The incessant drizzle resolutely fell, making the freshly constructed dirt road along the Sidan River as soft as a cake from several days of rainfall.
Kudou Yuuki exerted all his strength to pull his left foot out of the thick mud.
But he applied too much force, lost his balance, pitched forward, and fell face-first into the mud, covering himself with it.
"Haha! Kudou, you idiot."
"If only I had my phone, I'd have captured this ridiculous look of yours."
"You must be really hungry, Kudou, wanting to even eat the mud."
His comrades couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
"Ptui ptui ptui, this cursed road, cursed forest, cursed country."
Kudou Yuuki spat out the mud from his mouth with a crestfallen look and helplessly watched the team slowly trudging through the mud.
They were the last unit to march out, belonging to the 7th Division of the Japan Self Defense Force, numbering eight thousand.
They embarked during an unfortunate torrential downpour.
A few days earlier, the first wave of troops, numbering over a hundred thousand, had reportedly reached less than sixty miles from Ji State.
But their own rear unit was still stuck on the muddy roads of the Sidan River, wrestling knee and ankle-deep in mud.
As for the accompanying supply vehicles, they had long succumbed to the thick mud, the tires merely spinning in the muck, unable to move forward or even secure themselves.
Now all they could do was tote their rucksacks, wear raincoats, carry a few days' worth of food and tents, and trudge on painstakingly by foot.
"Once we pass Scorpion Cloud Mountain, there is a supply station not too far ahead where we can rest and have some hot food."
The voice of the platoon leader came through the radio, sparking excitement though their pace remained slow.
Two hours later, they finally reached Scorpion Cloud Mountain.
The peaks of Scorpion Cloud Mountain were high, with a gorge at its base that could be traversed, looking from above like a scorpion's tail, hence the name.
The eight thousand troops made a long line through the gorge.
"Soon, we'll have hot meals, hot dishes; I can't stand those cold rations anymore."
Kudou Yuuki complained as he massaged his aching legs, now faintly seeing the supply station at the gorge's exit.
This was built via helicopter transport, capable of providing hot meals. Due to the stranded supply vehicles, it had been two days since he last had a hot meal.
Imagining delicious sushi, miso soup, tonkotsu ramen, beef dishes, and more, saliva unconsciously dribbled from his mouth.
Perhaps from missing the food too much, he seemed to hallucinate, hearing a chilling voice.
"Where is that sound coming from?"
"Who's speaking? I don't see a loudspeaker nearby!"
"Weird, my communication device seems to be out of service."
The long line of troops moving through the gorge turned their heads around in surprise.
Kudou Yuuki then realized that it wasn't a hallucination; someone actually was speaking, and the voice could be heard by thousands in the troop.
"Is this loud voice due to the echo from the gorge?"
Kudou Yuuki was mulling over it, not sure if it was his own delusion, he felt the winds growing stronger.
The voice spoke again, this time Kudou Yuuki could hear clearly, it seemed to come from the high parts of Scorpion Cloud Mountain.
He grabbed the binoculars hanging around his neck and looked towards Scorpion Cloud Mountain.
He faintly observed a prominent rock platform on the mountain peak, where a sacrificial table was set up, and a man stood there, but the rain impaired his visibility, making it difficult to see clearly.
The rain intensified, big drops driven sideways by the fierce wind, stinging the face.
It seemed like a celestial river linked the heavens, the rain merging into sheets, completely obscuring the man Kudou Yuuki had spotted through his binoculars just moments before.
The voice continued, a strange pressure and panic unsettling Kudou Yuuki.
It was like the despair felt by a small animal facing a natural disaster, knowing it was impossible to fight back.
Kudou Yuuki heard a loud noise; the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly, mud splashing in ripples, a foul smell entered his nostrils, the water level in the ditches drastically reduced, and loose stones and debris fell from both sides of the gorge.
"It couldn't be, it couldn't be..."
Kudou Yuuki's face turned pale. Japan, being an island country situated on a seismic belt, was prone to frequent natural disasters, and at that moment, he felt a premonition of impending disaster.
Not just Kudou Yuuki, many among the thousands in the Japan Self Defense Force were feeling the same panic and unrest.
Above Scorpion Cloud Mountain, Su Jie coldly watched the confused Japanese troops below, a cold smile hooking at the corner of his mouth.
"Your country has always been plagued by natural disasters; such a customary hometown death suits you well. I am indeed too merciful."
At that moment, Su Jie had an Array Plate in front of him, his Primordial Spirit merging with the foundation of Scorpion Cloud Mountain.
His Primordial Spirit, having grown multiple times, was now over a meter tall.
Especially since the bond of the Dual Soul Contract with Ghost Bride Han Ruyan gave Su Jie's Primordial Spirit the power to summon a hint of Heavenly Might.
At this moment, Su Jie intended to unleash the pent-up Heavenly Might of Scorpion Cloud Mountain through his Primordial Spirit and Array Map.
Seeing the opportunity was ripe, Su Jie cast a spell, triggered the Formation, and stirred the inherent Heavenly Might of Scorpion Cloud Mountain itself.