Chapter 939: Arriving at Star Island
Situ Xin turned his head with a smile and said, "Of course, we don't doubt Minister Li's goodwill and strategic thinking. It's just that our Jiangnan forces are relatively weaker, yet we're being placed in dangerous locations, which is somewhat difficult for us to accept."
Li Tianyang explained, "The island is full of dangers, and the closer you get to Mist Valley, the more severe the threats become."
He clasped his hands and said gravely, "We previously sent scouts to investigate. There exists a terrifying mysterious creature around Mist Valley. Everyone we sent to investigate died—none survived!"
"And according to the intelligence fragments we obtained, the closer to Mist Valley, the more terrifying these creatures become."
Li Tianyang looked at Situ Xin. "Whether this is baseless rumor or not, your Jiangnan Region should know. The intelligence Shengjing provided us mentioned the strange beasts existing around the Divine Source."
Situ Xin narrowed his eyes, his right hand tapping rhythmically on the armrest.
Regarding Divine Source intelligence, the most detailed information currently still came from what the Shengjing Region had shared.
They had indeed mentioned encountering extremely bizarre incidents and indescribable guardians when the Divine Source was first discovered in the Qinling Mountains.
Li Tianyang continued, "Your forces are weaker, so having our East Sea Region troops approach the core area first is most beneficial for mission success."As he reached this point, he let out a cold laugh, his face showing a hint of mockery.
"Moreover, you don't actually believe you could obtain the Divine Source yourselves, do you?"
The East Sea Region's collaboration with Jiangnan Region had always intended for them to help clear away some troubles from the beginning.
Such as the potentially arriving Colombian Navy and other national forces in the surrounding areas.
"Comfortably provide support for us, and when we obtain the Divine Source, you'll naturally receive your share of benefits."
Li Tianyang forcefully knocked on the table. "And if superhumans from Columbia and other countries truly appear, your responsibility will be to buy us time there!"
Li Tianyang's tone and attitude made Deng Shentong and others frown deeply.
It made them realize even more profoundly that without sufficient strength, they lacked the capital to negotiate.
The East Sea Region's superhuman forces far surpassed theirs, allowing Li Tianyang to bluntly tell them, "You're only here to assist us in obtaining the Divine Source."
Though they felt anger in their hearts, they couldn't refute this.
After all, the power disparity was right there for all to see.
Deng Shentong instinctively glanced at Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi was actually concentrating intently on digging his ears!
It seemed Zhang Yi completely disregarded Li Tianyang's arrogance.
But considering Zhang Yi's consistent behavioral style, Deng Shentong felt quite helpless.
What could they do when their top expert behaved like this?
Yet no one could openly blame Zhang Yi for not being assertive enough.
Among all present, Zhang Yi was the only outsider.
If not for the weakness of these captains from Blizzard City, why would they need Zhang Yi to uphold the title of top expert in their region?
Deng Shentong took a deep breath and stopped speaking further.
However, whether it was him, Lilong, Linghu Feixue, or others, their eyes held deep unwillingness.
Zhang Yi was actually concentrating intently on digging his ears!
So what if they were at a disadvantage?
If opportunity presented itself, they would all attempt to seize that chance for Epsilon-level advancement!
Situ Xin turned his gaze toward Zhang Yi and the other captains.
Seeing Zhang Yi's completely indifferent attitude, he said to Li Tianyang, "Then we'll proceed according to Minister Li's arrangement."
Even negotiating conditions required capital.
The East Sea Region had already shown considerable face by promising resource compensation to Jiangnan Region after obtaining the Divine Source.
Even Zhu Zheng had mentally accepted that obtaining the Divine Source might be impossible.
Among the main combat forces, since Zhang Yi—currently with the highest superhuman ability index—remained silent, others naturally wouldn't stick their necks out.
After all, they were currently inside Xuanwu's stomach.
No one dared underestimate that youth in spirit form sitting nearby drinking tea.
...
Half a day later, Xuanwu finally arrived near the maritime island nation of Star Island after underwater travel.
Its enormous body erupted from the sea with a "boom," creating massive waves.
From a distance, they could see that considerable portions of this island nation were already enveloped by thick toxic miasma.
Even wearing combat suits on the island, everyone would need to regularly take antidotes to prevent miasma invasion.
The space dozens of meters above this island nation appeared gray and hazy, with visible range limited to no more than ten meters.
Xuanwu's massive mouth opened, and the vanguard forces from both regions moved out first, directly deploying assault boats heading toward different directions.
According to plan, they would conduct specialized exploration first, leaving markers for subsequent superhuman forces and guiding them to quickly locate Mist Valley.
Zhang Yi and others arrived at Xuanwu's oral cavity, where large groups gathered without feeling crowded.
Xuanwu's spirit form stood among the crowd at the forefront of the East Sea Region superhumans.
Everyone looking at this Epsilon-level superhuman had eyes filled with awe and ardent admiration.
Even Operations Minister Li Tianyang, usually accustomed to arrogance, wore an ingratiating smile in his presence.
Shortly after, the vanguard forces made landfall first.
Then according to the original plan, Jiangnan Region's vanguard headed toward Golden Phoenix City while East Sea Region's vanguard advanced toward Karadayan.
But at this moment, Xuanwu's eyebrows suddenly furrowed tightly.
"He's here!"
He merely uttered these simple words, leaving everyone confused.
The "he" Xuanwu referred to obviously indicated a specific individual.
Li Tianyang couldn't help asking, "Xuanwu, who has arrived?"
Xuanwu didn't look at those around him but suddenly disappeared from his main body's oral cavity, reappearing the next second atop his main body's head.
His eyes fixed intently on the distant horizon.
Far away, at the junction of sea and sky, a massive white line extending hundreds of miles rapidly approached.
From that direction, Cadillus arrived standing atop a giant whale, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
Hundreds of enormous deep-sea leviathans and countless marine creatures accompanied him, emitting distant yet terrifying roars as they advanced toward the combined forces of both regions like an overwhelming tide!
"Lord of the Ocean!"
"Lord of the Storm!"
These archrivals of the sea, old opponents who had confronted each other across ocean regions for over a year, met once again.
Xuanwu issued a warning to everyone.
"The Colombian Navy has discovered us! The situation isn't good—they arrived too quickly."
"Perhaps we exposed our tracks long ago."
Xuanwu's deep voice carried immense pressure and panic to others.
Everyone's expression turned extremely serious.
Would they have to engage in a decisive battle with the Colombian Navy here before even making landfall?
Although in terms of strength, their top combat forces from both regions wouldn't fear them.
But they truly lacked the qualifications to participate in battles between two Epsilon-level beings.
Once fighting broke out, most would likely become cannon fodder!
Author's Note