Avoiding the Enemy's Edge, Yielding for Now

With rhythmic expansion and contraction, the enormous sphere of light began to gradually digest and reclaim its Authority and power from the body.

Layers upon layers of stardust sometimes coalesced and sometimes separated within the sphere of light; these were Authorities from another world, constantly trying to adapt to this world through arrangement and recombination.

The power and influence that had been "swallowed" and assimilated were like swallowed into a belly, dissolving layer by layer in the light screen and joining the ranks of permutations and combinations.

A magnificent, vast, and unparalleled force is emanating outwards, seeping into every corner of the Crystal Cluster Palace like smoke and mist.

This magnificent building, originally constructed from black, white, and gray stone and left as nourishment by a fallen prince, has now embarked on the path of transformation into Crystal Cluster.

Psionic Energy breeze blew through a special organ called the Resonance Chamber, and eerie, mournful sounds echoed throughout the entire Sand Capital, as if ghosts were constantly reciting lamentations.

A massive Psionic Energy shockwave sweeping the world was imminent, but at this crucial moment, the memories of [the Crown] and [the Hard Armor] came into play.

[Rebels... Invaders... Chaos... The God of This World...]

The ghostly howls vanished without a trace, and the world-sweeping impact subsided into nothingness.

The radiance receded once more, and the Crystal Clusters became even purer.

After a long time, the nascent stardust shrank back into the spacious room at the top of the Crystal Cluster Palace, which was originally used for viewing the scenery.

From the memories of those two willing sacrifices, it—no, He—learned much about this world.

This world has its own creator, and although it is likely also in the process of recovery, now is not a good time to confront it.

Having a certain degree of futuristic vision, I can foresee that my recovery will be faster than that of the god of this world.

Since that's the case, I'm not in a hurry to confront him head-on.

If peace can be maintained, a ceasefire might be an option, after all—

I and my "crystal souls" are just passing through this world. As long as we can lock onto the coordinates of the next universe, we will be able to set off again soon.

If the god of this world did not possess the ability to tear apart the barriers between worlds, he would most likely not use his power to fight against him rather than the Demonic Tide, since he was merely a passerby.

In a very short time, the "Lord of Infinite Crystal Clusters," who had regained the ability to think, determined the optimal solution for the current situation.

Hibernation.

Thanks to His own power and status, nothing that happens within the Crystal Cluster Palace can be seen by anyone or in any way.

As if nothing had ever happened, Sand Capital spent another ordinary night.

Only in the skeletal graveyard beneath the Crystal Cluster Palace did thousands upon thousands of skeletons begin to move on their own.

The next day, morning.

Amidst the yellow sand whipped up by the cold wind, the figures of a vanguard army gradually came into view.

Judging from its size alone, this vanguard can hardly be described as a formidable force.

However, the power they displayed was in no way weaker than that of a large army, because even at a distance of several miles from the walls of the Sand Capital, they continued to march without stopping and their faces were full of joy.

This clearly violates normal marching patterns, but counterintuitively, it cannot be taken lightly.

The reason is simple. To use cavalry as an example, a cavalry unit will not charge wildly before the battle, but will only start to increase its speed when preparing to engage in battle.

Similarly, an infantry unit wouldn't charge wildly with shouts from miles away from the enemy.

Such enemies can generally only be described as foolish, but now, seeing the maniacal laughter on the faces of those humans, even the skeletal soldiers on the city wall couldn't help but shudder.

Is this a poet?

Meanwhile, in that group of only a few thousand people, Colin was currently using a "surrounded by entourage" experience card.

In his short but not long life, he had never experienced such an exhilarating and joyful moment.

Even if the war might end in his crushing defeat, and he might be captured alive, executed, and have every bone crushed, he would still feel that his life had been worthwhile.

"This is what it means to be alive..."

Colin murmured to himself.

"Sir, what did you say?"

[Ginseng Rooster] can now understand a little bit of the skull's language, but ultimately still can't quite understand it.

Colin glanced at him, then looked at the outer wall of Sand Capital right in front of him, and raised his voice considerably:

I said, 'Follow me on the attack!'

[The Ginseng Rooster] immediately perked up and shouted loudly:

"Purge the court of corrupt officials!"

"Purge the court of corrupt officials!"

A thunderous roar, like a tsunami, surged in, echoing Colin's passionate heart.

Although this vanguard team appeared to be poorly equipped, with almost no weapons or similar items.

But after questioning [Ginseng Rooster], Colin learned that most of the Soul Returners had the ability to replenish and create equipment through Alienation.

The first one or two hundred men charging at the forefront had completely lost their arms in their normal form.

Some of them raised their hands together to form a large shield, defending against the Skeleton Man's shots from above;

Some have Alienation into a pair of grappling hooks, ready for a wave of free solo climbing;

Someone had prepared more than a dozen long wedges to be driven into the city wall;

There are also wooden ladders extending upwards in front of the players.

These Soul Returners, who specialize in plant-based systems and whose primary combat method is various forms of Alienation, are just the first group to charge forward.

Behind them, the players' potential for development was maximized.

Cavalry players began to accelerate, Blood Corpse players became increasingly aggressive, mechanical modification players had already targeted several enemies on the city walls, and summoner players, with their Vine Dog, were ready to launch a frenzied attack at any moment.

However, just as everyone rushed to the foot of the city wall and was about to begin climbing, the north gate of Sand Capital suddenly opened little by little with a creaking sound.

[Thousand Faces] appeared atop the northern city wall of Sand Capital. Amidst the cheers of the skeletal warriors, he slashed forward with his hand blade:

"Marching!"

Behind the city gate, a hundred identical skeletons formed a square formation and marched outwards in an orderly fashion from the gates of Sand Capital.

They were identical in height and build, their eyes burned with the same Psionic Energy flames, and they wielded the same Crystal Cluster weapons.

Intelligent beings have an innate pursuit of order. Upon seeing such a team that was clearly a super elite force both on paper and in actual performance, the skeletal warriors on the city wall quickly cheered, and their morale was greatly boosted.

And there was more than one formation of these elite Skeleton Man.

After the entire formation of one hundred men had exited the city gate, a second identical formation followed closely behind, then a third, a fourth...

The initial elation at the Skeleton Man on the city wall had turned into utter shock.

When did Sand Capital acquire so many elite troops?

Any one of these Skeleton Man could easily become a fortress knight or even Bastion Lord at the border, yet here in Sand Capital they're relegated to fighting as a common soldier?