Chapter 3955: Strategic Retreat

“Mr. Lu, from what you’ve told us, these four Insect Lords are nearly invincible beneath the Immortal realm. Some experts in my Nine Odysseys Megaverse might be able to fight against them in a one-on-one match, but they are very few. Right now, the Nest civilization is attacking while we defend, which means that we are in too passive a situation. Of particular concern is this Luo Chan. If it can truly do what you say, how can we possibly defend against such a monster?” Lord Ting Chao sighed.

Everyone now understood the reason for Lu Yin’s ruined mood earlier.

No one would have an easy time when trying to deal with a creature as bizarre as Luo Chan.

That bug’s ability was essentially an absolute power on the battlefield. Luo Chan could directly influence any battle, while being unaffected by either side. To ordinary people, such an ability belonged to a god. While Luo Chan was not an Immortal and thus could not be seen as a god by cultivators, the bug’s innate gift practically put it on the same level as an Immortal. It was simply impossible to counter.

An Immortal’s strength was impossible to counter, while Luo Chan’s ability allowed for absolute control in a war.

Lu Yin replied, “Right now, what’s most important is to make sure that every cultivator fighting against the Nest civilization learns about this. Otherwise, we’ll suffer terrible losses as soon as the four Insect Lords appear. As for dealing with Luo Chan, it’s hard to think of a solution right now.”

“We can’t contact anyone else from here, not even the Nine Odysseys Megaverse,” Yu Jing said in a helpless tone.

Lu Yin frowned. He already knew this: sending a message to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse from here was far too difficult. Unless someone from Whither Peak happened to come by and see them, allowing him to hand the information over, there was no way to deliver anything at all.

There was only one way: returning.

Lu Yin looked over at the green lotus leaf in the distance. It would let them return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse within a year. That would allow them to deliver the information that they had gathered, but could they even afford to wait for a year?

Without Luo Chan, Lu Yin would not worry, as it would take some time for the Nest civilization’s second wave of insects to arrive. However, Luo Chan’s ability to teleport meant that distance was meaningless for the Nest civilization’s invasions. The insect hordes could appear at any moment. That was the greatest threat.

Given the nervous expressions on the faces of Jue Ling and the others, they had also realized this key point.

Shan Lie had already been powerful enough to overwhelm multiple peak Dukkhans. If one of the Insect Lords had also been present, they would have died without a doubt.

“Someone needs to return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to deliver this new information.”

“The one most suited to return is Mr. Lu, but if you leave-”

“We abandon this place,” Lu Yin announced, startling everyone else.

After learning of the four Insect Lords’ existence, especially a creature as strange as Luo Chan, everyone’s first reaction had been to abandon the Consciousness Megaverse and return home.

It was not that they were afraid to fight the bugs, but rather that doing so was meaningless.

None of them were a match for any of the Insect Lords, or even a particularly strong Verdant Sage like Shan Lie. If Luo Chan appeared, none of them would be able to so much as touch the enemy. Fighting on a battlefield so far from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was unwise.

However, no one dared to say this aloud, as verbalizing it also meant shouldering the ensuing responsibility.

Lu Yin’s announcement relieved everyone, while simultaneously making them uneasy.

No matter what, Lu Yin was still a native of the Tianyuan Megaverse. If something happened, he would only bear a small bit of the responsibility. If the Consciousness Megaverse was indeed abandoned, it would be the others who would bear the majority of the responsibility, as they belonged to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. There was no avoiding it.

Lu Yin looked around. “Luo Chan’s existence makes distance meaningless for the bugs, but we also have someone on our side who can make distance meaningless.”

“Greater Sancte Awe Gate?” several people exclaimed.

Lu Yin nodded. “Greater Sancte Awe Gate is also able to render distance meaningless, though only within a limited range. Still, as long as things remain within that range, Luo Chan will not have any advantages. Wherever it takes the insects, Awe Gate will be able to open a gate. We must fight within that range.

“Also, this place is simply too far from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. There’s no way to transmit information, and it takes too long for reinforcements to arrive. Stretching the frontlines this far is completely to our disadvantage. These bugs do not care if they die, given how quickly they reproduce, and we don’t even know how many Verdant Sages there still are. Even so, we can’t afford to fight a battle of attrition.”

Yu Jing agreed, “Mr. Lu is right, but holding back the Nest civilization in this place was the Greater Sancti’s decision. If we return, I fear-”

Lu Yin said, “I will explain the situation.”

Yu Jing, Jue Ling, and Lord Ting Chao exchanged glances before nodding. “We will follow your decision, Mr. Lu.”

“Then what about the Consciousness Megaverse?” Jue Ling asked hesitantly.

Lu Yin looked into the distance, gazing at the Consciousness Megaverse. “This place holds very little life now.”

Jue Ling was puzzled. “Are there no living creatures?”

Yu Jing cut her off. “Mr. Lu, when will we return?”

He did not want to remain for even another moment. He could not help but feel that another swarm of insects could appear at any time. If that happened, they might not be able to escape. A green lotus leaf was nowhere near as fast as Luo Chan.

Lu Yin gave the order, and everyone immediately left.

“Do you know the maximum range of the Awe Gates?”

“We don’t know.”

“That is the power of a Greater Sancte, and we simply cannot fathom it.”

Lu Yin thought for a moment. “Beacon City.”

Several people were taken aback. “Beacon City?”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “Beacon City is not very far from either the Spirit Nidus or the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. More importantly, since the original springboard is there, the speed of traveling from there is second only to a green lotus leaf. Given everything about the place, I believe that the Awe Gates’ maximum range should be around Beacon City. We’ll head there first and drop you off there. You will hold that position and wait for instructions.”

The springboard that Beacon City had been built around let people travel in any direction, not just to the three megaverses. Still, while travel was possible, the springboard had never been used in such a manner. Additionally, Beacon City was even capable of communicating with the Spirit Nidus, which made it the most suitable staging grounds for a war.

When Greater Sancte Awe Gate had used her gate to collect Lu Yin from a universe-class battleship and return him to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, she had done so rather close to Beacon City, but that was definitely not her maximum range. All of that led Lu Yin to believe that Beacon City was very likely Awe Gate’s maximum range. Even if that was not true, it had to be quite close to it.

Yu Jing and the others were simply not able to return home, as they had been sent out to fight a war. Staying at Beacon City would be the most appropriate option.

Yu Jing and the others also considered this, and thus they did not object.

Retreating to Beacon City would not be considered the same as returning to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and at worst, it would be regarded as a strategic retreat. This was not the same as neglecting their duties, and it would reflect better on them. From that location, they would be able to advance or retreat as needed. It really was the most suitable option.

Lu Yin also had another goal, which was to warn the people in Beacon City so that they could immediately return to the Spirit Nidus. Otherwise, if the Nest civilization attacked, Beacon City would undoubtedly fall, which would further restrict the front lines of humanity’s defenses. Luo Chan’s existence completely changed the way that this war needed to be fought.

Lu Yin was thankful that he had managed to discover Luo Chan’s existence in advance. Continued ignorance would have enabled the insects to bypass all of the defended battlefields and strike the Nine Odysseys Megaverse itself. Even with Greater Sancte Awe Gate protecting the megaverse, the existence of karmic chains might be enough for the endless swarms of insects to gradually wear her down and kill her.

If not for the karmic chains, both Greater Sancte Awe Gate and Master Qing Cao would be able to completely annihilate the swarms with a mere wave of their hands.

This was the way of things in the cosmos; everything in existence always had a counter. Immortals might be invincible, but they could not act freely.

At the same time, Lu Yin had thought of another problem: was it possible that the Nest civilization had deliberately chosen their battlefields?

It was impossible for humanity to know about Luo Chan’s existence in advance. But since the insects were able to use Luo Chan’s power to target both the Spirit Nidus and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, why would they attack a point so far away from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse? Learning of Luo Chan’s existence raised one chilling possibility: the Nest civilization was using distance to seize a strategic advantage in this war.

The farther the battlefields were from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the greater the advantage that Luo Chan would grant to the bugs. There was no way that this was a spontaneous strategy that the Nest civilization had suddenly come up with; rather, it was most likely their standard style of warfare.

Lu Yin’s expression remained heavy as he stepped onto the green lotus leaf. They absolutely could not remain on the current battlefield, but before leaving, he needed to make a trip through the Consciousness Megaverse. Both the Origin Progenitor and the High Seraph were still in the Willbound Spire, and Lu Yin did not know either man’s situation.

The green lotus leaf carried all of the human cultivators away from the Consciousness Megaverse’s boundary and headed into the depths of the megaverse.

On the battlefield, they had encountered Shan Lie, who had been incredibly difficult to deal with. What was the situation on the other three battlefields?

Lu Yin had been sent to support the defenders of the Consciousness Megaverse because it was the West Domain’s responsibility, which had been weakened after the destruction of the Cheng family. The Yu and Jue families had not been enough. The other three battlefields should be in a much better situation.

...

Outside of the Spirit Nidus, two units down and southeast, a swarm of insects flooded the region. They seemed to be endless.

From above, hidden streaks of sword intent sliced out, ripping through the horde, only for the damage to instantly be swallowed by the infinite numbers.

Rifts constantly opened up, occasionally attacking from one side.

“I say, Ku Cheng, you people from the Rift of Suffering really don’t get any rest. First, you had to take over protecting the Skyward Gate, and now, you’re charging into a swarm of bugs. You’ve really been pretty busy lately, haha!” Lu Sizhan swung his sword, erasing a swath of insects. He smiled while chatting with Ku Cheng in the distance.

Ku Cheng replied with a shrug, “The Skyward Gate is in the North Domain, and it’s even within the Rift of Suffering’s territory. As for this Nest civilization, no one can avoid fighting in this war. We just happened to participate a bit sooner.”

He then glanced over at Lu Sizhan in surprise. “Brother Lu, your sword intent has changed. There seems to be an extra hint of ruthlessness compared to before.”

Lu Sizhan was taken aback. “You noticed even that?”

Ku Cheng smiled. “That must be the result of the insight that you obtained when you accompanied the Seventh Night Pillar and witnessed the Orchid Megaverse being reset. Congratulations, Brother Lu!”

Lu Sizhan laughed. “You are no longer able to compare to me! If you want to exchange pointers, you’ll need to call your senior brother over.”

Ku Cheng did not argue. “Brother Lu, as the Four Commands Grand Swordmaster, your sword intent already underwent a transformation, becoming comparable to the power of a peak Dukkhan. Now, you’ve managed to comprehend your own sword intent and have fully merged it with the four sword intents that you received before. In the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse, very few can match your sword intent. Having you fight at our side in this battle is an honor for my Rift of Suffering.”

Lu Sizhan rolled his eyes. “Cut the flattery. Without your Rift of Suffering, I’d already be dead. Look at that thing! Nothing that we do can even hurt it.”

Ku Cheng and Lu Sizhan both looked behind the vast swarm of insects at a massive creature. It looked like a snail that was slowly crawling forward. Each wriggle shook the void and shattered the space around the creature. However, regardless of how the creature moved, no one attacked it. This was not because of a lack of courage, but rather because there was no point in attacking the creature.

That snail was called Nee,[1] and it was a Verdant Sage. While it appeared to move slowly, it was able to shatter space, as well as anything else that it touched. Its shell could absorb all forms of energy and transform it into an ethereal force. When Lu Sizhan struck with sword intent, the snail absorbed the attack and released it back as ethereal sword intent. If not for the intervention of the Rift of Suffering’s people, Lu Sizhan would have been in serious danger.

Lu Sizhan was capable of releasing some of the most powerful attacks on the entire battlefield, but not even he could break Nee’s defenses. Instead, he had been nearly injured after attacking the snail. No one else present had seen any better luck against Nee.

Experts from the Rift of Suffering had joined forces with Lu Sizhan to attack the snail once, but the results had erased any future intentions of trying again. Attacking Nee was no different from offering the creature free power to use for its own attacks. Since it was impossible to harm the snail, the human cultivators simply avoided it. Fortunately, the creature was slow, which allowed everyone to keep track of its whereabouts.

...

In the Clearvoid Megaverse, a massive, blood-colored pavilion spread across the entire universe. Behind it stood a great number of human cultivators, while in front of them, an insect horde was arrayed.

The bugs crashed into the blood-colored pavilion again and again, but the pavilion never moved at all.

Suddenly, the blood-colored pavilion swelled further, extending in front of a specific cultivator. Just in front of him, outside the pavilion, a spike stabbed deep into the structure, creating cracks that spread from the point of impact.

The cultivator was terrified. If not for the pavilion’s protection, he would have died.

1. Nee (坭) = mud, mire. ☜