CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: PHOENIX FORM, TAKE OFF

The battle had been raging for less than ten minutes when wounded soldiers began to be sent back. From the moment the first wounded soldier returned to the battlefield, the speed at which casualties were retrieved noticeably increased.

With strong support from the rear, their hearts knew no fear.

The Star Martial Army at the front had realized they had a formidable Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior in their rear. Screw the notion of "minor injuries don’t leave the frontline, major injuries mean facing death with equanimity"! If it affects your ability to fight, withdraw for treatment! Staying on the frontlines with compromised combat effectiveness meant you could be dead within minutes.

Why try to be a hero when you could keep fighting at full strength?

After twenty minutes of continuous fighting, Wang Lan had already successfully treated thirty people without a single death. On the other hand, over twenty Biochemical Demon Soldiers had been slain on the frontlines.

If things continued this way, the scales of victory would completely tip in their favor within an hour.

Everything was perfect except for the high consumption of Soul Beads.

The orderlies shuttling wounded soldiers back and forth watched Wang Lan absorb Soul Bead after Soul Bead to replenish his Star Power, a pang of heartache so intense it almost took their breath away. Most of the current Star Martial Warriors had never experienced a real war.

Even the Martial Arts Corps, renowned as the elite of the elite, had only participated in minor combat missions—mere skirmishes that some wouldn’t even consider a warm-up. At this moment, the orderlies truly understood the essence of the saying, "war is fought with money."

A Soul Bead sells for 80,000 on the open market, and he’s absorbing seven or eight in a minute? Even at the internal buy-back price of 1,000, he’s burning through over 10,000 in just a minute or two.

Extravagant! Inhumanly wealthy!

But no matter how quickly Wang Lan consumed the Soul Beads, the warriors felt nothing but gratitude. To return to the battlefield at full health—what were mere Soul Beads compared to that?

「Another twenty minutes passed.」

The scouting squad, still isolated outside the command center, had yet to secure a supply route. Meanwhile, the scales of battle outside the command center were subtly tilting.

With a three-to-one numerical superiority, the Biochemical Demon Soldiers should have held a decisive advantage, whether in a blitzkrieg or a battle of attrition. Half an hour should have been enough to breach the command center’s defenses, and the entire battle should have been over within an hour.

But why? Why hadn’t the Star Martial Army buckled under the pressure as expected? Why were heavily wounded soldiers, who had retreated from battle, returning to the frontlines full of vigor so quickly?

The Demon Clan commander initially suspected another trap. Are there far more than a hundred defenders in the command center? But he quickly dismissed this idea.

He had thoroughly investigated the numbers of the Martial Arts Corps’ Third Battalion; four hundred soldiers were undeniably tied up elsewhere. The Star Martial Army command center definitely held only one hundred men. Therefore, anyone with a bit of sense could arrive at one conclusion.

"There’s a top-tier Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior in the Star Martial Army command center, possibly even a Galaxy Stage Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior."

"What should we do then? Order the Demon General to attack the command center directly?"

"Useless!" the Demon General’s controller shook his head. "Wu Changfeng hasn’t made an appearance, and I’m certain he’s protecting that Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior. It seems our only option is to deploy the Demon General for a direct confrontation. In this situation, we must draw our sword! Let’s see who is stronger—Wu Changfeng or our Demon General!"

"But the Demon General cannot easily join the battle. If it meets with an accident, the Biochemical Demon Soldiers will descend into chaos."

"That rule no longer applies! There are no military laws, no regulations—only life and death, victory and defeat!"

BOOM—

Suddenly, the frontline erupted. The cliff face behind the Biochemical Demon Soldiers exploded with a deafening roar, and a terrifying, five-meter-tall figure appeared before the Star Martial Army.

The lower body of this colossal figure resembled that of a Snow Spider Queen, but its carapace was pitch-black, and its legs were like sharpened blades. Its upper body was like that of a Biochemical Demon Soldier, but three times larger.

The Demon General was incredibly fast. The moment it appeared, it plunged into the battle, and in that single second, it slaughtered at least ten Star Martial Army soldiers.

Against the Demon General’s terrifying speed and immense power, even Star Cloud Stage Star Martial Warriors had no means of resistance.

"Bastard—" Wu Changfeng bellowed. In that same instant, his figure transformed into a streak of light as he leaped from the watchtower.

His body swelled rapidly in mid-air. By the time he landed, he had become a giant nearly three meters tall.

His steel-transfigured body granted him not only tremendous strength and defense but also terrifying explosive power and speed.

His landing shook the earth.

With a single leap, he crossed five hundred meters and crashed violently into the rampaging Biochemical Demon General.

"ROAR—" Sensing the threat from above, the Demon General ignored the Star Martial Army soldiers. It raised its head, the armor on its chest instantly glowing red-hot. Opening its maw, it spewed a torrent of blue flames, engulfing Wu Changfeng in a sea of fire.

"Die—"

BOOM—

Although his steel body couldn’t withstand such high temperatures indefinitely, even five-thousand-degree flames needed time to melt steel.

With the force of a falling mountain, he pinned the Demon General beneath him. Raising a fist the size of a pot lid, he began to relentlessly pummel the Demon General’s face. After five or six punches, Wu Changfeng suddenly leaped off the Demon General.

Looking down at his knee, molten iron was trickling down.

The Demon General not only has astounding defense and attack power, but it also emits incredible heat. Its body temperature must be at least three thousand degrees. And fire is the perfect counter to metal.

This is troublesome...

Wu Changfeng thought. Previous experimental data didn’t indicate the Demon General had fire-attribute abilities, let alone that it could generate such extreme heat.

"ROAR—" The Demon General rose again, letting out a terrifying roar at Wu Changfeng.

The roar snapped Wu Changfeng out of his thoughts. He immediately made a decision, "You all continue to kill the Biochemical Demon Soldiers! I’ll handle this guy one-on-one!"

The moment his words fell, Wu Changfeng’s figure shot forward like a streak of light, crashing into the Demon General. The two then rolled away into the distance, like an intertwined Yin and Yang Tai Chi fish.

"Battalion Commander—" Ren Xingwu exclaimed.

"Old Ren, what do we do?"

"What else can we do? Kill!"

In the rear, Wang Lan suddenly frowned. Nearly thirty seconds had passed without any new wounded being brought back. Before, as soon as one was treated, another would arrive. This sudden half-minute lull was unsettling.

A gap didn’t necessarily mean good news. Besides the slim chance that no one was injured, there was a far more terrifying possibility: fatalities. Sudden deaths, with no chance for rescue.

"Quick, quick! Over here!"

Seconds later, more wounded were brought down. Wang Lan quickly pressed his potent palm onto one soldier’s wound.

"What happened just now? Why were no casualties sent back for thirty seconds?"

"The Demon General appeared! Damn it, it’s too strong! In an instant, more than a dozen of our brothers were gone. Xiao Heizi was right beside me, less than three meters away. But I didn’t even have time to save him... Fuck! His family was counting on him..."

Just as I thought! "Has the Battalion Commander made his move?"

"The Battalion Commander went to fight the Demon General one-on-one, leaving the rest of the Demon Bastards to us. The battle is incredibly intense."

"All healed! Be careful! Survive!"

"Of course, I’ll survive! Next time, drinks are on me!"

"Quick, healer—Xiao Wu’s almost done for..."

"Fuck, call me Daddy!"

In such a high-stakes situation, everyone’s nerves were stretched taut. Modesty, decorum, respect for hierarchy—all were forgotten. Words flew out unfiltered, anything to vent the pressure.

One hand pressed down on a wound, the other clutched a Soul Bead.

"Where’s his hand? Damn it, where’s his hand?"

"Shit, I was just holding it! Did it fall off?"

"You idiot! I swear I’ll die because of you one of these days! I entrusted you with his hand, and you lost it? You want me to lose your damn life for you next time?"

"Found an arm! Whose is it?"

"Mine! Over here!"

Wang Lan snatched the arm, pressing it firmly against Xiao Wu’s severed stump. He channeled his Star Power, unsure if a severed limb could be perfectly reattached like other injuries.

"Try moving it. Can you use the reattached arm?"

"Of course, I can use it! The moment you pressed it on, I felt my arm come back! I’m off! Going to kill another Demon Bastard and come back!"

Wang Lan became even busier. Previously, he healed one person every seven or eight seconds; now, he practically needed both hands to treat two at once. This indicated the battle outside had reached its most ferocious stage.

The Demon Clan also realized this was their last desperate chance. If the Star Martial Army managed to endure this current assault, the numbers would even out to one-to-one. And in a one-to-one fight, the Star Martial Army held an absolute advantage.

Wang Lan had no time to check his skill points, no time to catch his breath. His ears were filled with the din of battle and the pained groans of the injured. His hands pressed down on gruesome, terrifying wounds.

He lost count of how many he had saved, forgot whether minutes or seconds were passing.

As he sent another treated soldier away, Wang Lan suddenly realized his hands were empty. No more wounded were coming.

"What’s going on?"

"Brother Wang, we’ve held them! We’ve held them! The Demon Bastards no longer have superior numbers. The brothers have started a counterattack; it’s becoming a rout!"

"How’s Wu doing over there?"

"I can’t see that far, but there’s a huge commotion. It sounds like he’s also in a desperate struggle."

Wang Lan quickly focused inward and glanced at his skill points. In the past two days, he had accumulated over 1,800. Without hesitation, he allocated all 1,800 points to his Phoenix Form.

With a righteous expression, Wang Lan stood up. He walked with the swagger of a protagonist in a grand finale, a gait that recognized no kin. Just as he reached the doorway, two figures blocked his path.

"Little brother, where are you going? Something’s off about your expression. You look like a martyr resigned to fate."

"Your eyes are playing tricks on you! Can’t you recognize my majestic stride? Since there are no more wounded needing my treatment, it’s time for me to join the battle."

"Stop joking! You’re just deliriously excited. Have you forgotten you’re a healer?"

"No. I’ve never considered myself just a healer! Although heaven blessed me with medical talent, I still possess the heart of a warrior."

"Sorry, but my mission is to ensure your safety and prevent any actions that might threaten it."

"You can’t stop me," Wang Lan said with a faint smile. "He, remember this saying of mine."

"What is it?"

"Not all healers are the ’Guaranteed Loss’ type."

BOOM—

As his words fell, a radiant Phoenix Tail Flower mark suddenly appeared on Wang Lan’s forehead. The moment the mark materialized, a fierce gust of wind erupted.

He Changzai, stunned as if he were a wooden chicken, stared at the empty space where Wang Lan had been, his mind blank.