Chapter 116: Beyond the Warped Realm

By the time Song Zining and Zhao Jundu led the main force back to the base for rest, their achievements were already resplendent.

In this round of attacks, the troops had captured four Holy Tree Forests, one of which was a Dual Holy Tree Forest. They annihilated nearly fifty thousand demon soldiers.

It should be known that those who could enter the New World were all elite troops; there were no cannon fodder like in ordinary times. Every warrior entering the New World consumed Holy Tree sap, a precious resource that couldn’t be wasted on disposable forces.

Among the strong, two dukes were injured. One, although he managed to save his life, had to exit the New World and would need decades to recover, during which he would not regain his combat strength.

Wei Po Tian, on the other hand, single-handedly captured two marquises, one of whom he even took alive. His feats were the most illustrious, and his name became widely known. Many noble families were now reevaluating the Wei family.

While most of his peers were entangled in the quagmire of family succession, Wei Po Tian had long been granted the title of heir apparent, clearly showing the Wei family’s importance to him and his remarkable talent. However, to noble families, who didn’t have one or two secret prodigies? Moreover, the reputation of the “Thousand Mountains,” akin to a tortoise shell, always seemed insufficient compared to the top-secret techniques of the Four Valves.

Now, however, those who could truly convert their potential into combat power and be tested on the battlefield deserved ample attention.

Some scholars, skilled in historical research, unearthed records from the early days of the founding of the nation, proving that the Wei family was one of the earliest to follow the Founding Emperor. Although the Wei family was then just an obscure small household, their ancestors served as personal guards to the Founding Emperor. This indicated that the Wei family’s secret technique, Thousand Mountains, might have received direct guidance from the Founding Emperor himself.

Thus, Wei Po Tian’s recent string of seemingly miraculous achievements could be explained. For a time, the Wei family’s value was reevaluated, and Wei Po Tian, who had not yet made a marriage contract, became highly sought after, overshadowing even Song Zining.

Although Song Zining had some grievances with Wei Po Tian, he did not express them openly. After carefully reviewing Wei Po Tian’s battle reports, Song Zining decided to keep him close, moving with him and Zhao Jundu.

Wei Po Tian said he was unwilling, but his beaming smile betrayed his secret. All he thought about was, “You guys didn’t want me at the beginning, now you know my worth, right?”

Zhao Jundu remained noncommittal. His true fiery gold was fearless in battle, but he didn’t mind having an extra shield around. At this point, personal cultivation was one thing, but slaying more enemies was another, the latter being beneficial to the Empire.

After the rest, once the troops were replenished with Holy Tree sap potions, Song Zining led them out again. This time, he did not disperse the forces but gathered the main army, with only small reconnaissance units flanking the sides. The massive army marched straight towards the demon stronghold.

In this direction, there was a Triple Holy Tree Forest that had long fallen into the hands of the demons. According to Song Zining’s judgment, the demons would surely build a fortress here and station a heavy garrison.

Now that the exploration of the New World was well underway, both sides understood the importance of the forests. A forest was like an island in the ocean, serving as a stepping stone to jump from one island to another, allowing continuous expansion in the New World.

After subjugating the core of the nest, Zhao Jundu also realized the importance of the blessings of the Holy Trees. It could be said that the Holy Trees were the amulets of the surface of the New World. The more you possessed, the more unimpeded you would be. From any angle, the demons would definitely station a heavy garrison at this Triple Holy Tree Forest.

The Empire’s current advantage lay in Zhao Jundu’s knowledge of the locations of other nests in the surrounding area after subjugating the core, eliminating the need for preliminary reconnaissance and avoiding alarming the enemy.

Thus, after the initial victory, Song Zining decided to strike while the demons’ foothold was still unstable and their troop movements incomplete. If they could uproot this Triple Holy Tree Forest, it would be like cutting off tens of thousands of demon troops.

With Zhao Jundu’s guidance, Song Zining assembled the Empire’s main force, with the four Dukes also present, forming a grand contingent of six divine generals, launching nearly one hundred thousand troops—a full-scale attack on the demon fortress.

The Imperial Army moved without rest, and when the heavy trucks broke down, the warriors simply switched to other vehicles. After a day and night, the army finally came face to face with the demon fortress.

The fortress was quite substantial, resembling a small city, with the endless forest stretching behind it, far larger than any Single or Dual Holy Tree Forest. Surprisingly, a floating airship hovered above the fortress, a truly grandiose sight.

Neither the Empire nor the Evernight’s floating ships had a long lifespan in the New World. Normal-sized floating ships typically lasted only seven to eight days before breaking down. Seeing a floating ship above the fortress indicated that the demons, after a heavy initial blow, had spent lavishly to bolster their strength.

The appearance of the floating ship was indeed unexpected, but it did not affect the overall situation. Song Zining ordered the ship cannons to land, and several consecutive shots from the tracking giant crossbows brought down the floating ship.

These anti-aircraft weapons were originally intended for flying beasts. Song Zining, after considering for a moment, had insisted on bringing them, and they proved to be quite useful. Even Wei Po Tian had to admit that Song Zining’s luck was eerily good.

As the final few shots were fired, although there were strong individuals in the fortress trying to intercept the arrows, they were easily deflected by the Empire’s side. Thus, the floating ship, lacking the firepower of a city-level defense and with reduced speed and agility in the New World, became a large target.

Though the fortress detected the approaching Imperial Army, Song Zining’s intention was to concentrate his forces for a strong assault, so the impact was minimal. The Imperial Army then methodically set up their formations, with various heavy weapons landing and deploying, and began their assault on the demon fortress.

The Empire had a comprehensive advantage in terms of both strong individuals and troops. The temporary fortifications of the fortress were not particularly sturdy, and the demons were primarily geared against beast armies, focusing heavily on aerial defense and close-range fire nets. Now, facing the old adversary, the Imperial forces, these targeted deployments were not only ineffective but also became weaknesses.

Under the Empire’s powerful long-range firepower, the fortress’s outer walls were quickly breached, and the several gun turrets were eliminated by the four Dukes.

As for the strong individuals stationed in the fortress, Zhao Jundu and Song Zining working together were more than sufficient to suppress them. After a half-day of intense fighting, the three thousand defending demon soldiers were completely wiped out. The two marquises guarding the fortress were one dead and one injured, and the remaining strong individuals included only two cowardly earls. On the Imperial side, only a few thousand were casualties, and the strong individuals mostly suffered minor injuries, needing only a short rest to return to the battlefield.

This victory was decisive and clean, and after removing this crucial stronghold, the next major target was the base outside the “door.”

Without hesitation, Song Zining immediately dispatched scouts and continuously marked on the map. Not long after, he told Zhao Jundu, “The demon ‘door’ is likely in this area.”

Zhao Jundu took a look and frowned, deep in thought.

Wei Po Tian, with his usual casual manner, said, “Since we know the location, let’s just attack it!”

The four Dukes remained silent, only looking at Song Zining. After this period of warfare, they were completely convinced of Song Zining’s abilities, harboring no other thoughts.

“The location of the door is just my conjecture,” Song Zining said to Wei Po Tian.

Wei Po Tian opened his mouth, then closed it, saying no more.

Song Zining had someone bring a map of the New World, marking several points and writing a series of formulas, saying, “During our time in the New World, I’m sure everyone has felt some spatial distortion, right?”

The Dukes all nodded. As top-tier experts, they were very sensitive to changes in space and had noticed some subtle signs.

Song Zining pointed to the formulas he had just written, saying, “I’ve been diligently calculating recently and found that each forest generates a different spatial distortion. The more Holy Trees in a forest, the stronger the spatial distortion. For example, the forest under our feet already has a very strong distortion. The specific calculations are as follows.”

Song Zining swiftly wrote down numerous formulas, then said, “It’s like this.”

Wei Po Tian stared blankly, his eyes wide. He recognized every number Song Zining wrote, but together, they were completely incomprehensible to him. This array of numbers was like a book from the heavens.

Three of the four Dukes had similar expressions, while one was looking carefully, deep in thought.

Song Zining said, “The place we are standing now seems flat, but it actually has a curvature. Our perception is also distorted, making it seem flat.”

Wei Po Tian was even more confused, turning to look at the others, seeing that most of them were equally bewildered, and only then did he feel reassured. As long as he wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand, it was fine.

Song Zining drew several lines on the map of the New World, connecting the forests, but each line was not straight but curved.

He then drew a dotted line pointing to a certain area, drawing a circle there, and said, “The spatial distortions at each location have a pattern. According to this pattern, the spatial distortion in this area will be very similar to the door in our Qin Continent. In other words, one of the demon doors is likely here!”

Among the four Dukes, only Duke Mu, who understood Song Zining’s formulas, said slowly, “If that’s the case, what are we waiting for? Speed is the essence in warfare. If we attack now, we may catch the demons off guard.”

Song Zining did not respond but pointed to the area, saying, “If this is indeed a door, then there’s another inference.”

He wrote down more formulas and then, based on each group of formulas, drew one or several lines. Song Zining specifically drew a curve connecting the two doors. The focus of the curve was far away, well beyond the map’s coverage.

Song Zining drew another line from the midpoint of the curve, pointing to the distant focus, and then said, “This is the real crux of the matter. If my conjectures are correct, the entire New World’s spatial distortions point to a core where the space is completely and permanently twisted. In other words, there may be an enormous door there, leading to a world we don’t know. And that door is the true objective of the dark races!”

Duke Mu, himself a master of divination, stood up and approached the map, carefully examining each line of data. After a while, his expression changed slightly, and he said, “There indeed may be a door there. Or perhaps ‘door’ isn’t the right term, but if there is a passage, it must be unprecedentedly large. The doors appearing in our world might be like nails, pinning it to the continent, leveraging it to open the true door!”

Song Zining nodded, saying, “So, our current problem is whether to directly attack the central door or first eliminate the demons’ smaller door.”

Everyone, including Zhao Jundu, frowned and remained silent. The decision was too significant for anyone to make lightly.