The golden sunlight shone on the marble-paved plaza, and in the distance stood the landmark of the base city, a pure white tower hundreds of meters high.
Visible from afar.
But to enter the tower, one had to pass through the forbidden plaza, patrolled and watched by Awakened Ones.
Directly forcing entry would surely set the entire base city ablaze.
"We've scouted it multiple times, and we have plans for all obstacles, heh heh."
"Third brother, you'll control this strange artifact."
The strongest, the boss, spoke.
Third brother took it and immediately injected his life energy.
Instantly, a shadow spread out from beneath him, like a gaping maw, swallowing the three of them one by one. Soon, the shadow wriggled outwards, moving to the end of the dark environment. Beyond it lay the Dawn Plaza, bathed in sunlight.
The shadow slowly emerged.
It transformed into a line, following the gaps between the marble tiles, inching forward, moving left, forward, right, forward...
The entire process was slow and arduous.
But the people of Blood Blade Oasis were patient. They even calculated the patrol routes of the awakened ones, moving forward only after the patrol team had passed.
Closer and closer to the tower.
This scene was witnessed by two pairs of eyes.
"These Blood Blade Oasis people are truly professionals."
"Good! They've entered. They've silently entered the pure white tower!"
"First step, a great success!"
"Come, let's follow in the footsteps of these Blood Blade fellows and peek into the secrets of the pure white tower. If they succeed, we'll swoop in and snatch it."
"If..."
"Hah, they're already screwed!"
...
The three elites of Blood Blade met their end peacefully.
Upon entering the pure white tower, they were affected by its power, and their shadows were exposed.
"Charge directly to the top of the tower, seize the core, and then leave by air."
"Understood!"
Second and third brothers nodded heavily.
Inside the tower, as they had predicted, there were few guards. At the entrance, there were only six.
Six people, even if they were all Triple-Awakened, they were confident they could defeat them.
Moreover, from their appearance, there might only be one or two Triple-Awakened.
"Don't linger in battle, our target is the core."
"Understood!"
The three took out small knives and slashed their wrists in unison.
*Puchi—*
Scarlet blood spurted out, gathering in their hands and transforming into a blood-colored battle saber.
This was the 'Secret Technique of Drawing Blood into a Blade'!
The boss's muscles bulged, and he used his awakened ability, 'Mighty Physique,' to instantly boost his physical strength. Combined with the Blood Blade Secret Technique, this was his confidence for dominating the Triple-Awakened.
Slash!
The blood blade was blinding, accompanied by a tearing sound.
It slashed towards a Blue Star guard wearing a black uniform with flames.
This guard held a battle saber, its blade emanating a crimson glow that stretched for one to two meters, blindingly red. At the same time, his muscles bulged, his bones rumbled, and his speed was so fast that he left trails of black afterimages.
When the crimson blade energy first appeared, the boss's thought was: a blade energy-type ability?
Next, seeing the guard's muscles bulge, the boss's thought changed.
Could it be a muscle-boosting ability like mine? And the blade energy is from a strange artifact. This person is not to be underestimated.
When his bones rumbled and his skin took on a bronze sheen, the boss's thought changed again.
Is this...
When his speed surged, leaving behind streaks of afterimages, the boss's thought changed yet again.
This, this is unreasonable!
Before his thought could even half-form, the blood-red blade energy, moving faster, slashed towards him. He had no time to think and could only bulge his muscles, holding the blood blade battle saber to meet the attack, unleashing all his strength at that moment.
*Boom—*
*Crack~*
A storm swept out, interspersed with a faint cracking sound.
As soon as the boss looked down, he saw that the blood blade battle saber in his hand was cracked.
The tiger's mouth on his hand had also cracked, and he was sent flying backward by the immense force.
He was horrified, he was shocked.
What kind of powerhouse was this?
As the thought arose, while flying backward, he caught a glimpse of the surroundings with his peripheral vision, seeing the situation of his second and third brothers.
Their...
The blood blade battle sabers had broken.
Not far away, there were two tower guards holding battle sabers, and their sabers also... emitted crimson blade energy.
Exactly the same!
It was as if their Blood Blade secret technique was...
"Your secret technique is still... above mine in Blood Blade..."
Secret technique, what is that?
Oh, perhaps it refers to things like blade slashes, strength, shadow steps, iron bones, and so on.
Alas, when will I be able to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for a higher-level skill.
...
...
At the same time,
Elsewhere.
"Lord Tower Master..."
"Hmm."
"The people of Blood Blade Oasis... have been bound."
"Hmm."
"Are these Blue Star guards super-human level powerhouses?"
"Hmm."
"Or do they possess even stronger secret techniques?"
"Hmm."
The Tower Master of Wealth, Aba Aba.
He fell silent for a long time, then turned to his envoy and said earnestly, "Forces like Blue Star, which have culture, strength, and aspirations, will surely be able to carry forward the inherited knowledge from the Strange World, and this is something our White Tower greatly admires. Blue Star is worth befriending."
"Young man, this mission will be entrusted to you."
After speaking, the projection of the Tower Master of Wealth disappeared.
Leaving behind a White Tower envoy with wide, blinking eyes, staring at the air in front of him, he slowly typed a question mark.
"???"
Tower Master, don't you think it's too late?
...
...
Outside the Shuize Base City, in the gray, fog-shrouded deep mountains.
"I apologize, sir, the mission has failed. My people were ambushed at the entrance of that tower."
A burly figure in a black robe walked to a withered tree.
His words were calm, showing no regret.
Not far away, a figure wearing dark red armor, with a single horn on its head, and eyes as crimson as blood, slowly emerged from the shadows.
"As expected."
"Any other news?"
The black-robed strongman bowed his head slightly in respect, pondered for a moment, and then said, "This world has undoubtedly obtained some inheritance, conservatively estimated to possess multiple secret techniques, and also has several core methods such as the Tree Realm ritual and the Summoning and Control ritual. Furthermore, there are many strong individuals, with a high probability of possessing Six-Awakened Throne-level powerhouses."
"This information was obtained by me, disguised as an envoy, from other great oases."
"The reliability is not an issue."
"Oh, and this world also possesses some treasure that can extend lifespan."
If Blue Star wants to trade with the major oases, it will inevitably have to reveal some of its methods and strength.
Once the major oases know this, it won't be difficult for them to obtain it.
Among so many oases, there will always be some willing to sell information.
Hearing this, the figure in dark red armor nodded slightly.
"Hmm."
"Await orders and follow the next instructions."
Seeing the burly black-robed man hesitate slightly, he said, "You are aware of the consequences of betrayal. Do your job well, and our Ancestor will not be stingy with rewards."
"Don't forget, where did everything you have come from."
"...Yes!"
The burly black-robed man responded heavily.
...
...
The Strange World, an empire shrouded in blood-red light, with a red moon perpetually hanging in the sky.
In the imperial grand hall.
A majestic figure clad in blood-red armor, whose face could not be seen, held a chess piece and placed it down with a *clack*.
"This Blue Star anomaly might still have unrevealed methods, but the killing moves I have prepared are even more numerous."
"The time is almost right."
"It's time to make a move."
"Offer a spectacular sacrifice to Mother God."
...
...
At the forefront defense line of Dawn Base City No. 10.
The tides were rolling in, but they were starting to thin out.
Fang You watched, when suddenly, Xiao Huan's voice sounded in his mind.
"Master, big news, big news~!"
"Area 51, the leader who always wears black leather always broke through to the Fourth Awakening..."
"Failed and died."
Huh?
This matter was reported by Area 51 itself to their Torch contact and then informed.
Xiao Huan, upon receiving the news, transformed into an ethereal form and traveled through the 'connections' into the Area 51 base, investigating the whole story.
Fourth Awakening, and it failed.
He's dead.
Fang You was stunned when he first heard the news, mourning for the leader.
That leader was undoubtedly a heroic figure; the fact that he could reach the Fourth Awakening so early spoke volumes.
However, the Fourth Awakening is difficult, harder than reaching the heavens.
In other worlds that had just entered the mysterious era, there were also monstrous geniuses who, step by step, broke through the life-and-death barrier of awakening and touched the Fourth Awakening. However, most failed and died; only a very, very few could step into the non-human level.
This is the norm.
It's not that leaders like him lacked talent, but that the successive awakenings accumulated erosion and pollution. They had no way to reduce the erosion, and the positions they reached in the previous awakenings were not very perfect.
Failure in the Fourth Awakening is logical and reasonable.
"If it weren't for borrowing the power of the inheritance land, Director Tang, Director Huang, and the others might have also failed."
"And seeing people on Blue Star awaken one after another, that leader might have become impatient."
He mourned for a moment.
Then, there was no then.
Perhaps in many years, history would record: The first leader of the mysterious department of the White Eagle Federation attempted the Fourth Awakening and failed, thus perishing.
At most, it would be like that.
"By the way, you said... Area 51 contacted us themselves?"
"Yes~"
"They hope the White Eagle Federation can be incorporated into the base city plan... Oh, and one more thing, Area 51 seems to have split into several factions now, and the faction contacting us is led by the chief scientist, Dr. Miqi."
"And he said he has a precious gift to present to us~"
...
Outside the Shuize Base City, on the front line of defense.
The tide attacked the city without incident or danger. Although it had not ended yet, Fang You, along with some people, had already arrived on the land of the White Eagle Federation.
Well, they took a secret passage.
On this land, there were no Torch offices, but there were still some hidden bases and strongholds.
Qianmian had set up several.
Among them, the highest-level Torch branch was located not far from the headquarters of Area 51—it was promoted to a level one branch back then because it was close.
They arrived quickly.
Dr. Miqi was astonished when he saw this.
I just said I'd surrender, and you're already at the door? Is it that fast?
At this time, the base was quite chaotic, with traces of fighting in some areas.
Dr. Miqi couldn't completely control the base, but with the arrival of Torch, justice would be served, and order would be established.
Fang You didn't care about these matters, leaving them all to Qianmian to handle.
The reason he came here.
First, the White Eagle Federation being incorporated into the base city plan was excellent. It wouldn't cause much trouble. After the chaos and apocalypse of this period, the White Eagle Federation would likely long for a base city.
Second, he was very interested in the gift mentioned by Dr. Miqi.
"We're here."
In a vast underground space, an oval object, about a hundred meters long, twenty to thirty meters wide, and twenty to thirty meters high, was hanging on a support frame.
It looked like a giant beast about to open its mouth.
Upon closer inspection, the side of the 'beast' was damaged, and engineers, like ants, were moving up and down, carrying out repairs.
"This is..."
"As you can see, this is a warship! A warship that can sail in the Strange World. It was found damaged, and it needs a little repair."
Dr. Miqi explained.
In fact, the damage to the warship was not minor. He had tried many methods but could not repair the warship to a state where it could be moved.
This was also why he resolutely defected.
He had studied Torch's weapons, and their technological strength was clearly stronger.
Learning advanced technology is nothing to be ashamed of.
This was Dr. Miqi's request, and he hoped for a favorable research environment.
Fang You agreed.
He walked a few steps forward, reached out, and gently tapped the warship's armor, producing a crisp *bang bang* sound.
"The material seems unusual."
He pondered, walked slowly around the giant warship in the air, and streams of data flashed in his eyes. The skill 'Detect' scanned the warship inside and out.
The consumption of life energy was unexpectedly fast.
After a long while,
He finally obtained some information.
[White Shark-class airship]
[Grade: Legendary?]
[Detection Description: This is a model of airship from the ancient empire of Kandra. Its side armor has sustained extensive damage and it drifted into the shallow layers of the Strange World. More detailed damage inside cannot be determined.]
This model seemed to be mentioned briefly in a Kandra technical manual.
It looked quite high-end.
No wonder the leader in black leather proposed the Doomsday Ark plan. If this White Shark-class airship could be repaired, even if they couldn't find an oasis, they would have the ability to survive in the Strange World.
Moreover, with a White Shark-class airship, it would be much easier to find an oasis and later relocate the population.
Torch's principle is not to abandon Blue Star.
The White Shark-class airship still had great use.
And first, it needed to be repaired.
...
...
"Good news from our reporter on the front lines! Humanity has once again repelled the attack of the super tide. Now, let us congratulate the establishment of the tenth Dawn Base City."
*Beep~*
"Three years, then three years, it's been ten years."
*Beep~*
"My punch contains thirty years of skill, can you withstand it!"
*Beep~*
A slender hand pressed the remote control, changing channels from time to time.
The other hand propped up her chin, her expression languid.
"Those from White Tower seem to have suffered a setback. Did the plan to raise prices fail spectacularly? Interesting."
"We originally thought we sold early and sold cheaply, but it turns out we made a profit. Indeed, life is unpredictable, you never know who will laugh last."
"Heh heh heh~"
Dean Rose switched to a romance drama and began watching with great interest.
If nothing else, the cultural entertainment industry of Blue Star was quite rich; it was truly a suitable place for relaxation and leisure.
However,
How long could they relax?
"If it weren't for the sudden change 19 days ago, Blue Star might have had a period of stability, slowly sinking into complacency."
"But now, the crisis might be very close."
"How was the Land of Nightfall destroyed back then? What kind of power did the mythical beings possess? This time, there might be a chance to witness it."
Dean Rose mused.
This was also the reason why she and Dean War Song continued to stay.
Of course, on the other hand, since they were here, their vessel puppets were disposable and could not be recovered. It was better to stay and let the puppets continue to be of value. After all, if they died, they died.
However,
She looked at Meidisha and frowned, "Are you really not going back?"
Along with them came three other elite Sword Flower members.
After foreseeing the terrible disaster that would occur here, Dean Rose had already sent the three back in advance.
Only Meidisha, this child, was unwilling. She was very stubborn.
"If the disaster really cannot be reversed, I will leave. But before that, I want to stay, and perhaps a miracle will happen?"
She looked out the window, a hint of hope appearing on her pretty face.
This made Dean Rose and Dean War Song helpless.
Back then, even the overlord force, the Land of Nightfall, had suffered defeat, let alone Blue Star.
However, even if the strong of Blue Star suffered heavy casualties, the world would not be destroyed immediately, and there would still be opportunities to leave.
But why bother.
"The storm seems to be approaching."
...
In a wellness center in Shuize Base City.
Madam Snake, wearing a loose white bathrobe, her graceful body coiled like a snake on the bed.
Suddenly, she frowned and wriggled with a hint of annoyance.
"Something seems wrong."
"Is the crisis of Blue Star about to descend?"
"Heh, I won't die anyway, so why not take this opportunity to take a look at the methods of the evil gods' faction. It doesn't hurt to look."
"It's just that this Blue Star, with its bustling prosperity about to be destroyed, is truly pitiful~"
She chuckled lightly.
Removing her bathrobe, her figure spun, and she changed into a dark green dress before heading out.
...
The Blazing Sun Great Oasis, White Tower, Storm City, Tidal City-States.
All felt a sense of oppressive calm before the storm.
Envoys or high-level avatars who remained on Blue Star at this time were all waiting, or rather, anticipating... the arrival of a certain moment.
"Will the evil gods' faction launch a strong attack against worlds that resist erosion?"
"How terrifying is the evil gods' faction?"
"At that time, we will be able to get a glimpse."
Dark clouds drifted across the sky of the Dawn District.
Pitter-patter, raindrops began to fall.