Chapter 2760: Chapter 2760
Ye Liuyun’s three-pronged million-strong Death Legion armies, led respectively by Yu Xiaofeng, Qin Peng, and Kui Shan, were all advancing smoothly.
The clone’s contingent also encountered the alien races. However, the clone worked seamlessly with the locals, even deploying demonic armies to aid in their battles. Ye Liuyun specifically sent over the Demon-Sealing Stele, the Demon Vine, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, and the Vermilion Bird, urging them to seize every moment to enhance their strength. The Demon Vine quickly broke through to the fifth level of Dominance, while the Demon-Sealing Stele was hot on its heels.
Liang Xue, Wu Qingcheng, and the other women, however, had grown weary of battling the alien races and insisted on staying by Ye Liuyun’s side. Relenting, Ye Liuyun kept them close, allowing them to spar with the martial artists of the Star Disk Empire. Safely ensconced within his spatial world and under his unwavering protection, they remained completely secure while steadily improving their abilities.
Later, Ye Liuyun even helped them claim several planets to expand their own spatial realms. In less than two years, he had already seized over eighty planets from the Star Disk Empire—some by directly absorbing their core energies.
The Star Disk Empire found itself powerless to retaliate. Even if they wanted to deploy troops, they had no idea where to strike against Ye Liuyun.
Meanwhile, Mo Ran and his team of elders continued their relentless expansion with the mercenary corps. After fully conquering and securing a planet, they would hand it over to Ye Liuyun for absorption before moving on to the next.
Currently, over sixty planets remained under Ye Liuyun’s control. Just the "Five Tiger Generals" under Mo Ran’s mercenary command had each taken charge of five planets, with their forces swelling to twenty thousand strong.
However, the elders remained tight-lipped about their ties to the Wolf Hunt Mercenary Corps, ensuring their subordinates remained unaware of their true allegiance. Ling Yuan, meanwhile, joined the Vanguard Corps, assisting Ye Tian Dao in managing the rapidly growing ranks.
Lu Xiao took charge of gathering intelligence on the Star Disk Empire for Ye Liuyun, overseeing the network of inspectors and city lords under his control. Almost nothing required Ye Liuyun’s personal intervention.
But now, the alien races had returned in full force. This time, they struck with both elite warriors and massive armies, swiftly capturing over a dozen planets from the Star Disk Empire. They erected altars and strongholds, carving out battlefields to continue draining the empire’s resources.
Fortunately, Liu Haotian had heeded Ye Liuyun’s advice early on, conscripting and training soldiers in advance, ensuring the empire wasn’t left defenseless.
Feeling the mounting crisis, the Star Disk Empire reinstated Meng Wenxiang and Han Qiao, who smoothly rejoined the military ranks. The empire immediately launched another recruitment drive, this time demanding that local mercenary groups contribute a fixed proportion of their forces.
Upon learning this, Ye Liuyun swiftly consolidated all mercenary groups under Mo Ran’s banner, openly defying the Star Disk Empire.
At the same time, he seized every planet controlled by Mo Ran and his allies, dealing another heavy blow to the empire while it was too preoccupied to retaliate.
Moreover, Mo Ran’s mercenary group began a sweeping campaign, conquering one planet after another in the surrounding regions. After plundering the resources of each world, they also recruited numerous mercenaries, steadily expanding their forces. Meanwhile, the essence of each planet was absorbed by Ye Liuyun.
As a result, the Star Disk Empire not only suffered a crushing defeat in their battle against the alien race but also endured heavy losses in the southern territories. Stretched thin, they could barely sustain a war on two fronts.
Time and again, they dispatched elite assassins to eliminate Mo Ran, but Ye Liuyun intervened each time, either capturing or outright obliterating them.
Left with no choice, the Star Disk Empire resorted to appeasement, offering resources to persuade Mo Ran to stand down and join forces against the alien invaders. Following Ye Liuyun’s instructions, Mo Ran made an audacious demand—claiming all the southern planets for himself.
As for the promised reinforcements to the Star Disk Empire, they were forcibly conscripted from the local city lords and major factions. After a thorough sweep, the mercenaries rounded up these unwilling recruits, assembling a makeshift army of 100,000 to hand over to the empire.
From then on, the southern planets fell entirely under the mercenary group’s control.
Ye Liuyun, however, saw through the empire’s stalling tactic. He knew that once the alien threat was dealt with, the empire would turn its attention back to them. So, he wasted no time—absorbing each planet’s essence as they secured it, leaving nothing behind for the empire to reclaim.
Meanwhile, Pei Yong assisted Ye Liuyun in building a formidable army of 200,000 soldiers, most of whom were at the third or fourth level of Dominator Realm. Additionally, there was an elite guard unit of 1,000 warriors at the fifth and sixth levels—veterans who had been filtered out from the Death Corps. Even so, the sheer might of this force was staggering.
Trained under the Death Corps’ brutal regimen and outfitted with top-tier armor, these soldiers could rival the combat effectiveness of Ye Liuyun’s million-strong army.
The prowess of the elite Vanguard Regiment, a 10,000-strong unit, was even more fearsome. No army could withstand their devastating charge.
Within Ye Liuyun’s spatial world, he had amassed countless planets, ensuring an endless supply of troops and resources. It was, by far, the peak of his strength.
He had even experimented with channeling the spatial world’s power—an overwhelming force that allowed him to effortlessly repel attacks from over a dozen seventh-level Dominators. He estimated that this power could easily handle even eighth-level Dominator cultivators.
Moreover, during his travels with the Thieving Cat, Ye Liuyun had not only solidified his cultivation base but also significantly enhanced his spatial and temporal abilities. Frequent use of his time-based powers had sharpened them to new heights, making him confident enough to face eighth-level Dominators without hesitation.
Ye Liuyun remained in the south until he had absorbed every planet under his control. Only then did he lead Mo Ran northward, allowing him to expand discreetly while Ye Liuyun himself returned to the alien battlefield.
By then, his doppelgänger had already concluded the war against the aliens. Seizing the opportunity, Ye Liuyun retrieved the doppelgänger, leaving the Demon-Sealing Stele and the Demon Vine behind to continue their growth. They needed to reach a level where they could contend with eighth-level Dominator aliens—only then would he dare to storm the alien stronghold. For now, they would use the remaining alien forces as training fodder, accelerating their evolution.
After reuniting with his doppelgänger, the group could once again utilize time acceleration to enhance their strength. Normally, it was the doppelgänger who took Ye Liuyun’s place in public.
The doppelgänger altered his appearance and set off for the northern battlefield. Along the way, he retrieved the communication talisman given to him by Liu Haotian and reached out to Liu Haotian, Meng Wenxiang, Han Qiao, and others.
When Ye Liuyun volunteered to assist, they were naturally delighted. However, they were also concerned about his identity—after all, he was still a wanted man by the empire and couldn’t officially enlist.
Ye Liuyun took the initiative to clarify, "I won’t be going myself, but I’ll send an army of 200,000 to aid you. The commander leading them is named Pei Yong."
This time, Ye Liuyun directly put Pei Yong in charge, giving him the opportunity to gain experience on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun’s doppelgänger would serve only as Pei Yong’s deputy, accompanying him in battle to hone his skills.
