Chapter 1112: Establishing the Frontline

**Fantasy Novel**

"Stop!" Pang Zhen's voice, amplified by spiritual power, rang out. As he gave the command, everyone halted their advance.

Lu Ye looked ahead. Various insectoids surged forward like a tide, menacing and baring their fangs and claws. Even though he was mentally prepared, his expression couldn't help but turn grim.

The distance between them grew shorter, and the spiritual power of the Vanguard Camp's experts began to fluctuate.

In the middle of the fan-shaped area, Pang Zhen held a spirit talisman brimming with spiritual energy.

He tossed it forward. Instantly, a dull thunder rumbled, the sky changed colors, and thunderclouds gathered and swirled.

"Kill!"

As his enraged roar erupted, thunderbolts exploded. Thick bolts of lightning struck down from the thunderclouds, like divine punishment, crashing into the insectoid horde. As the lightning raged, large numbers of insectoids perished.

This seemed to be a signal. As the lightning struck, the experts of the Vanguard Camp also unleashed their various techniques, striking at the swarming insectoids. Instantly, various powerful spells of different colors formed. Blade auras and sword qi crisscrossed, and countless flashes from activated artifacts weaved through the formation, spraying forth gushes of hot blood.

The insectoids' shrieks were ceaseless as they fell in swaths, and blood instantly drenched the earth.

To Lu Ye's left, the Sect Master and Yi Yi cast spells together, wreaking havoc. However, it was mainly the Sect Master doing the heavy killing; Yi Yi's contribution was less significant as the cultivation gap was too large, and her attacks could only serve as a minor enhancement.

To his right was Nian Yuexian, with overwhelming sword qi crisscrossing the battlefield, weaving back and forth relentlessly, sharp and formidable.

However, both the Sect Master and Nian Yuexian, when choosing their attack range, took into account the area Lu Ye was facing. They probably felt that as a Soldier Cultivator, he wouldn't be able to fully utilize his abilities in such a situation.

As his Fire Phoenix and Fire Dragon spells connected end to end towards the insectoid horde, Lu Ye felt reassured.

The insectoids attacked not only from the ground but also from the sky. Many insectoids could naturally fly, and even those without wings could fly once their cultivation reached a certain level.

However, under the counterattack of the Vanguard Camp's numerous experts, no attacking insectoids, whether from the ground or the air, could get within three miles.

From a high-altitude view, the three-mile area in front of the Vanguard Camp's experts had astonishingly turned into a death zone where no living creature could approach. Any insectoid that crossed that death line invariably fell to the ground.

Insectoid corpses quickly piled up on the ground, and insectoid blood converged into rivers.

This was destined to be a fight to the death. Facing these insectoids that had brought years of calamity to Kyushu, the Vanguard Camp's experts showed no mercy.

The pressure wasn't great. If the insectoid tide's attack was only this level, resolving the insectoid calamity wouldn't be difficult. But everyone knew this was just the beginning, and the real pressure had yet to come.

Not to mention that there weren't many large insectoids among the attackers; even the giant insectoids that had appeared in past images weren't seen.

Moreover, as time passed, the cultivators' spiritual power would be depleted. Even the Vanguard Camp's experts couldn't maintain such an offensive for long.

The chaotic and violent spiritual energy fluctuations attracted more and more insectoids. The scale of the insectoid tide was constantly expanding; even though insectoids were constantly being killed, more and more replaced them.

At this moment, everyone was only thankful for one thing: the insectoids possessed little intelligence. Otherwise, if an insectoid tide of this scale appeared in Kyushu, the situation in Kyushu would likely completely collapse. If that happened, it would surely be a world-ending catastrophe, with lives being utterly devastated...

Lu Ye only focused on the area he was defending, alternating between Fire Phoenix and Fire Dragon spells. He could also cast other spells, but for the current situation, these two spells were undoubtedly the most lethal and most effective for area-of-effect attacks.

Once he demonstrated his capabilities, the Sect Master and Nian Yuexian could confidently handle their own defensive areas, without needing to divert their attention to alleviate pressure on him.

Sounds of rushing through the air came from behind him. Immediately afterward, figures stood beside him. Without any communication, the newly arrived cultivators immediately joined the counterattack.

After the Formation Cultivators were the first to pass through the portal, the reinforcements from the Kyushu Army arrived.

Most of them were Spell Cultivators, because in such a counterattack, only Spell Cultivators could fully utilize their abilities. There were also some Body Cultivators and Soldier Cultivators, who were mainly responsible for dealing with insectoids that got too close, while also using the 'Shared Energy Array Disc' to facilitate Spell Cultivators in drawing strength.

Their respective teams had been assigned in advance. Therefore, although many people flooded in at this time, it appeared orderly rather than chaotic.

Originally, there was some distance between Lu Ye, the Sect Master, and Nian Yuexian. But with the arrival of reinforcements from the Kyushu Army, the empty spaces in between were quickly filled by the newly arrived cultivators.

Reinforcements poured in continuously, until newcomers could no longer find a place to stand.

With the support of these people, the most dangerous initial phase of the second vanguard stage was overcome.

"Advance!" Another command came from Pang Zhen.

As the command was given, everyone marched forward in unison.

From a high-altitude view, the five-mile radius semi-circle was steadily advancing outwards, expanding the range of their defensive line and extending their front line.

Only in this way could the power of the cultivator army be better utilized and the insectoids be more effectively killed.

Otherwise, if confined to this five-mile radius semi-circle, many people wouldn't find a position to launch attacks, which would waste their forces.

Moreover, for the entire cultivator army of Bing Province, a five-mile radius was ultimately too small.

The counterattack line continued to advance outwards, but the three-mile zone remained the insectoids' death line. Most insectoids could not cross this three-mile limit. Occasionally, a few large insectoids might get lucky and break through, but they were quickly focused down and killed by Soldier Cultivators.

As the front line extended, Lu Ye's distance from the Sect Master and Nian Yuexian also grew. This meant that it would be difficult for him to receive support from his left and right sides; if any powerful insectoids appeared in the area he was responsible for defending, he would have to find a way to deal with them himself.

He spread his divine sense and briefly sensed. He found that his area had one cultivator at the eighth level of the Divine Sea Realm, four at the seventh level, more than twenty cultivators at the Divine Sea Realm below the seventh level, and the rest were in the True Lake Realm.

Such a force was exceptionally strong, more than sufficient to handle typical situations.

The initial advance went smoothly, because although the front line had extended, more cultivators had joined the counterattack sequence. Therefore, in terms of attack intensity, Bing Province's side saw an increase rather than a decrease, naturally feeling no pressure.

But as time passed, everyone gradually felt a certain amount of pressure. The expanding scale of the insectoid tide was one aspect, and the extended front line dispersing their strength was another.

Fortunately, at this moment, Pang Zhen's voice rang out once more: "Stop!"

He was clearly overseeing the entire situation, issuing the appropriate command at the right time. Otherwise, with such an endless advance, their own front line would inevitably be breached first...

The current level was just right. They felt some pressure, but it wasn't overwhelming, remaining within tolerable limits.

By this point, the foremost front line had extended to more than ten miles from the portal.

Spell Cultivators still formed the main attacking force. After all, in such a defensive counterattack, Spell Cultivators could play a greater role than other factions; this was the advantage of their long-range attacks.

The primary tasks of Soldier Cultivators, Body Cultivators, and even Ghost Cultivators now were to use the 'Shared Energy Array Disc' to provide strength to the Spell Cultivators, and also to protect the Spell Cultivators' safety in case any insectoids got close.

But so far in the battle, no insectoids had been able to breach the spell blockade defense line, which left cultivators from the other major factions with nothing to do.

Cultivators with activated artifacts could still activate them to alleviate boredom, picking off stray enemies amidst the dazzling and lethal spells. Cultivators without activated artifacts were truly bored.

After all, activated artifacts were used by cultivators when their strength was low to compensate for a lack of offensive capabilities. Once their cultivation grew higher, activated artifacts became somewhat redundant.

Just like Lu Ye, he rarely used the power of activated artifacts in combat now. By the time he exerted effort to use an activated artifact, a single blade aura strike might have even greater power.

"Brothers, let some insectoids through!" "We short-ranged fighters came all this way; we can't just stand around and watch!"

"Exactly, exactly! Spell Cultivator brothers and sisters, don't hog all the fun! Even if you don't share the spoils evenly, at least let us stretch our limbs!"

"Lu Yiye, you're a Soldier Cultivator, how can you wield such powerful spells? Is there any justice?!"

The group was noisy and boisterous. The solemn atmosphere of what should have been a serious battle was completely disrupted.

This was mainly because there was no Ninth-Level Divine Sea Realm expert overseeing Lu Ye's area, so everyone was less restrained. In other areas with a Ninth-Level Divine Sea Realm cultivator present, they wouldn't be so carefree.

The Spell Cultivators were compliant. Amidst the vast and dense offensive, they intentionally let some insectoids pass through. They thought this would alleviate the boredom of the Soldier, Body, and Ghost Cultivators, but to their surprise, the bickering only intensified.

"Hey, that Sword Cultivator! You're from that small country faction, and you're no good either! As a Sword Cultivator, just use your flying swords for long-range attacks! Why are you snatching our insectoids?!"

"Fellow Daoist, stop cleaving with blade auras! You're killing insectoids from a hundred paces away! What's the difference between that and a Spell Cultivator's methods? We Soldier Cultivators should engage in close combat to display our might."

"That one using spirit talismans, aren't they being a bit rogue? Who doesn't have some spirit talismans on hand?"

The chaotic bickering continued. Yet, no insectoids could get within a hundred paces. Soldier, Body, and Ghost Cultivators accused each other, verbally disparaging others' methods while acting without hesitation—a classic case of double standards. Blade auras, fist shadows, activated artifacts, and spirit talismans — all sorts of techniques were deployed.

"Watch out, a big one's coming!" A startled cry suddenly rang out.

Everyone also saw the approaching insectoid. "Big" didn't refer to its size, but to its strength; the aura emanating from that insectoid was astonishingly at the Ninth Level of the Divine Sea Realm.