598 All By Myself

One could only rely on the will for that long. Without the unwavering wall sheltering the soldiers at its foot, it was only a matter of time before the soldiers would have been devoured by the icy wrath of nature. 

Xiao Libie ate some food and started observing the soldiers around him quietly. He was amazed by how calm these warriors were despite being under such a perilous situation. Xiao Libie knew that such warriors were not uncommon; however, he had never expected to see so many of them under the same banner.

Occasionally, there were soldiers that looked to Wang Tong with a caring glance. However, no one spoke a word to console each other, as if they were convinced that they would be able to pull through this ordeal. 

In less than twenty minutes, all the soldiers had finished their preparation, and were ready for the next leg of their journey. As soon as Wang Tong opened his eyes, all the soldiers stood up in unison, their faces awash with eagerness to set off. 

"Move!"

Suddenly, a crackling noise came from above the soldiers as a crack appeared in the ice wall and it started to crumble. The METAL warriors charged up their GN force to defend themselves and the mastery casters from the fallen ice blocks. Once the ice wall was gone, soldiers pressed forward with a newfound strength and resolution. The blizzard had subsided significantly, and the soldiers were better prepared. 

…

The devil and his demon band had disappeared off the face of the planet. The Zergs had been looking for them for a couple of days, but Wang Tong was nowhere to be seen. Xie Su was irritated by his disappearance, and he had killed more than a dozen of his scouts in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

He had heard rumors at the court that the dark lord had been every displeased by his incompetency lately. 

If he let the matter keep on spiraling out of control, he would not escape the cauldron despite his prestigious status among the dark ones. His recent defeats had already made other blood kin eye his power, fantasizing the exhilaration when they would suck his life force away. 

In the eyes of the dark ones, the cauldron was the least wasteful method of punishment. Every dark one was made from the blood and flesh of the mother queen, and every cell on a dark one's body was sacred. By offering the power of the persecuted to the other dark ones, the cauldron made sure that every single drop of blood would be used to fuel the Zerg war machine.

Although the cauldron was a manifestation of the primitive Zergs' communal society in some sense, a new form of the societal structure had been introduced in the Zerg world through the blood of the humans. The Zerg world was stratified more so than ever, and the hierarchy system was not rigid. Whoever could accumulate more power would be able to press a claim on a higher social class. 

Moye had thought that the competitiveness in the Zerg society was a good thing, but he had overlooked the negative aspect of such a structure. 

The dark ones were convinced that Wang Tong had hidden somewhere nearby. Fearing another surprise attack, the cities still held onto their forces and ignored dark lords' call to arms.

After having sacked two Zerg Cities, Lie Jian and Michaux were dealt a blow by a group of fearsome Zergs. The two's success had lowered their guard, and therefore, the Zergs were able to sneak up on them and attacked by surprise.

Both Lie Jian and Michaux had been convinced that they would be able to achieve whatever Wang Tong could. However, after the defeat, they conceded that they had underestimated the abilities of both Wang Tong and the Zergs.

The dark ones had thoroughly studied the humans, including their battle strategies. When it came down to the degree of intelligence, it varied greatly among different populations, and was hard to predict. The rank of the dark ones did not reflect their intelligence. In other words, a low ranking dark one could be much smarter, albeit weaker, than a blood kin.

They knew that the martian hero doublet was marching toward them, and had let them sack the two cities on purpose in order to lower their guard and lure them into their trap.

The miscalculation was not because of Lie Jian or Michaux's arrogance. As a matter of fact, they had been very prudent in making every decision. However, the size of their army meant it was impossible to move behind the enemy line unnoticed. In addition, they lacked a thorough understanding of the Zergs like Wang Tong did. Sometimes, Wang Tong's uncanny ability to predict the Zergs' movement made the soldiers think that he was actually a Zerg in disguise; some even called him Dr. Zerg.

In order to defeat the Zergs, the humans would have to first learn from them, particularly their despicable and devious methods in dealing with the enemy. Wang Tong was able to turn himself as treacherous as a Zerg by understanding the latter's way of thinking; but, neither Michaux nor Lie Jian was able to do that.

While dealing with the dark ones, Wang Tong would never let his guard down. He wouldn't poke them with a six feet pole if the dark ones had the upper hand; however, he wouldn't hesitate to throw himself at them if he had the advantage.

Thanks to the dedicated soldiers from House Lie and the sect, Michaux and Lie Jian were able to escape. However, no one knew where Michaux had gone after the defeat, and Lie Jian was gravely injured.

All of this happened when the human devil had also disappeared on the radar, and these series of development had rendered humans into a bundle of nerves. Everything happened so quickly and so far away that all they could do was pray.

…

After five hours of the persistent assault, the wild blizzard finally subsided, allowing the human soldiers to pick up speed. However, the passage they were on started to narrow down significantly. Deep chasms were present on both sides of the narrow corridor. One misstep would spell doom for the travelers. Xiao Libie had never thought that they could make it this far up the range, especially considering the murderous weather condition.

"Once we are out of this valley, we should enter a relatively flatter area. If we can make it, we will make history. No one has ever been to the other side." Xiao Libie remarked.

What Wang Tong wanted to achieve was more than just pass the valley; he wanted to get to the other side of the mountain. No one had ever made it so far, and even Xiao Libie was clueless as to what awaited them once they were through the valley. However, one thing that he did know was that the road was going to be more treacherous the further they went. 

"Let's tread through this stretch first. " Wang Tong nodded as he looked up at the winding passage ahead and realized that it was at least a few kilometers in length. 

"Everyone halt! I will scout ahead first. If I am not back in two hours, Yin Tianzong, please lead the army and proceed onward. "

"Boss, let me go with you. We could look after each other." Lun Duo put in.

"Let me go," Vorenus said.

Wang Tong shook his head and replied, "It's better if I go alone."

Everyone kept their silence. They knew that if the situation got hairy, they would only be a hindrance to Wang Tong rather than help.

"Why the long faces? I am going to scout the path, not commit suicide. Don't let your guard down. No one knows what kind of danger is lurking in these ranges. "

"Young master, why don't you let me go in your stead? I should be able to handle it." Yin Tainzong urged.

"Tianzong, it has nothing to do with your ability. You don't have the soul essence, so you won't last long out there by yourself." Wang Tong rejected his offer outright.

"Come on everyone, show me some smiles, please? What about you girls? "

Xiao Yuyu and Ye Zi squeezed out a smile for Wang Tong. Wang Tong hugged everyone before he set out. The more powerful he got, the more he respected the power of mother nature. 

When he was about to hug Xiao Yuyu, the chief medic stole a kiss from his cheek and smiled. "Make sure you come back."

Wang Tong paused for a second and then said with a broad smile, "You bet!" 

Ye Zi closed in and kissed Wang Tong on the other cheek, then blushed.

After bidding farewell to Wang Tong, everyone watched as their leader disappeared on the misty path. The natural energy interfered in one's soul energy more significantly the closer one was to the peak. It required tremendous energy just to stabilize the sea of consciousness.

The group waited patiently for its leader's return; every minute seemed like a year.

…

Meanwhile, in the solar system, the last human fleet was led by General Samantha. In the immortal-occupied area, Patroclus had decreed the fleet a pirate organization.

Space had already fallen into the immortals' control, and Samantha and her fleet had to survive on a thin line. Not only did she have to contain the development of the immortals' fleet, but also preserve the seed for the future counterattack. Slowly but surely, Samantha had weaved a web of covert operations in the space right under Patroclus's nose.

This achievement was easier said than done. Although she had to deal with the immortals' attacks on a daily basis, Samantha had never given up the fight.