Chapter 2104 - 561: Aftermath Operations (2)

"Well, I'm not only realizing today that I'm omnipotent."

"No, truly worthy of being Lord Demon King! How seamlessly you boast!"

Ignoring the flatterer floating by his side, Luo Yan carefully sensed the changes in his power and sorted out his chaotic thoughts.

It wasn't just the power that delighted him.

The moment his soul ascended, he gained a more profound understanding of the elusive "Power of Faith" and the "Hive" constructed by the Thoughts of All.

What increases Extraordinary Power is not the act of slaughter itself; it's more fundamentally about soul resonance!

Slaughter is only one method.

In duels conducted under intense will, spirits naturally resonate, intertwining each other's karma.

When the soul of the slain is released from the flesh, most of its spiritual essence will return to the Hive under the pull of karma, while some of it will be attracted by the nearby soul quality amid the spirit's resonance.

This is why sneak attacks, poisoning, and massacres often yield little "Experience"; only evenly matched battles or victories against the odds can lead to soul ascension.

And the challenger facing the opponent, even if not delivering tons of damage or critical strikes, can still claim the largest share based on the opponent's "Hate Value."

As for traditional cultivation methods like meditation and practicing martial arts, they absorb the wandering "spiritual essence" from the Hive into the world.

Although this process doesn't involve interaction with other souls, it aligns with the "Hive Theory" of the Soul School.

Thinking of this, Luo Yan couldn't help but sigh, realizing why the Great Sage never regarded him as a threat. He had no opportunity to access knowledge that truly touches the soul.

Indeed, the one able to research these things has a reason for arrogance.

At this moment, a flapping sound came from below the cliff, and Yousi wobbled as she flew up, wings fluttering.

That thrilling confrontation earlier had given her quite a scare.

Seeing Luo Yan unscathed, she immediately landed on the rock, prostrating herself, eager to bury her face into the dirt.

"Lord Demon King, your divine might is unmatched! That old thing couldn't withstand a single blow from you! I, I, I knew it, there's no one in this world who can block your path! Simply too magnificent!"

Yousi's flattering echoed throughout the skies, but it still lacked the finesse compared to Mi Xi.

Honestly, the Demon King appreciated her "triumph in adversity" demeanor more. Among his many Demon Generals skilled in boasting, few could shout "riffraff" as musically as she did.

Ignoring Yousi's flattery, Luo Yan's gaze swept over the dozen black corpses curled in the nearby grass.

They were the Little Demons who had died at Marinus's hands earlier, their hearts shattered gruesomely.

Unlike the souls returning to the Star Sea, their souls had already returned to the Great Graveyard, residing on the Temple's stone tablets.

Although they couldn't be reborn with memories like Players, the Demon King would remember these Little Demons' contributions, accounting for their merits on their next life's "initial panel."

"Take your people back, and bury them properly in the Great Graveyard."

"As you wish, Lord Demon King!"

Yousi respectfully saluted, then called to the Little Demons hiding below the mountain to return to work, without a moment's grief for their deceased kin.

The carefree nature is inherent to Little Demons; these little fellows are unlike humans, living blissfully every day.

Suddenly, she noticed over two hundred human corpses lying on the mountain and looked to Lord Demon King for guidance.

"By the way, my lord, what about these humans? Should we deal with them, or take them back for Alakdo...?"

"Leave them be."

Putting Marinus's abandoned spoils into the Space Ring, Luo Yan turned his back on the bloody battlefield, his voice drifting away with the night wind.

"Someone will collect their bodies."

...

The July sunlight was as oppressive as boiling tar, ruthlessly pouring over the ridges of the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range, and also quenching the arrogant flair of the Ratmen.

Ever since the Gutaf Kingdom showed its true capabilities, the Alliance Army's offensive swept forward irresistibly, and the Campbell Duchy's Army witnessed toys they'd never seen before.

Rocket Cannons were child's play.

What truly shocked Sir Wesley was a kind of hand-cranked mounted machine gun that could, in a short time, rain tens of thousands of bullets onto the enemy's positions!

As long as the ammo supplied from the rear didn't stop, their gunfire wouldn't stop!

This time he finally understood what kind of weapon had, in the Southwest Swamp, turned the Merfolk attacking Mire City into sieves.

Before such a weapon, dense formations would completely lose their significance, and firing squad tactics would turn into queuing for death.

Perhaps—

The logic of war has really changed.

The crusade against Rot Clan was only the beginning of the transformation.

Apart from the machine guns, the participation of the Wind Roar Tribe brought a large number of aerial units to the front line, and the wind lizards howling in the lightning provided precise coordinates and shooting calibration for artillery.

The Ratmen's defenses kept shrinking, retreating entirely into the caves, relying only on poison gas and Magic Scrolls for a desperate struggle to regain some advantage.

However, facts proved their struggle was futile.

Facing the fearless Lizardman Army and the "Holy Spirit" mixed among them, they could only scream and curse the Gutaf Kingdom for its treachery.