"Rise."
Ye Yun stood in the void, looking at the group of people who had followed him from the beginning, feeling a surge of emotion. In less than three years, he had not only achieved his initial goals but far surpassed them.
This group of one hundred thousand people were all at the Saint realm, with over two thousand possessing the strength to glimpse the Great Saint realm and on the verge of breaking through to the Main God realm. These individuals were Ye Yun's true trump card, and their loyalty to him was unwavering.
"It's been a long time! You've all achieved considerable success. I've gathered you here today to establish an independent legion for a crucial mission. I hope you will not let me down!"
"We swear to defend my Ten Directions!" The hundred thousand men roared with excitement. As veterans of the Old Dragon Palace and men of the military, they had been eager for battle since the war began. Their recent defense of Fengle City against the Nine Divine Cities had ignited the dormant warrior spirit within them.
"Good, these are the true warriors of my Dragon Palace! Zhou Ningdong! Step forward!" This was the first time anyone had seen Ye Yun so serious and solemn, even more so than when he declared himself emperor.
"Your subordinate is here!"
"From now on, this independent legion will be named 'Poison Thorn' and you will be in charge! Your primary role will be to undertake special missions. You have two days. By then, I expect all one hundred thousand of you to have broken through to the Main God realm. Following that, I will assign you your first mission! Do you understand!"
"Understood!"
Zhou Ningdong hadn't felt such excitement in a long time. Leading an army in battle was every general's dream, not to be confined to an office like a bureaucrat, strategizing on paper.
"Do you think this counts as a special forces unit?" Mu Ziming, who had arrived upon hearing the news, asked enviously from the periphery, observing the hundred thousand men.
"It probably does. My goodness, a hundred thousand Main God realm experts. Old Zhou has hit the jackpot. I'll ask him later if he'd consider trading my First Legion for them." Xie Yifeng couldn't help but swallow as he looked at Zhou Ningdong.
"You're dreaming. Not to mention the Boss's orders, your two million odd misfits want to trade for a hundred thousand Main Gods? Watch my lips: Pfft!" Chen Jiamao scoffed at Xie Yifeng's words, still holding a grudge about why Xie Yifeng led the First Legion while he led the Second.
"Hey, 'Jia Mao' (House Cat), what's up? Jealous of me again? Come on, let's spar. After we're done, I guarantee you won't be jealous anymore." Xie Yifeng chuckled at Chen Jiamao's remark. But before he could bask in his triumph, he heard Mu Ziming say dejectedly.
"I want to spar too."
"Um, Little Chen, didn't you say you got some goji berries from home to make wine? Why don't we have some while we're free today?" Xie Yifeng, hearing Mu Ziming's words, immediately backed down.
"Did I say that?" Chen Jiamao wasn't about to offer Xie Yifeng an easy way out.
"How about you two spar with me? I'm in a really bad mood right now." Mu Ziming said, looking at the two of them with pleading eyes.
Damn, I wish I hadn't mentioned drinking.
Chen Jiamao instantly regretted it. Mu Ziming's current strength was enough to easily defeat both of them. Moreover, listening to him, was he even speaking like a human? Just because he's in a bad mood, he wants to take it out on us?
"Uh, I recall something like that. Come on, you old drunkard, let's go drinking. My wine isn't just infused with goji berries. It also has maca and ginseng..." Chen Jiamao slung an arm around Xie Yifeng's shoulder and quickly pulled him away from the 'freak'.
"Woody, I heard you spent a lot of Saint Stones to cultivate those nearly two thousand Great Saints. Sister knows you're in a bad mood. Do you want my pets to spar with you? Just to blow off some steam." Jin Zhiyuan asked Mu Ziming, who looked dejected, with feigned understanding. However, judging by her gaze, she wasn't genuinely concerned.
Over two thousand Great Saints, two-thirds of whom were cultivated by Mu Ziming, the rest by Jin Zhiyuan. As for Xie Yifeng and Chen Jiamao, each of their legions produced only a hundred Great Saints.
In Xie Yifeng's words, it was because the two of them had reaped the most Saint Stones from defending the city!
Mu Ziming knew that this woman was also in a bad mood, but the thought of her hundreds of pets made him dismiss the idea. Unless he used his innate skills, he would be on the receiving end of a beating.
"Um, Sister Jin, I'm in a bad mood. I think I'd rather go find Brother Xie and the others for a drink. Bye." Mu Ziming vanished in a flash, even using a skill, just to escape faster.
"Hmph, you're fast enough. I wonder why His Majesty suddenly created an independent legion? Is he planning to send them to the battlefield first?" With lingering questions, Jin Zhiyuan left the First Barracks.
Ye Yun ignored the four 'jealous' departing figures and handed over his one hundred billion Divine Stones and nearly sixty thousand Spirit Stones to Zhou Ningdong.
His objective was simple: to forge an invincible army. This would allow them to use the Divine Realm's teleportation arrays to launch a formal conquest against the Eight Divine Cities.
Most importantly, Ye Yun planned to deploy these one hundred thousand men into the Ninth Universe as vanguards. This way, after completing the first Emperor Road mission, he could quickly transition to the subsequent missions. Only then could he maximize his acquisition of mission rewards.
One Universe contained three thousand realms. To conquer 80% of the territory within two years meant ruling at least twenty-four hundred star domains. This was a difficult task, as the Ten Directions Empire was a new force, unlike the Demon Butterfly and other ancient races that had been established in several Universes for millennia.
Upon receiving the Divine Stones, the members of 'Poison Thorn' immediately sat down cross-legged, and soon their auras began to erupt.
Boom…
Above the Sixth Heaven, dark clouds descended, covering an area of tens of thousands of miles. Innumerable lightning bolts coiled around the clouds, consuming each other until, in a flash, a thunderous dragon ten thousand feet long was formed.
What the hell! Who else has broken through to the Extreme Realm?
The four legion commanders, who had just gathered, were startled.
"Unless it's the Boss, breaking through to the Extreme Realm doesn't usually result in such a terrifying lightning tribulation, right?" Chen Jiamao said with a grave expression as he looked at the thunder dragon in the sky. Even he, currently in the mid-stage of the Extreme Realm, had to be extremely vigilant when facing such a tribulation.
"Let's go take a look." Jin Zhiyuan gazed at the dark clouds overhead and ascended into the air. However, none of them dared to get too close to the tribulation, lest they accidentally trigger a mutation and incur even greater losses.