Death... and me

Chapter 4321: Sure Enough...

With the path opened by the explosive arrays and their entire battalion fully focused on offense, the remaining Godly Creatures blocking the route were quickly overwhelmed.

The cultivators no longer worried about preserving formations or minimizing energy consumption.

At that moment, the only thing that mattered was speed.

The few Godly Beasts that tried to intercept them were immediately crushed beneath the concentrated assault of hundreds of desperate cultivators charging together.

Finally, Roan’s battalion reached the opening and crossed through it just before the surrounding Godly Creatures flooded in and sealed the gap once more.

Naturally, Roan was not foolish enough to simply stop after reaching safety.

"Position the battalion around the opening," he ordered immediately. "We will help defend this section."

The surviving cultivators quickly spread out around the gap they had just crossed, reinforcing the nearby defenders and preventing the Godly Creatures from instantly overwhelming the position.

*Flap... flap...*

Kentucky descended from the skies nearby, his feathers stained with blood, while exhaustion clearly showed in his eyes.

The remaining flying cultivators also began landing one after another.

At this point, the aerial battlefield was no longer their responsibility. The third defensive line’s own forces would have to handle the skies themselves.

Kentucky let out a long breath.

’That was way too close.’

’It’s not over yet,’ Roan replied through the soul connection.

His eyes moved toward the distant battlefield where endless waves of Godly Creatures continued advancing. No doubt their momentum had slowed down considerably, but it hasn’t stopped yet.

’My original calculations predicted that the first major waves would be stopped somewhere between the third and fourth defensive lines. However, the Raven changed everything. If there was still a chance for the third line to stabilize before, that possibility is almost gone now.’

The Three-Eyed Raven had disrupted the battlefield too severely.

As long as it remained active, no large-scale defensive formation could function properly.

"Pass the order," Roan told Wurshan. "Same as before. Give all the newcomers ten seconds to decide whether they want to stay with us or transfer elsewhere."

Wurshan nodded.

However, just as he prepared to transmit the command through the RCs, a message from Fushio suddenly reached him first.

-Wurshan, we’re being recalled.-

Wurshan blinked in surprise.

It was easy to forget at times, but officially speaking, Fushio was still the original battalion commander. Naturally, the higher command would contact him directly regarding major battlefield orders.

Wurshan immediately turned toward Roan, who pondered briefly before responding. "We can’t disobey this order," he said calmly. "Our previous retreats were another matter entirely. There simply wasn’t any alternative, so nobody can blame us for that. But refusing a direct recall now would create unnecessary problems."

Then he added. "We should be fine if we go."

Wurshan nodded in agreement. "Understood."

Soon afterward, the order spread through the battalion. Under Fushio’s command, their forces detached themselves from the third defensive line and began withdrawing toward the rear.

Compared to the previous defensive lines, the third line possessed much stronger cultivators overall. Even with the Raven interfering, it would almost certainly last far longer than the first two lines.

*Pin!*

Suddenly, a familiar system notification echoed through the minds of the twins’ group.

[Congratulations, hosts. You have successfully protected at least 50% of your battalion.]

[The ripples created by your survival have greatly shifted the destiny of this battlefield.]

[Reward: 20 Orb Points.]

[Reward Two: New skills have been added to the system.]

The twins’ group became momentarily confused. The quest clearly stated that they needed to preserve at least half of their battalion until the momentum of the first Godly Creature waves was stopped. Yet those waves were obviously still ongoing.

However, the reason soon became apparent. From this point onward, the twins’ group would no longer be responsible for that battalion. The quest had essentially concluded the moment command authority shifted away from them.

Still, even with all their efforts, the result had been dangerously close. Because of the Raven’s interference and the chaotic retreats, the number of surviving original battalion members had dropped to only four hundred and thirty-one. And only the original battalion members counted toward the quest completion.

The cultivators who joined them later during the retreats were irrelevant for the calculation. In other words... They had nearly failed.

’Twenty-six Orb Points now...’ Rean commented through their connection. ’Little by little, we’re accumulating more.’

’We have time,’ Roan replied calmly. ’Let’s focus on understanding why we were recalled from the front lines first.’

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s attention had already shifted elsewhere. ’What’s the new skills?’

At this point, all four of them possessed access to the system’s Reward List, although only the twins themselves held authority to actually purchase or activate anything.

The first thing they noticed was that the Yin Yang Sanctuary now possessed a Level Two option.

However, that was not the new reward.

That part of the system had always functioned that way. Whenever a skill with level progression was unlocked, the next level automatically appeared in the list after buying the previous one. The twins simply had not checked the list earlier.

The true surprise appeared directly below it. And there were actually two new options instead of one.

[Yin Yang Sanctuary - Cooldown Removal - 20 Orb Points per use.]

[Yin Yang Sanctuary - Level Two Time Upgrade - 50 Orb Points.]

Rean looked quite interested in the additions. ’Sister Orb, give us a quick explanation just to confirm everything.’

[No problem.]

[First, the Sanctuary itself has a level system that determines its effective range.]

[Yin Yang Sanctuary - Level Two: 120 Orb Points.]

[Purchasing it will increase the Sanctuary’s range from fifty meters to two hundred meters.]

Then she continued explaining the new options.

[As for the other two upgrades, they are mostly self-explanatory.]

[The Cooldown Removal allows you to immediately reactivate the Sanctuary by paying twenty Orb Points. However, once the Sanctuary is used again, the cooldown resets normally.]

[In other words, each activation after cooldown removal would require another payment if you wished to bypass the cooldown again.]

She paused briefly before continuing.

[As for the Time Upgrade, it permanently increases the duration of the Yin Yang Sanctuary. Currently, the Sanctuary lasts for one minute. After purchasing the upgrade, its duration will increase to two minutes.]

Then Sister Orb added another warning.

[Oh, right. There is something important you should know. The price of cooldown removal may increase depending on the situation.]

[This ability is simply too powerful. If your Orb Point reserves become excessively large in the future, you could theoretically remove the cooldown endlessly.]

[The laws of the world would never allow such abuse without restrictions.]

Kentucky sighed heavily after hearing that.

’So many restrictions...’

’Forget those upgrades for now,’ Roan said immediately. ’The only immediately useful option is cooldown removal, and we don’t currently need it.’

Then he added, ’Still, we’ll keep twenty Orb Points reserved at all times from now on. If an emergency appears, we may need to activate the Sanctuary instantly.’

Roan himself was not particularly bothered by the current prices.

If this new system worked similarly to the previous one, then opportunities to accumulate more Orb Points would naturally continue appearing in the future.

Meanwhile, Wurshan noticed Roan seemed somewhat distracted during the conversation.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Roan lightly shook his head. "I was just thinking about a few things."

Before long, their group finally arrived near the fourth defensive line. The atmosphere there differed greatly from the chaos behind them.

Massive defensive preparations covered the battlefield, and the cultivators stationed there were clearly much stronger overall.

However, the moment they arrived, Fushio immediately received new orders. He was instructed to leave the battalion behind because someone else would be assuming command over it.

Right afterward, Fushio privately contacted Wurshan through the RC. -They’re officially appointing you as the battalion commander this time.-

There was a slight trace of amusement in Fushio’s voice. -Anyway, I need to report to the command center. Good luck.-

Wurshan quickly checked his own RC. Sure enough, the official command authorization had already been transferred to him. Not only that, but the battalion was also receiving a considerable number of replacement cultivators to compensate for the losses suffered during the previous defensive collapses.

Naturally, Wurshan immediately showed the information to Roan. "What do you think?"

Roan merely shook his head. "We survived two major retreats against overwhelming odds," he explained calmly. "The higher-ups obviously reviewed the RC recordings already. They know you were the one relaying commands throughout the battle."

Then he looked toward the third defensive line in the distance. Just like me, they already concluded that the third line won’t hold forever. So instead of keeping you there, they’d rather place you at the fourth line and hope for the same results again."

Wurshan scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "But... it wasn’t really me."

Roan did not care in the slightest. "If you’re talking about credit, forget it," he replied indifferently. "I couldn’t care less about that kind of thing. If you really feel indebted to me, just pay me with Godly Crystals later."

Wurshan immediately nodded. That was an easy request. "Fine by me. Still... you’ll remain the real commander anyway."

Unexpectedly, Roan shook his head. "I highly doubt that."

Almost at the same moment...

Roan’s RC suddenly received a message as well. He glanced at it briefly before narrowing his eyes.

"Sure enough..."

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