Chapter 149: This War Has Only Just Begun

Chapter 149: This War Has Only Just Begun

As the flying boulder hurtled downward, the once colossal Starry Sky Bear now seemed minuscule in its shadow. Attempting to block the boulder was as futile as an insect trying to stop a chariot.

With a sharp crack, the bear’s arm and body were swiftly crushed and shattered by the impact, its form dissolving into a scattering of starlight, vanishing into the void with endless resentment.

The bloodline girl immediately transformed into a cloud of blood mist, racing to escape the boulder’s range. Yet, bolstered by Xia Zheng’s abundant spiritual energy, she failed to evade capture.

Fortunately, considering the overwhelming power of the battle between Xia Zheng and the bloodline girl, both sides had withdrawn their forces to a safe distance—over a kilometer away—so no collateral damage occurred.

A towering cloud of dust erupted spectacularly into the sky. Witnessing this, the bloodline forces began a retreat. The defeat of their comrade had clearly dealt them a heavy shock.

Xia Zheng’s face was pale, though he remained uncertain whether the flying boulder had truly killed her.

Sure enough, a wisp of blood mist drifted forth, forming the translucent figure of the girl. She gazed meaningfully at Xia Zheng and said, “You are indeed no ordinary human. You bear the aura of our royal bloodline. My defeat at your hands today is only natural. Humans, the rise of my bloodline is unstoppable. I await you.”

Then, the blood mist dissipated, and the girl vanished entirely.

Frowning, Xia Zheng pondered her words, filled with confusion.

“Royal bloodline... nonsense. If you’re unstoppable, then I will do everything in my power to destroy you.” Xia Zheng descended from the air. On the battlefield below, the fighting was nearing its end. Over a thousand elite bloodline warriors had fled hastily, abandoning half of their comrades’ bodies behind. Only the fearless undead legions stubbornly held the line against the human forces.

With Xia Zheng’s involvement, the tide of battle shifted dramatically. These undead warriors were no match for him; each one fell almost instantly under the relentless strikes of his Dripping Sword. Soon, the humans claimed their first victory.

After tallying the casualties, Xia Zheng felt a pang of regret. This battle had cost them about two thousand lives. Combined with earlier losses in the caverns, the total approached three thousand.

Luo Bing ordered a two-hour rest and the cremation of the fallen comrades’ bodies. The humans understood the bloodline’s ability: if corpses were left behind, the bloodline could resurrect them as enemies. Thus, no bodies could be left intact.

“How are the soldiers’ spirits?” Xia Zheng asked anxiously. Though the overall losses were small relative to the eighty thousand troops, such casualties still dealt a blow to morale.

Luo Bing met his gaze, understanding his concerns. “Don’t worry. This mission was always a death sentence—none of us truly believed we would all survive. The soldiers who took part have accepted that they may die on this battlefield.”

“Good. Morale is crucial, but we must avoid utter despair. To me, the bloodline isn’t as invincible as imagined. Although they control the Eternal Zone, they remain outsiders, less familiar with this land than we humans. My hypothesis is that if we destroy the bloodline’s resurrection targets, the tide of war could shift unexpectedly. Therefore, I propose we focus not on killing the bloodline themselves, but on destroying their sacrificial objects. Do you agree?”

Now, Luo Bing and Xia Zheng were effectively the highest commanders. Their ranks might not be supreme, but the soldiers understood that without their leadership, victory was impossible.

“Go ahead. We are not ordinary civilians—we fear neither death nor hardship. Besides, as long as I’m with you, I have nothing to fear.” Luo Bing embraced Xia Zheng firmly before departing.

Watching her retreating figure, Xia Zheng’s mind wandered. In this alternate world, he felt reborn as Benson Wood, intertwined with countless others. Sometimes, he nearly forgot the reality he once knew.

During the rest period, scouts continued their reconnaissance, sending back a steady stream of intelligence. Strangely, the bloodline made no immediate counterattack, as if waiting for the humans to take the initiative.

“Are the bloodline setting a trap for us?” Luo Bing muttered with frustration.

Xia Zheng nodded. “We stand in the open while they lurk in the shadows, but they have underestimated our strength. Although individual humans cannot match them, we number over seventy thousand and wield powerful firearms. We won’t let them off easy.”

Soon, several heavily armed units formed at the front, unleashing targeted strikes on areas scouted by the reconnaissance teams. Particularly formidable were the squads equipped with small-scale photonic cannons—fifty such cannons in all. A single cannon could destroy a building, but together, they could obliterate an entire town.

The human forces swept through the battlefield, shattering many of the bloodline’s carefully laid traps. Eventually, the bloodline dispatched elite troops to eliminate the photonic cannon units, only to fall right into Xia Zheng and Luo Bing’s stratagem. The human army became a vortex, steadily devouring the enemy forces.

The bloodline’s greatest weakness was their numbers. Even in the real world, they were outnumbered. However, over the past year, the bloodline had undergone massive changes, actively absorbing and transforming residents of Eternal Night City who had surrendered. This had significantly increased their ranks.

Although some humans had defected to the bloodline, for reasons unknown, the converted bloodline remained a minority, mostly mindless corpses. High-level transformed warriors like Song Ze were extremely rare.

Despite this, human casualties continued to rise. By ten o’clock that night, the eighty-thousand-strong army had dwindled to just over seventy thousand, losing nearly ten thousand soldiers.

The troops were exhausted, unable to continue fighting. Xia Zheng swiftly used his powers to construct sturdy makeshift defenses and campgrounds, while Luo Bing moved among the ranks, boosting morale.

“Mr. Wood, our scouts have suffered severe losses. Many last reports indicate the bloodline’s strength increases noticeably at night. They seem naturally adapted to darkness,” Captain Chen Feng, leader of the scouts, reported as he entered Xia Zheng’s tent.

Xia Zheng nodded, rising to pat him on the shoulder. “Pull back your men. Our casualties are too high under these conditions. Let the scouts rest; I will reorganize the night watch.”

“Sir, we still want to fight alongside you against the bloodline. We’re not afraid to die,” Chen Feng protested.

Xia Zheng shook his head. “The scouts are vital. We can’t afford to lose them needlessly. Our war with the bloodline is only just beginning.”

Chen Feng reluctantly withdrew, ordering the scouts to fall back in turn.

Xia Zheng sought out Luo Bing, selecting a hundred rested gene warriors, including a dozen or so Starry Radiance Warriors.

Just as he was about to speak, Luo Bing cut in, “Don’t try to persuade me to stay. You haven’t rested yourself and insist on taking the night watch—I won’t agree either.”

Xia Zheng nodded. Together with Luo Bing and the gene warriors, he stepped into the dark beyond the camp, relieving the battered scouting forces.