Ten thousand I am across the heavens

When the third legion commander nearly exhausted all the strength of the 13th Legion, he once again detonated the black hole within his own body. The two Immortal Gu Houses, already reduced to ruins, finally transformed into a towering pillar of light in a violent explosion. The black hole completely swallowed the two masses of matter containing countless Dao traces. Filtered by the Great Harmony Wind, these Dao traces were reduced to the most basic elements that make up this world. Dao traces themselves represent a massive amount of matter in this world. After being swallowed by the black hole, it increased the black hole's terrifying mass, causing it to explode before finally hitting the ground.

The beam of light from the supernova explosion reached the heavens and the earth, completely surpassing the sun formed by the two Nine-Turn Gu Worms in the sky. Even in the distant southern border regions, one could see a beam of light rising into the sky.

After all, this was the energy released from burning two Immortal Gu Houses at once, along with countless Rank 8 experts and numerous high-end Gu worms.

If the energy hadn't been released strictly along the poles of the black hole, but rather into the air and underground, the explosion would have been enough to kill more than half the people on the battlefield. An area with a radius of thousands of kilometers would have been reduced to ruins.

Enough to dig a hole in an area the size of a planet.

In such a frenzied release of energy, even the strongest warriors could not survive. The 13th Legion, too, reached its limit the instant the pillar of light erupted. As the silver radiance began to fade from the legion, each warrior, having pushed their genes to their limits, began to show signs of genetic collapse.

Those more likely to burn their lives away and age rapidly would be the ones whose bodies would age faster. Those who could truly survive would likely be less than one in ten, if the war continued. The Thirteenth Army Corps would thus be completely disbanded, becoming the first elite army corps to disappear from history.

The shock of this scene even caused a temporary halt to fighting in other areas of the battlefield. Although it was only a brief pause, the higher-ups had already realized the terrifying anomaly that had just occurred. First, their main force, the Immortal Gu House, suddenly betrayed them, followed by an inexplicable attack that directly caused devastating damage.

Only the higher-ups of the East Sea know the truth. Just how many Rank 8 cultivators are hidden in the Dragon Palace? How many family heads and elders are there?
These people originally thought they had figured out the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and with the help of one of the most powerful Eight-Turn Immortal Gu Houses, they were here to clean up the mess and solve the problem instantly.

Little did they know that they hadn't even had a chance to unleash their full power. Amidst wave after wave of black hole attacks and the Datongfang attack, they were completely obliterated from this world.

It can't be said that they've completely vanished. For this world, the Dao traces are largely conserved. It's likely that when a supernova explodes, what's converted is mostly true essence. Such a dense compression would be like the ejection of heavy elements during a supernova explosion, resulting in the deposition of a massive amount of Dao traces.

In the future, the sky and the depths of the earth corresponding to this region will become rare secret realms, giving birth to precious Gu worms and valuable materials. But that's all in the future. The legacies of several Rank 8 cultivators will require a considerable amount of time to reconstruct in nature, while their demise will have an immediate impact on the battlefield.

Although Wu Yong saw that the 13th Legion was on the verge of collapse, he made no move to continue the attack, even though such a terrifying blow might not be repeated for the rest of the war. The situation had already taken a sharp turn for the worse, and he returned almost immediately to the Jade Purity Dripping Wind Bamboo House. Without even waiting for Xiao Li, who had been exiled far away, to return, he piloted the Immortal Gu House into the sky, escaping above the heavens.

Continuing to fight wasn't without a chance of victory. The impact of the explosion was still manageable for top-tier fighters. However, the vast majority of lower-ranking soldiers suffered significant radiation damage from the energy release and were blown about by the shockwave, temporarily losing their fighting ability.

With just this elite legion that barely survived, they might not be able to defeat the two of them. If they could delay Xiao Li's return to the battlefield, it would be entirely possible to win in a local battle.

However, we cannot only look at the present situation; we must also consider the impact on the future and on others. The impact of at least three, and possibly four or five, eighth-level cultivators instantly perishing is absolutely devastating.

This means that the uncertainty of this war will increase significantly, and the expected future gains may also decrease substantially as a result.

In short, the sudden loss of nearly half of one's own high-end combat power will lower the expectations of those who come later in the war to achieve victory. The uncertainty of powerful trump cards will further increase their perception of the expected risks.

Don't expect reinforcements at this point. Our ancestors were all sophisticated egoists. Otherwise, they wouldn't have survived to this day. So, the most likely thing those guys are doing now is cutting their losses. And that means that in a few minutes, the troops on the front lines will probably be recalled. Everyone has their own agenda; when they have the advantage, they might all rush in, but when they're at a disadvantage, everyone's just minding their own business.

In a situation where everyone distrusts each other, no one will be willing to lend a helping hand when they are at a disadvantage. Those with even darker intentions might consider retreating now, before news of the deaths of the powerful families' elders and patriarchs spreads, to quickly divide up the resources internally. The benefits of this would likely be far greater than invading the Northern Plains and struggling against a formidable opponent.

After all, they had already proven with their actions that even without the recent accident, the Northern Plains Legion was a formidable opponent. Although they didn't have many immortals among them, they had built a top-tier legion whose combat strength was not far behind theirs by combining the spirit and energy of everyone involved. The overall quality of the two sides might still be several times different, but they were already roughly in the same order of magnitude. This meant that even if they won, it would be a tough battle. After securing this product dumping ground, long-term operation would be needed to accumulate massive profits for the family.

Now, they could immediately return to their hometowns and seize the assets of the families whose elders had died. They could instantly acquire a large amount of resources without having to contend with any major threats. Why not? Ultimately, the East Sea lacked a proper leader to unite everyone. Wu Yong wasn't a local powerhouse, thus lacking legitimacy, and his strength wasn't up to par either. Even with his initial advantage of being the first to access advanced technology, he wasn't the key figure in this joint attack. In fact, to prove his worth, he had to be among the first to break through the defenses, earning his place within the alliance.

Due to various factors, a dramatic scene suddenly unfolded on the battlefield. Just minutes after a violent explosion, the allied forces in the East China Sea retreated in a surging tide.

He was already prepared to burn himself to hold off an eighth-level Blue Sky cultivator. He was just about to forcefully unlock the fourth-order gene lock when he was caught off guard and almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Fortunately, he was the eldest son, possessing a strong will to live; otherwise, even if the burning had been stopped, he probably wouldn't have survived. The other legions were also momentarily stunned, as the two sides' worldviews had diverged significantly, and their reasons for war were entirely different.

The legions of the Icebreaker Alliance fight for the survival and future of the entire alliance. Their clear objective is to avoid being enslaved by outsiders, to ensure the safety and stability of their homeland, and to protect their country for future development. They have a clear ideological program and combat objectives. Therefore, in their view, a battle could never end so hastily and dramatically. The brief advantage would at most delay the collapse of their defensive line. After holding out on this line for more than 48 hours according to the previously formulated strategic plan, everyone would retreat to the plains behind the lines, relying on the mobility provided by the underground pipes there to engage in guerrilla warfare with the enemy, trading space for time, slowly delaying and depleting the enemy's manpower.

However, all of this is predicated on the enemy having unwavering conviction and a tenacious fighting spirit. And all of this, in turn, depends on the soldiers knowing why they are fighting.

It is obvious that this force in the East China Sea, whose purpose is to plunder, does not know why they are fighting. Or, to put it another way, although they know why they are fighting, they are all fighting for their own interests, and each of them wants something completely different.

The soldiers wanted the rewards they could exchange for their battlefield achievements, while the officers wanted to seize this opportunity to acquire precious Gu worms, secret knowledge, and the chance to become truly important figures.

The real bigwigs behind the scenes, though they had their own strategies, distrusted each other and lacked a unified will, which ultimately led them to choose to retreat without prior agreement.

The Icebreaker Alliance launched a fierce attack on the retreating enemy, but did not penetrate the border. As the saying goes, "Don't pursue a cornered enemy," and no one could be sure whether this temporary retreat was a trap set by the enemy.

The Five Realms Boundary Wall has many restrictions. If the enemy has prepared some powerful move inside, and the legion chases after them, they will likely be wiped out in the restricted environment.

Amidst fierce artillery fire, the various legions continued to hold their positions on the border for several days, still without detecting the arrival of the next wave of attacks. The scouts who went out to investigate brought back information that the enemy was withdrawing in an orderly manner, and some of them were even withdrawing very quickly. Not only were they withdrawing rapidly, but a civil war had also broken out on the border on the East China Sea side.

The people of Donghai were fighting amongst themselves. Several commanders were completely bewildered, unable to understand why they had suddenly started fighting each other.

The situation was quite clear: the intelligence had been relayed back before the troops. Having lost their patriarch and supreme elder, the family naturally didn't want to be plundered. So, taking advantage of the time difference, before the troops returned, they expended vast amounts of precious resources, gathering numerous powerful individuals and the family's last remaining strength to block the most likely exit point for the troops' return. They aimed to use the advantageous timing and location to eliminate any potential raiders who might return to plunder them.

Meanwhile, in Kitahara, a series of emergency follow-up matters were being carried out, with the treatment of the wounded and the compensation for the deceased proceeding in an orderly manner.

This war cost both the military and civilians dearly, seemingly without any gains. It was essential to appease the anxieties of all sides within the country. However, this seemingly fruitless victory actually secured for them the greatest benefit: the right to freedom of survival and development.

Compared to their war against the eldest son to establish the nation, where they merely displayed their spirit but failed to gain recognition from others, this current battle is what truly allows them to stand proudly among the world's strongest.

Everyone must acknowledge that in the Northern Plains, a nation no less powerful than any other top-tier power on any continent is slowly rising. This nascent nation, brimming with vitality, has withstood the test of war and proven itself worthy to become the new ruler of this continent.

The most obvious change is the significant reduction in border defense pressure within the Northern Plains. The Golden King's probing harassment has decreased markedly. Clearly, even if the Giant Sun Immortal Venerable survived in his zombie form, and still had one or two opportunities to act, he was unwilling to waste his power on them, lest it jeopardize his resurrection plans.

Of course, on the other hand, it might also be a matter of helplessness. The development and progress of technology have caused the proportion of the contingency plans left by Venerables tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years ago in the power structure of this era to decline rapidly. Their ability to interfere with the future is also gradually decreasing. Almost no Venerable's plans can still function perfectly in this era. And with the current trend, their power will be diluted even more severely in the future. Now they can only hope that the Mountain and River Republic will destroy the Destiny Gu as soon as possible, giving them another chance to ascend to the Venerable level. Otherwise, with the strength that their current contingency plans can exert, they will soon be swept away by the tide of the times.

Shortly after the Icebreaker Alliance achieved victory in the war against aggression, the Shanhe Republic, located far to the south, sent a congratulatory telegram, expressing its hope to sign a series of military and political agreements with the Icebreaker Alliance and to formally establish diplomatic relations with this emerging nation.

One of the most important tasks is to conduct spatiotemporal mapping of the ice sheet.

Because the technology that truly changed this era was finally born in this world, thanks to a contingency plan left behind by a certain venerable one, and through intentional or unintentional promotion. The technology of point-to-point teleportation across continents gradually matured and was able to transport high-level powerhouses. This transformation, which occurred silently, was completely unknown to the experts of various continents at this moment.

[To be continued]

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