Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 2317: Titan Secret Realm

Boom!

The entire ground shook. The boundary that had given so many Cloud Peak people headaches now visibly trembled for the first time, with a glaring white patch appearing on it.

"Is that... broken?" Bai Feng rubbed his bald head, excitement rekindled at the prospect of breaking into the oasis.

But to the Cloud Peak soldiers' surprise, after throwing that one punch, Ye Zhongming flew back.

"Boss!"

No one understood—they all felt that a few more punches like that would break the boundary.

But Ye Zhongming shook his head.

"It won't work. That spot did show some abnormality, but it's not broken, and it's repairing itself rapidly."

He left out the other half of the thought: if he kept hitting the same spot with that intensity, he could indeed shatter the boundary—but it would take at least a hundred punches, and they had to be delivered within a short time frame.

Ye Zhongming couldn't throw that many punches in time. At full power, he'd be exhausted after about fifty.

Maybe after becoming a great expert he could try, but not now.

Seeing even Ye Zhongming fail, everyone reluctantly gave up.

Leaving the bulk of the forces behind, Ye Zhongming and the three peripheral battalion leaders went to the Titan Secret Realm, which Bai Feng was responsible for.

It was called the Titan Secret Realm not because it actually contained titans—mythical beings—but because everything here was oversized.

The plants, the mountains and rivers, the insects and animals—all of it.

A weed here was taller than a human. A mountain peak was so high you'd strain your neck trying to see its top. A mosquito-like creature was the size of an elephant—and that was already among the smallest lifeforms here.

Likewise, the higher lifeforms here were all immense.

"So far, we've occupied an area roughly the size of a fourth-tier city's urban district during peacetime. In the process, we've lost one hundred seventy thousand people."

This was the first time Ye Zhongming had heard that number. He paused, looking at Bai Feng with a frown.

Bai Feng wore a bitter smile. "Boss, my battle squad does have a lot of people, but their strength varies, and the average level isn't high, so we've taken heavy losses here. A big reason is that the natives are strong and numerous. As soon as we appeared, we were under constant attack—boss, we fought continuously for over three hundred seventy hours. Though we eventually stopped, we've never gone more than five hours without another battle."

"Expanding to this fifteen-hundred-square-kilometer area was incredibly hard—we basically built it with lives. And that's thanks to Cloud Peak's support, letting us establish solid defenses. Otherwise, the casualties would have doubled."

Ye Zhongming nodded. He had heard Xia Lei mention that the Titan Secret Realm's lifeforms were tough and fearless, but he hadn't expected it to be this relentless.

He looked around and saw walls over fifty meters high on three sides. The wall on the fourth side was only about twenty meters—noticeably lower.

The spot where they had emerged from the secret realm key was at the center of this unfinished city.

It seemed the entry point was also poorly positioned, with no defensible terrain, so they had to rely on strength and numbers to hold on in the beginning—another reason for the heavy losses.

The entire city was bustling with activity. Even when many noticed the Cloud Peak King's arrival, they just clenched their fists excitedly or, if they were outgoing, shouted "Boss!" before getting back to work.

They had no choice—in this secret realm, everything was a race against time. If they didn't want to die, they had to finish their tasks quickly, giving themselves a better chance of surviving the next battle.

And victory often meant fewer deaths.

"The air here seems very good—very suitable for humans." Ye Zhongming suddenly remarked.

"Yes, not just humans— Sister Hong said almost all lifeforms thrive here." Sha Sha had brought all her troops, and their arrival was welcomed by Bai Feng's battle squad—fifty thousand capable allies brought a tangible sense of security.

"There are many parasites here. Unlike the Blue Secret Realm, there are no mutated lifeforms—though there must have been before, because we've dug up magic crystals. The natives are like beastmen, all riding war beasts—many of which are parasites. That's actually similar to the Desert Secret Realm."

Bai Feng led Ye Zhongming and the others to one side of the city wall. Ye Zhongming stood there and looked out, seeing a lush green vista—tall vegetation everywhere, with dark shapes occasionally rising from the distant forest and then descending.

Among the green were splashes of colorful grasses and flowers, some strange rocks and plants, and several gurgling streams that converged into a wide river on the other side.

If not for the giant monsters that frequently appeared not far from the unfinished wall, this would truly look like a paradise.

Could a secret realm be like this?

This question arose in Ye Zhongming's mind.

Normally—at least from what he knew—secret realms were planets that had been absorbed by the Slave Race. In severe cases, like the Blue Secret Realm, they were on the verge of collapse. In better cases, like the Desert Secret Realm, top-tier lifeforms could exist without causing immediate collapse.

But this place was full of life, looking more like an undeveloped primordial planet... if not for the parasites.

Ye Zhongming considered another possibility: that this was a major planet, once incredibly prosperous with countless lifeforms. Even after being "fed upon" by the Slave Race, it could maintain some vitality—of course, that Slave Race wouldn't have been too powerful, stopping halfway because it was full.

"This place is rich in resources." Bai Feng observed Ye Zhongming, and when the Cloud Peak King's attention shifted to the natives, he began listing the Titan Secret Realm's benefits.

"There are many medicinal herbs in the wild, and even the fruits and flowers have uses—a preliminary survey shows they'd be a huge help to Cloud Peak's alchemy and pharmacy."

"We've also found three surface mines nearby. One mineral is an excellent food additive that can slightly enhance physical constitution. Another is a good raw material for equipment. The third is somewhat like energy stones—after some purification, they can partially replace various energy sources."

"Just a small area has all this, and who knows how large this secret realm is—so the potential is excellent." Bai Feng was getting excited, rubbing his hands together and saying to Ye Zhongming, "Boss, my battalion can hold on, but what I'm worried about is that even in such a small area, we're facing such strong resistance. What happens when we expand further and attract even more powerful beings?"

"So? What do you want me to do?" Ye Zhongming asked, looking at Bai Feng.

Bai Feng rubbed his bald head and grinned. "I'd like you to scout the surrounding area for any enemies we can't handle. If there are any, take them out—that would make things a lot easier for us."