Chapter 860: Two Classified Orders! Fortress Recapture!
Staring at the completely dead Void-Cracking Dragon—
Ling Zhan's gaze remained calm.
The Endless Gluttony Set was indeed powerful!
Although his throws inflicted considerable damage on the Void-Cracking Dragon, the true key to victory was the devour attribute effect of the Endless Gluttony Set.
Three consecutive attacks—
Instantly stole 90% of the enemy's total attributes.
Even with the boss's buff still active, losing that much of its total attributes was like a skyscraper with its foundation hollowed out—still majestic in appearance, but one light push would send it crashing down.
The Demon-Slaying Legion members performed decently.
After spending half a day in the Forest of Death, not a single person had died.
That showed these legion members had strong battlefield adaptability—not the kind of trash only dominant in greenhouses.
As for the loot dropped by the Void-Cracking Dragon, Ling Zhan let the legion members distribute it themselves.
Their gazes toward Ling Zhan now carried even more reverence.
They weren't stupid.
They knew just how high the dragon's stats had been before—hitting it was like scratching an itch.
Yet after three strikes from Instructor Ling, its aura and stats had plummeted off a cliff.
Anyone with eyes could tell this was entirely Instructor Ling's doing.
"Not bad, barely passable."
"Let's go back."
Ling Zhan was fairly satisfied with this inspection.
With a light wave of his hand, the "Space Domination" talent activated instantly.
A massive glowing space teleportation array formed beneath the feet of the legion members.
Shwoosh!!
In just one second—
Everyone who had just been in the Forest of Death was now back in the Demon-Slaying Legion's Ether City camp.
This space technique, capable of teleporting so many people at once, once again left the members in awe.
As expected of Instructor Ling!
After assessing the legion members' capabilities, Ling Zhan returned to his residence.
Even though he had broken records in ten dungeons earlier, not even a single level was gained.
His EXP bar had only gone from 5% to 80%.
To not level up even after ten record-breaking clears showed just how hard it was to progress at his current level.
No wonder those out grinding in the wild dove straight into monster hordes every day.
Following the normal dungeon route, even one level-up could take ages.
If even a monster like Ling Zhan couldn't level up this way, what hope was there for ordinary Professionals?
Even so—
Ling Zhan remained calm, not the least bit anxious.
In the world of Professionals, leveling wasn't like cultivation.
Not leveling for a while didn't mean you'd regress.
If fast wasn't possible, then slow was the only way.
Over the next three days—
Ling Zhan didn't conduct any training for the Demon-Slaying Legion members.
In his eyes, these prodigies no longer needed training—they needed real, blood-soaked battles.
Only real combat could bring about their transformation.
And after three days—
Ling Zhan finally received two classified messages from the Sacred Court Council.
First, as chief instructor of the Demon-Slaying Legion, Ling Zhan would lead this batch on an SSS-grade mission, which would serve as a key prelude to the final Demon Extermination War.
Second, after completing this mission, the Sacred Court Council would issue the final call-to-arms—gathering all peak-level powerhouses over level 180, even 190, from the entire lower realm to the Ten Thousand Demons Continent, officially beginning the final war.
The time limit for the prelude mission: three months.
Within these three months, Ling Zhan must lead the legion to the front lines of the Ten Thousand Demons Battlefield and recapture thirty fortresses overrun by Ten Thousand Demons monsters.
Once reclaimed, these thirty fortresses would serve as forward outposts for global powerhouses entering the Ten Thousand Demons Abyss.
It's worth noting…
Each fortress had a Demon Lord personally commanding a Demon Army to defend it.
That alone showed how difficult the mission would be.
No wonder it was rated SSS-grade.
Additionally…
Ling Zhan learned from the legion's classified files that these thirty fortresses were super fortresses—not merely large cities, but comparable to small landmasses.
Each super fortress had 100% military coverage.
Even the tiniest corner was guarded by top-tier defense forces.
Meaning there was no possibility of stealth—only frontal assaults.
The moment you entered the fortress area, the entire alarm system would go off.
Furthermore…
Along the way, there were many cities and fortresses that had already defected, joining the Ten Thousand Demons or the Demon Arrival Organization. These too had to be purged.
For traitors, there would be zero tolerance. No mercy would be shown.
The entire mission would be carried out solely by Ling Zhan and the Demon-Slaying Legion.
No intervention or support from any national legions.
Mainly because all the national legions were urgently mobilizing resources—
Preparing to build the forward outposts.
The thirty super fortresses combined covered nearly a third of the Ten Thousand Demons Continent.
To establish sturdy outposts across that area required a vast amount of resources—far beyond what any one kingdom could bear.
Only a joint effort by all nations of the lower realm could make it happen.
When this mission was delivered, the officer communicating with Ling Zhan wore an awkward expression.
And it wasn't just him.
Even the old geezers of the Sacred Court Council, after issuing this order, glanced awkwardly at the old Divine General from Dragon Kingdom.
They knew exactly how difficult this mission was—after all, they'd spent years on the front lines.
If those thirty fortresses were easy to reclaim, they'd have sent troops long ago.
Now dumping it all on this non-specialist and the Demon-Slaying Legion… no excuse could justify it.
But regardless—
This was how it had to be.
Even so, Ling Zhan's expression remained unchanged.
Anyone else at level 190 given this mission would be furious and unwilling.
"Mission received."
His tone couldn't have been calmer.
"This Instructor Ling sure has terrifying mental fortitude…"
The officer delivering the classified order sighed in awe.