Flying Watermelon飞翔的大西瓜

Chapter 241 - Returning to the Divine Civilization

Chapter 241 - Returning to the Divine Civilization


None of the soldiers had returned from the campaign. Every last one of them had been defeated, and news of their failure quickly reached their respective kingdoms. Already overwhelmed by the foreign civilization’s invasion, the kingdoms saw their fates decline even further with this latest loss.


Yet, they soon learned that Han Wu had not killed all their soldiers. Instead, he had imprisoned them. This revelation sparked urgent discussions among the ten kingdoms about how to rescue their captured men. Raising a single soldier to peak condition required tens of thousands of Gold Coins. Training a general cost even more. It made more sense to pay a ransom for the captured soldiers and generals than to lose them completely.


Envoys from the ten kingdoms traveled to meet Han Wu, seeking to negotiate the return of their soldiers.


Han Wu was not one to forgive easily. The soldiers and kingdoms had invaded his shelter with reckless enthusiasm. Now they wanted to recover their men by offering a small sum? That was out of the question.


He laid down his terms. Each kingdom had to cede a piece of land before he would release any prisoners. He warned the envoys that time was short. They had three days to decide. If the kingdoms refused, he would execute the soldiers.


The envoys tried everything—pleas, appeals to morality, veiled threats—but nothing worked. If they hadn’t tried to invade him, he would have listened. Frustrated and defeated, the envoys returned home empty-handed.


In the end, to rescue the soldiers and generals they had painstakingly raised, the emperors reluctantly accepted Han Wu’s demands. They ceded a vast tract of land at the heart of the ten kingdoms to him.


This territory lay nestled between mountains on three sides, with the ocean guarding the fourth. Its natural defenses made it easy to hold but difficult to invade. Rich in resources, the land had long been a contested prize among the ten kingdoms. Yet, they had no choice but to surrender it to Han Wu as compensation.


After securing the land, Han Wu dispatched Sun Qingnian to swiftly build a new city. The huge skeleton laborers started construction and gathered resources throughout the region.


Meanwhile, Han Wu offered his services to the surrounding kingdoms, handling the mounting problem of mutated beasts’ corpses and the plagues that followed. Most cities in the ten kingdoms struggled with these issues, and Han Wu’s new city provided a vital solution, earning him some measure of trust.


As trade agreements multiplied, the city expanded swiftly. The resources Han Wu gathered proved more than sufficient to launch additional cities across his newly acquired territory.


Three months later, Han Wu had established ten cities, creating a small nation nestled firmly among the ten kingdoms.


Naturally, the other emperors, driven by greed, coveted his growing territory. They launched numerous expeditions during those months to seize Han Wu’s territory, but every attempt ended in defeat, crushed by Han Wu’s vast skeleton army and the devastating power of his Skull Guillotine.


The repeated defeats led to heavy losses that none of the kingdoms had ever experienced before. By then, not one dared to challenge Han Wu’s authority. Quietly, they all acknowledged his domain as the eleventh kingdom of the Warring Kingdom Continent.


Han Wu no longer feared the other kingdoms. After all, the bodies of their fallen soldiers had granted him the resources he needed. He wished to leave, but even as the emperor of a small kingdom, departure was impossible. The Will of the Warring Kingdom Civilization had to approve it. And as long as foreign civilization continued to invade, that Will remained in a frenzy. Until the invasion stopped entirely, Han Wu had no choice but to wait.


Han Wu’s corpse-cleaning services eased the burden on the ten kingdoms. Without the plagues, their main tasks were to hunt down the newly mutated beasts and seal the rifts that leaked black oil into their world. However, the remaining three continents still faced the same threat.


Although the three friends were powerful, their influence barely stretched far enough. They had no clear idea how long the invasion would last with just their efforts. This uncertainty drove Han Wu to expand his services. Beyond renting skeletons as laborers, he also started leasing Dark Cursed Bugs to clear the corpses faster. This move aimed to accelerate the three continents’ efforts to repel the invasion.


The remaining students in the chat group naturally supported the idea, cheering him on. They became his ambassadors, renting large numbers of Dark Cursed Bugs in exchange for resources to tackle the crises plaguing the other continents. Han Wu only needed to sacrifice the engorged Dark Cursed Bugs occasionally to secure greater rewards.


This continued for three full years. Under their leadership, their kingdom flourished and rivaled the other great kingdoms of the civilization. Meanwhile, fueled by ample resources, Han Wu reached the peak of a King life form, and his powers of the Nine Martial Castes had improved considerably. Qin Shuang and Sun Qingnian had also advanced into late-stage King life forms.


The other continents gradually regained peace as the mutated beast invasions and plagues subsided. The unknown civilization’s invasion officially ended when the final rift sealed shut.


Han Wu and his allies finally earned the Will of the Warring Kingdom Civilization’s acknowledgment to return home. The trio even received praise from the Will, which granted them an Eternal Gate linking to their divine realms. Through this gate, they could visit the Warring Kingdom Civilization anytime as honored guests.


This gift far exceeded everything they had achieved so far. With the Eternal Gates, they now had the potential to earn far more wealth over time. Even a modest trade deal could make them rich.


After receiving the Warring Kingdom Civilization’s blessing, the three returned to the Divine Civilization. Upon hearing the news, Saliya gathered the students to welcome their arrival.


Han Wu felt familiar power flow back into his body as soon as he reached the Divine Civilization. The energy crept upward slowly, and he sensed a bottleneck ahead. He wondered what rank lay above the King life form.


Due to their stellar performance in the major classes, they had earned a strong reputation among the other elites. To reward them, Saliya sent a request to the college, which agreed to grant the trio an appropriate prize. The college allowed them access to the vault to select a single Demigod-rank treasure as their reward.


The three entered and selected what they needed.


Qin Shuang picked a treasure that completed an Evolution Path for her Thunder Sparrows. The Harpy’s Diamond enabled them to evolve into Heroic Thunder Harpies, a Heroic life form with enhanced offensive power and greater intelligence.


Sun Qingnian also picked a treasure that advanced an Evolution Path for his core race. He selected the Nine Tail Jade, which allowed his Foxmen to potentially evolve into Nine-tailed Foxmen. To him, it was an invaluable treasure.


As for Han Wu, he already had plenty of Evolution Paths for his locusts, so he passed over anything related to them. Instead, he selected the Rank 5 Divine Aspect: War. While it wasn’t as coveted as Death, Life, Destruction, or Creation, it still held considerable value. More importantly, it would help him to comprehend the Destruction Aspect more quickly.


Han Wu absorbed the War Aspect and unlocked all five Divine Skills it held, thanks to his accumulated Divine Essence and extensive experience in warfare. He reviewed his new Divine Skills, and a fierce urge to test them flared within him. He longed for battle once more but knew he had to wait a bit longer.


Just then, Saliya’s video call came through. He was confused and had no idea why she was reaching out, but he answered anyway.