Chapter 393 – The Battle of Annihilation, Tianyuan City's Formation

“Spring passes and autumn arrives; in the blink of an eye, my Tianyuan City now boasts five Legendary Realm powerhouses. This number isn’t bad even among the circles of Great Lords, right?”

Mu Yuan murmured to himself.

In the Taixuan Alliance, a Great Lord was undoubtedly a high-ranking figure.

Shen Linglong, Jiang Luoxing’s father, Cold Moon City Lord, Boulder City Lord, Fishing Old Man, and others were all Great Lords.

Thus, the gap between one Great Lord and another was even greater than that between a Great Lord and a novice Lord.

Some Great Lords slowly built and managed their territories until they reached LV7, yet still couldn’t cultivate a single Legendary Realm powerhouse.

Some Great Lords had several renowned Legendary Realm experts under their command.

And some Great Lords…

Like Duke Beiting, who had stepped into the Legendary Realm decades ago and also cultivated Legendary Realm generals. After decades, no one knew how many Legendary Realm powerhouses were hidden within Beiting’s domain.

After all,

“The world of Lords is inherently a snowballing one. As long as one’s own experts don’t fall in major battles, the entire territory’s combat power can grow like a snowball.”

“For a Lord, the hardest to produce is always the first Legendary. Once the first is cultivated, the second and third aren’t far behind, and the time intervals between them grow shorter and shorter. As the territory itself gradually strengthens, it inevitably gains more capability and opportunities to recruit epic units.”

Among the Great Lords he knew personally…

Shen Linglong’s territory had only herself as a Legendary Realm powerhouse.

Boulder City Lord, on the surface, also had only a few Legendary Realm generals, though each was quite formidable.

Even Cold Moon City Lord, the rising star leader of Taixuan, only had about a dozen Legendary Realm powerhouses openly displayed—she might truly not be hiding many, or hiding very few. Cold Moon City Lord had always been famous at home and abroad for her personal combat prowess. Her subordinates? They paled in comparison under her radiance.

After all, Cold Moon City Lord was also a rising star Lord; her territory hadn’t been established for long, and her foundation was limited, so naturally, she couldn’t cultivate too many Legendary Realm powerhouses.

But how many Legendary Realm powerhouses might be under the command of a veteran Great Lord?

“In the Dragon Court Land, recruitment slots become available from time to time, and quite a few epic beings have been recruited from there.”

“Six-tier unit buildings similar to the Dragon Court Land definitely aren’t limited to just this one; surely some are privately owned by Lords.”

None were publicly known in Taixuan.

Within Taixuan Nation, only a few 5-tier unit buildings were publicly available for Lords to exchange Contribution Points for slots. These were wild Miracle Buildings occupied by the Taixuan authorities.

5-tier unit buildings also had a tiny chance of recruiting epic beings.

What about undisclosed, private high-tier unit buildings? They definitely existed.

“If a certain powerful Lord possessed a high-tier unit building, and if that Lord could recruit one epic being per year…”

“Thirty years would mean thirty!”

“What if they could recruit three or four epic beings per year? Gasp—”

“And this is only within Taixuan. Beyond Taixuan, other great nations have even longer histories. The Holy Griffin Empire even has a publicly known 7-tier unit building, the ‘Angel Rebirth Pool’! How many epic beings must be born from that each year!”Thinking this, the young Lord Mu who already possessed five legendary powers dared not let his thoughts swell in the slightest.

A mere few Legendary Realm existences were still nothing more than small shrimps in the vast Eternal World.

However,

within this small Ten Directions Island Region, this power was already at the top tier.

Even without relying on the Scepter of Heavenly Authority or the Epic Mage Tower, he had the capability to crush the already crippled Monster Overlord.

“The subjugation campaign against Jackal Fang can pretty much be put on the agenda now.”

“However, breaking open the gates of the Gnoll Fang Lair won’t be easy either.”

…

At this moment,

inside the Jackal Fang stronghold.

Having experienced significant turmoil and cleared up misunderstandings, the Jackal Emperor finally managed to contact the two overlord forces of the northern region—the Black Crow Clan and the Great Serpent Clan.

They, along with Blood Serpent Embrace, Black Crow, Great Serpent, and the Blood Tree, constituted the strongest forces in the entire Black Peak Island Domain. Beyond them, there were also some monster legends sporadically living in more remote and barren areas.

Their Jackal Fang should have been the strongest overlord in the Great Domain!

But now, they had no choice but to bow their heads to the Black Crow Clan and the Great Serpent Clan.

The Jackal Emperor felt nothing but fury.

All of this was that human Tianyuan’s fault!

His cold and savage gaze swept across the great hall, immediately stirring an invisible storm within.

High-ranking Jackalweres trembled all over, kneeling and prostrating on the ground one after another, shaking uncontrollably.

These days, quite a few intelligent Jackalweres had been crushed to death by the Emperor for saying the wrong thing or taking the wrong step.

Only a few Legendary Realm figures remained calm, though their expressions were also somewhat grave.

The terms had been agreed upon.

The Black Crow Clan and the Great Serpent Clan had agreed to send troops.

However…

“Jackal Fang must cede at least half of the Filth Origin within their stronghold.”

“After exterminating the mortal forces, the core territory should also be occupied by their Black Crow Clan.”

This was too much bullying!

“Foolish, short-sighted Black Crow Clan.”

“Once the mortals rise, all of us will be exterminated regardless!”

“Never mind, as long as the Black Crow Clan and Great Serpent Clan agree to march, it might even lead to these two forces and the humans exhausting each other.”

The Jackal Emperor thought to himself.

On one hand, he didn’t believe the humans would be defeated by the two great clans.

Thus, he planned to adopt a harassment strategy aimed at wearing down the humans.

But the Black Crow Clan not only refused to listen but also mocked them.

On the other hand, he feared the humans might be easily defeated by the two great clans. After all, the humans themselves only had one Legendary Realm, and all the Legendary Realms of the mortal forces combined were only a handful.

The humans had defeated their Jackal Fang by relying on a special trump card.

If this trump card could no longer be used.

If the humans’ other trump cards had all been exhausted during their battle with Jackal Fang.

If the humans were defeated now, wouldn’t that just be letting the Black Crow Clan and Great Serpent Clan reap the benefits for nothing?

That wouldn’t do.

But he didn’t dare to gamble, to bet that the humans had no more trump cards left.

“I hope the humans aren’t too strong, but also not too weak.”

…

Great Serpent Clan stronghold.

A majestic giant serpent statue over a hundred meters tall stood here, beneath the vast Crimson Mist.

This was the statue of the Great Serpent Attendant.

Unlike the divine attendant statues commonly seen in ordinary tribes, this statue contained the Origin of the Great Serpent Attendant. It could be said that it was part of the Great Serpent Attendant itself.

Beneath the giant serpent statue stood several Legendary Realm figures.

Not all of them were of Snakemen origin.There were lizardmen covered in scales, goblins with deep green skin, and non-humanoid life forms.

Without exception, they all wore serpent-shaped accessories or carried python staffs.

“March southward.”

“Jackal Fang actually lost to a human territory—they’re really falling from grace. But this gives our Great Serpent Clan an opportunity. The most fertile land in this region should rightfully be occupied by our Great Serpent Clan.”

The elderly High Priest of the Great Serpent Clan spoke slowly.

Another Great Serpent Clan legend said, “Could the human territory in the south be related to the Taixuan Alliance? The Taixuan Alliance is also a human force.”

The High Priest replied, “It’s possible, and that’s something we need to be cautious about. However… even if it is the Taixuan Alliance, so what?”

These days, who in the Eternal World doesn’t have backing?

Human territories have their backers.

Their Great Serpent Clan also has backers—the Great Serpent Venerable and the glorious Serpent God.

Over the years, they have destroyed forces with backers, whether they were living beings or Foul Forces.

Backers are ultimately just backers.

The Taixuan Alliance is very far from the Black Peak Island Domain; even if they sent reinforcements, they wouldn’t reach in time.

In fact, when dealing with world-class powers like the Taixuan Alliance, regional hegemons like the Great Serpent Clan have long developed countermeasures.

Decades ago, powerful experts from the Star Luo Holy Temple crossed domains to confront the Great Serpent Clan.

They simply retreated into their clan’s stronghold.

No matter how hard those dozen or so powerful legends searched, they couldn’t find any trace of them. In the end, these foreign legends could only vent their frustration by obliterating a dozen or so subordinate tribes before leaving in disappointment.

The Great Serpent Clan suffered some losses, but they were minimal.

After the living legends left, these subordinate tribes quickly rebuilt within their own territories. Other monster forces that occupied the tribal lands either bowed in submission, willing to serve as beasts of burden, or… blood once again bloomed across the tribal lands.

If the forces occupying the tribal lands were living beings? Heh, that would be quite entertaining.

Living beings are far more valuable than expendable subordinate monsters—they can be kept for enjoyment or cooked for consumption.

It’s just a pity that over the past few decades, living beings in the Black Peak Island Domain have become increasingly scarce.

The emergence of humans might not necessarily be a bad thing.

The High Priest pondered and said, “Strategically, we still need to be cautious. In any case, let’s first investigate the situation of the human territory and the reasons for Jackal Fang’s defeat.”

…

Human territory, Tianyuan City.

“What? You intend to launch a punitive war against Jackal Fang?”

The elven legend Mirena had just lifted her teacup when her hand froze mid-air.

She had come this time to discuss matters related to mining operations and defense in the mining area, as well as to congratulate Tianyuan City on gaining another legend.

She never expected to hear such shocking news as soon as she arrived.

Isn’t this too rushed?

How long has it been since the defense of Tianyuan City ended?!

In the reception hall, Mu Yuan understood Mirena Legend’s astonishment and said, “This is Tianyuan City’s own punitive operation, and we have some confidence in our capabilities.”

However, such a large-scale punitive operation would be difficult to conceal from the powerful forces in this region.

To prevent Nature’s Garden from panicking when the time came, he decided to inform them in advance.

“But isn’t this too hasty?”

For Mirena, the current situation was balanced, and this period of peace was hard-won.Isn’t it fortunate enough that the Monster Overlord hasn’t launched a large-scale invasion? Yet Tianyuan is actually taking the initiative to provoke?

Does that make sense?

The other side is the Monster Overlord!

To be honest, Mirena also wanted to eradicate Jackal Fang completely and utterly, but…

She was more worried that Tianyuan City would suffer heavy losses in the campaign, shattering the hard-won balance they had maintained.

She carefully weighed her words, trying every possible way to persuade him.

Mirena’s concerns were not without reason.

Normally, when two major forces confront each other, most of the time it’s a stalemate or skirmishes—at most, one side gains the upper hand over the other.

It rarely escalates directly to a war of annihilation.

But it’s not that these forces don’t want to; they simply can’t.

Jackal Fang believed it could destroy Tianyuan City, so it launched thirteen large-scale waves, advancing with overwhelming force.

Mu Yuan believes his side can annihilate Jackal Fang, so he begins mobilizing troops—that’s perfectly reasonable.

He said, “There might be some urgency, but this is also a perfect opportunity. At this moment, Jackal Fang would never expect Tianyuan City to strike at their doorstep.”

“Moreover, in recent days, you must have noticed high-tier monsters lurking outside various mining zones, right?”

Mirena nodded.

Their mining zones had already discovered and eliminated over a dozen monster scouts.

But these were certainly not all of them.

In the eyes of the monster legends, these third and fourth-order scouts were mere expendables, not worth caring about if they perished during reconnaissance.

Mu Yuan continued, “Once Jackal Fang fully grasps the situation in our mining zones, they will likely launch surprise attacks. Even without the involvement of Legendary Realm experts, we can easily withstand one, two, or three such assaults. But what about ten, twenty, or thirty?”

In a war of attrition, living beings could never outlast monsters.

“Furthermore, after gathering enough intelligence, Jackal Fang might even ally with other overlord forces to launch an invasion against us. We must guard against this.”

“But if we eliminate Jackal Fang, without this local entrenched force, other overlords would face difficulties like long distances and lack of intelligence even if they wanted to attack.”

“Now is the precious opportunity—we cannot let it slip away.”

As she listened, even Mirena Legend began to feel swayed.

The Tianyuan City Lord made a compelling point.

There might be temporary peace now, but they couldn’t afford to let their guard down. The Monster Overlord could strike again at any moment.

Living beings and monsters could never coexist peacefully.

So, it was better to strike first and eliminate the threat in its cradle. That way, fewer of their descendants would have to sacrifice their lives.

Fight! They must fight!

Wait a moment…

Mirena suddenly fell into deep thought: Wasn’t she here to persuade the Tianyuan City Lord? How did she end up being convinced instead?

…

The next day, the war named “Operation Wolf Hunt” officially commenced.

Deadbone returned from the northern border.

Sophia headed toward the target region.

Dolai and Lu Liu stood by, ready for orders.

Isloria was inspecting the Epic Mage Tower and stocking this super weapon with sufficient ammunition reserves.

However.

The Epic Mage Tower was only a contingency plan; Mu Yuan wouldn’t deploy this trump card unless absolutely necessary.

Tianyuan City needed to keep some major weapons hidden for unforeseen circumstances.

At most, he would use the Scepter of Heavenly Authority.

Therefore, he had spent the previous period deeply researching and discussing with Isloria, finally developing a new large-scale spell technique.This large-scale spell is not as refined as the ‘Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon’, falling short in terms of destructive power and energy level.

However, the spell’s area of effect is not as extensive, which means it is more suitable for use in certain types of battles.

After all,

without utilizing the power of the territory and entering the ‘Lord’s Transcendent State’, even as a Legendary Realm expert, he cannot perfectly control such a violent large-scale spell.

“The trump cards for this battle are Deadbone, Dolai, and Lu Liu.”

“The main force will only consist of the undead legion.”

Either Deadbone or Dolai alone possesses the strength to defeat several Legendary Realm experts.

Based on the intelligence gathered so far, the remaining Legendary Realm experts in Jackal Fang and Blood Serpent Embrace are few.

In a head-on confrontation, Deadbone and Dolai would easily overpower the enemy.

But this is not a head-on confrontation—it is a siege battle.

Within the lair of Jackal Fang, there are bound to be numerous methods capable of countering or even killing Legendary Realm experts.

There might even be some hidden trump cards that he could not anticipate.

He has no specific intelligence on what these might be.

Nature’s Garden and Boulder Mountain Ridge have not even managed to locate the entrance to Jackal Fang’s lair.

He must remain cautious and guard against various unexpected situations and emergencies.

“Sophia has already uncovered clues that the Legendary Realm experts of Blood Serpent Embrace have long since left Jackal Fang. This means that the lair is likely left with only a few Legendary Realm experts, making it unprecedentedly vulnerable.”

“This is also an opportunity for us.”

“An opportunity to temper, train, and familiarize ourselves with Monster Overlords.”

Otherwise, it would be difficult to find regional overlords guarded by only a handful of Legendary Realm experts.

By conquering Jackal Fang, they can accumulate ample experience in defeating regional overlords.

Such experience is not easily obtained within the Pioneer Group.

It requires the right opportunity and the guidance of a closely allied senior leader.

This time, Tianyuan City is undertaking the conquest on its own.

To deal with an overlord force like Jackal Fang, relying solely on the three super combatants—Deadbone, Dolai, and Lu Liu—might not be sufficient.

—Their numbers are too few to fully blockade the entire territory.

Mu Yuan’s strategic goal is to completely annihilate Jackal Fang’s elite forces, ensuring no intelligence leaks out.

To achieve this, they need more powerful fighters in the war against Jackal Fang.

One of them is Isloria, who commands the Epic Mage Tower as a backup trump card.

The remaining Legendary Realm expert, Lord Mu, must guard Tianyuan City to prevent enemy sneak attacks.

In addition to the ‘3+1’ Legendary Realm experts, he has also made temporary reassignments to the garrison forces at various strongholds.

He dispatched some Fearless Warchiefs, Dragon Swordsmen, Skeleton Lords, and Cold Frost Lords to take over the garrison duties of Uta, Rakshasa, and others.

This freed up the T1-level commanders.

Uta possesses the ability to defeat and kill ordinary Legendary Realm experts in direct combat. His endurance is short, but his explosive power is undeniable.

Rakshasa also has the capability to confront Legendary Realm experts, even to harass and engage in prolonged battles.

Seventeen, if she were to face a Legendary Realm expert one-on-one, would likely be at a disadvantage. But with the support of comrades, she can achieve spectacular kills. She can be considered a Legendary Realm combatant with both notable strengths and weaknesses.

Tree Spirit Grandma has also recently evolved to Epic Three Stars and awakened the Epic Skill ‘Life Seed’.

「Life Seed」”Note: A Treant Lord can condense their own essence to form a single Seed of Life. By injecting the Seed of Life into a thriving large tree, the tree can be transformed into their Tree Incarnation. The Tree Incarnation possesses 90% of the original’s power but cannot move over long distances and cannot be maintained indefinitely.”

“Additional Note ①: A Treant Lord can condense secondary Seeds of Life to continuously assimilate plants within range.”

“Additional Note ②: At the current stage, Tree Spirit Grandma can only condense one Seed of Life.”

“Additional Note ③: Power can be transferred between the original body and the Seed Incarnation, with transmission loss depending on distance.”

As Treant Lords increase in Rank and grade, their size grows increasingly massive, far larger than the war machines of Monster Overlords.

A massive size comes with many advantages: energy reserves far exceed those of same-Rank beings, and power is abundant as well.

But a massive size also has disadvantages.

Treant Lords are inconvenient to move. They can play significant roles in city defense battles, but outside of defensive warfare, the usefulness of Treant Lords is essentially… nonexistent.

Mu Yuan didn’t particularly lack a Treant army as combat strength, but the Treants often lamented their inability to join the Battlefield.

Now, the emergence of the Seed of Life has changed this situation.

Not only that…

“Possessing 90% of the original’s combat power, and able to receive power transmitted from the original across distances, this means…”

The combat strength Tree Spirit Grandma can unleash is, at minimum, equivalent to a powerful Legendary.

After all, behind it stands the entire Treant Forest.

Uta, Rakshasa, Seventeen, and Tree Spirit Grandma—these are the four strongest beneath the three super Legendaries.

Additionally, there are Frost Dragon Sario, Nether Ghost General Red Robe, Wind King Asun, and others.

Many among them, if they evolve once more, might even have the potential to challenge Legendaries despite their mortal forms.

Mu Yuan also intended to evolve these main forces to Epic Three Stars one by one before their Breakthrough.

The earlier, the greater the advantage.

Unfortunately,

Evolution Points aren’t quite sufficient either.

(End of Chapter)