Chapter 1690 Mission Accomplished （1）
This was unavoidable. Who would have expected the combat strength of the Undead Race in the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm to have grown to such a scale? The powerful Vampire Warriors were genuine high-level Undead fighters. Extremely agile and capable of draining life force from Mirror Images, they were exceptionally difficult to kill. It was no wonder they couldn’t withstand it.
Losing meant losing. Failing meant failing.
Time to admit defeat.
Of course, while the mission failed, the gains were still considerable. His Divine Soul practice made rapid progress within these Mirror Images. However, the downside was that Mirror Descents also had certain restrictions and patterns. The Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm couldn't undergo another Mirror Descent for decades. He wondered if, when the next team entered the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm, the Undead forces would be even stronger.
Perhaps the Frost Dragons would become truly undead. Then, another Lower Realm would fall.
Germain took a roll call of his force. He prepared to shut down the Mirror effect and officially declare the mission a failure, planning to try again next time. But then, to his extreme surprise, Germain noticed that long, long after it should have ended, the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm still displayed Mirror Image activity.
Was another Image active within? Were there surviving Warriors who hadn’t exited?
Germain rubbed his eyes, hardly believing it. Once more, he ordered his subordinates to conduct a meticulous roll call.
Five thousand Warriors. Not one was missing. They were all seated in the Mirror zone, under their respective Hero's command, awaiting Germain's next order.
But why did the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm indicate Warriors were still active inside?
Was someone playing a joke on him?
How did they even get in?
Wasn't his team full? Didn't entering the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm require a token? Had someone from another Mirror chamber descended simultaneously?
Different Mirror chambers could mean vast distances upon arriving in the Lower Realm. It was indeed possible that a Cultivator with a token, starting a Mirror Descent in another chamber just now, had accidentally stumbled into the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm.
Germain felt dizzy.
As long as the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm remained open, it meant his mission wasn't completely over. He had to wait here for the result. And the most annoying part was that those tourist Cultivators with tokens, the ones who liked to wander around, were the types who could linger forever in a Lower Realm.
As long as they didn't provoke the powerful native races or start a major war, a wandering tourist Cultivator could very well survive for a very, very long time.
Germain felt a headache coming on. He never expected someone would mess with him like this.
Deeply annoyed, he sent orders outside to investigate immediately. The result left Germain speechless. The troublemaker was none other than his precious little sister.
Well, that settled that. He had no choice but to wait until she’d had her fill of fun.
He sighed inwardly. Knowing this would happen, he might as well have waited for her to go in together. Now, he still had to wait.
Germain led his Warriors in the Mirror chamber to begin autonomous cultivation, digesting the gains from their Mirror Descent while waiting… and waiting outside.
Long, long he waited. The Mirror remained active.
His sweet sister was probably having too much fun down there, forgetting the time. Otherwise, why was there no movement at all after so long?
Sometimes Germain wondered: with so many high-powered Undead Warriors in there, so many ferociously savage natives, why couldn't one of them just give his little sister a casual swipe, sending her and her companion packing?
Seriously, she was playing so much she didn't want to come back.
Germain was deeply wronging Gerlane.
At this very moment, Gerlane wasn't playing around in the Lower Realm at all. She was waging a colossal war there instead.
Like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, Gerlane led her substantial force – nearly seven thousand Warriors – in a sweeping assault across the Undead Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm. Everywhere they went, amazingly, many admirers remained.
According to Sun Hao’s plan, Gerlane used the Undead Warriors who admired her as cannon fodder. The native inhabitants were treated as her personal guard. They rolled forward like a snowball.
Cutting their way through, they annihilated countless Undead Warriors. Wherever they passed, the atmosphere of the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm seemed to lighten; the oppressive presence of the Undead was swept clean by Gerlane.
By the time their force reached the foot of the Sacred Mountain of Ice and Snow, it had swelled to over eight thousand elites.
Standing at the mountain’s base, looking up at the cloud-piercing peak, Gerlane chirped, "Xiaoshan, what now?"
Sun Hao pondered and replied to Gerlane, "Select a few Bloodsucking Warriors capable of flying to a certain height to scout ahead. The main force, especially the native warriors, shouldn't go up. This place is likely the Frost Dragon's lair. If we get defeated, at worst our Mirror Images dissipate. But these native warriors, if killed here, would perish for real."
Gerlane was startled. Her small head nodded rapidly. "Force, hold position! Fula, take a squad of Bloodsucking Warriors to scout the route. Be careful."
A small squad of bats took flight from the Undead warriors, soaring towards the Sacred Mountain of Ice and Snow.
Sun Hao and Gerlane followed on foot, climbing higher.
The warrior force belonging to Sun Hao and Gerlane remained divided, keeping to themselves like well water and river water. Yet, the native warriors with intelligence could see hope and faint gratitude in their eyes.
From the mountainside upwards, there weren’t many changes.
Until the mid-mountain area, where a vast, plateau-like Ice Plains banded the Sacred Mountain like a belt. There, things suddenly changed.
Dark temples appeared nestled against the icy cliffs. The arrival of Sun Hao and Gerlane seemed to trigger some hidden mechanism. Hordes of bats erupted from within, charging towards the duo.
However, the bats that surged out exhibited two starkly different reactions. Some charged forward with roaring killing intent, but others immediately sent out waves of communication, pouring a cacophony into Sun Hao and Gerlane's ears: "Honored ones! Undead Bloodsucking Warriors revere your mighty names and wish to join your ranks..."
Gerlane’s eyes shone brightly. She chirped loudly and cheerfully, "Welcome! Welcome indeed! A warm welcome to you all joining the sacred Lan'er’s Legion..."
Her energetic cries instantly threw the entire Ice Plains into chaos.
Bloodsucking Undead Warriors began infighting on the spot. Halfway through their charge, they turned on each other. Across the Ice Plains, Bloodsucking bats ripped and bit at each other in pairs, locked in battle that quickly reached a bizarre stalemate of mutual incapacity.
Gerlane peeked over Sun Hao’s shoulder, her bright eyes darting around. "Wow! So many Undead Bloodsucking Warriors! Such a grand battle scene! Their fighting style is truly bizarre."
The numbers of Bloodsucking Undead Warriors who had allied with Sun Hao and Gerlane were roughly equal to those who hadn’t. The battles naturally became one-on-one. These creatures grappled in pairs, each biting the other’s neck in a mutual blood drain, neither able to prevail, frozen like statues scattered across the vast Ice Plains.
A faint smile touched Sun Hao’s lips, but inwardly, he felt a chill of caution. Fortunately, he possessed the miraculous First-grade Purple-Gold Belt. Otherwise, these Undead Bloodsucking Warriors would have been a formidable challenge for both him and Little Lan.
On the First-grade Purple-Gold Belt, over ten thousand Bloodsucking Warriors were now attached to his side. If twenty thousand Undead Bloodsucking Warriors had truly surrounded them, even Sun Hao couldn’t be certain of clearing the obstacle unscathed.
Well, with the Undead Bloodsucking Warriors infighting, and a huge number of admirers joining the fray, everything had become much simpler.
Sun Hao smiled at Gerlane. "This battle here will probably last a while without a clear winner. Come on, let’s continue upward."
Perched on Sun Hao’s back, Gerlane piped up cheerily, "Warriors, go for it! Warriors, show your strength! Your lady is heading up first!"
Sun Hao straightforwardly knocked away the few Undead Bloodsucking Warriors blocking their paths with one sweep. Taking long strides, he carried Gerlane onwards, advancing towards the peak of the Sacred Mountain of Ice and Snow.
The higher they climbed, the colder it became.
Tremendous Dragon’s Might pressed down, making Gerlane shiver. A faint Golden Light emanated from Sun Hao’s back, instantly warming Gerlane. Her fighting spirit soared, and she returned to normal.
The pressure intensified with every step upward.
Had Germain come instead, he might not have passed through the Bloodsucking Undead Warriors, let alone endured this Dragon’s Might.
But to Sun Hao, possessing boundless fighting spirit and experienced in resisting Dragon’s Might, this level of pressure was nothing.
His pace remained steady as he climbed the sheer ice cliffs.
Before long, Sun Hao grasped a massive boulder with one hand, pulled himself up with a mighty step, and reached the summit.
Gerlane peeked forward and let out a cry of astonishment, "Wah! Such a huge lizard! How lazy... taking a nap right here!"
Indeed, lying sprawled on the mountain top, sound asleep, was a giant lizard-like form suffused with blue and intertwined with wavering grey energy streams. It had a head crowned with a pair of horns. A Frost Dragon.