Lin Feng tilted his head slightly and said truthfully, "I've been thinking about the events of these past sixteen days. From Hangu Pass to Fenghuo City, from the entry of more than 400,000 soldiers into the barracks to their exit, and now on their return journey, the pace has been even faster than expected."
Jiang Zhaoyue nodded, her Silver Moon Heavenly Spear held diagonally behind her, her gaze sweeping over the steadily advancing army below: "By the way, is there any news from the Arctic Region? How are Lord Lu and Bai Yi doing after they arrived in Wulu City?"
"The deployment is complete." Lin Feng's tone was calm. "The Bagua Formation defense line of Wulu City has been completed, and all eight array points have been reinforced."
Lord Lu brought the generals and retainers of Zhenyue City with him, and Bai Yi's two hundred thousand-man generals were also incorporated into the defense sequence.
With the combined forces of the various Arctic nations, Wulu City is now an iron wall firmly planted on the Nightmare Clan's inevitable path.
"What about the Eastern Region?" Jiang Zhaoyue pressed. "The undead army still hasn't made a move?"
"It didn't move." Lin Feng's brows furrowed slightly.
"But Hel has sent a lot of reconnaissance forces to the direction of White Tower City. Judging from this action, it should be confirming one thing: whether I am still in White Tower City. Once it confirms that I have returned to Antarctica, it may launch a general attack at any time."
Jiang Zhaoyue paused for a moment, then keenly grasped the key point: "So our return to Hangu Pass this time is essentially a race against time with Hel, to deploy 500,000 troops before it confirms your departure, and then... to return to Baita City before its general offensive?"
Lin Feng nodded and said nothing more.
He had another thought he hadn't told Jiang Zhaoyue: the probability pool had accumulated to 200 points three days ago and could be used at any time.
However, the army had just set off, and no one could predict the specific situation when the underground city was unsealed. In order to ensure that nothing went wrong, he had to first safely send the 500,000 troops to Hangu Pass and stabilize the front line before he could confidently attack the underground city.
As for whether to wait a few more days to allow the probability pool to continue accumulating, he felt it was unnecessary.
The undead race was getting impatient. More importantly, if the dungeon were to be reopened prematurely for other reasons, he would regret it.
The longer you wait, the greater the risk.
Once his thoughts settled, he withdrew his gaze, lightly stomped his foot, and the aura of the Swift Wind March suddenly receded.
The pale blue light flashed in the air and then disappeared without a trace.
On the ground, the army of more than 500,000 people stopped almost at the same moment, standing in perfect order, with not a single person taking an extra step.
The dust rising from the loess land was still slowly dissipating, but the entire army seemed to have been paused, quietly standing still, with a chilling atmosphere permeating the surrounding area.
Lin Feng hovered in mid-air, his gaze sweeping over the massive military formation below.
Hundreds of thousands of eyes were fixed on him.
"It's still over 190 li from here to Hangu Pass. You can return on your own. Keep your formation and don't let your guard down."
He paused for a moment, then his voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable determination: "Now, all the third-stage awakened ones here, leave the ranks and follow me to Lucky Town to join Ye Lan and the others!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around abruptly and sped off in the southwest direction.
Behind him, Zhao Hu rode out from the left flank, with Tie Dun following closely behind.
Su Yuehua quickly handed the wooden board and documents in her hand to her deputy and left the queue.
Feng Qingyan followed last, and several streaks of light rushed out from all parts of the army, converging into a sharp arrow that closely followed Lin Feng and whistled towards the southwest.
...
The following afternoon.
Two streaks of light sped from the northeast over Lucky Town, suddenly slowing down as they approached the edge of the town.
Lin Feng and Jiang Zhaoyue descended to a height of about thirty meters, hovering steadily directly above the entrance to the underground city.
From the air, the market that spontaneously formed around the entrance to the underground city has undergone tremendous changes in the past few months.
More than a hundred makeshift stalls are arranged crookedly along both sides of the dirt road leading to the entrance, stretching for nearly a kilometer.
Colorful cloth tents and temporary shelves made of wooden planks have transformed the originally empty and desolate yellow land into a crowded and bustling commercial street.
Awakened individuals and adventurers moved among the stalls in small groups, the air filled with the smells of sweat, rust, and roasted meat.
Some people had just come out of the dungeon, their leather armor still stained with dark gray stone chips ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) and dried blood.
He walked straight to the potion stall, dropped off a few gray crystals in exchange for a few bottles of healing potions, and without even taking a sip of water, turned around and walked back towards the entrance.
Someone squatted down in front of the stall, picked up a green-quality dagger, weighed it in their hand, then shook their head in disgust and put it back, muttering "the stats are too bad," before getting up and heading to the next stall.
At a stall on the east side of the entrance, a middle-aged awakened individual was squatting on the ground, flipping through several rolls of rough paper maps.
The stall owner was a lean old man who lowered his voice and said, "The map of the third level has just been updated. Of the two mine tunnels to the south, the one on the right is a dead end, while the one on the left leads to an area that wasn't marked before. If you dare to go deeper into the area, buying my new map will definitely be a good deal."
The middle-aged awakened one hesitated for a moment, but finally took out a few copper coins.
A young adventurer waiting for his teammates overheard the conversation and couldn't help but look up and interject, "The third floor? You dare to explore the third floor? No one has discovered the hidden boss there yet. What if you run into it and die?"
The stall owner waved his hand, looking unsurprised: "A BOSS is a BOSS, and a passage is a passage. You won't encounter it unless you go all the way to the innermost part. Fortune favors the bold, and good equipment doesn't come without fighting monsters."
The young adventurer seemed convinced and stopped asking questions, continuing to rummage through his food bag.
A few meters away at another stall, several adventurers were speaking in hushed tones, their voices filled with envy and regret: "Have you heard? The Night Whisper Legion has expanded its army, adding a hundred thousand men!"
"I heard! My brother came back yesterday and said a friend of his signed up and got in right away!"
"What are the conditions?"
"The only requirement is registration; as long as you can walk, you can get in!"
"...Why didn't I catch this wave?"
Just then, a whooshing sound came from the northwest sky, and several figures rushed over.
At the very front was Jiang Yelan, followed closely by Su Yurou, Zain, and Zara.
The four of them stopped in front of Lin Feng and Jiang Zhaoyue.
Jiang Yelan spoke first, his voice as calm as ever: "Lord, we arrived half a day early. When do we set off?"
"That's about it. Zhao Hu and the others are right behind us."
As soon as Lin Feng finished speaking, Zhao Hu, Su Yuehua, Shi Pojun, Feng Qingshuang, and others rode their pack animals from the outskirts of the market.
As soon as the group came to a stop, Feng Qingyan was the first to leap off the giant deer, calling out crisply, "I'm so thirsty! I'm going to buy some drinks!"
Comments