21: Chapter 21 Life and Death Trials

After mastering the Army-Breaking Sword Formation, the training rhythm of the Divine Kingdom changed once again.

In the past, the Immortal Martial Legion was strong in its Realm, equipment, and basic coordination.

But after the appearance of the Army-Breaking Sword Formation, what Wang Pingan wanted was no longer five hundred people fighting independently.

What he wanted was a truly heavy legion capable of charging enemy Formations.

Wang Mu and Wang Shan spent half a month screening out three hundred elites.

All of these citizens had reached the fourth layer or above in cultivation.

Among them, one hundred and fifty were Martial Dao Citizens, and one hundred and fifty were Cultivation Citizens.

The Martial Dao Citizens had rich and powerful blood-Qi, capable of wearing refined steel heavy armor for long-term charges.

The Cultivation Citizens had stable Spiritual Qi, capable of maintaining shields, Sword Qi, and Formation nodes.

Wang Shan was in charge of the frontline Shield Armor Battalion.

He picked out one hundred and fifty Martial Dao elites, all equipped with heavy armor, rune longswords, and refined steel round shields.

They trained daily in charging Formations, crashing Formations, positional swapping, and protecting flanks.

Wang Mu was in charge of the Sword Qi Battalion.

The one hundred and fifty Cultivation elites were divided into three teams, specialized in practicing Spiritual Qi shields, spell-breaking Sword Qi, and Formation alignment.

They no longer simply stood in the rear to release Spiritual Qi impacts, but instead moved with the Shield Armor Battalion on the battlefield.

The two battalions had to maintain a distance between them.

If too far, the Sword Qi could not connect.

If too close, they were easily disrupted by the enemy.

Wang Mu and Wang Shan led the citizens to test this distance over a hundred times.

There were many failures.

Someone bumped into a companion during position swapping.

Someone was a beat slow in releasing Sword Qi.

Someone exerted too much blood-Qi force, causing a fault in the subsequent Formation structure.

Wang Pingan did not interfere in the details.

He only gave the objective.

"I want a legion that can maintain the Army-Breaking Sword Formation in a melee."

After these words fell, Wang Mu and Wang Shan poured almost all their energy into these three hundred people.

On the day the three hundred Heavy Immortal-Martial Legion was officially formed, the first troop review was held in the center of the small town.

Wang Shan wore refined steel heavy armor and stood at the very front of the Shield Armor Battalion.

His cultivation had already reached the fifth layer of Body Forging, with vigorous blood-Qi, and a strong sense of oppression just by standing there.

Wang Mu stood in front of the Sword Qi Battalion, holding a rune longsword with steady Spiritual Qi circulation; his Body Refining fifth-layer cultivation was likewise not weak.

The three hundred elites formed up.

The shield armor was in the front, and the Sword Qi was in the rear.

The heavy armor was neat, and the sword tips hung low.

Wang Pingan's Divine Lord phantom manifested in the vault of heaven.

All the citizens knelt down in unison.

"Greetings, Divine Lord!"

Wang Pingan looked at this legion and issued a divine decree.

"From today onward, you are the first Heavy Immortal-Martial Legion of the Divine Kingdom."

"The Shield Armor Battalion is responsible for breaking Formations."

"The Sword Qi Battalion is responsible for slaying enemies."

"Wang Shan is the commander of the Shield Armor Battalion, and Wang Mu is the commander of the Sword Qi Battalion."

Wang Shan knelt on one knee, his voice majestic and powerful.

"Wang Shan acknowledges the order!"

Wang Mu followed closely behind.

"Wang Mu acknowledges the order!"

Wang Pingan nodded in satisfaction.

But he quickly discovered another problem.

The legion trained very neatly.

The sword Formation could also run.

But they lacked real combat experience.

Their previous training targets were wooden stakes, beast packs, and sparring with compatriots.

Wooden stakes would not counterattack.

Beasts had no tactics.

Compatriots sparring would subconsciously hold back.

The Nova Assessment was a real combat deduction, where various enemies would be encountered.

Orcs, Zerg, undead, mechanical servants—any of them could appear.

A legion that had not experienced high-pressure combat would easily deform once on the field.

Wang Pingan exited the Divine Kingdom and opened the school's internal resource platform.

Tianhai No. 1 High School had opened quite a few auxiliary training permissions for outstanding students.

Among them was a service that perfectly suited his current needs.

[Virtual Alien Sparring System.]

This System could connect to the Divine Kingdom through a Formation, deploying consciousness simulation bodies. It would not harm the physical bodies of the real citizens, but it allowed them to experience combat pressure on a mental level.

The price was not cheap.

A basic connection cost one hundred thousand Source Energy Points.

Ordinary students simply couldn't bear to use it.

Wang Pingan paid directly.

[Payment successful.]

[Application for the Virtual Alien Sparring System approved.]

[Please select the sparring race.]

Wang Pingan scanned the list.

Low-tier Orc Berserkers.

Low-tier Zerg Blade Bugs.

Low-tier Undead Skeleton Soldiers.

Low-tier mechanical servants.

He was not greedy for more.

For the first life-and-death tempering, choosing Orc Berserkers was most suitable.

This kind of enemy had thick skin and flesh, strong strength, and fierce charges, which happened to test the pressure-resistance ability of the Shield Armor Battalion.

Wang Pingan selected the quantity.

Three hundred low-tier Orc Berserkers.

The System popped up a risk prompt.

[This quantity poses a relatively high pressure for a newly awakened Divine Kingdom. Please confirm.]

Wang Pingan confirmed directly.

Without pressure, nothing could be trained.

After the Formation connected to the Divine Kingdom, a dark red light gate appeared above the Northern Plains.

Three hundred virtual Orc Berserkers walked out of the light gate.

They were tall and muscular, holding heavy battle-axes in their hands, with exposed fangs, and their footsteps made the ground shake.

Although they were merely virtual consciousness bodies, the sense of oppression was very real.

Many ordinary citizens in the small town changed their expressions abruptly.

They had never seen aliens before.

That innate physical size gap made many people's hearts tighten.

Wang Pingan did not let ordinary citizens approach.

The divine decree covered the Heavy Legion.

"Heavy Immortal-Martial Legion, meet the enemy in the Northern Plains."

Wang Shan raised his shield at the first moment.

"Shield Armor Battalion, follow me out of the Formation!"

Wang Mu raised his longsword.

"Sword Qi Battalion, follow the Shield Armor Battalion and maintain the battle line!"

The three hundred Heavy Immortal-Martial Legion quickly set off.

They stepped on the stone path, walked out of the small town, and entered the Northern Plains.

In the distance, the Orc Berserkers had already started running.

Three hundred orcs charged simultaneously, and the earth trembled continuously.

Wang Shan stood at the very front, a battle roar bursting from his throat.

"Raise shields!"

One hundred and fifty Shield Armor Battalion citizens raised their round shields simultaneously.

The Sword Qi Battalion formed up in the rear, and the Spiritual Qi shields quickly covered the front row.

The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer.

Wang Shan waved his sword and pointed forward.

"Army-Breaking Sword Formation, rise!"

The blood-Qi of the Shield Armor Battalion connected into one, and their footsteps under the heavy armor stepped out in unison.

The Spiritual Qi of the Sword Qi Battalion poured into the Formation posture, and the rune longswords lit up with light.

The first round of collision arrived quickly.

The Orc Berserkers swung their battle-axes, heavily hacking onto the shields.

The refined steel round shields vibrated violently, and several Shield Armor citizens in the front row retreated several steps on the spot.

One section of the battle line was even forcibly broken open by the orcs.

A Martial Dao Citizen reacted half a beat too slow and was struck on the shoulder armor by a battle-axe, flying backward.

Although this was virtual damage, the mental pain was still real.

That citizen fell to the ground, his face full of pain.

Wang Shan shouted sternly: "Fill the vacancy!"

The second row of Shield Armor citizens immediately stepped up.

But the impact of the Orc Berserkers was stronger than any enemy they had encountered during training.

The three hundred orcs did not understand fancy skills; there was only charging, hacking, and charging again.

This crude fighting style directly shook the Formation of the Heavy Legion.

The Sword Qi Battalion released Sword Qi in the rear, but because the front row kept retreating, their attack rhythm was forced to be disrupted.

Several beams of Sword Qi missed and fell into empty space.

Wang Mu's face sank, and he immediately gave the order.

"Sword Qi Battalion, stabilize your footing! Keep your eyes on the orcs' shoulders and necks; do not fire randomly!"

But facing aliens for the first time, many Cultivation Citizens had sweaty palms.

No matter how much they practiced on ordinary days, at this moment they were somewhat suppressed by the ferocity of the orcs.

In the first round of engagement, the Heavy Immortal-Martial Legion suffered a big loss.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the Shield Armor Battalion was broken open three times.

More than a dozen people in the Sword Qi Battalion were also forced to retreat by the invading orcs.

If this were a real battlefield, it would already be considered a dangerous battle line.

Wang Pingan watched from the vault of heaven and did not immediately rescue the field.

Exposing problems during training was better than exposing them in the Nova Assessment.

Wang Shan quickly realized that simply holding on was not enough.

The orcs' strength was too strong, and hard resistance would keep the Formation under continuous pressure.

He changed his command.

"Front row, tilt shields to deflect force; left and right wings, pincer attack!"

The Shield Armor Battalion began to adjust.

The front row no longer took all the impact head-on, but used the tilted shield surfaces to deflect the battle-axes and collisions.

The Martial Dao Citizens on both wings struck with swords from the sides while the orcs' footsteps were deflected.

Wang Mu also seized the opportunity.

"Sword Qi Battalion, release in three stages! First team hits the legs, second team hits the shoulders, third team delivers the finishing blow!"

The Sword Qi Battalion quickly divided into three stages.

The first batch of Sword Qi flew close to the ground, slashing towards the orcs' legs.

The second batch of Sword Qi suppressed the upper body.

The third batch of Sword Qi waited until the orcs lost their balance before falling.

The battle situation finally began to change.

An Orc Berserker charged too fiercely, was deflected by a tilted shield, and was struck on the feet by Sword Qi, his huge body collapsing heavily to his knees.

Two Shield Armor Battalion citizens stepped forward, their longswords piercing straight into his throat.

The virtual orc turned into red light and dissipated.

The first orc was killed.

The legion's morale rose accordingly.

Wang Shan shouted loudly: "Aliens will also bleed and fall! Stabilize the Formation!"

The fear in the eyes of the Shield Armor Battalion citizens was suppressed.

They began to cooperate proactively, with groups of three restraining the orcs, two filling vacancies, and two slashing from the sides.

Wang Mu's Sword Qi Battalion also became more and more stable.

The Sword Qi no longer flew randomly, but specifically disrupted the orcs' charging rhythm.

The power of the Army-Breaking Sword Formation gradually appeared.

Blood-Qi held the front, and Spiritual Qi tore open weaknesses.

Every time the Shield Armor Battalion stepped forward, the Sword Qi Battalion followed up by half a step.

The Formation was not fast, but it became increasingly stable.

The Orc Berserkers were still ferocious.

They continuously impacted the battle line, their battle-axes smashing against the shields with sparks flying.

Quite a few citizens had their arms numbed by the vibrations, and the mental pain left their foreheads covered in sweat.

But this time, they did not fall into disorder again.

When someone fell, someone immediately filled the vacancy.

When someone was forced to retreat, the flanks immediately connected.

Again and again they were impacted by the virtual orcs, and again and again they regrouped.

The awkwardness was worn away bit by bit by the combat.

Wang Pingan looked at this scene, feeling very satisfied in his heart.

This was the effect he wanted.

A legion piled up by resources could only defeat the weak.

Only a legion tempered through combat had the qualification to step onto the Myriad Races Battlefield.

The battle lasted for half an hour.

The three hundred Orc Berserkers were gradually separated.

The Heavy Immortal-Martial Legion changed from passive beating at the beginning to active advancement.

Wang Shan led the Shield Armor Battalion to suppress the main force of the orcs from the front.

Wang Mu commanded the Sword Qi Battalion to continuously cut through the two wings.

The Army-Breaking Sword Formation operated more and more smoothly.

When the last twenty orcs were pressed to the edge of the plains, the three hundred heavy citizens stepped forward simultaneously.

Blood-Qi and Spiritual Qi converged into a giant sword radiance.

Wang Shan and Wang Mu waved their swords simultaneously.

"Slash!"

The sword radiance swept across.

The final batch of virtual Orc Berserkers were slashed into red light and completely dissipated on the plains.

[Virtual Alien Sparring ended.]

[Enemy completely annihilated.]

[Friendly real combat casualty: zero.]

[Mentally severely injured: twenty-seven.]

[Mild mental exhaustion: one hundred and sixty-three.]

The three hundred heavy legion stood upon the plains; quite a few people had their bodies swaying, and could barely grip their sword hilts.

But the fear in their eyes had already faded, replaced by a trace of fierceness after combat.

Wang Shan leaned on his sword as he stood, his chest heaving violently.

Wang Mu's face revealed fatigue, but his gaze was even more tenacious.

This legion had finally witnessed the ferocity of the aliens.

And truly understood the price of a Formation collapsing on the battlefield.

Wang Pingan's Divine Lord phantom descended above the plains.

All the citizens knelt down with difficulty.

"Greetings, Divine Lord!"

Wang Pingan looked at them, his divine decree spreading across the plains.

"After today, continue training the Army-Breaking Sword Formation."

"Remember the orcs' charge, remember the price of the battle line being torn open."

"Next time, you must win faster."

Wang Shan raised his head, his voice carrying bloodthirst.

"Rest assured, Divine Lord, next time we will not retreat half a step!"

Wang Mu also spoke: "The Sword Qi Battalion will make up for all flaws."

The three hundred Heavy Immortal-Martial Legion responded in unison.

"We strictly obey the Divine Lord's decree!"

On the Northern Plains, the red light left behind by the virtual battle gradually dissipated.

The three hundred heavy legion dragged their fatigued bodies back to the small town.

The lethality of the Army-Breaking Sword Formation was thoroughly stimulated in this combat.

Their tactical literacy also completed a qualitative change between successive collapses and reorganizations.