As Thousand Beast Villa’s procession passed by, the entire Ying City population was excited. Crowds gathered along the streets, eagerly discussing what they had just witnessed. Whether it was the bear knights at the front or the massive pack of mutated dogs that followed, everyone was filled with envy. As for the Spotted Giant Bear, it didn’t get much mention. After all, the gap between it and the average evolved was too vast, and besides, level-eight mutated lifeforms weren’t exactly rare in Cloud Peak.
Think about it—encountering other lifeforms of the same level wouldn’t be such a big deal if you could see a level-eight dragon every day. Dragons, after all, held a special place in the hearts of the Chinese people.
Old Wang and his friends were particularly envious of the bear knights.
“Cloud Peak has already established a cavalry unit, led by Lord Tiger. Do you think if we had a mutated bear as a battle beast, we could join, too? After all, we’re old-timers here, so the background check shouldn’t be a problem.”
Old Wang grew more and more excited as he spoke, even gesturing animatedly. “Did you see those battle beasts in cages behind the Spotted Giant Bear? I heard they’re gifts for Mr. Ye. I bet they’ll be added to the new battle beast camp. Heh, Cloud Peak is about to have another powerful department.”
“What does any of that have to do with you? You might pass the background check, but what about your strength? To join Lord Tiger’s unit, you need to be at least five stars. You’re only two stars, Old Wang. Wake up!”
The others ruthlessly crushed Old Wang’s enthusiasm. This kind of opportunity was far out of their reach.
Old Wang, however, remained unfazed and instead leaned in with a mysterious tone. “Right now, I’m only two stars, but I’ll be three stars once I finish this job. Then I’ll go sign up at the battle beast camp to be a caretaker.”
“Ah? You’re going to sign up? Do you think they’ll take you?” The others were skeptical.
“Do you even know how to take care of battle beasts?”
“No, but I know how to raise chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, cows, horses, pigs, and sheep. The battle beast camp is hiring, and that’s the requirement! I’m not just making this up—the foreman told me.”
The group fell silent, but they all took mental notes. The battle beast camp was hiring? That was worth a shot. If they got in, it would be like hitting the jackpot!
Old Wang coughed a couple of times, regretting that he had let slip the information he had worked so hard to obtain. Now, he had inadvertently created a lot of competition for himself.
Just as he was about to say something else, his ears perked up, and he turned to look at the end of the street, which should have been empty.
There, a massive shadow appeared.
“War Fortress!”
Someone who had seen Cloud Peak’s War Fortress immediately recognized it.
But everyone was puzzled. Why would another War Fortress appear now? Rumor had it that only the Resistance Zone had these, and the Resistance Zone wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with Cloud Peak.
“Look up in the sky!” someone shouted. About 200 meters above, a large golden sphere was flying steadily. Everyone was familiar with this—earlier that morning, someone had seen it. It was the Exquisite Floating Ball, a product of wheel technology combined with Earth’s technology.
“That’s not from the mountain villa. Look at the emblem on it,” someone with sharp eyes pointed out. The emblem on the floating ball was distinctly different from Cloud Peak’s, resembling a large red rose.
The War Fortress was a massive machine, and even in its treaded mode, it rumbled loudly as it moved down the street, causing noticeable vibrations.
Faced with such a killing machine, the crowd grew relatively quiet, lacking the excitement they had shown when seeing the battle beasts.
As the War Fortress passed, everyone saw a convoy of over 2,000 tanks, rocket launchers, and other combat vehicles, all fully armed.
Finally, a group of around 5,000 evolved marched by. They were uniformly equipped, each holding a firearm, with melee weapons strapped to their backs and wearing full sets of silver-grade equipment. Some even carried rocket launchers and other heavy weapons.
Not only were their equipment uniform, but their marching was also orderly to the point of perfection. It was clear at a glance that these were soldiers—or at least evolved who had been rigorously trained to military standards.
At the end of the procession was a small elite unit of about 500 people, mostly clad in green-grade equipment, exuding a strong aura. They escorted several exaggeratedly designed military vehicles. Through the windows, one could see a few individuals of notable status inside. At the back of the convoy, Miya and Ah Tao, along with some people from the Posthumous Tribe, were accompanying three individuals—one man and two women. They chatted while observing their surroundings, clearly intrigued.
From some of Cloud Peak’s staff responsible for Ying City’s construction, it was learned that this was a team from the Resistance Zone, specifically the S1 Zone. They were known as the Baptism by Fire Division, led by someone named Mu Xinfei, who was a good friend of Mr. Ye.
Everyone suddenly understood. So they were allies. Instantly, their favorable impression of this silent yet murderous team increased.
It made sense. Among Mr. Ye’s three women, two were currently in the process of evolving to eight stars. The fact that the remaining lady of the manor was personally accompanying these guests indicated their extraordinary status.
Still, everyone was curious. First, the Beast Villa, an ally, arrived. This Baptism by Fire Combat Division, also an ally, had come on the same day. What was going on?
This time, even the Cloud Peak staff didn’t have the answers, but everyone was certain that something big was about to happen.
The Resistance Zone’s team quickly passed, but the crowd didn’t disperse. They continued to look down the road, wondering if more teams would arrive.
At first, this was just wishful thinking—a hope for more excitement. No one actually expected another team to show up. But to everyone’s surprise, another team did arrive.
This time, there were no massive battle beasts or man-made killing machines. Instead, it was a very special combat team.
The crowd fell silent, simply watching.
This team was different from the others. Two women riding battle beasts led the way. One of them was familiar to everyone: Xiao Min, the deputy leader of Mr. Ye’s female guards.
Many people knew that because Xia Bai was extremely cold, she didn’t involve herself in anything other than Mr. Ye. As a result, Xiao Min was the actual leader of the female guards. Although she wasn’t a core member, her status was akin to one. She was truly one of Mr. Ye’s closest confidants, holding an extremely high position. If she was personally accompanying someone, just who was this person?
Xiao Min was riding a battle beast bred by Cloud Peak itself—the Cloud Foal. It was only level three, not particularly strong in combat, but it was fast, gentle, and had excellent stamina, making it an ideal mount. More importantly, they were beautiful, so every member of the female guards had one. The 200 Cloud Foals following Xiao Min were just a fraction of their numbers.
The woman beside her, however, was riding a battle beast that left everyone in awe. It was a beautiful snow-white unicorn pegasus, strikingly similar to the one from a classic animated film. The only differences were the demon crystal on its forehead and its sapphire-like eyes.
Level eight!
Another level-eight battle beast!