Chapter 1689 Mission Failure
Sun Hao smiled and looked at the procession stretching behind them, saying: "Actually, you can't blame your mother too much. No matter how smart she is, she would never have imagined that our Lan'er's renowned name has already resounded throughout the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm."
Gerlane giggled.
Sun Hao didn't know exactly how vast the capacity of his First-grade Purple-Gold Belt really was.
But the result of their onward journey was that admirers kept increasing, the procession grew longer and larger, and moreover, these warriors trailing behind demonstrated exceptionally uniform combat quality and a state of wholehearted devotion in battle.
About three months after entering this realm, after Gerlane had boldly and openly advanced deep inside for an uncertainly long period, and the war party behind her had swelled to include over two thousand high-strength warriors, they finally encountered their first group of Undead Warriors who did not admire Gerlane.
A mob of Undead Warriors, resembling skeletons wandering the wilderness, fearlessly launched an attack on the Sacred Witch Little Lan Brigade.
The result was they couldn't even get close to the brigade's flank; eliminated by the brigade's long-range attacks out on the wilderness, thoroughly pulverized into bone dust.
The immense combat power the warriors displayed had Gerlane grinning from ear to ear, immensely proud.
Was there ever such a comfortable thing? Was there ever such an effortless battle?
Gerlane pointed her Formation Basketball forward and roared: "Charge, warriors! Sweep aside the undead! Make them roll back to where they came from!"
The brigade charged onward under Sun Hao's leadership.
However, upon reaching a vast expanse of wilderness, strange events occurred again.
The brigade discovered a group of what seemed to be skeletons, but were actually archers shooting bone arrows.
Just as they prepared to surround and eliminate them, the tallest skeleton abruptly knelt on the ground, its forehead's Soul Flame emitting a burning message.
Both Sun Hao and Gerlane distinctly heard a loud proclamation: "Archer Ande admires the great reputations of both lords. Willing to join the lord's brigade. Humbly requests the lords' acceptance..."
The warriors behind them, poised for battle, froze.
Didn't the Undead Race possess absolutely no emotions? No feelings whatsoever? Especially the low-level Undead Race – weren't they utterly devoid of intelligence?
How come there were admirers among them now?
Gerlane covered her small mouth, staring in astonishment at the skeletal figure in front.
After a long moment, she whispered to Sun Hao: "Xiaoshan, this isn't right. Mother said the Undead Race are our Witches' mortal enemies, the kind that clash on sight, fighting to the death immediately. But now… there are Undead Race beings who admire my great reputation? Is this a mistake?"
Lan'er was a bit naive, but that was mainly due to her awkwardness with external interaction; she wasn't stupid to the point of failing to distinguish friend from foe. She simply couldn't comprehend why Undead beings would admire her either.
Sun Hao was equally baffled.
This severely contradicted the information he had seen in the Witch Clan's archives. Sun Hao couldn't make sense of it either.
But Sun Hao knew that the sole reason for this abnormal situation was undoubtedly the First-grade Purple-Gold Belt concealed within his forehead.
A legendary Hero’s Headband that had never before appeared, never been obtained by any warrior.
Sun Hao knew the First-grade Purple-Gold Belt utterly overturned the entire Middle Void's understanding of the Hero’s Headband. The Undead Race was synonymous with enemies and villains throughout the Middle Void. Yet now, they too could feel admiration for the First-grade Purple-Gold Belt? The secrets hidden within were probably not something easily understood.
Blinking several times, Sun Hao said quietly: "I never imagined our Lan'er's fame had become so earth-shattering, so awe-inspiring, that even the Undead Race couldn't help but admire. Impressive, impressive..."
Gerlane blinked, a trace of excitement on her small face as she said: "Xiaoshan, so should I accept this hostile skeleton too? Once I accept, could problems arise?"
Sun Hao laughed: "Accept. Absolutely accept. Not accepting would surely wound that admirer's ardent heart, wouldn't it?"
Gerlane giggled and shouted loudly: "Accepted! You're accepted! Alright, follow behind my brigade, then!"
Behind Sun Hao and Gerlane, a contingent of Undead Race warriors was added: forty-six skeleton archers, none of them weak, all intermediate-level archers or above.
What happened next became very interesting. As the brigade pressed forward, slaughtering its way onward, the weak were crushed outright, while the slightly stronger started surrendering or partially surrendering. Advancing like splitting bamboo through the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm, the brigade rolled onward like a rapidly growing snowball.
Eventually, the brigade behind Sun Hao and Gerlane divided into two starkly distinct major parts.
One part comprised the local indigenous warriors, high in morale, advancing and retreating in good order.
The other was an Undead battle party formed of Undead Race warriors: various misshapen melons and cracked dates like skeletons, zombies, bats, half-dead beings, etc., a motley assortment, yet following behind in relatively neat formation.
As the brigade grew, especially with the appearance of some rather slow-moving zombies, the entire war party's speed slowed down. However, their combat methods diversified. When encountering resistance, the front-line tanks would charge, followed by waves of arrow volleys and spells, usually resolving the fight decisively.
Sun Hao and Gerlane rejected a small squad of admiring Undead Warriors who were zombies. The result was the zombies flew into a rage, audaciously launched an attack, and were ultimately completely annihilated.
After exterminating this squad of zombies, Gerlane expressed deep regret: "Xiaoshan, I actually ended up killing my own admirers. That feels a bit too against the Human Path."
Sun Hao chuckled: "Little Lan, those zombies were too slow. They weren't suited to be in the brigade. Chopped down, just chopped down. Actually, these creatures are entirely instinct-driven."
Gerlane found it strange: "Not right though. If they are purely instinct-driven, why would they admire the great Gerlane?"
Sun Hao blinked, maintaining a straight face as he said: "Then it signifies that our Lan'er's great fame has truly resounded throughout the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm, penetrating deep into the marrow of every race in this realm."
Gerlane giggled again, exceedingly proud.
While Gerlane advanced like this, fighting intermittently, her brigade rolling forward like a snowball in ever-expanding development, in another direction, the warrior party led by Germain was embroiled in layers of bloody battle and obstruction.
Germain's party had brought five Hero. Each Hero could bring in a thousand warriors. Combined, they formed a remarkably powerful force.
Just after arriving in the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm, their advance had been extremely smooth. In the direction they moved, the indigenous dwellers dared not block their path, staying far away to let Germain's war party pass.
Upon reaching the territory of Undead Warriors, battles began erupting.
The initial fights were completely one-sided. Where the great army passed, it crushed everything, pressing deeper and deeper.
Germain's mission this time in the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm Mirror Image had a specific combat objective: the ultimate goal was to find the Frost Dragon, which was progressively undergoing the undead transformation, and kill it. Otherwise, should the Frost Dragon become fully undead, the situation in the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm would deteriorate sharply, perhaps even transforming it entirely into an Undead Realm.
Germain's war party was one of the most organized and mightiest forces assembled by the Male and Female Shaman Clan in recent years. The tribe placed great hopes on them, wishing them to fight their way to the Frost Dragon and slay the Dragon to emerge victorious.
If they could accomplish this combat mission, the tribe's rewards would certainly not be lacking.
However, as Germain's army pressed forward, the resistance it faced steadily intensified.
The monsters of the Undead Race felt no pain; those Warriors knew only battle, continuing to fight despite crippling injuries. Layer upon layer, they encircled Germain's force and charged in hacking.
Germain's powerful war party fought forward for a very, very long time, slaughtering countless Undead Warriors. Yet, their own members were gradually worn down and reduced. By the time the war party reached the Sacred Mountain of Ice and Snow, where the Frost Dragon dwelled, only two thousand elite members remained.
Ascending the Sacred Mountain of Ice and Snow, likely because of the Frost Dragon's influence, they encountered little resistance at the foot of the mountain.
Just as Germain relaxed his guard and led the force forward, upon reaching the mountainside on a broad Ice Plains, numerous pitch-black temples suddenly appeared.
Swathes of vampire bats transformed into Bloodsucking Warriors, furiously and frenziedly launching an encirclement assault on the war party.
Germain led them in a stubborn fight. Sadly, their strength was partially suppressed, and their numbers insufficient. After holding out merely half an hour, Germain's force completely collapsed. Everyone's Mirror Images, including Germain's own, were shattered, dissolving away from the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm.
Mission failure!
Germain dispiritedly started taking inventory of the remaining force.