Chapter 263: Army System, National War About to Begin!

The Upper Domain of Yundian.

The reason the Upper Domain of Yundian was called an upper domain was precisely because it stood high and above, its status far surpassing that of most cultivator factions!

If the words of the Three Great Sacred Sects were considered imperial edicts among the cultivation forces, then Yundian believed that its own word was not far behind.

For instance, recently, when it decided to sever all external sales channels and resource supplies of the Wuwei Dao Alliance, it did so without a moment's notice, and not a single faction showed the slightest hesitation.

Yet they derived no pleasure from this, for in their eyes, the Wuwei Dao Alliance was nothing more than an insect—an insect that, instead of submitting, had chosen to rebel!

Using rather extraordinary methods, they had broken through the blockade!

Gongshu Kuo held a bowl of clear tea in his hand, savoring the drifting fragrance as he said indifferently, "It seems this Wuwei Dao Alliance has no intention of submitting."

An expression of anger surfaced on Gongyang Jun's face. "To oppose our Yundian Domain for the sake of a few petty benefits—what on earth are those fellows thinking?"

Gongshu Kuo took a sip of his tea. "I am afraid these benefits are not so small."

"So what?" Gongyang Jun sneered. "Enchantments? Nothing more than trivial and petty tricks. Look at the things they sell; who would use them apart from low-tier cultivators? Do they intend to wallow in the mire of low-tier cultivation for the rest of their lives?"

"Of course not just that," Gongshu Kuo said calmly. "It is said they have also acquired some decent items. After all, a faction of their stature cannot obtain the true benefits of the cultivation domains, so choosing lesser profits might well be the right choice for them."

Suddenly, he slammed his hand upon the table, his expression turning cold. "But they have repeatedly ignored our Yundian Domain, and now they openly oppose us. If this matter is not resolved, will not everyone treat the words of our Yundian Domain as passing wind in the future?!"

"What does Brother Gongshu suggest we do?"

"Since they refuse to listen to gentle persuasion," Gongshu Kuo’s face grew ice-cold, "then we shall resort to force."

...

The Biqi Mine.

A chilling dread arose in everyone's hearts from that fleeting glimpse just now.

If that was a player, then what was the deal with those monsters?!

Could it be that there existed skills capable of enslaving monsters!?

And what was the story behind those two guards clad in yellow armor?!

Those two talisman arts emerging from the darkness were glaringly obvious; once those two talismans were cast, the monsters, which were already impervious to attacks, seemed to possess skin of bronze and bones of iron! The power of both magical and physical attacks had been drastically reduced!

Terrifyingly powerful monsters, coupled with all manner of auxiliary spells—if each existed in isolation, perhaps they could still manage a desperate struggle.

Yet when these factors accumulated, they resulted in dozens of them being utterly crushed by a mere handful of players!

Why was the outcome so vastly different when they played compared to when these people played, and what kind of knowledge did those players possess?

At that moment, as a player slaughtered their way into the Zombie King Dungeon, the dungeon opened, and a massive wave of corpse miasma flowed into the mining area, causing a new Zombie King to begin forming within the abandoned mines!

Amidst the eerie darkness.

"Warriors, hold the line! Warriors, hold the line!"

"Mages, use Lightning! Taoists, use Fire Talismans! Keep the healing up!"

Ji Wu roared in fury as a tall, pale-skinned Zombie King sent a flock of Imperial Guards, who were around level twenty, fleeing in wild and chaotic panic!

Following closely was a miserable shriek as someone perished!

"Do not panic! Those who die, resurrect and run back!" Ji Wu’s group numbered around dozens of people, so losing one or two mattered little. With a dozen warriors holding the front line and mages and Taoists unleashing a frantic barrage from behind, even the Zombie King could not withstand it. Soon, with a miserable wail, it exploded into a shower of items on the ground!

"Sacred Armor", "Mass Healing", "Assassination Swordsmanship", "Magic Shield".

Ji Wu retrieved these ancient books from the ground, flipping through them page by page.

"My Lord... this is...?" Yu Chi looked over with a face full of confusion.

Ji Wu tossed several of the books to Yu Chi. "Try it!"

The Soul Fire Talisman transformed into a massive talisman in mid-air, and everyone present felt themselves enveloped by a strange power.

"How is it?" Ji Wu inquired.

"Try it!" Ji Wu barked, striking out with his sword, which Yu Chi promptly parried with his own weapon!

Clang!

Stepping back half a pace, Yu Chi remarked, "The force your subordinate endured has decreased by a small fraction, but not by much."

The effect was ordinary? Ji Wu felt somewhat perplexed. If judged by the standards of those powerful sword techniques from games like Legend of Sword and Fairy or Wind and Cloud, since they came from the same shop, this spell should not be so weak upon casting.

"However, the range of this spell is quite large," Yu Chi spoke up. "If we stand closer together, all of us should be able to receive its effects."

A large range was true, but its utility was minor. Could it merely be a minor auxiliary spell? Apart from being useful within the game, what could it achieve in the outside world?

In a clash between masters, how much of a role could such a thing play? Setting aside the Heavenly Sword, it could not even match standard sword-controlling techniques!

Ji Wu shook his head, still feeling somewhat disappointed.

Right at that moment, Yu Chi said, "This talisman art seems rather simple, and it is both simple and practical. The skill is only at level zero, yet it possesses significant potential. If it could be promoted within the army..."

After all, it was Yu Chi's first time playing, so his vision was not so discerning.

Hearing these words, Ji Wu suddenly trembled all over!

Indeed! Why must he use it himself?!

As the Emperor of the Great Jin Country, what was his greatest strength?

Was it his personal martial prowess? It was not!

As a monarch ruling a nation, his greatest power remained his army!

A vastly numerous army composed of ordinary warriors and cultivators!

Tens of thousands of elites composed of powerful warriors and cultivators!

Thousands of Imperial Guards composed of high-tier warriors and cultivators!

Yet in reality, when facing cultivators, his army of hundreds of thousands of warriors would lose more than half their numbers before even drawing near under the spells of Yundian Domain's army of one hundred thousand cultivators!

Tens of thousands of his elites could not even compete against the thousands of elite cultivators from some of the great cultivator factions! Even with the assistance of the Wuwei Dao Alliance, they were still no match for a colossus like the Yundian Domain, which was precisely why his Western Expedition had ground to a halt back then!

But with these spells, one could well imagine that the army of the Great Jin Country would henceforth become an army of iron!

A legion of steel!

Imagine if demonic beasts led the charge, augmented by physical and magical defense boosts, sustained by Mass Healing—how could the army of the Great Jin Country possibly fall midway?!

An inexplicable thought suddenly arose in his heart as he looked down at the Mass Healing manual in his hand.

Perhaps the things in this game were never meant for those supreme masters to use for themselves, but rather to...

Nurture factions, and cultivate armies?!

In truth, Ji Wu’s assumption was not incorrect. In the history of this continent, the mightiest Shanyuan Empire had once dispatched three great commanders to lead an expeditionary force across the snow-capped mountains to aid the humans of this land against an army of a million orcs.

Yet following their grand victory, the northern snow mountains collapsed, cutting off their return route. Upon the majestic snow mountains, a demonic dragon barred their path. Apart from the powerful commanders, the expeditionary force could not return to their homeland and had no choice but to settle in this kingdom.

And the professions of these three systems left behind were precisely the core system of the Shanyuan Empire's army back then!

As time flowed onward, the outstanding individuals among them came to be known as Heavenly Ancients, Magic Gods, and Holy Warriors, and they were revered by the people as the Three Heroes during the campaign against the Red Moon Demon.

Meanwhile, their descendants began to explore this continent, seeking a way to return.

This was the entire historical background of the Legend.

The spells and battle techniques of Legend might not be the absolute strongest, and in high-end domains, they could not compare to the Heavenly Sword or the Sword God, yet they were the simplest to learn and master! Quick to yield results! This point happened to suit the requirements of an army perfectly!

Just imagine, who could possibly enable every single soldier in their army to master the Heavenly Sword, the Sword God, or the Divine Sword Lightning Control?

Setting aside whether there were even enough resources to nurture them, even if there were, these people were of ordinary talent and could never learn such feats without an immense amount of time!

But now, what was the Thunderbolt Technique? It was merely the commonly used lightning magic, slightly modified and streamlined, turned into the Thunderbolt Technique!

What was the Fire Wall? It was merely the commonly used fire magic, slightly modified and streamlined, turned into the Fire Wall!

What was the Taoist's talisman magic? Was it not precisely the talisman techniques manifested from their everyday talisman practices?

What were the Warrior's Slaying and Assassination techniques? They were nothing more than the simplification and refinement of everyday sword skills and sword aura!

Warrior, Mage, Taoist—they could fit into it almost flawlessly, simple and easy to understand! Some did not even require learning; they merely needed to streamline and refine what they used on a daily basis!

You could imagine an army of hundreds of thousands, each either bringing a Divine Beast, or opening a Magic Shield to rain down Ice Roars, or cleaving with Fiery Sword Techniques, or even utilizing the Heaven-Splitting Slash.

But you could never imagine an army of hundreds of thousands, each and every one executing the Heavenly Sword or the Sword God!

That was simply impossible.

And as for systems like the Paladin or the Undead, which were similarly potent in group warfare, in this Eastern world, within this completely different system, producing even one or two masters who excelled in them would require a very long journey, and establishing a legion was not something that could be considered anytime soon.

This was the absolute advantage of these spells and martial arts.

At this moment, Ji Wu waved the Horse-Slaying Saber in his hand: "Let us try the Assassination Sword Technique again."

Judging from the descriptions in the book, the Assassination Sword Technique seemed to be a form of penetrating force; the qi blade it transformed into was different from the astral qi that Ji Wu had learned.

This kind of astral qi, upon leaving the blade, would gradually form a special kind of internal energy that could silently penetrate the interior of any monster's body, and similarly bypass a mage's shield to attack their actual form directly!

This was the true way of assassination!

Ji Wu slashed forward, and a white blade of qi, condensed from the energy of his dantian, swept out along with the stroke, becoming increasingly concentrated several meters ahead of him.

Right then, Yu Chi crossed his saber to block, only to see the qi blade pass silently through his parrying blade, causing Yu Chi's expression to change drastically in an instant!

Meanwhile, the divine light in Ji Wu's eyes flared up brilliantly: "Grind! Gather more men, for I shall monopolize the area to farm the books!"

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Regarding the lore of Legend and whatnot... in truth, back when playing the game, who on earth actually bothered to read that... I feel like my head has grown a size larger lately, time to take a short break...

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