Chapter 193: War Calamity

"Cloud Energy! Rise!"

Mu Yi roared, raising the battle flag high, and the scarlet Cloud Energy instantly surged up from the army formation.

The wills of thousands were fully channeled by Mu Yi into the barrier, completely unfolding the independent belief zone.

With the aid of the barrier, Mu Yi fully realized the basic effect of the divine will system that Bai Qi once spoke of, about to bring this entire area under his control; he can freely manipulate this region.

"First, the Asura Path!"

Scarlet light poured out of the Asura Path barrier like a torrent, washing over each elite soldier; the surging power forged ferocious armor on them, and their eyes blazed with relentless blood‑red light.

"Next, the Celestial Path!"

Mu Yi pointed a finger, and the overwhelming divine power descended upon the elite guard; the previously brutal, feral aura suddenly became as massive as a mountain, and the raging murderous intent turned into an undeniable solemnity.

"Then, Hell Path!"

The burning fire began to blaze across the ground, as if to incinerate everything, and it also laid a layer of flame enchantment on the dramatically altered elite troops.

"They're just a bunch of small fry; watch me blow you all away!"

Even under the dense barrage of spears, they were forced to retreat step by step.

For them, death had already entered a full countdown mode.

A massive scarlet battle flag materialized from mid‑air, leaving a scarlet hum in the air that struck Feng Zai directly.

Dense thickets of spears thrust out from all directions; Feng Zai leapt onto Di Zai's shoulder, evading the spear attacks.

Moreover, countless hungry ghosts were continuously devouring the power of the two of them, making them grow weaker by the second.

But before Di Zai could even show a smile, Li Xian was already holding up a large shield before him; compared with ordinary soldiers, Li Xian, who had mastered three Elite Talents, was far stronger.

The moment the Cloud Energy rose, Feng Zai and Di Zai seemed to bear heavy shackles on their backs, their strength severely reduced; this sudden change left them watching helplessly as Mu Yi's elite guard charged at them.

Mu Yi sneered as he waved the battle flag; it was one thing not to have the method before, but now he had completed the basics—if he could make people break out of the formation so easily, what was the point of staying any longer?

Yet, as the elite guard marched with firm steps, pressing forward with dense shield walls and spear forests, Feng Zai still could not find any solution.

"Di Zai, charge! As long as we take down that guy, we can get out of here!" Feng Zai shouted, leading the charge toward Mu Yi.

With Mu Yi's maneuver, the Cloud Energy formed a shield around the soldiers, blocking the raging wind completely.

When Mu Yi finished speaking, countless hungry ghosts surged from the gaping Ghost Gate, clinging to the elite troops' weapons and exuding waves of greedy aura.

Feng Zai clung tightly to Di Zai, trying to find a way out of the encirclement.

"Get out of my way!" Di Zai Ke Li Po felt his internal energy draining rapidly, panicked, leapt forward with a huge stride, swinging his war hammer outward.

But as the massive scythe swung, a gust of wind materialized out of nowhere, ready to blow all the front‑line soldiers away.

Mu Yi lowered the battle flag, and following its direction, the elite guard surged from all sides toward the two surrounded leaders.

Unable to leap over the encirclement, he faced spears thrust at him like a wall and could only retreat in disgrace.

"Pfft~" Li Xian spat blood, watching himself being forced backward by spears, grabbed a shield from a comrade behind him, lowered his stance again, and charged at Di Zai.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

"Kill!"

The massive scythe in his hand had long been knocked down by spears because it couldn't be wielded, so he could only rely on the two daggers in his hands to block the spears.

Unable to break through the encirclement, they could only watch death draw near.

With nowhere to hide, Feng Zai was struck by the battle flag back into the encirclement, creating a huge crater on the ground.

"Get back!"

So now, if we keep doing this, we'll truly die.

The limp soldiers on the ground were dragged away by comrades behind them; the burning ember fire could sustain their life, but whether they could survive now depended on luck.

"Guard!"

They're going to die! They're going to die! They're going to die!

Feng Zai's intuition screamed wildly at him; the current situation was too bizarre. Previously, he and the two leaders Di Zai could completely ignore the swarm of small fry's encirclement and slaughter freely among the crowd.

Whenever someone fell, another took their place; each of Di Zai's attacks could shatter a soldier's tendons, yet he still could not advance a single step.

Feng Zai said, pulling out a massive scythe; given his dwarf stature, it looked rather comical.

No one could dodge; they could only take the hit head‑on.

Compared with Di Zai's sky‑high defense, Feng Zai, who excels in speed and ambush, could only scramble beneath Di Zai's hips, using Di Zai's massive body to block attacks; Di Zai could endure the combined force of dozens of spears, but that didn't mean he could hold them all.

Yet, while suspended in mid‑air, several spears pinned his body, the war hammer struck the shield‑bearer, and the soldier instantly went limp on the ground; even with Cloud Energy boost and comrades' support, they could hardly withstand that single blow.

"Nice try!"

Feng Zai sprang into the air, stepping over the soldier who raised a shield, seemingly intending to leap straight out of the encirclement.

Ke Li Po, seeing this, swung his war hammer down; the shield in Li Xian's hand shattered instantly, and the ground beneath Li Xian's feet cracked inch by inch.

"Finally, Hungry Ghost Path!"

"What the hell are these things!" Feng Zai shrieked manically.

A legion attack—using the legion's might against a master is the best method; though it consumes some Cloud Energy and belief, its effect is outstanding.

Dozens of spears jabbed directly into Di Zai's massive body; although they couldn't pierce his outer defense, they left marks, and the hungry ghosts on the weapons clung to Di Zai like maggots on a heel bone, crazily gnawing at his energy.

"Oh no!"

While he was exhausted dealing with the spear forest and shield wall, a sharp arrow pierced his shoulder; the anti‑magic force ran through his whole body, leaving him rigid, and seconds later four or five spears drove straight into him.

The explorer's solo combat style ran into a formation that suppressed with sheer numbers, leaving him unable to retaliate.

Especially for an assassin‑style frail fighter like Feng Zai, the moment he was surrounded there was no way out.

He clearly possessed anti‑magic power that could kill a caster with a single strike, and a curse that prevented wounds from healing, yet faced with a massive swarm of plain soldiers, he could do nothing.

Before this, Feng Zai never imagined he would be so powerless against a siege; his speed became meaningless, leaving only brute force.

An assassin who runs onto the battlefield is doomed to have no good ending.

Feng Zai, unwillingly, flung the dagger he held; it pierced the shield but lost all momentum thereafter.

"Damn it!"

The wind disaster was incensed, but the next moment more spears pierced his body, and darkness swallowed him like a tide.

"Should I specially recruit a few three‑day‑gift divine archers?"

Mu Yi watched the wind disaster being sent away by his own arrow, pondering thoughtfully.

Melee classes inevitably have limitations; even when using spears for a siege, only a hundred or so can act at once, while the rest remain onlookers waiting.

Although their power has already been projected by Mu Yi's belief onto the front‑line soldiers, they should be able to accomplish more.

It was as if his arrow broke the wind disaster's balance, causing it to be killed outright in an instant.

Perhaps I should also recruit two mages?

After dealing with the wind disaster, the remaining earth disaster became fish on a cutting board; thanks to his super‑strong body, he blocked the vast majority of attacks.

But under the hungry ghost's gnawing, the earth disaster's power grew increasingly weak; when the feeble earth disaster swung its hammer, ordinary soldiers could even raise shields to withstand it, no longer being shattered and collapsed as before.

Spears from all directions kept attacking continuously, like a downpour, leaving the earth disaster no room to breathe.

Although the attacks don't break its defense, they can effectively prevent the earth disaster from doing anything.

The greedy hungry ghost bit the earth disaster's soil element bite by bite, like a knife, slowly draining its blood and making it increasingly weak.

And the scorching flames continuously wore down the earth disaster's will.

Under the double assault, the earth disaster's body collapsed entirely.

"All of you, roll back!"

Mu Yi let out a fierce shout, about to surge forward, when the hungry ghosts that were completely devouring the soil‑element corpse suddenly, like dogs with their chains pulled, lost control and flew back toward the Ghost Gate, being re‑suppressed within the Hell Path.

"Is it because the Six Paths are not yet fully perfected?"

Mu Yi frowned; at the last moment, those hungry ghosts had already begun to lose control.

I don't know whether it's because all the power was used for battle, or because the Six Paths have not been fully constructed to form reincarnation.

But whatever the case, this is not a good sign; the Hell Path power cannot be used again in the short term, and this thing is likely a double‑edged sword.

As the elemental energy dissipated, the corpse made of soil element began to weather, its rock‑formed body gradually collapsing, scattering like sand and stones onto the ground.

Picking up several wilderness relics exposed among the sand and stones, Mu Yi, somewhat exhausted, dispelled the barrier and forced himself to maintain the power of an independent belief zone, which was more tiring than he had imagined.

No wonder Bai Qi told him before that this method is just a shortcut that can help him get started quickly; if he expects to rely on this thing for a single move, he'd be better off washing up and sleeping.

The group that was suddenly released was stunned for a moment.

"Wind disaster, earth disaster are dead; anyone who doesn't want to die, surrender to me immediately!"

Mu Yi tossed the blood‑splattered corpse of the wind disaster and the earth disaster's war hammer into the midst of the melee, and his cold words made the raiders feel as if they were standing naked in a frozen wasteland.

After a brief silence, the raiders, like mourners, dropped their weapons; they understood the wind and earth disasters' power better than others, yet now both were dead, and they had no courage to face Mu Yi, not even the thought of fleeing.

"The descended shall not be killed!"

Mu Yi drew his bow and shattered a fleeing raider with a single arrow, then coldly deployed his elite guard to take over the captives.

"Cao Ming, Li Xian, sweep the battlefield; aside from the caravan's goods, everything else is loot. Whoever dares to cause trouble will be killed without mercy!"

Leaning against the carriage, Mu Yi closed his eyes and began browsing the comprehensive web messages he had just ignored.

"Defeated the secret realm boss 【Nine Calamities – Wind Disaster – Quirtesang】, you earned 2550 kill‑experience points."

"Defeated the secret realm boss 【Nine Calamities – Earth Disaster – Clipper】, you earned 2550 kill‑experience points."

"You have obtained the wilderness relic dropped by the kill; current wilderness relic count: 9!"

"Achievement: I am the disaster, current progress 2/13."

"After completing the achievement, you will receive a Special Title reward!"

"You have completed the Special Event: Sudden Disaster, and successfully achieved the kill; your secret realm personal reward has increased, and your rating has risen dramatically!"

"You have obtained the secret realm Special Title 【Soldier Disaster】, which can be upgraded!"

【Soldier Disaster】

Title attributes:

When facing secret realm creatures:

1. Gain a fear effect that scales with legend level (the higher the legend level, the more pronounced the effect).

2. All faction and organization reputations within the secret realm are raised to Respect.

There's no substantial reward, Mu Yi smirked, but he obtained the powerful wilderness relics of the wind and earth disasters, which can arm his subordinates; at least in this secret realm, he now has two strong enforcers.

Even if they're not as formidable as the wind and earth disaster bosses, they're at least two elite monsters.

By the time the mages and priests rushed back from who‑knows‑where, everything had already drawn to a close.

The caravan's losses were minor; only a few small raiding parties stole some spices and the like, overall losing less than ten percent of the cargo.

For Bixor, this result was a godsend; had he not hired Mu Yi, this trip would likely have ended in total loss, and even his survival would have been doubtful.

The Nine Calamities raiders are no gentle babies; leaving no survivors is not a one‑or‑two‑time thing.

But seeing these raiders cowering before Mu Yi like lapdogs, Bixor could only sneer inwardly at their cowardice, then lick his lips and crowd around to praise Mu Yi's great achievements.

Honestly, the first time encountering such a formation, Mu Yi was momentarily disoriented.

But he didn't forget what needed to be done; he scattered those raiders, making them turn on each other, exposing the most heinous among them and executing them on the spot.

Watching a third of the raiders be executed by Mu Yi without blinking an eye, the remaining raiders fell silent as if chilled to the bone.

Mu Yi dispersed those raiders into his elite guard; using war to fund war inevitably requires some cannon fodder, otherwise every battle would cost his own troops, and Mu Yi would be heart‑broken.

Just in this melee, over a hundred soldiers died, more than two hundred were seriously wounded, and the rest were basically all injured.

Eliminating those raiders serves both as a warning to others and to throw those scum into the Hell Path to burn, then sacrifice the pure energy produced to heal the soldiers' wounds and boost their strength.