Chapter 2506: Chapter 2506
The venomous scorpion demon immediately revealed its true form, transforming into a colossal scorpion before burrowing into the golden sands. The surrounding scorpion hordes swiftly retreated, leaving only one massive scorpion behind as a marker.
Ye Liuyun dispatched a squadron of falcons to monitor the area from the starry skies above. Meanwhile, Xiao Mu’an wasted no time spreading the urgent news throughout the Holy Land, rallying all martial cultivators to join the impending battle.
The revelation of six hundred thousand alien invaders sent shockwaves through the entire Holy Land. Everyone knew Liu Kui had already led the main army across the ocean to eradicate another alien force—taking with him the reserve force of two hundred thousand troops. The Holy Dynasty now stood defenseless, its military resources completely depleted. Should the aliens breach their defenses, this sacred land would descend into a living hell, its inhabitants transformed into corpse demons.
Garrison troops from major cities and martial cultivators from city lord mansions began converging at the desert’s edge, forming new battalions. Martial artists from all regions enthusiastically answered the call to arms—the Holy Land’s warriors had no other choice now. Every able-bodied fighter volunteered for the coming conflict. Within days, nearby metropolises swelled with over twenty million recruits, their numbers growing exponentially.
Yet these hastily assembled forces paled in comparison to trained soldiers. Worse still, the Holy Dynasty lacked sufficient equipment to arm them all—their only advantage lay in sheer numbers. The dynasty had already distributed its entire stockpile of armor and weapons. The precious Flying Swallow crossbows were allocated to a specialized corps of one hundred thousand operators.
With resources stretched thin, centralized command became imperative—no longer could equipment be dispersed among scattered units. The Flying Swallow arsenal proved particularly scarce, with barely twenty thousand units forged. Numerically, they stood no chance against the alien hordes. Ultimately, they’d have to rely on Ye Liuyun’s support.
Though the Holy Dynasty had been preparing for war, the recent civil unrest had dealt them a crippling blow. Even the colossal battleship purchased from Ye Liuyun had been deployed to the frontlines—transformed into a star-fortress to house the Flying Swallow corps, enabling coordinated aerial assaults.
Meanwhile, Liu Kui’s naval battles were also intensifying. Though equally anxious, he had to conserve his forces and couldn’t afford to advance too recklessly.
Yu Xiaofeng led Ye Liuyun’s million-strong army, assisting in wiping out numerous beasts corrupted by the alien invaders—most of which were particularly formidable.
Yet their losses remained minimal. Thanks to their war chariots, energy beasts, and falcon units, soldier casualties were drastically reduced. These forces had now returned to the colossal battleship for rest, replenishing troops and equipment while awaiting the final showdown with the aliens.
Tong Xin and Qiong Qi had forged another thousand sets of exo-armor, distributing them to reserve units. Selected soldiers were already training to master the new gear.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun handpicked martial artists from the Sacred Dynasty—those at the first or second tier of the Heavenly Realm who fought unarmed—forming a ten-thousand-strong combat unit.
He had officially allied with the Sacred Dynasty and was authorized as the coalition leader, commanding all forces and resources under a unified strategy.
After the aliens killed Nolan, they realized their plans had been exposed and accelerated their material transfers.
Half a month later, the alien fleet surged out of the dimensional rift. Upon receiving the news, Ye Liuyun didn’t immediately order an attack. Instead, he unleashed the Gold-Devouring Beasts to dismantle the enemy warships.
At the same time, astride his nine-headed demonic dragon, he led the ten thousand unarmed martial artists, poised to strike the moment the alien vessels and skiffs were crippled.
These warriors carried no storage rings or metal of any kind, making them completely immune to the Gold-Devouring Beasts’ influence.
Ye Liuyun also deployed demonic vines to slaughter the alien soldiers. The Gold-Devouring Beasts stationed themselves near the rift’s exit, ensuring every emerging ship and skiff faced devastation the instant they appeared.
Initially, the aliens attempted to overwhelm the blockade with sheer numbers, but the beasts’ metal-absorbing power proved too overwhelming. Skiffs were disabled almost instantly upon approach, while even massive ten-thousand-class warships could barely hold out for long.
As for the soldiers’ armor and weapons? Gone in the blink of an eye, devoured before they could react.
The alien pilots and crew, already weak in combat, stood no chance against the demonic vines and martial artists’ onslaught, leaving their forces decimated.
Soon, the aliens retaliated, sending over fifty third-tier Heavenly Realm warriors and thousands of second-tier fighters into the fray.
Ye Liuyun immediately summoned his doppelgangers to engage in battle. Since these alien creatures were unaccustomed to fighting without weapons, their combat effectiveness was severely compromised.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgangers wielded spirit-energy blades, cutting down foes with each strike. The demonic vines focused their attacks on the strongest of the aliens—those at the third level of the Celestial Realm—dragging them underground one by one to be devoured.
The Nine-Headed Netherdragon unleashed a relentless barrage of poison mist, scorching flames, and freezing ice, even resorting to soul attacks, all of which proved devastatingly effective against the alien warriors.
The alien cores left behind by Ye Liuyun and the Netherdragon were swiftly absorbed by the demonic vines, further enhancing their power.
Though many of the human cultivators under Ye Liuyun’s command fell to the aliens, their sheer numbers still gave them the upper hand. Whenever someone was bitten and turned into a corpse demon, the vines would immediately consume them before they could harm others.
Against weaker aliens at the first or second level of the Celestial Realm, the vines could snatch away four or five at a time, ensuring Ye Liuyun’s forces maintained dominance.
However, Ye Liuyun’s ferocious attacks made him a glaring target, drawing the attention of numerous elite alien warriors. Fortunately, both he and his doppelgangers possessed formidable physical resilience. They also employed soul attacks, seizing control of several alien elites and turning them against their own kind.
Confused and unable to distinguish friend from foe, the alien warriors fought with hesitation.
Meanwhile, the Gold-Devouring Beast swiftly absorbed the storage rings from the fallen aliens, scattering their treasures across the battlefield. The aliens scrambled to reclaim their resources, some even losing their weapons in an instant as the beast consumed them.
Half of the remaining alien elites redirected their assault toward the Gold-Devouring Beast, but their attacks proved futile—neither physical strikes nor flames could harm it.
Before long, nearly half of the third-level Celestial Realm aliens had been slain, with several more captured by Ye Liuyun.
"Retreat!" one of the alien commanders barked, sensing the tide of battle turning against them. He and his surviving forces fled in haste.
Ye Liuyun swiftly led his troops to block the entrance to the secret realm, trapping most of the remaining first and second-level aliens.
With his spirit-energy blades, Ye Liuyun cut through them effortlessly—twelve blades at once, felling at least seven or eight foes in a single sweep.
To him now, these lower-tier Celestial Realm warriors were no longer threats—his power had far surpassed theirs.
