Chapter 644: Mechanism

With a flash of light, Lin Feng stepped out of the teleportation portal.

He stood in front of the light screen, turned around and waited.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

There was no movement inside the portal; none of the six Grandmasters of the Azure Blood Demon Sect caught up.

"They're quite cautious," he remarked.

With his exceptional perception, he had already located the six people in the dense forest.

He managed to conceal his aura well, but in his eyes he was still too inexperienced. However, he wasn't sure if the other party had the means to transmit messages over long distances.

If he were to eliminate those people and cause the intelligence to leak, it would be a losing proposition.

So from the beginning, he had made up his mind that as long as the other party didn't make a move, he would let them go.

However, on his way back, he noticed something even more troublesome.

Bloodthorn Forest truly lived up to its reputation as a pristine land. As he turned back westward, the roads that the army had painstakingly carved out along the way were already recovering on their own.

The roots of the bloodthorn tree sprouted anew from the ground, and vines climbed up the crushed trunk, new branches taking shape.

The closer you get to the portal, the more complete the recovery. By the time you reach the vicinity of the portal, the evaporated bloodthorn trees have almost completely grown back.

The dense vines covered the scorched earth again, turning it into a dark red wasteland.

This has blocked the retreat route of their own army.

Lin Feng frowned. If he didn't have large-scale spatial equipment, this move alone could have forced him to run out of supplies and retreat.

The army ventured 800 kilometers deeper, only to have its route blocked again by the Bloodthorn Forest, completely cutting off its logistics.

Without supplies, even the strongest army cannot last more than a few days, and this is just the most ordinary small-scale Pure Land. Those special types of Pure Lands will only be more troublesome.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he took a step and flew towards Hangu Pass.

The five-kilometer distance took less than a minute to cover.

On the city tower, Bai Er and the more than one hundred agile third-stage awakened individuals who remained behind saw figures flying in from afar and took to the air to be on alert.

After recognizing Lin Feng, Bai Er stepped forward and bowed with clasped hands.

"My lord, everything is normal at Hangu Pass; no enemy movements have been detected."

Lin Feng nodded: "Thank you for your hard work. If you find that the enemy's offensive force cannot be resisted, retreat according to plan, cede the core of the territory, and let them attack."

"Yes," Bai Er replied without asking any further questions.

Lin Feng didn't offer much explanation. The reason he dared to leave Hangu Pass's defenses so weak was simple: Hangu Pass's core defenses were unique.

If the core is not breached, the enemy cannot enter the Great Wall. However, once they are about to breach the core, a mass teleportation will be triggered, and their own army will be immediately teleported back.

Only after discovering this mechanism did he feel comfortable placing many special buildings at Hangu Pass.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng couldn't help but chuckle: "It's simply a shameless mechanism."

It is because of this mechanism, and because the Nightmare faction and the Demonic faction have formed a set of established rules over the years.

For example, if you're going to fight, fight it out on the front lines. If you feel you're going to lose, give up your core. Both sides should try to avoid sneak attacks and avoid overwhelming the enemy's rear with overwhelming force.

That's why he dared to leave behind such a small defensive force.

After instructing Bai Er not to let his guard down, Lin Feng flew towards the warehouse area southeast of Hangu Pass.

The warehouse area was vast, with rows of neatly arranged stone warehouses. The soldiers guarding the warehouses saluted him as he landed.

Lin Feng didn't linger; he went straight into the warehouse and put boxes of grain, purified water, and medicine into his storage space.

The entrance to the space was like a mouth that could never be filled, swallowing up piles of supplies.

It took about half an hour to fill the space.

He sensed the capacity of the alternate dimension and frowned slightly. With the army expanded to a million, this amount of supplies would only last for six days.

I'll have to make a few more trips.

He turned and flew out of the warehouse area, heading towards the teleportation portal.

...

After Lin Feng returned, the six Grandmasters of the Azure Blood Demon Sect continued to lurk in the tree canopy two miles west of the teleportation portal.

The blood mist flowed slowly around them, and the six people's auras were almost completely concealed.

Half an hour later, the purple light curtain of the portal surged again, and Lin Feng's figure reappeared on the open ground in front of the portal.

The tall, thin grandmaster's eyes lit up, and his hand returned to the blood-stained blade at his waist: "They're back again! Shouldn't they make their move this time?"

The stern-faced middle-aged man still held his wrist: "Don't rush. He dared to come and go alone; he must have something to rely on. Our mission..."

"Reconnaissance is the priority, I know." The tall, thin man shook off his hand, his tone laced with suppressed anger.

"But he's gone in and out twice already, and we still don't know what he's carrying. How are we going to explain this back home? We can't exactly say we watched him from the tree all day, can we?"

The round-faced master advised in a low voice, "Wait a little longer. The captain has his reasons."

The tall, thin man snorted and said nothing more, but his eyes remained fixed on the purple figure until it disappeared into the depths of the Bloodthorn Forest.

Another long wait ensued. Five hours passed, and the sky over the Bloodthorn Forest remained unchanged amidst the blood mist.

Only the subtle differences in light and shadow told the six people in the tree canopy that another half a day had passed.

The tall, thin man leaned against the tree trunk, listlessly breaking off a branch, snapping it into sections, and throwing it to the ground.

Lin Feng reappeared.

The tall, thin master jumped to his feet: "We can't let him get away this time! He's already made a second trip! He's definitely transporting some important supplies! If we let him go again, how are the six of us supposed to explain ourselves when we get back?"

"Damn it, is this kid treating the teleportation portal like his backyard? He's running back and forth endlessly!"

The round-faced master also sat up straight, his eyes fixed intently on the direction of the teleportation gate: "Captain, he's right. He's running back and forth alone; he might be carrying some crucial intelligence."

Besides, this kid always comes alone, which doesn't seem like he's lying in ambush. There are six of us, are we afraid of a level 35 guy like him?