Chapter 1682: Women Are Equally Excellent as Their Male Peers
50 million low-grade Spiritual Stones!
Such was the cost of rebuilding the altar and the formation!
When he rebuilt Atlantis, it already cost him a monumental 30 million Spiritual Stones!
In comparison, the altar and the formation were twice as complicated as Atlantis.
It was a substantial amount but Chen Xiaobei did not have to worry about it - the holy emperor of Neptune had given him 100 million low-grade Spiritual Stones before they parted.
Chen Xiaobei took out 50 million low-grade Spiritual Stones and they piled up like a small hill.
Then he borrowed the power of Mother Nature to crack open all the Spiritual Stones. The Spiritual Qi that poured out was quickly siphoned into the Tiangang Construction Blueprint.
Then, was the miraculous part.
Little pieces of stones, bricks, debris, Spiritual Items, runes from the wreckage were suspended in the air.
Then they began to automatically reassemble according to the Blueprint Chen Xiaobei designed.
Little by little, under the light of the Tiangang Construction Blueprint, the altar began to take shape, and the formation embedded onto it.
Not long after, the grand construction of the altar that people believed to be crazy talk was completed.
...
Concurrently, 10,000 miles away from the imperial city, the troops of 100,000 soldiers were getting into gear while setting up for battle.
Lian Aocheng was staring out to the waters ahead, his lips trembling. "The black sea is getting closer and closer... It'll completely engulf us in less than two hours... I think we will still die no matter what..."
A mass of a monumental black shadow was quickly approaching them.
Because it was still quite far away, the shadow looked to be only about the size of a basketball.
But everyone there knew that once the shadow arrived before them, it was going to be a gargantuan monstrosity.
Above that, the black toxin that the black shadow was releasing would pollute ten kilometers in radius on the sea.
That was why Ao Liancheng used the term 'black sea'!
It was not an exaggeration but rather, an ugly truth that was set to take place.
Once the black shadow drew near, they would all be shrouded in the black sea. Then, only death awaited them.
Thinking about it sent a ripple of cries echoing among the 100,000 soldiers.
"It looks like Childe Chen might have already failed..."
"Might...? No... It's for sure... That was in itself an impossible task... My guess is that Childe Chen is already dead from the poison..."
"Childe Chen has lost... And that thing will be here very soon... We'll all be killed... and then all our friends and family will be killed as well..."
"Neptune Capital City will be drowned in poison, reduced to a dead sea... after that, every planet will be massacred by that thing... until the last planet... until all the planets in our starfield becomes a dead sea..."
"It's all over... We're just waiting to die..."
The gloomy atmosphere quickly spread among the soldiers; even the Wangyes and princes. They all looked like they were on the verge of tears, the hands that once tightly gripped weapons in them gradually loosened.
As the black shadow approached, their mental states were being severely shaken; despair had overtaken their will to fight to the point that they could not even hold on to their weapons. They were just going to stand there and die.
"All humans... will eventually die..." The holy emperor took in a deep breath. "Childe Chen is not a god... Even if his plan fails, it is not altogether inexcusable! He risked his own safety for our sake! The men of our merpeople race are not afraid of dying!"
The soldiers were moved by the emperor's speech but they were still in deep despair.
"You can say that... But we have no chance of winning at all. When that thing comes, we'll all be dead anyway..."
"Yeah... That thing doesn't seem to be slowing down at all... I wonder what Childe Chen is doing? Could he have run away with the 100 million Spiritual Stones?
"It's possible! That's absolutely possible! If I had gotten that many Spiritual Stones, I would not risk my life just like that! I would run away and live like a rich man elsewhere..."
"We are all too naïve! Why did we trust that kid's lies..."
"Yeah... That was obviously an impossible task. Even a child wouldn't have believed him... I can't believe we've been duped..."
"That's despicable... That deceiving kid..."
The atmosphere was growing intense and in their moment of despair, the people's imagination began to run wild. Their suspicion of Chen Xiaobei began to burn like wildfire, spreading from one person to the other.
"Shut up!" A sweet, silvery voice of a girl cried out angrily from among the troop.
"Chun'er! Why are you here?" Ao Liancheng was horrified.
Even the soldiers were shocked.
The person who had spoken was their young princess, Ao Chun'er.
The girl had put on heavy armor the soldiers were wearing which covered her upper body and her beautiful fishtail.
If she had not taken off the oversized helmet, no one would have recognized her.
"You can suspect anyone else but Childe Chen!" Ao Chun'er swam to the front 10 meters above the soldiers so that everyone could see her. "If it were not for Childe Chen, grandfather would still be lying sick on the bed! That thing would have attacked the imperial city and slaughtered everyone! If Childe Chen had not come up with that plan, all of us would be hiding in the palace, cowering with cowardly fear now, helpless and directionless! Now, that is the real meaning of waiting to die!
"If Childe Chen had not gone ahead on his own towards that thing, towards the ruins of the altar, we'll be sitting in despair, wallowing in fear for the last two days!" Ao Chun'er shouted. "Does Childe Chen not deserve 100 million Spiritual Stones for healing grandfather? Is his plan not worth 100 million Spiritual Stones? Is the hope he gave us not worth 100 million Spiritual Stones?"
When she had finished speaking, there was a pin drop silence.
None of them could find anything to rebuke what Ao Chun'er had said.
The holy emperor of Neptune raised his head and nodded in admiration of the zealous Ao Chun'er.
"Soldiers! I know you are afraid and have lost heart, but you should not put the blame on our benefactor! Ao Chun'er continued. "I believe that our Neptune soldiers are all valiant, trustworthy men! You should know that I am speaking the truth! Now, do not throw all our responsibility on Childe Chen's shoulders! Think about your friends and family in the city! From now on, hold tight to your weapons, and take charge of your duty! We may lose this battle, but at least we could buy our loved ones some time to escape! Then our deaths will be meaningful! And I, Ao Chun'er, even though I'm a woman, I will fight to the death! Tell, me, are you brave enough?"
Ao Chun'er spoke with an unfaltering resolution. Each word was spoken with a resounding boom.
When the 100,000 soldiers saw this young lass's courage, they all were impressed.
Soon, the soldiers were roaring, "Fight to the death! Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"
Their spirits were lifted and they were ready to fight.
Buzz!!!
Suddenly, thousands of miles away, a blinding ray of light as bright as the sun exploded, illuminating the frigid depths of the seas with a piercing brilliance. No one dared to look at it with their naked eyes.