The number of modified vehicles that Bai Zemin mobilized for this operation was only 30 units. Most of the vehicles were freighters with just enough food to last for three days. However, given that the number of soul evolvers was over 700 men and women, the amount of food could not be underestimated.
The soul evolvers possessed more powerful bodies and contrary to what was expected or depicted in the cultivation novels, the more powerful the body was the more energy it consumed to maintain itself and therefore the more food they needed to consume to keep up. The only way to counteract this was to consume meat or derivatives of high-level creatures.
For example, First Order mutant beast meat possessed enough nutrients that even people at the level of Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue could eat like normal humans and not have to eat like pigs.
Bai Zemin hoped that this matter would be settled in the higher stages or otherwise it might present some problems.
…
Since the road had been cleared of all obstacles and repaired in the worst parts, the speed at which the vehicles could move forward was quite good. It was just that after being modified and replacing the outer casing of fiberglass, plastic, or iron with parts from the bodies of various high defense mutant beasts, the speed plummeted as the power the engines needed to do was a lot more.
However, even so, the vehicles could still move at 60-70 kilometers per hour. While not excellent since on a clear road like this a vehicle should be moving at 110-120 kilometers per hour with no problem, it was not bad.
Since most of the vehicles were carrying food or weaponry needed for the incoming war, the largest number of soul evolvers advanced on foot.
Not all of them had the ability to run at 60 kilometers per hour, but those were the slowest. Almost all the soul evolvers present possessed at least 60 points of Agility as they had not only invested some stat points but had also consumed a lot of food that increased their stats naturally.
Occasionally, a zombie would appear walking along the roadside, emerging from the woods like a lost lamb. However, when the zombies stopped to look in the direction of the sound, they didn't even make it two steps before their heads were severed or their brains crushed by ranged attacks.
After the zombies were killed, a soul evolver would rush forward to check that there were no Soul Stones inside the heads and then return to join the advance caravan again.
Standing at the front of the caravan of vehicles, Bai Zemin calmly walked forward while observing the surroundings with an indifferent gaze.
Occasionally the mutated beasts in the forests on both sides of the road roared, but when Bai Zemin released his Soul Power in warning, none of the creatures of First Order or higher came out.
As for the Unclassified mutant beasts, they were all immediately torn apart and then thrown into the trucks before the drive resumed.
Despite advancing at over sixty kilometers per hour, Bai Zemin seemed to be taking a walk in the park. His steps were like those of a walking person rather than a running one, yet his body blinked from time to time, appearing as if by magic at a distance sufficient not to block the path of the vehicles advancing behind him.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!…
Several silhouettes flashed and in an instant they arrived next to Bai Zemin, keeping up with his speed.
"What do you feel as you look at this?" Shangguan Bing Xue, who had positioned herself to his right, asked. She looked at the soul evolvers running on both sides of the convoy, wielding swords or holding bows, and then looked at Bai Zemin as she questioned, "Did you ever imagine that in just two months of time you would have an army of evolved humans looking at you the way they look at you now? A whole army that will attack the place you point to without hesitation."
Bai Zemin looked at the expressions on the faces of the soul evolvers around him and it didn't take him too long to realize what Shangguan Bing Xue was saying. The vast majority were looking at him with admiration, confidence, hope, faith, and many positive emotions.
Every soul evolver had a certain pride in their hearts that was impossible to suppress. They were, after all, the elites of mankind. However, regardless of gender, regardless of age, regardless of their levels and regardless of whether it was Unclassified or First Order; they had all been conquered in their own way by the young man who wore full body armor and whose ghostly movements were difficult to follow with the naked eye.
Bai Zemin's prowess had basically spread throughout the entire Transcendent faction since among the soul evolvers there were some students who were with him at all times and followed him from day 1.
From a normal and powerless human, Bai Zemin managed to break through with his fists and smashed all those who opposed him or who became obstacles to his progress. He never was defeated and regardless of whether the other party was human or a giant beast whose weight was enough to crush him, he never took a step back and battled fearlessly.
Everyone admired him; especially the younger ones. Unconsciously or not, each of the more than 700 soul evolvers presents believed in their hearts that he would be the person who would restore peace into China and bring calm back into their chaotic lives.
To answer Shangguan Bing Xue's question, Bai Zemin was honest even though there were several people listening:
"To be honest with you, my goal was never to lead. In fact, my goal was not even close to domination as it is now. Therefore, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little surprised by what I have accomplished with your support up until now. However, surprised and proud of are two completely different things."
Wu Yijun, who was to his left, asked in confusion, "Don't you feel any pride in yourself after all you've accomplished?"
Evangeline couldn't help but point out, "Bai Zemin, remember that two months ago you were but a human at the bottom of the world pyramid. Look at you now, regardless of what great military powers may think, you are undoubtedly one of the most powerful contenders not only to rule over the future of China but even the world is not beyond your reach."
Bai Zemin shook his head and said calmly, "Pride, no matter how small, generally attracts arrogance. That arrogance eventually is sure to transform into carelessness, and that carelessness can be the cause of a giant's downfall. In the south of the African continent, many lions have been found poisoned to death by scorpions… If even the king of the jungle can be taken down by a small creature, who's to say that such a thing can't happen among humans as well?"
Chen He, Nangong Yi, Zhong De, Kang Lan, Cai Jingyi, and many others who stood beside Bai Zemin remained silent after hearing his words.
The great Genghis Khan was a warrior who unified North Asia and established one of the most powerful empires of all time. However, such a man eventually fell in battle, and now where was his empire?
But it was not even necessary to go too far. China itself had many emperors who had fallen due to their overconfidence in themselves.
The great Emperor Qin, who named himself the First Emperor of China, died a pathetic death after being poisoned by the pills his own alchemists and doctors cooked up. Emperor Qin believed that his reign would last forever as he arrogantly sought eternal life, which on the contrary ended up killing him by his own carelessness.
Bai Zemin did not want to fall…. No, he could not fall. There was a lot he still had to do and there were many people who had their faith placed in him, so they would willingly risk their lives for his cause.
At the very least, he did not want to betray the expectations that people like Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, and Evangeline had placed in him. Especially the first two women, who were basically opposing their families completely and risked being branded as traitors with no chance of escape.
"Our journey has just begun." Bai Zemin said indifferently. His eyes flashed coldly as he said aloud, "The North Camp was the first to fall and the Baiquan Camp will be the second to fall. No matter what they do, they will not be able to avoid it. But these two camps are just the beginning of it all. We barely have control over one sub-district but that will soon change…. Submit and you will prosper, oppose and you will perish. Simple as that."
In short, what Bai Zemin was saying in a way was that regardless of whether there were hundreds of soul evolvers present or not, the end result would still be the same and that if his allies were not his allies and were his enemies, they would simply perish.
Bai Zemin's words might seem arrogant to the ears of many and consequently he seemed to be contradicting himself. However, for some reason, everyone present felt that his words were more of a statute than words; it was as if everything were set in stone.
Many should feel slightly upset at being treated as dispensable existences. However, surprisingly, none of them got angry.
Shangguan Bing Xue and the others observed the reactions of the rest. They were surprised to see that instead of anger, everyone's eyes shone more brightly than before; it seemed that it took only a little push for everyone to become fanatics of a new religion.
It was only then that Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, Chen He, Nangong Lingxin, Evangeline, Nangong Yi, Zhong De, and the rest understood the reason why Bai Zemin said those words.
The more self-confidence he showed, the higher everyone's morale would be, and the higher the level of faith he showed in himself, the higher the level of faith others would have in him.
Wu Yijun smiled sweetly and said quietly, "As expected of you."
Bai Zemin smiled faintly and did not comment much on the matter.
Even if no one said anything, it was impossible for the soul evolvers following him not to feel nervous. After all, what was about to be fought in less than 48 hours was the first large-scale war between humans; the first major war between soul evolvers and heavily armed soldiers.
…
The large group stopped occasionally, approximately every 4 hours. Bai Zemin allowed his troops to replenish their strength while preparing freshly grilled meat and vegetables. In addition, a large pot of white rice was also placed in the center that was making everyone drool.
The delicious aroma spread quickly so some of the mutant beasts were attracted and caused some minor problems. However, no soul evolvers were harmed, let alone killed. On the contrary, the strength of Bai Zemin's group grew rapidly for every extra beast or zombie that fell.
Approximately 15 hours later, Bai Zemin ordered everyone to stop and start setting up the camp where they would spend the night. After all, even though they had stopped three times to rest, it was impossible to recover the lost Stamina completely unless they had a good night's sleep.
Just as everyone was setting up the military tents where they were going to spend the night, the sound of a motorcycle getting closer and closer rang out in the middle of the silent night.
Chen He narrowed his eyes to adjust to the night and pulled out a beautiful long blue bow from his back. Then, he simply grasped the air, and magically a blue string made of energy appeared. But that was not all as a second later, a blue arrow created with magic and mana appeared between Chen He's fingers waiting to be shot at once.
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Thank you very much to everyone who voted for Blood Warlock with Golden Tickets! <3
