Chapter 2268

Suddenly, a piercing screech rang out.

Extremely shrill.

This made Zhao Chi, whose perception was sharp, deeply uncomfortable; Gu Qing also frowned and couldn't help covering her ears.

His girlfriends all wore slightly pained expressions as well.

Fortunately, the noise stopped quickly.

The enormous rift that pierced heaven and earth opened silently.

It seemed…

A little different from before.

When they had entered the spatial rift earlier, that giant rift had also made a sound when it opened — a startling thunder.

The sound was loud and violent.

But why was it such a shrill, piercing screech this time?

When Zhao Chi had tried it together with Li Ruanyu before, the sound of opening the spatial portal did vary each time.

But that difference was nothing more than muffled thunder versus a sharp clap.

Never once had such a piercing sound appeared.

A shrill, sharp sound means a very high frequency.

High frequency means strong energy.

Could it be that because there were Bone Dragons and Hellhounds outside, the energy on the other side was greater?

Zhao Chi hesitated.

He opened the settings interface again and carefully checked the configuration.

No problem.

Every step was exactly as the Li Ruanyu Sect taught, and Zhao Chi truly had not made a mistake.

He looked up.

The rift ahead gaped wide.

Inside was still endless black.

A heart-chilling, absolute darkness.

That, at least, was the same as before…

No, he still had to be careful!

Zhao Chi turned his head and shouted, "Everyone be careful! The energy density outside is very high — the Bone Dragons and Hellhounds may be nearby. The moment we step out, get into combat stance immediately!"

"Understood!"

The female soldiers' replies turned steady and composed.

Though they liked to play, when things got serious they were very earnest.

Zhao Chi 【Gu Qing, I'm going to activate 1 point of energy for you to raise your base stats. Cast 'Body Purification' and 'Light Shield' on everyone as a precaution】

Gu Qing 【Roger!】

Zhao Chi 【Give me a moment to convert my stats】

Gu Qing 【Mm~】

Soon, Zhao Chi switched to a spiritual-power stat allocation.

Gu Qing's and Zhao Chi's Intelligence combined totaled a full 19 points.

On top of that, Zhao Chi had a +750% spiritual-power allocation, and Gu Qing had the same +750% spiritual-power allocation, so Gu Qing's base spiritual power at this moment was extremely high.

Add to that the short skirt's +50% overall spiritual-power bonus, and Gu Qing's final spiritual-power value broke ten thousand outright.

Already close to 11,000 points.

Brutally high.

In an instant, light blazed everywhere.

Amid Gu Qing's light panting, a dewy sheen glimmered across every female soldier's skin.

As if oil had been rubbed on their skin.

And beneath their feet a breeze seemed to swirl, lifting their long hair to stream ceaselessly and making their short skirts flutter and flip without pause.

Every buff was applied.

All female soldiers would be immune to abnormal status for just over five minutes.

At the same time, for just over fifty minutes they would gain a Light Shield based on 105% of maximum HP and 105% of average equipment durability.

And, for just over fifty minutes, +160% movement speed, +105% terrain adaptability, and +53% evasion.

With the buffs stacked on top, Swift Wind Step really did perform well.

However…

Zhao Chi did not use the newly learned Bloodlust Art.

After all, spiritual power was limited — he still needed to save some to cast Gigantification.

First, just stack magic immunity, shield, movement speed, and evasion, and that would be enough.

The rest could wait until they were outside.

Besides, Bloodlust Art boosted morale, critical hit, and deadly strike.

There was no need to raise morale.

Critical hit and deadly strike suited melee soldiers like Tang Ruan and Qi Yue better; for magic-type soldiers they weren't all that important.

This would do for now.

At that moment, Zhuang Ya said softly, "Zhao Chi, come over here for a moment too? Let me apply 'Flame Covenant' to everyone first — every bit saved counts, after all."

"Mm, alright. I was heading over there anyway."

Zhao Chi nodded, and a streak of light shot forth.

In an instant, Zhao Chi slipped over to Zhuang Ya's side.

After all, Piloting only costs 10 points of spiritual power — it's already negligible.

Zhuang Ya's stat allocation is exactly the same as Gu Qing's — also a spiritual-power type.

Moreover, she can replenish spiritual energy through both absorbing fire and consuming life force, so for her, running out of spiritual power is rare.

But now they have to fight the Hellhound.

Just as she said — save what can be saved.

But the most important thing is still the buffs.

Very soon, the moment Zhuang Ya's leg trembled, another massive burst of light flew out.

All members of the Warm Clan received a 263% boost to all fire-type spells within just over fifty minutes.

The power of a single fireball or a sea-of-fire spell was directly multiplied by 2.6!

This makes things even safer.

Using Piloting again, Zhao Chi returned to Gu Qing's side.

For safety's sake.

Zhao Chi once again shifted the stat allocation from boosting spiritual power to boosting +750% life, greatly raising Gu Qing's HP.

That's safer.

Anyway, there are several hundred improvement points now — spend them freely.

Once they head out, adjust based on the actual situation.

After dawdling for ages, it was finally done.

Safety first, after all.

"Let's go — stay close behind me!"

Zhao Chi piloted Gu Qing, taking the lead.

The female soldiers followed in the middle.

Squad leaders Xia Yan and Bai Xian walked on either flank.

Zhuang Ya brought up the rear.