86: Chapter 86 The Black Tide Begins, Blood Transfusion from the Void

In front of the position, the poisonous swamp swelled over a large area. Hundreds of dark green vertical pupils opened simultaneously, and the entire expanse of black mud was bubbling outward.

Wang Pingan stood in the sky of Divine Thought, his gaze suppressing the battlefield, not letting Wang Shan rush out to seize kills.

The trouble with the Black Swamp Scale Nest was never the first wave of alien races, but the invisible dark current of Origin beneath the muddy water.

"Artillery Battalion, switch to low-tier shock shells. Ten guns per group, strike the front layer of mud. Don't seek to kill; force the things out first."

As Wang Mu lowered his command flag, the veterans of the Artillery Battalion immediately adjusted the angles of their cannons, and the Formation Maintenance Team simultaneously replaced the talisman runes in the cannon chambers.

Ten Psionic Heavy Cannons lit up with gray-white light simultaneously. The shells did not strike the heads of the Black-scaled Swamp Lizards directly but instead slammed into the mud layer three zhang in front of the vertical pupils.

A roar erupted, and black mud churned. Several larger Black-scaled Swamp Lizards were shaken out of the mud, their thick scales wrapped in black primary fluid.

Wang Mu's gaze narrowed, and he immediately shouted, "Mutated specimens! Their scales carry Origin corrosion; don't let ordinary Sword Qi touch the front!"

Wang Shan stared at two of them, his Battle Intent surging, but he did not charge recklessly; instead, he looked toward the sky first.

Wang Pingan did not hesitate: "Take samples, decapitate them, retreat within three breaths. Rescue team, follow with the traction cables."

Wang Shan grabbed his heavy shield and combat saber, waving his arm fiercely at the thirty members of the swamp exploration squad behind him.

"Follow me out to fish for treasures! Whoever is slow, wash your own armor when we get back!"

The thirty swamp exploration squad members stepped onto the Floating Board Shield Vehicles, their traction cables hooked to their waist armor, and leaped out along the gaps in the floating boards.

The mutated Black-scaled Swamp Lizards opened their mouths to spew high-concentration venom. The corrosive green toxic mist splashed onto the D-grade heavy armor, and black smoke immediately rose from the armor's surface.

Wang Shan did not retreat. He smashed his heavy shield horizontally into the toxic mist, his dark golden blood energy pushing aside the corrosion, and used the force to leap onto the top of the first mutated swamp lizard's head.

His combat saber fell, the blade scraping against the scales with a harsh, explosive sound. The first strike only split them by half an inch.

Wang Shan roared, and the twenty heavy armored soldiers behind him poured their blood energy through the traction cables into his body, temporarily connecting the Xuanjia Zhenyue Formation.

The second strike fell, and the mutated swamp lizard's head flew off on the spot. Black blood sprayed into the swamp, and the surrounding black mud churned violently.

The other mutated swamp lizard seized the opportunity to curl its tail, its barbed hook piercing directly toward Wang Shan's waist. The rescue team's winch tightened suddenly, pulling him half a step aside.

Wang Shan turned with the momentum, pressing the shield face against the tail hook, and gouged the combat saber forcefully along the crack in the scales.

The second head rolled to the edge of the floating board. The swamp exploration squad immediately stepped forward, and a spirit-sealing bottle captured the black primary fluid gushing out.

"Samples obtained, retreat!"

Wang Mu did not wait for Wang Shan to linger in the fight. He lowered his command flag three times in succession, and the Sword Qi Battalion swept out a path of retreat with low-altitude Sword Qi.

When Wang Shan led the team back, the D-grade heavy armor on his body had already been corroded with over a dozen pits, and the armor plates at his waist had even been bitten through by the venom.

Wang Pingan glanced at the extent of the armor damage, and in his heart, he raised the danger level of the Black Tide primary fluid by another tier.

This thing was much stronger than the venom in the simulation area before; no wonder the five Star River students collapsed after going deep in.

The next moment, an angry hiss came from the depths of the Black Swamp, and the hot, humid miasma of the entire Divine Kingdom began to roll back.

The Origin fluctuation lurking in the deep swamp to the southwest finally erupted. Black mud and rotting water churned up from the ground, converging into a wave of mud ten zhang high.

The mud wave contained broken scales, poisonous plants, rotting bones, and Black Tide primary fluid. Wherever it passed, the floating boards were swallowed, and the toxic mist was compressed into a thick black curtain.

Wang Mu's expression changed suddenly: "The Black Tide backflow has erupted! The speed is three times faster than the intelligence reports!"

Wang Shan stared at the oncoming Black Tide and spat, "This beast really knows how to pick its moment!"

Wang Pingan's expression did not change, and he immediately issued a Divine Oracle: "The entire army is to retreat to the first purification position. Abandon the entire outer hundred zhang."

Wang Shan did not hesitate at all and raised his hand to cut down the frontline command flag.

"Retreat! Follow the training! Whoever dares to turn back for greed of kills, I will kick him back to the Military Discipline Hall!"

The Floating Board Shield Vehicles were pulled back one by one, the traction cables were retracted in sections, the swamp exploration squad protected the flanks, and the Artillery Battalion dismantled the elevated cannon mounts.

Those forward footholds that had just been set up were actively abandoned, and the hundred zhang of space was surrendered to the Black Tide in the blink of an eye.

A few Black-scaled Swamp Lizards, thinking the Human Race was in full retreat, had just lunged out from the mud when they were cut down by the rear-guard Sword Qi Battalion.

While retreating, Wang Mu ordered the Hundred Arts Hall troops accompanying the army to send all the mutated venom, Black Tide primary fluid, and high-tier scales into the Divine Kingdom passage.

The spirit-sealing bottles passed through the passage and landed in the isolation zone in the southern part of the Divine Kingdom behind them.

Wang Pingan did not pin his hopes on holding the line at the front; his true trump card had always been within the Divine Kingdom.

Above the sky, the phantom of the Divine Lord manifested, and the entire Divine Kingdom heard Wang Pingan's Divine Oracle simultaneously.

"The four institutes of the Hundred Arts Hall, cease all routine tasks. Alchemy Pavilion, Formation Hall, Spirit Planting Department, and Talisman Institute, dedicate all efforts to analyzing the Black Tide primary fluid."

"Casting Workshop, Ordnance Institute, Armor Battalion, and Blood Medicine Workshop, research the high-tier scales and corrosive venom. Find me a countermeasure."

"One day in the outside world, three years in the Divine Kingdom. Master of Time, activate."

The Divine Core roared, the hidden talent was fully activated, and the time in the Divine Kingdom accelerated once again. The bell in the southern isolation zone was struck.

Wang Mu's main body remained on the frontline to command, while he diverted a large amount of his consciousness into the interior of the Divine Kingdom. The Alchemy Pavilion and Formation Hall immediately entered a wartime state.

The damaged armor on Wang Shan's body was also sent to the Armor Battalion; those corrosion marks became the most intuitive teaching materials.

Inside the Divine Kingdom, they began to race against time, but the battlefield outside did not wait for anyone to catch their breath.

The Black Tide slammed fiercely into the first purification position. The pale green formation light suddenly buckled, and three temporary Formation Plates emitted cracking sounds simultaneously.

The members of the Formation Maintenance Team sat cross-legged at the formation eyes, their Spiritual Qi pouring into the Formation Plates through their palms, their faces showing signs of fatigue.

The rotting water drilled inward along the edges of the formation light, and the outer layers of the Floating Board Shield Vehicles were bitten into a pitted mess, with black smoke rising continuously.

Wang Mu waved his command flag: "Formation Maintenance Team, rotate! Medics, keep an eye on the poisoned ones! Do not skimp on the Miasma-Clearing Talismans!"

Wang Shan stood with the heavy armored army behind the battle line, his heavy shield bracing against a shield vehicle that had almost been overturned by the Black Tide.

"Don't panic! Behind us is the Divine Kingdom passage. Whoever retreats half a step, the Alchemists and Armorers in the back will have to take the poison for you!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the heavy armored soldiers in the front row turned red, but no one shouted recklessly; they just pressed their shield surfaces even more firmly.

The Black Tide struck the position again and again, the formation light flickering continuously, and the first purification position was forcibly compressed by ten zhang.

Wang Pingan watched the attrition of the position and understood in his heart that the existing plan could only hold, not counterattack.

He needed the interior of the Divine Kingdom to provide an answer.

Outside the teleportation zone, on the viewing screen, the Black Tide had already dyed most of the image ink-black.

The spectating freshmen were silent for a moment, but soon someone couldn't help but speak up.

"He retreated! Wang Pingan retreated!"

"I told you the heavy armored legion couldn't handle the Black Swamp. Once the Black Tide comes, the position shakes immediately."

"At this rate of corrosion, he won't last three days. If he can manage to retreat, he'll be lucky."

Lu Ming stood at the back of the crowd, his originally tense face finally relaxing a bit.

He stared at the flickering purification formation light on the screen, and the pent-up frustration he had felt for a long time finally found an outlet.

"He made a name for himself with the Blood Moon Wreckage, but a complete high-risk Divine Kingdom isn't that simple."

The teammate beside him glanced at him and remained silent.

Lu Ming sneered, "The Black Tide backflow is specifically designed to counter advancement systems. He's retreating a hundred zhang now, and tomorrow he'll have to retreat another hundred. When he retreats to the edge of the passage, the re-examination will naturally fail."

Someone heard this and immediately chimed in.

"Lu Ming makes sense. The Black Swamp Scale Nest has killed five students; you definitely can't get through it just by relying on brute force."

Lu Ming felt a little better hearing the voices around him.

The root of his suppression of Wang Pingan lay in the Grade A sequence quota and the face of the Central Star Domain circle.

If Wang Pingan, a freshman from a remote Star Domain, were to rise to the top by stepping on the Black Swamp Scale Nest, many aristocratic children from the Central Star Domain would be overshadowed.

The Family behind Lu Ming had invested too much Divine Power value for his resources; he could not afford to lose his reputation, and even less could he afford to lose his future sequence position.

In the screen, the first purification position flickered again, and two outer formation patterns collapsed.

Lu Ming's mouth twitched, and his voice was very heavy.

"Hold on, then. I want to see how long your legion can last in the Black Tide."

Inside the Black Swamp Scale Nest, Wang Pingan could not hear the mockery from the outside world, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.

He only stared at the images from inside the Divine Kingdom being transmitted back from the other end of the passage.

The moment the spirit-sealing bottle was opened, the Black Tide primary fluid fell into the isolation pool, and the formation patterns on the pool walls were instantly corroded with large cracks.

The Alchemy Pavilion, Formation Hall, Casting Workshop, and Armor Battalion all gathered around.

Wang Pingan's Divine Oracle descended once again.

"However long the frontline can hold, that is how much time you have."

"Tear the bones of the Black Tide out for me."

In the first year inside the Divine Kingdom, the Alchemy Pavilion destroyed thirteen Pill Furnaces in a row.

The Black Tide primary fluid's toxicity was fierce; as soon as ordinary Spiritual Plants were thrown into the furnace, their medicinal properties turned into a pool of black slag.

When the seventh Pill Furnace shattered, an Alchemy apprentice was knocked down by the residual poison, and a medic stepped forward quickly to drag the person out of the isolation zone.

Wang Mu's distracted projection descended into the Alchemy Pavilion and stood before the test bench.

"Don't follow old Pill Formulas to test. The root of the Black Tide's corrosion is not in the flesh and blood; check the Spiritual Qi pathways first."

The old man in charge of Alchemy looked anxious.

"Commander, the toxicity changes too fast. The test-subject Puppets cannot hold up."

Wang Mu stared at the Black Tide primary fluid in the isolation pool, drew out a drop of diluted venom with his bare hand, and touched it to his palm.

The venom followed the Spiritual Qi and drilled into his Meridians, forcibly gnawing at the Spiritual Qi nodes. Wang Mu's body swayed slightly, and black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Several medics nearby hurried forward, wanting to reach out to support him.

Wang Mu raised his hand to stop them, forcibly circulating his Spiritual Qi to carve the flow of the toxicity into a Jade Slip.

"First, it corrodes the Spiritual Qi nodes, then it blocks the Qi return path, and finally, it bites back at the internal organs."

He suppressed the surging toxic Qi and stood in place.

"Change the new Pill Formula into three stages: protect the nodes, open the return paths, and expel the residual poison."

Everyone in the Alchemy Pavilion immediately accepted the order, and the Pill Furnaces were ignited again.

The Spirit Planting Department delivered all the pulse-protecting Spiritual Plants they could mobilize, and the Talisman Institute also dispatched personnel to assist in sealing the toxic Qi.

The Formation Hall's progress was similarly hindered.

The Formation Master introduced the Black Tide primary fluid into a small Formation Plate. As soon as the formation patterns lit up, the black liquid flow followed the patterns and invaded the formation eyes in reverse.

The first batch of test Formation Plates was completely destroyed. The second batch had thickened formation bases, but still couldn't last for half a quarter of an hour.