The Donghuang Water Marsh region.
Gloomy clouds loomed, gray mists drifted, and a crimson moon hung high. An aura of chilling darkness permeated the land.
Upon the earth, grotesque and hideous fiends raised their heads towards the crimson moon, letting out gnashing roars. As colossal transport planes flew in from afar, these fiends boiled with fury, howling and lunging forward.
Among them, those with flight capabilities were swifter. Two man-faced birds, their wings like tattered rags, let out sharp screeches and raised their gray-black, chillingly sharp talons towards…
*Bang—*
Mid-flight, the man-faced birds were struck by immense force. Their entire abdomens caved inward, then compressed their surrounding bodies, rippling outwards like cascading waves.
Like two balloons filled with air, violently squeezed…
They exploded with a thunderous boom.
Only scattered remnants of tattered black feathers drifted down.
Fan Anyuan stepped out from the open cargo bay of the plane, suspended in mid-air. Only then did he slowly retract his fist. But as he gazed at the fiends who, devoid of fear, continued to swarm him, he clenched his fist again, twisted his waist…
*Ora ora ora ora—*
His fists were a blur.
Fist energies, like cannonballs, were unleashed, accompanied by Fan Anyuan’s unique ‘Vibration Ripples’ and the ‘Explosive’ ability of his ghoul-weapon gauntlets.
*Rumble—*
It was as if countless cannonballs landed simultaneously, erupting smoke and dust across the hillsides, creating numerous craters of varying sizes.
As the dust settled, the surroundings were clear.
The transport plane was only now slowly descending. Inside were the trainees, the newcomers, their eyes wide and mouths agape as they witnessed Fan Anyuan’s display of power.
“Can humans do this?”
“More terrifying than several mortars firing at once.”
“Big brother, big brother!”
Many newcomers hailed from ordinary Spark training camps. While they might have seen powerful individuals of the Firebearer First Rank, they either didn't recognize them or never had the chance to witness them in action.
Today, their eyes were opened.
Many newcomers exclaimed that the trip was worth it.
The veteran fighters shook their heads.
“Heh, this is nothing. You haven’t seen Elder Xing in action; his punch can shatter mountains.”
“And what about Miss An? Her ritualistic patterns spread across the heavens, and with a roar, she summons a meteor from the sky, like the end of the world. No matter how many times I recall it, it’s still astonishing.”
“Miss An is truly beyond belief, too distant. If you’re going to compare, why not mention the mentors? When a mentor makes a move, it’s… uh.”
The veteran speaker suddenly faltered.
He hadn’t seen a mentor make a move. Have you? No, no one has.
Seeing the newcomers still looking expectantly, eager to hear tales of the mentors’ glorious victories from the seniors, the veterans felt awkward.
“Ahem!”
“What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and depart. There’s no time to waste.”
…
Fan Anyuan’s combat squadron, upon arriving at Mission Zone 36, immediately began clearing out the outer fiends and slowing, guiding the trajectory of the fiend tide.
Although the current fiend tide was described as a million-strong, compared to the previous super surge, the fiend tide was sparser, stretching out over a long distance. They hadn’t fully converged into a single entity, but rather, groups of ten thousand or so were surging towards the base city.
Simply resisting and containing them posed far less danger than before.
The newcomers, wielding explosive fire-lances, fired relentlessly.
The veteran fighters moved along the periphery of the fiend tide, fighting and retreating.
“Withdraw to Zone 36-C.”
“Disperse immediately, do not engage the main tide.”
About ten seconds after the order was given, a brilliant azure light erupted from a distant hilltop. A torrent of surging energy collided with the now denser fiend tide that had been guided.
The earth trembled.
Rocks tumbled down.
As the brilliant light and dust gradually receded, a massive fan-shaped gap appeared before them. The earth had sunk several meters. The surging tide faltered abruptly, a large portion having been devoured.
When they regrouped, their numbers were significantly reduced.
Fan Anyuan ordered,
“Transfer to the next combat zone.”
…
…
Fan Anyuan, Xu Tian, Luo Rui, Jiang Nian, Shi Yunxi, Bai Yansi… and other Spark masters, recipients of the Firebearer medal, were leading their respective teams to various zones to intercept the fiend tide.
They themselves possessed the four-awakening inhuman rank and extraordinary combat prowess.
Coupled with the support of war machines like the Crystal Cannon, their efficiency in eliminating enemies was quite high.
However, these teams were only facing tides of ‘lower density’ and ‘fewer mid-to-high star fiends.’ The difficulty of these tides had long been marked on the dispatch map. Based on this, Fang You could precisely allocate his forces to maximize their effectiveness.
As for the ‘high density’ and ‘high danger’ fiend tides, those were naturally for…
…
Somewhere in Greater Asia.
His fist, like blazing inferno and surging waves, directly battered a colossal Hellhound into pieces, then pulverized it completely with his iron fist.
*Boom—*
The colossal, hideous fiend fell, and the mountain peak it was branded on collapsed with it, shattering into countless rolling stones that cascaded down.
Dust pillars shot up hundreds of meters.
Rings of grayish-brown air waves rippled outwards, kicking up earth and stones, and snapping trees.
But as the impact reached a certain bronze-skinned, bare-chested figure, the wave-like shockwave became mere light rain. Even the sharp flying stones caught in the wave shattered with a *bang* upon impact.
It was as if they were mere specks of dust.
Unmoved by the beating rain and wind, the bronze strongman didn’t even frown. He merely held a blade of grass in his mouth, arms crossed, his gaze disdainfully sweeping over the fiends still charging at him.
“Fiend tide, nothing more than this!”
Even though over a month ago, he had nearly perished while infiltrating a fiend tide for reconnaissance.
But thirty days east of the river, thirty days west of the river, he, Xing Jinglei, was no longer the man he used to be.
He, a sixth-awakening Throne-class expert, who had cultivated the epic skill ‘Gluttony Forging,’ had never been this powerful. He felt invincible!
Cough, cough.
Invincible, of course, was an illusion. After cultivating Gluttony Forging, he had definitely closed the gap with Brother Black Blade, but to catch up solely with this was still a stretch. More effort was needed.
Energy surged within him.
Before departing, he had consumed a large amount of food, and now his body was filled with inexhaustible power. Gluttony Forging had greatly enhanced his physique, and also increased his formidable defense from skills like Steel Bones and Iron Marrow.
At the same time, this forging skill also granted him the fierce close-combat abilities of the ‘Gluttonous Beast.’
Xing Jinglei lunged like a beast.
His two-meter-tall, seemingly small body, appeared larger and more ferocious than the Disaster-class fiends.
Fists pounded.
Claws tore.
Knees kicked.
Xing Jinglei tore apart dozens of meter-tall Disaster-class fiends.
Covered in blood, he let out a fiendish, exhilarating roar.
“Who else!”
Tens of minutes later, Xing Jinglei burst out from the other end of the fiend tide. Although his body was covered in wounds, and he was panting uncontrollably, he was…
Ecstatic! Utterly exhilarated!
“This great me has fought through the fiend tide!”
*Ding!*
*Notification: You have accumulated the kills of ‘14 Disaster-class fiends’ and ‘3 Hell-class fiends.’ Combat objective achieved. You may now proceed to the rest area!*
…
Elsewhere, in another high-risk battlefield.
Dozens of kilometers from the front of the fiend tide, several Crystal Cannons were being set up, and a small vine-wood wall was slowly rising.
*Boom—*
A deafening roar suddenly erupted from afar. Orange-red flames surged into the sky, illuminating the dim, scarlet sky a fiery red.
Beneath the rolling flames, amidst the sea of fire, the girl’s wine-red hair flew, seemingly transforming into fire itself.
“Fireball!”
“Hurricane!”
She clapped her hands together, laughing maniacally, “Fire Tornado, burn everything—!”
A blazing tornado swept outwards. Immediately, a second and a third formed around Yiluoxi. Flames incinerated in all directions, and fiery dragons ferociously destroyed everything in their path.
During this, some fiends attacked her, launching ranged shots and sneak attacks on their Guild Master.
But within three feet of her body, all attacks were halted. Physical attacks fell impotently, and energy dissipated into nothingness.
She seemed to be single-handedly suppressing and extinguishing a terrifying fiend tide.
“As expected of me!”
“Wagagagagaga—”
*Ding!*
*Notification: You have accumulated the kills of ‘5 Disaster-class fiends,’ ‘1 Hell-class fiend,’ and ‘numerous normal fiends.’ First phase combat objective achieved. Please proceed immediately to the next combat zone to begin the second phase of operations.*
*Notification: Repeating, please proceed to the next combat zone immediately…*
Sensing her limited life energy, Yiluoxi pouted, “Alright, alright.”
…
…
Yet another location.
*Boom—!*
A Furnace Golem, shrouded in black mist, and a white-robed fiend who conjured thousands of meters of white silk with a wave of its hand. With An Jianyou’s enhancements, two six-star fiends were launching a righteous beatdown on a wild six-star fiend before them.
This white-robed fiend was the second, and only rare six-star fiend An Jianyou had found after the red-robed one.
This one hadn’t evolved.
It was an ordinary little six-star, named ‘White Silk Fiend.’
With two six-star main forces and the support of five-star fiends like the Hellhound and Creepy Laughing Puppet, they soon slew the wild Calamity-class fiend.
“Done for.”
“Next one, next one.”
“Let me see, first go here, then here, then this place, and after that, this one… that should be about it.”
An Jianyou mounted the Hundred-Eyed Flying Fish and flew towards the next area.
…
…
Time passed, from day gradually into deep night.
However, whether it was day or now, what appeared before people’s eyes was always a sky as dark as night, with that bizarre, ominous crimson moon hanging high.
Survivors remained hidden in shelters, eating the simple food delivered to them.
In some larger shelters, large screens were broadcasting news of the current battles.
“As of now, fiend tides have appeared in multiple locations but have all been blocked outside the base cities by our warriors.”
“Let us pray for our warriors, pray for their safe return.”
The battles in various regions were proceeding smoothly, but neither Fang You nor Black Blade, Liu Shang, Wang Chui, and others dared to be the slightest bit careless.
These fiend tides were merely cannon fodder to deplete the Spark’s strength. After this, what awaited them… might be the enemy’s true offensive!
Furthermore, they would absolutely choose a primary attack zone.
And this zone…
In cold eyes, the prosperous Water Marsh Base City was reflected.
The Crimson Emperor gazed at the defensive line being hastily set up, a hint of surprise in his expression.
“They guessed correctly.”
“Our main attack zone.”
Water Marsh, being the first base city established, currently possessed the most complete defensive facilities, making it the most difficult to conquer among the ten base cities.
The Crimson Emperor had still chosen this place as his target.
Not out of any unexpected reason, but rather…
He intended to eliminate Blue Star’s high-end forces!
He had prepared means to weaken Blue Star’s power, such as the Crimson Moon Ritual and the fiend tides, but the fundamental goal was not just to destroy one or two Dawn Base Cities, but… to strip Blue Star of all resistance, to slay that one individual!
For this purpose, he had chosen Water Marsh Base City, the ‘headquarters’ of Blue Star.
Being guessed correctly was of no consequence.
It only proved that this Blue Star… truly deserved his serious attention.
…
Fang You gazed at the scarlet night sky.
He had indeed predicted it.
There was no joy in this, as it didn’t affect the overall situation.
After all, even if he hadn't predicted it…
“We would have traveled to other base cities via the secret realm passages.”