Within the Human Race, there are factions favoring avoidance and direct confrontation.
Although these two factions are not on good terms, they at least do not openly engage in conflicts, resorting only to secret competitions.
However, within the infighting of the alien races.
It is generally the one with the bigger fist that's tougher; they never play at superficialities, only at the real thing.
The faction advocating direct confrontation is mostly allied with the Shell Pattern Race.
This means that the patterns on the back of the Shell People are clockwise.
The faction favoring avoidance mainly consists of the Anti-Shell Pattern Race.
After a major internal struggle between the two factions, where only the real fight is entertained, most of the Anti-Shell Pattern Race was wiped out.
The remaining members of the Anti-Shell Pattern Race.
Either became slaves, were expelled from the Shell People Race's settlements, or escaped with their tribes to live independently.
This particular Anti-Shell Pattern Race is a group that escaped from the Shell People Race's settlement.
Moreover.
This group is the direct bloodline of the Anti-Shell Pattern Race, holding a wealth of information on the Shell People Race.
If they hadn't lost in the struggle, the Shell People Race wouldn't have been able to launch such a large-scale war.
After all, with the avoidance faction present.
They would have controlled the scale of the war to an acceptable level.
However.
With the loss of the avoidance faction, the remaining Shell People became unstoppable, the fervent war atmosphere having destroyed all sense of reason among this race.
That's why the current situation has arisen.
The entire Shell People Race mobilized their army to form a grand alliance with the Demon Race, aiming to conquer a human city.
Subsequently.
The leader of this Anti-Shell Pattern Race told Baiyu about the subsequent developments.
After failing in the struggle, they fled from the Shell People Race's territory, hoping to find a place suitable for survival.
But in the Spirit Realm, especially in the No Darkness Realm, finding such a place is not easy.
After searching many places unsatisfactorily, they eventually turned their attention to areas near human settlements.
These places usually had no large Exotic Beasts, nor were there swarms of beasts.
Additionally, resources like water were generally not an issue.
Afterward.
This group of Shell People, led by their leader, secretly settled on the underground perimeter of the Heavy Fog Forest.
Due to the characteristics of the Shell People Race.
They can live freely even underground, mastering the skills of burrowing and underground cultivation.
Thus, they took root here.
After setting up a Protective Spirit Array and living deep underground, never venturing out, this group of Shell People Race has peacefully survived for three years.
The underground settlement has developed to a modest scale.
Yet death eventually found them.
The combat-oriented Shell People soldiers finally arrived here to eradicate all hidden threats.
Although the Protective Spirit Array was hard to break through momentarily, they dared not cause too much commotion.
But today.
Once the Protective Spirit Array was broken, they lost their final protection.
Of course.
This group of Shell People didn't know the Protective Spirit Array was pierced by Baiyu.
Regardless, they now had no retreat; staying here would mean certain death, being wiped out cleanly by the Shell People outside.
Yet the arrival of Baiyu and his companions kindled a spark of hope in them.
At this moment.
To survive, they no longer cared who they allied with; the pro-confrontation Shell Pattern Race wanted to obliterate them, so they couldn't wait idly by.
After Baiyu understood the past causes and consequences.
He was taken by this Shell People leader to visit their plantations, among other places.
It was his first time seeing an underground plantation; it was evident that the technology of the Shell People Race is different from that of humans.
Additionally, Baiyu also saw some Rune Technology items.
This type of technology, different from human electrical and steam technologies, profoundly intricate, couldn't be mastered in one go.
After touring these facilities and understanding everything beforehand.
Baiyu had a slight inclination to trust this Shell People leader.
Of course.
Only a slight one.
Moreover, his belief didn't matter in terms of the situation here; if wishing to cooperate with this Shell People group genuinely, it had to be reported to the Imperial higher-ups.
After all, this is a highly significant matter, a little carelessness could incite turmoil.
"Shell People Commander, I can't guarantee to help you now; the Shell People outside are too numerous, our mission to eradicate them has already cost us dearly.
However, our reinforcements are on the way; if we can close the city gates and hold the defense for a while, aid will arrive.
By that time.
If you can show sufficient sincerity, I believe the Imperial can arrange a refuge for you."
Baiyu naturally knew that the Imperial couldn't be devoid of alien races.
The Deformed Weapons controlled by the alien races, the Imperial has been researching them for years, and given that there are human traitors, there's bound to be alien defectors too.
Although Baiyu hadn't seen alien races within the Imperial, he could definitely ascertain that there were aliens in the Imperial.
The Shell People Commander hesitated merely for a second before agreeing.
Soon after.
When those previously stationed above descended, the two groups converged, and the entire city's gates slammed shut.
In fact, earlier Baiyu noticed that many Shell People within the city were packing bags, clearly preparing to flee.
Evidently, there were other exits here too.
It's just that the Shell People Commander wanted Baiyu to stay and help defend against the Shell People army outside, which he hadn't mentioned.
Baiyu was aware of all this.
Given such a constructed city settlement here, how could they not have reserved emergency escape routes?
Baiyu also had no intention to flee.
He realized that preserving such a group of Shell People was more valuable than killing them outright.
Very soon.
Once the city gates were closed, the city turned into a great fortress, making it difficult for ordinary troops to breach.
Especially when Baiyu had soldiers reinforce the city walls and gates.
Before long.
The outside enraged Shell People horde rushed to the gate, beginning to assault it.
But the city walls were exceptionally sturdy.
For a moment, this mad group of Shell People couldn't breach it; however, under outside pressure, the Shell People inside trembled with fear.
The clamoring sound of battle continually erupted.
Yet.
An hour later, even louder noises emerged from outside the cave.
Subsequently came the sounds of rockets, incendiaries, and thunder bombs, like a meteor shower, thrown towards the aliens outside the city gates.
A grandiose Human Race army advanced from outside the cave.
Every soldier in this army was clad in blood-colored armor, exuding a murderously sinister aura, their bodies and faces hidden beneath the armor, exposing only their eyes.
Yet their eyes were red.
They appeared just like the fiends crawling out of Hell, extremely terrifying.
Blood Knight Order.
At the sight of this army, Baiyu instantly recognized their origin, belonging to Yao Shuimei's Blood Knight Order.
Every one of them elite among elites.
And they indeed lived up to their fame.
Now, confronting the aliens at the city gates, they cut through them as if slicing through butter, completely one-sided.
