Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Facing Death Gracefully?
In such places, the differences between the paths of different civilizations could be discerned.
Even with the presence of a marketplace, technology wasn’t omnipotent—some demands in the technological domain could be met anytime by relying on prior knowledge and equipment in the field of technology, allowing for targeted designs and modifications.
However, in the realm of magic, if the marketplace lacked the specific products, it was very difficult to delve deeper into research.
Clearly, the Sky Spirit Civilization had an advantage in this regard.
A thousand magicians could open a path to the Undead World; theoretically, they should have the upper hand against the undead.
The most troublesome aspect of the undead was that they could appear and disappear unpredictably with the help of the Undead World.
This made it impossible to establish a defensive line around the cities.
However, if it were possible to enter the Undead World on a large scale, then it might be possible to establish a defensive line and at least have a chance to prevent the undead from continuously increasing their numbers.
Still, Yang Jun and the others didn’t rashly question this.
He simply said, “In our civilization, the main battlefield is also within the Undead World. Even if we can’t establish an absolute defensive line, we must isolate the powerful undead, which can rapidly cause massive casualties, outside the city. Additionally, we must eliminate the weaker, newly born undead immediately.”
“Indeed.” Siger was well aware of this point, but lowering his gaze, he still said, “But the Undead World is the main battlefield of the undead. There, our strength is greatly suppressed. It wasn’t so bad in the past, but recently, both the number and strength of the undead have surged dramatically.”
The rest was left unsaid.
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It was still a matter of insufficient strength.
They weren’t unaware that the growth efficiency of the undead posed a tremendous threat.
But the efficiency was just too slow.
Targeted magic, ways to travel to the Undead World, and the manufacture of new weapons… all of these were too slow.
Some people could feel that the Sky Spirit Civilization was like a massive but cumbersome beast—strong, yet unable to prevent countless ants from rapidly nibbling away at it.
Moreover, the undead were no mere ants.
Just a few days ago, the situation hadn’t deteriorated to this extent.
“This is indeed a bit troublesome,” Yang Jun nodded and said, “The growth rate of the undead is truly astonishing. The early stages were extremely precious, but even now, it’s not too late.”
Upon hearing this, Siger looked at Yang Jun with some surprise.
Truth be told, for those among the Sky Spirit People who were partially aware of the situation, the mood was in fact quite pessimistic.
The last trial had already resulted in the death of one-tenth of the people, but this time, a slight misstep could lead to a massive extinction.
However, the culture of the Sky Spirit People was such that even in death, they would hold their heads high and die honorably.
So, not many people showed pessimism, despair, or at least, those who did were despised and even severely punished.
But from the mouth of this envoy, it was merely “a bit troublesome”?
Siger was quite skeptical, feeling that they probably didn’t understand the actual situation.
Yet deep inside, a sliver of hope also appeared in his heart.
However, Siger didn’t know that at this moment, in the hearts of Yang Jun and his companions, there was also a feeling of anticipation, and even a subtle excitement.
It was not just because this was an opportunity to deepen their understanding of this civilization, but also because they had confirmed in their previous battles that they could also earn points from the undead in this world!
Indeed, this conclusion was reached just after grasping the opportunity for a brief exchange.
The reason it wasn’t immediately confirmed was because the number of points received was not as many as when dealing with corresponding undead on their Mother Planet.
These Chosen Ones had quite a few points, which were also spent on others, and the points were continuously increasing.
In such circumstances, it really wasn’t easy to confirm.
But if more than one person felt an increase in points right after taking action, then it was highly probable.
Even with a discount, this was still a source of points!
And this would be further verified on the battlefield!
Soon, the group reached the entrance to the battlefield, where they could see rows of magicians clad in war armor, carrying magic wands, walking neatly towards a huge magic array and disappearing as the magic array surged.
Ke Yi was also here.
He was still wearing his previous war armor, surrounded by a large group of magicians, seemingly listening to a report from the battlefield.
Yet upon seeing Shen Qian and the others, he slowly said, “As the City Lord of Ogen City, I extend my sincere apologies to you, our guests who have come from afar. There might not be a chance for you to experience the splendor and prosperity of Ogen City, as this city, built 1,700 years ago, will soon become history.”
His tone was very calm, his spine straight.
Only upon careful observation could one notice that his gaze was not focused on Shen Qian and the others but was instead fixed on the giant city before him, with a hint of indiscernible reluctance and sadness in his eyes.
Yes, as the City Lord of Ogen, he had already given up at this moment.
After realizing this, Shen Qian and the others also understood that the severity of the situation was likely beyond their imagination.
“Has it really come to this?” Shen Qian could no longer bother with the usual caution of foreign diplomacy and asked aloud.
“The latest news we’ve received, from the surrounding dozen cities, the Undead are converging here,” Ke Yi said slowly, “Their numbers exceed a million, and the snowstorm has stopped support from other cities. Although Sky Vault City is hurrying over, the Undead will not give us the chance to wait for help—they might have sensed some kind of threat, and under this threat, they have quickly reached a consensus.”
As he spoke these words, his gaze truly focused on Shen Qian and the others.
Clearly, the reason this had occurred was the arrival of Shen Qian and the other envoys!
This also made them realize that the civilization’s Undead indeed possessed considerable strategic intelligence!
Beneath the seemingly calm surface, the Undead were likely maintaining strict surveillance of civilizations, so much so that when the humans responded and dispatched envoys, the Undead could discover it immediately.
The recent attack might have been just a probe.
A probe to test the strength of Human Civilization.
If the strength was poor, they could conveniently eliminate it, disrupting this diplomatic mission.
And once they discovered that the envoys’ strength exceeded expectations, they decisively and rapidly gathered a large number of Undead from the surrounding area and began their siege on this densely populated city!
On one hand, they targeted the envoy team, and on the other, if they could take down this city, it would significantly enhance the power of the Undead!
This decisiveness, this intelligence… indeed was incomparable to the Undead on the Mother Planet.
Of course, it could also be due to the President’s overly powerful strength, which made the Ghost King unable to perform.
And as Shen Qian and the others were rapidly contemplating, even somewhat in awe, Ke Yi spoke again, “We will do our utmost to escort your spaceship to leave and head to Sky Vault City, that is our entire Sky Spirit Civilization’s strongest, safest city. We hope you understand that the situation has deteriorated beyond our expectations. To host you all envoys so inadequately was never our intention.”
He had already reported the situation here as well as the performance of the human envoys to Sky Vault City.
This escort order was issued by Sage Leman.
Leman had realized that the strength of Human Civilization might be stronger than they had previously estimated. If this civilization truly resolved the Undead crisis, then what they had observed before could have just been the surface.
They were definitely not unable to withstand even the cold snap and the storm!
Otherwise, an astonishing number of deaths would bring about an equally astonishing number of Undead.
This had made Leman, without going through The Sage’s Council, elevate the treatment level of the envoys to the highest immediately!
But the problem was, it might already be too late.
Yes, Ke Yi, including Shen Qian, had already realized this.
At this moment, a certain number of Undead were closely monitoring them, ready to swarm at any sign of them or their spaceship attempting to escape!
Ultimately, the reason the envoy group was here, instead of directly arriving at Sky Vault City, was due to The Sage’s Council’s previous underestimation!
If the entire envoy team were to be annihilated, not to mention forming an alliance, the Sky Spirit Civilization might even face the wrath of Human Civilization!
The arrival of a dozen Chosen Ones who had reached the Second Stage was an unignorable force for any civilization at the current stage, let alone that among them were two particularly powerful individuals!
If such a lineup, such a group of powerhouses, were to fall here, it would undoubtedly be a huge loss.
The words Ke Yi spoke at this time were just his attempt to recover as much as possible, to reduce the anger of Human Civilization as much as possible.
If Human Civilization chose to retaliate, it would undoubtedly exacerbate the already rapidly worsening situation for the Sky Spirit People.
After understanding all this, Shen Qian’s heart felt somewhat heavy at this moment.
It really was arrogance…
He looked at the Ke Yi before him, thinking to himself.
This was a species that etched arrogance into their very bones; their initial underestimation of the envoy was a form of arrogance, and now, so calmly accepting death, accepting the destruction of their city, was also an arrogance, an arrogance toward death.
Even with the fire burning at their eyebrows, they still wished to face death gracefully and unhurriedly?
No! They should be struggling with all their might!
Even if it meant crying out, wailing, rolling and scrambling to scream for help, it was still a better chance of survival than simply standing here waiting for death!
“City Lord Ke Yi.” Shen Qian’s expression suddenly became serious, his gaze intensely focused, “Have you truly given up on fighting?”
Ke Yi felt the change in Shen Qian’s demeanor but did not find it strange; he was already prepared to face everything.
This naturally included the envoy’s anger.
At this moment, he simply stretched out his hand to straighten his somewhat disheveled war robe, blown by the cold wind, then looked steadily at Shen Qian and slowly said, “Of course not, I will fight to the last moment, and then, I will accompany my city on its journey to death.”