126: Chapter 126 Taking the Initiative, First Target: Wailing Valley

The system's sudden warning was like a sharp alarm, instantly shattering the exhilarating atmosphere inside the Fortress brought about by the establishment of the arsenal.

[Warning! Detected an abnormal surge in energy reactions at the "Wailing Canyon" stronghold! Spatial coordinates are experiencing severe disturbances! Suspected... trap activation! Or... some entity is being forcibly summoned!]

Lin Chen looked at the flickering star map and the brief warning in his mind, his gaze instantly becoming as sharp as an eagle's.

Wailing Canyon, the first large Thousand Faces Cult stronghold marked on the map provided by the Tombstone Guardian, was occupied by the "Cry-Torturing Ghost General" who took pleasure in absorbing pain. Lin Chen had originally listed it as his first target for purging; he hadn't expected the other side to make a move first!

Was it a trap? Or were they driven to desperation and trying to summon something extraordinary?

"Interesting." A cold arc curled at the corner of Lin Chen's mouth. "I wasn't looking for you, yet you've started acting up first."

Without any hesitation, he immediately issued a series of orders:

"Lei Xiao!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Assemble your unit of ten thousand Yin Soldiers and re-equip them all with the arsenal's latest standard-issue gear! Gather at the Fortress square in ten minutes!"

"Yes!"

"Zhang Hao!"

"Boss, your orders!" Zhang Hao gave a start.

"Your 'Special Operations Team' will accompany us, responsible for battlefield intelligence reconnaissance and interference, with a focus on investigating the source of the spatial disturbances!"

"Understood!"

"Little Red Clothes."

A metallic hum came from the direction of the arsenal as a response.

"Stop routine production and go all out to rush the [Basic Evil-Breaking Talisman] and [Soul Power Recovery Talisman], prioritizing the supply for this expeditionary force!"

The sound of machinery operating inside the arsenal instantly became more violent and intense.

Orders were issued like a torrential storm, and the entire Fortress began to operate efficiently like a precision war machine.

Ten minutes later, the Fortress square.

Ten thousand Yin Soldiers, re-equipped with the brand-new [Yin Soldier Standard-Issue Soul Armor] and holding gleaming [Yin Soldier Standard-Issue War Sabers], were lined up in a neat phalanx, their murderous aura soaring into the sky! The runes on the soul armor glowed faintly in the dim environment, connecting to form an invisible force field. Compared to their previous appearance, it was a complete transformation!

The hundred-man "Special Operations Team" led by Zhang Hao appeared much more eerie; they wore special soul robes capable of concealing their presence, their gazes sharp like venomous snakes in the shadows.

Lei Xiao wore heavy Ghost General armor specially authorized by Lin Chen and reinforced "manually" (using mechanical arms) by Little Red Clothes. Holding a giant axe the size of a door, he stood at the front of the formation like an ancient god of war about to go on an expedition, his presence overwhelming.

Lin Chen stood on the reviewing stand, his gaze sweeping over the grand army below, and nodded with satisfaction. Money was indeed a good thing.

"Target: Wailing Canyon!" Lin Chen gave no unnecessary pre-battle mobilization, simply stating calmly, "Go, tear them down for me."

"Tear them down!"

"Tear them down!"

"Tear them down!"

Ten thousand Yin Soldiers roared in unison, the sound waves causing the dust on the Fortress walls to rustle and fall!

"Set out!"

With a wave of Lin Chen's hand, a massive portal opened once again. Behind the gate was that gray, hazy canyon area from which countless wails of pain faintly echoed.

Like a black torrent of steel, the army poured into the portal in a silent and orderly fashion.

Passing through the portal, intense negative emotions rushed toward them. Wailing Canyon lived up to its name; the steep cliffs on both sides were an unnatural dark red, as if soaked in blood, covered in distorted human face reliefs that silently gaped their mouths in expressions of extreme agony. The air was thick with despair, sadness, anger, and every imaginable negative emotion, so dense it almost became physical, constantly trying to erode the minds of the intruders.

If it had been the previous Yin Soldiers, they would likely have had to expend a significant amount of soul power to resist this mental pollution. But now, the standard-issue soul armor on their bodies glowed faintly, forming a thin layer of protection that isolated most of the negative emotions! The effect was immediate!

"Advance according to plan!" Lei Xiao pointed his giant axe forward.

The Yin Soldier Legion immediately advanced steadily along the canyon in battle formation.

Sure enough, before they had gone far, the eyes of those pained human face reliefs on the cliffs suddenly lit up with red light!

"Wooo—Aaaah—!"

An even more shrill and concentrated mental shockwave swept from the cliffs on both sides like a tsunami! Simultaneously, countless cracks opened in the ground, and a large number of "Pain Walkers"—distorted forms composed of solidified pain energy—crawled out, letting out ear-piercing shrieks as they lunged at the army!

Normally, the Yin Soldiers would have needed to form a defensive array and struggle to hold them off.

But today—

"Evil-Breaking Talismans, saturation strike!" Lei Xiao ordered calmly.

The front-row Yin Soldiers unhesitatingly activated the [Basic Evil-Breaking Talismans] that had been distributed to them!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Thousands of beams of pure, evil-cleansing light, like golden raindrops, accurately shot toward the lunging Pain Walkers and the cliffs emitting the mental shocks!

"Chiii—!"

Like a red-hot iron searing through grease, those Pain Walkers let out even more miserable howls in the evil-breaking light, their bodies rapidly dissolving and vaporizing! The mental shockwaves on the cliffs were also neutralized and weakened over a large area by the dense light!

The effect was outstanding!

"War Saber Team, move forward! Mop up the remnants!" Lei Xiao ordered again.

The middle-row Yin Soldiers immediately stepped forward, their brand-new standard-issue war sabers swinging. The soul-tearing runes attached to the blades lit up, easily slicing through the remaining Pain Walkers that had been heavily damaged by the Evil-Breaking Talismans like cutting vegetables!

The speed of the advance far exceeded expectations!

Zhang Hao and his Special Operations Team roamed the flanks and shadows of the army, using their mind-reading abilities and concealment traits to discover and mark hidden traps and sentries in advance, which were then picked off by the Yin Soldiers from a distance.

Everything was going incredibly smoothly.

The increase in combat power brought by the new equipment was overwhelming!

Soon, the army advanced to the heart of the canyon. The negative emotions here were almost as thick as liquid, and visible dark red mists of resentment floated in the air. Ahead, a massive hundred-meter-high altar built from countless white bones appeared before everyone.

At the top of the altar, a distorted and obese Ghost General, wearing a robe stitched from countless crying human faces, was spreading its arms and frantically absorbing the endless pain energy within the canyon! It was the "Cry-Torturing Ghost General"!

Sensing the army's approach, it suddenly turned around. It had no facial features, only a giant mouth that constantly opened and closed, emitting various pained wails!

"More pain! More wailing! Just in time! Become my food!" Its mental fluctuations were filled with greed and madness.

Obviously, it treated the arrival of Lin Chen's army as a "buffet" delivered to its door!

However, just as Lei Xiao was about to order a direct assault on the altar—

"Wait!"

A shrill, sharp, and cracking female voice suddenly rang out from among the prisoners being guarded by two Yin Soldiers at the rear of the army!

It was the unstable remnant soul of Lin Weiwei (Qin Weiwei)!

She had somehow struggled to the edge of the cage, her soul form so agitated it nearly dissipated. She stared fixedly at the bone altar, especially the bone arrangements at the base that seemed chaotic but were now emitting eerie spatial fluctuations, and screamed a heart-wrenching warning:

"Don't go over there! Don't attack!"

"It's a trap! The entire altar... the energy of the whole canyon... has been reversed!"

"They aren't summoning... they are... they are sacrificing the entire canyon, including themselves... to forcibly open a temporary passage to the Abyss! To summon... to summon a much more terrifying existence to descend!"

(Hook: As if to confirm Lin Weiwei's words, the massive bone altar suddenly shook violently. The Cry-Torturing Ghost General at the top of the altar let out a howl that was both pained and fanatical. Its soul form began to melt like a candle, turning into the purest energy to be injected into the altar's base! The space of the entire Wailing Canyon began to show countless fine cracks like glass! An aura of the Abyss, far exceeding the level of a Ghost General and filled with chaos and destruction, began to seep out from those spatial cracks like a storm!)