Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 2313: Weird barrier

The smell of sulfur in the air was not particularly pleasant to someone with senses as sharp as Ye Zhongming's.

"This place is called the Desert Secret Realm by us. Since our first entry and through twelve subsequent exploratory missions, none of our teams have ever made it out of the desert, so before the official campaign, we named it that."

The Desert Secret Realm was the one assigned to Zhao Xingmei's battalion. Compared to Bai Feng's, the situation here was much harsher.

Although Cloud Peak was open to secret realm development, they were also very cautious. After all, secret realms could contain extremely powerful beings, and if Cloud Peak couldn't hold them back and they invaded Earth, it would be a catastrophe.

So when Cloud Peak officially began exploring, they chose only two secret realms, and immediately committed at least three hundred thousand troops to each.

Zhao Xingmei's battalion didn't have enough personnel, but some affiliated groups also joined in.

"At first, we made good progress. Though this desert was as desolate as Earth's, there were a decent number of parasites, some mineral deposits underground, and even the weathered boulders we frequently came across could yield a beautiful crystal with many uses."

Ye Zhongming nodded. "Stone Core Crystal—I know it."

This stuff was one of the best gains from developing the Desert Secret Realm. When ground into powder, it could be used as an effect enhancer for medical potions and could also be added to alchemy recipes to increase success rates.

Cloud Peak's current abundance of medical supplies, and the massive output from the alchemy profession led by Candy, were directly linked to these Stone Core Crystals.

"What's the yield rate?" Ye Zhongming asked.

"It varies by region, but overall, the probability is about ten percent."

Ye Zhongming looked around and saw over a dozen weathered boulders that had been chiseled open—clearly the rate was quite high.

"But recently we discovered a new area, which we call the Fine Sand Zone, to distinguish it from the Coarse Sand Zone here."

Zhao Xingmei's expression darkened as she spoke.

"In the Fine Sand Zone, we not only found oases with ample water and food, but also indigenous inhabitants and other lifeforms—and a large number of relatively high-level parasites. These are all resources we've been dreaming of."

"And since the Desert Secret Realm isn't a collapsing space like the Blue Secret Realm, and we've yet to explore large areas, we estimate that the returns here could continuously support Cloud Peak for several decades, or even longer."

"But..."

Zhao Xingmei sighed slightly and continued, "But when we tried to advance further, we suffered a setback."

"These oasis areas are covered by a transparent layer of something. We didn't know at first, and when we entered, we were hit by energy attacks so powerful that even six-star evolved were instantly killed."

"A transparent energy barrier?" Ye Zhongming asked, frowning.

"Yes, or rather... a boundary?" Sha Sha answered softly from the side.

"This boundary is one-way. It automatically attacks those outside, but the beings inside can come and go freely. We don't know why."

Zhao Xingmei soon led everyone to an area where Ye Zhongming noticed the sand was indeed extremely fine—almost powdery, though still slightly gritty to the touch.

"The Fine Sand Zone isn't all oases, but there are quite a few. Some are very large—the biggest we've found is larger than a medium-sized province in the national region, while the smallest is about the size of a village. They're scattered irregularly across the Fine Sand Zone, blocking our way and forming a deadly zone. Even if our main force wanted to bypass them and continue forward, they couldn't—because they keep attacking us. Small teams can slip through the gaps between oases, but any force over five thousand will inevitably be detected and attacked."

"In terms of numbers, we don't have an advantage either. It's not just the indigenous inhabitants attacking us—other mutated lifeforms and parasites do too. Toward outsiders like us, they seem to have an innate hostility."

To conquer a secret realm and obtain its resources, both sides were inherently hostile from the start, because those resources included those very lifeforms.

Moreover, conquering a secret realm wasn't something three hundred thousand people could achieve. When Cloud Peak conquered the Bru Secret Realm, it had taken the full force of Cloud Peak plus the help of the Yifu Ren.

But Cloud Peak's momentum... to be honest, was now unstoppable. If Ye Zhongming hadn't returned, main combat battalions would still have been sent here, trying every means to break through the boundaries and advance. Now that he was back, it was only natural for him to come and assess the situation personally.

They soon reached the front lines. Ye Zhongming saw not only Zhao Xingmei's forces and her affiliated battalions, but also Sha Sha's battle squad—and the five thousand Bai Feng had brought. In this small area alone, over two hundred thousand soldiers were assembled.

"Ahead are three connected oases, with a combined area roughly equivalent to the urban district of a third-tier city on Earth."

Zhao Xingmei handed Ye Zhongming a specially made monocular.

Ye Zhongming looked through it and saw three nearly connected clusters of structures in the distance—one in front, two behind.

The architectural style was strange, and the oases didn't look like Earth's either, appearing a purplish-red. Clearly, "oasis" was just a convenient term.

"The boundary is about ten kilometers outward from the outermost structures. Inside the boundary, there are various forms of vegetation; outside is fine sand. The distinction is as clear as if cut by a knife—easy to spot."

Sha Sha stood beside Ye Zhongming, explaining, then spoke quietly with her subordinates who had stayed behind to catch up on what had happened during her absence.

After watching for a while, even with his keen eyesight and perception, Ye Zhongming couldn't detect the "boundary." It seemed it could only be found by making physical contact.

"Does it react to long-range attacks or energy attacks?" Ye Zhongming asked.

"Yes, it greatly weakens them. Basically, a full-power strike from an eight-star evolved, after being weakened by the boundary, drops by more than three-quarters in power."

Bai Feng had also come along. After Ye Zhongming made a decision, he would follow him to the other secret realm. If the Cloud Peak King decided to act here first, the fifty thousand soldiers Bai Feng had brought would also join the battle.

"How strong are the indigenous inhabitants and parasites?"

"From what we've observed so far, there aren't many top-tier beings, but their overall strength is quite good. We don't have an advantage in that regard."

Zhao Xingmei answered again.

Ye Zhongming watched for a while longer, not spotting any activity. After thinking it over, he said, "Big Yellow, Jiubao—one of you go in from the sky, the other from underground, and check the situation."