Chapter 142: Prey and Hunter

Right at this moment.

Above the Alien Divine Kingdom, a massive phantom slowly coalesced.

Haguru—appeared.

"Human God!" His voice carried suppressed anger and resentment.

"Is it not enough to have fought to this point? If we continue, even if you seize my divine kingdom core, it won't compensate for your losses!"

In the next moment, Yang Fan's consciousness descended following the coordinates.

Standing above the sky, his figure grew tall, matching the other's size.

Two demigods faced each other from a distance, the air seemingly freezing in place.

Haguru stared fixedly at Yang Fan, killing intent and hatred intertwined in his eyes: "You… finally decided to show yourself!"

Yang Fan cracked his neck, his expression calm, yet his tone was as sharp as a knife.

"Your divine kingdom core—I'm definitely taking it."

Haguru's face darkened, and he said coldly, "The defenses here were built by spending over a hundred divinity points. Even if your believers are stronger and you've mastered a C-rank Array, so what? To break through here, you will surely suffer heavy casualties—are you really willing to pay that price?"

Hearing this, Yang Fan instead gave a light chuckle.

"Over a hundred divinity points?"

His gaze was indifferent, carrying a hint of mockery.

"You really are… quite poor."

"What do you mean?" Haguru's pupils constricted.

"Nothing." Yang Fan waved his hand, his tone calm. "I'm just tired of wasting time with you."

As his voice fell, he lightly snapped his fingers.

In the next instant, space shook violently! Another five hundred million believers descended with a bang!

The army was like a tide, its Aura overwhelming!

At the very back of the Formation, a hundred thousand Adult Elves stood in neat ranks, longbows in hand, their Auras sharp.

This scene caused a trace of despair to involuntarily surface in the eyes of the Goblin believers atop the city walls.

Yang Fan said no more and lowered his raised hand.

"Kill."

—

Battle erupted instantly!

Under Yang San's command, the army, like a precisely operating war machine, quickly deployed its Formation.

No less than ten Ten Halls of Yama Arrays formed simultaneously!

The Formations echoed each other, Yin Qi soaring into the sky, causing the heavens and earth to change color!

Above the sky, phantoms of Yama coalesced one by one, some holding chains, others grasping Judge's Pens, their Auras grim and their pressure like a hellish prison!

The entire battlefield was completely enveloped by an Aura of death!

"Attack!"

Yang San gave the order.

The army advanced like a landslide or a tsunami!

High on the walls, Goblin archers roared as they drew their bows, but they were a step too slow.

The elf army in the rear was already prepared, arrows notched to their bows.

Fire!

Swoosh—!!

A rain of arrows pierced the air!

Uniform and synchronized, their speed was too fast for the naked eye to track!

Streaks of light arrived later but struck first, accurately hitting the Goblin archers atop the walls!

Blood splattered! Screams rose one after another!

In terms of archery alone, how could Goblins compete with Elves?

Moreover, these were Adult Elves; their arrows were even enough to threaten those in the Qi Refining Stage!

With one volley, the firepower on the high walls was instantly suppressed! The long-range battlefield was a complete slaughter!

Meanwhile, the ground troops, bolstered by Formations, forced their way through the poison mist and marshes!

Spiritual power protected their bodies! The Formations diverted the pressure!

Even with the harsh environment, it was difficult to stop the overall momentum!

Yang San stood high in the air, his gaze calm as he continuously issued commands—

"Left wing, advance three hundred zhang and suppress the flank towers!"

"Third phalanx, push forward and hold the poison mist zone!"

"Elf units, second volley—clear the enemies on the high ground!"

The orders were concise and efficient, each step accurately striking the battlefield's vital points.

Under his deployment, the entire army moved as naturally as his own limbs. The pace of the advance was as steady as an iron wall!

On the Goblins' side, the defensive line was rapidly collapsing; towers were destroyed one by one, and wooden walls shattered under the impact of the Formations.

The battle line retreated step by step!

—

High in the sky.

Yang Fan and Haguru stood facing each other.

Below was a battlefield interwoven with blood and fire; as a large number of believers were slaughtered, Haguru's Aura weakened visibly to the naked eye.

In contrast, Yang Fan remained calm, even somewhat indifferent.

He didn't care about the loss of believers. To be precise, this small loss was not worth mentioning to him at all.

His main source of troops was still within his divine kingdom, ready to be deployed at any time.

However, looking at the current situation, it was no longer necessary.

This battle.

It had lasted for a full three months in divine kingdom time.

Countless believers followed one after another, with total losses exceeding three hundred million. Among them, as many as three hundred thousand Qi Refining Stage believers had fallen. The price could not be said to be small.

In the end, this "hard bone" was finally gnawed through.

The final defensive line collapsed, and the army drove straight in! They soon reached the divine kingdom's core area.

There was no real combat power left here, only the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

With the war reaching this point, even the female Goblins, who were used as breeding tools, had been forced onto the battlefield.

Most of those remaining now were Goblin infants.

Yang San did not hesitate for a moment and ordered, "Kill them all."

The order was cold and direct; to Yang Fan, the only value of these alien believers was to be turned into corpses.

After recycling them, they would be listed in the mall to exchange for Faith Points.

—

"Master." Yang San stepped forward and handed over a green crystal. "The divine kingdom core is here."

Yang Fan reached out and took it, his palm tightening slightly.

Then he looked at Haguru and asked curiously, "Don't you plan to make a final stand, or beg for mercy?"

Haguru was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

That smile carried a hint of exhaustion and a bit of relief. "Is there any point?"

"A defeat—is a defeat."

"Your will to live isn't very high." Yang Fan arched an eyebrow.

Haguru looked up at the land torn apart by the flames of war, a trace of sorrow in his eyes.

"A defeat is a defeat. The world has always been like this—the strong prey on the weak."

"Today's outcome is simply because you are stronger. I have lived for four hundred years, being cautious all my life, yet I never expected to fall short by just a hair in the end."

"Failure in a Divine Kingdom War means death; my passing will become your nourishment. You take my core today, but tomorrow yours might be taken as well. In the end, we are all just prey and hunters constantly moving forward on this path."

"Finished with your last words?" Yang Fan's tone was calm.

"Do it."

Once the divine kingdom core was in hand, the other party's consciousness no longer possessed protection.

Yang Fan casually struck out with a palm; the Goblin Demigod's phantom consciousness didn't even have time to struggle before it instantly dissipated into nothingness.

"Yang Er, how many believers do you need to collect resources more efficiently?" Yang Fan withdrew his gaze and asked flatly.

"Reporting to Master," Yang Er responded quickly, "We need one hundred Qi Refining Stage believers and one hundred thousand fifth-rank creatures to clear the neutral creatures kept in the divine kingdom; additionally, a total of one hundred million second and third-rank creatures are needed for resource extraction. It is estimated that all collection can be completed within five years of divine kingdom time."

Yang Fan nodded. "I'll leave the rest to you."

Compared to that Demon Monkey Demigod who had been hollowed out in advance, this Goblin divine kingdom, while not wealthy, was "complete," possessing a certain value for reclamation.

Hunting is never just an end; it is a beginning in another sense.

A true hunter is not satisfied with just taking down the prey but will thoroughly extract all its value, transforming its flesh, blood, and resources into a part of themselves.

Only by utilizing the prey to the extreme can one be said to acknowledge and "respect" its existence.

The destiny of the weak is never to be pitied, but to be thoroughly utilized.