Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 400: Execute

Before Li Pin arrived, Yuan Zhenchuan had already instructed Qiao Baishi to secretly dig a tunnel. The tunnel, carved through the mountain, directly connected the sixth and seventh palace complexes.

Li Pin had carefully suppressed his qi and blood fluctuations using his legendary-level mental spirit. He cautiously made his way through the narrow passage, which was barely over a meter high.

By the time Li Pin reached the tunnel's end, he sensed the astral energy fluctuation on the other side. He seized an opportunity and broke through, emerging into a corner of the seventh palace complex.

Unlike the sixth palace complex, which contained palaces of varying sizes, the seventh palace complex felt monotonous and vast. What lay before Li Pin was not a collection of palaces but a massive underground space, stretching for thousands of meters.

On either side of the cavern, there were clear traces of human construction, with murals etched into the ceiling. At the highest point, a sunlight gemstone, over thirty meters in diameter, shone like a small sun, casting light across the palace's center, which spanned thousands of meters.

Li Pin moved to a higher vantage point and surveyed the area. In the center of the palace, he could vaguely make out nine altar-like structures. Eight smaller altars, each about ten meters in diameter, surrounded a larger altar, nearly a hundred meters wide.

Around the smaller altars stood figures dressed in gold and orange cloaks. They maintained a humanoid form, but with bull-like heads.

These were the Ox Demon Priests, second only to the Ox Demon Bishops in rank. They wielded powerful lightning abilities, and their presence was more intimidating than even that of Master Astral Cultivators.

At that moment, hundreds of these priests were placing the bodies of Ox Demon Warriors onto the altars. With the altars' power, they repaired the bodies and reassembled severed limbs.

Before long, the once-dead demonic creatures sprang back to life, descending from the altars, fully restored, and ready to join the battle against the humans.

At the central altar, what was being resurrected were massive creatures, each standing over two and a half meters tall. Dressed in golden armor and wielding broadswords over three meters long, they were the leaders among the demonic creatures, known as the Ox Demon Warlords.

Though their qi and blood weren't especially strong, they possessed exceptional combat skills and astonishing agility.

Yes, agility! Despite their imposing size, towering even above humans, their swiftness was beyond belief. Many Master Astral Cultivators couldn't land a blow on these creatures.

Thanks to their agility, the Ox Demon Warlords posed a greater threat than ordinary lord-level creatures, despite their qi and blood not matching those of other high-tier creatures.

Li Pin scanned the palace. There were nearly ten thousand creatures inside.

Since most of the ordinary Ox Demon Warriors, Sorcerers, and Generals had already been sent to the battlefield, the remaining forces in the palace consisted mainly of powerful Ox Demon Priests and Warlords. The combined number of these two types of creatures was likely around three to four thousand.

Li Pin quickly estimated, "There are nearly a thousand Ox Demon Priests and over two thousand Warlords!"

Those were three to four thousand creatures with lord-level strength.

What did this mean? It meant that should these creatures be unleashed, they could deal devastating damage to the Special United Squad. Even if the squad could ultimately win thanks to their advantage in the number of Legends, they would likely suffer heavy losses. They could very well lose over half of their manpower.

Humanity could not afford such a loss.

The Special United Squad's total strength might represent only about one-third of the human Master Astral Cultivators and Legends, but it was the maximum force humanity could muster for now. Other Master Astral Cultivators and Legends were all tied up defending their own perilous regions and couldn't leave.

If the Special United Squad lost over half its members, then, while it couldn't be said that humanity would have necessarily failed in its operation to clear the demonic creatures, they would nonetheless be on the brink of collapse.

More critically, despite their overwhelming strength, these creatures did not rush out of the palace to confront the Special United Squad directly. Instead, they continued to hold back, sending Ox Demon Warriors, Generals, and Sorcerers to clash with the squad.

They were accumulating their strength! They weren't satisfied with simply inflicting over fifty percent casualties on the squad; their goal was to build up enough power to completely wipe them out.

After observing for a while, Li Pin slowly pieced the situation together. "Whether it's their continuous retreat or the heavy casualties of their soldiers... it's all part of their plan to lull the Special United Squad into complacency.

"The Ox Demon Bishop's earlier risky move to personally slay a Legendary Mage was meant to intimidate the squad, preventing them from growing overconfident and pushing forward recklessly.... It was also to buy himself enough time...."

At this point, he had to admit one truth: creatures with intelligence posed a completely different level of challenge than those without. That was especially the case when these intelligent creatures had created a Divine Kingdom, allowing them to relay orders swiftly.

Li Pin had been lurking in the area for quite some time, but he had yet to locate the Ox Demon Bishop.

He gazed at the vast, empty palace. "There are too many creatures here. Even though I am a Martial God and don't generate any astral energy fluctuations, that can, at most, only ensure that I'm hard to detect. Searching area by area to find the Ox Demon Bishop among thousands of creatures won't be an easy task."

His only option was to stay patient and wait for the Ox Demon Bishop to reveal itself while maintaining his concealment. Then, with the Memory Bracelet, he would summon a team of Legends, or even Supreme Experts, to strike a fatal blow.

Time passed, second by second.

Li Pin observed the changes in the large palace. The creatures communicated frequently, but in languages and methods he couldn't understand.

As Li Pin observed, his earlier speculation regarding the creature's intentions was confirmed; the creatures were sacrificing ordinary warriors to buy time. If the situation grew critical, the Ox Demon Warlord would lead elite forces to launch attacks, causing significant trouble for the Special United Squad.

Meanwhile, the Special United Squad, unaware of the situation inside the Ox Demon Temple and shaken by the sudden ambush that killed a Legendary Mage, moved with extreme caution. This wariness gave the demonic creatures a precious chance to regroup.

Fortunately, these demonic creatures lacked the foundation of trust and communication between them.

If other creatures in nearby perilous regions had joined the chaos, the Special United Squad might have been forced to abandon their nearly secured victory here.

An hour passed, then two, then three....

In the sixth palace complex, Yuan Zhenchuan and his team had long since noticed the prolonged stalemate on Li Pin's side.

Realizing his situation was more complicated than expected, they intensified their offensive, hoping to create more opportunities for him. This shift became clear as the Ox Demon Priests repeatedly rearranged their forces.

Finally, as the battle on the frontlines grew fiercer, Li Pin's attention was drawn to a figure near the grand altar. This demon, fully clad in golden armor and wielding a golden longsword, radiated a powerful presence. A strange force field seemed to surround it, making it look as though it was hovering in midair.

Seeing how respectful the Ox Demon Priests were toward this demon, Li Pin immediately recognized it as the Ox Demon Bishop.

Li Pin's focus sharpened. "Finally, he shows himself."

He descended, using the uneven terrain, rocks, and scattered statues in the surroundings for cover as he drew closer to the Ox Demon Bishop.

However, the palace complex was vast and open, like a huge plaza. Apart from the numerous Ox Demon Warriors, nine altars, and many statues, there weren't many objects to hide behind.

With tens of thousands of demonic creatures in the area, even if Li Pin restrained his aura, he couldn't be sure he wouldn't be detected while getting closer to the Bishop. It was like trying to cross a field in broad daylight while avoiding being noticed by countless onlookers.

The best he could do was get as close as possible before being discovered.

He got closer and closer until the gap between him and the Ox Demon Bishop narrowed to less than five hundred meters. By now, the density of the surrounding demonic creatures had become overwhelming. There was almost one demon creature every ten square meters. It would be too risky to advance further.

By now, there were only five hundred meters between him and the Ox Demon Bishop. That was more than enough for a Legend to make a move.

Li Pin glanced at the bracelet crafted from Memory Gemstone in his hand and activated it without hesitation.

Buzz, buzz!

An invisible ripple spread out from Li Pin, alerting an Ox Demon Warlord closest to him. Before it could roar, the ripple expanded, and three figures emerged from the spatial distortion, appearing at the scene simultaneously.

They were none other than Xiao Donghai, the Royal Empire's Destruction Ring wielder; Zhao Kunwu, the Supreme Expert of Great Shang; and Wu De, the Supreme Expert of the Star Alliance.

The arrival of these three Legends, accompanied by their overwhelming astral energy fluctuations that swept across the hall, sent ripples through the entire demonic horde

At the center of the Ox Demon Priests, the Ox Demon Bishop let out a panicked roar, waves of energy fluctuations radiating from its body.

However, Xiao Donghai, Zhao Kunwu, and Wu De had already been preparing their strongest attacks before the Memory Gemstone's power transported them here.

In the instance they appeared, they locked onto the Ox Demon Bishop under Li Pin's guidance, and their deadly attacks were unleashed.

Xiao Donghai summoned forth the legendary Great Sun Golden Crow, a mythical entity that radiated boundless light and heat.

Amid the terrifying release of energy, Li Pin felt as though a nuclear bomb had detonated nearby.

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Wu De's power surged as dark red lightning arced about him. However, rather than attacking the Ox Demon Bishop, the lightning infused the Golden Crow's fiery form, further amplifying its already immense power.

Meanwhile, Zhao Kunwu made a subtle gesture, and the space before them seemingly opened into an invisible pathway.

The Great Sun Golden Crow, brimming with pure destructive energy and searing heat capable of incinerating everything in its path, charged forward, covering the five-hundred-meter distance in an instant.

The Golden Crow struck the Ox Demon Bishop.

The Ox Demon Bishop reacted to the attack but failed to summon the power of its Divine Kingdom to teleport in time. It was completely engulfed by the fiery, devastating force of the Golden Crow.