15: Chapter 15: Arrival at Blackwater Valley and the First Display of Power of the Psionic Storm

Obeying the will of the war horn, the infinitely vast Zerg Swarm, this precision war machine, had its start switch pressed.

The earth groaned.

A black torrent composed of tens of thousands of Fission Steel-Tooth Ants surged from every inch of the Divine Realm's land. Their carapaces rubbed and billions of limbs trod the ground, converging into a metallic symphony that made the soul tremble.

The sky lost its color.

Thousands of Corrupted Wyverns and newly hatched air combat units, their dark green wings blotting out the sky, the sound of their flapping wings whipping up a storm of destruction.

Mighty and majestic.

Blotting out the sun.

This terrifying army had only one goal—the center of the Divine Realm, that grand structure emitting stable spatial fluctuations, the Teleportation Hall.

...

Inside the Teleportation Hall, lights and shadows were brilliant, and the voices of people were boisterous.

This was the gathering place for the deities and the transportation hub leading to various resource planes. At this moment, in the very center of the hall, a massive portal marked "Poisonous Swamp" was operating stably, emitting a ghostly green halo.

Countless deities, bringing along the sub-races they were proud of, were lining up to enter.

"Have you heard? There are traces of the 'Blackwater Mysterious Snake' deep within the Poisonous Swamp. That's a Grade 4 creature, and its genetic sample is worth a fortune!"

"Hmph, with just those three hundred Griffon Knights under your command? You'll be lucky if you're not torn to shreds by the Rotting Giant Crocodiles on the outskirts."

A deity dressed in opulent clothing, followed by a squad of Elven Mages holding Runic Staves, spoke proudly with his companions. His gaze swept over the deities with few sub-races, and a sense of superiority arose spontaneously.

In this era, the quality and quantity of sub-races were the face and strength of a deity.

Suddenly, a low and dense vibration came from outside the hall.

At first, no one took it seriously.

But the vibration grew stronger and more frequent, as if a heavy armored legion from the mortal world was marching in, shaking the ground and the mountains.

The crystal chandeliers on the hall's ceiling began to sway, and the divine brew in the deities' cups rippled.

"What's going on?"

A deity frowned and looked toward the entrance of the hall.

In the next second, everyone's conversation stopped abruptly.

The light grew dim.

It wasn't that the sky had turned dark.

It was that the incredibly wide arched entrance of the hall was completely blocked by one massive, dark green shadow after another. Then, a black tide surged in from the entrance—it wasn't water, but an endless steel carpet composed of countless hideous Zerg!

The "rustling" sound of carapaces rubbing together replaced all the noise.

The entire Teleportation Hall fell into a deathly silence.

The gazes of all the deities were frozen. They looked at the flying units that blotted out the sun and the dense ground troops that would make any trypophobia sufferer faint on the spot, their brains falling into a brief state of paralysis.

A goblet slipped from a deity's hand and fell to the ground with a "shatter," the crisp sound particularly piercing in this dead silence.

"This... this is..."

"It's Su Chen, the one who plays with bugs!"

Finally, someone recognized this highly iconic army.

After a brief silence, there was an irrepressible low-voiced discussion, mixed with surprise, wariness, and even more deep-rooted disdain.

"My God! Has he brought all his assets? Is he crazy?"

"Hmph, it just looks scary. A bunch of low-grade cannon fodder. In an environment like the Poisonous Swamp, the toxic mist alone will kill more than half of them. What's the use of having many? The elite monsters in the swamp can't be killed just by piling up numbers."

"Exactly, quality is king. A single Grade 3 Templar of mine could slaughter a hundred of his trashy bugs."

Under the varied gazes of the gods, the Zerg Swarm parted to both sides like a tide, making a path.

Su Chen's figure appeared in everyone's sight.

He was expressionless, his eyes as calm as an ancient well, as if the discussions and gazes of the surrounding deities were nothing more than a breeze blowing past his ears.

He walked straight toward the ghostly green portal and stepped inside.

Behind him, the endless Zerg Swarm followed closely, swallowed by the portal.

...

The dizziness of spatial distortion flashed by.

A strong scent mixed with rot, stench, and sulfur instantly filled Su Chen's nostrils.

What met his eyes was a dim world.

Pale green toxic mist floated in the air, making visibility extremely low. Beneath his feet was not solid ground but a black mire that constantly bubbled, emitting a nauseating stench.

This was the outermost edge of the Poisonous Swamp—Blackwater Valley.

Not far away, several shrill screams and furious roars were heard. A few other deities who had also just arrived were being attacked by a group of giant beasts lurking in the black water with their sub-races.

Those sub-races—some were Werewolves wielding sharp swords, others were Dwarf Warriors clad in armor—were now retreating steadily, easily torn to pieces by the giant beasts' bloody maws.

"Roar!"

Su Chen's arrival was like a drop of water falling into a calm pan of oil, instantly triggering a violent reaction.

Splash! Splash!

The black water around him suddenly exploded, and one after another, giant crocodiles with exaggeratedly large bodies rushed out of the mire. They were covered in rotting muscle and thick scales, their crimson eyes burning with greed for flesh.

A total of thirty Grade 3 creatures, Rotting Giant Crocodiles!

They completely blocked all of Su Chen's paths of retreat from all directions.

The few deities who were struggling to resist saw this scene, and the slight hope for help that had just risen in their faces instantly turned into despair and pity.

"Newbie! Run! Those are Grade 3—"

One deity was just about to shout a warning.

But his voice got stuck in his throat.

Because he saw that the young man surrounded by thirty terrifying giant beasts didn't have a trace of fear on his face.

Su Chen only gave a cold smile, a smile that carried a hint of indifference as if he were looking down at ants.

"Sarah, clear the field."

He uttered four words, light and casual.

"Yes, my Master."

Standing beside Su Chen, the Queen of Blades, who had remained silent, narrowed her purple eyes as divine light condensed within them.

Her waist-length purple hair moved without wind, dancing wildly.

She slowly raised her fair right hand, fingers spread, and toward the group of roaring crocodiles ahead, from a hundred meters away, she made a grasping motion in the air.

"Psionic Divine Art: Psionic Storm!"

Zzt—!

There was no world-shaking explosion, only an incredibly piercing sound of energy tearing!

A giant lightning net constructed of pure purple psionic energy, centered on Sarah's palm, instantly enveloped the hundred-meter fan-shaped area ahead!

Time seemed to slow down at this moment.

Those Rotting Giant Crocodiles, which were opening their bloody maws and showing their ferocity, suddenly stiffened in their movements.

Then, a dazzling purple light burst from inside their massive bodies, as if a miniature sun had been ignited within them.

They couldn't even let out a complete scream; the roars in their throats turned into painful hisses and then stopped abruptly.

The violent psionic energy, from the inside out, completely burned and annihilated their tough flesh, heavy bones, and powerful life force in less than a second!

One crocodile after another, in their charging posture, turned into black charcoal emitting blue smoke and a burnt stench!

There were still a few crocodiles on the periphery that were lucky enough to dodge the core range of the Psionic Storm.

They were terrified by this scene of divine power descending and turned to flee back into the depths of the black water.

But the sky had already been sealed.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The Corrupted Wyverns circling in the air dove down, accurately locking onto every fleeing target, and spat out mouthfuls of high-concentration strong acid venom.

"Chiii—!"

The strong acid landed on the crocodiles' thick skin, which they were so proud of, making a tooth-gritting corrosive sound. Their scales of Firmness melted away like ice and snow, and their flesh was completely dissolved within a single breath, finally turning into puddles of stinking green water emitting white smoke.

Only three breaths.

From Sarah's move to the dissolution of the last crocodile.

The battle was over.

Thirty Grade 3 giant beasts, enough to make an elite deity army fall into a hard fight, were completely wiped out!

With a casual wave of Su Chen's hand, the genetic samples left by the dead crocodiles turned into streaks of light and flew into his Godhead Space.

He turned his head, his gaze passing over the charred remains and landing on the few deities not far away who were completely petrified, their jaws almost hitting the ground.

The corner of his mouth held a faint, yet incredibly sharp curve.

"By the way, in the side bet outside, it seemed someone bet that I wouldn't last three minutes?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Please settle the debt; I'll gladly accept those three hundred thousand Faith Points."

At this moment.

Only the "hissing" of the toxic mist and the heavy, suppressed breathing of those few deities remained in the air.

No one dared to mention the words "cannon fodder" ever again.