I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

Lu Yuan continued to analyze, "You faced your own family and friends, used your ability, and found no one alive, even the person by your pillow had turned into a monster, so you steeled yourself and killed them all?"

"It seems so... But I can't quite remember their faces anymore. Maybe it's because I had gone mad by then?" Xu Pengfei said haltingly.

Lu Yuan's face was expressionless, but his heart was shocked; this person was truly fierce.

Seeing his relatives killed, he directly hacked his enemies to death with a chaotic flurry of knives.

However, this certainly proved that the "Painted Skin's" close combat strength was actually quite ordinary.

As long as one isn't affected by a spiritual attack, a Level Four Warrior could easily kill a "Painted Skin."

Maybe a Level Three could too?

Even a Level Two, giving it their all, might also succeed?

After all, his soldiers had some basics, like the Shape Skill of Huge Power; they had some of these abilities.

If the attribute isn't enough, skills can make up for it.

Lu Yuan calmed down and then said, "Then you thought the Empire was already gone, and you've been fleeing for survival until now."

"Xu Pengfei" hastily nodded, "The parchment said so... but actually, I can't make heads or tails of the situation."

"Has your memory become completely muddled due to the prolonged fighting, and you can't recall anything at all?"

"Sir, the curses from these monsters before they died were extraordinarily strong!"

"The current mess of my memory might be because, at that time, I dominated myself to survive those curses; otherwise, I would have killed myself much earlier."

Lu Yuan frowned, "So the moment they speak, you just have to do as they say?"

"Not necessarily..."

"The stronger one is, the easier it is to resist for a while."

"If there are significant flaws in the enemy's lies, it's also possible to resist for a while."

Sha Sanli hurriedly said, "When chatting with those monsters, there was a feeling of heartfelt conviction, as if being led along."

"It's like losing the ability to think, the whole person acts like a fool... but some instincts still exist."

This old man was extremely lucky; they had actually survived the disaster because the monsters wanted to keep these people as collaborators for the time being — after all, compared to the value of the Opium poppy and the Conch, the souls of these few people were inconsequential.

Even now, he was shaking uncontrollably.

Lu Yuan was silent for quite a while, his fingernails lightly tapping on the table.

This terrifying ability was recorded in the documents of the Green Grass Civilization.
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The fifth and sixth epochs, suspected to be the strongest combat ability — "Spirit Word."

If "Control" is a Legendary Level ability that can overturn civilizations and counter anomalies,

then "Spirit Word" is even a grade higher than "Control," and a civilization that possesses one could stand at the pinnacle of the Pangu Continent's world.

"But the 'Spirit Word' recorded in the documents should be stronger than what these Painted Skins possess."

"'Spirit Word' is not just a spiritual power, but it can also interfere with the real world, forming manifestations like magic."

"Given the current situation, is it only half a Spirit Word? Or is it that the enemy is holding back?"

Lu Yuan was unsure; after all, "Spirit Word" had disappeared long ago, and the content recorded in the documents was also unknown.

As for abilities stronger than "Spirit Word," there was naturally the already lost "Powerful Wind."

Lu Yuan racked his brains, thinking of what kind of countermeasure could oppose "Spirit Word."

"The first is to use 'Mind Control,' a simulated ability, to counter Spirit Word."

But that's only limited to the newly born state of "Mind Control."

The current Conch Girl could protect a few people already, which was quite impressive; it was unrealistic to ask for more.

Lu Yuan searched high and low, his mind working furiously, and he suddenly realized that during battles, his Insect Race army hadn't shown any large-scale rebellion.

"So... the 'Control' ability and the monsters' 'Spirit Word' ability conflicted, allowing these insects to maintain their sanity."

"Xu Pengfei used his spiritual power 'Domination' to resist the enemy's spiritual power to some extent."

He gently tapped on the table, which was very good news.

"But this isn't reliable; 'Control' is indeed strong, but 'Spirit Word' is an Epoch level powerful ability."

"If the intensity of the monsters' 'Spirit Word' reaches a certain degree, it might also override 'Control.'"

Of course, since "Control" consumes a lot of energy and is a specialization in spiritual power,

it wouldn't be easy for the enemy to override it.

Lu Yuan asked again, "How far can these monsters attack?"

"About... within the range we can hear a normal conversation, around fifty meters! It won't exceed a hundred meters!"

Lu Yuan once again fell into deep thought.

Fifty meters, just within the shooting range of a rifle.

However, in an open environment, the enemy's mobility was far superior to humans, and the enemy could fly in the sky.

Humans had only slightly over two thousand elite soldiers, while the enemy might number in the tens of thousands?

He finally made a decision, "Let's retreat to the sewers, the outside environment assures our defeat."

"We're not defending the Opium poppy?" Old Cat asked.

"No, let's turn the sewers into our home field and fight a street battle there."

Although the Opium poppy seemed barely alive, looking like it was about to perish, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.

In the disaster of the Insect Nest, this great tree resisted for three months before it lost its combat effectiveness.

Lu Yuan didn't think that this time the enemy would be more formidable than the Insect Tide.

"Let's take care of ourselves first."

"Old Cat, how many resin smoke bombs are left... Using smoke bombs in the sewers should last a long time, and also seal off the opponent's spiritual power,"

This was his final card.

Old Cat glanced at him, impressed by his cleverness, "That is indeed a plan, and making resin smoke bombs is not difficult, just a bit extravagant..."

"When everyone is going to die, let's not worry so much," Lu Yuan sighed and took out a large pile of Sealing Resin from his Storage Space.

...

Lu Yuan now felt the pinch, realizing that warfare was indeed a case of 'a cannon fired, gold spent.'

Even before the battle had started, wealth had begun to hemorrhage.

He and Old Cat discussed the technical scheme for recycling Sealing Resin.

Broadly speaking, it involved mixing the resin with a secretion from an insect called "Multiple Cystic Foam."

This substance, once air-dried, was like pollen and could float for a long time.

Moreover, recycling it was relatively simple. Many insects consumed "Multiple Cystic Foam," their respiratory organs acting like vacuum cleaners, suctioning this substance from the air and incidentally recycling the indigestible resin.

...

Sha Sanli, standing to the side, continued to talk incessantly, "Such a big city, are there no living people left? No resistance at all, and the Empire is just gone like that?"

This fact was truly hard to accept.

"Xu Pengfei" shook his head, then nodded, "When I escaped, there should still have been some top experts alive."

"I can't possibly be the last one alive, but I can't differentiate between humans and monsters..."

"So many days have passed, there should still be people who managed to survive," he clasped his scalp so hard, it seemed as if he would tear his own hair out.

"Can we inform them?"

This round of dialogue left everyone in the room feeling troubled.

A once-great Empire, an object of worship, just gone like that?

It was indeed...

These few scattered experts, no matter how strong, couldn't possibly match the monsters.

"Still, they are potential allies... can we notify them to take action?"

"The coming of a large army should be the best notification. They will definitely sense that something is wrong."

But those in the room felt that they couldn't pin all their hopes on their allies.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and issued three commands in quick succession: "Since there's no more intelligence, everyone, get moving!"

"Once that Painted Skin wakes up, I'll personally interrogate it!"

"Sha Kan'er, are the insect eggs out yet?"

"They've been incubating for a while."

"I order all the elderly, women, and children to hide in the Central Shelter, and the able-bodied youth to enter Green Grass Paradise, constantly monitor the city's surveillance."

"Soldiers, line up and enter the sewers to set up the battlefield, get ready to fight!"

"Understood!"

The benefit of a strong leader was evident in times of immense pressure, which caused many brains to seize up like rusty gears.

But a single command acted like an initial force, and they just had to follow through like robots.

To survive, society swiftly sprang into action.

...

The massive Central Shelter was located under the Opium Poppy tree, covering an area of 25,000 square meters.

The walls around it were 32 meters thick, made of concrete and some supernatural metals, also inscribed with complex engravings.

As long as the Opium Poppy tree didn't fall, even a nuclear bomb couldn't damage this shelter.

"Quick!"

Approximately three thousand young people, mostly females, entered individual flower buds to visually check the surrounding Opium Poppy tree surveillance.

The AI of Green Grass Paradise was not omnipotent, and it was necessary for human eyes to identify and rectify any lapses.

"You must take responsibility for your own lives! Even if a fly gets in, report it immediately!"

"If you're negligent, you'll be risking your own lives!"

To boost public morale, Lu Yuan even played the recent battle footage, starting from the Undying Giant Turtle being bewitched and rebelling against humans, to its eventual bombardment by artillery.

Although this segment was only a few minutes long, the strong spiritual attack still made everyone's hearts race with fear.

The Undying Giant Turtle was embarrassingly depicted, its obsequious image replaying over and again. What was this even about?

In the footage, its frantic voice echoed in the shelter: "My sister's skin is thin, her stuffing generous, fresh and juicy. Can I please feast on it?"

Each replay was a slap in its face!

Yet, it couldn't refute.

The Undying Giant Turtle was an honest creature, whatever it had done, it had to accept!