by <unknown>
The 301 students stood firm with their heads held high, with not a single one of them uttering a word. Everyone's face was flushed red to their ears, seemingly as if they were being burned inside an invisible and maddening will to fight.
After three seconds, Xiong Baili raised his head and let out a long roar: "Good, good, very good! Having students like you is the greatest pride in my, Xiong Baili's, life. Let us depart and slaughter those demon beasts!"
"Slaughter those demon beasts!"
Hundreds of teachers and students loudly roared. Everyone's blood was bubbling as they boarded the Thunderbird-class light transport ship.
After a moment, the light transport ship rose into the air as it whizzed towards Verdant Tarn City!
On the transport ship, Xiong Zongchao started up the large-scale master crystal processor of the ship as hundreds of telepathic thoughts were transmitted to the mini crystal processors of Grand Desolate War Institution's teachers and students.
Which included the 3-dimensional map of Verdant Tarn City, the distribution of the federation army, as well as the growing list of information of friendly forces.
When the sects within 500 km radius came to know of the beast tide outbreak at Verdant Tarn City, all of them mobilized.
Every second, countless powerful cultivators rushed toward Verdant Tarn City.
And with the vanguard troops commencing their fight after entering the city, a general understanding of the quantity and type of demon beasts was also procured.
This information was all transmitted to the main crystal processor of the Thunderbird-class light transport ship and subsequently distributed to the micro crystal processor of all its passenger.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Everyone checked their crystal processor with rapt attention as the colorful holographic screen was flooded with countless information just like a downpour.
Everyone was a cultivator, and as such, the speed of reading the information was very fast. In just a short moment, they had all grasped the general situation.
Xiong Zonghcao introduced:
"At present, it seems that the beast tide is of at least Level-7, and very coincidently, the wormhole had appeared in an underground abandoned warehouse in Verdant Tarn City. As a result of this, no one seemed to have noticed at the beginning. It was only when tens of thousands of demon beasts had spread across the city through its complex sewer lines and appeared within the city simultaneously did they notice. However, by then, it was too late!"
"Fortunately, in order to guard against beast tides, every city in the Wasteland is fortified from inside and outside. Many of the large scale structure inside the city were enclosed in low-rise walls and defensive array glyphs. Many of the areas even have a large number of military magical equipment installed."
"Furthermore, Verdant Tarn City is an important mining city. Many sects have mining bases in Verdant Tarn City along with a bunch of guards to protect the mine, all of whom are ex-servicemen or cultivators that are holding the line."
"And the native sect of Verdant Tarn City, the 'Azure Sun Sect', is ranked 379 among the top 500 in the federation and have ten Building Foundation Stage experts."
"Under the resistance of the Azure Sun Sect, most of the civilians were able to hide inside the fortified buildings, and the headquarter of the Azure Sun Sect even has over ten thousand civilians protected inside. Please look at the 3-dimensional map, here, here, and here. There is still a large number of civilians stranded."
"We have two missions: the first is to save all the civilians, and the second is to behead all the demon beasts in Verdant Tarn City, kill them one by one—even fowls and dogs are not to be spared!"
"Please look at the information list of the demon beasts. From the news transmitted from the frontline, this is a mixed-type beast tide. At present, we know of 43 Demon Soldiers and 5 Demon Generals; however, we have yet to discover the Demon King."
"But from past experiences, we are 80 to 90% sure that a Demon King will be commanding such a large-scale beast tide from the back!"
Along with the introduction of Xiong Zongchao, translucent, 3-dimensional images appeared one by one on everyone's holographic screen. These images included the pictures of a couple dozen demon beasts along with their habits, levels, risk factor, the heaven and earth treasures they bear... over a hundred kinds of information.
Li Yao's heart skipped a beat.
He had never imagined that the level of this time’s beast tide outbreak would be so high and that a Demon King might even appear.
The demon beasts in accordance with the strength are divided into Demon Soldier, Demon General, Demon King, Demon Emperor, Demon God, and so on and so forth, and their respective cultivation level in the human cultivation system respectively is Refinement Stage, Foundation Building, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation.
Li Yao, on Devil Flood Dragon Island, had killed a three-eyed ape which was even weaker than the Demon Soldier. It had not even entered the lowest level and was just equivalent to an ordinary person.
Whether it was a Demon God or a Spirit Transformation Stage expert, both belonged to the legendary, peerless figures which have not appeared in the Star Glory Federation for a long time.
Even the Demon Emperor, which was comparable to a Nascent Soul Stage old monster, was also very rarely seen. Once he appeared, he would certainly be followed by hundreds of millions of Demon Soldiers, for which half of the federation would be completely mobilized. Only then was it possible to compete with them.
Starting from the Demon Soldier, demon beasts would gradually break away from the shackles of a beast, gaining high intelligence. Then, they could be called a member of the "demon clan".
The thought of actually fighting with a true member of the demon clan made Li Yao inexplicably excited!
Chapter 168: He's Dead Weight! |
Having finished introducing the general situation of the battle, Xiong Zongchao once again said:
"Soon, you will be entering the battlefield. I can see that a lot of you have your own weapons, but if any of you need weapons, you can head to the armory of the transport ship and take your pick. We don't have many close combat magical equipment, but we have all kinds of firearms, ready to equip. Everybody can casually take them for use!"
Li Yao's heart was astir.
All the magical equipment he had crafted were close combat-type, so it would also be better to get a firearm for self-defense.
Just as he was about to get up, he came to notice that the other students remained completely still. He couldn’t help but befuddled as he asked Ding Lingdang, who was sitting beside him, in a low voice:
"Sister Ling, why isn't anybody taking a gun?"
Ding Lingdang slightly smiled and said:
"Traditional body practitioners and sword cultivators rather don't like using firearms. It's not like we are complacent and choose to stick to our ways, but on the contrary, it’s because weapons like firearms have many flaws."
Since the development of long-range types magical equipment such as firearms, the pros and cons of long-range and close-combat type magical equipment had always been a bone of contention in the world of cultivation.
The pros of firearms were quite obvious. Not only could the firearms be fired from long-range, but the firepower was also strong. Not to mention that using the crystal cell as the energy source allows its user to preserve his or her spiritual energy, and also the fact that some low-tier firearms could even be used by the ordinary people.
However, the cons were also quite obvious. Whether it was the crystal cells or the bullets that were forged out of crystal, both were terrifyingly heavy. A Thunderfire Boltgun, along with a dozen crystal cell, plus three to five hung bullet belts would at the very least weigh over fifty kilograms.
As far as ordinary people were concerned, spending a few days or maybe even a dozen days while carrying such weight and venturing into the depths of Wasteland where demon beas
ts frequently lurk would truly be a terrifying thing.
And as far as cultivators go, it was compulsory for them to accelerate from zero to a couple hundred or even to the speed of sound within a couple of seconds at every move, and in just one breath, they had to dodge demon beast's attack a couple dozen times continuously in the air.
And carrying an extra kilogram of supplies would slow their high-speed movements by one second, which would decrease the number of maneuvers they could do during the battle and in-turn would make them susceptible to the demon beast's attacks!
And most importantly, due to the long confrontation with humans, demon beasts have also evolved. Many of the high-level demon beasts have a body covered entirely in a hard shell, while their vital points were concealed underneath the joints of the shell, making it very difficult to hit them from a distance of a couple kilometers. They had to approach to a hundred meters distance and fire from close-range, and only then was it possible to cause fatal injuries.
However, as far as cultivators were concerned, within a range of hundred meters, whether one used firearms or blades wasn't truly too much of a difference.
"Within the federation army, a vast majority of the soldiers were ordinary people who fight in troops, so they do not need to worry about the problems caused by the logistics support. That's why firearms are mainly used."
"Our Grand Desolate War Institution's teachers and students all specialize in close-combat and have not received strict firearms training."
"Furthermore, we are used to fighting in small teams, so we have to rely on ourselves for the logistics support. Not to mention, our hunt can easily take half a month, so we need to carefully plan every gram of supplies we will carry."
"If we are equipped with firearms, not only would it cause insufficient injuries to the demon beasts, but on the contrary, it would drag us down and affect our speed and agility!"
"However, in the cultivation world, just like sword cultivators, there are also 'firearms cultivators' who specifically train in 'gun fighting techniques'. A powerful firearms cultivator could accurately shoot between the gaps of a demon beast’s armor from a couple kilometers away!"
"The Federation's First Military College specializes in fostering firearms cultivators, and only in their hands do firearms make sense."
Having said that, Ding Lingdang pondered and said:
"However, it would also be better for you to take a gun for self-defense. In any case, you are quite powerful, and moreover, you have not formally undergone close-combat training. For you, blades and firearms are just the same. It would be rather safe for you to use the gun to shoot from afar."
Li Yao also thought the same. Apart from the [One-Hundred-and-Eight Hands Chaos Gale Hammer Technique], he had not seriously learned any other offensive techniques.
And the [One-Hundred-and-Eight Hands Chaos Gale Hammer Technique] wasn’t actually an offensive technique but rather a basic forging skill. Just like [Thousand Tempering hundred Refining], it was an exercise to beat and boil the muscles and bones to temper the body.
By carrying out painstaking training in the depths of the Billowing Star Sea, Li Yao had his strength and speed enhanced, allowing him to withstand Ding Lingdang's attack for a longer period of time.
Until now, he only had a physique which was seemingly cast from iron and terrifying strength; however, he did not have even one brilliant saber technique or sword technique.
If it was a firearm, he just had to squeeze the trigger and the bullet would blast its way out on its own, which he was capable of.
Having thought of this, Li Yao stood up and greeted Xiong Zongchao before walking towards the armory.
All the students who were sitting on either side of the aisle were surprised for a moment; they could not understand why someone would choose a firearm.
No one here was a rookie; they understood basic common sense. For close-combat cultivators like them, firearms would just slow them down and would simply be unable to unleash their true strength.
However, when they found out that it was Li Yao who was going to pick a gun, their eyes revealed a look of relief. One by one, many of them nodded their heads:
"Fellow Student Li Yao, you should take a few guns to defend yourself. Although we will protect you, in a street fight, anything can happen. It's better for you to prepare yourself for everything!"
"Yes! We have heard that your skills are pretty good; however, fighting is not your specialized field after all. On the battlefield, you can be considered as a support staff, and it would be better for you to hide behind us and fire one or two shots when the demon beasts are least expecting it. We will help you contain the demon beasts!"
Everyone was very cordial. They weren't discriminating against him because of his "meager strength" at all.
In their opinion, he was just a freshman of the Refining Department whose specialty lies in the technical field. It was very normal for his battle strength to be far from the students of the Combat Department.
It was already quite good for a refiner to fight shoulder to shoulder with everyone and risk his life amidst the dangerous battlefield.
As Li Yao wormed his way into the armory, suddenly, racks jam-packed with hundreds of dazzling, traditional firearms filled his view and caught him by surprise.
As a veteran magical equipment fanatic, naturally, he had a deep fanaticism for the firearms, which even matched his fanaticism for blade-type magical equipment.
However, in day-to-day life, blade-type magical equipment were rather easy to obtain, while terrifyingly powerful firearms were subjected to control and needed certain qualifications to equip them.
In the past when he was just an insignificant scavenger, the most he came in contact with were ordinary firearms like the Thunderfire Boltgun.
Li Yao's eyes suddenly flickered with greed as he glanced left and right. Drool was almost ready to trickle down the corner of his mouth as he swooped in to kiss the weapons a few times.
Xiong Zongchao smiled in his heart. As someone who was from the military, his love for firearms was just the same and he would always feel a sense of intimacy with them.
Xiong Zongchao generously said:
"Junior Brother, since you are a refiner and don't have any offensive strength, and as the city is very dangerous, you should pick a powerful firearm. You can casually pick any weapon that you fancy here. I will hand you the jade chip which will transmit telepathic thoughts and give you a run-down on its operating method and allow you to master its basic operation within three minutes."
Li Yao unconsciously nodded his head as he was somewhat dazzled by the armory and was at a loss as to which one to chose.
Until his line of sight happened to fall upon an enormous metal beast at the corner, after which he could no longer extricate. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he couldn’t help but walk towards it.
After five minutes.
Zhao Tianchong and Li Tieshan, who were the strongest amongst this batch of freshman, whispered to each other.
The subject of their discussion was none other than Li Yao.
Ever since the mystical reversal performed by Li Yao at the end of the month, during which he continually caught up with the four experts of the Hidden Dragon Hall and seized the first position in the Newcomer Ranking, the two had treated Li Yao as their strongest rival.
At first, the two, by relying on the specialized courses which rewarded many credits of the Combat Department as well as madly cultivating in the last semester, had pulled far ahead of Li Yao by a fair number of credits.
However, in the last days of the semester, Li Yao had successfully modified the 1st Generation Tai'e Furnace, acquired a scholarship, and had obtained 3,000 credits as a reward, thereby leaving them far behind all of a sudden once again.
The two were once again shocked as well as helpless. At first, they had intended to return home for the new year during the winter vacation, but under the stimulation, they didn't return home and were madly
cultivating even on new year's eve.
Finally, they somehow had the opportunity to amass the credits; however, who would have known that Li Yao would also come!
Lu Tieshan hesitantly said:
"However, he is just a refiner. He is nothing more than a supporting combat staff, and at most, he could repair a few magical equipment. If he wants to get a large number of credits, I'm afraid it won’t be that easy, right?"
Zhao Tianchong replied expressionlessly:
"Not necessarily. That guy is a madman. If compelled, he could do any kind of mad stuff, and maybe, he could even give us some 'pleasant surprises'!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Li Yao walked out of the armory with heavy steps.
Many people freely swept a glance at him before they were suddenly flabbergasted.
Lu Tieshan's eyes were ready to fall out as he involuntarily cried out:
"What the hell is that thing!?"
Li Yao was carrying a heavy firearm in his arm which was even thicker than his own thigh. The firearm had as many as six barrels, which had complex and abstruse glyphs engraved upon them and were inlaid with crimson crystals, arranged in a circle, giving off the impression of a burning trunk.
However, that was still nothing big when compared to Li Yao’s upper body. At this moment, it had a few bullet belts wrapped around several times in a cross pattern (X), where each bullet was as big as an infant's fist. Its warheads were inlaid with crystals while its shell had array glyphs engraved across. They were out-and-out spiritual explosive shells.
The entire set together would at the very least weigh over half a ton. A normal person would never think of carrying such a mass which would hinder their movement, if not crushing them to death!