Chapter 624.5: Death God – Jaeger
The entire purification array slowly rose, with Yaya ascending alongside.
Layer after layer of thick panels opened above, and a dazzling magic passage poured in a torrent of power, suppressing and controlling the influence of the divine force orb.
Waves of enthusiastic cheers filled the air.
The shouts of "Yaya will be victorious!" made the little one's skin crawl.
She looked at the final gate as it opened wide and slowly floated into the sky, meeting tens of thousands of excited eyes.
The new recruits in training saw Yaya's appearance, and their cheers grew even louder:
"Yaya will be victorious!"
"Bay Territory will be victorious!"
The thunderous shouts merged with the softly glowing formation beneath the training ground.
It secretly absorbed the pure thoughts and willpower released by each soldier, gathering and concentrating them, slowly merging them into the purification array beneath Yaya.
The once dazzling golden light softened a bit in this moment, but became even more resilient and profound.
It seemed as if they were infused with thought and will, bringing even greater influence in the process of purifying the divine force orb.
This method was truly effective.
Matthew could see that in just one minute, the divine power orb's progress had jumped by 0.1%—the equivalent of ten hours of normal operation.
"As expected, thought and will can be materialized, and can even be transformed in a substantial way."
"The power of order, the transformation of thought, the unification of consciousness... more research and documentation will be needed."
Having confirmed the method worked, Matthew also felt a little relieved inside.
Annie, nearby, couldn't help but look over, and after getting Matthew's affirmation, finally showed a happy smile.
This method of digesting divine power through arrays and rituals came from thousands of years of Elven heritage.
Bay Territory only obtained this special knowledge through deep cooperation with the Silverleaf Family.
It was precisely because of this that Matthew and Yaya chose to go on the offensive.
The main purpose was to proactively provoke and cut down the enemy's divine power units in advance.
He and Yaya had successfully defeated Demon Lord Kazak's divine avatar, and used the power of time to intercept it.
Only thus did they now have this ritual for actively digesting divine power.
The Goddess's help was certainly "sweet," but Matthew and Bay Territory absolutely could not rely on her too much.
Matthew was not willing for all his and Bay Territory's secrets to be exposed under the "gaze" of the Goddess.
After all, the Goddess herself would hardly be able to protect herself in the future!
The thunderous cheers made Yaya extremely happy.
Once the noise gradually died down, the soldiers resumed their training.
The next batch of trainees began entering the training grounds in succession.
Arnold, already prepared and reminded by Matthew, solemnly faced the incoming trainees.
Then, in a hearty voice, he loudly called to all the onlookers:
"Under Lady Yaya and Lord Matthew's leadership, our Bay Territory has achieved yet another great victory!"
"Yaya and Lord Matthew slew the Demon Lord, destroyed its body, and ended its plot…"
Arnold's bold voice echoed in the training grounds, and the people, hearing this news, all showed spirited joy.
They couldn't help but shout out:
"Lady Yaya will be victorious!"
"Bay Territory will be victorious!"
The earth-shaking shouts felt like a soul-stirring baptism, and also continuously supplied more "thought ammunition" to the purification array.
When everyone finally quieted down a bit, Arnold continued loudly:
"The million-strong zombie horde from the south has lost the ability to attack."
"They are being swiftly destroyed, and the enemy's assault has been broken again."
"Victory belongs to our Bay Territory!"
"It belongs to Lady Yaya and Lord Matthew!"
"It also belongs to every one of us!"
The waves of shouting were even more passionate than usual.
Arnold quietly finished his task, quickly organizing this group to start training and assembling the next batch of trainees into the grounds.
The endless flow of thoughts and intentions became the core orderly force supporting Bay Territory's development and progress, as well as solid power for purifying the slaughter divine power.
Sparta watched in disbelief as batch after batch of citizens shouted in unison.
Hearing their voices full of power and faith—
He gradually understood why Bay Territory brought them in for education and transformation.
Chris, next to him, noticed the change on Sparta's face and smiled as he explained:
"Everyone in Bay Territory strives for its production and development."
"And everyone enjoys the fruits of Bay Territory's growth and progress."
"Only by improving together can the whole territory develop rapidly, and everyone's life get better."
"Let's go—this scene happens every day."
"You still need to head to the Mechanical Research Institute to complete your body data collection; the territory is preparing a set of Thunder Armor for you."
"That's a privilege reserved for high-ranking commanders…"
The day quietly passed.
With the last "Order Ritual" completed for the trainees—
The purification progress Matthew watched finally reached 100%.
However, this method of purification was still somewhat rough; of the three points of slaughter divine power, only two points of non-attributed divine power remained.
Matthew and Yaya each received one point, and immediately returned to the underground laboratory to digest and absorb it.
The citizens, who had helped immensely without a sound, were pleasantly surprised to find several portions of magic food added to their late-night supper after training, allowing them to feast happily.
Bottomless Abyss, 365th layer.
Rolling magma surged along both banks of the river.
A group of lesser demons, unable to dodge in time, were devoured by greedy lava and burned to cinders.
The rest fled in panic, while some slightly stronger imps stared at the distant towering volcano.
Halfway up the volcano stood a huge palace.
The palace, built of giant bones, radiated an imposing and terrifying aura.
"My avatar!!"
"No!!"
"Damn human…"
"Damn reptile…"
"Damn Death God!!!"
"You tricked me, and I won't let you off easily!"
"..."
The deliberately lowered roars were filled with Kazak's endless fury.
He glanced at the volcano belching smoke, envy and helplessness welling up in his heart.
He soon calmed himself, recovering from the rage of his avatar's destruction and the loss of three points of slaughter divine power.
The tall, burly Kazak pushed open the palace gates, pointed at the distant storm-covered mountains, and roared to the assembled high-ranking demons:
"Attack!"
The lost power had to be reclaimed quickly!
If it couldn't be regained from the Material Plane, then he'd seize it from other demon lords!
Kazak swore, in his rage, that he would one day lead an endless demon army to invade Bay Territory!
All kinds of demons—including Brute Demons, Dread Demons, Temptress Demons, Berserker Demons, Six-armed Snake Demons, and Two-headed Dragon Demons—roared and charged into the distance.
Another round of fighting began in the depths of the Abyss!
Bay Territory.
Silvermoon River Plains in the northeast.
Fwoosh!
The dense whistling of arrows rang out.
Spinning, gigantic dragon-hunter ballista bolts pierced the wooden siege bows and crossbows.
Barbarian soldiers caught off-guard were torn in half, blood and debris splattering everywhere.
This was the last siege engine capable of threatening the city walls.
It, too, was destroyed.
Many barbarian soldiers, panicking, began a chaotic retreat.
A rain of arrows saw them off, leaving many unlucky souls behind.
Screams and cries echoed, with countless wounded lying on the ground in agony—they could already see the approach of Death.
"Cease fire, sweep the field, tidy equipment, rotate personnel."
The calm-faced Carlos efficiently arranged the battle deployments.
Seeing his increasingly seasoned soldiers, his face showed satisfaction and relief.
Although Bay Territory's training method—making new soldiers help fight and do labor—could be criticized,
It was actually quite good, rapidly training up the troops and giving them some extra gains.
Bay Territory's combat subsidies and rewards really did reach every soldier's hands.
The barbarians' simple-minded mass attacks ultimately failed to break through Carlos' second line of defense.
He carefully reviewed the latest reports, checking the status of three neighboring cities and twenty-one fortresses.
Upon learning those battles were also over, with many barbarian casualties and victories, he couldn't help but smile.
The legion's recruits were now battle-tested; though individually still weak, if they kept at it, they'd become a formidable elite force.
The only thing troubling Carlos—
Compared to Bay Territory's tempting offers, even the best-paid regular regiments of the Netheril Empire were losing their appeal.
Carlos couldn't help wondering:
Once their service ended, would the soldiers choose to join Bay Territory directly?
Comparing the benefits, Carlos pessimistically realized—
If not for rules and reputation, most soldiers would already be eager to join Bay Territory.
Carlos smacked his lips, worried about the orc army facing Crimson Castle.
Would Crimson Castle face another attack from a deity like last time?
Most likely not; after all, Crimson Castle was less valuable now.
Besides, this time, Crimson Castle had prepared well, with three layers of walls for repeated reinforcement and defense.
Carlos glanced at the distant, retreating barbarian soldiers, itching for action.
Why keep playing defense?
If only a cavalry unit could launch a surprise attack now, they'd probably drive back the barbarians.
But Carlos wasn't in charge of the current battle plans.
He could only follow orders and guard the city's defenses.
Yuzhou Island.
Intense cries and shouts rang out, broken corpses littering the beaches, crimson blood nearly staining the entire sea red.
Most of the fallen were short, skinny Wokou pirate.
They threw themselves at the bunkers and batteries with all their might, but could never break Bay Territory's sturdy defenses.
Click! Click! Click!
The Dragon Rider Golem No.1, back after repairs, once again had full combat power.
As they swung heavy, sharp blades, clearing waves of Wokou pirate from the walls,
The previously dangerous lines immediately stabilized.
Leon gazed coldly at the distance, at the barrage of enemy warships, feeling the impact of cannonballs on the batteries, and gave an unhesitating counterattack order:
"Concentrated fire, target No. 13!"
More than ten cannons roared at once, shells tearing through over a thousand meters and smashing into a five-masted pirate ship.
The wooden pirate ship was instantly riddled with over ten huge holes.
Seawater surged in.
Little by little, the ruined ship was dragged under, as the Wokou pirate on board screamed.
Some tried to jump into the sea.
Others frantically patched holes.
Others escaped in small boats, trying to evade the shelling.
Nearby pirate ships hurried to the rescue, hauling most of the survivors aboard.
But at that moment, a horde of black-and-white leviathans surged up from below the waves.
Bang!
Massive bodies slammed into the pirate ships.
The hull split with a giant crack.
Seawater poured in, flooding the lower decks in moments.
Many Wokou pirate swept into the sea stared in horror at the black-and-white leviathans, thrashing madly in vain.
Too late.
The crushing currents trapped the Wokou pirate at once.
The water dragged them under, drowning them in terror and regret.
The sneak attack by a dozen leviathans immediately destroyed nearly twenty ships, drowning over six thousand Wokou pirate and terrifying the rest.
Facing the ship-destroying leviathans, the Wokou pirate had no choice but to retreat in haste.
The leviathans didn't pursue, patiently "exploring" the bodies in the water.
Staring at the faintly glowing magic device, Leon shook his head regretfully.
The Wokou pirate retreated too quickly for further casualties.
In the next battles, defensive pressure would mount.
However, Leon could sense Bay Territory's counterattack was gathering strength.
When the time came, it would be a thunderous strike.
Leon's prediction was sound.
Unless something unexpected happened, Bay Territory's war preparations would indeed follow this plan.
But "something unexpected" did happen.
Just as Matthew finished digesting one point of non-attributed divine power, bringing his total to four—on the verge of reaching the peak of Minor Divine Power—
Matthew suddenly received an urgent message from Butler Ralph:
"Soul power is being siphoned from battlefields all over Bay Territory!"
"There have been massive geological changes in the underground regions of the Desert of Death."
"A huge goblin ruin, similar to Bloodmoon City, has been discovered in the underground relics of Bay Territory."
"According to professional scouting adventurers, there is a vast, magnificent, and even richer ruin beneath the Sea of Death."
A flurry of memories flashed through Matthew's mind.
Death!
Soul power!
Ruins that shouldn't open for another three years!
The course of fate had shifted again!
Recalling the underground ruins beneath the Desert of Death, Matthew suddenly looked up and said in disbelief:
"So this was all set up by the God of Death!"
"Jaeger has already awakened?!"
"What connection is there between Jaeger and the Cole Elven Kingdom?"