Wan Lei thought about it and indeed, the other side had more people, and it would be too much to expect them to capture the Demon Emperor alive if they couldn't even capture the Saint.
Moreover, couldn't they self-destruct if they were losing? If they self-destructed, both sides' Venerables could be resurrected, making the fighting rather pointless.
Wan Lei had a hunch that for Immortal Venerables to resurrect Saints or others, there must be a price to pay. Otherwise, wouldn't Immortal Venerables just resurrect every fallen soldier?
This way, they would gain battle-hardened veterans, accelerate their growth, and remove their worries, making them fearless in battle.
After all, they could be resurrected after death.
But Immortal Venerables did not do so, instead setting an unreachable goal of five million merit points. It was likely that the price for large-scale resurrection was more than Immortal Venerables were willing to bear.
After Ya left, the group discussed among themselves, with everyone asking Wan Lei in surprise when he had come to the battlefield with the Golden Immortal Venerable.
There was nothing to hide. Wan Lei recounted how, after helping Yuan Jun Qingwu complete a mission in the Southern Border, the Golden Immortal Venerable took him to many places, eventually leading him to the Bitter Sea battlefield, where he encountered the Jealous Demon Venerable Han Fengxue.
The others were envious upon hearing this. Throughout history, Wan Lei was the only one to have received such attention from an Immortal Venerable. Xia Yubing even shouted that she wasn't Xia Dayu's biological son and that Wan Lei was, and she wanted to go back for a paternity test.
Wan Lei sneered, "What's there to be envious of? I, Wan Lei, am now marked by the Demon race, and my life is in danger at any moment."
For the next period, they stayed diligently in the base to recover from their injuries. The previous injuries were severe, especially for Wan Lei, whose wounds were comparable to those he sustained on Lei Xinghai.
Unfortunately, when Wan Lei proposed using the same method for recovery as he did on Lei Xinghai, Fang Xiaoyu, blushing furiously, beat him soundly.
Where in this communal dormitory could he find a space for dual cultivation and healing?
They had been at Base 18 for a month, and their injuries had fully healed. However, thinking back, they had only experienced several battles and life-or-death skirmishes in the first few days after arriving, and then they had not left the base.
But staying like this was not an option. They had earned a lot of merit points last time, but they couldn't just "open for business once and eat for half a year."
After consultation, they decided they had to go out and kill demons. They couldn't let the fact that they were being targeted by the Demon race deter them from leaving. If that were the case, they might as well return to the Five Elements Hall with the reputation of being cowed by the Demon race.
Being a group of fearless individuals, they made their decision and immediately left the base to hunt for demons.
Their spaceship had not yet been delivered, which led them to heavily criticize the base's efficiency. They had inquired several times, but Ya's answer was always the same.
"There are countless bases on the Bitter Sea battlefield, and the main planar command center has to manage trillions of soldiers. They are overwhelmed with work every day. The reimbursement procedures for your spaceship have to be queued."
Although they lacked a spaceship, the items they purchased from the Five Elements Hall's商城 arrived at Base 18 quickly.
As per Wan Lei's instructions, those who didn't have armor each spent two to three thousand merit points to buy full-coverage armor. This price was something an ordinary Five Elements Hall disciple would need a hundred years to save up for, a considerable sum. The armor they received was naturally excellent.
They then each bought weapons and magical treasures suitable for their use. Wan Liuchuan replaced his with a long saber, Liu Yuxin also bought a Demonic Fire Sword, Qingwu bought a staff, and Tian Suanzi bought the strangest item: a golden circle called the Immortal-Demonic Ring, its purpose unknown.
With hope in their hearts, they left the base, ready to showcase their skills. To their disappointment, after searching for several days within a million-mile radius of Base 18, they did not encounter a single demon.
Helpless, they dared not venture too far and returned to Base 18.
Over the next month, they went out two or three more times, with no success. They didn't see any demons but did capture several scavengers who had illegally entered the Bitter Sea. From them, they learned about a few demon frontline strongholds.
Because they had to escort these scavengers back to the main plane for repatriation, and those strongholds were very far away, they did not go to them and returned to the base again.
And today was their fifth outing.
"Brothers, we've gone out four times in a row and haven't found any demons. We've been on the front lines for two months. In these two months, apart from the initial battle, we haven't killed any demons since. We can't keep wasting time like this. This time, we won't return until we find demons.
If we absolutely can't find any, we'll just take down a stronghold."
Wan Lei's words were met with everyone's approval. A group of young men, dancing precariously on the edge of death, set out again.
This time, they were going to a very distant location, essentially heading straight for a demon stronghold.
After flying for two full days, they were very far from Base 18 and increasingly closer to the stronghold.
Suddenly, the flat communication devices they were carrying all began to flash red lights.
"What's going on?"
Everyone raised their hands and looked at the screens.
"All military personnel and adventurer teams of Base 18 who are outside, immediately return to the base upon receiving this order.
Base 18 is under siege by the Hou Pi Legion. Return as quickly as possible."
"Base 18 is under attack again? This time it won't be targeting us again, will it?"
Wan Qianxin stroked his chin. The group wasn't in a hurry, as Base 18 had tens of millions of people, and their addition of a dozen or so wouldn't make much difference.
"But we're outside right now."
"It's possible the Demon race doesn't know we're outside."
"Then it's just right for us not to go back. Returning would be playing right into the Demon race's hands."
"Don't overthink it, maybe it's just a normal offensive and defensive battle."
"What kind of legion is the Hou Pi Legion? Are they stronger than the Demon Wolf Legion we annihilated last time?"
After hearing everyone's words, Wan Qianxin explained,
"Hou Pi is a fierce beast found in both positive and negative planes. In the positive plane, they are called demonic beasts, and in the negative plane, they are called demon beasts.
Hou Pi are similar to bears in appearance and are powerful. They are tamed by the Demon race's beast-taming legions to attack enemies. Because Hou Pi have thick hides and flesh, if this legion is similar in numbers to the Demon Wolf Legion, then their combat effectiveness would indeed be slightly stronger than the Demon Wolf Legion."
As the group was debating whether to return to rescue, Wan Lei's communicator suddenly rang again.
After reading it, Wan Lei frowned and said,
"It's a nearby allied force requesting assistance. This distress signal is broadcast outwards, and all allied forces within a million-mile radius can see it."
"Who is requesting help?"
"Ling Xin."