Raiding at Midnight, Wang Hao: Only Normal People Wait for Dawn to Fight

After the battle at Blood Centipede Gorge concluded, the wind sweeping across the Blood Sand Wasteland carried an even thicker stench of blood.

Three hundred thousand demonic ambushers had been slaughtered, the earth vein evil eye shattered by the lightning phoenix, the black vines on both sides of the gorge burned to ash, and even the mountain walls had been plowed by the Sky Soaring Realm ancestors as if chewed by dogs.

The Great Zhou army set up camp outside the Broken Sun Pass.

The six hundred thousand strong army stretched for a hundred miles. Rune chariots formed an iron wall, and demon-suppressing array flags were planted one after another into the blood-soaked sand. At night, spiritual light shot into the sky like a giant steel dragon resting on the wasteland.

But tonight, no one slept soundly.

The Vanguard Camp had suffered tragic casualties.

Nineteen killed in action.

Thirteen severely wounded.

The rest were almost all injured to some degree.

When Xiao Chen was carried back to the tent, blood was still seeping from his chest, and his face was as pale as if he had just crawled out of a coffin.

Just as the medical officer was about to force medicine down his throat, his first words weren't to ask about his injuries, but rather:

"Can I write the combat summary tomorrow?"

The medical officer fell silent for a moment.

"His Majesty said, before noon tomorrow."

Xiao Chen closed his eyes.

"Just kill me."

On the adjacent bed, Wanyan Gu, with half his arm wrapped up like a pig's trotter, sneered upon hearing this:

"Didn't you flip the middle finger earlier? Pretty tough, huh."

Xiao Chen remained expressionless: "Being tough deducts three points from performance."

Ye Guyun leaned in the corner, his right arm in a sling, his voice weak but calm:

"Actually, you should have flipped two fingers."

Xiao Chen opened his eyes: "Why?"

Ye Guyun replied: "It's a deduction anyway."

Silence fell in the tent for two breaths.

Then, the wounded soldiers burst into laughter.

As they laughed, some pulled their wounds, grimacing in pain and cursing loudly.

This was war.

One moment, you're watching your comrades get torn apart in a pool of blood, and the next, you can laugh out loud over an absurd performance deduction.

It wasn't that they were heartless.

It was that if a person didn't laugh, they would go mad.

Inside the central command tent, however, there was no trace of laughter.

When the demonic captive was dragged in, he hardly looked human anymore.

He was a True Intent Realm demonic leader who had commanded the hidden sentries at Blood Centipede Gorge during the day. He had half his bones shattered by a strike from the Ren family ancestor's walking stick and was later dug out of a pile of corpses by the Eastern Depot agents.

He was originally quite tight-lipped.

So tight-lipped that even Wei Zhongxian praised him after listening:

"He's a tough guy."

Then, half an hour later, he confessed.

He confessed very thoroughly.

He even recounted three times how he used to peek at his master's wife taking a bath when he was a child.

Wei Zhongxian slowly wiped his hands with a white handkerchief and reported to Wang Hao:

"Your Majesty, the confession has been verified."

"The main force of the Western Region demons is gathering at the Black Water Demon Lair, three hundred miles away."

"That place is one of the main headquarters the Western Region demons have operated for a thousand years. Outside, there are nine layers of poisonous miasma; inside, there are seven killing arrays, and countless hidden sentries."

"They originally planned to lure our Great Zhou main force deep into the Blood Sand Valley tomorrow and attack us from both sides with the lair's main force."

"Furthermore, deep within the demon lair, they are nurturing a Rank Nine anomaly."

"Named... Desire Sea Maitreya."

As he spoke the last four words, the atmosphere in the tent noticeably sank.

Rank Nine anomaly.

Equivalent to the Martial God Realm.

Even if it was only at the initial stage, it was a calamity capable of destroying a nation.

The Ren family ancestor frowned: "Maturing in five days?"

Wei Zhongxian nodded: "According to the confession, it's five days."

The Vice Palace Master of the Ice Snow Divine Palace said coldly: "The words of demons cannot be fully trusted. Maybe three days, maybe tomorrow."

The Great Elder of the Illusion Sea Immortal Sect fanned himself, his smile not reaching his eyes:

"Maybe it's already mature, just waiting for us to deliver ourselves to their doorstep."

Inside the grand tent, all the generals looked toward the sand table.

The Black Water Demon Lair was three hundred miles away.

If the army advanced, it would take at least half a day.

If they marched cautiously, it would take a whole day.

Any normal general hearing this news would immediately think to construct defense lines overnight, stabilize morale, and wait for the decisive battle tomorrow.

After all, it was the enemy's lair, heavily fortified with traps.

To attack rashly would be to fill it with lives.

The royal ancestor spoke in a deep voice:

"Hao'er, your granduncle suggests the entire army form up in formation. Tomorrow, we clear the way with rune heavy cannons, have the Sky Soaring Realm experts hold the line, and strip away the outer defenses of the demon lair layer by layer."

"The Black Water Demon Lair has been operated for a thousand years; it cannot be entered lightly."

Wang Hao sat in the main seat, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

Beside him, the Thunder Abyss Demon Suppressing Pagoda floated, its faint blue thunder runes flashing intermittently.

At his waist, the New Emperor Sword vibrated occasionally, as if burping from being full.

After listening to everyone's analysis, Wang Hao remained silent for three breaths.

Then he said three words:

"We backdoor them now."

Dead silence filled the tent.

Everyone thought they had misheard.

The Ren family ancestor's mouth twitched: "Brat of the Wang family, do you mean..."

Wang Hao looked up: "Tonight, a decapitation strike."

The Vice Palace Master of the Ice Snow Divine Palace couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, the Black Water Demon Lair has nine layers of poisonous miasma, seven arrays, and countless hidden sentries. How can we enter silently?"

Wang Hao smiled.

"With so many doors, why must we go through the front?"

The Great Elder of the Illusion Sea Immortal Sect's eyelid twitched.

He suddenly had a bad premonition.

Whenever Wang Hao showed this kind of smile, it meant someone was going to be unlucky.

And the unlucky person usually didn't even know why they were unlucky.

Wang Hao raised his hand.

[Ding!]

[Detected that the host is at a special strategic node: The eve of the sneak attack on the Black Water Demon Lair.]

[Sign in?]

"Sign in."

[Sign-in successful.]

[Reward obtained: A hundred years of pure cultivation.]

[Cultivation is being infused...]

Boom!

In an instant, the true essence within Wang Hao's body burst like a dam breaking.

The bottleneck of the peak Astral Qi Realm shattered like wet paper under the washing of this terrifying cultivation.

Initial Sky Soaring Realm.

Mid Sky Soaring Realm.

Late Sky Soaring Realm.

Peak Sky Soaring Realm!

Inside the grand tent, heaven and earth origin energy surged violently backward.

Everyone's expressions changed drastically.

The thirty Sky Soaring Realm ancestors all looked up, their eyes filled with shock bordering on loss of composure.

"Peak Sky Soaring Realm?!"

"His Majesty broke through?"

"No! This isn't a breakthrough, this is... empowerment?"

Wang Hao stood up slowly.

His black armor fluttered without wind.

He made no movement with his feet, yet his entire body slowly lifted three inches off the ground.

Sky Soaring.

True Sky Soaring.

If the previous Wang Hao relied on anomalous items, national destiny, political maneuvering, shamelessness, and a bunch of underhanded tactics to suppress everyone to the point of suffocation.

Then at this moment, he himself had officially stepped into the ranks of the top powerhouses in the Eastern Wasteland.

Wang Hao felt the surging true essence in his body, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.

"Not bad."

"In the future, when I personally hack people, the efficiency will be higher."

Everyone: "..."

You broke through to the peak of the Sky Soaring Realm just to increase your efficiency in hacking people?

That didn't sound like an emperor's enlightenment.

It sounded like a butcher upgrading his cleaver.

System prompts continued to appear.

[Intelligence Update: In the nine layers of poisonous miasma surrounding the Black Water Demon Lair, a wind eye loophole exists at the boundary between the third and seventh layers, opening for thirty breaths every incense stick of time.]

[Among the seven arrays, the southwest death gate of the second array, 'Myriad Bone Maze Array', has a three-inch deviation due to the aging of the array core.]

[The foundation of the fifth array, 'Black Water Spirit Swallowing Array', was secretly tampered with by the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, leaving a hidden passage.]

[Hidden Intelligence: Xie Wujiu deliberately left loopholes in the Black Water Demon Lair to prepare for a future double-cross.]

[Extra Prompt: The Desire Sea Maitreya has not yet fully matured, but the core desire seed is sealed within the Demonic Cult Master's body, which he may forcibly merge with when near death.]

Wang Hao finished reading, his smile growing colder.

Xie Wujiu.

Xie Wujiu again.

This old thing was like a rat in the sewer; invisible when not biting, but venomous when he did.

However, Wang Hao didn't hate smart enemies.

Smart enemies were good.

Smart enemies calculated.

And calculation brought confidence.

Those who are overly confident always think others will inevitably step into the traps they set.

And Wang Hao's favorite thing to do was to step right into the trap, and then dig up the trap-setter's ancestral graves.

"Grand Companion Wei."

"Your servant is here."

"Pick the men."

Wang Hao said calmly,

"Thirty at the peak of the Astral Qi Realm, and ten at the Sky Roaming Realm."

"And call Chu Tianque over."

Hearing the name Chu Tianque, the expressions of the several patriarchs in the tent changed slightly.

Chu Tianque.

A Half-step Martial God.

Back in the day, after his sect was massacred by the Crimson Moon Demonic Cult, he hunted down the evil demons of the Western Regions for thirty years, earning the title Blood-Robed Demigod.

Later, he was tricked into joining the Demon Suppression Alliance by Wang Hao using a single imperial decree, a set of coordinates for the demonic cult, three chests of compensation gold, and the sentence, If you don't come, I will leave the Crimson Moon Demonic Cult for someone else to kill.

In private, the common folk gave him and a few other mighty figures—who had also been miserably scammed by Wang Hao but had no choice but to serve him—a nickname:

The Unofficial Avengers.

Very tacky.

But accurate.

The Ren Family Patriarch hesitated and said, "Kid of the Wang family, are you going personally?"

Wang Hao asked in return, "If I don't go, who will knock on the door?"

Everyone fell silent.

You call this knocking on the door?

This is setting someone's ancestral home on fire in the middle of the night.

A moment later, the selected experts gathered one after another.

They were all the elite of the elites.

The thirty peak Astral Qi Realm experts all wore black night-ops armor, engraved with aura-concealing runes.

The ten Sky Roaming Realm patriarchs restrained their auras, their killing intent hidden deep within.

Chu Tianque arrived last.

He wore an old blood-stained robe, his hair was half-white, and he carried a heavy, unsheathed sword on his back.

When he saw Wang Hao, his first sentence was:

"Who are you going to scam this time?"

Wang Hao smiled gently,

"Demons."

Chu Tianque nodded.

"That's acceptable."

At this time, Xiao Chen, Ye Guyun, Wanyan Gu, Qin Hongye, and the other surviving geniuses of the vanguard camp were also carried over from the medical camp.

They were literally carried.

Wanyan Gu was still struggling on the stretcher:

"My hand is almost broken! You dog emperor! Are you even human?"

Wang Hao looked down at them and smiled,

"Because of your excellent performance in the bait battle during the day, I have decided to reward you with participation in the night raid."

Xiao Chen's face was deathly pale: "You call this a reward?"

Wang Hao said seriously, "Others wouldn't even have the qualifications if they wanted to come."

Ye Guyun remained silent for a moment:

"Can I give up my qualifications?"

Wang Hao smiled, "No."

Qin Hongye stood up, leaning on her spear, and gritted her teeth, "Your Majesty, our injuries have not healed. We would only be a burden if we go."

Wang Hao nodded, "That's why your job is just to broaden your horizons."

The geniuses: "..."

Wanyan Gu said angrily, "Why do we have to enter the demons' lair to broaden our horizons?"

Wang Hao said calmly,

"Because there are some words in the textbooks that you cannot understand."

"You have to learn them with your lives."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Wang Hao's tone was very punchable.

But his logic was rock solid.

Nineteen geniuses had died in the Blood Centipede Gorge during the day.

If not for those deaths, they would never truly understand what a battlefield was.

If they could return alive tonight, their understanding of war would be completely reborn.

Of course, this didn't stop them from cursing Wang Hao's ancestors to the eighteenth generation in their hearts.

Wang Hao turned around.

"Move out."

There were no drumbeats.

There were no bugle calls.

There were no banners.

There was only a black squad of over fifty people leaving the main camp in the dark of night, marching rapidly toward the Black Water Demon Cave three hundred miles away.

The night in the Blood Sand Wasteland was even more eerie than the day.

The moon was dark red.

The wind carried fragmented whispers.

Occasional bizarre cries came from afar, sounding like a woman laughing, yet also like a baby crying.

Wang Hao walked at the very front.

The Emperor's Qi Observation Technique was quietly activated.

Between heaven and earth, energy flowed like threads.

In the southwest direction, a thick pillar of black and red energy shot into the sky, twisting into the shape of a demonic Buddha.

That was the Black Water Demon Cave.

It was also the chessboard Xie Wujiu had prepared for him.

Wang Hao looked at that black and red pillar of energy and gently patted the New Emperor Sword at his waist.

"Are you hungry?"

The New Emperor Sword immediately vibrated.

"Hungry!"

"Tonight is an all-you-can-eat buffet."

"Really?"

"But if you eat indiscriminately, I will stick you into a cesspit to suppress demons."

The New Emperor Sword fell silent for a breath.

"Tyrant, you are getting better and better at threatening swords."

Wang Hao smiled.

"Hanging out with me, it's all about personal growth."

Three hundred miles away.

The Black Water Demon Cave.

The thousand-year-old evil cave was brightly lit.

Countless demons were currently assembling.

Little did they know, the Emperor of the Great Zhou had already brought his blade right up to their bedside.

Tonight, there would be no decisive battle.

Only a base raid.