Chapter 326: No One Act Alone

"The terrain within the forest is labyrinthine; the Zerg will likely exploit the typography to spring an ambush.

I shall monitor the fluctuating thermal signatures in real time, so endeavor not to stray beyond the horizon of my vigilance!"

"Understood!"

Li Chang'an nodded in assent.

"The crux of this crucible lies in our cohesion; let no soul venture forth in isolation!"

The transport dreadnought touched down upon the sylvan fringe, and the vanguard of bug-hunters deployed with fluid precision, dissolving into a combat-ready stance.

White

"He cuts the figure of some young warlord from an ancient chronicle, yet this panoply bears no wondrous sigils or sublime carvings—just clunky plates of sallow iron, damn it all..." Yanyun lamented under his breath.

The triage and emergency salvages had commenced the very instant the iron chariots of mercy arrived, leaving Baijing, who could offer no useful hand, to stand apart for the moment, nursing his growing doubts so as not to impede their labor.

Moreover, in an expanse so vast, this Profound Yin Wood was scarcely the crowning jewel; relinquishing it was no great loss, for richer, mightier treasures surely lay waiting in the depths ahead.

Upon the Terrace of the Elite sat eight other paragons; the two elders of the Heavenly Pleiades Sect were formidable of cultivation and clear of sight, and as their gazes locked, a mutual suspicion stirred within their breasts—this Yun Feiyu seemed to flag with every passing breath, but was he bearing some hidden wound, or spinning a web of deceit?

"Roar!!" The alpha of the ashen hounds shattered its bonds with desperate fury, twisting the unyielding boughs into mere splinters through brute strength alone.

In that selfsame instant, the Sand-Flame Silver-Horned Iron Monitor let loose a wrathful bellow, the singular argent horn upon its brow suddenly erupting with a brilliant, silver radiance.

The quintet descended languidly to the earth, where a primal, untamed jungle filled their vision; yet the vital energy of heaven and earth was exceedingly dense here, a cradle perfect for the cultivation of mankind, granting them the long-lost sensation of returning to the Heavenly Yuan Continent as the ceaseless influx of vital energy washed over them in exquisite comfort.

"Have you too come to champion that piece of refuse?! Are you simply weary of drawing breath!! You waste my precious time—slay them both!" The youth across the way finally lost all semblance of restraint.

"I have nothing left to bequeath you, save for the coin required to see you through your academy years; I can offer you but a single truth: let life be beautiful like summer flowers, and death like autumn leaves." With those parting words, the old man drew his final breath and fell still.

Du Zhenhua proceeded to brief Hang Yu on the affairs of the investment firm, the proxy storefronts, and the overseas procurement outposts.

Ever since the resolution of that business with Lin Zhengfeng, the Blood Hawk Special Operations Unit had been relegated to idleness, denied any new directives. It was as though the world itself had lapsed into a profound tranquility after that storm, offering few extraordinary crises abroad for the Blood Hawks to spend their martial fury upon.

At the realization that the Alchemist Alliance possessed not only three venerable masters of the Foundation Establishment stage but also a host of experts capable of refining to the tenth tier and beyond, those Western factions who sought to fish in troubled waters grew suddenly quiet; it was plain to all that their meager strength could never hope to withstand the might of the Alliance.

"You hold a tithe of ten percent in the God of Cookery, which makes us kindred spirits under the banner of the Jiangyan Company. The prosperity of the God of Cookery serves your own fortunes, and internal financing will surely ease the firm's burdens," Zhao Ping observed.

Yet Lang Fei could keenly perceive the colossal power dormant within the statures of those towering puppet beasts; the devastation they could unleash would undoubtedly dwarf the capabilities of their ordinary automata counterparts.

The collateral damage of those words was far too vast, casting a dark, sullen shadow over the countenances of nearly everyone assembled.

The two struck a chord of mutual accord. Though each harbored his own sinister designs and watched the other with wary eyes, they were bound by circumstance to march in tandem for a spell.

Leng Yi and Bai Susu exchanged a knowing glance, reading the unspoken thoughts in each other's eyes; they had traversed the Wild Wolf Mountain for a mere two days, yet had already crossed paths with a black bear and man-eating albino ants, and with the road ahead stretching endlessly into the unknown, they could not fathom what horrors awaited them in the deeper wilds.

Should the five divisions entrenched within Fuzhou City meet with disaster as well, the empire of Japan would find the blow nigh unendurable; before the war had even reached its true crucible, ten standing divisions would be utterly annihilated—how then could Japan hope to wage its grand campaign?