Chapter 280 – I Will Take Action

The joint expeditionary force advanced with remarkable smoothness.

Even though coordination and tacit understanding were lacking among the various units, sheer numbers had triggered a qualitative transformation. Moreover, nearly every unit consisted of formidable fighters, with the vast majority of troops being absolute elites who had crossed the threshold into the elite level.

“Eleven o’clock direction, approximately twenty kilometers out, a Snakemen outpost has been detected.”

Mu Yuan relayed this in the communication channel.

This seemed to be a strategic skill possessed by one of the Heroes under the Amber Lord’s command. Using this skill, the Amber Lord had established a temporary real-time communication network, allowing commanders of each unit to exchange information instantly.

At this moment, Mu Yuan was serving in the role of ‘Support · Reconnaissance.’

When he had alerted the Taixuan Players on the forum, he had already demonstrated his exceptional reconnaissance abilities. He had no objections to this role, as reconnaissance and intelligence were always of paramount importance. None of the other Lords possessed the capability to casually survey dozens of kilometers of terrain as he did.

Following his guidance, the joint force swiftly eliminated the first Snakemen outpost.

As expected, before this outpost, the expeditionary army encountered the raging serpent wave unleashed by the Snakemen.

But this time, the players were prepared. Having probed the surrounding terrain in advance, they avoided being swallowed by sudden ground collapses. The terrifying serpent wave quickly shattered under the concentrated fire of all units.

“Indeed, all fear stems from insufficient firepower!”

Lord Li Yao was exhilarated.

Back when it was just the three of them with their three units, they had almost no resistance. But now, the tables had turned in just three hours—never underestimate the resilience of humanity!

As long as the Taixuan Players unite, they can crush everything.

And this joint force was even stronger than the expeditionary group that had tackled the Foul Nest region some time ago. What could mere Snakemen possibly use to stop them? Hahahaha!

“Indeed, with sufficiently powerful firepower, everything can be swept away.”

On the flank of Lord Li Yao’s unit was Mu Yuan’s own force. Hearing this, Mu Yuan nodded in agreement.

Without the joint army, he himself would have found it difficult to shatter that serpent wave; most likely, he would have had to rely on Dolai going all out.

If we set aside General Dolai and me, Lord Mu, dealing with that wave would have been quite troublesome for anyone else.

With Mu Yuan’s guidance, the joint expeditionary force operated with extremely high efficiency.

One hour later, they cleared the second Snakemen outpost.

An hour and a half later, they cleared the third.

Then the fourth, fifth, and sixth.

By the time dusk fell, they had eradicated a total of nineteen Snakemen outposts and also annihilated a Snakemen army numbering in the thousands.

Apart from the second, third, and fourth outposts, they encountered no further serpent waves in the subsequent outpost battles.

It could be said that the entire expedition grew progressively easier.

“This is all thanks to Lord Mu’s intelligence and reconnaissance.”

Many remarked.

They had come to recognize the prowess of this Lord Mu. Truly, the Xuan Nation was full of capable individuals; many Lords who hadn’t yet gained widespread fame still possessed abilities that could astonish the world.

Among those present, the player with the shortest tenure was undoubtedly Lord Tuna.As a rising star at the forefront of the Golden Ranking, he had initially been somewhat arrogant, believing that nearly every Lord present would be surpassed by him within a few years. But now, he fell silent, realizing how narrow his focus had been—fixated only on his peers among the Lords.

The world was vast, with countless seasoned experts from whom he had much to learn.

Lord Li Yao frequently cast his gaze toward the formation where Brother Mu was stationed, growing increasingly astonished. “Brother Mu’s capabilities aren’t limited to just intelligence and reconnaissance; the forces under his command are remarkably formidable as well!”

The Blazing Prairie Fire that had rescued them earlier;

The skeletal general now commanding the troops, and the dragon-blooded female warrior battling the Snakemen elites—all demonstrated that Brother Mu’s ranks were filled with powerful experts.

From Lord Li Yao’s perspective, these three individuals were even stronger than the most powerful general under his own command.

Though Li Yao wasn’t a widely renowned expert, he was still an experienced Lord and a City Lord, with some reputation among the circle of Lords—far from being a nobody.

Logically speaking, someone as capable as Brother Mu Yuan shouldn’t be unknown. Lords often participated in wars and ventured out to gather resources; with sufficient strength, a few major battles would be enough to make one’s name known.

Yet, he had never heard the name Mu Yuan before. Could it be that he was a newly risen, relatively young Lord? But even newcomers would leave behind astonishing battle records along their ascent—they wouldn’t appear out of thin air. Unless…

Tianyuan!

Tianyuan had risen too swiftly, hailed as the strongest newcomer with the potential of Cold Moon City Lord. Due to his rapid ascent and short time in the spotlight, Tianyuan indeed hadn’t left behind any particularly remarkable battle records.

Tianyuan’s true strength remained a mystery.

If Brother Mu Yuan was actually Tianyuan, everything would make perfect sense.

Mu Yuan, Tianyuan—both shared the character “Yuan”! Lord Li Yao felt he had uncovered the truth, and his gaze toward Mu Yuan became as astonished as if he were looking at a giant panda.

He also felt a surge of excitement.

He was fighting side by side with the Tianyuan Lord.

Though Tianyuan Lord’s fame was currently limited to being the “strongest newcomer” and not yet widely celebrated, if one day he ascended to the heights of the Cold Moon City Lord, Li Yao could boast about this experience to his friends for a full decade!

The very thought was thrilling!

The Amber City Lord had also deduced Tianyuan’s identity, and he was even more certain than Li Yao. After all, their positions differed—he was a core member of the Taixuan Liangyi and had once served as an examiner in a certain location during the Dragon Court competition’s selection trials.

However, he had never had the chance to meet Tianyuan face-to-face back then.

He had some speculations about Tianyuan’s strength. What Tianyuan had displayed so far was likely not his full power.

Yet, even if Tianyuan was extraordinary and had surpassed the level of a mere rookie or rising star, in his eyes, Tianyuan was still just a junior.

He himself was the strongest in the expedition force, the one who had to bear all responsibilities.

If any accidents occurred or major crises arose, he might need to look out for Tianyuan a bit more.

But such thoughts only flickered through the Amber City Lord’s mind for a moment. His current focus was more on the expedition against the Serpentfolk Tribe.

He had a vague, ominous premonition.

It was all going too smoothly.

Could they truly wipe out the Serpentfolk Tribe so directly?”The Amber City Lord is overthinking this,” a Lord chuckled in the communication channel. “We shouldn’t overestimate the Snakemen either—they’re just a bunch of monster tribes. In my opinion, the reason we haven’t encountered any substantial resistance lately is that the Snakemen’s main forces have already been wiped out… A monster tribe can’t possibly have endless reserves of strength.”

“Besides, we caught the Snakemen off guard, so it’s only natural that things are going smoothly.”

“If anything, it’s surprising that a single Snakemen tribe requires us to gather such a large force to subdue them.”

This was the prevailing view among most Lords and advanced players.

The Amber Lord nodded.

“Indeed, there’s no need for baseless worry.”

Judging by reason and logic, their victory over the Snakemen tribe was justified. They couldn’t afford to hesitate just because of some unfounded intuition.

Moreover, they had already ventured deep into the Interdimensional Zone and eliminated most of the Snakemen tribe—there was no turning back now.

They were deep in the Border Zone, where the environment theoretically mirrored that of Blue Star.

However, the further they advanced, the more bizarre the surroundings became.

Buildings resembling crystalline structures were slanted and embedded into the sides of towering mountains.

Spatial rifts meandered like streams, shifting unpredictably, and gazing at them evoked a disorienting sense of the world turning upside down. From these spatial streams, the expedition team had retrieved several Treasures, temporarily held by the Amber City Lord for distribution after the war.

There were also inverted mountains and folded landmasses.

They seemed to be walking on level ground, but when they glanced back, the earth appeared to rise vertically like a colossal wall piercing the sky—both magnificent and eerie.

“Did we unknowingly pass through a spatial transition point?” Mu Yuan looked at Dolai. Dolai stared back blankly.

Never mind. There was no expecting General Dolai to have any expertise in spatial matters.

He continued searching for traces of the Snakemen.

This time, he didn’t need to exert much effort in scouting. Following the clues left by the Snakemen, they soon caught sight of the tribe’s core territory beyond the mountains.

The Snake People Ritual Site!

Though still distant, the players immediately spotted the towering, grand statue in the distance.

It was a statue, presumably of a Snakeman.

Over a hundred meters tall, it had crimson vertical pupils, hair writhing like a nest of snakes, and it sat serenely on a lotus throne. Dozens of gilded arms extended from its back, one of which was raised high, palm facing the sky as if supporting the heavens.

“Snake God”!

As everyone gazed at the statue, it conveyed information in return.

Not the identification details granted by Lord authority, but rather information inherent to the sculpture itself.

Those who saw it, understood.

“This is a bit eerie!” a Lord gulped.

“But it’s an inanimate object. There are no signs of any Fallen God attendants descending.”

“Exactly. Besides, our expedition force isn’t afraid of Fallen God attendants appearing. If they dare show up, we’ll crush them in no time!”

“Charge! This is the final battle. Once we finish off these Snakemen, we can divide the spoils.”

“Right, let’s wrap this up quickly and share the treasures.”

Many were growing restless.

After all, this was a temporary army with no heavy responsibilities. Seeing the high morale for battle, the Amber City Lord could only raise his Sword and point forward.

Battle!Many experienced lords on the scene, despite their casual shouts, showed no carelessness in battle. They first probed with various long-range abilities, bombarding the ground and sweeping the surroundings.

After confirming there were no ambushes, the various legions quickly advanced, targeting the massive sculpture directly.

Since this statue seemed somewhat eerie, of course, it had to be destroyed first.

The Amber City Lord thought the same.

Resonating with the legion’s soul, he slashed out a hundred-meter-long silver-white sword radiance that crashed down upon the statue.

Crack—

Several of the statue’s arms shattered, falling from above and stirring up clouds of dust.

Several other legions led by lords resonated with nascent legion souls, converging into large-scale skills that slashed toward the statue.

One strike! Two strikes! Thirteen strikes!

The statue was incredibly sturdy, enduring thirteen large-scale skills from hundred-man legions, but no matter how resilient, it ultimately shattered completely.

Thus, the only potential point of surprise was eliminated.

Stable!

As expected, the unexpected still occurred.

As the Snake God statue collapsed, the entire night sky was suddenly enveloped in a bloody glow. Ominousness and mournful cries spread in all directions, and many people’s vision was tinged with a bloody hue.

The shattered and fallen Snake God statue reappeared once more.

Its hundred-meter-tall majestic form stretched out across the vast land.

No, it was no longer a statue but a living entity!

Upon closer inspection, one could see that this colossal hundred-meter-tall behemoth was woven together by countless millions of intertwined snakes.

They were still wriggling!

The massive body began to move.

“What is this? An emissary of descent?”

“Never mind, just cut it down!”

A lord shouted, resonating with the legion soul to gather power, accumulating a two-to-three-hundred-meter-long bright yellow saber radiance.

He gripped the radiance and swung it forward.

Crack—

The over-two-hundred-meter-long radiance shattered completely under the giant palm swiped by the Snake God conglomerate.

“What!”

The Snake God conglomerate stood firmly on the ground, extending over a dozen boneless, flexible long arms behind it. Each swing and slap contained boundless energy.

If the lords’ ultimate moves were the combined strength of a hundred elite soldiers, then a single long arm of the Snake God conglomerate concentrated the power of thousands upon thousands of Snakemen.

The lords continuously resonated with their legion souls, yet the killing moves they unleashed couldn’t break through the Snake God conglomerate’s defense.

Moreover, the Snake God conglomerate was steadily advancing step by step.

Bringing an overwhelming sense of pressure.

The Amber City Lord’s expression turned grave. Behind him, a luminous reflection appeared, with elite soldiers taking their positions within the light and shadow.

He raised his sword and slashed… Boom!

The ultimate move, condensed with his full strength, finally shattered one of the Snake God conglomerate’s palms.

Only one palm.

And the palm was rapidly healing.

“Damn it.”

If his entire ace legion were present, he wouldn’t fear this monster. But with only a hundred-plus elites at his side, he felt somewhat powerless.

Even the resonance of legion souls couldn’t produce immediate effects, let alone the generals under the lords’ command.

Even a Fourth Order General appeared as insignificant as an ant before this terrifying monster.

The generals could only contribute a bit more force during the legion soul resonance, nothing more.

“What should we do? Should we retreat?”

“But if we retreat, it’s more likely to turn into a rout.”

“If we don’t retreat, we must find a way to shatter the core of the Snake God conglomerate.”The core of this colossal entity was still quite conspicuous.

Right at the center of its brow.

It was likely this core that had aggregated the massive body. Without destroying the core, this behemoth would be as unending as an amalgamated monster. Yet, to shatter the core, one must first break through the countless, terrifyingly powerful serpent god hands.

No matter how one thought about it, it seemed impossible!

Mu Yuan was also pondering.

The hundred-strong Undead Legion led by Bone Four was not particularly outstanding at this moment, with its output ranking at best in the top five.

Subordinates like Rakshasa and Xiliu might be many times stronger than ordinary Fourth Order beings, but facing the serpent god amalgam, whose energy level was extremely high and whose ordinary attacks were equivalent to large-scale skills, they could hardly play a significant role.

As for Red Robe, there was even less to say.

Illusion power against the amalgam was practically the weakest option in this scenario.

“Lu Liu isn’t here, otherwise the Fearless Great Mountain Divine Venerable might not be inferior to the serpent god amalgam. However, even Lu Liu’s full-force strike is no match for a large-scale skill. In a head-on confrontation, it would be difficult to tear through the serpent god hands’ tight defense. We must break through a single point to shatter the whole.”

Within his legion, there was a strong expert skilled in breaking through a single point to shatter the whole.

Uta!

Compared to the battle at the Foul Nest, Uta’s Rank had significantly improved, having advanced to the Fourth Order a few days prior. At the same time, his cultivation of the Flesh Shackles had reached a profound level.

With the assistance of the Heaven Rewards Diligence talent, Uta’s Physical Body strength seemed to grow without limit.

His unceasing cultivation at every moment would erupt with earth-shaking power in times of crisis.

At this moment,

the Lord and the Advanced players all wore grim expressions, while those with weaker strength were even more panicked.

They had fallen into a disadvantage.

They could neither advance nor retreat.

Yet, the resonance of the army’s spirit had a time limit, like a countdown to Death.

What to do? What could they do?

“I will take action.”

Above the Undead Legion, a violent surge of Qi suddenly erupted.

Crimson life force energy surged, transforming into a fiery, armor-like outer garment that draped over Uta.

Whoosh!!

He vanished from his original position.

(End of Chapter)