185: Chapter 185 Battle for Top-Tier Titles

A moment later, the Principal's reply arrived, as steady and concise as ever: "Understood, the contingency plan has been initiated. Guard Changning City well, and wait for the changes. Do not worry."

Seeing this reply, the taut nerves of Li Wen finally truly relaxed.

He exhaled softly and shook his head with self-deprecation.

"That's right," he muttered to himself, gazing at the festive holographic projection above the city. "With an operation of this scale, even ordinary spies know the specific time. If the Kindling Hall were still completely unaware, the Human Race probably wouldn't have lasted until today. The Shadow organization and the Yao Race have our deep-cover agents; how could we—not have planted nails deep within their core?"

The Yao Race wants to launch their first full-scale attack on New Year's Eve?

The Principal and the others have likely already spread a massive net to deal with it.

Now, he only needs to do his duty, guard the Interstellar Gate of Changning City, and wait for the horn of the full-scale war that is destined to sound tonight.

He glanced at the spy with empty eyes in front of him, flicked a wisp of condensed Primordial Spirit Power from his fingertip, and instantly destroyed the opponent's core of consciousness.

The spy collapsed silently.

Li Wen waved his hand, and the corpse was enveloped by an invisible force, turning into ashes completely in no time.

After finishing all this, his gaze turned to the distant sky, as if he could penetrate the surface and feel the Demonic Qi accumulating like a tide on the other side of the Star Gate.

On the day of New Year's Eve, the sunlight still shone brightly on the festive streets of Changning City.

However, an invisible, massive shadow of war had already quietly shrouded all the fortress cities on this planet that guarded the Interstellar Gates.

The peaceful time had entered its final countdown.

Time quickly arrived at night, New Year's Eve.

Inside the fortress of the Changning City Interstellar Gate, the atmosphere was as usual.

In the brightly lit canteen, the rotating team members were enjoying a simple New Year's Eve dinner.

The television was playing programs celebrating the New Year, and occasionally, a few brilliant fireworks exploded in the sky over the distant urban area, bringing a touch of festive atmosphere.

Only a few people knew that beneath this seemingly peaceful appearance, undercurrents were surging.

Li Wen had long since informed only core personnel, such as Deputy Captain Ling Feng, about the intelligence that the Yao Race would launch a full-scale attack tonight.

The alert level of the fortress was quietly raised to the highest, and all defensive runes were silently lit.

The energy shield was in a standby state; although the soldiers did not know the specifics, they sensed something unusual and silently checked their equipment.

Li Wen stood quietly with his blade in the center of the fortress, in front of that Interstellar Gate leading to the Monster Realm.

The cold metal gate was silent at this moment, forming a bone-chilling contrast with the festive clamor outside.

His Primordial Spirit perception had long been pushed to the limit, and within the precisely covered ten-mile radius, any subtle energy fluctuation could not escape his capture.

Meanwhile, in the Monster Realm.

Unlike the clamor of the festivals on Blue Star, the Monster Realm was filled with an aura of slaughter and bloodthirst.

Under the rule of the Yao Emperor's will, a suffocating Yao tide had gathered in front of almost all the Interstellar Gates leading to Blue Star.

The massive Interstellar Gates emitted an unstable, dark light.

The plains and valleys in front of the gates had long been packed tightly by the Yao Race, who were of various forms and possessed fierce auras.

Low-rank Yao soldiers were layered like a tide; their scales rubbed against each other, their claws growled, and their scarlet eyes held only a craving for blood and the flesh of the Human Race.

At the front of the ranks were the even more powerful Yao Generals. They maintained the order of the formations, and their bodies were shrouded in scorching, cold, or bloody Demonic Qi, converging into a cloud of evil that blocked out the sky.

The air was filled with heavy panting, the harsh sound of scales scraping against rocks, and the metallic trembling sound of weapons colliding unconsciously.

Occasionally, a massive Yao King would soar into the air, its cold gaze sweeping over the subordinates below like a sea tide; its majestic pressure caused the Yao soldiers below to instinctively crawl and tremble.

The whole scene was like an active volcano about to erupt, suppressing earth-shattering energy, waiting only for the moment the teleportation opened to pour into the home of the Human Race.

What the Human Race defensive line would face would be an unprecedented impact since the establishment of the Interstellar Gates.

Blue Star time, midnight.

"Dong—Dong—Dong—"

The New Year's bell, piercing through the cold wind of the winter night, echoed melodiously over Changning City.

"Xiu—Bang!"

Almost at the same moment, countless brilliant fireworks vied to rise into the sky all over the city, exploding into gorgeous colors in the night sky, illuminating the night like daylight, with the cheers of citizens faintly audible.

However, these festive bells and fireworks, symbolizing the bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, became the signal to ignite the flames of war.

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum—

Across Blue Star, hundreds of Interstellar Gates, regardless of size, saw the ancient runes engraved on their door frames suddenly light up the moment the bell rang, erupting with blinding radiance.

In the center of the originally silent portals, like a water surface into which a stone had been thrown, violent spatial fluctuations spread, and the deep nebula vortex began to spin wildly.

War had arrived without any buffer!

Shanyu Pass.

The white-haired Principal still sat cross-legged under the ancient pavilion.

In front of the pavilion, that super-large Interstellar Gate, over three thousand meters high, had runes on its door frame flowing with dangerous and blinding energy light at this moment.

The massive nebula vortex spun rapidly inside the gate, emitting spatial fluctuations sufficient to make a King-rank Expert palpitate.

However, the interior of the gate was empty.

No Yao Race, not even the lowest-rank Yao soldier, stepped out from it.

The Principal looked calmly at the massive portal spinning idly, his expression neither happy nor sad.

The intention of the Yao Race was obvious: to use the deterrence generated by the activation of this super-large Star Gate, which was capable of allowing Great Yao Kings to pass through, to firmly pin him, this Human Race Venerable, to this place.

As long as he made even the slightest move to leave Shanyu Pass to support other places, the top-tier forces of the Yao Race, who were eyeing it covetously from behind the gate, would very likely seize the opportunity to let a large number of Great Yao Kings swarm in, and the resulting disaster would be immeasurable.

This idly spinning Star Gate had a value of deterrence and containment far greater than immediately entering the battle.

The same scene was also happening at another crucial super-large fortress.

That equally magnificent gate also only had its runes lit and the nebula spinning, but no enemy was seen.

The purpose was only one: to firmly contain another strategic Venerable combat power of the Human Race, making it impossible for them to divert their attention elsewhere.

Large fortress, Jiale Pass.

On the cold and biting city wall, Peak Master of Nine Heavens Peak Fang Qinghan stood with his hands behind his back.

His posture was as straight as a pine, his green robe remained motionless in the wind, and the ancient longsword on his back was not unsheathed, yet it naturally induced subtle arcs of lightning in the surrounding space.

The runes of the large Interstellar Gate in front of him were blazing, and the rotation speed of the nebula vortex inside the gate had clearly accelerated—this marked that the teleportation had begun, and the Yao Race was sneaking in through this gate.

Fang Qinghan's expression was indifferent; he did not immediately look at the Star Gate, but instead turned slowly, his gaze sweeping like lightning over the empty shadow areas around the city wall.

"You've been spying for a long time; come out, you rats of the Shadow organization."

Before his words had faded, the lightning around him suddenly became fine and active; wisps of electric snakes wandered silently in the air, making faint crackling sounds, illuminating the space with flickering light and shadow.

Almost the moment his voice fell, the shadows at the edge of the city wall seemed to come alive, twisting and wriggling, and a figure wearing pitch-black armor and a ferocious dragon-shaped mask emerged silently.

An aura that was cold and sharp, not at all weaker than Fang Qinghan's, billowed out; it was none other than the strongest of the twelve department leaders of the Shadow organization, the Leader of the Dragon Department.

Without any superfluous words, the moment their auras collided, the battle had already erupted.

The Leader of the Dragon Department flickered, leaving only an afterimage in place, while his true body had merged into the shadows of the space.

The next instant, several black edges, condensed to the extreme, slashed out from the Void Realm, with tricky and vicious angles, pointing directly at the vital points of Fang Qinghan.

Fang Qinghan's eyes narrowed slightly; he did not unsheathe his sword, but instead brought his right-hand fingers together like a sword and tapped gently at the Void Realm.

In an instant, thunder exploded!

A dazzling purple divine lightning was born out of thin air; it did not strike straight down, but like a living spirit snake, it wound and twisted, striking with extreme precision at the weakest point of every black edge.

When the lightning and shadows collided, there was no earth-shattering explosion, only a piercing shriek and terrifying ripples dissipated when the energy annihilated, instantly twisting and tearing the space within tens of zhang around the two.

There were no fancy tricks in a top-tier King-rank battle; every move already involved a trace of the understanding and application of rules.

The Leader of the Dragon Department's figure was elusive, shuttling between the real and the virtual like a ghost, with every attack carrying a chill that tore at the Soul.

Fang Qinghan was as steady as a rock; a lightning domain formed around him naturally, and with every gesture, he invoked the divine lightning of the Nine Heavens.

Like chains coiling or a giant net casting, they neutralized the opponent's fierce and tricky attacks one by one. Wherever the purple lightning passed, space stabilized, and the shadows retreated.

Just as the two top-tier experts were locked in an endless struggle and the aftershocks of the battle shook the city pass, there was finally a major disturbance within the activated Interstellar Gate.

Dozens of powerful Demonic Qi surged into the sky, and a group of powerful Yao kings, all with auras at the Marquis Level, filed out.

They were clearly well-prepared. As soon as they stepped out of the Star Gate, they did not hesitate in the slightest, not even daring to glance at the two King-rank experts fighting so fiercely that the sky and earth turned dark.

They immediately exerted all their strength, transforming into dozens of Yao lights of various colors, and fled frantically in all directions.

"Hmph, you want to leave?" A cold snort sounded like muffled thunder, just as the group of Yao kings had rushed out no more than a hundred zhang.

A burly figure suddenly appeared in the high sky to the side of the Star Gate; it was King Shanyu, who had just withdrawn from the direction of Shanyu Pass.

His gaze was cold as a blade, locking onto the group of Yao kings fleeing in all directions below, and he raised his hand, intending to unleash a thunderous strike to annihilate them.

However, just as King Shanyu raised his palm, another fierce aura, also reaching the top King-rank level, suddenly descended.

A tall figure wearing a tiger mask tore through space, wrapped in monstrous blood flames, and threw a punch straight at King Shanyu's back. It was the leader of the Tiger Division of the Shadow organization.

King Shanyu reacted extremely quickly and was forced to turn to face the enemy. He struck out with a palm, and the majestic power of the Dao collided violently with that blood-colored fist aura.

Boom!

It was as if two stars had collided. The terrifying shockwave swept out, throwing the already panic-stricken group of Yao kings below into even greater chaos and disarray.

Four top King-rank experts were locked in pairs of battle above this Jiale Pass, and the battle situation escalated instantly.

The collision and tearing of the power of the rules, the roaring of thunder, the churning of shadows, and the blood flames burning the sky—the sturdy spatial barrier was shattered like a broken mirror, the scene resembling the coming of the apocalypse.

How could those dozens of Yao kings below dare to linger any longer?

Taking advantage of the perfect opportunity when this earth-shattering battle had attracted everyone's attention, they were all scared until their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Using all their might, they desperately suppressed their Demonic Qi and fled for their lives in the direction away from the battlefield, toward those brightly lit Human Race cities deep in Blue Star.

To them, the King-rank battlefield was a meat grinder, while those small and medium-sized Human Race cities and settlements with relatively weak defenses were the hunting grounds for them to execute the "Year-End Operation."

Similar scenes were unfolding almost simultaneously above a dozen other city passes on Blue Star that possessed large Interstellar Gates and were theoretically supposed to be guarded by top King-rank experts.

The powerful leaders of the Shadow organization cooperated with the Yao Race's teleportation plan, precisely pinning down or even intercepting part of the Human Race's top combat power, creating a precious escape window for those infiltrating Yao kings.

Changning City, Interstellar Gate fortress.

Fireworks were still sporadically blooming in the city, and cheers could be faintly heard.

— — Inside the fortress, however, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.

In the communication network, messages of emergency, encounters with powerful enemies, and the discovery of infiltrating Yao kings poured in like snowflakes, depicting the cruel scene of the entire Blue Star engulfed in the flames of war.

Li Wen still stood quietly holding his blade. The Interstellar Gate in front was still silent, not even causing a single ripple of energy.

This extreme abnormality, amidst the overwhelming war alarms, appeared particularly eerie.

"What is going on? Could it be — — — —" Ling Feng's voice carried a hint of confusion and anxiety.

Li Wen closed his eyes and focused. His Primordial Spirit Power, like the most precise radar, meticulously scanned every inch of space within dozens of miles.

Suddenly, his tightly closed eyelids moved slightly.

It's here!

In a certain direction about dozens of miles away from the fortress, a powerful and secretive aura was breaking through the air at an astonishing speed.

This aura was filled with a cold, slimy feeling, carrying clear malice, and was aimed directly at the Changning City Interstellar Gate fortress.

Its energy level had astonishingly reached the top Marquis Level.

"So that's how it is." Li Wen opened his eyes, a cold light flashing in his pupils. "It was waiting for someone."

He had previously wondered why the Star Gate here was completely silent.

Now it seemed that the Yao Race had not abandoned this place, but was cautiously waiting for an expert strong enough to ensure that they could suppress the gatekeeper after the teleportation was activated, arriving first to clear obstacles or buy time for the subsequent army.

Just a few breaths after Li Wen sensed that top Marquis Level aura — — Hum!

On the Changning City Interstellar Gate, those runes that had been silent for a long time suddenly lit up with blinding red light, like cold water poured onto a red-hot iron block.

The door frame trembled violently, the space in the center twisted instantly, and a powerful, chaotic, and violent Demonic Qi spatial fluctuation suddenly erupted.

The nebula vortex began to rotate!

Almost at the same time the Star Gate was activated, a black shadow, like an arrow tearing through the night sky, instantly appeared above the fortress.

The person hovered in mid-air, their face covered by a cold snake-shaped mask, and the gaze beneath the mask locked onto Li Wen, who stood below holding his blade, like a venomous snake.

The invisible top Marquis Level pressure, mixed with strong Killing Intent, pressed down on the entire fortress like a heavy lead cloud.

The person who came was actually the new Leader of the Snake Department!

The war at Changning Pass was finally ignited at this moment.

When the figure of the new Leader of the Snake Department fully stepped out from the surging energy.

Immediately, a majestic pressure belonging to a top Marquis-level Divine Demon swept across the entire Changning City Interstellar Gate fortress like a tangible tsunami.

The air seemed to freeze instantly, and the heavy pressure caused all the other garrisoned Divine Demons, except for a few stronger ones like Li Wen and Ling Feng, to gasp, their complexions changing drastically.

Invisible fear instinctively sprouted from the bottom of their hearts, spreading to their limbs and bones.

The alarm System inside the fortress emitted a sharp ringing, and the energy peak value representing the enemy attack on the monitoring screen flashed blindingly.

Fear is the most primitive reaction when a living being faces a huge threat.

However, every Human Race Divine Demon stationed here, although their bodies were trembling instinctively, did not move their feet in the slightest.

They gritted their teeth, forcibly suppressing the churning vital energy and the chill surging in their hearts, gripped their weapons tightly, accelerated the circulation of True Essence in their bodies, lit up their protective aura, and quickly formed a battle formation.

Duty had long been engraved into their bone marrow—to hold the city pass, resist the invaders, and protect every ordinary citizen in the city behind them who was immersed in the peaceful atmosphere of New Year's Eve.

"Li Wen." The cold gaze of the Leader of the Snake Department pierced through the chaotic energy flow and landed precisely on the upright figure in front of the Interstellar Gate.

He did not make a move at the first moment. Instead, with a condescending posture and a hint of playfulness like a cat playing with a mouse, he opened his mouth. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "Blue Star cannot be defended. With your talent and Aptitude, why bury yourself with it? Join our Shadow organization, and we can let bygones be bygones."

He paused, seemingly enjoying the tense reactions of the crowd, and then slowly raised his right hand, extending one finger with an unquestionable meaning, pointing at the comrades standing in battle readiness around Li Wen: "The condition is very simple. Kill them, all of them. Use their blood to trade for your qualification to join Shadow."

After speaking, the corner of the Leader of the Snake Department's mouth curled into a determined and cruel smile, as if he had already seen the wonderful scene of Li Wen falling into a dilemma or internal infighting.

This malicious persuasion to surrender made the hearts of the garrisoned Divine Demons sink suddenly.

The atmosphere of despair wrapped around their hearts like cold vines.

Facing a terrifying existence at the top Marquis Level, a threshold marquis might still give them a glimmer of hope to hold on, but a top Marquis Level?

The gap in between was too large, so large that it made people feel suffocated and powerless.

Many people's gazes subconsciously turned to Li Wen. In this desperate situation, they needed the reaction of their backbone.

However, what no one expected was that Li Wen seemed to have heard an extremely ridiculous joke.

He didn't even look at the gazes of his surrounding companions, and there was no expression of hesitation or struggle on his face.

The moment the Leader of the Snake Department's voice fell, Li Wen stepped out, leaving a faint afterimage in place.

The battle blade in his hand that had accompanied him for a long time had transformed into a sharp ray tearing through space, carrying resolute Killing Intent, and he slashed towards the high and mighty Leader of the Snake Department without hesitation!

Great Sun Realm Late Stage, actively swinging a blade at a top Marquis Level!