The Sacrificial Ritual
Although interference from the Spirit Realm has locked down the limits of technology and caused military equipment to generally regress to the mechanized era, advanced combat concepts, applicable tactics, and weapons can still be passed down.
Seeing that the sniper rifles were not effective, the Night Watcher Unit immediately changed tactics and weapons, and various small-caliber mortars, grenades, and man-portable rockets began to be used.
With the violent explosions, the casualties among the orc warriors rose rapidly.
"Crackling sound~"
Accompanied by the hum of propellers, helicopters quickly arrived at the scene.
They were the first reinforcements from the troops stationed outside the city!
As the cable car descended, fully armed soldiers landed on the rooftops, took control of the high ground, and began suppressing the ground with fire.
Teams of soldiers searched down from the rooftop, looking for orcs who had entered the building's corridors.
The spirit lamp in Lin Xu's hand shone brightly, and a fiery serpent swam in the air, silently avoiding the pillars and wrapping around an orc warrior.
The intense heat melted the outer layer of the enchanted armor in just a few seconds, and the orc warrior screamed as he was roasted and charred, collapsing heavily to the ground.
The orc who had entered the house heard the screams outside and rushed out in alarm and rage, only to be met with sharp wind blades.
Although Lin Xu's professional level did not improve significantly after obtaining the Lord Template, and he lost the template bonus after leaving the territory, the power of his spells became stronger and stronger as his understanding of the Lord Authority deepened.
"Before obtaining the Lord Template, it would take my fire spells at least ten or twenty seconds to melt through these enchanted armors, but now the time has been reduced by more than half."
Lin Xu felt a sense of satisfaction as he experienced the changes brought about by the magic.
After gaining control of the Lord Authority, in addition to accumulating magical power and purifying his body and tempering his soul with the Glazed Purifying Fire, he spent most of his daily cultivation trying to analyze the authority.
Although it's not visible on the panel and the flame temperature doesn't change much, the spell's penetrating power has undergone a qualitative change.
Especially after being refined by the essence of the evil god, the changes in this aspect are even more obvious.
"You sissy with no flesh on your bones, have the guts to fight me hand-to-hand!" The last orc warrior roared angrily, hurling an enchanted bone spear that pierced the air with a sharp whistling sound.
The Wind Fire Wheels moved swiftly, and Lin Xu nimbly dodged the incoming bone spear. The flames of the Glazed Lamp flickered, and a fire serpent shot through the air, baring its fangs to bite at the orc warrior.
The extreme heat was concentrated within the fire serpent's body. It left only faint burn marks on the walls it snaked across, but melted deep dents into the orc's heavy metal armor.
A few seconds later, the fire serpent melted through the breastplate and charred the orc's heart before Lin Xu stopped.
At this moment, more and more Night Watcher Unit arrived on the battlefield and were advancing into the neighborhood.
The frequency of battles increased, but Lin Xu grew increasingly uneasy.
He could sense that, as time passed, the Spirit Realm Passage not only showed no signs of breaking down, but was instead continuing to expand.
"It's a blood sacrifice—" His gaze pierced through the thin mist, and he saw that life and vitality were being devoured by an invisible force within the corpses of the dead.
The earliest humans and orcs to die had corpses that were dried up like firewood, all their life force and energy completely drained.
Lin Xu looked at the dead orc in the corridor. The corpses were drying up little by little, and tiny amounts of energy were constantly dissipating into the surrounding air, slowly eroding the solid barrier of reality.
He sensed a subtle spatial fluctuation around him and instinctively looked over, only to see a phantom orc projection in the hallway.
It seemed to sense the anomaly, looking around at the real world. Upon seeing Lin Xu, it immediately adopted an attack stance, eager to strike.
However, it did not attack immediately, clearly understanding that it and Lin Xu were in different dimensions of time and space.
"So this is what the monster invasion from the Spirit Realm looks like----" Lin Xu looked at the ferocious-looking orc. This was the first time he had witnessed the entire process of a monster invasion up close.
First, it projects, then gradually solidifies. The entire process takes about a few minutes, depending on the size and stability of the Spirit Realm Passage.
"Completely different from the adventurers' return—" He mused, a fiery serpent silently appearing, winding and coiling, engulfing the orcish phantom within it. "It's said that the adventurers' journey only takes a few seconds."
This is easy to understand. Adventurers are returning from the Spirit Realm, which is the home of humans, so they will not be rejected. On the contrary, orcs are invaders and will be hindered by the barriers of reality.
A moment later, the orc's figure solidified, watching in horror as the enchanted armor melted away bit by bit. The extreme heat penetrated the armor, scorching the tough body until it was dried out and turned into a lump of black charcoal.
The battle continued, but Lin Xu stopped and used his Wind Fire Wheels to search for the location of the sacrificial ceremony.
"There are three sacrificial sites in the entire community, and the little girl's house was one of them, but I destroyed it—it seems the cultists have started a new sacrificial ritual."
He sensed the unusual energy points around him and flew toward one of them.
"Huh? There are already people here?" Lin Xu paused, seeing a Night Watcher Unit escorting a middle-aged monk in robes, rapidly approaching the stairwell. That was one of the unusual spots he had noticed.
Seemingly sensing his gaze, the monk turned his head and was startled to see Lin Xu riding on his Wind Fire Wheels in the sky. "Amitabha! This humble monk Zhixing. May I ask your Dharma name, senior?"
Lin Xu glanced at him. "I am Lin Xu. Are you going to disrupt the sacrificial ceremony?"
"So it's Master Lin." Zhixing bowed respectfully to Lin Xu, who was in mid-air. "This humble monk happened to be there and offered my humble assistance."
"Beware of cult members." He nodded, then flew away.
"Master?" The Night Watchers commander looked at him with a puzzled expression.
The two communicated remotely, using telepathic communication. Bystanders had no idea what the Zhixing was doing. Following their gaze, they saw a person riding on a wheel of fire turning and leaving.
"Let's go, be careful of cultists!" Zhixing snapped out of his daze and continued towards the sacrificial site, his heart filled with unease. "This Daoist Lin's cultivation is far more profound than I imagined—"
He sensed a kind of bright and clear power emanating from Lin Xu, which subtly radiated outwards, forming its own domain.
He had only felt this ability to influence the surrounding environment from a few great Zen masters at Dragon Elephant Temple, who were Buddhist protectors who were just one step away from attaining Arhat (Legendary).
"This monk is interesting—" Lin Xu turned and pounced on his next target, but in his heart he was thinking about Zhixing.