263: Chapter 263 Preparations by All Parties

"Incredible... such a low-level magic world can actually form such a natural toxic mist..."

Zhang Huaiyuan carefully controlled a robot's body, extending an extraction tube from its hand to embed it into a storage box.

Just now, in order to collect these things, in less than a minute, he had lost three 'terminator generation one' robots.

The alloy-forged arm actually rusted and decayed within a short ten seconds, and the corrosion spread along the gap until the entire body was completely corroded.

Faced with such power, Zhang Huaiyuan had to be cautious; if it touched him, the means of his current body wouldn't be able to withstand it.

If he were eliminated like this, it would truly be a pillar of shame for the rest of his life.

After carefully taking out a small tube of toxic mist and placing it on a temporary experimental table, the True Sight effect was activated, and the microscopic form of the toxic mist was immediately revealed before his eyes.

"Eh, it's actually a sequence I haven't seen before. Although its power isn't worth mentioning in a level 2 rules world, its structure indeed has some merit."

Zhang Huaiyuan's eyebrows twitched slightly, and his expression became a bit more serious.

"Good heavens, no wonder it can corrode alloy; the carrier of this toxic mist seems to be a highly active ionic aerosol, containing a large number of particles that can react with metal..."

"Hmm... not only that, there seem to be nano-scale spores inside with an instinctive aggressive consciousness. Let's test it..."

With a thought, Zhang Huaiyuan threw in tissue extracted from a forest monster.

The next moment, the originally calm mist inside the test tube instantly turned violent, surging together toward that piece of tissue.

Under the True Sight effect, he could clearly see the structure between cells being frantically destroyed; in the blink of an eye, that piece of monster tissue vanished.

Zhang Huaiyuan, deep in thought, continued to throw in pieces of tissue.

"Does it also possess the effect of cutting links like protein peptide bonds in living organisms... Wait! If that's the case..."

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes.

Isn't this a natural strategic weapon delivered right to his door!

One must know that during his 9,000 years of secluded cultivation, he had also mastered biochemical knowledge to above level 40.

Modifying this kind of toxic mist, which at most didn't exceed level 2 rules, was an easy task.

"Hmm... first, I'll add an anti-corrosion coating to all the robots, and then I can simultaneously collect this toxic mist to make weapons and mine the resources in that mountain range."

"At that time, with biochemical weapons and a mechanical flood advancing side by side, occupying the entire continent will only be a matter of time."

After making up his mind, Zhang Huaiyuan buried himself in research.

...

On the other side, outside the royal city of a small local duchy.

A sea of figures that one couldn't see the end of surged from all directions like an ocean.

They were dressed differently; some were in rags, some were elegantly dressed, and many even held farming tools like hoes as weapons.

Their march was scattered and without order, like a disorganized mob.

But it was precisely such a force that looked like a disorganized mob that made the well-equipped defenders on the city walls look nervous, their hands gripping their weapons trembling uncontrollably.

They had never seen a force like this.

"My God, those commoners... don't those commoners know fear? These are the seas of fire and earth spike spells laid down by the Lord Mages... they are actually... actually rushing in one by one to their deaths..."

The defenders couldn't help but swallow hard.

They saw with their own eyes that the faces of those who seemed to have no power were filled with a morbid madness and piety.

It was as if what lay before them was not a rain of arrows and a sea of fire, but a light drizzle and tiny flames.

They were chanting something, following one after another.

When an arrow pierced through their chests, their faces didn't show pain, but rather a joy from the bottom of their hearts, as if they were not facing death, but welcoming supreme glory.

"Crazy... they're all crazy..."

The general defending the city numbly commanded the logistics unit to continuously transport war materials to the soldiers.

But his heart had already sunk.

This disaster originated a few months ago from an organization that suddenly appeared called the 'Holy Light Church.'

At first, the high-level officials in the kingdom didn't care, only sending local officials responsible for managing various civil organizations to handle it.

Who would have thought that those officials would somehow be turned, actually helping the villains and concealing information.

That evil organization swept through the entire kingdom in just a few short months. Except for this royal city, all cities and villages were already under the control of the Holy Light Church.

In fact, if the kingdom's Grand Mage hadn't stepped in to set up a barrier to isolate the royal city, perhaps even these remaining soldiers would have been turned.

But... this was just a futile delay of time.

As a high-ranking general, he knew very well that with only an isolated city and limited supplies, they could never defeat the entire kingdom.

Not to mention, among those people, there was the ability to bewitch human hearts.

"Citizens of the royal city, look..."

Just as the general was deep in thought, a gentle voice that made people instinctively feel close rang out.

A priest in a white robe was seen slowly walking from the edge of the battlefield, bathed in a golden light.

Clearly separated by a great distance, the voice nevertheless rang clearly in everyone's ears.

"These blood-stained walls are not a protection, but a cage for the soul..."

"The sharp blade in your hand should be a warrior's glory, not a weapon to stab your compatriots..."

"Lost children... stop submitting to decayed orders... lay down your weapons, accept the shine of the Holy Light, and gain eternal peace..."

As the Missionary chanted leisurely, the originally fierce offensive on the city walls slowed down.

The faces of the soldiers showed expressions of struggle and confusion; many were even directly moved and began to destroy the city defense equipment.

"Damn it, what evil art is this!"

The defending general suddenly snapped awake, but his heart felt a chill.

With his strength, he was almost bewitched; how could those ordinary soldiers resist?

"Everything is over."

He gave a bitter smile, a look of relief appearing in his eyes.

The next moment, he suddenly drew his weapon, jumped down from the city wall, and shouted hoarsely:

"Damn sorcerer, die!"

...

At the same time, also in a forest.

A mass of flesh that was constantly expanding and reached a height of over a hundred meters finally burst open, revealing a hive covered in barbs and hideous blood vessels.

Giant insects swarmed out from the tunnels beneath the hive.

They devoured everything they saw and transported it back to the hive. With sufficient resources, more different types of terrifying insect swarms were hatched.

Soon, they were densely packed, blotting out the sky.

Their scale and momentum were not at all inferior to the massive army of faith or Zhang Huaiyuan's iron flood.

Similar scenes were repeated in many places across the continent.

In terms of early development speed, the Holy Light Monastery, which relied on faith, and the constantly devouring hives were clearly a bit faster than the Time Book House candidates whose technology had not yet hit the right track.

They all simultaneously readied their armies, starting to prepare for the upcoming true battle.

...