When Bai Zemin in the company of Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, and Meng Qi left the ancient ruin that was probably hidden under the stone square and the second silver pagoda, he was naturally greeted by the group that had been waiting anxiously outside.
Although the most exhausted ones had already fallen asleep as they couldn't stand the mental exhaustion, Stamina consumption, Mana consumption, and the wounds covering parts of their bodies; the vast majority actually stayed awake and were simply resting sitting down after having eaten.
While it had only been about two hours since the group of four had accessed to the second pagoda, two hours of rest was enough for most of them to recover a great part of their Stamina. After all, unlike the high Stamina of people like Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue, 90% of those present did not even reach 100 points so it was naturally easier to recover figuratively speaking.
"Blacksmithing?"
The expression on the faces of each of them was a bit disappointed to see that what was in the ice wagon were old machines and some artifacts intended for forging equipment. After all, as soul evolvers what mattered most to them were those things that could boost their power in some way or another or be of use in times of need.
For example, while the pills from before would surely not be consumed by any of them in the short term, if at some point in this expedition a danger occurred that was great enough to make the annihilation of the team a possibility, then the leader would surely hand over any pill capable of helping that possibility of annihilation disappear.
On the other hand, what were the use of a dirty table and some fancy-looking hammer?
Bai Zemin naturally shook his head in his heart at the reactions of the others. While it was true that blacksmithing was not useful for fighters in the short term, learning to forge your own equipment not only gave you the ability to repair and not depend on the availability of a blacksmith, but at times like a deep forest internment you didn't need to worry about being left without a weapon or armor in case you broke them during a lethal battle.
Of course, he would not discuss such things with other people as everyone was free to think what they wanted. Bai Zemin personally would take anything that helped him become stronger regardless of how cumbersome it was.
Besides, these people would surely be even more astonished than when they found the pills in the first ancient ruin if they knew about what Bai Zemin had hidden in his spatial storage ring and what those objects represented for a faction with the intention of setting up a firm foothold in this chaotic new world.
Bai Zemin noticed that all the armor and weapons that the mechanical golems from before had been piled up in a single place and after some questioning, he knew that it was the work of those who were not so tired and wanted to help; this made him have a very good impression of this group of people, more than he already had.
Among all those present, even the weakest soldiers or the lowest level soul evolver were all brave warriors. Regardless of whether it was when they stepped into the gloomy dark forest, when the weaver ants ambushed them, or when they walked for more than ten hours in a row.... None of them turned around to run away no matter how challenging the situation seemed to be and instead bravely fought with tooth and nail even after losing their weapons.
Such people were commendable and Bai Zemin did not want them to die in this place, therefore, he ordered them all to rest a bit more before heading to the third pagoda.
"You have really changed." Shangguan Bing Xue remarked as she helped Bai Zemin put all the armor and weapons regardless of whether they were in good condition or broken into a new ice wagon.
"Oh? Why are you mentioning it so suddenly?" Bai Zemin raised an eyebrow in surprise before saying, "By the way, it's amazing that all these weapons and armor are Rank 1. I even thought I saw some armor better than the one I'm wearing now."
"If it were the past you probably wouldn't let the troops rest any more than necessary." Update faster? please come to panda-novel.c.om Shangguan Bing Xue said, overlooking his comment about weapons and armors. "The current you became more .... How shall I put it... Kind...? No, that's not the word."
"You mean the current me is more empathetic to my troops?" Bai Zemin chuckled.
"Mm... That's not the word I was looking for either, but yes, empathetic is a good way to put it." She nodded slightly.
Bai Zemin shook his head and did not continue with the matter.
After the evolution of Stone Heart, Bai Zemin's coldness towards the whole world was naturally not so "unnatural" anymore. The current him knew and understood when he needed to be cold or when he didn't so he had certainly become a man more worthy of the word Leader.
About an hour and a half later, over 35,000 close-ranged weapons and Rank 1 heavy plate armor were stored and sealed in an ice wagon.
Although there were only about 5000 pieces of each that were healthy and could be used immediately as the other 30,000 would probably have to be repaired or even completely melted down to be reused, those 5000 sets were enough to raise an entirely new army of soul evolvers even if you ignored the 10,000 pieces of Rank 0 that they obtained from the previous battle against the Unclassified mechanical golems.
Even those broken pieces could not be ignored as the process of reforging or repairing them would undoubtedly be easier than forging everything from 0, saving the blacksmiths a lot of time.
At this point, the group led by Bai Zemin had lost ten soul evolvers and five soldiers. However, those casualties occurred during the assault on the first pagoda as no one expected the assault of over twenty thousand energy beams let alone being surrounded by over two dozen thousand non-sentient golems equipped to the teeth.
Although it was not 100% perfect as everyone would probably like, the truth was that in the eyes of everyone present the achievements of the group were already mind-blowing, to say the least. Under the leadership of Bai Zemin, they managed to obtain three wagons as big as giant cargo trucks filled with objects that in some way or another would definitely boost the faction's strength to new heights and would help to recover the lost homeland.
Looking at the firm, straight back of that black-haired young man gazing into the distance, everyone felt as if they were looking at a huge insurmountable mountain. However, everyone present knew that they did not need to climb over that insurmountable mountain.... They only needed to follow the path that the mountain had and was preparing to go far.
"Everyone, that's enough rest!" Bai Zemin shouted aloud after another thirty minutes and when the clock struck seven in the evening, only a little over an hour before the sun descended, he ordered, "Those wounded who cannot raise your weapons, retreat to the camp at the border of the stone square! The rest, get ready to assault the third pagoda!"
Surprisingly, however, everyone gritted their teeth and even those who were still wounded struggled to hide their wounds. They bravely stood up and with firm expressions stepped forward.
"Leader, everyone is ready." update faster perks? google search pan.da novel,Remember to remove punctuation Sun Ling approached Bai Zemin with a smile and as she turned to observe the expressions on the faces of the soul evolvers and soldiers armed with Electromagnetic Rifles, she whispered, "This is the first time I've seen an expedition troop with such high spirits.... How does it feel to know that you are the cause of their resolutions?"
Bai Zemin paused for two minutes to watch the eyes of those present before turning around.
"Move!"
Like gladiators following their general, they all stepped forward with melee fighters in front equipped with Rank 1 armor and mages and shooters in the back armed with Electromagnetic Rifles and more light armor that facilitated the movement.
There was no doubt in their eyes and their steps did not falter in any way despite knowing that what they would be facing soon would probably be far more dreadful than what they had faced so far.
Sun Ling looked at Bai Zemin's back before looking at the small team advancing a few meters behind. For some reason, that small team that could previously at some point be ignored gave Sun Ling a feeling of oppression that only existences on the level of her husband or her brother could give her.
Then, she understood the phrase of the famous Alexander the Great: "I am not fearful of an army of lions led by a sheep.... But I am fearful of an army of sheep led by a lion."
"Then... What will happen when a lion leads an army of lions?" Sun Ling couldn't help but get excited about the future about to come.
... Arriving before the third pagoda and the first one on the left in the deepest part of the square, Bai Zemin naturally lay down on the ground to read under the chins of the two bronze lion statues.
After that, he stood with an unperturbed expression on his face, attracting everyone's curiosity.
During the previous two instances, Bai Zemin looked quite reluctant after learning that he needed to spend thousands of valuable Soul Stones to open the pagodas... Then why did he look so relaxed?
"Then?" Shangguan Bing Xue hurriedly asked, "How many Soul Stones do we need this time?"
Could it be that the number was smaller compared to last time?
"Oh, not much." Bai Zemin nodded and said calmly, "We only need 50,000 Unclassified for each statue and 20 First Order in total."
"W-" Shangguan Bing Xue choked when she wanted to say something and almost suffocated to death when she heard what Bai Zemin said.
"100,000 Unclassified and 20 First Order?!" Chen He called out with his eyes wide open. "Damn it, isn't that the same as wanting to shear us completely? If it weren't for the ant army we would have to empty a considerable portion of our treasury to gather that many Soul Stones!"
The number of Unclassified Soul Stones in Bai Zemin's possession exceeded one million, and he was not short of First Order Soul Stones either. However, that number of Soul Stones was not as large as it seemed to be if he took into account all the uses Soul Stones had.
Just to upgrade the lowest quality skills of a couple of hundred would require at least several tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand Soul Stones, and taking into account that Soul Stones were also the power source of the Electromagnetic Rifles, future transportation vehicles, energy generators, cannons, and even the Mutant Expansive Wall, one would easily realize that even 5,000,000 would be used up faster than it seemed.
"It's not like we have any other choice." Bai Zemin calmly replied and with a wave of his hand, thousands of shining Soul Stones began to rain down from his spatial storage ring, falling to the ground with soft tinkling sounds. "Besides, what we can obtain from the ancient ruins definitely outweighs the investment, and if not immediately it surely will in the long run."
As a leader, Bai Zemin could not just think about now but he also needed to think about tomorrow. It was good and all about immediate strength, but Bai Zemin also knew that today's strength would not be enough to fight the enemies that would appear in the future. update faster perks? google search pan.da no.ve.l,remember to remove punctuation Precisely for that reason, he appreciated even a simple formula written on paper that would serve to boost the future power of mankind; even the broken and unusable Electromagnetic Rifles were not left behind by Bai Zemin as proof that he was not willing to give up anything that could be of use.
Hearing Bai Zemin's reasoning, Chen He nodded after a moment's thought. He was the only one among the archers present who had not exchanged his weapon for an Electromagnetic Rifle and still used his Magic grade treasure; the destructive power and flexibility that his energy bow provided was something Chen He would not give up so easily unless he found something a lot better in every aspect.
Bai Zemin with the assistance of Wu Yijun began to throw Soul Stone by Soul Stone into the jaws of the two bronze lion statues. This was a task that could take normal people hours to complete but with the supernatural Agility of evolved humans could be completed in minutes.
Approximately twenty minutes later, Bai Zemin stopped when only one First Order Soul Stone was left for the double door of the third pagoda to open. He turned and ordered in a deep voice:
"I want everyone to move back 300 meters and stay away. Close combatants, your job will be to slow down any enemy that manages to slip through and prevent them from reaching the mages and shooters. Are we clear?"
"""Roger!"""
There were no questions or doubts, only confirmation.
There was no one among those present who doubted the strength of Bai Zemin. Even when they didn't know how dangerous the enemy was to come, none of them thought even for a second that he wouldn't be able to face it; the trust of every soul evolver or soldier present towards Bai Zemin had taken root in their hearts after so many awesome victories.
"So... Shall we begin?" a slightly excited smile appeared on his face, a smile which contrasted the ferocity in his eyes.
"The characteristics of a berserker really are the same when it comes to the battlefield." Lilith shook her head and let out an amused chuckle.
It was at that moment when the last First Order Soul Stone fell into the bronze lion's mouth.
Flash!!! The two statues released a powerful blue radiance; a radiance that in moments began to spread through the lines and runes that formed the huge magic circle that covered the stone square.
Soon, 6/10 parts of the huge magic circle were glowing with 4/10 parts being light green and the last 2/10 parts pale blue.
Crack... A faint sound of something cracking rang out in the middle of the deathly silent stone square. Under the watchful eyes of the fighters and shooters more than 300 meters away, the huge doors of the third pagoda opened slightly...
Flash! The characteristic demonic red eyes glowed amidst the gloomy darkness, indicating that the enemy was ready to slaughter them.

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