Chapter 37: The Collapse

Qianye released his grip and collapsed beside the corpse of the Blood Knight, gasping for breath. Bao Zhengcheng also fell to the ground, panting heavily. His body was riddled with injuries, especially a sword wound on his back that revealed the bone.

At this moment, if a few more pawns were to come in, they might well finish them off.

After a while, Bao Zhengcheng said, “Boss, your eyes are injured?” His voice was full of concern; under such circumstances, a warrior with an eye injury had little chance of surviving the next battle.

“It’s nothing, just a minor injury. It’ll be fine in a while.” Qianye still kept his eyes tightly shut.

In the human-controlled area, a light military all-terrain vehicle (ATV) was moving slowly. The vast forest was dimly lit, making it impossible to distinguish day from night. Shadows loomed everywhere, as if countless monsters were lurking in the dark.

The road was rough and uneven, and the wheels glided over a thick carpet of fallen leaves, always at risk of slipping. All four headlights of the ATV were on, casting a bright light ahead.

In the gloomy environment, this made the perfect target, but the menacing machine gun on top of the ATV was a constant reminder to anyone or any beast lurking in the shadows: this iron beast was not to be trifled with!

A black figure suddenly darted out from the roadside, blocking the ATV, and waved frantically, shouting, “Stop! Stop!”

The ATV came to a halt.

The man opened the door, jumped into the passenger seat, and, gasping for air, said, “I’m a sergeant from Battalion 325! Get me to the headquarters of the 60th Division right away! The Earth Castle is surrounded by the Dark Races, and we need reinforcements!”

The ATV started up again, continuing forward.

The sergeant finally relaxed, collapsing into the seat, and then realized there were only two people in the vehicle: himself and the driver, a young and beautiful short-haired female lieutenant.

“Lieutenant Ye Muwei?” The sergeant was both surprised and delighted. There weren’t many beauties on the battlefield, and this Lieutenant Ye was both beautiful and capable. Although she had only been in the war zone for a few months, she had already become the dream girl of many soldiers.

“Do you recognize me?”

“Of course! Who wouldn’t recognize… such a beauty like you?”

Ye Muwei smiled slightly and said, “If you recognize me, that’s even better. Isn’t Battalion 325 part of the 55th Division? Why are you going to the 60th Division?”

“This time, the Dark Races have mobilized an entire army group! The direction towards the 55th Division is already impassable.”

“Oh, I see. Are there any other survivors?”

“No, only me,” the sergeant said, somewhat despondent, and looked out the window. But when he saw this, he almost jumped up and shouted, “No! This isn’t the way to the headquarters! You…”

Turning his head, he saw a black gun barrel pointing at his forehead.

“This was never the way to the headquarters. It was the way to the cemetery.”

Before the words were finished, Ye Muwei pulled the trigger, and blood splattered across the window.

At dusk, the ATV appeared at a midway transport station. The small station, which usually had only a small squad of sentinels, was brightly lit, with a heavy transport convoy parked there. A moment later, Ye Muwei quietly climbed into the back of one of the trucks.

Inside, there was only Gu Liyu, who was resting quietly against the backrest. After listening to her report, Gu Liyu said, “Battalion 131 has indeed chosen this place as their breakout point.”

Confused, Ye Muwei said, “If it were any other time, the patrol of the 55th Division would have detected it long ago. But the battle over there started last night, and they definitely can’t afford to pay attention to us. With the strength of the Earth Castle, it won’t last through tonight. Why do I still need to intercept the messenger?”

Gu Liyu smiled and said, “Because I like to be thorough.”

“But Qiqi will have a new lover!”

Gu Liyu’s smile suddenly became a bit forced, and he said slowly, “This person is different. He is a threat.”

Ye Muwei fell silent. Anyone Gu Liyu deemed a threat was now mostly resting in the cemetery.

Gu Liyu drew Ye Muwei into his arms, gently stroking her hair. After a while, he said, “It’s not entirely for this little thing. The actual mastermind of this battle is Elder Seventeen of the Yin family. He wants to protect the 58th Division and exhaust the 55th Division. I’m just fulfilling his wishes and achieving a small wish of my own.”

Ye Muwei felt a chill run down her spine as she suddenly understood the intricacies of Gu Liyu’s plan, a single arrow hitting multiple targets.

Elder Seventeen was one of the elders in the branch of Qiqi’s family. In this battle, the main forces were the 58th Division and the 55th Division, with the 60th Division in reserve. The battalion Qiqi brought was under the name of the 58th Division. Elder Seventeen’s intentions were easy to understand, simply to reduce the risks for the young lady, and there must be other hidden reasons for why he specifically wanted to weaken the 55th Division.

The 58th and 55th Divisions were in a mutually supporting position. If one side faced more pressure, it would suffer more casualties, while the other side would face less.

Gu Liyu used false intelligence to lure Battalion 131 into the moving range of the Dark Races’ army group at a specific time and location, causing the battle to erupt prematurely in the 55th Division’s defense area. He also had her intercept any possible escapees, preventing the 60th Division from getting the news and intervening early. A mere one-night delay could achieve many goals.

The situation on the battlefield was ever-changing, and perhaps Gu Liyu’s plans went beyond what she could see. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hidden his identity and personally come to the Eternal Night Continent. But Ye Muwei had no interest in knowing more. In the minds of those great figures, military achievements, battle records, and the overall situation were the real matters to consider, while casualties and sacrifices were just numbers. Which unit had more, which had less, didn’t matter.

Ye Muwei knew that the battle would inevitably go in the direction Gu Liyu wanted. Even if Qiqi found out afterward, it was a decision made by her elders, and what could she say?

Ye Muwei suddenly had a strange thought. When the surviving soldiers in the Earth Castle survived the night and saw the dawn, only to find that the expected reinforcements had not arrived, what would they think? At this moment, she heard Gu Liyu calling her name and responded softly.

“After noon tomorrow, we’ll go to the 60th Division.”

“Hmm?”

“To dispatch troops. I have the authority to temporarily commandeer an expeditionary force division. We can’t lose the Earth Castle defense node. We’ll go and retake it.” Gu Liyu’s voice gradually became ethereal, “After this battle, I’ll be promoted to colonel.”

Ye Muwei did not speak. She snuggled against Gu Liyu’s chest, finding a comfortable spot. His hand caressed her face gently, bringing a warm, intoxicating feeling. She pushed all thoughts out of her mind.

On this war-torn continent, just now was enough.

Meanwhile, the Earth Castle gradually quieted down. The sounds of fighting and gunfire faded, and the surviving Dark Race warriors retreated from the town. The first battle was over.

After a while, Qianye and Bao Zhengcheng supported each other and managed to stand up, stepping out of the house. Before them lay a scene of utter devastation, with ruins, corpses, and flames everywhere. The Earth Castle was destroyed.

Injured soldiers emerged from their hiding places, and officers began to try to gather the troops. Bao Zhengcheng also stepped out, loudly calling for the surviving brothers.

Standing amidst the ruins, Qianye suddenly felt a sense of unreality, his consciousness somewhat hazy. He half-opened his eyes, and the redness in his vision had faded considerably.

A relatively intact military saber was stuck in the ruins. Qianye picked it up and looked at his reflection in the blade. The faint image showed that the only trace of red in his pupils was barely noticeable.

But as Qianye gazed at his face reflected in the narrow blade, it seemed both familiar and strange. He raised his head, dazed, watching weary and groaning soldiers pass by.

Everyone was near exhaustion, but Qianye was in excellent condition. Although he was still injured, it no longer affected his movements much. Most of his broken bones had mended themselves, even skipping the immobilization step. With proper rest, he would recover fully in just a few days.

The effects of the boiling blood were fading, and the extra strength and endurance were returning to normal. Qianye felt tired again, a result of the aftermath of the boiling blood and the overuse of stimulants.

Not far away, Expeditionary Force soldiers dragged a few wolfman corpses past.

These corpses were different from the others, all shriveled and withered, like mummies. The soldiers argued about why the bodies were like this, some believing the vampires had been too hungry, while another loudly refuted, saying that even if starving, vampires would not drink wolfman blood. They argued as they walked, gradually moving out of sight.

But Qianye, seeing the severely damaged corpses, knew where they had found them. On the battlefield, bloodsucking was an unparalleled method of recovery, perhaps stronger than the healing abilities of most vampire clans.

If not for the bloodsucking activating the boiling blood effect, Qianye would have been devoured by the wolfmen, just like the young soldier from the Expeditionary Force, and he would not have killed the Blood Knight or saved Bao Zhengcheng.

Standing in the ruins, Qianye felt hollow inside, the pillar of his beliefs from childhood crumbling completely.

He had always hated and rejected the vampire race, vowing to die rather than become a blood slave. But now, he had consciously used the unique ability of the vampires, bloodsucking.

What did this mean?

“Boss! You’re alive! That’s great!”

A familiar voice pulled Qianye back to reality. A soldier from Battalion 131 ran over excitedly, carrying the unusually long Eagle Strike. Clearly, the soldiers had found it while clearing the battlefield and immediately knew whose it was. Qianye was almost worshipped by them, a fourth-level warrior who had killed a high-ranking Dark Race, something not just anyone could do.

Qianye took the Eagle Strike, looking at the smiling face, unrecognizable due to soot and blood, and suddenly felt the world become real again.

He gave a faint smile, “Thank you.” Then, he looked around and pointed to an open area, saying, “Call the brothers over there to regroup, and look for food and ammunition.”

“No problem, boss!” The young soldier seemed suddenly energized and ran off.

When Qianye sat down against a waist-high wall, Bao Zhengcheng and the Expeditionary Force company commander approached and sat on the ground opposite him.

The company commander was also covered in blood and burns, with most of his head wrapped in bandages, and two deep fang marks on his neck!

Seeing Qianye’s expression, the company commander smiled bitterly, “I was bitten by a vampire, but it doesn’t matter now. I won’t live long enough to become a blood slave. With the few of us left, we can hold out for one more attack at most.”