Shen Heng nodded slowly.
Does the Origin Power depend on the intensity?
Han Ling's attacks are the strongest, therefore she consumes the most Origin Power;
Wu Hao's ability is B-Class piercing attack; his attacks have a built-in breakthrough effect, but defending against them requires more Origin Power.
Since both Qin Yu and Zheng Guomin use Origin Power to enhance physical attacks, there is essentially no significant difference between them.
As for himself... there's nothing surprising about it, since the attack wasn't imbued with Origin Power, it was purely an attack based on the vibration of the longsword, and it only had three layers of power.
Next, the others took turns asking questions about the issues they were concerned about.
After a moment, seeing that no one asked any further questions, Zhou Xuan spoke up:
"So, how's my ability? Is it alright?"
Although he was asking a question, a grin was already spreading across his face.
His recent experience has confirmed his abilities!
Unconditionally resist any attack that can harm him!
That sounds impressive!
Wu Hao looked at Zhou Xuan, knowing he wanted praise, so he nodded.
"Yes, it's indeed very strong. I feel that this one ability alone could be considered an A-Class ability!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan's lips curled into an even wider smile.
Zheng Guomin gave him a disapproving look.
"Alright, this ability is indeed very strong, but it's not invincible. If you really encounter someone you can't beat, and they deplete your Origin Power, you're finished, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm not stupid. If I were in that situation, wouldn't I run away?" Zhou Xuan said.
"Still running? We'll drain your Origin Power. Do you think you can escape?"
"How do I run...?"
"Alright," Shen Heng interrupted their conversation, "This ability is indeed very strong. While it's not invincible, if you have enough Origin Crystal, it's not an exaggeration to say it's undefeated."
"In fact, without the side effects, reaching S-Class status wouldn't be a problem at all!"
Seeing that even the captain was praising his abilities, Zhou Xuan couldn't help but grin at Zheng Guomin, raising his chin as if to say, "See, Old Zheng? Even the captain said that!"
Zheng Guomin turned his head away in annoyance. Actually, he was quite happy that Zhou Xuan was so capable, but he felt that Zhou Xuan's smugness when he got something good might cause problems in the future, so he wanted to suppress him.
"However..." Shen Heng paused, looking at Zhou Xuan, and said, "You'd better balance the use of this ability!"
"Balance?" Zhou Xuan asked, somewhat puzzled.
The others also looked over.
"Hmm," Shen Heng nodded, "The more frequently you use this ability, the more dependent you will become on it, and the more Origin Crystal you will consume. In the end, your cultivation progress may fall behind others!"
"Well..."
Zhou Xuan opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Because this ability consumes Origin Crystal, he had already thought that he should use it as little as possible in the future, unless he encountered some troublesome Calamity Beast.
But thinking this way is just an instinctive desire to conserve resources.
He hadn't really thought about what would happen if he didn't conserve resources.
The thought that if he used this ability too much, it would cause others who were originally of lower rank to surpass him in cultivation made him gasp.
"Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't use it!" Shen Heng looked at Zhou Xuan. "This ability is still very powerful. I suggest you store some Origin Crystal in it first, so it will be convenient if you need to use it later. However, you should try to balance the two!"
Swallowing hard, Zhou Xuan nodded.
Shen Heng turned his head and looked around at everyone, his gaze finally turning to the outside of the city.
The mountain ranges stretch into the distance.
"Alright, let's go back. Let's rest one last time today, and get ready to move out tomorrow!"
At the same time, in Frontier-Pacifying City.
A cold wind blew, and black snow fell softly.
Yu Yanhui, glancing occasionally at the forest below the city wall.
There, dark shadows were scattered everywhere, like stakes driven into the ground, occasionally moving, changing position, and then continuing to lie prone.
It's been three days.
Since these Calamity Beast surrounded us three days ago, they have remained like this, crouching neither too close nor too far, neither attacking nor retreating.
" Sister Zhaoran," Yu Yanhui lowered her voice, as if afraid of being overheard, "Why don't these Calamity Beast make a move?"
Lin Zhaoran stood beside her, his gaze fixed downwards, and slowly said:
"They probably want to see if they can starve us to death, or..."
"Or what?" Yu Yanhui asked.
"We're waiting for reinforcements," Lin Zhaoran said slowly.
"Reinforcements... reinforcements?" Yu Yanhui's voice suddenly changed.
Lin Zhaoran nodded.
Yu Yanhui abruptly turned her head to look down, then quickly turned back, her face clearly showing tension.
"There are already over 20,000 Calamity Beast," she lowered her voice even further, "If reinforcements arrive, can we defeat them?"
Lin Zhaoran silent.
"Should we call for backup now?" Yu Yanhui anxiously. "They haven't even started fighting yet. Let's send a signal flare and ask the base to send someone over..."
"It's too late," Lin Zhaoran interrupted her.
Yu Yanhui opened her mouth, but then heard Sister Zhaoran continue speaking:
"We tried yesterday, but the message was intercepted by the Calamity Beast after it was launched. We have no way to send messages out now."
Yu Yanhui was completely speechless.
She stood there blankly, her gaze unconsciously shifting between the mountains and forests below and Lin Zhaoran beside her.
It took her a long while to find her voice:
"Then... what do we do? Just wait here?"
Lin Zhaoran did not answer.
She simply looked down silently.
If the Calamity Beast are truly waiting for reinforcements, then they really have no other options.
The Calamity Beast below were scattered widely, with intervals of tens or even hundreds of meters between them.
Even if all the missiles were fired now, this formation wouldn't kill many of the Calamity Beast; it would just be a waste of firepower.
But if they don't fight, once the reinforcements from behind the Calamity Beast arrive, their only fate might be defeat.
Thinking of this, she turned her head slightly and glanced at the city behind her out of the corner of her eye.
She remembered what Gu Lingxuan had told her yesterday.
The commander instructed that if the final reconnaissance revealed that reinforcements were coming for the Calamity Beast, then the members of their Supervision Bureau should form a group to launch a surprise attack and evacuate.
As for him, he stayed behind with the remaining soldiers.
Firstly, because their rank is low, it's difficult for them to escape.
Secondly, if everyone ran away, it could ultimately lead to an even greater defeat.
Since that's the case, we might as well lead the remaining warriors and fight to the death, taking as many of the Calamity Beast Calamity Beast we can.
only...
Lin Zhaoran turned her head back and looked down once more.
Looking at those figures, one after another, looking at those jelly-like Calamity Beast...
Even if we wanted to launch a surprise attack, would we actually be able to succeed?
She had no answer.
A cold wind blew by, and black snow fell on her shoulders, accumulating into a thin layer.
Yu Yanhui was still muttering something to herself, her voice drifting intermittently into Lin Zhaoran hear it clearly.
Her gaze passed over the Calamity Beast, over the mountains and forests, and looked towards a more distant place.
The mountains stretch endlessly, the ridges rise and fall, and they go on to reach the unseen horizon.
Lin Zhaoran sighed softly.
"Now," she whispered, as if speaking to herself, "We can only hope that the Calamity Beast actually intends to trap us here to die."