Chapter 80: Crossing the Pass

Qian Ye took the telescope and saw several creatures resembling giant crocodiles crawling on the two steep cliffs as if they had been carved by knives. They were covered in dark scales, several meters long, and moved slowly on the steep or even vertical cliffs as if treading on flat ground.

The scene before him made Qian Ye’s heart race. The last time he was here, there were far fewer of these fierce beasts, and most of them lurked in the dark, secluded corners, rarely venturing out. But now, there were over a hundred of these crocodile-like beasts on the cliffs, and who knew how many more were hidden from view.

“Do you know where these things came from?” Qian Ye asked.

“According to our observations, they likely crawled out from the forest in the southwest, but they don’t seem like native creatures of that terrain, which is quite strange. Our scouts tried to get closer, but the beasts were too powerful, and we had to abandon the deeper investigation,” Zhu Wuya replied.

“Oh? How strong are they?”

“Most of their strength is proportional to their size. Even the weakest ones require a Level 3 warrior to handle, while the larger ones need a Level 4 warrior. You see, those few over there are especially large, probably leaders, and only I, Old Duan, and a few majors can deal with them.”

Qian Ye nodded and asked, “What is their relationship with the werewolves?”

Duan Hao interjected, “They seem to have no connection. A while ago, I saw a rash werewolf guard enter their territory and was instantly torn to pieces.”

Even though these mountain crocodiles seemed to have no relation to the werewolves, their current activity area occupied the cliffs on both sides of the pass, adding a natural barrier to the werewolves’ defenses.

Qian Ye surveyed the surrounding terrain and pointed to the densest area of mountain crocodiles. “Fire a few shells at this spot.”

This action risked provoking the entire mountain crocodile population, so Duan Hao and the others had never done it. But since it was Qian Ye’s order, it wasn’t a problem. The messenger quickly ran to the nearby artillery position, and moments later, the heavy cannons roared, raining shells on the mountain crocodile congregation.

Several mountain crocodiles were blasted off the cliffs, but even after falling nearly a hundred meters and crashing heavily to the ground, they managed to shake themselves and slowly get back up. Except for a few unlucky ones directly hit by the shells, the rest within the shockwave radius remained unharmed.

The crocodiles stirred, and those in the shelled area sensed the source of the attack, turning around with the intention of moving towards Qian Ye’s position. As they moved, it was like the first wave in the sea, gradually spreading out and affecting the outer groups.

“Halt fire!” Qian Ye ordered again.

The cannons stopped, and the mountain crocodiles lost their target, their movements becoming chaotic. After a while, the crocodile group settled down, and a few dead crocodile corpses were being devoured.

These mountain crocodiles didn’t seem to possess high intelligence, but their reaction to external attacks was quite sensitive. If a few more shells were fired, it might provoke the entire group to attack the Dark Flame position.

After some thought, Qian Ye said, “Stay here and keep an eye on the werewolves in the pass. Do not let them break through, no matter what.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m going to meet Baron Brudo.”

Having made his decision, Qian Ye didn’t linger. He left his motorcycle at the Dark Flame position and entered the perilous mountains alone.

The mountain terrain posed no obstacle for Qian Ye, and he carried sufficient supplies in his Anduia space, especially various grenades. The battle at the mine had shown him the great power of force grenades during a solo assault, so he had prioritized stocking up on them.

Qian Ye rushed through the mountain forest, heading straight for the pass, planning to climb the cliff on the west side, bypassing the barriers at the entrance, and directly entering the werewolf territory.

As he ran, he suddenly stopped, and a large, agile black shadow darted out from the pile of leaves ahead. It was a mountain crocodile, its long mouth wide open, ready to bite. However, because Qian Ye had abruptly halted, it missed.

Up close, the mountain crocodile was indeed a massive creature, over five meters long, with scales as hard as rock. The most dangerous part was that despite its enormous size, it was as agile as a mountain wolf. When it missed, it bit into a tree behind Qian Ye, sending splinters flying and creating a deep gash.

Qian Ye sidestepped, turned, and stepped on the mountain crocodile’s back, simultaneously plunging Crimson Tooth deep into the junction of its head and neck. This was a vital point, and even though the scales were tough, they couldn’t resist the Level 5 Crimson Tooth. Qian Ye easily thrust it in, burying it to the hilt.

In an instant, a surge of essence blood flowed from the Crimson Tooth. This Level 3 mountain crocodile provided more essence blood than a Level 5 dark race warrior. Qian Ye stood up from the corpse and continued forward, soon killing another ambushing mountain crocodile.

Now Qian Ye understood why the Dark Flame scouts dared not venture deep into the southwestern forest. Though these mountain crocodiles weren’t very high-level, they combined strength and agility, making them far more lethal than typical ferocious beasts in the Eternal Night Wilderness.

In a short stretch of a few hundred meters, Qian Ye killed over a dozen mountain crocodiles. After slaying a ten-meter-long giant, he finally stopped and left the crocodile’s range.

Qian Ye found a quiet spot to calm his somewhat turbulent blood energy. These fierce beasts provided essence blood in quantities several times that of a dark race warrior of the same level. After killing just a dozen mountain crocodiles, he had already accumulated half of his body’s capacity.

However, this situation was abnormal. Such beasts would normally need a vast mountain range as a hunting ground, or else they would destroy the entire ecosystem. The sheer number he saw in this area suggested it was not natural, and there must be a reason behind it.

Qian Ye silently practiced the Mystic Chapter, converting some of the essence blood, and then continued towards the werewolf tribe.

Not long after, he noticed that the mountain crocodiles had extremely sharp senses, able to detect movement from a distance. Unless Qian Ye expended a lot of force to remain hidden, it would be almost impossible to cross this area without alerting them.

After a brief thought, Qian Ye decided to go all out. In the forest, the mountain crocodiles were the hunters, but in front of Qian Ye with his True Sight, they became the hunted, losing their advantage of stealth.

Continuing, Qian Ye killed mountain crocodiles until his body was nearly full of essence blood, then found a place to practice the Mystic Chapter, gradually converting the essence blood into dark force, nourishing his blood energy. When the essence blood was mostly digested, he set off again, continuing to hunt and repeating the process.

With ample essence blood, the cover of the Black Tome was almost fully lit, and it wouldn’t be long before it could open again. The feather on the Primordial Wing had also condensed significantly. Additionally, his three types of blood energy had made varying progress, with the dark golden blood energy on the verge of its third evolution.

When Qian Ye resumed his journey, he noticed that the mountain crocodile population had thinned, indicating he was leaving their control area. From the top of a cliff, he looked down and saw that he was at the other end of the natural pass, with undulating hills and lush trees beyond. There were even two small, clear lakes on the hillside.

In the distance, a rugged, imposing castle stood, its walls of unadorned gray-white stone blending with the weathered rock face. On the castle’s peak, a flag with three claw marks fluttered. This was the emblem of Baron Brudo, symbolizing his understanding of the ancient werewolf traditions: speed, strength, and destruction.

The base of the rocky peak was covered by a continuous forest, extending far into the distance, beyond a natural chasm, to another beautiful peak—Qingfeng Mountain, the territory of the Fangtooth Tribe, and the location Wuying speculated to be the node of the mineral vein.

From his vantage point, Qian Ye could overlook the pass. The werewolves had built a fortress there, blocking the end of the pass, with scattered wooden huts and tents. Judging by the numbers and scale, Brudo had at least several hundred elite werewolf warriors, almost half of his forces.

Qian Ye’s gaze didn’t linger long on the pass and shifted to the distant castle. Subduing or eliminating Brudo would cause the barony’s defenses to crumble.

Most werewolf castles were built on rocky peaks, using large stones, appearing sturdy. However, werewolves revered nature and often avoided using weapons, so their castles lacked force arrays and defensive machinery, making them primitive compared to other races.

Raiding such a castle would be easier, requiring only to deal with the werewolf warriors.

Qian Ye retrieved a large pack from his Anduia space and began preparing for battle. He arranged his standard military knife, Crimson Tooth, Twin Blossoms, solid force bullets, and some climbing and stealth tools. Finally, he took out a vial and sprayed himself thoroughly.

This spray countered the werewolves’ keen sense of smell, causing them to feel slight discomfort and ignore other scents. The effect lasted four hours, more than enough for a raid.

After checking his gear, Qian Ye leaped down the cliff, pausing every ten meters to descend, quietly landing in the forest and heading toward the distant baron’s castle.

Near the cliff, Qian Ye killed two more mountain crocodiles, indicating their control had spread to this side.

Though the numbers were insignificant, Qian Ye frowned. He had noticed that the usual ferocious beasts in the forest were almost extinct, a bad omen. When the local ecological balance was disrupted, the next to suffer would likely be the living spaces of intelligent beings like the dark races and humans.

Qian Ye thrust Crimson Tooth into the neck of a leader-class mountain crocodile, feeling a warm flow of energy as the beast struggled, eventually dying after ten minutes.

Qian Ye felt warmth spreading through his body, his limbs and bones brimming with power, and his heart beating strongly. The essence blood from this massive beast was equivalent to that of a regular baron.

Deep in the forest, Qian Ye estimated the distance from the cliff he descended, then withdrew Crimson Tooth and continued, soon vanishing among the sparse trees.

A faint mist arose in the forest, and an indistinct figure emerged. She was blurry, her features unclear, but her graceful silhouette indicated she was a woman.

She paused beside a mountain crocodile corpse, bent down, and gently sniffed the wound, then placed her hand over it.