Chapter 102: The Obsidian Nest

Qian Ye suddenly looked up, his eyes widening in shock as he saw the war general holding a short gun, its massive barrel aimed directly at him! The charging of the weapon was almost instantaneous. With a deafening boom, Qian Ye felt as if he had been struck by a sledgehammer, and he was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground.

The other two were equally astonished. They never expected the war general to still have such strength, enough to unleash such a devastating shot.

“Why?” the skinny man couldn’t help but ask.

The war general snorted, tucking the short gun back into his waistband. “This kid must have killed quite a few dark race creatures. He’s bound to have some good stuff on him. If we take him out, this trip will be worth it.”

The skinny man and the woman immediately understood. The concept of military merit and rewards from the Empire was something they knew well. Without the lure of such significant rewards, why would they gather here and risk their lives in this forsaken place?

The woman jumped up instantly. “I’ll search him!”

The war general frowned. “Remember to finish him off. He might not be dead yet.”

The woman waved her knife, saying, “No problem.” She quickly approached Qian Ye, her blade glinting coldly, and aimed it directly at his throat with deadly intent.

However, Qian Ye’s body suddenly slid backward several meters, and her knife stabbed into the ground with a thud, missing its target.

With a surge of energy, Qian Ye pushed himself off the ground, and Dongyue appeared in his hand. A single slash of the Jiemie cut was unleashed.

The woman, still bewildered, felt a chill at her waist. Behind her, a deafening roar echoed, filled with both shock and fury—it was the war general’s voice.

She turned in astonishment to see the war general’s protective origin force aura fluctuating violently, on the brink of collapse. A massive gash had appeared across his abdomen, and blood gushed out uncontrollably.

Qian Ye swept past the woman like the wind, charging toward the war general. In his hand now was the Bloody Mandala, and with each step, he pulled the trigger.

The gunfire thundered, and just two shots shattered the war general’s protective origin force. Blood blossomed on his face and chest. By the time Qian Ye stood before him, the upper half of the war general’s body was a bloody mess.

The war general raised his arm unsteadily, unsure whether to defend or attack. Qian Ye seized his fist, and the sound of shattering bones rang out. With a rough gesture, he shoved the scorching barrel of the gun into the war general’s mouth and pulled the trigger!

A burst of blood sprayed from the back of the war general’s head, and he finally fell backward. Qian Ye removed the Bloody Mandala and turned his cold gaze to the skinny man.

The woman stood there, still dazed. The sudden change caught her off guard, and by the time the continuous gunfire stopped, she realized she was behind Qian Ye, and his stance left his back completely unprotected. It was a sign of contempt, but perhaps also an opportunity?

Just as she thought this, she instinctively gripped her knife. A single pounce might allow her to escape this perilous situation. The thought was tantalizing.

But as she tensed, she suddenly felt something wrong. Looking down, she saw a line of blood across her waist, and her upper and lower body were slowly separating. She realized then that Qian Ye’s mid-air slash had first bisected her before striking the war general.

The skinny man’s face turned pale as he looked at Qian Ye’s chest. It was charred, and the outer warrior’s uniform was torn, revealing the underlying chest armor. The armor was dented in a radiating pattern, showing the power of the war general’s full-force shot, but despite being twisted, it showed no signs of breaking.

The skinny man’s lips moved, and he finally dropped his hands, forcing a bitter smile. “You saved us, but we repaid you with betrayal. It’s only fitting that we die by your hand. Go ahead.”

Qian Ye glanced at the skinny man and said calmly, “You never touched a weapon from the start, so I’ll spare you this time. Drop everything and go.”

The skinny man, stunned for a moment, immediately shed his backpack and belongings and ran in the direction Qian Ye had pointed out earlier.

“Wait,” Qian Ye called out.

The skinny man, startled, turned around, thinking Qian Ye had changed his mind. Instead, he saw an origin force gun and a battle knife thrown at him, which he instinctively caught.

“Take these for protection. You won’t make it back to the Empire without them,” Qian Ye said.

The skinny man was taken aback. He took the weapons, gave Qian Ye a deep look, and said, “My name is Gao Congyuan. I hope to see you again!” With that, he turned and disappeared into the forest.

Qian Ye paid no further attention to this. As he examined his spoils, he was surprised to find a pair of vampiric fangs and a werewolf heart, both of baron rank, along with numerous other military merit certificates of rank five and above.

It turned out that the adventurers had already killed two barons on their journey, and based on the number of trophies, they must have taken down a baronial territory. No wonder they were so confident, even charging into the Black Nest without reconnaissance. They hadn’t expected the Black Nest to have become a staging point and gathering ground for dark warriors, resulting in a catastrophic blunder.

The military spoils of the adventurers had likely been kept by the leading war general. Now, they all belonged to Qian Ye.

After stashing the loot, Qian Ye carefully erased his tracks and re-entered the forest. The forest and mountains were the home turf of the dark races, and also his domain.

In the Zhao clan’s “Jidu Purple Garden” training field, the surging waves of origin force gradually subsided.

Zhao Jundu reached out, and the floating purple flames descended one by one, merging into his palm. Without turning, he asked, “Big Brother Zhao Junhong came to see me?”

Zhao Junhong had been standing at the entrance for a while. He took the tray from a servant, gestured for him to leave, and walked over to Zhao Jundu, handing him a warm, damp cloth. “You plan to go straight to him?”

The last squadron of the Zhao clan heading to the blood battle would depart at noon, but Zhao Jundu’s private vehicle was not headed to the Imperial Military Command in the Evernight but to the remote Heilou City in Sanhe County.

Zhao Junhong watched Zhao Jundu wipe the sweat from his brow and put on his outer robe. His movements were graceful and unhurried, seemingly no different from usual, but Zhao Junhong knew that the anger in his younger brother’s heart, ignited by Zhao Yuying’s return and the news she brought, had not abated.

“I’m going to bring him out. The Zhao clan hasn’t fallen so low that he needs to trade his life for military merits,” Zhao Jundu said, turning to meet Zhao Junhong’s gaze. After a moment of silence, he continued, “He’s carrying Yuying’s token. The moment he exchanges it for military merits, people with ill intentions will track him down.”

The Zhao clan was already a prominent target, and there were too many with ill intentions—possibly the Nangong family, or other clans, or even members of the Zhao clan. Even someone of Zhao Jundu’s and Zhao Yuying’s stature couldn’t be absolutely safe in a large battlefield. How much more so for Qian Ye, who might not even be reported as “killed in action” but rather “missing after the battle.”

“Fourth Brother, you know this blood battle is different from the others.”

Zhao Jundu’s face remained expressionless. “Second Brother, are you advising me to consider the bigger picture?”

“No,” Zhao Junhong sighed. “Fourth Brother, have you considered that once you enter Evernight, you’ll attract even more attention than Qian Ye?”

Zhao Jundu was taken aback. Zhao Junhong continued, “Your focus on Qian Ye now is not doing him any favors; it’s making him more dangerous. Not only will he have his own enemies, but he’ll also inherit yours.”

Zhao Jundu’s participation in the Iron Curtain blood battle would draw the special attention of the families opposed to the Zhao clan. Those who dared to target Zhao Jundu were far more powerful than those who wanted to kill Qian Ye. Like Nangong Xiaofeng, he didn’t bother with Qian Ye at first, but went straight for Zhao Yuying.

Zhao Junhong didn’t mention the part where, from Zhao Yuying, he knew Qian Ye didn’t want to see Zhao Jundu. He was almost certain that the stubborn young man who had made such a strong impression on him during the Tianxuan Spring Hunt wouldn’t comply.

Zhao Jundu was silent for a long time. “I understand. I just… ” He paused, taking a deep breath. “How dare someone like Zhao Fenglei insult him.”

Zhao Fenglei and Zhao Yuying had returned to the Zhao clan. Under the elders’ pressure, no major conflicts occurred, but minor friction was inevitable. Zhao Fenglei’s words were certainly not kind. They dared not openly criticize Zhao Jundu, so they poured all their grievances onto Qian Ye.

“When someone who was overlooked begins to rise, they will inevitably face suppression and setbacks. It’s because they pose a real threat. But when they soar beyond reach, most people will bow down.” Zhao Junhong looked steadily at his fourth brother. “This is the path of the strong. No one can walk it for you.”

The Evernight Iron Curtain remained as deep and dark as ever. Qian Ye moved swiftly through the forest, occasionally scanning his surroundings with his true vision, allowing him to detect any changes in origin force and avoid ambushes.

Suddenly, he sensed a dense wave of dark origin force rising in front of him. A thought stirred in his mind; the big fish he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

He checked the equipment in the Anduya space, took out the master-crafted “bullets,” and put them in his pocket. He also thought of another matter. With the resources and future prospects of Heilou City, he could establish his own weapon workshop. After this blood battle, he would definitely visit the Western Continent town and bring that master to Heilou City, no matter what.

“Bullets” were invaluable weapons in the battle against the dark races; one could never have too many.

Qian Ye concealed his aura and slowly approached the source of the dark origin force. As expected, the forest had become a battlefield, and all the wild beasts had been slaughtered, eliminating the risk of being detected.

Finally, Qian Ye chose a high vantage point and set up his camouflage before observing the battlefield below. Not far away, a large group of dark race warriors charged forward, their killing intent palpable. Among them were werewolves and vampires, but the majority were spider demons. More than a dozen enormous, fierce, and sinister spider demons lumbered forward, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

At the center of the group, one spider demon stood out. Its body was black with silver patterns. In terms of size, it was even larger than the natural form of a spider demon viscount.

Clearly, this spider demon was different from the Stuka, which relied primarily on poison and special abilities. It was more akin to the close-combat focused Brahms.