Chapter 220 - Lightning Tribulation
Han Wu’s skeletons swelled into a monstrous army, and he commanded them to scour the entire region for resources. With his overwhelming strength, the other two students chose to surrender and serve him, helping him manage the territory. Qin Shuang and Sun Qingnian were his trusted friends, while Duan Meng stood as his ally. In every sense, Han Wu had become the unstoppable ruler of the region.
Whenever he faced a difficult challenge, he combed through the land and seized every available resource.
Where should he explore next? As someone from the Divine Civilization—a civilization driven by the passion to conquer—he was compelled to seek his next target. The small region they inhabited was merely the beginning. He hungered for more land to seize.
Han Wu selected the Warring Kingdom Continent out of the four nearby options. It was both the closest and the one he knew best. The nearest kingdom to his territory was the Wei Kingdom. He still carried the token he had taken from the corpse of General Luo Wulei from the Wei Kingdom.
Yet invading the kingdom alone was impossible. Han Wu’s skeletons were too distinctive. If even one soldier spotted them, the wall-mounted cannons would rain fire on his army. Not even his Osteomancers could withstand such relentless bombardment to lay siege to the kingdom. He needed a different strategy.
Qin Shuang and the others didn’t have skeletons, so they focused on expanding their forces to increase their overall strength. Over the course of the second calamity, which lasted an entire month, they had collected numerous caste recipes from fallen generals. After compiling and reviewing the recipes, they began producing new units to bolster their armies.
Qin Shuang’s core race was the Thunder Sparrows. With one of the recipes as a reference, she created the Light Cavalry Shock Riders, a fusion of her Thunder Sparrows and Thunder Spirits. She also developed the Heavy Cavalry Sonorous Brigade by combining Giant Thunder Sparrows with Giant Archers.
Additionally, she used recipes to form her own Physician, Technician, and Worker castes. As soon as her shelter reached Level 9, she equipped all their altars. That was when the weather changed. Thunderclouds gathered ominously above Qin Shuang’s shelter, as if signaling the world’s end.
Han Wu and the others grew worried. They rushed to her shelter, ready to assist at the first sign of trouble. Qin Shuang, however, understood what was happening. When she gathered all nine castes, a system message warned her of the impending tribulation. She now had to endure the lightning tribulation alone to merge the powers of the Nine Martial Castes into herself.
During this trial, no one else could intervene, and no aid would work. Only she could withstand the lightning, and only then could she perfectly fuse their powers into her body. They listened as she explained and watched her step into the storm’s heart.
Thunder rolled across the sky, and lightning rained down upon her. In the end, she triumphed. The powers of the nine castes merged fully into her, granting her the ability to transform into any one of them and wield their unique strengths.
After the tribulation, her strength surpassed even Han Wu’s. He noticed the difference immediately and redoubled his efforts to complete his own castes. Although his shelter had already reached Level 10, he had only gathered five castes so far: the Infantry skeletons, Technician Scorching Dwarves, Lancer half-dragons, Archer Dark Cursed Bugs, and Worker Grovekins. He still lacked the Physician, Vanguard, Light Cavalry, and Heavy Cavalry castes.
Watching Qin Shuang effortlessly switch forms, he realized that the strength of his own transformations depended heavily on the power of his armies. He scrutinized the remaining four castes carefully, knowing they had to be powerful and well-experienced.
Han Wu poured considerable resources into the task before finally assembling the four castes he was satisfied with.
For his Physician caste, he selected the Sanctumbranch, a humanoid Unique life form. It could heal wounds, detoxify poisons, and enhance allies. It ranked among the most versatile units within the caste.
His Vanguard caste consisted of the Iron Stupas, humanoid Unique life forms clad in heavy armor and armed to the teeth. Their defenses rivaled the strength of a city wall. Even an Osteomancer’s bone giant would have to expend immense energy just to breach their guard.
Han Wu chose the Frost Metallions for his Light Cavalry. These Unique life forms wielded unstoppable power, radiating a frigid air that dropped temperatures sharply. Enemies caught in this cold for long periods risked freezing solid.
Finally, his Heavy Cavalry caste consisted of the Deeptide Whales—massive, powerful aquatic units. He prized them for their sheer size and strength, planning to use them to transport his skeletons by sea on his next campaign.
Once he gathered all nine castes, numerous thunderclouds swirled above his shelter. He also received a notification, confirming that he had collected all nine castes and must now face the lightning tribulation to fuse their powers into his body.
He had already been aware of this and made thorough preparations.Yet as he waited, he realized the thunderclouds showed no sign of stopping. Instead, they kept thickening and expanding, layer upon layer.
Qin Shuang’s thundercloud had only spanned fifty kilometers when she underwent her own tribulation. In contrast, Han Wu’s had already exceeded 500 kilometers, and it was still expanding.
A numbness crept over Han Wu’s scalp. He wasn’t sure he could survive the lightning from such a massive thundercloud.
Qin Shuang’s heart raced when she sensed the immense power contained within those clouds. Her affinity for lightning allowed her to recognize that Han Wu’s tribulation was easily a hundred times more intense than hers. Despite being a lightning and thunder expert, she had needed days to recover from her own lightning tribulation.
Han Wu wasn’t. He lacked her resistance and would surely suffer far worse injuries. Yet all Qin Shuang could do was wait anxiously for the tribulation to begin.
Sun Qingnian and Duan Meng stood nearby with their Physician castes, ready to heal Han Wu the moment he cleared the lightning tribulation.
Han Wu hovered above his shelter, watching the thunderclouds swell until they stretched 10,000 kilometers in radius—large enough to cover the entire region and a vast expanse of ocean beyond.
Before the lightning struck, the nine castes that Han Wu had chosen materialized around him. Though formed from energy, their visages looked vividly real.
The first bolt of lightning cracked through the sky. The Archer Dark Cursed Bug, the one most compatible with Han Wu, flew into his body. Instantly, he transformed into a Dark Cursed Bug and melted into the shadows, hiding so no one could find him.
Unfortunately, the lightning traced him with ease and unleashed the heavens’ fury. It tore into Han Wu, grievously injured him, and charred his body black. He reverted to his human form, feeling his organs tremble violently from the impact.
Still, the second bolt was coming fast, and he had no time to recover from his injuries. He glanced at his Worker Grovekin and an idea sparked. He hoped the Grovekin, as a treant, could speed his recovery and shield him from some of the lightning’s power.