Chapter 537: Chapter 251: Vanguard Army, Triple War Merit! (Vote for Monthly Ticket)_2
Zhang Yuandong also said in a low voice, "If you had used that move on Commander Wang earlier, I’m afraid even he might not have been able to handle it, right?"
Xu Zhou smiled without speaking.
He hadn’t fully charged his energy at that time.
But to be honest, if he had really used that move on Commander Wang Beiwang earlier, Commander Wang might truly not have been able to withstand it.
"Enough, stop boasting; the battle isn’t over yet."
Xu Zhou said, "Everyone pack up the spoils of war, and in three minutes, we’ll continue to advance."
"Yes!"
The entire 23rd Brigade quickly sprang into action.
Although the recent battle seemed to drag on, it actually only lasted a few minutes.
But now, time equates to war merit, so everyone quickly started gathering the spoils to prepare for the subsequent advance.
Zhong Qiang stood beside Xu Zhou, lowering his head sheepishly, "Brother Xu, that Lan Yu mentioned you once lost to him, what’s that about?"
Xu Zhou glanced at him and said indifferently, "That was a few months ago when I was only third-grade."
"Third-grade?"
Zhong Qiang was stunned for a moment, then showed a look of shock.
So, in just a few months, Xu Zhou advanced from third-grade to sixth-grade?
But what shocked him more was that Xu Zhou managed to escape from a sixth-grade opponent while he was only third-grade; this was simply unbelievable!
"To think that someone as mighty as Brother Xu also had moments of defeat," Zhong Qiang couldn’t help but exclaim.
Xu Zhou said helplessly, "I’m human, not a god. If you put a Ninth Grade against me now, I still wouldn’t be able to win."
Beside him, Zhang Yuandong was filled with admiration. After all, Earth Star Martial Artists were generally stronger than Blue Star Martial Artists; even in the same realm, Blue Star Martial Artists might not win.
Not to mention surpassing by two whole realms!
However, considering it was Xu Zhou who accomplished all this, Zhang Yuandong felt at ease.
"Xu Shuai is indeed different from others; following him means I’ve found the right person," Zhang Yuandong thought to himself.
...
Three minutes later, the 23rd Brigade finished gathering the spoils, and Xu Zhou consolidated the entire army for continued advancement.
Now they had advanced five hundred miles and needed to push another fifteen hundred miles to reach the location designated by the Military Department.
During the ensuing advance, Xu Zhou encountered several Earth Star armies, but all were small forces of less than three thousand.
Thinking that even a mosquito’s legs are meat, Xu Zhou led the army to annihilate each of these small forces.
The army continued to advance and finally reached their two-thousand-mile destination—the Hundred Broken Mountain Range—before night fell.
This mountain range stretched for several thousand kilometers, serving as the ultimate target for successive Blue Star Army advances.
After setting up camp at the mountain range, Xu Zhou took stock of their achievements in this sortie.
"A total of six Earth Star armies were annihilated, numbering about twenty thousand, most of whom were Four Realm Martial Artists, with fewer Five Realm and fewer than fifty Sixth Realm experts."
After Xu Zhou finished speaking, Zhong Qiang immediately showed a disappointed expression.
"Just this much! Most are from the Four Realm, which is not even as rewarding as last time when we wiped out the third division."
Xu Zhou also showed a contemplative look.
He thought that this time, they could at least gain several hundred thousand or even a million war merits by pursuing the victory.
It now seemed somewhat unrealistic.
The larger Earth Star armies had withdrawn quickly, leaving only some small forces with not enough war merits to go around.
Xu Zhou looked at Zhong Qiang, "Brother Zhong, any thoughts?"
"What thoughts could I have?" Zhong Qiang said helplessly, "It’s just our bad luck; mostly in this direction, the enemy forces are smaller."
Xu Zhou nodded slightly. The 38th Parallel front line was long, stretching for tens of thousands of kilometers, and the 23rd Brigade was responsible for only a few hundred kilometers in width while advancing two thousand miles.
Now it seemed that their particular direction was indeed unfortunate.
Xu Zhou pondered for a moment and said, "Earth Star probably received word early on that our army would advance two thousand miles, so they withdrew early."
"If we continue advancing now, we might encounter larger Earth Star forces."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Qiang immediately showed a shocked expression, waving his hands quickly, "Brother Xu, don’t joke around, this is the Otherworld we’re talking about!"
"Without orders from the Military Department, going in alone would be courting death."
Xu Zhou nodded; he was just speaking hypothetically.
It’s impossible to truly risk going deep for just a bit of war merit.
After all, he’s not alone anymore; he carries the military spirit of eight thousand warriors on his shoulders.
"In that case, we’ll just have to wait for orders from the Military Department," Xu Zhou said.
"That’s all we can do," Zhong Qiang sighed helplessly.
Xu Zhou looked outside the tent and felt that the Military Department wouldn’t stop here.
Advancing two thousand miles was definitely just a probe by the Military Department.
If they could advance to a deeper position, it would greatly benefit Blue Star’s next strategic layout.
After all, the more territory Blue Star occupied in the Heavenly Gate area, the more arrangements they could make, so even if high-grade forces from Earth Star attacked, these battle formations could stand a chance to resist.
Don’t underestimate the power of these battle formations; although a Ten Thousand Army formation can only exert strength below the Eighth Grade.
But what if it were a hundred thousand soldiers?
If controlled by an Eighth Rank expert, a hundred thousand soldiers’ formation would be enough to unleash the power of the Ninth Grade!
If a Peak of Eighth Grade expert were to control it, they could potentially unleash power comparable to the Peak of Ninth Grade.
Blue Star lacks everything but people.
Current Blue Star’s troops deployed on this battlefield number in the millions.
This million-strong battle formation is equivalent to the power of ten Peak of Ninth Grade experts!
Most of Blue Star’s Ninth Grades are currently off destroying Array Bases, thus making this million-strong formation crucial in holding off the enemy.
The deeper their frontline advances, the safer the rear becomes.
After all, even a peak expert of the Ninth Realm from Earth Star trying to cross over to Guang Han would have to pass through that 38th Parallel first.
At that time, these battle formations could give the rear ample reaction time.
...
Xu Zhou was indeed correct; shortly after they occupied this area, the Military Department issued new directives.
Zhong Qiang rushed into Xu Zhou’s tent, saying, "Brother Xu, did you receive the new orders from the Military Department?"
Xu Zhou nodded, "I saw it."
He opened the projection from his wristband, which showed the order he just received from the Military Department.
"The Vanguard Army is to be recruited immediately to continue penetrating the battle line by five thousand miles; this task is extremely dangerous, and each army is advised to act within its capabilities. Volunteers can register to participate."
"Those who join the Vanguard Army, regardless of kills, will receive a reward of one million war merits; battle merits for kills will be calculated at triple value."
Reading the directive from the Military Department, Xu Zhou was quite surprised.
Continuing to advance five thousand miles!
This was far more dangerous than the previous two thousand miles.
When they advanced two thousand miles, they only encountered three thousand Earth Star troops.
But advancing five thousand miles, undoubtedly they would encounter Ten Thousand Army groups and even Earth Star army corps-level battle formations!
The most crucial point was that Blue Star had no knowledge of the area beyond two thousand miles in the Heavenly Gate region.
This means that if they continued forward, it would be full of unknowns, and encountering an ambush from several Earth Star Divisions would leave no escape route.
"Although it’s dangerous, the rewards offered by the Military Department are indeed tempting."
Xu Zhou sighed.
"Tempting? Just one million war merits, isn’t that too stingy?" Zhong Qiang complained from the side.
This one million war merits was not for one person; it was calculated for the entire army as a unit.
The 23rd Brigade, being an eight-thousand-person unit, would see its commander receive one-twentieth of the total war merits.
For a Ten Thousand People Division, it would be one-twenty-fifth.
This means that out of a million war merits, Xu Zhou as the commander might receive about fifty thousand, and even less for vice commanders.
That’s why Zhong Qiang scoffed at the one million war merits.
However, Xu Zhou laughed, "A million war merits may be low for us, but it’s a huge merit for those smaller brigades of three to four thousand."
"But the one million war merits isn’t significant; the real point is what’s next."
"Battle merits for kills are calculated at triple value!"
Triple value, what does that mean?
If they could annihilate an army the size of the previous third division, Xu Zhou could earn six hundred thousand war merits!
One division means six hundred thousand merits.
What about two divisions? Three?
If lucky, he could personally acquire millions of war merits without any trouble.
Millions!
Just thinking about it made Xu Zhou excited, surely enough for him to cultivate to the Peak of Sixth Grade, and even his Golden Core could reach seven revolutions, or even eight!
"We must enroll in the Vanguard Army."
Xu Zhou made up his mind.