Over these past five days, Zhao Hu, Jiang Yelan, and Jiang Zhaoyue had been staying up late almost every night, busy with the expansion of the Night Whisper Legion and the New Moon Legion.

From selecting battalion commanders to arranging organizational structures, and from distributing equipment to planning training schedules, every single detail kept them so busy that they didn't even have time to drink a sip of water.

Yet, the three of them were in high spirits; expansion meant increased strength, and increased strength meant having a better chance of surviving the coming storm.

Zhao Hu would leave before dawn every day and only return late at night.

He spent his days leading training sessions and his nights hunched over his desk organizing the troops. Despite staying up for several days in a row, his energy was even higher than before; he walked with a brisk, powerful stride, and his voice had grown noticeably louder.

Two days ago, when Wang Wu passed by the Council Hall in the middle of the night, he saw Zhao Hu still hunched over his desk under the lamp, writing and drawing. He had already gone through three pots of tea, each one stronger than the last.

Wang Wu pushed the door open and asked, "Brother Hu, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

Zhao Hu didn't even look up as he replied, "Almost there. You go ahead and sleep."

As it turned out, when Wang Wu woke up the next morning, he saw Zhao Hu still in the same spot. A fourth pot of tea had been prepared, and while his handwriting had shifted from neat to scrawled, he was still writing.

In Zhao Hu's own words, "I've never led this many soldiers in my life; I can't sleep."

Tie Dun had also been busy running around these past few days. Although he couldn't provide major assistance, he was more proactive than anyone else when it came to running errands, delivering messages, moving supplies, and counting heads.

By yesterday, the First Town of the Night Whisper Legion and the First Town of the New Moon Legion were basically at full capacity.

What remained was the process of integration and training; turning a force of over ten thousand people into a cohesive unit was not something that could be accomplished in a few days.

But at least the framework was set up, the personnel were in place, the equipment had been distributed, and the organizational structure was established. The rest would be left to time.

Regarding the Beacon Guards, Lin Feng took some time to return to Fenghuo County to re-recruit and replace the over four hundred Great Qin Elite Soldiers who had fallen in the Annan Kingdom.

Over these past few days, County Soldiers from various locations also arrived at Hangu Pass one after another. Except for the small number left behind to maintain order, all of them had been transferred over.

The number of County Soldiers at Hangu Pass had already reached ten thousand. Everywhere one looked—on the city walls, inside the city gates, in the warehouse district, and in the workshop district—County Soldiers clad in grey leather armor were moving about.

Li Yuan had to work through the night to increase manpower, register names, and assign quarters, keeping him so busy he barely had a moment to rest.

Meanwhile, news arrived from Fenghuo County yesterday that nearly eight thousand Great Qin soldiers, including Elite Soldiers and Garrison Soldiers, had completed their training.

According to the schedule, they would arrive at Hangu Pass by noon today.

By then, the number of Beacon Guards at Hangu Pass would exceed ten thousand.

Including the County Soldiers, Night Whisper, and New Moon, the total troop strength would approach forty thousand.

On the walls of Hangu Pass, a ballista or catapult was positioned every ten meters. Sentries in the arrow towers kept watch around the clock, and piles of logs and stones had been stacked up like small hills.

The aura of Wind of Recovery enveloped the entire pass, restoring one percent of health every three seconds.

Standing on the city wall, he even had the illusion that this city would never fall.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng's lips curled slightly upward. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

However, the situation in the Central Plains Region was not nearly as optimistic.

In just five days, another third had been lost. The Orc Army advanced at an astonishing speed, as if ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) someone were using an eraser on a map, wiping away the human territories stroke by stroke.

The remaining nations in the Central Plains Region had decided to concentrate all their forces to make a final stand within a city-level territory belonging to the Kangaroo Country.

The wonder in that city-level territory favored defense; the city walls were sturdy, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. They weren't looking for victory, only to buy more time.

Lin Feng rubbed his temples. Once the Central Plains Region fell and the Orcs annexed that territory, their troop strength would likely easily surpass three hundred thousand.

If a three-hundred-thousand-strong Orc Army marched south to the South Pole Region, Hangu Pass might be impregnable, but even an elephant could be killed by a swarm of ants; they could simply be worn down to death.

His sense of security plummeted, and he couldn't help but sigh.

The day before yesterday, the General Bureau sent news regarding the Heroic Soul Core. After consulting with various countries on Blue Star, it was discovered that no one had this material.

However, there was intelligence from the Annan Kingdom indicating that the Undead Army had once dropped a purple material called "Heroic Soul Shell," which had already been crafted into a purple shield.

"Heroic Soul Shell." Lin Feng repeated these four words in a low voice. It was only one character different from Heroic Soul Core, and it sounded like something from the same source.

He thought to himself that he should take the opportunity to visit the Annan Kingdom and use the Eye of Probability to check and confirm, but immediately afterward, he shook his head.

Going alone was too risky. The Annan Kingdom was currently swarming with the Undead Army; if he were surrounded by eight or ten level-39 Rare Bosses, he wouldn't be able to escape even if he had three heads and six arms.

He was no longer the penniless drifter he had been back at the Black Wind Camp.

He didn't dare take that risk now; the Nightmare World wasn't a game. There were no resurrection coins; once you died, you were dead.

By developing steadily, all difficulties could be resolved; there was absolutely no need to take risks.

Moreover, he was now the leader of a faction, and furthermore, the pillar of Great Xia in the Nightmare World, with the lives of hundreds of millions of Great Xia people behind him.

His life was no longer his own. This matter required careful consideration; if there was no suitable opportunity, he would just have to give up.

Lin Feng withdrew his thoughts, threw off the quilt, rose, and got out of bed.

He picked up the Wildfire Spear from the head of the bed, strapped it to his back, opened the door, and walked down the stairs.

Downstairs, the Council Hall was empty.

Lin Feng walked to the main seat, sat down, leaned back in his chair, and gazed at the sky, which was gradually brightening outside the window, silently calculating in his heart.

Ten thousand Great Qin Elite Soldiers, ten thousand County Soldiers, two Awakened legions, and the batch of core members who had just changed classes, including Zhao Hu and his group.

Such a foundation was something he wouldn't have dared to even imagine three months ago, but facing a three-hundred-thousand-strong Orc Army, it still wasn't enough.

Outside the window, the morning light grew brighter, and in the distance came the sounds of soldiers changing shifts, orderly and powerful.

...

After finishing his morning tasks, Lin Feng put down his pen and glanced at the sky outside the window.

The sunlight had shifted from slanting to direct; it was almost noon, and the eight thousand Beacon Guards should be arriving soon.

He stood up, strapped the Wildfire Spear to his back, and strode out of the Council Hall.

With a push from his feet, his body shot straight into the sky, rising to a height of three hundred meters.

The wind whistled past his ears, causing his clothes to snap loudly.

The panoramic view of Hangu Pass unfolded beneath him: a ten-by-ten-mile square pass city, with walls like ink ribbons, streets like a chessboard, and buildings like toy blocks, densely packed across the entire pass.

Soldiers on the city walls moved between the battlements like ants, and the flags on the arrow towers fluttered violently in the wind.