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nChapter 227: Farewell, Entering the Skeleton Realm (2)

nTranslator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

nThe appearance made Monica unable to hold back her laughter as she covered her mouth with a smile.

n“Your Excellency, if you say that, 1 might actually get angry!”

nAfter some joking laughter, Ji Chen glanced at the almost-ready warships and smiled.

n“Alright, it’s about time. Monica, you should board the ship now.”

nMonica also knew it was time to leave, looking at the tall and handsome Ji Chen before her. A hint of affection flashed in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it deep in her heart, bowing and performing a knee salute.

n“Your Excellency, if we successfully overcome this challenge, then you’re welcome to visit the Lienhardt Grand Duchy. We will definitely receive you as an honored guest.”

nJi Chen didn’t say much, just nodded and replied, “If I have the time, I will consider it.”

nAs the warship slowly sailed out of the harbor, Monica waved goodbye towards Ji Chen’s figure at the stern. Her figure gradually grew distant until it disappeared on the horizon.

nStanding at the harbor for a moment, he shook his head and returned to the Lord Manor.

nAt this time, Alice and Anina, who had been missing for several days, as well as Benbo, Daro, and a group of heroes, stood in the hall.

n“How is the situation with the Illusory Realm Crystal?”

n“Reporting, my lord, the Illusory Realm Crystal is currently stable, but there’s still a risk of it being forcefully opened.”

nAt this news, his expression grew more serious.

nEver since he had led the army to defeat the invading skeleton army and skeleton heroes from the gate two months ago, and promptly closed the Illusory Realm Gate, the Illusory Realm Crystal had remained silent.

nUntil the second day when Monica and her group arrived at the New Moon Islands, the Illusory Realm Crystal suddenly experienced intense fluctuations.

nSeveral indications suggested that on the opposite side of the Illusory Realm Gate, within the Skeleton Realm, there was an ongoing effort to forcefully reopen the gate.

nAs expected, it should be the work of the Skeleton King within the Illusory Realm.

nThe Skeleton King still held the ambition to invade.

nHowever, if a couple of months ago he might have been afraid.

nBut today, the strength of the Crown of the Ocean, in terms of both the quality of his troops and his heroes, was incomparable to that time.

nTheir strength had increased by far more than just tenfold.

nBack then, he was able to crush the skeleton army with around a hundred units of his own troops, and the same would hold true now.

nSince the Skeleton King was so ignorant of his own limitations, he might as well solve this problem once and for all!

nWith this thought in mind, Ji Chen’s expression grew solemn, and he said in a serious tone.

n“Monica and her group have already left, so there’s no need to conceal anything.”

n“Pass on my command. The entire army should begin preparations. 1 intend to attack and conquer that Illusory Realm!”

n“Understood!”

nWith the order given, the entire Crown of the Ocean began to mobilize once again.

nThe army assembled, and various supplies were transported to the frontlines.

nThe warships set sail, anchoring around the island where the Illusory Realm Crystal was located, ready to provide firepower support once the Illusory Realm Gate opened.

nJi Chen came to the military recruitment camp and recruited all the accumulated units over the past two weeks.

nAfter this recruitment, the number of units surged once again, as follows:

nNaga Berserkers: 202 —► 482, Tier Four, 5 stars.

nDragon Blood Murlocs: 207 —> 487, Tier Four, 3 stars.

nElemental Sea Pixies: 224 -> 518, Tier Four, 3 stars.

nLobster Riders: 210 -> 490, Tier Four, 1 star.

nMurloc Rangers: 266 -> 350, Tier Three, 5 stars.

nSelf-Detonating Water Spiders: 350 -> 1400, Tier Three, 3 stars.

nElite Pirates: 270, Tier ‘Two, 4 stars.

nDeep Sea Roamers: 20

n40, Tier Four, 1 star.

nTidal Sea Spirits: 3 -> 5, Tier Four, 1 star.

nGiant Octopuses: 10 -> 20, Tier Four, 8 stars.

nRuins Guardians: 780, Tier Three, 8 stars.

nOcean Guardians: 2020, Tier Three, 9 stars.

nSky Guardians: 40, Tier Four, 8 stars.

nHalf-Orc Warriors: 1080, Tier Three, 8 stars.

nA total of 7982 units.

nWhile this number was considerable, according to Ji Chen’s estimation, the Skeleton Realm within the Illusory Realm probably lacked aquatic creatures.

nOnly a portion of the units would be able to participate in this campaign.

nThe planned forces consisted of Naga Berserkers, Dragon Blood Murlocs, Elemental Sea Pixies, Self-Detonating Water Spiders, Murloc Rangers, and the Half-Orc Warriors with enhanced strength.

nA total of 4317 units.

nAlthough the number of skeleton monsters in the Skeleton Realm was surely much greater, Ji Chen believed that these forces would be enough to handle them.

nTwo days later.

nJi Chen led his army and a group of heroes to the front of the Illusory Realm Crystal. As time passed, the energy fluctuations of the crystal grew increasingly intense. This indicated that the Skeleton Realm was trying to forcefully open the Illusory Realm Gate.

nThe Illusory Realm Gate was two-way, so after repairing the crystal to instantly open the gate, as long as it wasn’t destroyed, the portal would remain open.

nTherefore, upon their entry, he strategically stationed hundreds of Ruins Guardians here to prevent any stray skeleton creatures from escaping.

nWith all preparations in place, Ji Chen arrived at the Illusory Realm Crystal and began the repairs.

n“Ding- Repairing the Illusory Realm Crystal requires consuming 3000 units of crystal.”

nA mere 3000 units were already insignificant for him at this point. Without a moment’s hesitation, he invested the required amount.

nThe solid crystal gradually turned liquid, merging into the Illusory Realm Crystal. The visibly damaged surface began to repair itself.

nHalf an hour later, all the crystal had been absorbed, and the surface of the Illusory Realm Crystal became smooth and flawless, radiating transparency.

n“Ding- Repair of the Illusory Realm Crystal is complete. The Illusory Realm Gate can be opened.”

nSeeing this, Ji Chen didn’t waste any time. He reached out and touched the crystal, his mind focused.

nThe Illusory Realm Crystal trembled suddenly, causing the ground to shake slightly.

nHe took a few steps back.

nA stream of red energy shot out from the Illusory Realm Crystal, forming a slowly enlarging red vortex at a distance of dozens of meters.

nPerhaps due to the complete repair of the Illusory Realm Crystal, this red vortex was much larger than before, with a diameter of fifty meters. Faint lightning flickered on its surface, brewing a somewhat terrifying energy.

n“Move forward, everyone!”

nThe army, already arranged in formation, bypassed the Illusory Realm Crystal and marched in an orderly fashion towards the Illusory Realm Gate.

nAs they came into contact with the red vortex, they vanished behind the gate with a faint flash.

nJi Chen and the group of heroes were situated in the middle of the formation, and they too stepped into the gate without hesitation.

nA flash of white light.

nThe environment before their eyes had suddenly changed.

nThe sky was black and red, radiating an eerie color.

nLayers upon layers of red gravel extended from beneath their feet to the distant horizon, not a single stone in sight.

nWithin the gravel, some dark, leafless trees grew, but their twisted and bizarre shapes gave off an unsettling feeling.

nA faint but pungent smell of rust immediately filled their noses, causing discomfort.

nGloomy and dim.

nThis was the initial impression the Illusory Realm gave them.

nJi Chen sighed inwardly. It was truly deserving of a realm inhabited by undead

nskeletons. It was clear that this environment was unsuitable for human survival.

nLooking around left and right.

nThey were currently standing on higher ground, providing an easy view of the surroundings for several kilometers.

nHowever, a glance around revealed that aside from the red gravel and the peculiar trees, there was not a single skeleton in sight.

nWeren’t they supposed to be trying to forcefully open the Illusory Realm Gate from the Skeleton Realm?

nLogically, there should be a ready-to-invade skeleton army waiting behind the gate.

nJi Chen was puzzled.

nAfter some contemplation, a thought struck him.

nCould it be that the Illusory Realm Gates opened from the outside are randomly generated within the Illusory Realm?

nIf that was the case, it presented them with an opportunity to regroup.

nWith Ji Chen’s guidance, their own army continued to emerge from the Illusory Realm Gate, reassembling in a valley below the high ground.

nAlthough the Illusory Realm Gate was not small, it still took considerable time for several thousand troops to pass through.

nAfter half an hour, over three thousand units of the army had passed through.

nNow their task was to find the Skeleton King.

nSkeletons were a mysterious race with a hierarchical structure resembling that of a beehive.

nHigher-ranking skeleton monsters commanded lower-ranking ones.

nFor example, a Skeleton Vanguard would command several dozen regular small skeletons.

nA Skeleton Squad Leader would command several dozen Skeleton Vanguards.

nA Skeleton Battalion Leader would command several dozen Skeleton Squad Leaders.

nAnd so on, with control over all the skeletons eventually concentrated in the hands of the highest-ranking Skeleton King.

nTherefore, by killing the Skeleton King, most of the lower-level skeleton monsters would lose their control, becoming scattered and easy to defeat.

nLooking left and right, Ji Chen found himself surrounded by endless, uniform red gravel.

nOnly the distant rocky mountain drew some attention.

nSimilar to a fly buzzing around one’s head in the desert, wandering aimlessly here would only drain their energy in vain.

nAfter careful consideration, Ji Chen decided to first head towards that rocky mountain to assess the situation..

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