Chapter 153: Capturing the Floating Continent
Lu Sheng rode the White-Flame Blue-Scaled Bird all the way up beneath the beam of light linking to the floating continent.
On his way here, he had already sent Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes ahead to scout the situation, only to have them directly swatted to death by the monsters above.
He subsequently sent up a few more batches of Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes, and without exception, they all met a tragic end.
The only valuable intelligence he obtained was that the defenses above were heavily guarded, with Ice Werewolves swarming the entire area surrounding the passage entrance.
If he attempted to ascend directly from beneath the beam of light, he would most likely spell his own doom.
Fortunately, Lu Sheng possessed a flying mount.
He mounted the White-Flame Blue-Scaled Bird and flew upward.
Since he already knew the entrance was ambushed, it was naturally out of the question to charge in from the front.
Within moments, Lu Sheng traveled from the ground up to this floating continent.
The entire floating continent was massive in area, broadly divided into an inner circle and an outer circle.
The inner circle was where the Ice Werewolves lived.
The outer circle was a layer of forest, and the location of the Ice Werewolves was at the center, surrounded by this ring of forest.
Lu Sheng's current arrival point was right within the forest.
There were no Ice Werewolves present here, so Lu Sheng headed straight toward where the Ice Werewolves were located.
He had come up specifically to completely eradicate the entire Ice Werewolf tribe, so there was no need to wait or deliberate.
He had no need for tactics either; given the power he currently commanded, he could simply brute-force his way through.
The Ice Werewolf King was still waiting for the enemy to ascend, completely unaware that Lu Sheng had already come up by another route.
The occasional Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes emerging from the passage made the Ice Werewolf King acutely sense that something was amiss.
After careful observation, the Ice Werewolf King finally figured out why his forces had been so easily manipulated by the opponent.
These Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes were definitely the enemy's scouts; such weak and minuscule creatures had never once caught the attention of their Ice Werewolf clan.
This had allowed the enemy to easily track their movements.
Before the Ice Werewolf King could lament much further, he received a report from his subordinates that the enemy had already appeared on the island.
Upon learning there was only a single person, the Ice Werewolf King ordered his subordinates to guard the passage tightly and annihilate any enemy that came up.
As for himself, he intended to go and eliminate this person first.
The Ice Werewolf King had barely taken two steps forward when he halted.
It was not because he had changed his mind.
Rather, the enemy had already arrived right before him.
The Ice Werewolf King cautiously sized up Lu Sheng. If the enemy who had wiped out all his forces was merely the man before him, then this man was bound to be formidable.
Regardless of anything else, the Ice Werewolf King still cared a great deal about his own little life.
"Human, this is no place for you."
Lu Sheng remained silent; there was no need to waste words with a dead man.
Summoning all his subordinates, a massive swarm of cards instantly surged out from Lu Sheng's body like a tidal wave, turning into spots of light in mid-air and landing on the ground as individual monsters.
As Lu Sheng waved his hand to summon his massive army, the Ice Werewolf King's heart tightened violently.
What he saw before him was far too difficult for the Ice Werewolf King to accept. It was one thing that the opponent possessed more Tier 6 subordinates than he currently had.
Every single Ice Werewolf he had previously sent down, as long as they were Tier 6 or above, was now present in the enemy's ranks without a single exception.
In particular, Tian Cheng and Tian Que, the two elders of the Ice Werewolf clan, were also among the enemy's forces at this moment.
Judging by the markings on their foreheads, the Ice Werewolf King knew that Tian Cheng and Tian Que had already become the opponent's subordinates.
Although the Ice Werewolf King could not figure out why this had happened, it did not hinder his intention to flee in the slightest.
The Ice Werewolf King first produced a blood-red talisman.
The moment this talisman appeared, it transformed into a red light and shot into Lu Sheng's body.
The speed was so fast that Lu Sheng failed to react in time, only snapping out of it after the red light had already entered his body.
Seeing the red light submerge into Lu Sheng's body, the Ice Werewolf King smiled triumphantly.
"Ha, kid! I will come back for you!"
Laughing, the Ice Werewolf King produced a bead and crushed it, his figure instantly vanishing on the spot.
Blood Curse: The caster of the curse can sense the location of the cursed individual until the curse's energy is exhausted or the cursed individual dies.
After a moment of silence, Lu Sheng once again produced a scarecrow avatar, upgraded it to Tier 6, and then destroyed the scarecrow avatar right before him.
With that, the Blood Curse was broken.
Having dealt with this matter, Lu Sheng instructed his subordinates to eliminate all the remaining Ice Werewolves on the floating continent.
Even the Ice Werewolf King had run away; what ripples could these small fries possibly stir up?
Meanwhile, he notified Xiong Dabiao, telling him to lead the people over to the floating continent.
On the other side...
Having returned to the Blood Moon World, the Ice Werewolf King was laughing triumphantly, convinced that Lu Sheng could never escape the palm of his hand and would ultimately die by his feet.
The thought of the panicked expression Lu Sheng would wear once he realized the function of the Blood Curse brought him great joy.
Even the gloomy mood of having been driven back improved considerably.
However, before he could revel in his joy for long, when he attempted to confirm the potency of the Blood Curse, his expression shifted drastically.
The Blood Curse Origin within his body had shattered!
It had shattered just like that, without a sound!
This Blood Curse Origin, which was supposed to shatter only when the curse's energy was exhausted or the target died, had shattered in an unnatural manner!
For the Blood Curse energy to be exhausted would take at least half a year; that was impossible.
It was equally impossible for the target to be dead; he did not believe the target would choose suicide just to break the Blood Curse.
This meant the target possessed the means to break the Blood Curse.
Upon realizing this outcome, the Ice Werewolf King's expression turned as unsightly as someone suffering from severe constipation, his features twisted into a knot terrifying to behold.
......
Upon receiving the notification via the Sound-Transmission Worm from Lu Sheng, Xiong Dabiao was utterly ecstatic.
He shouted in the camp, "Pack your things! Get ready to move to the floating continent!"
"Pack your things! The floating continent has already been conquered by Lord Lu Sheng!"
Following Xiong Dabiao's shouts, everyone in the camp grew immensely excited.
They knew nothing about the Ice Werewolves on the floating continent, nor did they know how formidable the Ice Werewolves' strength was.
They only knew that Lu Sheng's strength was immense, and in their eyes, taking the floating continent was a walk in the park for him.
Yet they had never expected the floating continent to be conquered so quickly.
It was not even noon yet, and the battle was already over.
"It seems the monsters on this floating continent aren't all that impressive after all; they were dealt with so quickly."
"Are you implying that Lord Lu Sheng is weak?"
"I certainly didn't say that. Lord Lu Sheng's strength is plain for everyone to see. It's just that the floating continent had such a massive buildup, and being taken down this fast caught me completely by surprise."
"That is true, I was surprised too. I thought it would take a period of deadlock before we could take the floating continent."
"Alright, stop wasting words! Hurry up and relocate so we can check out the scenery of the floating continent."
"I'm so excited!"
Everyone in the camp quickly packed their belongings, though there wasn't much to pack to begin with.
Even if there were, they could simply store them directly inside storage cards.
Therefore, packing took virtually no time at all. In less than ten minutes, everyone in the camp had finished gathering their things.
Next, they formed up their ranks and marched toward the floating continent.
The entire procession of over thirteen thousand people carried a grand and imposing momentum as they moved.
Such a massive commotion naturally alerted many factions, who discovered this migrating troop.
Some people came forward directly to inquire, while others followed at a distance; these scouts gathering intelligence were operatives from various factions.
Initially, however, these scouts merely observed the procession from afar and did not act rashly.
Only when they saw that the procession included the elderly and children, and that everyone's face beamed with happy smiles, did these scouts make their move.
A procession with such characteristics was bound to be a normal group in the apocalypse, one that wouldn't go around killing people unprovoked.
Even if they stepped up to gather intelligence and the other party was unwilling to answer, they would at most be driven away.
This was the experience these scouts had accumulated over many years.
A scout stepped forward, matching the pace of the procession while asking a young man beside him.
"Brother, where are you guys headed?"
Seeing someone coming to probe for information, the young man proudly replied, "Guess where we're going?"
They had already been briefed; there was no need for secrecy. They could answer whatever people asked, and it was best to spread the reputation of the World-Shattering Alliance far and wide so that everyone in Luzhou knew about it.
Naturally, though, he wouldn't just answer honestly when asked; he had to act a bit enigmatic.
Realizing there was a chance, the scout continued the conversation, "How would I know that? It couldn't possibly be that floating continent, could it?"
After all, judging by the procession's current route, they were marching straight toward the floating continent.
The young man smiled smugly. "Hah, you guessed right! We're heading to the floating continent!"
The scout was momentarily at a loss for words. Initially, he had wanted to offer a direct retort, but then he thought of Lu Sheng and the World-Shattering Alliance, who had turned the entire 13th District upside down over the past two days.
His eyes widened as he stared at the youth, shock coloring his tone, "You guys couldn't be people from the World-Shattering Alliance, could you?"
The young man cast a surprised glance at the scout. "You guessed right again. It seems you've got a pretty sharp eye."
Receiving confirmation, the scout eagerly began sizing up the entire procession; this was first-hand intelligence.
Previously, they had only learned about this faction through various channels.
Now, this very faction was right before his eyes.
Yet why did this faction look somewhat chaotic and weak?
The scout found it a bit strange because, according to all sorts of flying rumors, this World-Shattering Alliance was supposed to be exceptionally powerful.
The youth beside him noticed the scout's perplexed expression as well.
He quickly figured out the reason behind it.
His heart sank as he recalled Xiong Dabiao's words.
This honor currently belonged solely to Lu Sheng; they had not contributed to it themselves.
At this moment, even facing the scout's skeptical gaze, he found it difficult to say anything in defense.
Should he say that the World-Shattering Alliance's grand momentum was entirely due to their leader being powerful, while the rest of them were useless?
In that instant, many thoughts raced through the youth's mind, and the determination to grow stronger and work harder took root in his mind.
He had to do something for the World-Shattering Alliance and achieve results, so that when he claimed to be a member of the World-Shattering Alliance in the future, he would have achievements he could actually show off.
As the scout transmitted the intelligence he had gathered back to his superiors...
Factions across the entire 13th District learned that the World-Shattering Alliance was moving into the floating continent.
To them, this news felt somewhat magical and unbelievable.
Did the people of the World-Shattering Alliance not know how powerful the monsters on the floating continent were? Didn't they?
As soon as the floating continent appeared, they had already sent scouts to probe the situation above.
Countless Ice Werewolves, with Tier 6... and even Tier 7 ones being far from rare.
Extrapolating from a monster horde of this scale, there had to be a Tier 8 monster suppressing the entire tribe; otherwise, with a bunch of Tier 7 monsters where no one submitted to anyone else, such unity would be impossible.
Yet now, someone was telling them that such a powerful monster tribe had already been wiped out by a single person.
For a moment, they found it impossible to accept such explosive news.
Consequently, they simply instructed their subordinates to follow the World-Shattering Alliance's procession and observe whether it was true.
They would know the truth of the matter the moment they saw whether the World-Shattering Alliance members actually ascended the floating continent.
If it was false, they believed the World-Shattering Alliance members would never march up there to throw their lives away.
Regardless of how incredulous they felt right now, a voice deep inside told them that this matter was true.
The entire 13th District grew quiet, as if everyone was waiting for the outcome of the World-Shattering Alliance.
In truth, it was also largely because the monsters throughout the 13th District had already been swept clean by Lu Sheng.
Not to mention Tier 6 monsters, they couldn't even find a single Tier 1 monster now, leaving them unable to take any action even if they wanted to.
Thus, they could only wait at home for intelligence.
A few hours later, factions across the 13th District received news.
The people of the World-Shattering Alliance had ascended—they had gone up to the floating continent!
Once this news leaked, the 13th District fell silent for a brief moment before erupting into fierce discussions.
Everyone clamored to find out what sacred figures made up the World-Shattering Alliance and where they had popped out from.
As details were unraveled layer by layer, the background of the World-Shattering Alliance was quickly dug up.
The resulting conclusion made the people of the 13th District even harder pressed to accept it.
They were actually refugees from the 21st District!
A faction pieced together from relocators originating from the 21st District.
The name "World-Shattering Alliance" sounded majestic, but in reality, it was just a large stitched-together monster of a faction, sewing together the high-tier experts of a single district.
Yet they quickly figured out the situation once more.
The other members of the World-Shattering Alliance didn't matter; the crucial figure was the leader of the World-Shattering Alliance, who commanded over a thousand Tier 6 monsters.
To command over a thousand Tier 6 monsters, his own strength had to be at least Tier 7, right?
With a thousand Tier 6 monsters, surely there would be Tier 7 monsters among them as well, right?
And now that he could resolve the Ice Werewolf tribe on the floating continent, wouldn't he at least be Tier 8?
In the end, the entire 13th District reached a unanimous conclusion: the leader of the World-Shattering Alliance was at least Tier 8!
Moreover, these were logical deductions backed by evidence, withstanding scrutiny, and anyone who heard them would believe this fact.
Upon learning of this situation, the reactions of the people in the 13th District varied.
Some factions felt that Lu Sheng was simply wasting his energy; since a single person constituted an army in his own right, why bother with the thankless task of building a faction?
It brought no benefits to him personally.
Other factions remained silent and said nothing.
Still, other factions believed Lu Sheng had ulterior motives, figuring that such a powerhouse could not possibly be a fool.
Regardless, none of the factions in the 13th District intended to do anything for now, choosing instead to quietly watch from the sidelines.
Besides, all the monsters within the 13th District had already been swept clean, so even if they wanted to do something, they had no opportunity.
......
After conveying his message to Xiong Dabiao and the others, Lu Sheng began strolling around the floating continent.
At the same time, he summoned a Tier 8 Ice Werewolf to keep him company.
He had this Tier 8 Ice Werewolf explain the various things on the floating continent to him.
After taking a full tour, Lu Sheng gained a general understanding of the architecture across the entire floating continent.
Meanwhile, his subordinates had completely resolved all the remaining Ice Werewolves on the floating continent, striking down every last one regardless of strength.
The entire floating continent was divided into a residential district and a royal palace.
The royal palace was where the Ice Werewolf King had previously resided, and compared to the residential district, it was exceptionally luxurious.
Yet this royal palace was relatively simple.
The front featured a grand hall for meetings, while the back served as living quarters—uncomparable to human ancient imperial palaces.
Aside from the luxury of the royal palace, there were also other quite extravagant buildings, such as the living quarters of the Tier 7 Ice Werewolves and the residences of the Tier 8 Ice Werewolves.
The houses were relatively well-built, and even the timber used was quite expensive.
The living environment on the entire floating continent was quite decent; the only issue was the need to clear away the fishy stench left behind by the Ice Werewolves' prolonged habitation.
Solving this posed no problem, so once Xiong Dabiao and the others arrived, living arrangements could be made immediately.
Additionally, the exact center of the floating continent remained a massive open space, which the Ice Werewolf King usually used for troop inspections.
This floating continent had become a complete windfall for Lu Sheng; he didn't need to rebuild any architectural infrastructure from scratch.
A few hours later, Xiong Dabiao led the people up.
When these people saw that the floating continent had truly been conquered by Lu Sheng, everyone was left dumbfounded.
Gazing upon the countless Ice Werewolf corpses covering the ground, they could not even begin to imagine what kind of battle had taken place here.
Xiong Dabiao walked up to Lu Sheng in excitement, "Leader, everyone has been brought here!"
Following behind him were the higher-ups, among whom Zhang Daoist felt his mind tighten the moment he saw the Ice Werewolf near Lu Sheng.
A piercing sense of deadly peril swept through his entire body.
This sensation arose because Zhang Daoist had proactively probed the Ice Werewolf's strength.
Had Zhang Daoist not made such a move, he would never have experienced this feeling.
Cold sweat broke out directly on Zhang Daoist's forehead, welling up in droplets until he withdrew his probing perception, causing the sensation to vanish.
It left Zhang Daoist with the visceral feeling of having stared death in the face.
Lu Sheng nodded, looking at Xiong Dabiao with satisfaction, "Well done. First, have everyone come up."
Suddenly looking at Zhang Daoist with a puzzled expression, Lu Sheng asked, "Brother Zhang, what's wrong with you?"
Zhang Daoist wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looked at the Ice Werewolf with apprehension, and asked, "Leader, is this a Tier 8 monster?"
Lu Sheng was stunned, but looking at Zhang Daoist who was still wiping away cold sweat, he instantly understood what had happened.
"Indeed, this is indeed a Tier 8 Ice Werewolf."
Xiong Dabiao and the others were once again struck dumb with shock, "Tier 8?!"
Xiong Dabiao felt that he might as well maintain a shocked expression for the rest of the day to avoid his facial muscles turning numb from the explosive news Lu Sheng dropped from time to time.
"That's right." Lu Sheng nodded. "Have the troops come up, and then gather them at that open space over there. We are getting ready to officially establish the World-Shattering Alliance."
Hearing this, Xiong Dabiao's expression grew serious as well; when establishing a faction, levity had no place.
"Understood, Leader!"
Lu Sheng nodded and walked over to prepare, while Xiong Dabiao set about organizing the people who had just ascended.
......
After a while, the entire procession was fully assembled on the open ground.
Standing upon a high platform, Lu Sheng looked down at the crowd below.
"Quiet!" Raising a hand, he pressed down to quiet the noisy scene.
The crowd below was very cooperative, instantly growing silent.
"Very well."
"Now, let me say a few brief words."
"The floating continent has already been conquered by me to serve as the stronghold of our World-Shattering Alliance."
"This also marks the official establishment of our World-Shattering Alliance!"
"The establishment of any faction begins with rules; without rules, nothing can be accomplished."
"Three simple points: Do not bully the weak! Do not kill your own kind! Do not use power to oppress others!"
"Anyone who violates these will be severely punished without exception!"
"These are the rules, but should anyone provoke you, feel free to retaliate; the World-Shattering Alliance is your greatest backing."
"At the same time, because the composition of our members is relatively complex, we will not reorganize or scatter them for management."
"I will establish the administrative bodies of our faction through a different method."
"We will set up several departments: the Law Enforcement Hall, the Task Hall, the Internal Affairs Pavilion, the Public Warehouse, the Patrol Army, the World-Shattering Army, and the Heavenly Listening Pavilion."
"Law Enforcement Hall: Responsible for dealing with members who violate rules."
"Task Hall: Publishes tasks; anyone can post a task, but they must provide compensation."
"Internal Affairs Pavilion: Manages life within the faction—food, clothing, housing, and sleep."
"Public Warehouse: This is the warehouse of our entire faction. Items that are useless to you can be placed here, and those who deposit them will receive corresponding contribution points, which can be exchanged for items they fancy within the public warehouse."
"Patrol Army: Manages security within the faction while ensuring the safety of the entire faction."
"World-Shattering Army: Forms a sharp-blade vanguard squad, a team needed for external expeditions or resisting foreign enemies."
"Heavenly Listening Pavilion: Gathers intelligence."
After briefly explaining his thoughts, Lu Sheng continued with a serious tone, "Among them, the Heavenly Listening Pavilion will be the department into which I invest the most resources, provide the richest benefits, and maintain the strictest recruitment criteria."
"Anyone with the means to gather intelligence may join. As long as they meet the requirements, anyone can join."
Lu Sheng shifted his gaze toward Dolun, "Dolun, step forward and receive your order!"
Dolun, standing below, was momentarily startled before stepping forward to await Lu Sheng's next move.
"I now appoint you as the first Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Listening Pavilion. Do you have any objections?"
Joy surged in Dolun's heart, and he hastily replied, "No objections!"
Lu Sheng had just said this was the most heavily invested institution, and he had never expected the position of Pavilion Master to fall directly upon him.
In truth, Dolun had already learned from Zhuo Lei that Lu Sheng had need of him when he first arrived.
Yet the sudden descent of such a surprise still made him brim with joy.
The others could not help casting gazes filled with envy.
However, no one questioned Dolun's capability; in the 21st District, Dolun's competence was plain for all to see.
"Very well! Fall back." Lu Sheng continued, "Dolun shall serve as the first Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Listening Pavilion. I presume you all know Dolun's capabilities and hold no grievances. As for the leaders of the remaining departments, I will let the two Vice-Leaders select them."
"At the same time, I will discuss the recruitment criteria for the Heavenly Listening Pavilion with Pavilion Master Dolun, and release the requirements afterward. Everyone can keep an eye out for it."
Having finished speaking, Lu Sheng stepped down from the platform, handing the stage over to Xiong Dabiao and Zhuo Lei.
Living arrangements... cleaning... what buildings needed to be erected, what livestock needed to be housed, what conditions were required.
Lu Sheng had no desire to handle these matters; they were far too tedious, and the mere thought of them gave him a headache.