As day and night slowly transitioned, the airship had arrived at the Eternal Night City of Weiyang, the second bustling hub connecting the mainland to the realm of Eternal Night. Qian Ye did not linger much this time, merely finding the branch office of Ningyuan Group and sending a letter to Song Zining.
After a brief stop for supplies in Weiyang City, the airship took off towards the Iron Curtain. Its destination was not Black Current City but the Zhao Clan’s base on the Blood War battlefield. There, Qian Ye would replenish his supplies and return to the perilous zone of the Zhao Clan’s territory behind the Iron Curtain.
On the airship, Qian Ye sat still, eyes closed, conserving his energy.
This airship’s performance was excellent; on a good day, one could hardly feel any jolts. If it weren’t for the fact that practicing the Great Profound Military Sutra caused too much disturbance, potentially affecting the flight with its void prime force, he could have trained here.
Midway through the journey, the captain entered the cabin, reporting that they were only a few hundred kilometers from the base, estimating an arrival within less than two hours. Qian Ye nodded in acknowledgment. This was the final stretch, and the journey had been smooth without any incidents.
Of course, a significant part of this smooth journey was due to the Zhao Clan emblem emblazoned on the airship. Attacking a Zhao Clan airship beyond the Iron Curtain was practically suicide.
Just as the captain was about to return to the control room and Qian Ye’s eyes were beginning to close again, the entire airship suddenly shook violently without any apparent cause. In a flash, Qian Ye reached out and grabbed the handrail, anchoring himself against the cabin wall. The captain, however, was less fortunate, falling to the ground and hitting his head, causing a gash that bled profusely.
Though this was a minor injury, Qian Ye had no time to help him up. He dashed to the porthole and looked out, instantly feeling a chill run down his spine.
The once clear and high sky was now filled with dark clouds, roiling like boiling water. And behind these clouds, the familiar aura of the Heavenly Demon was surging forth.
Qian Ye was truly shocked. Having participated in the Blood War for some time, he recognized the Iron Curtain, but according to recent reports, its range had stabilized! Moreover, they were still hundreds of kilometers away from the original edge of the Iron Curtain.
Yet, the Iron Curtain was rapidly expanding, and the vast, boundless will of the Heavenly Demon swept across the land. Before such a terrifying power, even someone as strong as Qian Ye felt overwhelmed, struggling to move. This was in a state of the demon’s unconsciousness; if it became aware, movement would be impossible.
Qian Ye felt a chill in his heart. He had encountered the Heavenly Demon’s will under the Iron Curtain before, but that was more like an instinctive response. If the previous Heavenly Demon was asleep, now it was awake and active.
At that moment, an icy, frigid will descended upon the airship, sweeping through every corner. Qian Ye felt as if he were being doused by the coldest water of the zero-degree ocean, and in an instant, he lost sensation in his fingers and toes, collapsing to the ground.
Before this icy will, nothing seemed to be able to resist. From the inside out, Qian Ye was almost completely permeated by it, but at the most critical moment, a faint black barrier rose from the Book of Darkness, shielding his blood core, blood qi, and primordial wings, blocking the icy will’s intrusion.
The Heavenly Demon’s will arrived and then quickly departed, like an invisible cold wave, sweeping over every corner of the world without missing anything.
Only after the will left did Qian Ye gradually regain his senses, slowly rising to his feet. But the airship was now shaking more violently, and its course had changed, tilting towards the ground. Qian Ye immediately realized that the crew had also been affected, losing their ability to move.
He grabbed the still-paralyzed captain and rushed into the control room. Indeed, the crew lay collapsed, convulsing, some even bleeding from their mouths and noses, their vitality waning.
Qian Ye threw himself at the controls, increasing power output to level the airship, then shouted at the captain, “Guide us, we need to get out of here!”
Knowing it was a matter of life and death, the captain struggled to stand, instructing Qian Ye on how to pilot the airship while adjusting the course. After descending several hundred meters, the airship finally leveled off and began to ascend slowly.
In the distance, a massive fireball rose from the ground. It was a large airship burning on impact.
It seemed the Heavenly Demon was searching for something, focusing on the airships flying above. Any airship without a warrior of Qian Ye’s caliber would inevitably crash.
The captain, who had made multiple trips between the Western Continent and the Iron Curtain, glanced at the sky and his face turned grim. “How did the Iron Curtain get here so suddenly?”
“I don’t know,” Qian Ye replied, his heart heavy. Beneath the Iron Curtain were many friends and acquaintances he cared about.
Whatever had happened in the depths of the Iron Curtain must have caused the Heavenly Demon’s drastic change. And surely, those still fighting beneath the Iron Curtain would be affected.
Qian Ye piloted the airship, lowering its altitude to about a hundred meters above the ground, heading straight for the destination. Along the way, he saw two more burning airship wrecks and a convoy stopped in the middle of the road. Some vehicles had veered off the road, overturned, and people lay strewn about, their fates unknown.
Without stopping, Qian Ye held the controls steadily, finally reaching the Zhao Clan’s forward base.
This base was located in a small town, conveniently situated with no hazardous terrain nearby, making it easy to enter and exit the Iron Curtain. However, Qian Ye could see chaos in the town from afar.
He landed the airship in an open field outside the town and headed in. The town was in disarray, with people lying on the ground or slumped against walls, panting. Those who could still move were rushing back and forth, carrying the injured to the hospital and treating the lightly wounded on the spot.
Amidst the chaos, Qian Ye found the base commander with difficulty. He asked for an off-road vehicle, received the latest battle report, and loaded up with ammunition and supplies before speeding towards the Iron Curtain.
The Blood War battlefield was a scene of disorder. Most low-level warriors fell to the ground when the Heavenly Demon’s will swept through, only the strong nobles still able to move. In intense combat, both sides instantly saw many fall, and those still mobile reacted by stabbing their enemies beside them.
Countless lives were lost in an instant.
In a mountain valley, dozens of battling warriors fell, and even the two fiercely fighting generals barely stood, locked in a stalemate.
One side was composed of Zhao Clan warriors, and the other was a mix of several squadrons, double the number of Zhao Clan forces. Yet, the Zhao Clan was not at a disadvantage, with the remaining active fighters nearly equal to the enemy.
A Zhao general, leaning on his heavy sword, stared at his opponent, sneering, “Bai Huizong, you’re no match for me. Once I recover, you’ll be dead!”
Suddenly, Bai Huizong’s face twisted into a sinister smile. “Zhao Youxin, you might recover first, but what good will that do?”
At that moment, a small figure leaped from the fallen, lunging at the Zhao general’s back, plunging a broad-bladed dagger into his ribs, burying it to the hilt!
The Zhao general roared, trying to unleash his last strength, but his aura vortex seemed frozen, his body stiff and immobile. Turning his head with great effort, he saw a stunningly beautiful young face.
“Bai… Kongzhao! How can you still move? You… you’re not a general…” His words were cut short as blood foam blocked his throat.
Bai Kongzhao, like an elf, darted around, her dagger flashing, each strike ending a Zhao warrior’s life.
Zhao Youxin watched in anguish, but Bai Kongzhao’s blade had severed his life force, leaving him to collapse, eyes wide open.
Facing the Zhao warriors’ venomous gazes, Bai Kongzhao remained oblivious, her cold and efficient reaping of lives unyielding. Her beautiful face bore a focused and serious expression.
In a blink, all the Zhao Clan soldiers lay dead. Even Bai Huizong, gazing at Bai Kongzhao, couldn’t hide his fear.
Bai Kongzhao finally stopped, surveying the area, finding no more enemies. Her face flushed, her breathing labored, she appeared tired.
She approached Bai Huizong, saying, “Continue forward. I’ll follow you.”
“Yes, Miss Kongzhao.” Bai Huizong, a general of the Bai Clan, was unusually respectful.
Bai Kongzhao stopped before Bai Huizong, casually rummaging through his belongings, finding a white cloth to clean her dagger, and a box of origin force bullets, which she tucked away. She then removed Bai Huizong’s sniper rifle, slinging it over her shoulder, and left.
Only after her small figure disappeared into the forest did Bai Huizong exhale, breaking out in a cold sweat, feeling weak all over. When Bai Kongzhao’s small hands touched him, he felt like two deadly serpents crawling over him, rendering him motionless, allowing her to take what she wanted.
Bai Huizong feared provoking her, knowing her cool, slick hands could turn lethal in an instant.
The Bai Clan warriors rose, pale-faced. They were not afraid of fierce battles, but Bai Kongzhao’s slaughter had shaken them.
“Those still alive, get up and clear the battlefield. We leave in thirty minutes!” Bai Huizong barked, eyeing the surviving warriors from other squadrons, his tone cold, “Follow along. From now on, no one leaves, or else…”
The threat was clear. After witnessing Bai Kongzhao’s rampage, they knew the consequences of disobeying the Bai Clan.
Thirty minutes later, these soldiers from various families assembled, following Bai Kongzhao’s path. On the battlefield, bodies of Zhao Clan warriors lay everywhere, and similarly, the Bai Clan warriors.
Clearing the battlefield meant taking supplies and ammunition. In Bai Kongzhao’s eyes, burying the dead was a waste of time; it was better to pursue the enemy.
Deep in the Dark Realm, Zhao Jundu strode forward, halberd in hand. Suddenly, he paused, a light groan escaping his lips, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Wiping the blood away, he glanced at the Iron Curtain in the sky, saying calmly, “I didn’t expect to be injured. Are you still alive?”
“The famous Fourth Young Master of the Zhao Clan is only slightly injured, how dare I die first?” A ghostly figure emerged from the woods, revealing itself to be Dusk.
The two stood ten meters apart, a distance where an attack could come in an instant.
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