Chapter 899: Lei Province Divided Between North and South! (Double-Length)

On the coast, ships rocked by unpredictable waves.

“The wind is strong today, afraid it’ll be difficult to head out to sea.” A brawny man rolling up his sleeves, revealing muscles, looked at the surging waves in the distance and shook his head repeatedly.

He was imbued with refined Qi Blood and exuded a vigorous aura, undoubtedly a Martial Artist with substantial cultivation.

Anyone daring to explore the Sea of Spiritual Energy couldn’t possibly be an ordinary boatman or fisherman.

Of course, in this region near the Cloud Emperor City, martial prowess was inherently strong, Martial Artists were plentiful, and encountering one with high cultivation on the road was not surprising.

“Eh, what is that?!” The brawny man suddenly froze, looking into the distance across the sea.

Amidst the vast Spiritual Mist, a large, dense group of figures suddenly appeared.

These figures sped across the sea, none lagging behind; the mere skill of Qi Flight testified that all these individuals were Innate Martial Artists.

Here, seeing three or two Innate Martial Artists traveling together was not unusual.

But the sheer number of people engaging in Qi Flight was truly overwhelming.

Looking far and wide, there were as many as hundreds of thousands!

This scale and array left all witnesses dumbfounded.

“This must be… the Generals of Lei Province returning!” Someone suddenly exclaimed.

With this mention, everyone suddenly understood.

Only on the battlefield of Lei Province could there possibly be such an exaggerated number of Innate Martial Artists.

Clang!

As this massive group of Innate Martial Artists approached, the Cloud Emperor City rang the city bell.

“Generals entering the city, awaiting imperial rewards!”

Accompanying the bell, a loud voice emanated from Cloud Emperor City, audible to everyone nearby.

Watching as all the Innate Martial Artists flew into the Cloud Emperor City, landing directly in the vast square outside the Cloud Palace.

They were clad in unified Yun Province-patterned battle armor, some with solemn expressions, others appeared weary, and some had burning eyes, full of intense fervor.

Yet none spoke, leaving the plaza before the palace without any extraneous noise.

Alongside the hundreds of thousands of Innate Martial Generals returning, there were additionally numerous wooden coffins, linked head to tail, brought back together.

These coffins contained the bodies of Military Generals sacrificed on the Lei Province battlefield.

Forming a continuous stretch, their numbers were also tens of thousands!

Of course, this was not the entirety of the sacrifices; the over twenty-year Lei Province Demon battlefield had many missing, bone-exhausted soldiers likewise numerous, unable to be brought back, only recorded and posthumously honored.

Soon, within the Cloud Palace, several high-ranking officials strode out, their demeanor equally solemn as a mark of respect for the sacrificed Military Generals.

Officials lined up on both sides, inevitably observing this powerful force assembled with all Yun Province’s military strength, after hundreds of battles in Lei Province.

They understood, no single elite army constructed could compare with this allied force before them.

The return of hundreds of thousands of Military Generals was already extraordinarily difficult.

Having heard of the final, epic battle, the casualties were exceptionally severe, each person seeming to have survived a calamity.

Additionally, numerous officials eyed young family members dispatched, hoping to see if they were well.

As long as they returned peacefully, merits and honors would be inevitable, and the experience of over twenty years on the battlefield matched a century of secluded cultivation in their families!

These who survived this ordeal were essentially transformed.

The Emperor Yun emerged from the Cloud Palace, starting to confer merits, Techniques and Martial Techniques, Divine Weapons and Treasures, cultivation resources, official positions, granting awards regardless of life or death.

This conferment continued for an entire day!

In the end, Emperor Yun announced the formal disbandment of the army, which had concentrated all the forces of Yun Province.

The central forces entered the Imperial City, while the remainder returned with numerous rewards to the jurisdictions of the thirty-six titled kings.

Twenty years of borrowed troops now returned.

Cui Bai Dao.

Having heard early of the return of Military Generals from the expedition, Prince Cui led imperial Mansion Military Department officials out of the city to await them.

Song Changming, dressed in long robes, with hands behind his back, calm and composed, stood beside Prince Cui at the forefront of the hundred officials.

On the other side was Hu Tomb, where three Grandmaster Powerhouses representing imperial authority were present.

Moreover, notable patriarchs of the noble families emerged from seclusion today, bringing their descendants to attend this welcome event.

Given that even Emperor Yun stepped forward to welcome them, they dared not belittle this group of Human Race heroes.

Furthermore, among the returning heroes of the army were their family members, with notable efforts made by these noble families in the battle.

“The battle ended, it’s been five years now, and the return of Lei Province’s troops implies that the conflict there has truly ceased.” Hu Tomb said slowly.

Prince Cui shook his head slightly, calmly stating: “It’s merely a temporary consensus with the Demon Race; the Demon Race itself is tumultuous and constantly in internal strife, the extensive aid from the Thousand Races cannot last long. Lei Province’s Demon Race is akin to us, wanting to recuperate; half the province’s region is ultimately unstable, the conflict will inevitably return…”

Song Changming said nothing regarding this, his opinion on this epic twenty-year battle aligned with Prince Cui’s.

Presently, it was merely an interval of halftime; sooner or later, it’d be a matter of deciding the victor, whether it’d be the Human Race reclaiming the control of Lei Province, or the Demon Race driving the Human Race away, rendering all efforts in vain, would depend on the changes in the second half.