The next morning, the 5,000 troops, bidden farewell by the people of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, set off on their journey. Wang Lan sat in the vehicle, looking at the thin, sallow faces outside the window.
There were no cheers, no goodbyes—the road was shrouded in smoke and utterly silent. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the passing army, as if to imprint their faces onto their hearts.
"What kind of experiences have made their emotions so heavy?" Wu Shaohua sighed softly as he turned his face away in the vehicle.
"They’re betting on the nation’s fate, their hope, their everything. This is the last international assistance. Victory ans peace and clear skies forever; defeat ans the entire country will be beyond redemption," Princess Aier said solemnly, tears welling in her eyes.
The second Different Dinsional Space was located directly east of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Further east lay the Ice Sea, the kingdom’s mariti economic lifeline. If the second space was eliminated, it would solve the imdiate danger for the Kingdom. It would also open up trade, allowing a steady stream of resources to enter the Kingdom from the Ice Sea.
Before they even neared the Different Dinsional Space, the constant sound of gunfire and cannons erupted.
"We don’t have the strength to contain the Exotic Beasts within the space, so we can only set up defenses outside. As long as the beasts dare to break out, our firepower will tear them to shreds."
However, when Wang Lan and the others arrived outside the second Different Dinsional Space, they were incredulous to find that Princess Aier’s so-called defenses consisted of rely three lines. Three lines of defense, without impregnable fortifications or significant bastions, were nothing more than a human wall ford by soldiers wearing gas masks.
Occasionally, an Exotic Beast would poke its head out of the Different Dinsional Space. Before it could clearly see the mysterious world outside, a bullet would pierce its eye socket, blowing off the top of its skull.
But most of the ti, the beasts didn’t erge that way; dozens or even hundreds would swarm out at once, as fast as Speedy Wind, and a single round of gunfire could only montarily stall their advance. So beasts possessed digging abilities, vanishing underground in the blink of an eye.
In such an environnt, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow had innovatively developed countless thods to deal with various Exotic Beasts, so so ingenious they were breathtaking.
For instance, every soldier was strapped with explosives. If an Exotic Beast rushed them and they had no ti to retaliate or evade, they would detonate the explosives, perishing together with the beast.
This 5,000-strong army, tasked with pacifying the space, was nad God’s Gift—the army bestowed by the God of Heaven to save the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. When the vanguard reached the second Different Dinsional Space, they acted instantly, managing to block the beasts within the space.
The dical trucks set up a temporary frontline hospital on the battlefield outside the second Different Dinsional Space. After all, in an era lacking dical Attribute Star Martial Warriors, hospitals were the main force in treating the injured.
Wang Lan led his dical team to imdiately analyze the Star Martial Toxins in the periphery. They quickly matched them with vaccines and then, at the hospital, inoculated every warrior before the battle. One inoculation ant lifelong immunity—such was the potency of the vaccine.
There were no pre-battle pep rallies, no rousing war songs.
Once all the warriors had been inoculated, they were led by the volunteer corps from the Academy and plunged headlong into the Different Dinsional Space.
If one were to describe the environnt of the second Different Dinsional Space with an era, it would be the Permian period’s hellscape of molten lava. The ground seed to be drenched in lava, and the clouds above were black. The lakes and rivers emitted steam from boiling water. The rocky terrain occasionally cracked open, spewing scorching magma.
In such an environnt, human survival ti was certainly asured in seconds. However, the Exotic Beasts here seed to revel in this environnt, leaping between rocks and bathing in the lakes.
The appearance of the human army instantly drew the attention of the Exotic Beasts. They roared and charged towards the humans, hundreds, even thousands of them bellowing with a ferocity that vibrated eardrums.
According to past experience, humans entering their territory wouldn’t last long before feeling dizzy and stumbling. When the beasts charged into their ranks, it would inevitably result in a one-sided slaughter. The occasional, sowhat stronger individual might hold out for 10 or 20 minutes before succumbing to weakness. For the Exotic Beasts near the entrance, this was a common, accustod sight. Oh? Quite a few of them this ti, but no matter, they’re all just weaklings. We won’t need 10 minutes to finish this battle. Finally, fresh, tender at again! The flesh of the Exotic Beasts in this space is tougher than any other.
Facing the surging charge of Exotic Beasts, so of the rcenaries at the rear showed signs of agitation and fear. But for the volunteer corps, which was both shoring up the rear and leading the charge at the front, this was just child’s play.
Princess Aier assessed her body’s condition; indeed, she felt not the slightest discomfort. The vaccine truly provided immunity to Star Martial Toxins. It’s perfect, absolutely perfect!
"Ice Snow, Solitary Frost of Nightfall—" Princess Aier initiated the attack. Her Star Power surged, and she took a deep breath, her chest visibly expanding.
A frigid blast of air erupted, instantly coating the ground before her in frost, turning the first dozen charging Exotic Beasts into ice sculptures.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—
The beasts following behind slamd into them, and the dozens of ice sculptures shattered into fragnts before they even comprehended what had happened.
"Hell Swamp!" a leading teacher shouted, slamming his palm onto the ground. A black quagmire, over a hundred ters wide, appeared before him. More than 20 Exotic Beasts, unable to stop in ti, plunged headfirst into the mire.
"Hell Fire Burning!"
The swamp suddenly began to churn violently. As it spun, flas erupted, instantly drying the mire. When the swamp stilled, the more than 20 Exotic Beasts that had fallen in had fused with the swamp itself.
With a gentle wave of the teacher’s hand, more than 20 Soul Beads shot out from the swamp and landed in his palm.
The Exotic Beasts in the second space were indeed quite strong, much stronger than those in Jade Country’s advanced training grounds. But... it all depended on the comparison.
If it weren’t for the 30 Star Sea Stage experts and the many Galaxy Stage elites from the academy, this Different Dinsional Space would have been a tough fight, even for the Black Tiger Army. For those rcenaries, it would have been an absolute at grinder, a hellish battlefield.
But with this contingent from Modu City Star Martial Academy, these Exotic Beasts were as docile as rabbits—not fierce at all, almost cute. With only four or five Star Sea Stage masters taking action, the first few hundred Exotic Beasts that rushed forward were all finished off.
"We will advance another kiloter and establish this as our rear base."
"Okay!"
In this battle, the Black Tiger Army barely had a chance to act, let alone the throng of highly-paid rcenaries, making them feel as if they were just there to make up the numbers.
"Truly one of the top four Star Martial Academies... Their strength is comparable to one of our entire military regions."
"Now you see the difference between your unaccredited college and the top four, right? A single student of theirs could be the principal of your school. Tactical teachers, all at Star Sea Stage. Tsk, tsk... No wonder they say, ’One of the Four Great Academies can destroy a nation.’"
In less than half a day, a large rear base, about a kiloter in depth, was cleared outside the second space. Ergency supplies and all other necessary items were transported into the space.
Next ca the large-scale search for the Different Dinsional Space’s spatial-temporal nodes. This Different Dinsional Space was about a third the size of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Its environnt was harsh and teeming with Exotic Beasts, and no one knew where the spatial nodes were located.
Without detection equipnt, they could only search bit by bit, like finding a needle in a haystack. The subsequent strategy involved 30 squads, along with Black Tiger Army squads, leading teams of "cannon fodder" to spread out and search for the spatial-temporal nodes.
This was a lengthy and dangerous task. No one could guarantee that an Exotic Beast wouldn’t leap out from an unseen corner and claim your life. The rcenaries, driven by money, understood this clearly; as the saying goes, fortune is found in peril. As long as they could survive and return, their small stake could turn into a fortune.
The main mission of Wang Lan’s squad was to guard the rear. This involved ensuring the safe transportation of materials. They also had to quickly identify corresponding vaccines for any unknown Star Martial Toxins discovered on the front lines and administer injections. If a corresponding vaccine didn’t exist, Wang Lan would have to concoct an antidote on the spot.
The Star Martial Toxin Synthesizer was still lying in Wang Lan’s spatial equipnt.
After resting for an hour, the troops dispersed once more, heading deeper into the Different Dinsional Space. Three hours later, the rear base also began to bustle.
Wounded soldiers were brought back intermittently, and new types of Star Martial Toxins appeared. Although Wang Lan had already developed over 80 kinds of Star Martial Toxin vaccines, the second space might not contain all the toxins found across five such spaces. There were certainly undiscovered toxins.
As the battle progressed, the situation developed much better than Wang Lan had anticipated. Although there were casualties on the front lines, the numbers were not substantial. As for the Star Martial Academy and the Black Tiger Army, they had their own dical Attribute Star Martial Warriors with them.
Besides matching toxins with vaccines, Wang Lan also frequently took on Star Martial dical treatnts to earn so extra cash.
Ten Soul Beads for one treatnt! Too expensive? The three days you’d spend lying in a hospital bed aren’t free, you know. And how many Soul Beads could you earn in those three days? Calculate it yourself! Paynt upfront, treatnt follows. Now, be good...
The biggest obstacle hindering Wang Lan’s advancent was no longer experience points, but skill points. In the past year, hadn’t his skills always hit their ceiling, just waiting for a mission-level upgrade to advance further?
Unlike now; after upgrading to the Galaxy Stage, most of his Star Martial Skill interfaces were still at the Gold stage—so even at Gold Level One.
It was like having OCD. Even if he didn’t raise all his Basic Skills to Platinum, wouldn’t it be much neater and more aesthetically pleasing if all the Star Martial Skill interfaces were Platinum?
Ten Soul Beads yielded only 10 skill points, but even a mosquito’s leg is at.
Gradually, more and more rcenaries were sent back injured, and Wang Lan actually managed to earn a few thousand Soul Beads in a single day. Yu Ruoyun, who had just returned from escorting a batch of vaccines, looked on with sheer exasperation.
While I’m out here running myself ragged, you’re back here with business booming, huh? Treating 10 people at once, earning at least 100 Soul Beads per session. Just a few seconds of work, and 100 Soul Beads are yours? Spending only an hour or two a day on treatnts and raking in several thousand Soul Beads? No wonder those rcenaries were green with envy; even Yu Ruoyun felt a pang of sourness.
Three days later, the number of fatalities began to climb dramatically. By the fifth day, most areas of the second Different Dinsional Space had been searched, but the spatial-temporal nodes remained elusive. However, ferocious Exotic Beasts within the Different Dinsional Space erged one after another, leading to an exponential increase in casualties.
The academy’s volunteer group lost two Galaxy Stage students. The Black Tiger Army lost 20 Star Cloud Stage Star Martial Warriors. The casualties among the rcenaries were significant: after five days, over 1,000 had fallen.
This was even with Wang Lan providing potent dical treatnt from the rear; otherwise, the death toll would have been several hundred higher.
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