Piercing the Military Camp

The car drove slowly deeper into the territory of Wugui Kingdom. Yaji's face held unease, along with a trace of confusion. "Sir... did we take a wrong turn?" What Yaji wanted was to escape this hellhole of Wugui Kingdom, but instead the car was driving deeper inside. Moreover, the direction they were heading was one Yaji instinctively detested. His parents had died in that direction, at the hands of the devils from that military camp. "No mistake. The person I'm picking up is right there," Qi Yuan said softly. Hearing this, Yaji's body trembled almost imperceptibly. The grimy little girl also clutched her brother's arm tightly. Evidently, their hearts were far from calm right now. They even wondered if the two men in the car who had saved them might be closely tied to those devils. Otherwise, why would they drive toward the military camp to pick someone up? Before long, the car came to a stop atop a hillock overlooking a small town. Wen Min got out and gazed into the distance, speaking slowly. "Mr. Qi, the boss... is in that military camp ahead." As he spoke, a tremor of fear lingered in his voice. If Qi Yuan got trapped inside, those of them staying behind would surely die. "Mm, I see it." Qi Yuan looked down from above. Ahead, dust billowed as if over a vast desert. Within the desert, steely structures towered imposing and grim. From afar, a steel torrent of armored vehicles could be seen on patrol. Atop watchtowers, well-equipped soldiers stood at attention. In this military camp, the combat-ready troops numbered well over three thousand. "Wait here for a bit. I'll go get someone." Having said that, Qi Yuan walked down the hill. From here to the camp's main gates was only seven or eight li. Qi Yuan's pace was neither fast nor slow. The drones flying overhead seemed not to notice his arrival at all. Amid swirling dust and sand, an upright figure strode through the yellow haze. On the hilltop, Wen Min watched Qi Yuan's retreating back, his mind shaken and filled with bewilderment. Yaji was even more puzzled. Qi Yuan's actions were utterly baffling; no one could fathom what he intended to do. Meanwhile, atop a watchtower inside the camp, several soldiers suddenly grew tense. "What's going on? Someone's coming our way! Where are the patrol drones? Why didn't they detect him?" A uniformed soldier blurted in surprise. This was a military-controlled zone; without permission, ordinary people could never enter. Yet there was a solitary figure walking straight toward them. The drone patrol hadn't intercepted him at all. Instead, they had spotted him with the naked eye. Now, the figure on the road drew closer and closer. The soldiers on the watchtower could see his face clearly with their bare eyes. Curious, the soldiers assumed some madman had wandered into the area by mistake. "Halt!" Right then, before the camp gates, a dozen-odd rifles swung toward that figure. The gate guards wore careless expressions. A squad leader shouted, "What are you doing here? You four, go bring him over!" Scanners showed no explosives on him, so he posed no threat. Though puzzled as to how he had made it this far, they merely treated him as someone who had strayed into the zone by accident. With a dozen guns trained on him, four soldiers walked toward Qi Yuan, mockery in their eyes. After all, in a place choked with yellow sand, a fair-skinned, tender-looking youth like Qi Yuan was a rare sight. Standing outside the camp, facing the dense cluster of steel structures all alone, Qi Yuan had a faint smile in his eyes. "I've come here to take someone away." Qi Yuan's voice was loud and clear, carrying distinctly into the ears of every soldier present. Before the soldiers could react, a large truck suddenly pulled up beside Qi Yuan. A group of masked soldiers in uniform climbed down from the truck. They carried firearms and were burly—far more imposing in stature than regular soldiers. These soldiers returning to the camp were gene warriors back from "hunting" outside. Holding weapons, they escorted several numb-faced civilians back with them. Their leader looked at Qi Yuan, his voice gruff. "Our experiment's still short on blood. We're taking this one." He looked at Qi Yuan as if eyeing prey. The soldiers stationed at the gate showed looks of pity upon seeing this. The project currently handled by the gene warriors was utterly inhumane. In truth, these gene warriors were fanatical believers of the Wu Religion within the military camp. They captured heretics to complete religious experiments. None who were taken for experimentation ever survived, and before death, they would suffer unimaginable torture. With the gene warrior leader's words, two gene warriors immediately cracked their knuckles and strode toward Qi Yuan, looking at him as though he were already a corpse. "It seems you aren't willing to hand over the person I need," Qi Yuan sighed, an inexplicable note of regret in his voice. Gazing at the thirty-odd gene warriors present, a thread of killing intent surfaced in his eyes. "In that case, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Qi Yuan had originally intended to reason with them. But there were too many people in this camp—over three thousand of them. Reasoning with every single one would be exhausting. He wasn't Tang Seng, after all. So it was better to simply kill them all. Dead men were much easier to reason with. "Kill!" Qi Yuan barked softly. At some point, a blood-colored longsword had appeared in his hand. Eerily alluring, the crimson blade radiated an overwhelmingly terrifying aura. The moment the sword appeared, every person present felt their heart tremble. This sword had been Qi Yuan's blade in the Liufeng Realm, engraved with the origin divine ability: Virtual Realm Sovereign's Inner Demon Summons. The blood-colored sword unsheathed. Instantly, amidst the swirling yellow sands, a flash of blood-red light swept out. The bodies of the thirty-odd gene warriors around Qi Yuan froze in place, expressions locked on their faces. As a gust of wind blew past, the gene warriors toppled straight to the ground like scarecrows. A single strike unleashed, bathed in bloody light. Though Qi Yuan's current cultivation was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, not even an Origin Core cultivator could withstand a sword strike from him. Much less this pack of gene warriors. With just one strike, more than thirty gene warriors perished. Terror flickered in the eyes of the captured civilians, followed quickly by wild joy and reverence. With a thud, they dropped to their knees, crying out, "God!" Clearly, they took Qi Yuan for a god who had come to save them! By now, the soldiers inside the camp were stunned as well. Shock aside, they did not hesitate, unleashing a torrential hail of bullets frantically toward Qi Yuan. "Not only do you refuse to beg for mercy, you dare resist? It seems... you all must die!" Facing the barrage of gunfire, Qi Yuan swept his sword through the air. A screen of blood manifested before him, blocking every single bullet. This scene paralyzed the soldiers with shock. Even so, they continued furiously pulling their triggers, venting a relentless barrage of lead. "Hmph." Qi Yuan flicked his wrist. The incoming bullets reversed course, shooting straight back. "Ah!" "No!" "A ghost!" The dozens of soldiers who had fired at Qi Yuan were wiped out in an instant. With longsword in hand, Qi Yuan's figure accelerated violently. "In that case, all of you... die!" Sword raised, Qi Yuan charged into the military camp. Like a god of slaughter, he advanced with blade in hand, reaping lives wherever he went. Looking up at a watchtower over ten meters tall, he gave the blood-colored sword a slight flick. Boom! The towering structure collapsed in ruins as if made of tofu dregs. Ordinary explosives could never bring down a watchtower like this. Human strength, let alone, could not scratch it in the slightest. Yet today, someone had cleaved it in two with a single swing of a sword. The deafening roar of the collapsing watchtower seemed to jolt the rest of the soldiers awake. Alarms blared across the entire camp. "Enemy attack!" "What's happening?!" "Has Yuelang invaded?!" Throughout the military camp, more and more soldiers surged toward the gates. Even more soldiers and officers were filled with utter confusion, having no idea what kind of enemy they were facing. Meanwhile, Qi Yuan strolled casually with his longsword in hand. Ahead, several tanks rumbled toward him. The tank crewmen still looked bewildered, having spotted no large-scale enemy force—only a lone man carrying a sword. Yet in the very next breath, their confusion was answered. The young man casually swung the longsword in his hand. A tank weighing fifty tons was flung directly into the air, crashing into the buildings behind it. "Holy shit..." "It's a ghost!" The soldiers driving the other tanks were scared out of their wits. Was this even human? Flipping a tank into the air with one swing? Unfortunately, before the driver could think any further, a flash of crimson light flared, his consciousness freezing in place as the tank he drove was likewise hurled into the sky. Gripping his longsword, Qi Yuan strode through the camp as if walking through an open field. Back on the hillock by the small town, Wen Min blinked behind his binoculars. Yaji's eyes were wide as saucers. They were anxious, yet struck by boundless shock. They had watched Qi Yuan approach the camp and appear to be stopped by the guards. After that, they could no longer make out what was happening clearly. All they saw were flashes of red light streaking across the distance. Gunfire and artillery roared frantically. Towering watchtowers crashed down, and steel behemoths of tanks were tossed into the air. Flames lit up the sky above the military camp. It was as though the entire installation had come under full-scale assault. Yet Qi Yuan's figure was nowhere to be seen, even through binoculars. Deep inside the camp, in the command hall. Several officers wore terrified, panicked expressions. "What's happening? An enemy attack?" "How could Yuelang have broken through? Why didn't we receive any warning?!" These senior officers were the true commanders of the camp. They had gathered to discuss their operational plans when sudden, relentless gunfire and artillery erupted. Clearly, there was an uprising or an assault within the camp. "What is going on? I demand an explanation!" a senior officer roared into his communicator. "Sir, enemy attack! Enemy attack! Get out, now!" a frantic voice screamed from the other end. The senior officer looked up at the sky, confusion in his eyes. There were no planes overhead. Nor was there the sound of incoming missile bombardments. Neither the air defense system nor the Heavenly Vigil system indicated any targets. This meant there was no missile strike, nor any swarm of drones. "Could it be gene warriors? How many of them are there?" the senior officer asked. Only a special operations gene warrior squad could cause such havoc. Even so, a squad of that sort could only inflict limited casualties and stir up a bit of chaos; it was essentially a suicide mission. Thinking this, the officer remained composed. "Sir, he's not human! There's only one of him..." "One person?!" The senior officers in the hall froze, before one bellowed in fury. "One person... caused this much chaos? Are you all useless?!" No matter how strong a gene warrior was, a few sniper rounds would finish him off. Against a tank, they could simply run him over. How could flesh and blood compete against steel? Every officer present found it utterly unbelievable. Yet before their disbelief could settle, the camp's alarm escalated to its highest tier. This indicated that the forward defenses of the entire camp had already collapsed. How was that possible?! The forward garrison consisted of eight hundred men. Those eight hundred men had countless firearms, over eighty tanks and armored vehicles, and swarms of drones. And they had... completely crumbled? Not even three minutes had passed since the first siren wailed! Could they have collapsed that fast? Was the enemy's firepower that overwhelming? Senior Officer Guo Tanran felt shaken to his core. Regardless of what happened, his post was in serious jeopardy. "Come on, let's go out and see what the hell is happening!" Yet the moment he stepped outside, he was greeted by the sight of countless routing soldiers. These men had lost all will to fight, their faces warped in sheer terror as if they had seen a ghost. And indeed, they were screaming about ghosts. "He's not human at all!" "Run! It's a demon!" These soldiers had fought through dozens of battles large and small. Their morale was undeniably tough. Even when outnumbered ten to one, they would have dared to fight. Yet what they faced today was no enemy. It was a devil! Had you ever seen a man who was completely impervious to bullets, rockets, and artillery shells? Had you ever seen someone fling a tank into the air with a single swing, or shatter a steel fortress with one strike? They had. And so, they fled. If they didn't run now, when would they? A total rout took hold in an instant. Senior Officer Guo Tanran was incensed. The spectacle before his eyes completely defied his expectations, as well as those of the officers trailing him. "An explanation! I need an explanation!" Guo Tanran roared. Regrettably, no one was reporting to him. His communicator hissed with static. Fortunately, no report was needed; he could already see... the invading enemy. In the distance, one towering structure after another collapsed. A man with rather long hair held a blood-red longsword, radiant light shimmering around his form like special effects from a movie. With a sweep of his blade, an armored car was hurled high into the air. With another wave of his sword, a streak of crimson light flashed, and dozens of soldiers cowering behind barricades burst into pieces. Senior Officer Guo Tanran's eyes bulged, filled with sheer disbelief. "Gods... How is this possible?!" "He's not human!" The other officers trembled uncontrollably, unable to fathom the sight before them. How could such a terrifying, all-powerful being exist in this world? "Weak. Far too weak." "They can't even withstand a single blow." Qi Yuan's eyes held only disappointment. The threat this camp posed was lesser than that of a sect overseen by a lone Foundation Establishment patriarch. He had merely walked forward, casually swinging his sword a few times. Every building collapsed; every defense vanished into thin air. "With this little to show, you dared capture my lackey?" "With this, you acted so arrogant on the internet?" Watching the scattering enemies, a demonic smile crossed Qi Yuan's face. "Escape... there is no escaping." "Sword... come!" With his shout, the blood-colored sword in Qi Yuan's hand blazed with dazzling radiance. Everyone looked up. High above the military camp, an unimaginably colossal blood-red sword manifested. The colossal sword was the size of a small mountain, exuding an endless, horrifying aura. Crimson radiance flashed. Countless tanks, armored vehicles, and heavy trucks shattered into debris. Drones and fighter aircraft alike fell to ash before they could even take off. Killing intent shone in Qi Yuan's eyes, and his voice turned chillingly cold. "All within this army shall be slain!" At his command, the colossal crimson sword crashed down into the military camp. The titanic blade was larger than the camp itself. As it struck, it was as if a nuclear bomb had detonated. The entire camp transformed into a blood-red hemisphere in an instant. Boundless scarlet filled every eye. Countless living souls shrieked and struggled, only to perish. Senior Officer Guo Tanran and the other officers died within the sword light, filled with shock and bewilderment. In that instant, the entire camp was reduced to ruins. Every enemy was eradicated beneath Qi Yuan's single strike. At this moment, Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes, his expression calm. His divine sense unfurled. Qi Yuan was decisive in slaughter, yet he never killed indiscriminately. He was lawful good. Therefore, all those he had slain were enemies. Those captured by the camp for experiments or kept in confinement had been spared his wrath. As his divine sense swept through, he discovered over a hundred frail civilians locked away within the camp. Various test tubes were connected to their bodies, seemingly drawing their blood. After probing briefly, curiosity showed in Qi Yuan's eyes. "Drawing blood?" This Wu Religion... seemed to be conducting some sort of experiment. He was somewhat intrigued.