him.

The dozen or so Winter Wolf members also seemed to be jolted awake by this roar.

One by one, they followed suit, breaking free from their cumbersome power armor and stumbling to their feet.

They formed a line.

With the same posture and the same fanaticism, they pounded their chests in salute toward Lin Yuan!

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

The uniform, dull thuds echoed through the deathly silent canyon.

The way they looked at Lin Yuan was no longer as if they were looking at a strong person.

It was Mortals gazing up at a deity!

However.

Lin Yuan had no reaction whatsoever to this solemn, heartfelt ceremony of gratitude.

He didn't even twitch an eyebrow.

"Your mission."

He spoke, his voice flat and devoid of any ripples.

"What did you scout?"

Ivan's body suddenly stiffened.

The fanatical worship in his mind was instantly doused by a bucket of ice water.

That's right.

A god-like existence such as this didn't need gratitude.

He needed value.

Ivan didn't dare to be slow in the slightest, immediately recounting the intelligence he had risked his life to gather before being besieged.

"Reporting, Your Excellency!"

"We discovered that the Shadow Demons in Wailing Canyon are not nesting here!"

"They are holding a... secret gathering!"

A light of alarm flickered in Ivan's single eye.

"In the 'Caves of Ten Thousand Holes' at the deepest part of the canyon, we used high-magnification detectors to observe the Shadow Demon Lord contacting the leader of another race!"

"Another race?"

Lin Yuan's brow finally furrowed, though almost imperceptibly.

"Yes!" Ivan nodded heavily, his tone absolutely certain. "Although the distance was too great to see their exact appearance, according to energy signature analysis, the other party is highly likely a... High Priest of the 'Creeping Calamity' race!"

The Creeping Calamity!

Those were the Void Worms that had attacked the city before!

One was skilled in stealth and assassination, while the other excelled in frontal assaults and corrosion!

These two races had actually colluded!

"We intercepted a fragment of intermittent energy communication..."

Ivan pulled a cracked tactical recorder from his breast pocket and offered it with both hands. "After preliminary decryption, they seem to be planning... a joint raid against Demon Suppressing Pass!"

"The Shadow Demons are responsible for infiltration and destroying key defensive nodes inside the pass."

"While the Creeping Calamity will launch a general offensive at the same time!"

"Their planned time is in twenty-four hours!"

Boom!

This intelligence was like a thunderclap, leaving even Ivan feeling a lingering Fear.

If they hadn't stumbled upon this secret by mistake.

If the god before him hadn't descended... once their plan succeeded, Demon Suppressing Pass, humanity's last bastion, would likely have collapsed under the pincer attack from within and without!

The consequences would be unthinkable!

Lin Yuan reached out and took the tactical recorder.

He didn't even look at the data inside.

Ivan's words were enough.

He raised his other hand and took a communicator from Ivan's waist.

Under the puzzled gazes of Ivan and all the Winter Wolf members.

Lin Yuan's fingers moved rapidly across it, directly bypassing layers of encryption to connect to the highest command channel of Demon Suppressing Pass.

He didn't speak.

He simply pressed the tactical recorder against the communicator.

"Beep—"

A massive stream of data was instantly transmitted.

Having done all this, he casually tossed the communicator and the recorder back to Ivan.

The entire process was smooth as flowing water, taking less than five seconds.

Right then.

Lin Yuan's body paused slightly.

He could feel a terrifyingly vast amount of life essence surging wildly within him!

That was the energy he had absorbed after slaying thousands of Shadow Demons and three Lords just now!

This energy was turning into the purest Sword Qi, battering the barriers of the Meridians in his body!

The Bottleneck of the Mid-stage of the Transcendent Aura Realm loosened at this moment!

Lin Yuan's eyes deepened for an instant.

But he quickly and forcibly suppressed the urge to break through.

Now was not the time.

He looked up, his gaze passing over Ivan and the others to look toward the canyon's exit.

"Your mission is over."

He left those words behind.

His figure turned into a streak of golden light and instantly vanished from the spot.

Leaving behind only the ground full of Shadow Demon ashes and those dozen or so North Bear Country soldiers standing dazed like statues.

A long time later.

The young squad member finally spoke with a trembling voice.

"Cap... Captain... what do we... do now?"

Ivan slowly turned around.

He glanced toward the canyon exit, then looked at his brothers who had survived the disaster.

An unprecedentedly firm light flashed in his single eye.

"Go back."

His voice was resolute.

"We are going to witness the arrival of a new era!"

...Demon Suppressing Pass, West Wall Command Center.

The atmosphere remained oppressive and tense.

Mike Jason was flying into a rage at a group of technical soldiers under him.

"Useless! You're all useless!"

"Why is the energy shield repair progress only at three percent? Did you eat the energy crystals I gave you?"

"And the backup turrets, when can they be online? The Void Worms could launch their next attack at any time! Do you want everyone to die here!"

The White Eagle Country generals beside him were all silent as cicadas in winter.

Qin Pojun, Tie Kuang, and the others stood to the side, watching coldly.

Although they couldn't stand Mike Jason's style, they knew that what he said was the truth.

The gaps in the defense had to be patched as soon as possible.

Just then.

"Beep— Beep— Beep—!!!"

Inside the command center, a sharp, piercing alarm suddenly blared!

It wasn't an alarm for an incoming enemy.

Instead, it represented that S-Rank encrypted intelligence with the highest priority had been sent directly into the command System!