168: Chapter 168 A Contaminated Existence?

Massive amounts of Spirit Crystals, rare Materials, special blueprints...

Which of these wasn't a catalyst for the rapid development of his territory?

Risk and reward have always been two sides of the same coin.

Currently, the risk was controllable, while the rewards were visibly enticing.

"Let's do it!"

A sharp light flickered in Lin Tian's eyes; he no longer hesitated.

He needed more manpower to "digest" this "feast" that could be extremely bountiful, but could also choke a person to death.

"You, come here!"

He beckoned a squad leader of the Void Ranger standing nearby.

The ranger immediately stepped forward and bowed to listen for orders.

"Mount your Dragon Horse and return to Lintian City at top speed!"

Lin Tian spoke quickly but clearly.

"Pass on my command: leave two hundred thousand soldiers to guard the city. Ensure everything is absolutely secure!"

"The remaining seven hundred thousand troops are to assemble immediately and march here!"

He paused and added:

"Guarding our home is the top priority! If there's any anomaly or a warning from the Warning Tower, dispatch soldiers to inform us immediately! We have Dragon Horses and high mobility; if anything happens at home, we can fight our way back at any time!"

"Yes! Lord!"

The Void Hunting Ranger squad leader accepted the command with solemnity.

Without any delay, he turned and ran toward his Dragon Horse, vaulting onto its back.

The Dragon Horse flapped its wings and shot toward the stable spatial tunnel like an arrow from a bow, vanishing into it in an instant.

After arranging for reinforcements, Lin Tian felt slightly more at ease.

Two hundred thousand defenders, relying on four towering city walls and a large number of defensive facilities, plus the defense of those two hundred thousand soldiers.

Unless a power on the level of the Minotaur Kingdom sent troops to attack, it was sufficient to handle the vast majority of situations.

With the addition of these seven hundred thousand fresh troops, his actions in this alien space would be even more effortless.

"Void Ranger, hear my command!"

He issued another order.

"Here!"

The Void Ranger scattered across the positions responded in unison.

"In your squads, conduct a fan-shaped reconnaissance to the front, left wing, and right wing!"

"Mission: scout the terrain, monster distribution density, and any special energy nodes or architectural ruins within a fifty-mile radius!"

"Focus on finding areas with the thickest pollution energy or the most abnormal spatial fluctuations! Stay concealed; if you encounter large groups of monsters, do not engage in a prolonged fight, and report back promptly!"

"Understood!"

Two thousand Void Ranger, experts in stealth and spatial perception.

Like silver points of light scattered onto a gloomy canvas, they quickly split into dozens of squads and silently vanished into the shadows of the wasteland and ruins under the blood moon.

"All other units, maintain defensive formation and advance slowly with the bridgehead as the center!"

Lin Tian took a longsword from his storage space.

The sword's tip pointed deep into the wasteland, his voice steady and powerful.

"Advance steadily and clear out all monsters along the way! This is our training ground and our hunting ground! Do not let any opportunity for improvement pass!"

"Roar!"

The remaining nearly three hundred thousand troops let out a synchronized battle roar, their morale high.

Under the command of their respective generals, the massive military array began to move as a single entity with a thunderous start.

With firm and slow steps, they began to crush their way into the depths of this forgotten land.

A torrent of steel began to saturate this filthy silence.

Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the polluted space, inside a broken mountain covered in dark purple crystals that pulsed slowly like a giant heart.

The light here was even dimmer, save for an object floating in the center of a naturally formed massive hollow inside the mountain, emitting a faint, extremely unsettling violet-black light.

It was a strange crystal, battered and covered in countless tiny cracks, yet also overlaid with even more bizarre and complex violet-black patterns that writhed slowly as if alive.

Its shape was irregular, but one could vaguely see the outline of what was once a Lord's Territory Core.

But now, it had been completely eroded and mutated by an indescribable filth and evil power.

The space around the crystal was even more distorted, and time seemed to have fallen into a viscous mire.

Suddenly, the writhing violet-black patterns on the crystal's surface flared with light!

An extremely thin, ethereal humanoid silhouette, seemingly condensed from the thickest shadow and malice, slowly "floated" out from within the crystal.

It had no clear facial features, only two spots where two clusters of spectral violet flames burned like eyes.

"Heh... heh..."

A raspy, dry whisper, as if it hadn't spoken for millions of years, yet also as if it acted directly upon the depths of the Soul, echoed faintly in the hollow:

"How many... ages has it been...?"

"Finally... fresh flesh and blood... the fragrance of Souls... has broken into this... abandoned cage..."

"Damn... eternal heavenly dao... Will..."

"Suppressing... me for such a long... time..."

"Wait for me... to break free from the shackles of this decaying core... and return to the world..."

"I will surely take the pain and loneliness you inflicted..."

"And return it a thousand, ten thousand fold!"

"Let blood... dye the earth red...!"

A consciousness filled with endless malice, hatred, and madness surged within this small space like a cold tide.

The ethereal shadow "gazed" at the blood moon, as if piercing through countless distances.

Through the blood moon, it saw the slowly advancing human army and saw Lin Tian's high spirits.

A moment later, the phantom, having finished its venting, seemed to have exhausted its strength, or perhaps it was unwilling to reveal itself too early.

The spectral violet flame eyes flickered a few times and slowly dimmed.

The entire ethereal figure faded like ink dissolving in water, finally withdrawing completely.

It merged back into that damaged violet-black Territory Core emitting its ominous light.

Inside the hollow, silence returned.

Only that core continued to pulse slowly, like the heart of a sleeping troll, waiting for the day it would be fully awakened.

The advancing Lin Tian knew nothing of this.

He was riding Chiyan, moving in the center of the army.

His sharp gaze scanned the increasingly bizarre terrain and the growing groups of monsters gathering from all directions, drawn by the "scent of the living."

Lin Yin was beside him, her moonlight longbow always half-drawn, her cold eyes alert for any ambush that might be launched from the shadows.

Reconnaissance reports from the Void Ranger were trickling back, showing that the monster density around them was steadily increasing.

And small-scale groups of monsters with simple signs of coordination began to appear.

Further away, there seemed to be large areas with abnormal energy reactions.

"There really is something here..."

Lin Tian licked his dry lips; far from being afraid, an even more vigorous Battle Intent burned in his eyes.

"Pass the order: the vanguard is to engage! Maintain formation and devour every bit of this 'experience' delivered to our door!"

"Boom!"

Battle erupted once again on the Blood Moon Wasteland.

The light of arrows and Spells tore through the eternal gloom.

And in the deeper darkness, some horrific existence that had slept for who knows how long...

Seemed to quietly turn over due to this sudden "commotion," casting a malicious and greedy glance.