First Victory

He silently memorized the attack sequence while staring down. Then, he slowly closed his eyes and established contact with the ninety attack points outside. His Divine Sense swiftly spread out, enveloping the team members below. Groups of soldiers vanished, except for one group that remained in place; their mission was to provide replacements.

Yue Qianchou remained suspended in the air with his eyes closed, maintaining constant contact with the ninety points outside. The surroundings were quiet; no one dared to disturb him...

In a desolate area within the territory of the Kingdom of Ximan, a large area of rubble had accumulated, forming a rocky outcrop. Any cultivator with a little experience could tell that these were fragments from mining for Spirit Stones.

The wasteland on the southern outskirts of Luanshigang was devoid of even a weed, filled only with mountains of rubble. Suddenly, about three hundred masked men appeared out of nowhere. The masked leader quickly scanned the terrain, confirming it was indeed their target area. Facing the target, he swung his arms forward sharply. "Attack according to plan!"

The fiftieth expert, a master at the early Tribulation stage, swiftly leaped into the air and charged directly towards their primary target. The communication array was their first priority; they were determined to destroy it at all costs and with maximum speed. They couldn't afford to give the enemy even a moment to send a message out.

Once news of the attack gets out, it might immediately attract reinforcements from nearby areas. While we don't know if there are reinforcements nearby, we can't take that risk. The first strike must cut off the opponent's throat, preventing them from making a single sound to the outside world.

For this reason, among the nearly one hundred most experienced early Tribulation stage, fifty were immediately dispatched, all for the purpose of destroying a small communication point of the enemy.

"Enemy attack..." A terrified cry rang out from the high ground. But the cry was cut short by three lightning-fast flying swords. Three masked men in black landed on the high ground. The leader was the team leader, also the Regiment Commander of Utopia's First Regiment, enjoying immense prestige within Utopia. On either side were the deputy leaders; all three were cultivators at the early Tribulation stage.

The three men stood back to back, forming a triangular formation, their cold gazes fixed on the two hundred or so team members as they swiftly surrounded the entire Spirit Stone mine in broad daylight.

Although the three were confident in their combined strength, their positioning revealed their constant vigilance. This was the result of long-term combat training; their tactical awareness was extremely high, and they would never allow any accidents to occur due to arrogance. Every battle was approached with utmost care and seriousness.

That alarm-like shout, though only once, was enough to alert everyone in the mine. A large group of cultivators emerged from the cave and the stone house, their first instinct being to look towards the high observation point, only to see three imposing masked figures standing there.

A burly man with a thick beard stood out among the crowd, clearly the most important person there. He had just pointed at three masked men, about to shout, when nearly fifty men in black formed a triangular formation and rushed towards a stone cave.

The burly man with the bushy beard's expression changed instantly; he realized that these people wanted to destroy the communication array connecting them to the outside world. He immediately shouted, "Stop them! Protect the communication array!"

A group of people quickly sprang into the air and gave chase, while the guards outside the communication array also rushed up to intercept them. The first person at the forefront of the triangular attack formation quickly made two hand gestures, and all fifty people threw out a 'Arrow Talisman'. Dense yellow light, like rain, shot out and immediately threw the people rushing to intercept them into a frenzy.

The last ten men in the triangular assault formation threw out their Arrow Talisman and immediately turned to charge back, their flying swords forming a net to annihilate their pursuers. Dozens of people screamed in agony as blood rained down, mingling with the shattered remains of their bodies.

Such a fierce and swift attack immediately startled those who were rushing forward, and they dared not charge any further. Some even turned and fled without hesitation...

The shortened triangular assault formation plunged headlong into the blocking crowd, flying swords flashing fiercely, screams echoing everywhere. Ten more people split off from each side of the triangle to deal with the opponents outside the cave. A smaller triangle of twenty people remained, heading straight for the cave entrance.

Six Core Formation stage cultivators guarded the cave entrance. Seeing the attackers were so powerful, they were already somewhat stunned. Even before engaging in combat, they knew they couldn't withstand the attack, so four immediately fled to either side, and two turned and ran back into the cave. Unfortunately, the four fleeing cultivators didn't escape; the cave was already surrounded, and their only fate was certain death!

As soon as the small triangle reached the cave entrance, it immediately split into an even smaller triangle. Ten people rushed into the cave, while the remaining ten guarded the entrance. Then, two screams were heard from inside the cave, followed by a series of chaotic explosions.

Shortly after, the ten people who had broken into the cave emerged. The squad leader, who was in charge, gave a success signal to the leader on the high ground, indicating that the communication array had been successfully destroyed.

This all happened in a matter of seconds. From launching the attack to instantly destroying the target, the small team didn't even stop before rushing into the cave. Even the cultivator who was preparing to send a message to his sect was killed before he could even activate the communication array.

The team leader gestured to the squad leader, and the squad immediately became the main force in the cleanup operation, working in groups of five and quickly dispersing to slaughter the enemy.

The two deputy leaders said something to the leader, who then gestured to tighten the encirclement, and an even more bloody and brutal massacre began... Screams filled the air, and in this bloody network woven by about three hundred people, no one could escape their final fate.

The battle ended quickly, in less than half an hour. The ground was already covered in pools of blood.

The wind howled, the blood thickened. So many bodies were torn to pieces; those who died more intact died with their eyes wide open in disbelief. In their lifeless eyes, one could see a group of men in black moving about, clearing the battlefield...

Everything of value that could be taken was looted. The group quickly regrouped; two men, clearly injured and seemingly badly wounded, were carried back to the group. The three men at the high point also joined the group at the same time.

The team leader took one last look at the battlefield. From start to finish, it took less than an hour; the mission was successfully completed. He took a small black Squad Commander from his Storage Bag and casually tossed it onto a large rock. With a clink, it embedded itself. A gentle breeze blew, and the two golden characters "Hero" fluttered in the wind.

The team leader reached for the silver coded nameplate on his chest, channeling his Divine Sense into it... All the team members did the same, even the two injured members had someone help them by placing a hand on their silver coded nameplates. They came together, they went back together; they wouldn't be abandoned.

In the Utopia military camp, Yue Qianchou, floating in the air with his eyes closed, slightly twitched his brow, sensing the fluctuations of Divine Sense emanating from the outside world. His Divine Sense surged forth, traversing to the outside world...

In the blink of an eye, a team returned safely. Without even a moment's rest, they each untied one of the three Storage Bags tied to their waists and tossed it aside. Two wounded members were carried out of the ranks, and two replacements immediately stepped forward from the waiting queue, joining the combat formation.

The team then disappeared from sight once again. One of the three attack points had been completed; the mission was still incomplete at the remaining two.

Qu Ping'er waved her hand deftly, and a group of female soldiers quickly appeared. Two wounded team members were carried away for treatment, and the Storage Bags scattered on the ground were gathered up. Just as they withdrew, another group returned after the battle...

While the various nations were frantically diverting their forces to seize Yan Zhuixing, Yue Qianchou took advantage of their weakest point in defense to plunder Spirit Stone mines. He wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by; everyone was terrified of the heroes, and Spirit Stone mines were usually guarded by powerful figures, making them difficult to raid. Such opportunities were rare, so he figured he might as well go all out and make things easy next time.

In truth, Yue Qianchou really wanted to get involved in places with high profits. Although Spirit Stone mines were places that produced Spirit Stones, very few people would accumulate large quantities of Spirit Stone mine Spirit Stones in the wilderness; they would just save up a little and send it back. But it was different with the headquarters or branches of the World Commerce Association. The daily circulation of Spirit Stones was considerable, and getting involved with just a few of them would be a huge windfall.

However, such places are crowded and chaotic, with many experts stationed there. There's also the possibility of encountering a top expert among those who come to trade, which would be troublesome. Let alone the headquarters of the World Commerce Association, even its branches, given Yue Qianchou's current strength, dare not act rashly.

With Bing Chengzi currently possessing the third strongest strength in the world, it would be a lie to say that the other five wouldn't be wary once they unleashed their fury. To risk their lives against Bing Chengzi without even seeing Yan Zhuixing would be far too unwise.

"Yan Zhuixing shouldn't have gone far. Let's find Yan Zhuixing first. We'll have plenty of ways to get him to talk. Whether it's the fabricated story you told Bing Chengzi or not, we'll find out soon enough." Pei Fang changed his tune. He was hesitant to confront Bing Chengzi directly, so he decided to try a different approach.

"You dare!" Bing Chengzi shouted, the Profound Ice Sword already in his hand, its aura locking onto Pei Fang. The latter's expression froze, and he looked at the other four.

Yin Baikang, carrying the God of Wealth Sword, said indifferently, "Brother Bing, we've all come here to get to the bottom of things. Once we find Yan Zhuixing, everything will be clear. You'd better think this through and not go against all the cultivators in the world; otherwise, it won't look good for anyone."

Bing Chengzi stared coldly at Yin Baikang, his killing intent flickering once more, immediately alerting the other five. Just then, the sound of high-speed flight echoed from high above. Everyone looked up and saw a white shadow rapidly approaching—none other than Snow Flood Dragon.

Immediately, someone clicked their tongue and said, "A spirit beast is indeed a spirit beast, it's actually unharmed. Hmm... there seem to be four people sitting on that?"

The four Man Hu riding the Snow Flood Dragon, though knowing it was taking them to find their master, paled drastically when they saw the large group of people below from the sea of clouds. They had barely escaped the wolf's den, only to have the Snow Flood Dragon send them back—this was suicidal!

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