A World Worth Protecting

There was no need to overthink the matter. Wang Baole knew why he could understand what was being said. He was practicing the Dark Art!

Wang Baole was at the new city zone’s command center, and there were people all around him. The Dark Fire inside his body had stirred suddenly and summoned chills inside the command center.

The sudden chill startled Li Yi and everyone else. They were about to investigate its source when the sealed Divine Armament Catacombs suddenly rumbled. A shocking chill erupted from the catacombs suddenly. The giant face appeared again, pressed against the seal. It seemed different from its previous appearances. It seemed to be howling. It howled the same few words repetitively.

“Dark Child!

“Dark Child!”

The unexpected and sudden eruption drew the attention of everyone instantly. The sudden chill didn’t affect only the Divine Armament Zone. It spread outward with the appearance of the giant face and led Li Yi and the others into instinctively concluding that it was the source of the earlier chill!

They didn’t give the matter further thought. Alarm and terror flashed across their faces, and Wang Baole grew stern as well. He immediately formed a series of hand seals and sealed the catacombs shut. He intensified the defenses as well. The layers of array formations interwove with one another rapidly. The hordes of numerous beasts that had surged out alongside the sudden appearance of the giant face shrieked in agony as they were sliced into pieces.

It took a long moment before the giant receded. The area around the sealed catacombs descended into silence once more. The people in the command center released a sigh of relief. They continued to monitor the situation for a while longer before scattering off.

Wang Baole hadn’t spoken a single word throughout the entire ordeal. He headed straight back to his residence, then he started heaving. There were shock and alarm in his eyes. He knew why he could understand what the other creature was saying, and had known that there was some sort of connection between the Dark Art and the Divine Armament Catacombs, but he had still been shocked and alarmed when he had been called a Dark Child.

<em>That’s a form of address. Are all cultivators of the Dark Art called a Dark Child?</em> Wang Baole began to grow uneasy. He took out the mask hastily and went in search for Little Missy to answer his doubts. However, Little Missy seemed to have vanished without a trace. He didn’t know why that had happened. It didn’t matter how many times he called out for her; she didn’t reply or show herself.

Wang Baole’s anxiety grew. However, he could sense his cultivation of the Dark Art growing significantly just by releasing his mosquitoes into the sealed catacombs. His three Dark Fires burned fierce and strong. He could imagine the speed at which his cultivation would grow if he stepped inside the catacombs personally. It would be so swift it was unimaginable.

<em>Based on the typical rate of progression, I’ll need a year or so to progress to the perfected Foundation Establishment realm, regardless of my natural talents and proficiency. That’s still a secondary concern. The main concern is progressing from the perfected Foundation Establishment realm to the Core Formation realm. That would be a giant leap…</em> Wang Baole’s eyes were bright. He was no longer an inexperienced beginner in the ways of cultivation. He had read up on plenty of materials and information on breaking through the Foundation Establishment realm.

Wang Baole knew very well that every political force in the Federation had Core Formation realm cultivators. From the perspective of the entire cultivator population, a Core Formation realm cultivator stood at the pinnacle. Regardless whether one kept their Core Formation realm cultivation a secret or made it public, there were likely about a few hundred of such cultivators in the entire population.

Most were at the early-stage of the Core Formation realm. The number of mid-stage and late-stage Core Formation realm cultivators tapered off sharply. As for those at the perfected stage of the Core Formation realm… they numbered less than ten across the entire Federation.

Compared to the Core Formation realm cultivators, the number of perfected Foundation Establishment realm cultivators in each political force was significantly higher. There were multiple scores more. However, most of them had reached their limits. It was simply too difficult to achieve another breakthrough in their cultivation.

This was why Wang Baole had been agitated to find out the effects the Divine Armament Catacombs had on the Dark Art. He didn’t act recklessly though. Wang Baole knew that as the mayor of the New Mars Region, he held partial control over the native array formation as well as the seal over the Divine Armament Catacombs. He could enter the catacombs anytime to practice.

He had the right to do so. However… the dangers within the sealed Divine Armament Catacombs were unpredictable. Wang Baole’s eyes flashed. He shoved down his strong desires and decided to wait for a while longer, until things had stabilized and gotten safer inside. It wouldn’t be too late for him then.

He weighed the pros and cons of the matter. Time passed steadily, day after day. The construction of the new city zone continued, and Li Yi became more brazen as she carried out her secret plans. She started to believe that if she were able to modify the defenses of the Divine Armament Catacombs, it would display a greater effect.

This wasn’t something she could interfere with, though. The seal and defense of the Divine Armament Catacombs fell fully under the jurisdiction of Wang Baole. Even Kong Dao would find it difficult to interfere.

The six-month mark approached. The waves of beasts escaping from the Divine Armament Catacombs shrank after repeated exterminations, and the array formation grew stronger, forming an endless cycle.

Kong Dao and his party of military cultivators still suffered casualties in the repeated exploration of the catacombs. However, they had also brought back firsthand information that deepened the overall knowledge about the Divine Armament Catacombs. Wang Baole sent the information back to the Martian Colony Governor for analysis and evaluation.

The repeated explorations led to Kong Dao and his team progressing further and deeper into the catacombs. They were now able to accurately time their exploratory exercises. They would approach the wall. Despite being unable to venture near it, they were able to observe the rate of erosion from afar and document the changes.

However, the Dharmic Artifacts installed inside the Divine Armament Catacombs only worked for a short period of time. Otherwise, the exploration exercises would be significantly less challenging.

If everything went according to plan, Wang Baole would be able to submit his evaluation report to the Governor in two weeks’ time. Then, they would be able to arrange for a mass migration of residents to the new city zone. The entire new city zone’s infrastructure had been completed. Be it residences or industrial estates, they had all been built and equipped with basic necessities. What the new city zone lacked now was a population.

Even though the new city zone had approximately a few hundred thousand workers, it was still a vast space waiting to be filled. Wang Baole decided to monitor for another two weeks before arranging a mass migration.

They were seven days away from the half-year mark when something unexpected happened. Wang Baole’s training was interrupted by a sudden, hasty alarm. He opened his eyes abruptly. Lin Tianhao’s voice transmission seemed to arrive swiftly, at the same time.

“Mayor, Kong Dao ran into danger while exploring the Divine Armament Catacombs. We don’t know if he survived the encounter!”

Alarm flashed across Wang Baole’s face. He rose to his feet and rushed to the sealed Divine Armament Catacombs. Lin Tianhao and Jin Duoming were already there when he arrived. The two had grave expressions on their faces. Through the defense barriers, they could see hordes of beasts howling inside the sealed catacombs. They were being sliced into bits by the numerous strands of the array formations.

They saw Wang Baole’s arrival and immediately approached Wang Baole, reporting the situation in hushed tones. There were numerous military cultivators around them with anxious and panicked looks on their faces. They all turned and looked at Wang Baole.

“Mayor, everything had been running smoothly, but soon after Kong Dao brought a party of people into the catacombs, there was a Beast Tide. We hadn’t expected it. Based on our records and forecasts, it arrived a lot earlier than expected. When the Beast Tide erupted… Kong Dao was…” Lin Tianhao didn’t finish his sentence. It was clear what he was trying to say, though. It was likely that Kong Dao had met his death deep inside the Divine Armament Catacombs.

“Have we informed the Governor?” Wang Baole’s head started throbbing. Kong Dao held a unique position. Despite that, he continued to helm the exploration teams personally. Wang Baole had no idea what he was busy with. He had tried asking a few times, but the other man ignored him completely.

Now that there was a problem, as the mayor, Wang Baole wouldn’t escape unscathed. He couldn’t help his growing agitation and frustration. Jin Duoming observed Wang Baole at his side and whispered.

“We’ve blocked the news, but it’s not going to stop the news from leaking…”

“How can you block it? We should report it immediately!” Wang Baole frowned. The military cultivators around him immediately started speaking.

“Mayor, the danger posed by this wave of beasts isn’t high. I believe Vice Mayor Kong is alive and is awaiting our rescue!”

“Mayor, please issue the order. We’re willing to brave the Beast Tide and enter the catacombs to mount a rescue!”

“Mayor, you can’t just watch him die!”

Wang Baole was already agitated. He became furious as he listened to the cacophony of voices from the people around him. He roared.

“Silence!”

His voice boomed like thunder, exploding in the ears of the people around him. Wang Baole released his mosquitoes. They rushed into the Beast Tide and followed the path deep into the catacombs. They flew speedily, in search of Kong Dao.

He soon found Kong Dao and three other military cultivators in the middle segment of the catacombs. They were inside a sunken segment of the catacombs that had been dug up earlier, and they were fighting off the hordes of beasts trying to rush in.

From the look of it, they wouldn’t be able to hold off the beasts for long. The beasts in the sunken pit were too many. They had no chance of survival if they were to rely only on themselves to fight off the beasts. They were all injured and were straddling the line between life and death!

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