The Intermediate Realm, deep night.
Luo Feng and his four companions temporarily joined the Beilong City faction. At the heart of the entire plain, the area was mainly divided into five major factions.
Within the Beilong City faction…
“Senior apprentice-brother, these are the people I mentioned—Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God.” Luo Feng and his group were conversing with the members of Beilong City, as He Ruo introduced both sides, “This is my senior apprentice-brother ‘Kashanlun.'”
“You’re the ones who saved my two junior apprentices, right? Thank you. Oh, I have important matters to attend to, so I’ll leave you in the hands of junior apprentice He Ruo.” With a smile, Kashanlun departed. He was a thin man, about 1.5 meters tall, with eyes faintly glowing green and exuding a heavy aura of killing intent.
Watching Kashanlun leave.
Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God exchanged glances. Clearly, the man hadn’t really cared about them at all. It was only because of He Ruo’s face that he had bothered to come over.
“My senior brother is just like that; don’t take it to heart.” He Ruo explained.
“No problem.” Luo Feng smiled.
“Our Beilong City faction has about 2100 people in total, divided into squads of one hundred to prevent chaos.” He Ruo pointed to the surroundings, where adventurers gathered in groups of a hundred. This way, if a squad became chaotic, it wouldn’t affect the others.
“Which squad would you like to join? There are six squads with vacancies now.” He Ruo smiled.
“We’d prefer to be in a squad closer to your main Beilong City organization.” Luo Feng replied.
“Sure, no problem.”
…
The 18th squad of the Beilong City faction was where Luo Feng and his companions were now stationed.
The next morning.
After chatting with other members of the squad throughout the night, Luo Feng and his companions learned a lot of information.
“So the treasure is there!” Luo Feng gazed toward the central area surrounded by the five factions. There stood a deep blue castle built on the plains.
“The five factions’ guess makes sense.” Thunder God nodded. “Throughout the Intermediate Realm, there are swamps, deserts, lakes, plains, mountains, grasslands, etc.—all natural environments. Only this one building exists, and it’s located at the very core of the Intermediate Realm, directly beneath the glowing orb! A castle in such a position is very likely to be the location of the treasure.”
“The treasure!”
“The castle contains the treasure, yet none of the five factions dare to move.” Luo Feng shook his head.
Hong laughed. “That’s normal. Initially, the five factions didn’t have many people in the core area. They feared that if a battle broke out, the large number of free adventurers would benefit from the chaos. So they kept recruiting more people. As one side recruited, all five factions did the same, waiting for the right moment to strike.”
“Who knows when they’ll finally act.” Thunder God muttered.
“They’re not in a hurry. The vanguard of the two million strong army outside has probably just entered the Intermediate Realm.” Luo Feng smiled. “It will take about seven days to fly from the edge of the Intermediate Realm to the core area.”
“So the battle will likely erupt within seven days!”
…
Luo Feng’s prediction proved correct. On the third day after joining the Beilong City faction, a major event occurred.
In the Intermediate Realm, a white glowing orb floated in the sky, casting its light.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dense swarm of dark figures suddenly flew from the distance toward the five factions.
“So many people?”
“How come so many people appeared all of a sudden?” The five factions were thrown into some disorder.
Luo Feng, amidst the crowd, looked up at the sky and quickly estimated the number. “About six hundred people? And judging by their appearance, they should be from the same faction. Six hundred people could definitely disrupt the balance among the five factions.”
The ten thousand adventurers from the five factions murmured in low voices.
“Longshan, Saqisen pays homage to the Ninth Prince!” A loud voice echoed across the sky.
“Homage to the Ninth Prince!”
In perfect unison, as if the heavens and earth were thundering, a large group from the Longshan Holy Land simultaneously paid their respects. High in the sky, over six hundred people surrounded a young man with fair skin. Standing midair, the young man’s eyes blazed like lightning as he surveyed the crowd below. His voice thundered into the ears of everyone beneath him: “I am Prince Bulin, the Ninth Prince of the Empire! I seek to claim this treasure. Whoever dares to stand in my way shall die!!!”
Silence!
The five factions fell silent. Naturally, the Longshan faction supported the royal family, as the Longshan Holy Land was the foundation of the royal family!
The other four factions, however, were momentarily thrown into confusion.
“Powerful.”
In the crowd, Luo Feng looked up at the arrogant Ninth Prince in the sky and marveled inwardly. “The Ninth Prince didn’t appear at first. Instead, he gathered forces around the area and suddenly showed up at a critical moment! Instantly boosting the strength of the Longshan faction and catching the other four factions off guard.”
…
Across the plains, the other four factions murmured in low voices.
“Your Highness, the Ninth Prince.” A booming voice echoed from the White Tiger Faction. A towering, powerfully built young man with a pair of curved black horns upon his brow raised his gaze toward the Ninth Prince in the heavens and bellowed, “Do you truly believe it just to claim the treasures of the Intermediate Realm for yourself alone—”
“Whoosh!”
A blinding white beam instantly pierced through the tall, muscular young man, reducing his head to nothingness.
Silence!
All five factions were stunned.
In the crowd, the visual afterimage of the white beam still lingered faintly in everyone’s vision. Everyone was dazed, realizing what had just happened! Just now, a laser beam had killed the leader of the Baihulou faction.
…
In the crowd.
Luo Feng and his companions were shocked. Thunder God whispered, “Too fast! That laser weapon didn’t seem to need any charging time; it fired instantly.”
“It was fast indeed, an instant kill.” Luo Feng was secretly startled.
He had once used a B6-grade laser cannon to attack the golden-horned beast, but that cannon required some time to charge before firing. However, the laser just now had no warning at all.
…
In the sky.
Behind the Ninth Prince stood nine bodyguards. Each of them held a weapon about three meters long, with a barrel about thirty centimeters in diameter—reminiscent of an enlarged version of Earth’s “personal rocket launcher.”
“Let me introduce.”
“Nine C2-grade laser guns! These are the latest models, just acquired.” The Ninth Prince scanned the crowd below, noticing the pale faces of the faction leaders, and smiled. “As for their power, one shot can kill a Cosmic Level Two expert. I brought these along for safety during my probationary assessment in the Thunder World. I didn’t expect to encounter something like this ‘Intermediate Realm’ situation.”
“Surely, no one will dare to stop me?”
The Ninth Prince Bulin swept his gaze over the major factions below.
Everyone was stunned.
Nine C2-grade laser guns—energy weapons at the C level were already restricted class weapons. They were extremely difficult to purchase, and even if one could buy them, the price would be astronomical! The price of a single C2-grade laser gun was even comparable to that of a Cosmic Level One or Two slave.
Priceless weapons!
“Excellent. Everyone is very cooperative.” The Ninth Prince smiled and dove downward, followed by over six hundred people diving with him.
Then, the Ninth Prince, along with the six hundred people and the large group from the Longshan Holy Land, marched grandly toward the castle. The other four factions hesitated slightly but followed behind, also heading toward the castle.
…
The crowd advanced forward, with Luo Feng and his companions blending into the Beilong City faction.
“Damn, just like that, we’re being taken over?” Thunder God widened his eyes.
“It’s frustrating.” Luo Feng looked toward the distant figures at the front.
“He has nine C2-grade laser guns, making him practically ‘invincible’ in terms of peak martial power. Plus, he has three to four thousand followers! With both martial power and manpower, and his status as a prince, he has no hesitation in killing the elites of other organizations.” Hong shook his head. “With such momentum, no one can stop him.”
Luo Feng and his companions could only watch helplessly.
…
The four factions—Beilong City, Heiyun Association, Baihulou, and the Holy Land Binghai Divine Kingdom—could only watch helplessly as this unfolded.
Those nine C2-grade laser guns were absolute, awe-inspiring weapons in the absence of Cosmic-level adventurers! Whoever he targeted would have no escape. If he only had nine laser guns, he wouldn’t be able to intimidate the ten thousand adventurers from the four factions. But he already had three to four thousand followers!
“Stop!” The Ninth Prince Bulin raised his left hand high.
Whoosh!
The forces of the Longshan Holy Land halted, and the other four factions had no choice but to stop as well.
In the distant crowd.
“Truly impressive.” Thunder God murmured.
“This is momentum, the momentum of a great trend.” Hong sighed.
“No one can stop him now.” Luo Feng silently watched.
After the Ninth Prince Bulin gave the command, the forces of all factions halted. Then, the Ninth Prince Bulin, accompanied by his nine bodyguards, walked toward the castle. Under the gaze of ten thousand people, he slowly and cautiously approached the castle.
“Sambi, open the castle for me.” The Ninth Prince Bulin pointed toward the castle.
“Yes.”
One of his bodyguards respectfully replied. The curly-haired bodyguard, clad in black alloy armor, suddenly had his helmet automatically generated, covering his entire body. Then, this bodyguard cautiously approached the ancient castle that had stood for millions of years, untouched and unopened.
The castle gate was twelve meters high and eight meters wide.
The bodyguard reached the door, placed his hands on it, and exerted force…
…
Over ten thousand adventurers were staring at the castle…
The Ninth Prince Bulin was also staring at the castle, his face flushed with excitement…
In the distant crowd, Luo Feng and his companions also watched the bodyguard push the door from afar…
…
As the bodyguard exerted force, the gate slightly trembled, and some dust and debris drifted down.
“Zzzappp!”
Lightning bolts suddenly shot out from various parts of the castle, wrapping the entire structure in a web of electricity. In an instant, the bodyguard couldn’t retreat in time, and the lightning pierced through his body. Like burning hair, with a “hiss,” the bodyguard was instantly reduced to ashes, leaving only his red-hot alloy armor.
This scene shocked the ten thousand adventurers.
“This—” Prince Bulin also broke into a cold sweat. In a flash, he retreated behind his group of bodyguards. If he had been the one to push the door, he would probably have died too.
The lightning bolts continued to surge around the castle.
More and more lightning appeared, gradually transforming the entire castle into an electrified fortress, bathed in thunder.
In the distant crowd, Luo Feng and his companions were also shocked by the scene before them.
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