Chapter 751 – Favoring Two Races
Zhao Hai was currently sitting inside the Space along with Laura and the others. They were outside the villa facing a small table arranged on a meadow. On the table was a pot of tea, and not far from then were two Trees of Life. If it weren't for the Demons and the Divine Race, then their lives would have been peacefully beautiful.
However, Zhao Hai wasn't in the mood to enjoy life. In fact, he was thinking deeply into the prophecy of the Elves. After he returned to the Space, the more he ruminated on the prophecy, the more he felt that it wasn't that simple.
He can understand that the darkness and light referred to the Demons and the Divine Race. However, does the skeleton and steel really refer to the undead and the magic cannons? Zhao Hai thought that this wasn't the case.
In the end, Zhao Hai was left with no way to find out, so he shook his head and sighed. At this time, Laura looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Brother Hai, don't think too much about it. Right, the people in Upper Bank City have already reached 8th rank. Do we proceed to the next step of the plan?"
Zhao Hai was taken out of his stupor. He looked at Laura and nodded, "Yes, we should proceed. Who do you think we should upgrade to 9th rank first?"
Laura thought for a moment and said, "If I were to choose, then it should be the Elves." Lizzy and Megan agreed to this idea. Zhao Hai looked at the three and said, "Why?"
Laura explained, "The Elves are the best in using the blood lightning beads. Their harp archers can display its might far more than the other races could. And since the Divine Race won't be attacking quite soon, it would be the opportune time to promote the Elves. This way, when the Divine Race did attack, the Elves would be ready to receive them."
Lizzy and Megan nodded, then Lizzy added, "The weapons we can use against the Divine Race aren't a lot. Needless to say, the magic cannons are best used by us Humans. As for the blood lightning beads, the Beastmen can only throw the out, which wouldn't go far, which will affect its power. The Dwarves are similar, they were more suitable for just straight up battle. On the other hand, the Elves were specialists in ranged attacks, especially their harp archers. The blood lightning beads would become deadly weapons in their hands. Continuous ranged attacks while charging and retreating was not something that any ordinary archer could do."
Zhao Hai nodded, then said, "Alright, then that's settled. We'll promote the Elves first, I'll give them the potion so that they can be promoted as soon as possible. Right, when I went to the Elves, I also told the Queen to refrain from disturbing the Supreme Elders in their cultivation. There are a lot of 9th rank elves, and most of them are in the verge of breaking through to God-rank. Relay this instruction to the other powers as well, making their 9th ranks go all out in cultivation. On the other hand, the 9th ranks that had taken potions needed to be prepared to fight. Only through battle would they be able to get accustomed to their 9th rank strength, and gain a chance of entering God-rank."
Laura and the others nodded. There were currently plenty of 9th ranks in the continent. However, majority of them were promoted using Zhao Hai's Space, not through their own effort. Because of this, it would be difficult for them to reach God-rank.
They haven't experienced the toil of improving slowly, so their mentality still couldn't catch up to the genuine 9th ranks. If they wanted to break through to God-rank, then there would be two ways. First was to use the Space's God-rank potion, and the other was to fully adapt to their 9th rank strength through plenty of battles. At that time, they would slowly get accustomed to their strength and begin to gain progress in becoming God-rank. However, the latter method won't be that easy.
Zhao Hai had some preference on which races he wanted to promote to God-rank first. They were the Elves and the Fishmen. The Beatmen had fairly the same numerical strength to the Humans while the Dwarves were just innately strong. Because of this, Zhao Hai wasn't too anxious in promoting their ranks.
The Beastmen, Dwarves, and Humans held a similar weakness, their lives were too short. But this also came with an advantage, this meant that the three races would find that their cultivations were quicker compared to the Elves and the Fishmen.
The lifespan of the Elves and the Fishmen was much higher compared to the other three. This allowed them to accumulate 9th ranks across multiple generations despite the lack in cultivation speed. Although their 9th ranks weren't as numerous as the Beastmen, Dwarves, and Humans, their experts occupied the top spots in terms of cultivation experience. This caused the two races to have a lot of 9th ranks that were on the verge of becoming God-rank.
On the other hand, although the Beastmen, Dwarves, and Humans had a lot of 9th ranks, they weren't advanced enough to get to God-rank. Because of this, Zhao Hai settled on the Elves and the Fishmen.
Although it can be said that the first genuine God-rank expert in the continent was humanity's Origin Sword Saint, one shouldn't forget that the Origin Sword Saint has been at the peak of the continent for a long time. At the same time, he had also received benefits from the Space. Even if he wasn't artificially promoted, he still underwent nourishing from the Space's abundant energy, something that was completely lacking in the Ark Continent. The Origin Sword Saint, although a genuine God-rank, was just lucky to encounter the Space.
On the other hand, the Elves and the Fishmen didn't cultivate in the Space, but they still held strength comparable to the Origin Sword Saint.
At this point, turning average people in the continent into 9th ranks wasn't that difficult for Zhao Hai. The reason that he wanted to limit the number of 9th ranks was because he didn't want them to think that obtaining the rank was too easy. Easily obtainable things aren't seen as valuable.
Moreover, he didn't want to use human-wave tactics in dealing with the Demons and the Divine Race. If they use this method, then nobody would be left in the continent after expelling the Demons and the Divine Race.
Therefore, Zhao Hai can only make God-ranks en masse at this point. Only through numerous God-ranks can the Ark Continent have the qualification of waging war with the Divine and the Demon Realms.
After discussing the matter with Laura and the others, Zhao Hai went out of the Space. In his hand was a big red bottle containing Blood Pond water. This bottle was to be given to the Elves so that they can reach 9th rank at the shortest period of time. After Zhao Hai arrived at the city, he immediately summoned the various leaders to the mansion. The people in the city were already accustomed to Zhao Hai's appearance and disappearance. Because of this, they weren't very disgruntled about sudden summons. They knew that Zhao Hai was busy, a lot busier compared to them.
After the group arrived at the battle room, Zhao Hai had them sit down before he said, "You're now 8th rank experts. And as long as you take this potion, then you would reach 9th rank." Then Zhao Hai gestured towards the blood red bottle on the table, causing the eyes of the group to shine.
After looking at their expressions, Zhao Hai continued, "I know that you all wanted to reach 9th rank. However, you cannot take this potion at the same time." Upon hearing Zhao Hai, the people in the room couldn't help but gawk. However, they quickly understood the reason. The Divine Race would make their move soon. If all of them were to cultivate simultaneously at this time, then there would be nobody left to defend when the attack came. Because of this, the group immediately gave an understanding nod.
Seeing that the group understood, Zhao Hai felt relief, then he said, "Once you take this potion to become 9th rank, becoming a God-rank expert would become much more difficult. Relying on this potion to become 9th rank will make it hard to adjust one's own strength. Only after plenty of battles will you start to see the road to God-rank. Can all of you understand?"
The group nodded, if they can sit in this room, then this meant that they weren't fools. They knew how the slow cultivations was, even cultivating from 6th to 7th rank was difficult. There was needless to say about 9th rank to God-rank.
Then Zhao Hai continued, "In the present situation, I can only provide 9th rank potions. When my research on God-rank potions are done, then I will proceed to help you." The group lightly chuckled, they didn't believe that Zhao Hai could research God-rank potions so easily. In their minds, this was close to impossible.
Zhao Hai didn't mind their laughter, then he said, "I brought this 9th rank potion in order to make the Elves rank up first. What do all of you think?" The people in the room stared, then turned their head to the handsome but cold-faced Elf. As soon as the Elf heard Zhao Hai, his ice-cold expression couldn't help but freeze.
After seeing their reaction, Zhao Hai didn't wait for them to ask. He immediately said, "I decided to give the potions to the Elves first because they are the most efficient in using the blood lightning beads. Everyone should know about how powerful the beads were. Normal archers simply aren't able to fire this bead, only the Elves are able to. Once the Elves reach 9th rank, then their strengths would undergo a qualitative leap, which would supplement the blood lightning beads even more. Even when faced with the Divine Race, they would still be able to hold on."
When they heard Zhao Hai, the group couldn't help but think. It didn't take too long before everyone agreed. In the hands of the Elves, the blood lightning beads were indeed extremely lethal. If they wanted to utilize the blood lightning beads as much as possible, then promoting the Elves first would be a good choice.
Chapter 752 – Change in the Demon Race
If they hadn't been in battle with the Divine Race, then the groups might have something to say. But now that they had experience, they knew that Zhao Hai made the right choice.
All of them understood that choosing the Elves would be the best choice when it came to resisting the Divine Race advance.
After seeing that nobody was in opposition, Zhao Hai turned to the Elf leader and said, "Noah, bring this potion back to your camp. Upgrade your strengths as soon as possible."
Noah nodded, then he took the potion bottle before giving Zhao Hai a bow and leaving. Noah knew that the most important thing right was was to make the Elves break through, other things are irrelevant in comparison.
After Noah left the room, Zhao Hai looked at the others and said, "After the Elves gets promoted, the Dwarves will go next. Having the Dwarves get to 9th rank would provide us with more diversity in the battlefield. After the Dwarves would be the Beastmen and then the Humans after that. Don't worry, I can assure all of you that there's enough potions for everyone."
The group nodded, then Zhao Hai continued, "Although the Divine Race has yet to attack, everyone still needs to be careful, especially the Dwarves. We'll leave it up to you to make the ground under the city into a huge battlefield."
Baker nodded, then Zhao Hai turned his head to the Beastmen representatives and said, "Have your mounted scouts investigate the surroundings as well. We wouldn't want the Divine Race to know about our situation and decide to make a pre-emptive attack."
The Beastmen nodded, then Zhao Hai looked at the Human commander and said, "You're humanity's most elite soldiers. Before you reach 9th rank, you can man the magic cannons for me. You should know that the magic cannons have limited uses, the same goes for the crystals as well. So you need to know when to fire. Behind you, there are 9th ranks working hard on charging the crystals. I want you to find ways to use the magic cannons in the most efficient way possible."
The Human commander nodded. He was someone from the Rosen Empire, so he held great respect to Zhao Hai. He knew about Zhao Hai's status inside the Rosen Emperor's heart.
After discussing these things, Zhao Hai said, "If there's anything you need, tell me, there's no need to be polite. Baker, make your men drink less liquor, otherwise if you get drunk, then I'll personally beat you up."
Baker embarrassingly smiled and said, "Elder's liquor is just too delicious. The Elder can feel relieved, we'll control our drinking in the future."
Zhao Hai nodded, then he turned to the Beastmen and said, "Beastman Brothers, I know that you've taken a liking to eating green vegetables. But you cannot eat too much of it, or else you'll get weak. I won't stop giving you vegetables, but you should eat meat as well, understand?"
The beastmen bitterly smiled as the scratched their head and they nodded. Zhao Hai couldn't blame these Beastmen, green vegetables were very rare to them. Before coming to the city, all of them were yearning of eating some. Now, it seems like these people had turned into Elves, exclusively eating green vegetables every day, causing many soldiers to suffer from diarrhea. Zhao Hai was just giving them warning.
After the taking care of all his matters, Zhao Hai concluded, "Alright, all of you head back, today's matters end here. Make sure to explain our decision well, unity is very important for us." The group nodded before they stood up and left.
Zhao Hai let out a long breath and then sat back on the chair. Shue stood by Zhao Hai and said, "Young Master, will sending Beastman scouts really be useful?"
Zhao Hai sighed and said, "Not really, but you must think about balance. Only after the Beastmen reach 9th rank can they display their strength. If we don't have them do anything, they might think that they're useless. That wouldn't be great for their morale. We need to keep them satisfied before they reach 9th ranks and show their usefulness."
Shue nodded and didn't speak anymore. He understood firsthand how Zhao Hai was very busy. Not only did he need to think about the Demons and the Divine Race, he needed to keep the balance on all races as well. This would ensure that the Continent would keep its peace, this wasn’t an easy matter.
Zhao Hai turned his head to Shue and said, "The dead raging bulls, have they been handed over to the Beastmen?"
In the previous battle, Zhao Hai released large quantities of raging bulls to deal with the Divine Race's heavy cavalry. This caused raging bull losses that numbered in the hundred thousands. Zhao Hai didn't turn these raging bulls into undead, instead, he gave them to the Beastmen to process. Although the raging bull meat couldn't compare to potions, they can still improve the strength and defense to those who ate it. Moreover, their skins can also be turned into leather armor, providing additional defense. At the same time, their bones can become long distance weapons for the beastmen. Not only were the bones hard, they were quite heavy as well. In the hands of the Beastmen, they would definitely turned into great weapons.
One could say that when it came to using iron to make weapons and armor, the Dwarves would come on top. On the other hand, when it came to leather armor, the Dwarves were actually inferior to the Beastmen. Almost every Beastman wore leather armor, and these were all made from beast skins. Leather armor made by the Beastmen weren't only defensively strong, they were quite comfortable to wear as well.
Shue nodded and said, "Young Master can feel relieved, it has been handed over to the Beast King. He would definitely be able to process them properly."
Zhao Hai nodded, "Give some blood lightning beads to the Beast King as well. Have them make weapons that can launch these beads for a long distance. This way, we can provide more blood lightning beads to the Beastmen."
Shue nodded. He knew that Zhao Hai would tell these matters to Laura, the only reason he was told about it was because Zhao Hai needed help. If Zhao Hai forgot about this, then Shue can remind him.
At this moment, Berry looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Brother Hai, you must help the Dwarves develop these kinds of weapons as well. The Dwarves' long range abilities are just too weak."
Zhao Hai nodded, he was aware of this issue. He had always wanted the Dwarves to be able to effectively use the blood lightning beads, he just couldn't think of any way.
He thought for a while, he really couldn't think of any material that was able to accomplish it, so he couldn't help but stop his thoughts and turned to Shue, "Shue, after heading back, tell Patriarch Billy about this situation, make them try to find a solution. Right, tell them that the blood lightning beads are quite unstable, they couldn't undergo strong impacts and vibrations."
Shue nodded, then Zhao Hai looked at the skies outside the city lord's mansion before they returned to the Space. After arriving, Shue immediately processed the things that he needed to do. At the same time, Berry and Zhao Hai went to the Processing Machine to take a look, then they returned to the villa.
In less than two days, the tiny pagoda would finish its upgrade. Zhao Hai didn't know what would happen after the tiny pagoda gets upgraded, but he was certain that it wouldn't be weak.
At this point, the potion materials in the Space can be produced fast enough to make God-ranked potions nonstop. When these potions gets made, Zhao Hai would make Shun use it first. After Shun reaches God-rank, Zhao Hai would then proceed to promote others.
Zhao Hai was now hoping that the materials in the ten magic backgrounds become produced as soon as possible. When that happens, Zhao Hai would be able to bring up a lot of God-rank Experts. As long as they have an army of God-ranks, then even if the Ark Continent couldn't expel the Demons and the Divine Race, they could still manage defend the continent with no problems.
While sitting inside the Space, Zhao Hai turned the monitor on, looking at the Divine Race and the Demons. The two parties were also busily making their barracks and city.
The Divine Race had turned the cities of the Radiant Empire into military barracks. Magic cannons were arranged on the city walls, patrols could even be seen from time to time.
At this time, Laura and the others walked over. They just came back from dealing with Zhao Hai's matters. At this time, those who were extremely wounded and disabled in the city have been sent away. Having these people return to the continent would also make a great impact.
The various groups had dispatched their elite, but they were still hard pressed to defend against the Divine Race and have been injured to this level. If Zhao Hai was not present, then they might not have survived.
The people in the continent were now looking at the Divine Race in horror, but Zhao Hai didn't mind it. The Demons and the Divine Race were truly horrible, however, the people in the continent have never truly realized to what extent. Zhao Hai also didn't want them to have any misconceptions.
This misconception was about Zhao Hai's capabilities. Since he could block both the Divine Race and the Demons almost single handedly, people might think that the threat was no big deal. If Zhao Hai didn't show them, then they might not know how strong Zhao Hai was.
Now that the injured soldiers had returned, they were able to tell the others about how fierce Zhao Hai was. Zhao Hai had shown strength capable of toppling any Empire and race in the continent. This kind of strength was simply unimaginable in the past.
At the same time, since the injured soldiers weren't a lot, their testimonies wouldn't raise too much disturbance in the continent.
Zhao Hai wasn't in the mood to pay attention to any of these right now. There was a change on the Demon side. Their army had now reached 20 million, moreover, their God-rank experts had numbered to thirty thousand. And since they didn't have enough space like the Divine Race, they were now covetously eyeing Rising Sun City.
Chapter 753 – Talents Needed To Be Kept
Zhao Hai was currently standing on the wall of Rising Sun City, listening to Besmir's report. Besmir wasn't doing anything in the city right now. Currently, outside the city was a huge underground area dug out by the Dwarves. Retreat tunnels had also been dug for easy escape whenever things go wrong.
Naturally, Zhao Hai wasn't stingy when it came to Rising Sun City. At this point, all of the troops in the city, whether they be Humans or not, had become 9th rank experts. Even the Elephant Beastmen were turned into 9th ranks. After all, Zhao Hai took care of this city much earlier compared to Upper Bank City.
During the start of Zhao Hai's large scale promotion, he also took care of prioritizing the people in Rising Sun City. This was because the Demons were the bigger threat at that time, and Rising Sun City was at the forefront of the battle. Therefore, Zhao Hai attached great importance to the defenders.
And Besmir didn't disappoint him, the preparations in Rising Sun City was more developed compared to Upper Bank City. This made Zhao Hai satisfied with the result.
After Besmir relayed his report and seeing Zhao Hai's satisfied expression, he relaxed his heart as he said, " Mister, did you come just to inspect the defense?"
Zhao Hai smiled bitterly before he shook his head and said, "Not just this, I came here this time mainly because of the development in Demon City. It seems like the Demons will make their move soon."
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Besmir stared, then his expression changed and said, "If Mister is here, then what about Upper Bank City?"
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "Presently, the Divine Race aren't making any sounds. They seem to be waiting for reinforcements. On the other hand, the Demon Army has now surpassed 20 million. With the increasing troops in Demons City, I believe that they would make their attack quite soon."
Besmir knit his eyebrows and said, "With the current strength of the Demons, we wouldn't be able to stop them by relying on Rising Sun City alone. The defensive line behind us has already been arranged. However, most of the people there haven't been promoted, they're still unfit to fight with the Demons."
Zhao Hai agreed "This is truly hard to deal with. However, the thing we need to do right now is to delay the enemy as long as possible, allowing Accra Mountain more time to prepare. As soon as our Accra Mountain fortress finishes its preparations, then we would have a proper place to ambush the Demon and the Divine Race armies."
Besmir nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. We'll certainly delay the enemy. However, I'm afraid that also means that we'll waste a lot of magic cannons, crystals, and blood lightning beads."
Zhao Hai nodded, "Rest assured, I will provide you with enough supplies. If Upper Bank City gets attacked, I'm afraid I won't be here to assist you. When that time comes, I'll need your help in promoting the levels of the other cities, providing them with strength to deal with the Demons."
Besmir nodded and said, "Mister, feel relieved, we'll definitely be able to stop the Demon Race."
Zhao Hai nodded, "I'll leave some God-rank undead as well. However, it would be impossible for these undead to win against the Demons. So you still need to be careful. As long as the Divine Race hasn't attacked Upper Bank City, then I will definitely come and help you. However, if Upper Bank City is under attack, then I'll have to leave everything in your hands."
Besmir gave a firm nod as he felt the weight on his shoulders increase, but he was still very happy.
Besmir didn't know who Zhao Hai really was before meeting him. At that time, he only heard that Zhao Hai was very overbearing and was short-tempered. But now that they had been in touch multiple times, he knew that Zhao Hai was actually a selfless person. He was running around the continent, taking all of his goods for support while leading the frontlines at the same time. It was at that point that Besmir started to see Zhao Hai as his idol, the one he looked up to. Because of this, when Zhao Hai gave him this heavy task, he couldn't help but feel very happy. At the same time, he can also feel the pressure, he was afraid of disappointing Zhao Hai if ever he failed.
Seeing Besmir's tense expression, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "It's going to be fine, there's no need to be nervous. Actually, Accra Mountain is almost ready, you only need to stall for a short amount of time. The Demons can easily defeat our people, so what we need to do right now is to keep our people safe. Those who have fought with the Demons before will be great weapons in dealing with the Demons in the future. You're a general, so you should know about the difference between veterans and recruits. What we need in this war are veterans, make sure to preserve them as much as possible. Understand?"
Besmir stared, he really wanted to use Rising Sun City in order to stop the Demons. In any case, he was even prepared to fight to the end just to stop the Demons from advancing. But now that Zhao Hai said so, he nodded and said, "Yes, sir, I understand."
Zhao Hai patted Besmir's shoulder and said, "You can do it. I'll be honest with you, a lot of people in the continent weren't taking the Demons and the Divine Race seriously. I can block them myself, however, this wouldn't make their current mentality change. So the only thing that I can do right now is to depend on the frontline soldiers. At the same time, I can also use this opportunity to gather more undead, but only the enemies, I won't do that to my allies. Because of this, I need every single soldier in the battlefield, I need people like you."
Besmir's eyes turned moist, he was just a soldier, so he didn't know much about the complicated matters of the continent. However, seeing Zhao Hai express his grievance, he couldn't help but resent the people of the continent. At the same time, he was also moved by Zhao Hai's statement.
Besmir's voice almost fluttered as he replied, "Sir, what are we going to do? We're using our lives to protect the continent, but the population seems to take it lightly. Are we really that important?"
Zhao Hai looked straight into Besmir's eyes and said, "Besmir, there's no need to doubt it. Who are you? A soldier. And what do soldiers do? They protect homes and defend the country. This is your main responsibility. This in itself is an evidence to how important you people are. Even the most successful Merchant cannot do this. We are resisting against the Demons and the Divine Race because we wanted our children to have a great life in the future. We will not be slaves to the Divine Race nor will be die to the Demons, understand?"
Besmir made an effort to wipe a tear on his eye, he nodded and said, "Yes, sir, I understand."
Zhao Hai nodded, then he said, "Besmir, your family, where are they right now? I'll get them sent to the Black Wasteland, making sure that they are safe from harm."
When he heard Zhao Hai, Besmir couldn't help but get excited. He can understand what Zhao Hai wanted to say, Zhao Hai wanted to recruit him over to his side. So he immediately told Zhao Hai about his address. Zhao Hai nodded and said, "The Demons are yet to attack, but you must still be ready. I'll go back and handle some things first. When the Demons come, I'll return."
Besmir nodded, then Zhao Hai turned around to leave. Before long, Zhao Hai had Shue get Besmir's family and had them sent to the Black Wasteland. This action was equal to having Besmir as his own person.
Zhao Hai already discovered Besmir's talent in command. He needed talented people right now, so he gave special treatment to Besmir.
Lizzy and the others were paying attention the Demons. It can be said that the Demons were more prepared than the Divine Race when it came to making their move. They had already stockpiled massive amounts of military supplies in Demon City. Moreover, their logistics weren't slow as well.
Lizzy was currently frowning as she was observing the Demons, she didn't even manage to notice Zhao Hai. Seeing Lizzy so serious, Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile and said, "What happened? Are the Demons really that hard to deal with?"
Lizzy recovered, then she looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Very difficult. Brother Hai, as you can see, they are quite used to these things. Although they are in their territory, they didn't have any point of relaxation. Most importantly, their coordination is very fluid. Their army composition can deal with anything thrown at them. It can be said that in a frontal battle, the Demons are more powerful than the Divine Race.
Zhao Hai bitterly smiled, "That's natural if you think about the matters of the Demon Realm. All year round, wars happen in every corner of the plane. Therefore, it wouldn't be strange for the Demons to be this formidable. Don't worry too much about it, thinking about possibilities at this time is useless. Just wait for the real battle and then form conclusions then. Make sure to conserve your energy, we still have the Divine Race to attend to. You can leave the matters here for Besmir to take care of."
Lizzy shook her head and said, "I just want to see how the Demons conduct their war preparation. However, I still haven't thought about a good way to deal with them. Forget it, I'll just turn my attention to the Divine Race. I'm afraid their reinforcements would arrive in the next few days. It seems like we will have to fight in two fronts. Brother Hai, are we prepared for this?"
Zhao Hai forced a smile, "We already did all we could. The Divine Race seems to be anxious while the Demons wanted to take it slow. I can still deal with the Divine Race, but we could only delay the Demons. In any case, as long as Accra Mountain completes its preparations, we can just proceed to slowly retreat and hand the Buddha Empire over to the enemy. I don't believe that the Demons and the Divine Race would get into an agreement to divide the Empire by half."
Chapter 754 – Dark Mist In The Icefield
In the Northern Polar Icefield at this time, the icefield was not so frozen like before. After all, the source of the ice has been taken away. However, due to its relation with the sun, the icefield was still one of the coldest place in the Ark Continent.
After Zhao Hai acquired the wind bead as well as Bubble, he didn't go and explore the place anymore. This was because Zhao Hai's main purpose at that time was to retrieve the Beast God's Spear. So when he found the spear, he immediately thought nothing about the Northern Icefield.
To be honest, nothing really did happen inside the Icefield. But now, it was different. Just as Zhao Hai was having a headache about the Demons and the Divine Race, an unknown change suddenly happened in the Icefield.
In the icefield, no matter day or night, the landscape had always been white. One almost couldn't see any other color except white. Now, this white has been tainted by a little black spot.
But even if it was just a dark spot, its area was still quite bit. The spot was a black mist of over a hundred meters in diameter. In the white icefield, this black spot looked just like an ink blot on a sheet of paper.
This change happened without anyone's notice. If Zhao Hai were to discover this black spot, then he might be able to calculate that it appeared just as the Elves' Tree of Life started withering.
However, Zhao Hai didn't have the time to pay attention to the icefield. The Demons and the Divine Race were already giving him headaches, he wasn't so relaxed to turn his gaze towards the barren icefield.
As time passed, the dark mist became thicker and thicker as the area it took increased. After becoming about ten thousand meters in diameter, the center of the dark mist was already as black as ink.
Then inside that ink black mist, white smog started to bellow. But this white smog wasn't anything normal, it can actually corrode everything in touched. This corrosive smog appeared more and more.
But this dark mist was nothing more than just a screen. Two days later, a black circular hole has been corroded by the white smog. Then from that hole, more and more dark mists started appearing, making the existing dark spot bigger and bigger.
The suddenly, a bony hand extended from that round hole before a skeleton walked out. He was fully bone white with a slippery bald head. It started to look around the place in puzzlement as it randomly walked around.
Shortly after the skeleton walked out, another skeleton appeared. This skeleton made the same action as the first one, then a third skeleton came.
More and more skeletons appeared from that hole and had started to walk in all directions. It might seem like they weren't doing anything, but in fact they were actually fanning the area around the dark hole.
After an uncountable number of skeletons appeared, a giant bony claw suddenly extended out of the hole, making it bigger in the process. Then a huge magic beast appeared. This beast looked like a wingless skeletal version of the Demon Realm's dragon. It was actually smaller than a dragon and it even had a few bones missing. The skeletal dragon looked like it had been ravaged by battle.
After this undead dragon came out of the hole, it immediately made a large roar. Although it was only a skeleton, the roar that it made was actually very loud. With this roar, the undead close to it started to group up before standing still. It seems like the undead were listening to the orders of this undead dragon.
As the loud roar spread, the skeletons in all directions suddenly proceeded to walk, slowly leaving the dark mist and walking further and further.
After this undead beast appeared, more undead started to appear from the hole. Then after a moment, a zombie with green hair started to climb up.
After these green haired zombies walked out, blue-haired zombies started to appear. Then behind those zombies were an uncountable amount of dark creatures. These creatures did the same as the skeletons before them, looking around before proceeding to walk.
At this time, Zhao Hai was actually worried about the Demons. The Demons were still camped up inside Demons City, this made Zhao Hai quite impatient. Moreover, the Demons have also started to send scouts.
Zhao Hai had always been thinking about the Demons. And now that they had started to send scouts, Zhao Hai began to worry.
For the other party to send scouts, then this meant that they were already prepared to attack. Yesterday, Zhao Hai and the others had discovered that the Demons have increased in Demon City. And now that they had sent scouts, then it seems like the Demons have decided to make their move.
After looking at the scouts, Zhao Hai let out a sigh before turning to Lizzy and said, "Lizzy, should we send some Elves to deal with these Demon scouts?"
Lizzy looked at the Demon scouts and then said, "Brother Hai, to be honest, dealing with those scouts would be a good idea. However, you also need to think that the Demons are pretty strict about their methods. These scouts should have their own methods. And even if we eliminate them, then this will definitely attract the Demons' attention."
Zhao Hai nodded, but he replied, "We still have to send the Elves to deal with them. In any case, they would still attack. If we don't make a move, the Demons might think that we are cowering in fear. Eliminate those scouts, let's see how the Demons respond."
Lizzy hesitated for a bit, but she still transmitted the orders without saying anything. Although the people in Rising Sun City weren't afraid in facing the Demons, they still kept from sending scouts outside. Zhao Hai's sudden order actually made them surprised.
However, Besmir immediately obeyed Zhao Hai's order. He believed that there must be a reason for Zhao Hai to make it. Zhao Hai's understanding of the Demons and their methods were much stronger compared to him. Therefore, he didn't say anything about the order as he quickly dispatched some Elves to deal with the enemy scouts.
Zhao Hai looked at the Elves' movements on the monitor. The Elves in Rising Sun City had already reached 9th rank. Moreover, they also provided with a lot of blood lightning beads. One can say that this motion was made to examine how powerful the beads could be in the hands of 9th rank Elves.
Before long, Zhao Hai saw the Elves group up into a hundred people per squad. All of them were advancing in the direction of the Demon Race's forces.
These Elves were the elites of the Elven Race. And now that they had been supplied with blood lightning beads, it can be said that they were now the strongest combat unit in the continent. If they cannot defeat these Demons, then Zhao Hai's investment would go to waste.
However, the Elves didn't disappoint Zhao Hai. After the Elves departed, it didn't take them too long before they found the Demon Race's scouts. One must know that the scouts held the most versatile soldiers in an army. Naturally, this would also apply to the Demon race, their scouts were some of the elite forces of their respective armies. But after coming to the Ark Continent, these Demon scouts were yet to face the Elves. This made them look down on the approaching opponent.
Naturally, the Elves didn't become polite as they immediately shot some stone beads. They didn't use their blood lightning beads yet, they wanted to see the capabilities of these Demons first.
Finally, the stone beads had revealed how formidable the Demons were. One should know that these Demons weren't 8th or 9th, they weren't that high ranked. Therefore, the stone beads should be enough to cause them some damage.
However, the facts had shown that the Elves' stone beads were unable to damage these Demons at all. This meant that without the blood lightning beads, the Elves would be useless in the battlefield.
If this was the case, the Elves could only deal with the Demons while in mid-air. The blood hawks were much faster than the Demons, so the Elves weren't worried about them catching up.
At this moment, the Elves suddenly decided to fire their blood lightning beads. One must say that Zhao Hai's blood lightning beads were quite lethal. A blood lightning bead was able to cause injury in a 20 meter circle within the opposite party. And with multiple of them fired at the same time, this would cause a chain reaction that enabled the beads to become much more deadly than before.
Firing on mounts was the best way to utilize the Elves. The scout troop that the Demons sent wasn't large. But after seeing that the Elves were unable to cause them damage using their stone beads, the Demons started to think that the Elves can do nothing to them, that they had the strength to deal with the Elves easily. This caused the Demons to go and pursue the Elves.
It was at this time that the Elves started to use their blood lightning beads. These beads were things that even the Divine Race started to dread. Not to say 8th ranks, even the 9th rank Demons have exploded after being subjected to the might of the beads. They weren't able to use self-destruct, even their formidable life force was unable to resist the explosion caused by the blood lightning beads. Almost instantly, the group of Demons vanished from mid-air, completely eradicated by the blood lightning beads.