The South Grim Realm, Cloud Radiance Great Domain, capital of the Crimson Sand Kingdom.
A colossal golden pyramid-shaped aircraft pierced through the clouds and slowly landed at the port of the oasis capital. Staff waiting nearby rushed forward, quickly unloading batches of cargo containers filled with war supplies from the pyramid aircraft.
The entire Crimson Sand capital was clearly in a state of tense preparation for war.
The other two kingdoms were also preparing with similar urgency.
The old King of Crimson Sand surveyed the entirety of the capital from afar, his expression grave. The pressure brought upon the entire Crimson Sand nation by the ascension war was not small.
Crimson Sand was not the weakest among the seven great kingdoms of Cloud Radiance, but it was widely recognized as the poorest.
The ascension war would last for three days and three nights, during which the consumption of potions, grim crystals, and various war materials would undoubtedly be astronomical. It wasn't until a preliminary estimate was made that the old King realized it would be somewhat difficult for Crimson Sand to muster such resources. They did not have that much liquid grim crystal.
Otherwise, they would not have repeatedly postponed their ascension.
On the other hand, the unexpected incident during the Water Flooding Kingdom's ascension had also sounded an alarm bell for Crimson Sand and the other two kingdoms.
The old King of Crimson Sand frowned, pondering slowly.
He had not purchased intelligence from the Winterless Empire, but when it came to the tribulations an oasis faced when ascending to Level Nine, the old King of Crimson Sand was confident he was one of the most experienced individuals.
Why? He had participated in the ascension battles of three Level Nine oases as a hired mercenary.
One of those included the battle at the Water Flooding Kingdom!
"Unlike previous ascensions, the biggest characteristic of the Level Eight to Level Nine transition is its excessive duration. Faced with extremely high-intensity combat, even a Seven-Awakened Myth cannot sustain for too long."
"Therefore, a sufficient quantity of the Water of Life must be prepared to ensure that mythical combat power does not have to withdraw from the battlefield after only a few hours of intense fighting."
"In addition to that..."
On the first day, there were 33 to 46 Seven-Star Grim Evils appearing in the tide of grim creatures.
On the second day, there were 41 to 59 Seven-Star Grim Evils.
The sheer number alone was not particularly troublesome. When the Crimson Sand Kingdom began its ascension war, he could also hire powerful individuals from Cloud Map, Water Flooding, and other kingdoms as reinforcements.
Moreover, the Seven-Star Grim Evils did not appear all at once but in waves.
It seemed that their human myths could engage in righteous encirclement and kill the grim creatures with ease. However, this was not the case. The nearly endless tide of grim creatures also put immense pressure on the defending myths and demigods.
The physical bodies of myths were far from strong enough to withstand the onslaught of attacks head-on.
As long as demigods activated their Dharma forms, they could disregard everything. However, to deal with ordinary grim creatures, would they need to use their Dharma forms? That would be too much of a consumption.
The old King of Crimson Sand wrote in his logbook:
"Cloud Map Capital Defense Battle: On the first day, two myths were heavily injured; on the second day, one myth fell. After these two days, the overall combat power of myths had declined by at least 30%."
"Ancient Wood Kingdom Capital Defense Battle: In the first two days, a total of four myths were heavily injured."
"As for the Water Flooding Kingdom?"
They were even more tragic. In the first two days, two myths fell, and four were heavily injured.
All of them were ambushed and severely wounded or killed while venturing deep into the grim evil tide to eliminate high-risk grim creatures. Sometimes, the unexpected happened too suddenly, and a myth was instantly extinguished in the tide. Even we demigods could not rush to their aid.
After all, demigods could not be reckless.
When defending other kingdoms, he and his own myths were relatively conservative. He would absolutely never risk their lives for another country.
During the first two days of defending the city, he, as a demigod, occasionally ventured into the grim evil tide to charge forward, but he would not sacrifice any of his Crimson Sand myths by venturing deep at the risk of their lives.
However, similarly, when their Crimson Sand Kingdom began its ascension war, they would have to rely on their own strong individuals to risk their lives by venturing deep into the grim evil tide to eliminate high-risk targets.
They were well aware that they needed to conserve strength and prepare for the most dangerous third day.
However, even holding back the tide of grim creatures on the first two days was already difficult, and it would be challenging to ensure that not a single myth fell. He could not even spare a thought for the lives of ordinary soldiers and citizens.
"Old King, if we were to simulate the intensity of the grim evil attack on the Cloud Map Kingdom, in the first two days, we might have over 1,000 elite soldiers casualties. The estimated civilian casualties within the city range from 30,000 to 300,000."
"This is already the limit of what we can achieve. The losses cannot be reduced by even one percent. After all, the enemies we face in this war are too powerful, and many grim evils appear directly within the city. Sacrifices are unavoidable. We must also try to preserve high-end combat power to deal with the super impact on the third day."
"If we encounter a major unforeseen event like that of the Water Flooding Kingdom, then we must be prepared to lose half the city."
"Old King, do you think we need to prepare for a while longer..."
The old King of Crimson Sand shook his head.
Prepare? There was basically nothing more Crimson Sand could prepare. Further delays would not lead to significant improvements in their national strength.
They had to take some risks.
"Time waits for no one."
"Facing disaster, we have no choice. We must ascend the oasis as soon as possible to have the capital to make further preparations. Otherwise, when the dark tide engulfs the entire world, our Crimson Sand Kingdom will likely be reduced to a mere historical footnote."
A Level Nine oasis represented a drastic change compared to a Level Eight.
It might not lead him to the path of higher positions, but it would give him the strength to contend with higher positions. If their Crimson Sand oasis gave birth to suitable divine powers, he might have the possibility of wielding even greater power.
And all of this had to start with a Level Nine oasis.
...
...
"Report the current situation."
"Yes, Master. Currently, 129 warriors are injured, with no casualties among warriors or citizens. However, 19 districts within our city have sustained damage."
"In addition, we have killed 223 Seven-Star Grim Evils."
Thanks to the Firewood organization possessing top-tier technology and Instructor Fang pouring in vast sums of money, Starfire City was built in a short period, yet its interior seemed to be forged from countless gold mountains.
—They had ample shelters and strong defensive rituals.
But even so, some grim creatures still spawned directly within the shelters. Fortunately, the protection of the Dawn Lighthouse greatly weakened the spread of the gray fog. Fang You even concentrated the Light of Dawn on the shelters.
Many awakened experts were also guarding the shelters.
Externally, myths took turns guarding various districts—mythical powerhouses could stand at the forefront of the defense line, facing the grim evil tide, and while recovering, they could constantly monitor the defensive districts, delivering a final blow to any grim creatures that infiltrated the city.
"However, it will be difficult to avoid casualties from now on."
"The pressure of the Level Nine oasis ascension war is too great."
Fang You's divine sense spread out, keenly detecting changes in the gray fog in the distance.
As if a spatial gate had been opened, an incredibly massive head slowly emerged from the fog, descending into reality!
*Bang—*
A single stomp, like that of a mountain, crushed thousands of small grim creatures into powder. It moved forward, forging a bloody path paved with the minced flesh of grim creatures.
The next moment,
*Boom—*
A golden river of swords converged in the sky, forcefully shattering the surging tide of grim creatures, and continuing its momentum to tear apart the body of this Eight-Star Grim Evil.
In just one minute, this Eight-Star Grim Evil, which had just appeared, met its end ignominiously.
However, this was merely the prelude to the eruption of the grim evil tide.
In a short while, Seven-Star Grim Evils appeared from all directions, as many as twenty to thirty, and several Eight-Star Grim Evils.
As these grim creatures continuously spawned, the erosion of the grim realm surged downward.
The sky grew darker and darker, and even with dozens of Dawn Lighthouses towering high, they could not illuminate it.
At the edge of their vision, a thick wall of gray fog was slowly advancing. In contrast, the land of the Starfire Oasis rapidly lost its vitality, visibly turning into a dead, gray-black, and swiftly spreading inch by inch.
In just a few seconds, the new land extended by the oasis upgrade was completely eroded.
But this vile erosion did not stop; the land of the Starfire Oasis continued to shrink at a visible rate, and their strategic space grew smaller and smaller.
Fortunately, in order to earn fate points, Fang You had long reserved sufficient space outside the city.
Even so, the continuous loss of land caused many grim creatures to attack the city walls and defensive shields before even stepping onto the oasis.
At this point, Fang You could no longer worry about earning fate points. Grim crystal cannons quickly opened fire, their dazzling energy beams smashing through the fog wall and annihilating countless grim creatures within the grim realm.
However, the gray fog was still advancing!
The intensity of the erosion was several times greater than described in the intelligence!
"Activate the Popularity Ritual."
The ritual stone slabs, placed throughout the city and having accumulated a large amount of popularity factor, were activated by awakened individuals standing by.
In an instant, an invisible force spread out, halting the erosion.
A crisis was averted, but in the next moment, another crisis arrived.
The Guardian Ritual had exceeded its load—this city-guarding ritual was linked to the Infinite Box, and theoretically, there was no crisis of energy depletion. However, rituals had operational limits. At this moment, the energy of the light screen in a certain area showed a significant decline. If it suffered another strong bombardment, the light screen in this area might directly shatter.
For this, they had no clever tricks; they could only fight directly!
Increase the output in that area.
The avatar of the Black Blade sat in the command center, observing all directions and directing the overall situation.
The true body of the Black Blade arrived at this defensive sector, passing directly through the light screen.
He walked forward alone, facing tens of thousands of grim creatures. The more he walked, the more figures followed behind the Black Blade.
Ten people! A hundred people! A thousand people! Ten thousand people!
He alone was an army.
Battles were fiercely fought in various areas, and no defensive sector was specifically targeted by the grim creatures. This was because every single section of the defense line was a target.
A fortress-like defense line could be breached with even the slightest carelessness.
He heard that the capital of the Water Flooding Kingdom had its entire defense line destroyed, and the defenders had to retreat to the inner city walls, establishing a new defensive line.
Not a single section of Starfire City's wall defense line had been breached yet.
However, the warriors were becoming increasingly weary.
During this period, a major crisis descended: an Eight-Star Grim Evil, several Seven-Star Grim Evils, and an uncountable number of ordinary grim creatures simultaneously appeared within the city.
When the Eight-Star Grim Evil manifested, an entire city block turned into ruins.
Its vile essence spread, capable of turning tens or hundreds of miles into a dead land in a short time.
Liu Feng dared not attack either.
If his sword river struck down, the grim evil might not die, but the entire city would be split in half.
Fang You, wielding World Power, prepared to intervene.
However, he also had a trump card prepared—a person—Qian Qiu. Qian Qiu, a core member of Firewood, who had rarely acted since the battle began and had not achieved many kills, unleashed his full power at this moment.
With just a look, he silently killed several Seven-Star Grim Evils, and then met the gaze of the remaining boss, the Eight-Star Grim Evil, from afar.
The next second,
The Eight-Star Grim Evil died. Qian Qiu sustained minor injuries and was completely drained, retreating from the field with a pale face.
His combat time: 3 seconds.
This precise kill was still just a small part of this grand defense battle.
The grim creatures were still charging.
The defense line wavered between slightly precarious, quite precarious, and very precarious.
Fang You looked down at the battlefield, timing his actions.
The three-day and three-night wave impact might not be precise. According to convention, the ascension tribulation they encountered could last longer.
However, as Fang You observed the ripples in the River of Fate, he could discern a hint of what was to come.
Three days and three nights... the wave was nearing its end.
But before it ended, there would inevitably be a final, and the most ferocious, wave of impact.
His eyes widened, "It's here!"
East, South, North.
Intense fluctuations of laws spread through the gray fog, silencing the entire world. Even though these three high-level grim creatures appeared far from the oasis, separated by layers of dense gray fog, the defending warriors could still see their colossal silhouettes within the fog.
They seemed to be propping up the sky.
At this point, the warriors dared not continue to gaze. Even with the obstruction of the Legend Ritual and the protection of the Light of Dawn, they dared not court death by directly looking at a high-level grim creature.
They were the source of all filth!
These three sources of filth were approaching the oasis.
"They cannot be allowed to get close to the oasis!"
Otherwise, the already precarious defense line of the oasis might completely shatter. Therefore, even under the pressure of the grim evil tide, he had to choose the battlefield location outside the oasis, beneath the gray fog.
Fang You released the Secret Puppet.
"Secret Puppet, Armored Treasure, each hold off one high-level grim creature. You quickly eliminate the remaining one!"
The Secret Puppet possessed high-level power. It was unrealistic for it to single-handedly kill a high-level grim creature with extremely strong vitality, but it could hold them off, and even under the bombardment of countless grim creatures, the Secret Puppet could endure on the battlefield.
It could fight for days and nights!
The Armored Treasure in Zone Two was not as durable, but it could hold on for a period.
It plunged into the depths of the grim evil tide and unfurled its four-legged Dragon King Dharma form.
On that day, he could barely withstand one blow from a Disaster Star, but today's Armored Treasure was at the peak of demigod power, with its Dharma form fully realized and having gained insight into a certain earth-elemental law.
He now possessed strength far exceeding his peak of the past.
He glanced back at the brightly lit city, a determined will burning in his somewhat chubby young face.
"I will not be defeated again in this battle."
The Undying Dragon King withstood the charge of the high-level grim creature.
...
To fight against many with few, quickly kill one high-level grim creature, and then concentrate forces to kill the second and third—this was the most appropriate tactic.
Fang You mused, his gaze fixed on the third battlefield.
As for himself? He had to save his "Power of a Single Strike" in case of unexpected situations.
Qian Hong, who was responsible for the organization's combat power, met the third high-level grim creature.
Concurrently, the demigod Liu Feng, who had gained insight into the Law of Battle Rupture and possessed ultimate killing power, continuously outputted damage from the side.
An Jianyou, who directed the grim creatures from the city wall, served in a support role.
How could they lose when they had three against one?
Losing was naturally impossible. Qian Hong, as a weapon of war, was most adept at dealing with these massive grim creatures.
It continuously outputted energy.
Outside the oasis, wave after wave of brilliant suns rose into the sky, dazzling and radiant!
Starfall City.
Balaizeremon trembled, "Another high-level battle? As the calamity approaches, the battles involving high-level existences are becoming more frequent!"
Sea of Shattered Depths.
Sage Bai Yao looked up, "A high-level battle? Where is it? Which two parties?"
He frowned, tracking the fluctuations of laws.
However, due to the frequent high-level battles during this period, the laws of the grim realm had become chaotic. He was unable to pinpoint the direction for a while, only roughly estimating that the battle location was not too far from the Sea of Shattered Depths.
At most, it was separated by a few dozen great domains.
Could it be that an oasis was ascending to Level Nine?
The powerful fluctuations of laws quickly dissipated. Sage Bai Yao shook his head, "I was just guessing."
...
After more than ten minutes, the Qian Hong team finally killed the first high-level grim creature, opening a crucial breakthrough.
Fang You finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, only to be stunned the next moment.
In the second battlefield,
From the center of the towering Rock Dragon Dharma form, a red dot appeared, which then spread outwards like red roots.
It was like a bloodline of slaughter! In an instant, it spread throughout the entire body of this grim creature.
*Squelch—*
Blood gushed out like rivers.
A petite figure, covered in blood, emerged from the sea of blood, spitting out a few mouthfuls of grim evil blood.
A palpable frenzy and bloodlust filled her eyes, and she transformed into a beam of red light, charging towards the last remaining high-level grim creature.
After a while,
Chi Yan emerged, and the high-level grim creature was annihilated.
Liu Feng and the others had just arrived at the battlefield.
Liu Feng: Stealing kills? No, no, no.
An Jianyou: !!! This child is too terrifying (￣△￣；)
The three high-level grim creatures were the last ripples of this great tribulation.
After these three high-level grim creatures were eliminated, Chi Yan, as if regaining her bloodlust, pierced through several Seven-Star and Eight-Star Grim Evils with dissatisfaction before flying back into the city and tilting her head in a daze.
Qian Hong, Liu Feng, and An Jianyou regained their composure and cleared the remaining high-level grim creatures.
Soon, the surging gray fog became less dense, and the grim evil tide visibly thinned.
The number of newly spawned grim creatures was plummeting.
About an hour later, the gray fog returned to a stable state, and no more grim creatures continuously emerged.
Another hour later, the defending warriors who had gone out to battle finally cleared out the grim creatures.
Gazing at the sunlight that once again cascaded onto the earth, they slumped onto the blood-soaked ground, laughing heartily.
The oasis began to rumble and expand, and tender green growth re-emerged from the dead earth.
A pleasant panel notification also chimed in Fang You's ears.
「Ding!」
「Notification: Starfire Oasis has ascended to Level 9, acquiring 'World's Protection,' and can forge 'Oasis Divine Artifact.' Click to view details.」