The main task of the Shu tribe vanguard is no longer to be ready to fight any demons they encounter, because so far the army has not seen a single war demon except for inferior demons. Their most important task now is to clear a path through the thick mud for the army to advance.
After leaving Sweetwater Town, the army discovered many huge footprints along the way, as if they were the remains of some kind of ancient beast left on the earth. One palm print was large enough to hold dozens of adult fairies standing inside.
Wang Yao explained to Wei Zheng, Hui Shuo, Zhang Liang, and others who were accompanying him that the footprints were actually left by the giant puppet made by Saruman.
At this point, Wang Yao couldn't help but admire how thorough Hu Mei's preparations were before the attack. Take this giant puppet for example; it could serve as a warship on the Ocean of No Return, and it could also carry the demon army back and forth across the Divine Realm of Reclaimed Sea after the Great Calamity, unaffected by roads.
The second town Wang Yao's army passed through after Sweetwater Town was already up to Wang Yao's knees in mud and sand. The subsequent cities were often completely buried under the sand and disappeared without a trace.
Along the march, one could see barrier lakes and sand dunes formed by the terrain when the sea receded, and the entire topography of the Sea-Reclaiming Divine Realm had undergone earth-shattering changes.
It felt like the Divine Realm of Reclaiming the Sea had returned to a wild state, with traces of the activities of the divine people becoming extremely rare. However, the army still encountered many surviving divine people along the way, who often lived together in groups of three or five, or at most twenty or thirty people.
These divine beings lived in all sorts of places. Some built thatched huts in sheltered spots, while others dug holes in the ground and crawled into the ruins of old towns and villages beneath the mud and sand. Still others simply dug a simple cave in a secluded spot to live.
Their activities are mostly concentrated around the former towns, so once the troublesome demons are cleared out, it is relatively easy for them to obtain food and daily necessities.
Due to the erosion, pollution, and burial by seawater, the surviving gods had very limited resources. Most of the gods that Wang Yao and his group encountered looked malnourished and were in a state of semi-starvation for a long time.
As they encountered more and more divine beings, Wang Yao and his companions eventually gained experience. They learned that if they saw densely packed holes on the ground, it meant that there was once a divine city underground, and that divine beings must exist nearby.
The surviving gods are relatively friendly with each other. They support one another and provide assistance within their capabilities. However, they rarely form large groups. The main reason is that after the great calamity, it is extremely difficult to obtain survival resources. With fewer people, it is easier to survive.
After the army had marched a thousand miles, Wang Yao discovered that the proportion of divine soldiers among the surviving divine people was gradually increasing, and occasionally he could even see divine generals of the level of fierce gods and mad gods.
A community with divine soldiers and generals is relatively large, after all, their strength is undeniable, and their ability to survive and acquire resources is unmatched by ordinary people.
Once the nature of Wang Yao's army was understood, the people of the gods generally wanted to follow the army westward. On the one hand, Wang Yao provided the people of the gods with some living supplies so that they would have no worries about food and clothing for the time being. On the other hand, he guided those people of the gods who had no combat experience to go east and find a transit base to settle down.
As for the divine soldiers and generals with combat experience, apart from leaving a few to protect the ordinary divine people in the communities, the rest were honestly and unceremoniously incorporated into Wang Yao's army.
Unbeknownst to them, the army had gathered two or three thousand divine soldiers and five or six divine generals along the way. Wang Yao organized them into a separate team, which, together with the Shu tribe's vanguard, was responsible for clearing the way for the army.
With these divine soldiers and generals, the number of divine people and soldiers that the army accepted and gathered along the way also increased significantly. This was mainly because many divine people and soldiers, after escaping the demon race's slaughter, were like frightened birds, unaware of the origins of Wang Yao's army, and dared not easily come out to meet him.
Now that they have their own people to guide them, the surviving soldiers and people will even find their own way to join the ranks, which has greatly reduced the workload of the ghost scouts.
That evening, the vanguard sent word that a large settlement of the Divine People had been discovered 50 miles ahead. When Wang Yao's army arrived, they found that the area had been completely cleared of mud and sand, resembling a vast valley in the mountains.
What was cleared away was Shuangliu City, an important city in the Divine Realm of Reclaiming the Sea. Originally, Shuangliu City was the confluence of two rivers in the Divine Realm of Reclaiming the Sea, the Xi River and the Xiang River, but after the great calamity, most of these two rivers were buried.
The overflowing river water and the unreceding seawater of the Buguiyang formed a dense network of barrier lakes inside and outside Shuangliu City, making Shuangliu City look like a series of landmasses emerging from the water. If it weren't for the intermittent city walls, Wang Yao would have thought they were just some small islands.
The city wall was probably partially washed away by the sea, but the overall shape was still intact. In particular, the city gate facing Wang Yao was still in its original state, even though behind the city gate was a vast expanse of white water, and the land road connecting the city gate looked more like a row of dikes built in the water.
One of the fierce gods who was left behind by the vanguard of the army to guard Shuangliu City introduced Wang Yao to an old man with a white beard who was waiting for them at the city gate.
This old man was actually a true god, but he did not hold any position in the Divine Realm of Sea Reclamation. He originally lived in seclusion in a village near Shuangliu City, but was forced to emerge due to the great calamity. Wang Yao thought this was largely related to the old man's gender.
"I am Lu Ban, and I thank Immortal Wang for leading the rescue of my divine realm." The old man stepped forward and bowed to Wang Yao in a slow and unhurried manner.
"Mr. Lu, you're too kind. We arrived too late to help, and it's caused our people to suffer!"
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