"We've struck it rich!!!"

"By the Lady of Wealth!"

The soldiers of the Expeditionary Army let out incredulous shouts; within the ruins, it was like paradise! Gold and silver treasures were piled everywhere, and many soldiers cheerfully slapped their faces in disbelief.

After months of training and preparation by Fugen, these soldiers were highly disciplined. When they encountered the wealth, they did not rush to grab it impulsively. The army's structure and formation remained largely intact as the soldiers reported to Fugen: "Legion Commander! We've discovered a large amount of gold and silver treasures! Is it permitted for the soldiers to take them at will?"

"Divide into three groups! The third, fifth, and ninth companies are allowed to act on their own, and each person can collect no more than fifteen pounds of treasure. The rest, stay on alert and closely monitor the surroundings!" Fugen observed the area vigilantly: "Perhaps, some things are watching us."

"Yes!" Trained by the Primarch of the Emperor's Sons, the army followed orders to the letter. The soldiers of the three companies began using prepared bags to scavenge treasures, while the remaining troops stayed on alert, ready for anything.

"Pay attention, prioritize collecting books, crafts, and artworks. Don't just focus on gold and jewelry." Fugen continued to instruct.

"Understood!" The soldiers genuinely admired and revered the Legion Commander, executing Fugen's orders meticulously.

The human army began carefully bagging various gold, silver, and jewels, also following Fugen's orders to remain vigilant, carefully monitoring their surroundings and giving the enemy no chance.

Unbeknownst to them, it was precisely because the soldiers remained vigilant, high up in the rainforest's branches,

a few chameleons were perched, observing every move of the Expeditionary Army.

This ruin was a trap. Several waves of humans had already fallen into it, becoming meals for the Lizardmen, or sacrifices offered to the Snake God Sotigo.

Humans are always greedy, unable to move when seeing such wealth. The explorers often frantically stuffed their bags with various gemstones, gold, and jade, and when the ambushing Lizardmen pounced, many greedy ones were unwilling to abandon their riches to escape.

But this group was different; they were very alert.

"Should we attack now?" the chameleon whispered.

The ambush here was a Spirit Lizard Legion, led by a Lizardman Ancient Blood Warrior.

The Ancient Blood Warriors are the leaders of the Lizardmen, following the commands of the Spirit Lizard Priests, and the Spirit Lizard Priests were above the Demon Toad Shilan, although most of the Shilan spent their time asleep.

"Wait." The Ancient Blood Warrior shook his head, "Let them come out before attacking."

Inside the ruins, Fugen was examining a massive stone slab. His hand caressed the surface of the slab, revealing its true form amid the pond and grass.

"The invasion of Chaos was long prophesied." The slab depicted four images; the first showed the Ancient Saints' teleportation gate shattering, Chaos descending, and countless demons arriving from Subspace to the Prime Material World.

"The Ancient Saints' loyal servants rose up against them." The second image depicted hordes of Lizardmen armies clashing with Chaos Demons.

"The Great Vortex was not an invention of the Elves; they only activated the Ancient Saints' device left in Ossuan." Fugen continued to examine the third image, depicting the First Phoenix King "Defender" Ailario simultaneously battling four Chaos Great Demons, while not far away, Dragon Tamer Calado was constructing the Great Vortex.

Fugen wanted to continue onto the fourth image but found it damaged beyond recognition.

Does the future look like this image, with everything devoured by Chaos?

"There is still hope." The Primarch of the Emperor's Sons murmured to himself, "There's always hope."

"Enemy attack!!!" At this moment, Pilazzo suddenly shouted: "Enemies are attacking! Soldiers! Prepare for battle!"

"Fight, or die!" Fugen shouted: "Soldiers, the enemy is here!"

"Understood!" The soldiers of the Expeditionary Army, shocked for a moment upon hearing the enemy attack, immediately snapped to action, halting their activities, putting down the gold and silver treasures in their hands, and readying for battle.

A horde of Spirit Lizards emerged in the forest; they were the Spirit Lizard Legion ambushing the human army.

"Form up!!!" Fugen stood alone at the front of the formation, raising his power sword "Glory."

The Legion Commander's training was ingrained into the soldiers' souls and instincts. When the hordes of Spirit Lizard Warriors and Spirit Lizard Stragglers drew closer, the human army had already prepared for battle, using the terrain to their advantage.

Masses of Long Spear Soldiers and Long Halberdiers stood in the front, embedding their shields into the ground, the dense spear phalanx pointed directly at the incoming Spirit Lizard Legion, while hordes of Spirit Lizards continued pouring out of the forest. Most human soldiers had never seen such strange creatures, with cute faces, round eyes, fins on their heads, vibrant colors on their bodies, wearing simple leather armor, wielding sticks and shields, charging at the army-formed spear phalanx like a forest.

"Fire!!!" Pilazzo's roar shattered the soldiers' internal hesitation. Hearing the Vice Legion Commander's order, masses of crossbowmen, archers, and musketeers raised their ranged weapons, launching an attack on the Spirit Lizard Legion.

Almost simultaneously, all crossbowmen, archers, and musketeers fired together, hundreds of feathered arrows, crossbow bolts, and musket bullets inflicting massive casualties on the Spirit Lizard soldiers, knocking down these Lizardmen in quick succession.

Many human soldiers sighed in relief at the sight; these ancient creatures weren't invincible after all.

The Expeditionary Army began gaining confidence, even as vast hordes of Spirit Lizard armies continued joining the battlefield from the distant forest.

Leaving behind dozens of corpses, the Spirit Lizard Stragglers approached the spear phalanx.

"Javelins! Watch out, Turtle Shell Array!" Fugen quickly noticed an anomaly among the Spirit Lizard Legion; masses of Spirit Lizards raised their javelins, hurling poison-tipped wooden spears at the human lines.

"Turtle Shell Array!" Hearing Fugen's command, the human army moved.

The ranged units orderly withdrew into the formation, Long Spear Soldiers and Long Halberdiers moved closer to the front line, pulling up their shields to raise them overhead. Behind them, Sword and Shield Soldiers meticulously lined up in multiple rows, raising their shields into the air together.

The human stronghold was instantly covered by large and kite shields, most of the dense javelin barrage striking the shields instead.

"Clang, clang, clang~" The sound of sharp weapons striking shields, yet not a single casualty.

The number of javelins held by the Spirit Lizard Stragglers was limited. After three volleys, their javelins were depleted.

By this time, hordes of Spirit Lizards had already reached the front lines of the human army.

"Form a long spear phalanx!" Fugen commanded next.

The soldiers promptly followed orders; the first row of Long Spear Soldiers and Long Halberdiers crouched, the second row stood, the long spear phalanx formed, with its dense spear forest facing directly against the Spirit Lizard infantry's charge.

Hordes of Spirit Lizard infantry found themselves besieged by countless spear tips; their small clubs couldn't penetrate the strong spear phalanx. With the Spirit Lizards in front charging forward, those behind continued to push in; under Fugen's command, the crossbowmen and archers opportunistically shot down the distant Spirit Lizards, while the musketeers formed three ranks, taking turns firing at the nearby Spirit Lizards through gaps in the spear phalanx.

"Die, bastards!" The Long Spear Soldiers and Long Halberdiers rhythmically thrust back and forth, sharp spear tips piercing into the bodies of Spirit Lizard soldiers, spraying red blood.

Powerful discipline and a solid formation proved the humans' secret to victory. As the Great Swordsmen led the Sword and Shield Soldiers onto the battlefield's flank, the outcome gradually became clear. After a hard-fought battle lasting more than ten minutes, the Spirit Lizard Legion was forced to retreat, abandoning hundreds of corpses behind, with their Lizardmen ambush troops heavily defeated.

The Expeditionary Army suffered minimal losses, with only a dozen or so unlucky soldiers killed in action. The remaining humans cheered loudly for their victory.

"Don't celebrate too soon, my soldiers. This was just a probing attack by the enemy." Fugen warned his soldiers, "Do not be overconfident with victory. If these ancient races in the forest were this weak, how did those human expeditionary forces disappear? Why haven't those Chaos-worshipping barbarians entered the forest to pillage?"

"Understood, Legion Commander, we will not let our guard down!" Fugen's soldiers, respecting his command, responded in unison.

"Quickly pack up, we establish camp here today." Fugen continued to order, "Send people to scout ahead, be prepared for another hard fight."

"Yes!" The entire army operated like a precisely functioning machine, each part performing its duty.

In the nearby rainforest, the Lizardman Ancient Blood Warrior was discussing with subordinates.

"These humans are very strong; the weak Spirit Lizard Legion cannot defeat them."

"Report immediately to War Leader Kuga! Request reinforcements!"

"We need the support of Lord Kuga's Holy Legion!"