Around the Revival Camp, fires raged, and the surrounding infected and mutated creatures had long since been wiped out.
What remained were survivors from opposing factions, poised for battle. On one side stood the True God Sect and the Revival Camp, facing the largest camp of the Nile people, led by their most formidable expert.
The two sides had been locked in fierce combat for two days, with casualties on both sides. Fallen survivors were retrieved by their respective factions for processing.
Watching the ongoing battlefield, Zheng Hao narrowed his eyes, his expression revealing none of his inner thoughts.
Qian Zhenyu, having received an intelligence report, approached Zheng Hao with a grave expression and whispered, "Zhao Longchuan's Wolf Fang Camp has recently been attacked by unknown enemies, suffering over three hundred casualties. Their reconnaissance teams were completely annihilated, so they cannot spare any troops to support us."
Zheng Hao nodded and said slowly, "I never intended for Brother Zhao Longchuan to get involved in this mess. The True God shows them special favor, and if anything were to happen to them, the True God would surely be enraged."
"What I find strange are these desperate Nile people!"
"Our religion is inclusive; we do not seek to eradicate those who do not pledge allegiance to the True God Sect. If they wish to join, they must convert. If not, they should stay away. Our principles are simple."
"You can't eat our food, drink our water, seek our protection, and then insult our religion as a cult, expecting us to greet you with smiles. That makes no sense!"
"Yet, these Nile people are like lunatics, constantly plotting to destroy us, as if the world would worship that illusory Tide God if not for the True God Sect!"
"Truly a group of people with troubled minds!"
"Alas..." Qian Zhenyu sighed helplessly. "This might be a cultural difference. Our culture has always been highly inclusive. Throughout history, despite numerous invasions by other races, the result has always been assimilation, with them becoming part of the greater nation.
"But other religions and cultures are different. Take the Westerners, for example, a small landmass that has been fragmented and reunited for over a thousand years, yet they remain divided, none submitting to the other, none acknowledging the other.
"So, if you want them to accept a powerful, inclusive religion, much like acknowledging the fact that Zhao Longchuan's Dragon Country camp is slowly converting other foreigners... the only way is to defeat them through combat.
"Only the strong have a voice in this world. This is an eternal truth!"
Zheng Hao nodded. "I understand your logic, but with so many different religions and races in the world, do we have to fight them all?
"If we do that, we would become the aggressors.
"For now, we can only meet force with force, and counter problems as they arise!"
Qian Zhenyu agreed, nodding. "Indeed, Doctor Bai is very capable, outperforming himself. He has already defeated twenty-five Nile experts in succession."
"Perhaps... we should let him rest and have someone else take over?"
Zheng Hao stood on the city wall, looking towards the battlefield.
Beside Bai Hanlin lay seven or eight corpses, scattered haphazardly. Some of the previously defeated bodies had already been collected by Bai Hanlin. From morning till night, Bai Hanlin showed no signs of fatigue, not even a single wound.
"I think... he can hold on a bit longer. Let everyone get more rest, and we'll switch after another two hours!" Zheng Hao said.
"Alright... then!" Qian Zhenyu nodded.
The intense battle had left both armies exhausted. However, the Nile people outnumbered the Revival Camp's True God Sect by more than five times. Through sheer attrition, they had depleted the Revival Camp's stamina. If Zheng Hao hadn't called Bai Hanlin in time, the situation would have become dire.
On the battlefield, after dispatching a burly Nile warrior, Bai Hanlin couldn't help but glance back towards the city wall. He saw Zheng Hao giving him a thumbs-up with a playful grin. Bai Hanlin retorted with an exaggerated mouthing of a phrase.
Originally, Bai Hanlin had hoped Zheng Hao would provide him with some executed criminals for experimentation, to deepen his understanding of acupuncture points. Zheng Hao readily agreed, promising him a hundred people. Bai Hanlin was overjoyed, thinking Zheng Hao was showing him special consideration as a fellow organization member. Only upon arrival did he realize he had been tricked.
Zheng Hao pointed at the surging crowd of Nile people and said, "Forget a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand is no problem. Go ahead with your experiments!"
Thus, Zheng Hao sent Bai Hanlin into the fray. He had initially said, "If you get tired, signal me, and I'll send someone to relieve you." Now, Bai Hanlin had fought from morning till night, killing countless common soldiers and over twenty strong opponents. During this time, Bai Hanlin had signaled Zheng Hao dozens of times, but the latter acted as if he hadn't seen them. Bai Hanlin then understood that he had been fooled by Zheng Hao. If it weren't for his healing abilities and his capacity to absorb energy from opponents to replenish his own, Bai Hanlin would have collapsed long ago.
However, even now, his stamina was somewhat depleted. The process of absorbing enemy energy to compensate for his own deficiency subtly increased his fatigue. Bai Hanlin was now at his limit. While he appeared uninjured, it was only because he had healed himself after sustaining wounds. He was currently relying on the deterrent effect of the numerous corpses he had left on the battlefield, preventing the enemy from acting rashly, thus granting himself a brief respite.
The Nile leader stood on a distant hillside, looking at the imposing Bai Hanlin with a smile playing on his lips. He turned to a hunched Nile elder beside him and asked, "How is it? Can the 'fat sheep' be consumed yet?"
The elder's voice was sinister. "This fellow is very strong, but he's definitely unaware. I've placed witchcraft on every participant. As he absorbs their energy, this witchcraft has gradually accumulated within him. It's about time to harvest!"
"As soon as you give the command, leader, I can gather all the energy from him into this crystal. Once you absorb this crystal, your strength will undoubtedly advance to a new level!"
The hunched elder's ability was "Witchcraft Harvest," allowing him to place witchcraft within people. Enemies who absorbed this witchcraft would have their energy harvested. The entire absorption process would not cause any energy loss. The deeper the witchcraft, the more energy would be harvested. Enemies whose energy was drained would die and become animated puppets, controlled by the caster. The Nile leader would gain substantial energy for upgrades, while the elder would acquire a powerful puppet – a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Just then, a white mist began to diffuse across the battlefield.