My Apocalypse Territory

The forces participating in the encirclement and suppression of the "Doomsday Cult," including Green Shadow, totaled eighteen in all. Some Sanctuaries only joined the suppression action after the meeting in Yang City.

These forces were not all from Tiannan Province; some came from the neighboring West Forest Province.

The range of activities for the "Doomsday Cult" was located in the western part of Tiannan Province, and West Forest Province was also affected. Conversely, the eastern part of Tiannan Province, including Jing City and several other Sanctuaries, did not participate in this anti-cult operation... However, Tang Yu seems to have heard that Yang City initially approached Jing City, but it seemed that they simply mentioned "Green Shadow is also participating in the action," and then the Jing City coalition, led by eight houses, refused.

What could he say? ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌

After all the forces arrived, Yang City, the organizer of the anti-cult operation, convened a pre-battle meeting.

Tang Yu found these worthless meetings dull and declared that he was just a minor leader passing by, continuing to thrust the trifling matters onto Lorraine.

Not long after, following some wrangling and with a face full of gloom, Lorraine returned to the camp.

"MMP! The whole thing was absolutely pointless. I'm not attending this kind of meeting again!" she protested.

"1000 Source Crystals," Tang Yu glanced at her and replied indifferently.

Lorraine's expression turned solemn, and she bowed deeply with her legs together, "No matter what kind of meeting it is next time, please let me attend, I love meetings most."

Then Lorraine said, "The meeting was basically all about arguing over the distribution of the spoils after eradicating the 'Doomsday Cult.' Many Sanctuaries believe that the cult has at least one Secret Treasure of immense power. To vie for the spoils, many got red in the face with anger during the meeting. In the end, it was decided to discuss the spoils after the cult had been wiped out... which means during the process of suppression, whoever seizes something, keeps it, even though this matter is far from settled."

She curled her lip, then continued,

"And then it's about tomorrow's business. According to the clues, the headquarters of the 'Doomsday Cult' is pointed towards Crescent Mountain. However, for fear of alerting the enemy, Yang City has not sent anyone deep into Crescent Mountain, so they cannot pinpoint the exact location of the cult headquarters. Hence, Yang City proposed that tomorrow, the major Sanctuaries will each enter the mountain from different directions of Crescent Mountain, ensuring no cult members can escape."

Crescent Mountain is not very large.

Encircling Crescent Mountain with over a hundred thousand Awakeners from the eighteen Sanctuary forces would not be difficult.

However, Tang Yu thought these people might be a little too optimistic.

This joint operation was highly confidential, and to the outside world, it was not a cult eradication but a joint exploration of a newly discovered Secret Realm. Only a very few high-ranking officials of the Sanctuaries knew about Crescent Mountain and the purpose of the mission.

But with such a grand undertaking, it was possible that there could be traitors from the "Doomsday Cult" among the high ranks of the major forces.

Shaking his head.

Tang Yu could not deny that, without confirming the headquarters' location, entering Crescent Mountain from different directions would be much more efficient... At least, whichever path encountered a high-ranking cultist, regardless of whether they could fight or hold them back, it was certain to cause quite a commotion.

...

As night fell, the chill deepened.

The wind rustled through.

Tang Yu did not sleep, instead cultivating throughout the night in his tent, only to find... the progress was terribly slow! Five or six or seven or eight hours, and his cultivation progress did not even reach 0.5%. From now on, even if it killed him, he would not choose to cultivate while traveling!

When he lifted the tent flap, the sky outside was already beginning to lighten.

Judging by the time, it was the winter before the apocalypse, and goose-feather-like snow fluttered down from the sky.

He didn't feel cold, but when he exhaled, a white trail sprang forth two or three meters before gradually dissipating in the air.

Tang Yu pondered whether he could develop a combat skill to "Spit Sword Light"?

It would be quite cool.

Unfortunately, he first needed to master and even perfect his learned Combat Skills and Magic to a degree that gave him enough experience and insight to create new Combat Skills.

Probably.

Outside the tent, Kong had already organized the members of the two Corps to eat breakfast in shifts... all were compressed rations supplied by Green Shadow, which tasted quite good. Crunching a few packets down, they provided MAX energy replenishment, allowing for an outpouring of their own power in the potential battles to come.

The other dozen or so camps were just as busy.

Soon, the army set off.

Shan City was less than a hundred kilometers from Crescent Mountain. Along the way, the most dangerous areas were likely to be of the third or fourth tier, but the great army of Awakeners pushed forward, quickly reaching the base of Crescent Mountain.

Looking up, one could see the lush verdure of Crescent Mountain, its peak sharp and slightly curved like a crescent moon, hence the name.

Yang City once again gathered the high ranks of various Sanctuaries to discuss the direction of the assault.

This time, Tang Yu did not give Lorraine the chance to earn Source Crystals and attended in person.

Inside the large tent, at a glance, there were faces such as Zhou Zhenglei and Heng City's Sanctuary Director or Army Commander, and for the first time, he saw the Director of Yang City, a middle-aged man with a formidable face and strong aura.

Dressed in a set of silver-white armor, he looked commanding and formidable, said to be the first in combat power in Yang City.

Director of Yang City pointed at a detailed map that covered the surrounding area of Crescent Mountain, which he had roughly divided into eighteen regions, like a cake sliced into eighteen pieces from the center.

It was up to each party to choose.

Some Sanctuaries hoped that their chosen path would luckily discover the cult's headquarters, while others looked towards Director Tang and Tang Yu.

Yang City and Green Shadow were the two strongest recognized among the eighteen... powers.

Before the apocalypse, there was talk of East View City and West Sun City... As the second largest city in Tiannan Province with a massive population, Yang City's strength after the apocalypse also far surpassed that of an average large sanctuary.

They were the only ones capable of coordinating the major sanctuaries.

Green Shadow arrived with only a few hundred people, which was very few, but large sanctuaries like Lindong and Heng City all respected Green Shadow's prowess. Having previously tested their mettle against Pingliang, other sanctuaries dared not underestimate them.

Lindong's own strength was not weak either, and could barely be ranked third. Inside the large tent, someone was already asking for Zhou Zhenglei's opinion.

Zhou Zhenglei pondered for a moment before turning his head to ask Tang Yu, "Director Tang, which route will you take?"

Eighteen routes, some with complex terrain and some with flat, but to Awakeners, it was all the same.

Tang Yu glanced over and casually pointed to a relatively gentle route.

Zhou Zhenglei immediately stretched out his hand, pointing to the route next to Green Shadow's left side as if afraid of being snatched away, "Then we in Lindong will take this route."

Others were surprised.

After hesitating for so long just now, why were they so eager all of a sudden?

They looked carefully, frowning in thought. Was there something special about the route Lindong chose? Was the cult's headquarters on this path?

At that moment,

The director from Heng City pushed forward, his palm as big as a fan smacked onto the map, "We in Heng City will go... will go..." He quickly replaced his palm with his finger, pointing to the route on the right side of Green Shadow, "Yes, this one!"

Sanctuaries like Shuo Lake, Huiyang, and Nanqing were slower to react and were immediately confused.

"Wait, we in Nanqing want to take this route."

"This route belongs to us in Huiyang!"

"Back off!"

A route selection without any apparent disputes of interest suddenly sparked fierce arguments.

The high-ranking members of sanctuaries such as Yang City were stunned.

They all felt... there must be an unspoken secret amongst these few!

The argument didn't last long, and eventually, it was settled. Lindong and Heng City's routes were on either side of Green Shadow, while Shuo Lake and Nanqing were next to the next one, leaving only Huiyang a bit distant. The Army Commander leading Huiyang looked towards Shuo Lake and the others with a very dark expression.

Zhou Zhenglei wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

Before leaving, the old chief had urged repeatedly: when encircling the Doomsday Cult, one must not stray too far from Green Shadow. This was a matter that related to the safety of thousands of warriors. Luckily, he had acted early.

...

After the routes were decided, eighteen forces detoured to enter the mountains from their chosen locations.

Each sanctuary also dispatched a thousand or two people to seal off Crescent Mountain to prevent cult members from escaping.

Walking through the mountains, where the vegetation was lush, dozens of Awakeners from the Investigation Corps, wielding Combat Sabers, cleared the way in front. Their path-clearing skills had reached MAX and were very proficient, creating a small path wherever they went.

Some 'Reconnaissance Soldiers' adept at speed and stealth tread on branches, darting through the towering trees, extending the team's detection range in case... in case the Doomsday Cult did indeed plan to retreat.

Tang Yu did not think so.

If the Doomsday Cult had a Transcendent, there was no need for them to retreat at all. The hundred-thousand-strong Alliance Army was not recklessly fearless; Transcendents could not be surpassed by mere human lives. If casualties exceeded thirty percent, no matter how well-trained, they would inevitably flee—many of the Awakeners in the Alliance Army had been recruited after the apocalypse.

"The Doomsday Cult must believe they have the strength to consume the Alliance Army and may likely counterattack, but they definitely do not know that there are Transcendents within the Alliance Army."

And there was more than one.

Tang Yu looked back at Eileen and Nancy.

In addition to Transcendents, there were also Kong, Lorraine, Fani, Red Moon, Second Carmen, bamboo rat Li, Winnie—these twelfth layer, thirteenth layer, and even Great Perfection followers were currently among the ranks.

The Territory's elite combat power had all been deployed, with only Luo Zhe staying behind.

Tang Yu was not worried about any accidents occurring in the Territory. Linked by a contract, with Return City Scrolls in hand, no matter the emergency, he could rush back immediately.

The grandly assembled expert team was there to counter any possible cult elites.

'But, why does the elite force seem to be mostly girls?' Recalling the other sanctuaries' leaders looking at him with strange yet admiring gazes, Tang Yu belatedly realized that his lineup seemed a bit mocking.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, other than the Awakeners of the Investigation Corps occasionally slaying Demonized Beasts and Mutated Beasts they encountered, no cult members were seen.

Suddenly,

Tang Yu's gaze sharpened, falling on the ground not far away.

Taking a few steps forward, he examined the withered flower, then surveyed the surroundings. The lush leaves were slightly yellowed, whirling down as the wind blew.

Under the nourishment of Source Power, the plants and trees were thriving, and even a drop in temperature didn't affect the lush scenery. Yet here on Crescent Mountain, Tang Yu felt something off about the vitality of the surrounding vegetation, as if lacking in life.

It was peculiarly odd.