At this moment, there were countless corpse kings fighting against humans at the second forward basecamp. The battlefield took place across the entire metallic plain, and gashes dotted the land.
In the dark space high above the battlefield, planets were constantly being destroyed, and Envoys had entered the true universe and launched their attacks from there.
There was a transportation device at the second forward basecamp that let reinforcements from the second array base’s headquarters immediately arrive, but unfortunately, it had been damaged. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Xia Yan to order everyone to reinforce the second forward basecamp.
In addition to the transportation device, the local defensive sourcebox array had also been damaged, which was the reason why a group of Lockbreakers had been gathered at the battlefield to try to repair it.
Reinforcements poured in from outside the second forward basecamp one after another.
A stream of cultivators traveled down from the upper regions of the Mother Tree’s trunk to reinforce the defenders at the basecamp, but at the same time, countless terror ants formed massive swarms that made their way up the trunk from the lower reaches.
There was an explosive sound as a bloody energy swept towards the Lockbreakers who were attempting to repair the sourcebox array. In response, an Envoy immediately stepped forward to shield them from the attack. Despite his already injured state, the Envoy forcefully suppressed them to protect the Lockbreakers. As a result, the attack caused a web of cracks to appear over half of his body as he crashed to the ground.
The group of Lockbreakers that was standing rather close to the Envoy all turned as white as a sheet of paper.
“Master Song, we can’t hold out for any longer!” one of the Lockbreakers cried out anxiously.
The Lockbreaker standing at the front was dressed similarly to Master Zan, as he was also wearing very luxurious clothing. But right now, the man’s face was deathly pale, and large beads of sweat were rolling down his face from his forehead as he stared intently at the damaged sourcebox array.
After the Lockbreaker frantically called out another warning, Master Song became even more anxious.
The void above his head tore open, and another corpse king charged out. Its body was covered in a powerful blood-red energy. As soon as it appeared, it let out a guttural growl as it smashed its arms down, sending out a wave of bloody energy that fell on the Lockbreakers like meteorites.
The group of Lockbreakers all felt their legs tremble. Even though they had been stationed at the battlefield’s front lines for quite some time, this was still the worst disaster that the second forward basecamp had ever gone through. None of the Lockbreakers were able to escape from this attack, and they could only helplessly watch on as the smell of death approached.
All of a sudden, the bloody energy was sliced apart by a sharp qi that swept out from the void. A massive slash had come in from the distance at the attacking corpse king.
The corpse king raised its hand, grabbed the approaching attack, and then crushed it. At the same time, numerous other attacks rained down on the corpse king from all directions, clearly originating from the true universe, and they shredded the corpse king to nothing.
The void warped and multiple people began to emerge. All of them had somber expressions, and they all started immediately attacking.
“It’s the Star Alliance! The reinforcements from Star Alliance are here!” the Lockbreakers cheered.
Master Song’s breath was ragged as he shouted, “Don’t get distracted! Continue repairing the sourcebox array.”
“Yes, Master Song.”
Above the battlefield and in the sky, there stood a massive banner. A man suddenly appeared next to the banner and unfurled it, causing an invisible wave of energy to sweep out and envelop the entire second forward basecamp. Everyone who accepted this power fell into a sudden rage that incited them to attack without restraint or fear of death.
The man was Colonel Zuo, and this banner was his innate gift. It was known as a commander’s talent, and it was best suited for warfare.
A pair of scarlet eyes opened before Colonel Zuo, and their mere opening unleashed a terrible power that caused explosions to ripple throughout the void. At the same time, a corpse king appeared and attempted to tear the banner apart.
Colonel Zuo scoffed in response as Divine Martial Armor covered his body. After unfurling his banner, he easily forced the corpse king back while observing the situation on the battlefield down below. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that the reinforcements from Star Alliance had arrived.
Star Alliance’s arrival meant that the situation would temporarily stabilize. In other words, all they needed to do for now was wait for their general to arrive.
Because of the second forward basecamp’s teleportation device, they were never supposed to have been able to be forced into such a dire emergency. However, who could have predicted that a Progenitor-level corpse king would suddenly make a move and tear through the Tree Realm or that its actions would damage the teleportation device while also unleashing an untold number of terror ants. Not even Colonel Zuo had immediately noticed what had happened.
By the time that he had realized that the teleportation device had been damaged, it had already been too late.
At this time, Colonel Zuo was just hoping that no Semi-Progenitor level corpse kings would show up.
Just as the man was making his wishes, a massive wave of energy swept by him. Colonel Zuo’s pupils shrank as he stared off into the distance. There, he saw a bamboo branch appear. It was jade green and vibrant, brimming with vitality.
While such a sight should have soothed the heart, in Colonel Zuo’s eyes, this verdant bamboo was as intimidating as meeting the grim reaper. This bamboo meant that Marquis Green Bamboo had arrived.
Humanity had been resisting the monsters’ invasions for untold years, and just as the monsters knew a great deal about humanity, humanity had also gathered a great deal of information regarding the monsters.
All of these monsters were corpse kings, and they referred to themselves as Aeternal, worshipers of the One True God. From what they had seen so far, the mysterious Seven Skygods, whose cultivation realms was unknown to all, stood directly beneath the One True God. Some said that the Seven Skygods were Semi-Progenitors, while others claim that they were true Progenitors. However, what was certain was that, below the Seven God Skies, were the Twelve Marquises.
Each of the Twelve Marquises were Semi-Progenitors, and they were humanity’s most formidable enemies on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.
As for the Progenitor level corpse king that had appeared before, no human was confident in identifying the creature’s identity, so it might or might not have been one of the Seven Skygods.
However, at this moment, the Marquis Green Bamboo of the Twelve Marquises had shown himself.
Each of the Twelve Marquises were Semi-Progenitors, and only human Semi-Progenitors were capable of standing up to a corpse king with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor.
As soon as Marquis Green Bamboo appeared, Colonel Zuo immediately activated the only Semi-Progenitor power vessel that existed at the second forward basecamp: the broken sword.
But at the same time, countless shoots of bamboo rose up from the ground across the second forward basecamp. They impaled many cultivators, and they even stabbed through many of the corpse kings. It was clear that the attack was completely indiscriminatory.
Ironically, the green bamboo shoots, which should represent life and vitality, brought only death to the battlefield.
The shoots of jade green bamboo were soon painted in ruby red blood. Thousands of new holes had appeared in the second forward base camp’s metal battleground even though Enlighters found it difficult to scratch the metal.
Master Song stared at a shoot of bamboo that had sprouted less than a meter in front of him in horror. He had almost been impaled. Behind him, nearly half of the Lockbreakers supporting him had been pierced through bamboo shoots, instantly dying.
Rivulets of fresh blood flowed beneath Master Song’s feet and then merged to form a river. The Lockbreaker fiercely ground his teeth as he suppressed his fear in order to continue repairing the sourcebox array.
Marquis Green Bamboo had only released a single attack, but just when he was about to unleash a second one, the broken sword power vessel that Colonel Zuo had activated suddenly released a sharp killing intent. The energy caused the void to warp, and it completely isolated the second forward basecamp from Marquis Green Bamboo. The broken sword was pointed directly at the marquis, and it seemed to be suggesting that it would unleash a terrifying lightning attack if the marquis attempted any further attacks.
Marquis Green Bamboo was still a corpse king even if he had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. However, he did not look much different from a human, and he could even be regarded as handsome. His hair was elegantly tied back, and a few stray strands fell down at his temples, only accentuating his gracefulness. He had a gentile mien, and the bamboo flute in his hand only enhanced his sophisticated aura. Even his scarlet eyes that were an identifying feature for all corpse kings seemed to be much more alive than usual, though there was also a streak of green in both eyes. This additional color made the marquis look less dead when compared to ordinary corpse kings, and it also carried a mocking gaze.
“I can feel traces of a familiar sword intent from that broken blade. That must be one of the swords used by one of the nine clones back when Xia Shang was just a Semi-Progenitor, am I correct?” Marquis Green Bamboo asked. He twirled the bamboo flute about in his hand before placing it behind his back and smiling at Colonel Zuo, who was standing some tens of thousands of meters in front of the corpse king.
Colonel Zuo’s palms had already begun to sweat. When faced with a Semi-Progenitor, they could only rely on another Semi-Progenitor for protection. However, the creature in front of the second forward base was an ancient figure who had been alive during the era when the Perennial World had been split. Even if Marquis Green Bamboo had not reached the strength of a Progenitor, the foundation that he had accumulated along with his formidable status that had solidified with time were not things that even Colonel Zuo’s commander, Commander Xia Yan, could match, let alone Colonel Zuo.
Against this being, everyone else was a junior, and oftentimes by many generations. Even the four ruling powers’ Progenitors might not be as old as this marquis.
“This is indeed the sword that Progenitor Chen used in the past,” Colonel Zuo replied quietly, his eyes staring vigilantly at Marquis Green Bamboo.
The marquis laughed, and his scarlet eyes sparkled with intelligence. “You humans are really very interesting! Back when Xia Shang was cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique, the Daosource Sect severely condemned him for the crime of defiance because one of his clones was a being from another race. They even sent out troops to arrest him. But after he defeated his invincible peers and even some powerhouses who were his seniors, you all celebrated his successes. Humans are such contradictory creatures.”
Colonel Zuo kept his banner held behind his back while never taking his eyes off of Marquis Green Bamboo. “I’m not sure what happened in the past. All I know is that my predecessors must have had a reason for their actions. Only monsters like you act without purpose, only following your own desires.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? Don’t you humans also long for freedom? Nine out of ten people wish to gain immortality, which means that it’s also a basic desire of you humans,” Marquis Green Bamboo commented with a light smile.
Colonel Zuo scoffed, “If gaining immortality means becoming a monster like you, then what’s the point? We’d be better off dead.”
“Well, you’re only saying that because you don’t have any chance of gaining immortality,” Marquis Green Bamboo replied in a mild manner. Even as he spoke, he lifted his hand. In it was a transparent crystal bottle that contained a liquid. “This is the immortality drug, believe it or not. Once this thing enters the Perennial World, you humans will eagerly wage wars against each other just to get your hands on it.”
Colonel Zuo frowned slightly. While he wanted to refute the marquis, he could not say anything. All humans had some level of greed, which was normal, but that greed was also what these monsters had used to suppress humanity for so long.
Marquis Green Bamboo put the crystal bottle back away and then mockingly said, “Haha, that wasn’t actually the immortality drug. How could such a thing be created so easily? That was nothing more than a poison, though even a single drop of it is enough to destroy half of the world.”
“Vitality poison?” Colonel Zuo asked.
Marquis Green Bamboo merely silently smiled in response. He then looked back down at the battlefield below them and asked, “How much longer do you think the second forward basecamp can hold out for? How long can that broken sword keep me back for? Forget this broken sword—even the knife that one of Xia Shang’s nine clones used back then might not be enough to defeat me.”
“Just try it!” challenged Colonel Zuo in a deep voice. “Since we’re already on the battlefield, we naturally have no expectations of leaving alive. Humans may be greedy, but we are also determined. You monsters can use our greed against us, but our determination will always fight against you in the same manner.”
Marquis Green Bamboo’s lips curled up into a smile. He no longer said anything else, but he also refrained from attacking. It appeared that he was actually quite wary of the broken sword.
Progenitor Chen’s reputation of invincibility had stood unchallenged for eons, and since even an ancient powerhouse like Marquis Green Bamboo was wary of Progenitor Chen’s broken sword, it made it clear just how terrifying Progenitor Chen had been in the past.
Colonel Zuo wielded the broken sword as a means of stalling Marquis Green Bamboo for the time being. Elsewhere on the second forward basecamp, the other defenders were still engaged in all-out combat with the corpse kings. Outside of the broken sword’s range, cultivators fought across the unending battlefield, and corpse kings continued to to appear without any end.
The battle had entered a stalemate for the moment, and this tenuous balance persisted for three days. It was then that Lu Yin and his reinforcements arrived at the second forward basecamp.
While traveling, Lu Yin had conscripted two more groups, which meant that he had led more than fifty people to the basecamp. While this was a negligible number from the perspective of the battlefield, it was also the largest number of people that Lu Yin could have gathered while traveling.
This battlefield’s scale was far beyond anything that Lu Yin could ever imagine. He had initially thought that the battlefield behind the Mother Tree would be comparable to the one in Endless Weave when he had helped defend against the Sixth Mainland’s invasion. It was only when he actually arrived at the second forward basecamp that Lu Yin realized that all of his previous battles could not even be considered skirmishes.
The battlefront in Endless Weave had featured no more than ten Envoys while the strongest powerhouses had been Yuan Shi and the Sixth Mainland’s Cosmic Imprinter. But on this battlefield, just humanity’s side alone had more than ten Envoys, and he could see that the same was true for the monsters’ forces as well. In the sky above, there was even a stand-off between a Semi-Progenitor level power vessel and a Semi-Progenitor corpse king.
Envoys were nothing more than cannon fodder on a battlefield where Semi-Progenitors were fighting.
Lu Yin’s troops were scattered by the chaos of the battlefield the moment they arrived while Lu Yin himself immediately destroyed more than ten corpse kings with a flurry of Vacuum Palms. However, his actions instantly drew the attention of a more formidable opponent.
