Chapter 653 - The best duo: Opening the 2nd pagoda & Sun Ling's thoughts
"Ten thousand Soul Stones..." Bai Zemin smiled bitterly as he saw the number written on the bottom and practically hidden on the chin of the bronze lion statue. He slowly stood up and couldn't help but point out, "Two statues, ten thousand each.... That's twenty thousand Soul Stones. Holy hell... Even if it's Unclassified Soul Stones such a huge number is enough to power up a troop of soul evolvers and allow them to take practically all of their skills to new heights."
'We have no choice.' Shangguan Bing Xue forced a smile and shook her head as she looked at him with hidden bitterness, "Besides, something is telling me that each time the number of Soul Stones will be higher and higher, or worse yet, there is a possibility that the last pagodas will only be opened with First Order Soul Stones.... It could even be worse."
"Don't even mention it." Bai Zemin also forced a smile before sighing, "But in fact, you're right. If we want to get to the bottom of all this the only option we have is to keep moving forward."
Besides, it wasn't as if the price they were paying wasn't worth it.
While it was risky to open the ancient ruins since none of them had any idea what would come out of there, the two thousand worth of Unclassified Soul Stones that Bai Zemin used earlier to open the first of the five Silver Pagodas was definitely returned and with interest. After all, from the first pagoda Bai Zemin managed to obtain more than two hundred pills with different effects, Meng Qi managed to obtain some knowledge and information about runes and magic circles; overall, it was a good harvest even though it could have been better if not for the fact that practically all the medicinal pills had expired.
One by one, the Unclassified Soul Stones flew from Bai Zemin's spatial storage ring, a treasure that by this point was no longer a secret to those present, but despite being curious, no one asked anything out loud. At the end of the day, asking about the secrets of a soul evolver was considered disrespectful and only the top ranks of the base had information about each one of them; this was a small price to pay in exchange for obtaining countless benefits, and if they had no bad thoughts, there was no need to fear anyway.
Approximately ten minutes later and with Chen He's help, Bai Zemin had finished "feeding" the bronze lions with a total of twenty thousand Soul Stones, ten thousand each.
Flash! Flash!
This time no one was surprised when another 2/10th of the stone square acquired that characteristic pale blue glow that grew from the lines that made up magic runes and finally composed the huge magic circle. In a matter of seconds, the lower half of the stone square was illuminated; the lower left side glowed with a faint green glow while the glow of the lower right side was pale blue.
"Stand back!" Bai Zemin shouted aloud as the giant doors of the second silver pagoda began to slowly open, revealing not to his surprise glowing, terrifying red eyes amidst the deep darkness that cloaked the pagoda. "Those capable of erecting defensive barriers do it immediately! Mages and archers behind, front lines set up a perimeter circle!"
It took no more than five seconds for the different orders from Bai Zemin to be completed. In front of the group, various barriers of all kinds had been erected, some used earthen pikes to act as cover, others activated the skill Mighty Gale to weaken any incoming attacks, and so on.
However, in contrast to the previous pagoda, this time there were no beams of energy flying toward them as the doors noisily hit the walls of the pagoda after fully opening. Instead, what greeted the group were melee mechanical golems.
However, these melee mechanical golems were distinctly different from the golems they had faced before.
They were all around two meters tall, their silver-colored skins glistened in the sunlight and their red eyes contrasted with the metal that covered them. But what was most striking was undoubtedly the jet black plate armor that each of these mechanical golems wore, as well as the different styles of weapons they carried in their hands which, under the glare of the sun's rays, shone with cold and deadly radiance with every step they took.
In fact, seeing the extremely oppressive appearances of the golems coming out of the pagoda in an orderly fashion just like a good army the expressions on the faces of many of those present turned ugly.
"They look way stronger than the golems from before." Shangguan Bing Xue voiced her concern as the first of the golems broke out with surprising speed towards them.
Bai Zemin did not respond and instead advanced to meet face to face with the mechanical golem leading the charge.
The eyes of the mechanical golem blazed with a demonic glow and it artlessly raised its giant sword before slashing downwards with the intention of tearing its enemy in two since its set-up was simple; to eliminate the invaders.
Bai Zemin sneered in his heart and with a fluid movement of his body his image seemed to flash and before anyone knew it he was right on top of the mechanical golem's head.
Bang!
The head of the mechanical golem exploded as Bai Zemin's leg struck like a whip and metals flew everywhere in disorder. Some metal parts turned into shrapnel as they flew towards the charging mechanical golems steps behind and struck their bodies, only bouncing off the plate armor they wore or causing small lacerations on their arms and head.
"First Order!" Bai Zemin shouted before launching himself into the midst of the seemingly endless enemy horde.
Explosions echoed in the middle of the day, joining the roars and explosions resulting from internal fighting within the many nearby forests. The entire plaza shook with every blow Bai Zemin delivered and were it not for the fact that the stone from which the square had been built seemed to be anything but normal and were it not for the defensive runes of the giant magic circle, the place would have already been destroyed and the pagodas collapsed.
"All those below level 25, stand back!" Sun Ling ordered using her privilege as second in command before dashing forward and joining in the destruction of enemies.
In contrast to Bai Zemin's deadly and brutish movements that served to crush the enemy with raw strength and overwhelming speed, Sun Ling made use of her high Agility and flexibility to snake through hundreds of enemies. The two silver daggers in her hands sparked in the middle of the day and the toughest enemy could not withstand more than two slashes before losing its head or becoming useless metal after being cut in two from the waist.
Soon, the mages whose level had not broken beyond level 25 began to activate skills and launch elemental attacks of all kinds. While their attacks were not too effective against these enemies due to the difference in equipment and power, they did serve to obstruct their movements and buy at least a fraction of an extra second for the others.
All the mages and archers were led by Chen He, Feng Hong, Feng Tian Wu, and of course, Wu Yijun; whose skills served to hold off dozens of First Order golems without letting them move a single step forward.
As for people like Liang Jing, Teng Hua, Xia Ya, Cai Jingyi, Zhong De; they all rushed forward with resolve, following in the footsteps of Shangguan Bing Xue who even before joining the fray had already destroyed over sixty First Order golems after creating five ice swords that not only flew across the battlefield as if they had a mind of their own and shattered the mechanical golems but also released constant frost that slowed down enemy movements tremendously.
A single First Order existence was no longer a big problem for mankind unlike a month or two ago. However, five of them could lead a small village to its doom while a dozen First Order existences could threaten the integrity of an establishment of over a thousand survivors.
One hundred First Order existences could easily become a small headache for a large establishment with considerable military strength. On the other hand, a thousand First Order existences were enough to force all the most powerful Chinese Renaissance existences to step forward if they did not want to suffer heavy losses.
However, after destroying more than twenty thousand mechanical golems whose power was comparable to that of a First Order existence, the group under Bai Zemin still continued to fight against the seemingly endless wave coming out from inside the pagoda.
Sun Ling's face was pale after fighting for thirty minutes. She was not exhausted despite taking out over five hundred enemies by herself and in fact, while it was true that her Stamina was being consumed rapidly due to the constant movements and danger she faced, her pale face was for another reason.
"Twenty thousand First Order enemies..." She muttered in persistent panic.
Twenty thousand First Order existences were enough to corner to the point of being able to critically wound initial Second Order existences. If these twenty thousand mechanical golems that had been wiped out so far but whose numbers were rapidly rising with each passing second were to attack the Chinese Renaissance base.... Sun Ling shuddered as she realized that most of them would probably die horrible deaths under the blade of the enemy weapons.
On the other hand, when she looked towards the center-right in front of the door where more than 80% of the mechanical golems converged, Sun Ling could not help but sigh in relief at the same time as her heart felt a lot lighter.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!....
From the center where thousands seemed to pile up, constant explosions shook the earth and occasional bright flashes of golden light shone under the sunlight. Each explosion resulted in the destruction of at least half a hundred mechanical golems but the flashes of golden light were even worse as each one seemed to be enough to wipe out over a thousand enemies in an instant.
Sun Ling could occasionally see the figure of Bai Zemin for a split second before his silhouette disappeared after being covered by thousands of enemies but he would soon be revealed once again as with overwhelming might he crushed them all in an instant.
Sun Ling looked to her right and saw Shangguan Bing Xue raise a wall of ice to save just in time the life of a First Order soul evolver who had almost been decapitated by the sword of one of the golems. Surprisingly, Shangguan Bing Xue not only saved the life of that soul evolver but at the same time prevented the heart of another soul evolver from being pierced by the glowing spear of another golem, and at the same time as she saved lives she contained the movements of the golems that tried to reach the rear or simply destroyed them with different ice creations.
"Those two... What a terrifying team!" Sun Ling couldn't stop her movements from pausing as her eyes flashed weirdly looking at Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin.
Bai Zemin's clearly overwhelming power allowed him to wipe out huge waves of enemies with a single blow, there was no fighting at all only unilateral annihilation. On the other hand, Shangguan Bing Xue's ability to suppress the enemy's movements, defeat them with ease and defend herself, and control the battlefield allowed her to buy time for Bai Zemin to reach the other areas of the battlefield and crush enemies as if he was crushing small and insignificant ants.
The two of them formed the best team Sun Ling had ever seen in her life to this day.
One used Strength and Agility, avoiding consuming Mana and saving Stamina by limiting his body's tasks; the other one used Mana and Magic, consuming Mana but saving Stamina by not moving from her position.
If those two joined hands like that in every battle.... Was there any enemy really capable of standing up to them? Sun Ling felt that it was not possible.
Not only did the two of them complement each other on the battlefield well enough to control large waves of enemies for large amounts of time but they both seemed to have a great tactical understanding as a simple quick glance was enough for the other to understand what one of them was going to do.
Swoosh! Suddenly, a large metallic colored vine appeared in front of Sun Ling and an instant later an explosion that forced her back a couple of steps rumbled over the vine.
"Mom, are you okay?" Wu Yijun rushed to her mother and looked at her with apprehension. "Just now you were frozen, did something happen?"
"... No," Sun Ling shook her head, her face was pale with fear. "I'm sorry, I got distracted for a moment."
She had been so focused on others that she forgot for an instant where she was.
"I see..."
Wu Yijun seemed to want to say something more but knowing it was neither the place nor the time she told her mother to be careful before continuing to strive hard to control and limit enemy movements, occasionally destroying several of them with a strong attack of empowered plants or thin strands of water.
Sun Ling looked at the back of her daughter who was working really hard with a serious expression on her face, saving many among whom were people like Huang Tian from being injured.
Then, Sun Ling looked at Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin before she sighed and started destroying enemies again.
Sun Ling had absolute confidence in her daughter. Wu Yijun was not only stunningly beautiful and whose sinful body would tempt even the holiest of men, but she was also an intelligent, hardworking, kind, capable, lovely, and talented woman.
However, Sun Ling had to admit in her heart that when it came to Shangguan Bing Xue.... She had yet to find a woman worthy of comparison.
No matter if it was about her fairy-like beauty, the immortal and sacred aura that surrounded her.... It didn't matter if it was about ability or talent; Shangguan Bing Xue was just flawless in each and every aspect. Sun Ling doubted with all her heart that there was any man capable of resisting if a woman like Shangguan Bing Xue focused her attention on him.
Although so far Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue showed only friendly affection between them, it could not be excluded that this might change in the future.
Sun Ling could only hope that Shangguan Bing Xue would not compete against Wu Yijun for Bai Zemin's favor.... Because as hard as it was for her as a mother to accept, Wu Yijun probably had no means of winning.
"Oh well," Su Ling sighed and pushed her worries away easily as she muttered under her breath, "If worst comes to worst then I just have to push that boy onto the path of polygamy."
Even her husband Wu Keqian had a second wife at the moment and while Sun Ling admittedly was not very happy with this arrangement as they had both been married for many years, she believed that with the passage of time she would get used to it.
If even Wu Keqian or weaker people could have more than one wife, then Sun Ling saw no reason why the leader of them all could not as well.
Of course, Sun Ling had yet to learn more about the kind of man Bai Zemin was since to date she had not seen him be especially close to any woman except Shangguan Bing Xue, his daughter Wu Yijun, Cai Jingyi, and Nangong Lingxin.
However, even if Bai Zemin was resilient today, he was still young.
Evolved First Order humans could easily live for 200 years while those who reached the Second Order could live up to 500 years without any problem as long as they were not killed. The Second Order was guaranteed for Bai Zemin and Wu Yijun, and Shangguan Bing Xue was already there.
Simply put, the three of them would live at worst +500 years.
"What good emperor of the past was not part of the group two wives and four concubines? As the future Emperor of China and one of the strongest powerhouses of the future human race, having one or two wives should be nothing unusual for him. "Sun Ling consoled herself before she started chopping up mechanical golems as if she was taking out her worries on them.

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