Not long after they started walking, Ao Yuan spotted a familiar figure.
"Elder Long."
Ao Yuan flashed through the air and appeared beside him.
"Ao Yuan, you're here."
Elder Long was long past being surprised by Ao Yuan's sudden appearance. He greeted him with a chuckle.
Ao Yuan nodded slightly, then gestured to the several people surrounding Elder Long.
These individuals had diverse appearances, but their proximity to Elder Long made it clear they were all national leaders.
As Ao Yuan greeted them, a flicker of unease crossed each of their faces before they nodded in response.
Ao Yuan understood their apprehension but didn't dwell on it.
He directly asked, "What's the situation here now?"
Elder Long gave a wry smile. "You should have seen it when you came in."
Ao Yuan nodded. The paths he had taken were lined with soldiers from various countries. It was impossible not to notice.
Elder Long pondered for a moment, then gestured for Ao Yuan to move forward a bit.
"That's our defense line," Elder Long pointed ahead.
Ao Yuan looked forward and vaguely saw arrays of heavy, high-tech weaponry like tanks. He could also sense many presences around the valley, clearly soldiers from various nations lying in wait.
"We have a hundred thousand soldiers stationed here," Elder Long continued. "The area we've sealed off is not far ahead. We've divided the territory from the sealed zone all the way to their location into several sectors. These include tanks, tanks, armed helicopters, and finally, the nuclear warhead!"
Even Ao Yuan couldn't help but show surprise at the mention of the nuclear warhead. He hadn't expected the situation to be this dire, to the point where they were prepared to use nuclear weapons.
"You've truly put in a great deal of effort," Ao Yuan remarked with emotion. Of course, before, he might have felt fear at such preparations. But for the current Ao Yuan, all of this was insignificant. He might get injured, but that's all it would be.
"No... Dragon God Your Excellency, perhaps you don't realize, but we feel these measures are insufficient." A national leader beside them suddenly spoke respectfully.
"Hm?" Ao Yuan raised an eyebrow and glanced at him with surprise. They had prepared nuclear warheads. If that wasn't enough, then their adversary's power would undoubtedly be in the divine realm. At least in Ao Yuan's view, only deities wouldn't fear such things.
"Dragon God Your Excellency, this is indeed hard to believe, but it is the truth," another national leader chimed in, echoing the sentiment.
Hearing this, Ao Yuan was beyond astonished.
"Sigh..."
"Ao Yuan," Elder Long shook his head, not offering further explanation. He simply gestured for Ao Yuan to continue forward. "You'll understand when you go see for yourself."
Ao Yuan said no more and followed Elder Long. Along the way, he encountered many human powerhouses and national leaders. They all proactively greeted Ao Yuan. Their attitudes were as respectful as one could get. If outsiders were to witness this, they would never believe these were leaders of nations. However, to Ao Yuan, this was completely normal. After all, he had only recently dealt with the Seven Gods. Who would dare to provoke him at this time? It was worth noting that he didn't encounter Gao Xiong and the others, who apparently didn't want to face him at the moment.
Under the respectful gazes of everyone, Ao Yuan and Elder Long soon arrived at their final destination. Towering peaks flanked both sides, with a narrow, quiet opening in the middle, about ten people wide. This opening was currently surrounded by tanks. Peering inside, about a hundred meters in, Ao Yuan saw over a hundred people gathered. Their auras were extraordinary, each emitting immense spiritual energy, all channeling it towards the void above. Following their gaze, he saw a strange yet deep rift in the sky. The rift was currently about the size of a child. However, its aura seemed to be shielded, as even Ao Yuan's senses could only vaguely perceive it. But this hint alone caused Ao Yuan's expression to darken sharply. Because! This aura was precisely the ancient energy he had encountered from the Seven Gods in their final moments.
"Dragon God Your Excellency, is there a problem here?" A national leader, noticing Ao Yuan's furrowed brow, inquired. The other leaders also turned to look at Ao Yuan, as did Elder Long.
"Here..." Ao Yuan hesitated before finally asking, "Have you tried to stop their actions?"
"We have tried," Elder Long sighed. "But their power is immense, and our attacks have not been very successful."
Hearing this, Ao Yuan nodded. "You should try again."
"Alright!" The leaders agreed without hesitation. Clearly, Ao Yuan's presence gave them infinite confidence. After all, he was the number one person on Blue Star! A true number one!
"Fire!" The soldiers from various countries immediately sprang into action. As everything was ready, a roar erupted, and countless shells were fired.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
However, at that moment, a milky white halo materialized out of thin air, enveloping the figures within and intercepting all the shells.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The shells struck the halo, causing only loud noises but no further effect.
"Guardian Beast Your Excellency, this is how it is," one of the national leaders said with a bitter smile. "Every time we attack, this is all that happens. This luminous formation completely blocks all our attacks from the outside. And if we step into the formation, we face their most frenzied counterattack."
"Is that so?" Ao Yuan nodded, his gaze fixed on the luminous formation, flickering with thought. To Ao Yuan, this formation wasn't particularly strong. However... Ao Yuan's attention wasn't on that. When the shells hit the halo, Ao Yuan clearly noticed that the people enveloped by the halo didn't look well. They seemed to be in considerable pain, as if... this halo was them, and all the damage was being spread amongst them. If that were the case, it would indeed be difficult. Because confronting the halo meant dealing with all of them. Of course, for others, it was difficult. For Ao Yuan, it was not.
At this moment, Ao Yuan was contemplating how to destroy it effectively. With so many people nearby, Ao Yuan couldn't just act recklessly.
"Damn humans!"
"This is not a place for you to interfere! Get out now!"
"Otherwise, when the main god descends, your lineage will be wiped out!"
Just as Ao Yuan was lost in thought, a deafening roar suddenly reverberated from within the luminous formation.