The next morning, the 5,000 troops, bidden farewell by the people of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, set off on their journey. Wang Lan sat in the vehicle, looking at the thin, sallow faces outside the window.

There were no cheers, no goodbyes—the road was shrouded in smoke and utterly silent. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the passing army, as if to imprint their faces onto their hearts.

"What kind of experiences have made their emotions so heavy?" Wu Shaohua sighed softly as he turned his face away in the vehicle.

"They're betting on the nation's fate, their hope, their everything. This is the last international assistance. Victory means peace and clear skies forever; defeat means the entire country will be beyond redemption," Princess Aier said solemnly, tears welling in her eyes.

The second Different Dimensional Space was located directly east of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Further east lay the Ice Sea, the kingdom's maritime economic lifeline. If the second space was eliminated, it would solve the immediate danger for the Kingdom. It would also open up trade, allowing a steady stream of resources to enter the Kingdom from the Ice Sea.

Before they even neared the Different Dimensional Space, the constant sound of gunfire and cannons erupted.

"We don't have the strength to contain the Exotic Beasts within the space, so we can only set up defenses outside. As long as the beasts dare to break out, our firepower will tear them to shreds."

However, when Wang Lan and the others arrived outside the second Different Dimensional Space, they were incredulous to find that Princess Aier's so-called defenses consisted of merely three lines. Three lines of defense, without impregnable fortifications or significant bastions, were nothing more than a human wall formed by soldiers wearing gas masks.

Occasionally, an Exotic Beast would poke its head out of the Different Dimensional Space. Before it could clearly see the mysterious world outside, a bullet would pierce its eye socket, blowing off the top of its skull.

But most of the time, the beasts didn't emerge that way; dozens or even hundreds would swarm out at once, as fast as Speedy Wind, and a single round of gunfire could only momentarily stall their advance. Some beasts possessed digging abilities, vanishing underground in the blink of an eye.

In such an environment, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow had innovatively developed countless methods to deal with various Exotic Beasts, some so ingenious they were breathtaking.

For instance, every soldier was strapped with explosives. If an Exotic Beast rushed them and they had no time to retaliate or evade, they would detonate the explosives, perishing together with the beast.

This 5,000-strong army, tasked with pacifying the space, was named God's Gift—the army bestowed by the God of Heaven to save the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. When the vanguard reached the second Different Dimensional Space, they acted instantly, managing to block the beasts within the space.

The medical trucks set up a temporary frontline hospital on the battlefield outside the second Different Dimensional Space. After all, in an era lacking Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors, hospitals were the main force in treating the injured.

Wang Lan led his medical team to immediately analyze the Star Martial Toxins in the periphery. They quickly matched them with vaccines and then, at the hospital, inoculated every warrior before the battle. One inoculation meant lifelong immunity—such was the potency of the vaccine.

There were no pre-battle pep rallies, no rousing war songs.

Once all the warriors had been inoculated, they were led by the volunteer corps from the Academy and plunged headlong into the Different Dimensional Space.

If one were to describe the environment of the second Different Dimensional Space with an era, it would be the Permian period's hellscape of molten lava. The ground seemed to be drenched in lava, and the clouds above were black. The lakes and rivers emitted steam from boiling water. The rocky terrain occasionally cracked open, spewing scorching magma.

In such an environment, human survival time was certainly measured in seconds. However, the Exotic Beasts here seemed to revel in this environment, leaping between rocks and bathing in the lakes.

The appearance of the human army instantly drew the attention of the Exotic Beasts. They roared and charged towards the humans, hundreds, even thousands of them bellowing with a ferocity that vibrated eardrums.

According to past experience, humans entering their territory wouldn't last long before feeling dizzy and stumbling. When the beasts charged into their ranks, it would inevitably result in a one-sided slaughter. The occasional, somewhat stronger individual might hold out for 10 or 20 minutes before succumbing to weakness. For the Exotic Beasts near the entrance, this was a common, accustomed sight. Oh? Quite a few of them this time, but no matter, they're all just weaklings. We won't need 10 minutes to finish this battle. Finally, fresh, tender meat again! The flesh of the Exotic Beasts in this space is tougher than any other.

Facing the surging charge of Exotic Beasts, some of the mercenaries at the rear showed signs of agitation and fear. But for the volunteer corps, which was both shoring up the rear and leading the charge at the front, this was just child's play.

Princess Aier assessed her body's condition; indeed, she felt not the slightest discomfort. The vaccine truly provided immunity to Star Martial Toxins. It's perfect, absolutely perfect!

"Ice Snow, Solitary Frost of Nightfall—" Princess Aier initiated the attack. Her Star Power surged, and she took a deep breath, her chest visibly expanding.

A frigid blast of air erupted, instantly coating the ground before her in frost, turning the first dozen charging Exotic Beasts into ice sculptures.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—

The beasts following behind slammed into them, and the dozens of ice sculptures shattered into fragments before they even comprehended what had happened.

"Hell Swamp!" a leading teacher shouted, slamming his palm onto the ground. A black quagmire, over a hundred meters wide, appeared before him. More than 20 Exotic Beasts, unable to stop in time, plunged headfirst into the mire.

"Hell Fire Burning!"

The swamp suddenly began to churn violently. As it spun, flames erupted, instantly drying the mire. When the swamp stilled, the more than 20 Exotic Beasts that had fallen in had fused with the swamp itself.

With a gentle wave of the teacher's hand, more than 20 Soul Beads shot out from the swamp and landed in his palm.

The Exotic Beasts in the second space were indeed quite strong, much stronger than those in Jade Country's advanced training grounds. But... it all depended on the comparison.

If it weren't for the 30 Star Sea Stage experts and the many Galaxy Stage elites from the academy, this Different Dimensional Space would have been a tough fight, even for the Black Tiger Army. For those mercenaries, it would have been an absolute meat grinder, a hellish battlefield.

But with this contingent from Modu City Star Martial Academy, these Exotic Beasts were as docile as rabbits—not fierce at all, almost cute. With only four or five Star Sea Stage masters taking action, the first few hundred Exotic Beasts that rushed forward were all finished off.

"We will advance another kilometer and establish this as our rear base."

"Okay!"

In this battle, the Black Tiger Army barely had a chance to act, let alone the throng of highly-paid mercenaries, making them feel as if they were just there to make up the numbers.

"Truly one of the top four Star Martial Academies... Their strength is comparable to one of our entire military regions."

"Now you see the difference between your unaccredited college and the top four, right? A single student of theirs could be the principal of your school. Tactical teachers, all at Star Sea Stage. Tsk, tsk... No wonder they say, 'One of the Four Great Academies can destroy a nation.'"

In less than half a day, a large rear base, about a kilometer in depth, was cleared outside the second space. Emergency supplies and all other necessary items were transported into the space.

Next came the large-scale search for the Different Dimensional Space's spatial-temporal nodes. This Different Dimensional Space was about a third the size of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Its environment was harsh and teeming with Exotic Beasts, and no one knew where the spatial nodes were located.

Without detection equipment, they could only search bit by bit, like finding a needle in a haystack. The subsequent strategy involved 30 squads, along with Black Tiger Army squads, leading teams of "cannon fodder" to spread out and search for the spatial-temporal nodes.

This was a lengthy and dangerous task. No one could guarantee that an Exotic Beast wouldn't leap out from an unseen corner and claim your life. The mercenaries, driven by money, understood this clearly; as the saying goes, fortune is found in peril. As long as they could survive and return, their small stake could turn into a fortune.

The main mission of Wang Lan's squad was to guard the rear. This involved ensuring the safe transportation of materials. They also had to quickly identify corresponding vaccines for any unknown Star Martial Toxins discovered on the front lines and administer injections. If a corresponding vaccine didn't exist, Wang Lan would have to concoct an antidote on the spot.

The Star Martial Toxin Synthesizer was still lying in Wang Lan's spatial equipment.

After resting for an hour, the troops dispersed once more, heading deeper into the Different Dimensional Space. Three hours later, the rear base also began to bustle.

Wounded soldiers were brought back intermittently, and new types of Star Martial Toxins appeared. Although Wang Lan had already developed over 80 kinds of Star Martial Toxin vaccines, the second space might not contain all the toxins found across five such spaces. There were certainly undiscovered toxins.

As the battle progressed, the situation developed much better than Wang Lan had anticipated. Although there were casualties on the front lines, the numbers were not substantial. As for the Star Martial Academy and the Black Tiger Army, they had their own Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors with them.

Besides matching toxins with vaccines, Wang Lan also frequently took on Star Martial medical treatments to earn some extra cash.

Ten Soul Beads for one treatment! Too expensive? The three days you'd spend lying in a hospital bed aren't free, you know. And how many Soul Beads could you earn in those three days? Calculate it yourself! Payment upfront, treatment follows. Now, be good...

The biggest obstacle hindering Wang Lan's advancement was no longer experience points, but skill points. In the past year, hadn't his skills always hit their ceiling, just waiting for a mission-level upgrade to advance further?

Unlike now; after upgrading to the Galaxy Stage, most of his Star Martial Skill interfaces were still at the Gold stage—some even at Gold Level One.

It was like having OCD. Even if he didn't raise all his Basic Skills to Platinum, wouldn't it be much neater and more aesthetically pleasing if all the Star Martial Skill interfaces were Platinum?

Ten Soul Beads yielded only 10 skill points, but even a mosquito's leg is meat.

Gradually, more and more mercenaries were sent back injured, and Wang Lan actually managed to earn a few thousand Soul Beads in a single day. Yu Ruoyun, who had just returned from escorting a batch of vaccines, looked on with sheer exasperation.

While I'm out here running myself ragged, you're back here with business booming, huh? Treating 10 people at once, earning at least 100 Soul Beads per session. Just a few seconds of work, and 100 Soul Beads are yours? Spending only an hour or two a day on treatments and raking in several thousand Soul Beads? No wonder those mercenaries were green with envy; even Yu Ruoyun felt a pang of sourness.

Three days later, the number of fatalities began to climb dramatically. By the fifth day, most areas of the second Different Dimensional Space had been searched, but the spatial-temporal nodes remained elusive. However, ferocious Exotic Beasts within the Different Dimensional Space emerged one after another, leading to an exponential increase in casualties.

The academy's volunteer group lost two Galaxy Stage students. The Black Tiger Army lost 20 Star Cloud Stage Star Martial Warriors. The casualties among the mercenaries were significant: after five days, over 1,000 had fallen.

This was even with Wang Lan providing potent medical treatment from the rear; otherwise, the death toll would have been several hundred higher.

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