36: Chapter 36 Bloodbath Concludes

The bloody battle continued until the fourth hour, and only then did the buzzing of insects on the Northern Plains finally subside.

In front of the Void Rift, the last batch of Black Armor Beetles was still charging.

They trampled over the glowing fragments left behind by their fallen kin, their mandibles opening and closing, their jointed limbs clawing at the ground, still charging toward the shield wall.

The two thousand Heavy Infantry were exhausted to the extreme.

The arms of the Martial Dao Citizens in the front row were trembling, and their Black Iron Shields were covered in corrosive marks.

The Cultivation Citizens in the middle row had depleted most of their spiritual energy, and the fiery radiance on their crimson flame sabers was no longer as intense.

On the high ground of the Artillery Battalion, the barrels of the fifty Psionic Heavy Cannons were scorching hot, and the cooling talisman fluid was almost exhausted.

Over a hundred of the five hundred Heavy Cavalry had suffered mental trauma, and the Iron Hoof Warhorses were panting ceaselessly from the continuous charges.

Yet, the entire defensive line still held.

It had not collapsed.

It was not in chaos.

Wang Pingan sat in the sky, not intervening from start to finish.

He watched Wang Mu and Wang Shan continue to command through their exhaustion, watched as one citizen after another gritted their teeth against the pain to fill the gaps, and the final weight pressing on his heart finally lifted.

This legion was no longer just a pretty facade built with resources.

They had seen the insect tide, endured the insect tide, and had now fought their way through the insect tide.

Wang Mu stood on the high ground, his voice raspy, yet he still raised the battle flag.

"Artillery Battalion, final round, aim for the rift entrance."

The remaining artillerymen all stepped forward, pouring their final wave of spiritual energy into the heavy cannons.

Not all fifty Psionic Heavy Cannons lit up.

Seven of them could not fire temporarily due to the crystal tubes overheating.

Wang Mu took one look and did not force an order.

"The forty-three that can fire, loose!"

Forty-three psionic shells flew out from the high ground, smashing into the area in front of the Void Rift.

The white light of the explosions merged into one, blasting the last emerging swarm of insects backward.

Seeing an opening in front of the rift, Wang Shan suddenly raised his Cavalry lance.

"Those who can still charge, follow me for one last time!"

Over three hundred Heavy Cavalry reformed their ranks.

Some had suffered mental trauma and their vision was darkening, yet they still climbed back onto their horses.

The Iron Hoof Warhorses stomped the ground once more.

This time, the sound of the charge was not as uniform as at the beginning, but it was fiercer.

Wang Shan led the charge, taking the Cavalry and cutting in diagonally from the right.

The remaining Black Armor Beetles were pierced by lances, crushed by hooves, and slashed into glowing fragments by thick-backed Cavalry sabers.

Wang Shan rushed to the front of the rift, swept his long lance horizontally, and smashed the last thick-armored beetle to the ground.

The central shield wall pressed forward simultaneously.

The two thousand Heavy Infantry split into dozens of small formations, surrounding the remaining insects.

The radiance of the crimson flame sabers fell again and again.

The Black Iron Shields pushed forward time after time.

The Flying Scythe Beetles tried to escape from the air, but were focused down and slashed out of the sky by the Cultivation Citizens in the rear.

The last Flying Scythe Beetle, with tattered wings, lunged toward the high ground. Wang Mu pointed a finger, and three spiritual energy blade beams slashed out simultaneously.

The Flying Scythe Beetle exploded into gray-black glowing fragments in mid-air.

The Void Rift vibrated violently, then slowly closed.

On the Northern Plains, all the buzzing of insects completely ceased.

A brief silence enveloped the entire battlefield.

The next moment, the two thousand Heavy Infantry, five hundred Artillery Battalion citizens, and five hundred Heavy Cavalry erupted into a roar simultaneously.

"We won!"

"The insect tide is wiped out!"

"Long live the Divine Lord!"

The sound traveled from the Northern Plains to the Eastern Spiritual Fields, and then to the Southern Coast and all the villages.

The citizens in the rear heard the roar of victory and followed suit, kneeling and cheering.

Wang Pingan did not speak immediately.

He let this emotion spread throughout the Divine Kingdom.

The citizens needed this victory.

The legion needed this victory even more.

The pain, fear, exhaustion, and bloody battle they had experienced had to be transformed into something that would allow them to keep moving forward.

On the Northern battlefield, a gray-black aura began to rise slowly.

That was the lingering killing intent left behind after the virtual insects dissipated, and also the battlefield will forged after the legion's continuous grueling battle.

Wang Mu was the first to notice the change.

He looked up above the military formation, his expression changing drastically.

Wang Shan also jumped off his warhorse, gripping his Cavalry lance as he looked at the sky.

On the bodies of the two thousand elites, the D-Rank Legion Killing Aura Concentration Method began to operate on its own.

This method had been mastered previously, but it had never truly taken shape.

The reason was simple.

Killing aura is not cultivated by sitting in a training ground.

It requires combat.

It requires pressure.

It requires enemies to crash in wave after wave, and the legion to hold firm time after time, then fight back time after time.

And this insect tide had perfectly fulfilled all those conditions.

The gray-black killing intent gathered above the military formation.

The vitality of the Martial Dao Citizens surged into the sky, and the spiritual energy of the Cultivation Citizens was also drawn upward.

The two forces intertwined, and were dyed blood-red by the lingering killing intent of the battlefield.

At first, it was just a blurry mist.

Then, the mist slowly gathered and began to reveal a silhouette.

The two thousand elites operated the D-Rank Legion Killing Aura Concentration Method simultaneously, their aura rising layer by layer.

Wang Pingan's eyes brightened slightly.

He did not intervene.

This was the legion's own transformation.

The blood-red mist churned continuously, eventually condensing into the phantom of a fierce tiger above the Northern Plains.

The fierce tiger was dozens of zhang long, its body composed of killing aura and vitality, its eyes blood-red, and its claws and fangs distinct.

It did not emit a real roar, yet it made the air across the entire Northern Plains heavy.

The ordinary citizens in the distance who had not participated in the battle saw this blood-red tiger, their hearts instinctively tightening, followed by a strong sense of security.

This was the killing aura of the Divine Lord's legion.

These were the claws guarding the Divine Kingdom.

Wang Shan looked at the tiger and suddenly burst into laughter.

"It's done, it's really done!"

Wang Mu also rarely showed a smile, his tone filled with uncontrollable excitement: "The Legion Killing Aura has officially taken shape. From now on, when encountering low-tier enemy forces, the killing aura alone will be enough to crush a batch of them."

Upon hearing this, the Heavy Infantry were even more elated.

They had just experienced the bloody battle against the insect tide, and their killing intent had not yet dissipated. Now that the killing aura had taken shape, everyone felt a fire burning in their chests.

Wang Pingan raised his hand, and the Divine Kingdom panel unfolded before his eyes.

[Final pressure battle concluded.]

[Medium-sized insect tide invasion simulation card consumed.]

[Exterminated 31,600 virtual Black Armor Beetles.]

[Exterminated 8,400 virtual Flying Scythe Beetles.]

[Exterminated 3,200 virtual Corrosive Beetles.]

[Friendly actual deaths: None.]

[Friendly mental severe injuries: 23.]

[Friendly mental minor injuries: 486.]

[D-Rank Legion Killing Aura Concentration Method: Officially formed.]

[Proficiency in the Xianwu Meat Grinder Array greatly improved.]

[Combat proficiency of the Spiritual Energy Artillery Battalion greatly improved.]

[Combat proficiency of the Heavy Cavalry greatly improved.]

Wang Pingan looked at these numbers, feeling no heartache.

The 3.8 million Source Power points were well spent.

Twenty-three people with severe mental injuries and over four hundred with minor mental injuries sounded like a lot.

But this was a medium-sized insect tide, a high-pressure battle with continuous assaults from tens of thousands of insects.

If it were an ordinary newcomer's Divine Kingdom, the defensive line would have been torn open long ago, and the citizens' mental damage would have spread in waves.

His legion not only held the line but also achieved complete annihilation.

More importantly, the legion's killing aura had finally condensed.

This meant the Immortal Martial Legion had completed the crucial step from recruits to veterans.

The Divine Kingdom panel was still flickering.

[Stimulated by the high-intensity bloody battle, some citizens broke through their bottlenecks.]

[Number of mid-stage Qi Refining citizens increased.]

[Number of mid-stage Body Forging citizens increased.]

[Wang Mu broke through to Qi Refining Stage 6.]

[Wang Shan broke through to Body Forging Stage 6.]

[Overall combat will of the Heavy Infantry elites improved.]

The smile in Wang Pingan's eyes could no longer be suppressed.

Wang Mu and Wang Shan were already not far from the sixth stage, and this battle had forced out their limits.

Qi Refining Stage 6 and Body Forging Stage 6 were already truly top-tier combat power in the Divine Kingdom of a newcomer in the Divine Being stage. (The highest cultivation level that can be accommodated within the Divine Kingdom of a Divine Being is Qi Refining Stage 9 or Body Forging Stage 9.)

With them leading the Artillery Battalion and Cavalry, the legion's potential could continue to be raised.

On the Northern Plains, Wang Mu had already begun arranging for the wounded to withdraw and recuperate.

Wang Shan led people to tally the losses of shields, warhorses, Cavalry lances, and the Artillery Battalion.

They did not immerse themselves in the victory for too long.

This point made Wang Pingan even more satisfied.

Being able to win is important.

Being able to immediately clean up the battlefield after winning is what makes a legion truly capable of fighting.

Wang Pingan issued a divine oracle: "In this battle, you fought very well."

The entire Northern Plains suddenly went quiet.

All the citizens who participated in the battle knelt down in unison.

Wang Pingan's voice continued to spread: "You withstood the insect tide and defended the Divine Kingdom."

"From this day forward, you are no longer just an army on the training ground, but a Divine Lord's legion that has truly seen bloody battle."

The two thousand Heavy Infantry planted their Black Iron Shields heavily on the ground.

The five hundred Artillery Battalion citizens knelt on one knee.

The five hundred Heavy Cavalry dismounted, their Cavalry lances stuck into the ground.

Wang Shan roared loudly: "We are willing to fight ten thousand more battles for the Divine Lord!"

Wang Mu also bowed his head: "We are willing to defend the Divine Kingdom for the Divine Lord and blast apart all incoming enemies."

The participating citizens roared in unison: "We are willing to trample all enemy forces for the Divine Lord!"

The phantom of the blood-red fierce tiger raised its head above the military formation, its killing aura covering the entire Northern Plains.

Wang Pingan watched this scene, and the last bit of anxiety in his heart finally dissipated.

The final shortcoming before the assessment had been filled.

The space was there.

The logistics were there.

The infantry, artillery, and Cavalry were all there.

The legion's killing aura had also taken shape.

Next, it was time to go to the Nova Assessment and clash with the geniuses from the seventeen life planets of the Xuanyuan Star Region.

Wang Pingan did not remain in the Divine Kingdom.

He left a divine oracle, instructing Wang Mu to be responsible for the recovery of the wounded and the maintenance of the Artillery Battalion, and Wang Shan to be responsible for the rotation of the Cavalry and the rest of the entire army.

Subsequently, his consciousness withdrew from the Divine Kingdom.