Chapter 2597: First Harvest

Compared to the Hedao battlefields, the Rongdao-level battlefields were grander in scale and more chaotic, primarily due to the sheer number of participants. Thousands of Hedao cities from both sides converged here. Each city had a large number of its own Rongdao practitioners, and even with some needing to remain as guards, the number available for combat was immense.

In such an environment, the Talent Tree clone could be described as utterly uninhibited, sweeping with sword energy and killing until numb. Just as it leaped out of a sea of blood, the clone suddenly turned its head and looked in one direction. At that location, one of their Hedao cities was under furious assault. Judging by its size, it appeared to be a Desolate-grade city. Leading the siege were two enemy Hedao practitioners, commanding nearly three hundred Rongdao, who semi-encircled the Hedao city in a fan formation, launching numerous attacks like raindrops.

Since this Desolate-grade city was moored near Slender Bamboo City, it must have been there to rest and recuperate. In other words, it had previously endured a brutal battle, sustaining not only personnel losses but also damage to its city's grand formation, urgently needing repairs. However, it was unlucky, encountering such misfortune at this critical juncture. At this very moment, its grand formation was on the verge of collapse, its light barrier dim, clearly unable to hold out much longer.

It wasn't just this one Hedao city under attack; many allied Hedao cities were suffering the same fate. The enemy had deployed too many forces this time, their momentum too sharp. Their numerous personnel could not only sustain the needs of the main battlefield but also divert a large number of troops to siege cities. Although the great battle had not been going on for long and no allied Hedao cities had been breached yet, as time passed, many cities would surely fall. When that happened, the city lord-level powerhouses would lose the amplification and blessing of the Hedao Orb. Should this occur, the already unfavorable situation on the Hedao battlefield would certainly worsen. If it reached a critical point, their side might face a complete rout.

Reinforcements continuously streamed from Slender Bamboo City, rushing into the battlefield, but they could not change the overall situation in the short term unless their numbers increased to a certain extent. The clone merely pondered for a moment before flashing towards that Hedao city, blood energy swirling around it.

It wasn't long before it reached close by. The numerous Rongdao practitioners besieging the city paid no attention to its arrival; even the two leading Hedao practitioners merely glanced at it before looking away. The clone was activating the Bloodline Secret Art of the Blood Race, whose characteristics were too obvious. Anyone would assume it was one of their own, unless they had personally witnessed its previous acts of killing enemies. However, the chaos of the battlefield gave it an opportunity to blend into the enemy ranks.

Lu Ye's original intention was to find an opportunity to ambush the two Hedao practitioners. In the allied Hedao city under attack, there was still a Hedao practitioner defending and maintaining the precarious grand formation. If he could sneak attack and kill one enemy Hedao, their defending Hedao would surely rush out of the city to cooperate with him in killing the other. As long as these two Hedao practitioners were eliminated, the remaining Rongdao would not be a threat.

However, just as it approached, the grand formation of the Hedao city in front of it was breached. "Kill!" a furious roar came from the mouth of an enemy Demon Race Hedao, who then led the charge into the city. The Rongdao practitioners defending the city immediately fled in panic but were still unable to resist the enemy's advance, falling in droves. The clone had no time to stop them. When it finally managed to reach the Demon Race Hedao and prepare to act, it suddenly sensed that the aura of the Hedao practitioner defending the city had vanished.

The clone couldn't help but grit its teeth. That guy... actually fled, and into the Hehe Realm. While it was true that often, when a Hedao city was breached, fleeing into the Hehe Realm was the wisest and only option, the current situation was different. This defending Hedao didn't necessarily have to flee into the Hehe Realm. He could have abandoned the city and left. Although he wouldn't save his city, he would break free from the constraints of his defensive role, gaining freedom to act. At the very least, he could have tied down one of the enemy Hedao. Especially now, with a large number of reinforcements rushing from Slender Bamboo City, he should have even less reason to be a deserter. But ultimately, it was someone else's choice. Often, true nature reveals itself at moments of life-or-death crisis, and Lu Ye found it difficult to comment.

As thoughts flashed through its mind, Lu Ye slapped the sword gourd at its waist. From the gourd's mouth, a brilliant sword energy streaked out, heading straight for the jubilant Demon Race Hedao. This fellow was still immersed in the excitement of being the first to breach the city. He never imagined someone would ambush him from beside, and that the attacker would be a "Blood Race" member. Just as the surging Dao power within him had calmed, the sword energy circled his neck. The ecstatic Demon Race Hedao instantly stiffened as if struck by lightning, his eyes wide with disbelief.

The clone had likely gauged the strength of this Demon Race Hedao. He had exerted himself fully during the siege, so even without a direct confrontation, Lu Ye had an idea of his capabilities. If it came to a direct fight, Lu Ye estimated his clone might not be a match. This guy's strength was considerable. But an ambush was different. With the opponent completely unprepared, Lu Ye took his head with a single strike. The clone felt a sense of relief. As long as this demon was killed, things would be easier. It had truly feared its ambush would fail; in that case, it would have had to quickly flee.

Without a moment's delay, another sword energy shot out from the gourd's mouth, striking towards the other Hedao. This Hedao was likely a Beast Race member, enveloped in thick demonic energy. His reaction was incredibly fast. The moment he sensed something was wrong, his Dao power surged wildly, and he simultaneously reached out a hand towards Lu Ye. That hand was like an eagle's claw, with a cold gleam on its fingertips. The sword energy unleashed by the clone struck directly into his palm. The Beast Race member immediately shrieked, his body abruptly halting, for the sword energy had directly pierced through the Dao power on his hand, puncturing his hand clear through, blood gushing out.

This Beast Race member's strength was undoubtedly much weaker than that of the Demon Race member. According to the clone's previous observation, this guy had roughly over eight hundred Dao power. Even without relying on Dao soldiers, Lu Ye could now wield 900 Dao power. The sword gourd was a spiritual treasure, and over this long period, he had nurtured it to its peak. It could be said that the sword gourd's current power boost was on the same level as the Crag Blade, both providing 108 Dao power. When this sword energy was unleashed, it was a force of a thousand Dao. How could the Beast Race Hedao resist? What made him even more despairing was that before he could steady himself, two more streaks of sword energy, like lightning, rushed towards him. In his haste, he activated his protective Dao power, which was shattered in an instant. As his body reeled, his head was blasted with a massive hole by the torrent of sword energy, following the fate of the Demon Race Hedao.

The clone raised an eyebrow, reaching out to collect the relics and Star Abyss Coins left behind by the two deceased Hedao. Two Hedao had contributed six Star Abyss Coins to him—a rich harvest. At this moment, the Rongdao who had rushed into the city all looked at him with extreme horror. The events had unfolded too quickly just now; these Rongdao had not reacted at all. By the time they realized something was wrong, both their Hedao practitioners had already been killed. In their haste, the numerous Rongdao reacted differently: some instinctively launched attacks at Lu Ye, some desperately tried to flee, and others simply stood dumbfounded, unsure what to do.

As a flicker of blood-red light spread, faint sounds of surging waves could be heard. A vast sea of blood had already enveloped the entire Hedao city. Numerous sword energies darted back and forth within it, and screams rose one after another. In terms of enemy elimination efficiency, the clone was even stronger than the main body, especially in annihilating these Rongdao. If this engagement were handled by the main body, it might not have been so swift and decisive. It wasn't that the main body was weaker than the clone, but rather the different nature of their Dao soldiers. The sword energy from the sword gourd was particularly suitable for such situations, whereas the main body, wielding a saber, would have to hack and slash one by one.

Lu Ye did not immediately retract the sea of blood but turned his head to look towards the central hall. The city's original cultivators were either dead or had fled, leaving no trace. The attacking enemies had also been completely slaughtered by him. Now, he was the only one left in the entire city. What about the Hedao Orb? If he didn't deal with it, it would certainly be destroyed by some enemy. But he couldn't just stay here indefinitely to help defend someone else's city; not only did it make no sense, but he also didn't have the time.

After thinking for a moment, he still rushed into the central hall and shattered the Hedao Orb with a punch. Since it would eventually benefit an enemy, it was better to benefit himself. A strange feeling arose within him. He hadn't expected that the first batch of Hedao Orb fragments harvested in this great battle would come from an allied Hedao city. He hoped that the city lord had already received a warning from their defending Hedao and was mentally prepared for a drastic drop in their own strength, otherwise, his action might inadvertently kill them. He packaged the numerous fragments, formed spatial Dao patterns, and sent them directly back to Yuanxi City.

Only then did the clone rush out of the Hedao city. It glanced around, seeing many allied Hedao cities still under siege. The protective grand formations of those cities continuously rippled, flickering erratically. Without hesitation, it immediately streaked towards another Hedao city, its body radiating intense blood energy. Moments later, just like before, it smoothly blended into the enemy's siege formation. It secretly decided that if the defending Hedao here could cooperate even a little, it would help them kill enemies and defend the city. But if the other party, like the previous one, fled early into the Hehe Realm, then it would gladly take the Hedao Orb. Anyway, once a city was breached, the Hedao Orb would benefit the enemy. Rather than that, it was better to benefit himself.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield where the main body was located, Lu Ye followed closely beside Yuanxi, his expression calm, yet his heart filled with uncertainty and surprise. "Lu Ye, Lu Ye, there are many spiritual treasure auras!" Liao's voice rang in his ear. In this great battle, with so many Hedao on both sides intertwined in combat, there were bound to be some lucky ones who possessed spiritual treasures. So Liao was very excited now. It was just one step away from overcoming its second major hurdle. Although Lu Ye had already made arrangements for it to enter the Duel Battlefield for a death match after a short wait, if possible, it naturally hoped to do so sooner. This way, it could overcome its second hurdle even earlier.