Chapter 762 – After the Battle
But this didn't mean that Zhao Hai didn't want to fight because he can't. He was just compelled to do so because of the underlying reasons. Moreover, he also decided to use this time to see if the Demons had any weakness that he can exploit.
However, after half a day of battle, Zhao Hai wasn't able to find something out. The life force of these Demons were just too strong. Only when their heads were chopped off could they be safe. Otherwise, no matter what injury they had, they would still manage to survive, and then they would proceed to blow themselves up.
Chopping the heads of Demons required huge skill, which Zhao Hai's undead cannot voluntarily do. Because of this, Zhao Hai manage to lose a lot of undead in this battle.
The Demon Dragon King had already tied down the Demigod-level undead. However, the undead were still going strong. Otherwise, if they weren't undead, they would have already fallen to the attacks of the Demon Dragon King's group.
Zhao Hai looked at the battlefield and then frowned. The Demon Dragon King was doing the same thing as well. To be honest, Zhao Hai's undead had caused him great headaches. Even the undead that the Lich summoned weren't as hard to deal with compared to Zhao Hai's undead. The team of Demons that can block the undead can only be so much compared to the numerous Demigod-level undead.
Both sides went on for two more hours, causing damage to both sides. At this time, Zhao Hai gently waved his hand as Megan and Lizzy led the undead to retreat, then Zhao Hai went forward. After seeing this, the Demon Dragon King also waved his hand, stopping the Demon Army from chasing. Zhao Hai looked at the Demon Dragon King and said, "Your Majesty, I just want to persuade you once more that the Ark Continent isn't necessarily suitable for the Demons. Now that their spatial rift has been opened, the Divine Race had already started to flood into the continent. They are very greedy, managing to conquer multiple planes. If you decide to join with the Divine Race to deal with us, then after that the Divine Race would surely deal with the Demons. To be honest, after clashing with both you and the Divine Race, I can say that the Demons will surely face heavy casualties if you and the Divine Race were to fight. I'm saying this in order for the Great Demon King to take this matter into consideration." Then Zhao Hai turned around and led his army to retreat.
The Demons didn't chase after them, they wouldn't dare to do so. At this time, the Demons finally understood why the Demon Dragon King had always held them back from attacking the Ark Continent. If they wanted to attack, then they have to consider this existence called Zhao Hai.
The Demon Dragon King looked at Zhao Hai until he was already far away. Then the Demon Dragon King sighed. To be honest, he was starting to believe Zhao Hai's words. The Ark Continent might be a beautiful place, but it was not necessary for the survival of the Demon Race.
Why were the Demons strong? It was because they grew up in a place such as the Demon Realm. In that place, if you weren't strong, then you will either be eaten or be turned into slaves. In this case, all the Demons needed to go all out, which resulted in the formidable Demon Race that it is now.
But the Ark Continent was different, the environment here was fantastic. There were food everywhere, moreover, there weren't any dangers in living in this place. If the Demons were to get idle, will they still belong to the formidable Demon Race? It's still hard to say.
On the other hand, it was really hard to give up on the Ark Continent. The place was too beautiful for the Demon Race, abandoning it would be a pity. Not to say the others, even the Demon Dragon King didn't want to just give up. Although he knew that the continent would dull the fangs of the Demon Race, it was still too good to give up on.
The Demon Dragon King's army slowly returned to Demon City. After arriving at the city, the Demon Dragon King immediately had a meeting with his subordinates. The Demon Dragon King also called the Demon Brutes over, he wanted to hear what they thought.
Although the Demon Brutes were the most violent race among the Demons, they were not that stupid. When facing a strong enemy, they would still make the right choice. This can be seen by the fact that they submitted to the Great Demon King. For each race to survive, they would need the necessary skills to do so, especially in a place like the Demon Realm. The Demon Brutes not only survived in this hellscape, they also managed to expand. If they were really the boorish fellows that were described, then they wouldn't have reached their current status.
The Demon Dragon King sat in the hall, he looked at those present and said, "Everyone, tell me your thoughts about today's battle."
The people in the room looked at each other, but nobody spoke. After some time, a Demon opened its mouth, "Formidable. This Zhao Hai is stronger than what I thought. Conquering the Ark Continent was proving to be difficult."
Then with this, the people in the room immediately expressed their thoughts to each other. One of them said, "I don't understand. How could he have a lot of strong undead? This doesn't add up."
Another Demon said, "Right, and he didn't even make a move, only his undead creatures fought."
A Demon Brute in the audience stared at the others and said, "What? You're all afraid? Are you really Demons? That Zhao Hai, even if strong, is still one person from the Ark Continent. Do you think there are more of him out there? If that was the case, then they would've driven us away a long time ago."
The Demon Dragon King looked at the Brute as he nodded, "Right, out of all the people in the Ark Continent, this Zhao Hai is the only one that I dread. After investigating, I can affirm that the people in the Ark Continent are relying on Zhao Hai. If not for him, the continent would have already been conquered. Because of this, after knowing that the Divine Race has come, I decided to hold back from attacking. First, we can use this time to construct important structures for the rear army. And second, to have a look at the strength of the Divine Race. We need to know about the Divine Race in order to have the confidence to deal with them. And lastly, I want Zhao Hai and the Divine Race to fight, hopefully causing major losses on both sides. What do all of you think about this?"
The Demon Dragon King's two cold eyes scanned everyone in the room. All of the couldn't help but unconsciously lower their heads. They were ashamed of themselves for berating the Demon Dragon King with criticisms when he decided to refrain from doing an attack.
After seeing the response of the group in front of him, the Demon Dragon King couldn't help but laugh inside. The relationships between the Demon Races were very complex. And now that they had been placed in a single place, they needed to be well managed. Even the Great Demon King was having difficulties in this matter, let along the Demon Dragon King.
Normally, the Demon Dragon King would find it hard to calm them. But now that Zhao Hai made a move, these people started to behave themselves. It was advantageous for the Demon Dragon King if these people were to stay this obedient.
After scanning the group, the Demon Dragon King said, "Alright, something major happened today, all of you should go back. Go and check the casualties in your respective groups. Those injured needed to be taken care of immediately. We don't want to make a sudden move and make a drastic mistake. We need to be careful from now on." Then the Demons nodded before they turned around to leave.
Demon City slowly calmed down. However, the same cannot be said with Rising Sun City. Zhao Hai wasn't able to get any advantages in today's battle, he might have even suffered some losses. However, Zhao Hai didn't think too much about it. On the other hand, the Rulers and Patriarchs of the continents were very shaken, their expressions were ugly to see.
Zhao Hai welcomed them to the city lord's mansion of Rising Sun City. After everyone had sat down, Zhao Hai looked at them and said, "Everyone should have witnessed the strength of the Demon race. To tell you the truth, those undead that I sent out had God-rank strength. However, they are only Demigods, the lowest level a God-rank expert can be, about the same strength as Origin Sword Saint. And I have used five hundred thousand of those undead to fight the Demons." The Rulers and Patriarchs didn't speak. In the past, since they haven't witnessed the strength of the Demons, they couldn't believe the tales told about them. But now, they finally understood that Zhao Hai didn't lie. The Ark Continent was indeed in a very dangerous situation.
Zhao Hai looked at their faces and said, "The Divine Race's strength is no weaker than the Demons. And there are more people from the Divine Race. In their army, their weakest troops are their Heavy Cavalry, with an average level of 8th rank. However, even if their Heavy Cavalry are unable to fly, they still have strength comparable to a 9th rank expert. Their innate strength is astonishing as well. If they were to charge, then I'm afraid that neither the Elephant Tribe, the Bull Tribe, nor the Rhinoceros Tribe are able to meet them head on. Moreover, after reaching 9th rank, their strengths have undergone a huge change. 8th ranks would be nothing in front of them."
After speaking up to here, Zhao Hai continued, "Aside from the Heavy Cavalry, there are Light Cavalry units as well. The lowest rank of these Light cavalry is 9th rank, God-ranks were among their numbers. In addition to their strength, they are quite quick as well. I'm afraid only the strengthened Elves with blood lightning beads can contend with them in the skies."
Chapter 763 – Actually, We Are Sheep
As soon as Zhao Hai finished talking, he could see that the faces of those present here has become ugly. Zhao Hai looked at them and said, "I also suspect that the Divine Race's light and heavy cavalries aren't real members of the Divine Race, but slaves that came from the planes that the Divine Race has conquered. Naturally, their status in the Divine Race should be just cannon fodder. Every fight, they would be placed in the front while the Divine Race stays behind. At the same time, the Divine Race army is also very powerful. They almost don't have any 9th rank member, most of them are God-ranks. If we didn't have the magic cannons in the last encounter, then we might not have been able to stop them from going forward."
Then Zhao Hai gave out a sigh and continued, "This is truly the Ark Continent's greatest tribulation. The Demons and the Divine Race, any one of them would be difficult to deal with, much less two. The reason why I had the commoners promoted was because I'm afraid that we wouldn't be able to stop the two invaders from going forward. When the time comes, we would need all the manpower that we can get."
Nobody spoke, although they hadn't yet seen the Divine Race, seeing Zhao Hai equating them to the Demons was enough to prove their prowess.
Zhao Hai scanned the group and then gave a bitter smile, "Actually, there is another matter that I still haven't told all of you. I'm hesitating to tell this because I'm afraid that you would become too terrified."
When the Rosen Emperor heard Zhao Hai, he paused for a moment before he said, "Little Hai, what else can scare someone as old as us. Just say it. Can it be more terrifying than the arrival of the Demons and the Divine Race?" Zhao Hai looked at the Rosen Emperor and smiled, "Father-in-law, this thing is more terrifying than that. Let me tell you. I've already fought with the Divine Race for two times. The first time, I faced with their infantry units. They're very strong. I managed to drive them away using my undead, the magic cannons, and a lot of crystals. On the second encounter, I faced against their regular army, the heavy cavalry, the light cavalry, and the summoners. I've already told everyone about the cavalry units. But those summoners are special units specifically trained by the Divine Race. These summoners summoned strong magic beasts. And most importantly, when these summoners combine their powers, they were able to summon a person."
Those present gawked, summoning a person, they had heard of summoners able to summon humanoid magic beasts. However, from Zhao Hai's tone, it seems like it wasn't a magic beast. What does this mean?
Zhao Hai looked at the group and continued, "Right, it is an actual projection of a person. And the Divine Race called this person 'Deity'. For the Divine Race to call someone Deity is already very strange. Afterwards, this projection and I had a huge fight. In the end, I almost lost my life when I was attacked by that person's spiritual attack. Luckily, I was able to survive and eliminate the projection."
The group continued to stare. Although they didn't understand what this projection was, they can fairly imagine that a projection wasn't a person himself, but something like a shadow instead. A shadow-like thing actually managed to almost kill Zhao Hai? This information made everyone panic.
Zhao Hai smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, that was the most dangerous situation that I have been in. My mind was completely out of it. Fortunately, I have some potions in my hand, allowing me to recover quickly. That projection didn't think that I can recover so fast, so he didn't expect it when I came out and destroyed his weapon, eliminating the projection in the process."
After speaking up to here, the room finally relaxed. Before this day, they wouldn't easily believe Zhao Hai's words. But now, all of them didn't doubt him anymore. Even after seeing Zhao Hai doing well in front of them, they still couldn't help but be nervous for Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai continued, "After killing the projection, I used a secret Dark Magic technique in order to obtain certain information from that person's mouth. This information was what startled me."
The Rulers and Patriarchs were all looking at Zhao Hai, waiting for him to say this information. Zhao Hai looked into their eyes and said, "From that person's memory, I had found out that in this universe, planes like the Ark Continent, Demon Realm, and Divine Realm were aplenty. However, our Ark Continent, the Demon Realm and the Divine Realm were no more than the most common type of plane. They were under these so called major planes. That man from the projection was supervising this major plane in order to collect faith power from these common planes. In other words, in that person's eyes, our use is just to provide them with faith power."
The group stared, puzzled at what Zhao Hai said. Then the Rosen Emperor said, "Little Hai, what is this faith power that you speak of?"
Zhao Hai replied, "This faith power is a type of invisible energy. Actually, the Radiant Church's purpose was precisely to offer this energy. As long as one becomes faithful to the point where one can sacrifice themselves, then they will provide faith power to the Deity. This energy might be useless to us, but for that man that the Divine Race summoned, it is very useful. Whether it was the Demons, Divine Race, or us, we are just like sheep raised to be sheared to provide wool."
As soon as they heard this, the people in the room couldn't help but be in an uproar. These people were used to be the ones stamping their feet, ruling the Ark Continent in their high positions. But now, in the eyes of the man that was summoned by the Divine Race, they were just like Sheep. How unbelievable was this?
Zhao Hai saw their reaction and smiled bitterly. He knew that this was a hard thing for these people to accept. They had lived their lives being aloof, but they were actually just sheep in the eyes of others. How could they just accept this fate?
After some time, the group calmed down, but each of their expression stayed quite ugly. Zhao Hai looked at them and forced a smile, "I know that everyone isn't feeling any better. But no matter what, I need to say this. Although that projection was just like a shadow, but that thing had about the same strength as me even though it only had 1 percent of the true body's power. In this case, if that person himself came here, I would have surely died. This person might seem strong, but from what I had gathered, he was only a normal person in his realm. In this case, how could they possibly place us in their eyes?"[1]
Zhao Hai's words made those present turn pale. It was just unbelievable. If the enemy can send someone that can fight 100 Zhao Hais then that would be too scary.
Zhao Hai continued, "But everyone doesn't need to worry about this. It would be impossible for that person to arrive at our Ark Continent, just like how hard it was for the Divine Race to arrive here. And since that person is too strong, he would have to expend more energy if he decided to personally descend."
Seeing that the crowd had relaxed, Zhao Hai then said, "But even if they can't come over, the aid that they could provide to the Divine Race was still problematic. The method that the Divine Race used to break the Ark Continent's space came from that person. After all these years of guiding the Divine Race, who knows what weapons they have in their hands. Because of this, I couldn't help but pay attention to the Divine Race."
The group nodded, they didn't dare underestimate the Divine Race after this. Then Zhao Hai said, "But I'm still afraid that the person would come here despite the difficulties. When that happens, then that would be the end for us. I don't want to frighten you, but I want all of you to give your all in preparation. When both the Demons and the Divine Race decides to attack, then we would have to give up on the Buddha Empire and go all out in defending the Accra Mountains. In the mountains, our Ark Continent would have a chance for survival. We need to wait before my God-rank potions get finished, then we would have more God-ranks in the Ark Continent. When that time comes we can counter attack. And as long as we block the two races, it would be possible that they would go against each other first, that would be a good outcome for us. So when everyone gets back, they must train every single person they can. It may be possible for us to use them the war. But preferably, I want them to stay as reserve."
The Patriarchs and Rulers nodded. After witnessing the Demons today, their previous mentality has already vanished. They were now very convinced to turn the commoners into experts that the continent may possibly use.
Zhao Hai looked into their eyes and said, "I know that everyone of us is busy, so I won't be keeping you here for long. I only hope that after you head back, you will put your best in training the troops. The Divine Race has already turned the entire Radiant Empire into their military outpost, waiting for their reinforcements to arrive. On the other hand, the Demons have never stopped sending their troops over. If we combine those two armies, then my undead would prove insufficient. I need more people to help defend the frontline."
The people present held a very heavy heart, but as Zhao Hai said, these invaders weren't simple people. The continent couldn't idle for too long.
After having their talk, Zhao Hai immediately used his spatial rifts to send everyone back to their territories.
It said 10 percent last time, but now its 1 percent xdChapter 764 – Shun Becomes A God
After sending the Rulers and Patriarchs off, Zhao Hai gave out a sigh. Then he returned to the Space and sat inside the living room as Meg served him a cup of tea. Laura and the others were also sitting beside him.
Although Zhao Hai didn't tell the whole truth, Laura and the others can understand that some matters cannot be said, especially when it came close to exposing the Space's existence.
Laura looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Brother Hai, do you think that those people would change the way they think? We didn't really need to do that much"
Zhao Hai smiled bitterly and said, "I hope they do. Otherwise, he would have wasted our time."
Lizzy had a complicated face as she said, "Brother Hai, why didn't we go fight the Divine Race? Battling them would show father and the others a more formidable side of our enemies."
Zhao Hai forced a smile and said, "The Divine Race is different from the Demons. The Demons are currently afraid of us, moreover, they desired for us to battle the Divine Race. Because of this, before the Divine Race makes their move, the Demons wouldn't make too big of a move. On the other hand, the Divine Race has always been prepared for a fight. Also, after monitoring them for quite some time, you should know how arrogant the Divine Race are. If we decided to poke them a bit, then they might go and attack us in full force. When that time comes, the Demons would also make their move. The Demon Dragon King isn't a simple person, that would be the result that he desired the most. Moreover, I chose the Demons because they don't have magic cannons, completely different to the Divine Race who had huge ones. Although we haven't seen the might of their cannons, we can be assured that they are more threatening than ours. From what I can see, threatening the Divine Race would cause us to lose more undead in the end."
Lizzy gave an understanding nod. The Demons were also better targets because they didn't have any strength with regards to defending a city, their prowess completely relied on field battles. But the Divine Race is different, their defensive strength was also very strong, those huge magic cannons aren't just for decoration. If Zhao Hai went on to attack the Divine Race, then his losses would certainly be huge. And at this time, Zhao Hai cannot afford to lose so much undead.
Lizzy sighed and said, "Big Brother Hai, you've actually thought up to this point. I feel kind of useless right now."
Zhao Hai looked at Lizzy and smiled, "What are you saying. Aren't you and Megan the ones commanding the undead? Also, Laura, Ruyen, and Meg are also doing the logistics. It is only because you took these matters off my shoulders that was I able to make extra considerations. Moreover, you should know that your ability in commanding the undead is far superior than mine. If I were the one controlling the undead in the recent battle, then I might have even lost all of them."
Lizzy and the others couldn't help but smile upon listening to Zhao Hai. Laura looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Brother Hai, you said that the Immortal Cultivator won't come to the continent. However, what would we do if he did?"
Zhao Hai gave a bitter smile and said, "Lu Wei's status isn't high. Additionally, it would take a lot of resources for someone like him to come here from the cultivation world. Remember how much the Divine Race sacrificed in order to come here? Lu Wei would certainly pay a much bigger price compared to the Divine Race. Because of this, it would be close to impossible for him to come. The price would be too much for someone like Lu Wei to pay. What I'm worried right now is when we get stronger in the future. If we manage to ascend to the cultivation world, then we would have Lu Wei to worry about."
Lizzy smiled and said, "There's nothing to worry about that. He wouldn't know that Brother Hai has the Space. Right, Brother Hai, when do you think the Divine Race would attack?" Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "I don't know. The Divine Race aren't too anxious right now. Forget it, the God-rank potion should be done quite soon. When it's made, Immediately give it to Shun. Then we'll have him participate in battles in order to awaken his Domain. Cai'er, how long will it take before we can use the materials in the magic backgrounds?"
Cai'er smiled and said, "Young Master, they should be ready in a few days. There are already some that are available, but they are still yet to mutate. Having mutated ingredients would make it much easier for us to produce God-rank potions, so I chose to wait." Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Alright, I'll leave it all to you. I'm quite tired, so I'll take a break." Then he stood up and went to his room.
Zhao Hai got up early the next morning. After having his breakfast, he went to the living room and looked at the screen. The movements of the Divine Race weren't small. Their little slaves have already been sent to cultivate the lands. Moreover, they also had more of their troops stations near the Buddha Empire's borders.
After seeing this scene, Zhao Hai's complexion couldn't help but sink. He knew that the reinforcements were coming, and that the Divine Race would soon start their attack. And from what he can see, they were going full force!
Laura and the others were also looking at the monitor. Although they had expected this situation, their imaginations were still less than the display before them. Their hearts couldn't help but turn cold at what they had seen.
Zhao Hai let out a long breath and said, "It looks like it's time to fight a major battle. I'm afraid the Divine Race would be attacking within a few days. These guys, it seems like they aren't placing the Demons in their eyes. They clearly knew what the Demons are planning, but they still chose to be this arrogant."
Laura and the others sighed, they didn't say anything. Zhao Hai changed the monitor's display to see the situation of the continent. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, the continent was now starting to train the commoners. Although it was just the start, it was still a welcome development.
After looking at this, Zhao Hai turned to Laura and said, "Immediately tell the continent that the Divine Race's reinforcements are coming. Moreover, they would be attacking in the next few days. Give them the 9th rank potions now, have them promote all the armies into 9th rank."
Laura and the others nodded, then they proceeded to handle the matter. Zhao Hai was still quite worried. Although having a lot of 9th ranks was great, he wasn't sure if they were able to fight the Divine Race.
Zhao Hai shook his head and disposed of these ideas. Then Zhao Hai released Fuwa and asked him about the undead dragons. Fuwa told him that they would still need more days before being done. It might have been fine if there wasn't a battle, but now that one was coming, Zhao Hai couldn't help but think about how hard it was to acquire God-ranks.
The next day, the God-rank potion had finally been made. Zhao Hai immediately called Shun over, making him take the potion. Shun smoothly became a God, but he was yet to comprehend a Domain. This time, Zhao Hai didn't deliberately find trouble with the Divine Race or the Demons, the situation was just too volatile. For now, Zhao Hai had Shun get familiarized with his new strength.
And Zhao Hai made the right decision, although Shun can't make a lot of clones like Shue, he was still a powerful assassin. With his promotion to God-rank, Shue's hidden weapon skills became even stronger. From Zhao Hai's calculations, not even 10 Demigods would be able to face Shue and his unstoppable hidden weapons.
Now that Shun and Shue, the two friends, were on the same ground once again. Zhao Hai was thinking about promoting Blockhead and Rockhead next. The mental synergy between the two was very strong. Once they become Gods, their combat strength would surely soar.
Zhao Hai was now acting like a Merchant, thinking carefully where to invest, making sure that every step was perfect.
Zhao Hai and Shue helped Shun get used to his own strength. In order to improve Shun's power, Zhao Hai spent some gold coins in the Processing Machine in order to produce a batch of hidden weapons. He also gave Shun a couple of spatial bags filled with those weapons. The weapons in the bags should last him for a few years.
After leaving Shue and Shun, Zhao Hai felt more relaxed. In the past, the two had been worried that they weren't able to help Zhao Hai, but now that Zhao Hai had things he couldn't handle, the two can proceed to show their usefulness. While the two were looking at the monitor, Zhao Hai went on and got used to the tiny pagoda's abilities.
Originally, Zhao Hai wanted to wait for the pagoda to make the first batch of undead before testing its defensive and offensive capabilities. But now it seems like that wouldn't be the case. Not knowing when the Divine Race would attack, Zhao Hai decided to do his tests right now. If he cannot fully make use of the pagoda, then that would definitely be a loss. It was more important than upgrading the undead.
The tiny pagoda's power was in the level of Demigod. But if Zhao Hai can utilize all of its strength, then he would be able to face 100 Demigods alone. Naturally, this required being familiar with the pagoda.
Using the pagoda will consume its energy, delaying the undead's promotion. However, Zhao Hai didn't care about it right now.
Two days later, Shun can finally make use of his Demigod level strength. At the same time, a large scale reinforcement from the Divine Realm just arrived at the Ark Continent. The war is ready to set off!