With a thud, Qian Ye crashed to the ground. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his back, he flipped and dashed behind another massive tree. Just as he vanished from sight, another origin bullet streaked past, slamming into the tree trunk and creating a crater a meter in diameter, nearly piercing through the colossal tree.
The power of that shot chilled Qian Ye to the bone. Fortunately, his reflexes had been quick enough. If he had been a second slower, he might have met a grim fate.
Using the cover of the giant trees, Qian Ye rolled away, changing his position twice before quickly assessing his injuries. The force of the shot was immense, even puncturing the coiled dragon armor, leaving a bowl-sized hole.
If he had still been wearing the iron wall, this shot could have injured his heart. Qian Ye felt like his back was on fire, with countless red-hot needles penetrating his flesh. Clearly, the bullet contained black titanium, and in a substantial amount.
Gritting his teeth, Qian Ye pulled out several vials of medicine, snapped them open, and poured the contents over his back wound. Simultaneously, he injected four stimulants into his neck, where they would take effect the fastest. After doing this, he listened for any movement from the dark race and threw several origin grenades. Two went towards the direction of the attack, while the rest landed in the most densely packed area of the opposing force.
The violent explosions caused the dark warriors to fall and their mounts to scatter. Even a jungle spider-servant was blasted into the air. In the chaos, those dodging the attack collided with those rushing to capture the enemy, causing half the formation to collapse into disarray.
An explosion occurred in the direction from which the shot that attacked Qian Ye had come, but no one was seen. Instead, a figure emerged from the other side, lowering his sniper rifle, with a grim expression, “Damn it!”
Though the origin grenades had not harmed him, his field of vision was now filled with blood, flames, and chaotic origin currents. Qian Ye’s presence and aura had vanished without a trace.
He leapt up, traversing the matrix at an incredible speed, bypassing the chaotic group ahead, and reaching Qian Ye’s last known location in an instant. But all he saw was a dense fog, with no sign of life. Just then, a shadow flickered at the corner of his eye, giving him an eerie sense of familiarity.
He whirled around, only to see the figure calmly weaving through the chaos, with the nearby dark warriors showing no reaction, before disappearing again.
Instinctively recognizing the figure as his target, he raised his gun, aiming swiftly. However, the scope caught nothing but a faint trail of origin energy, which quickly dissipated in the turbulent environment.
He resisted the urge to fire blindly, releasing his finger from the trigger and slowly lowering the rifle. Beneath his hood was a face as handsome as any vampire, belonging to the demonkin count who had briefly crossed paths with Qian Ye in a previous war.
“You can’t escape,” Aidan muttered, looking down at his gun. It was a highly stylized demonkin sniper rifle, both eerie and elegant, with intricate origin arrays embedded in its two-meter-long body. Some components were incredibly valuable, not to mention the entire weapon.
Staring at his beloved gun, Aidan’s eyes took on a strange gleam, “You’re still alive after that? Who exactly are you?”
Aidan’s seventh-tier sniper rifle, named “Hymn of Shadows,” was a well-known weapon in the Abyss of Darkness. With a history spanning over a thousand years, it was adjusted by demonkin masters each time it changed hands. Its power even surpassed Zhao Jundu’s Azure Sky.
Aidan could fully harness its might only after ascending to the rank of Count. The first shot should have instantly killed any human warrior below the thirteenth or fourteenth rank, yet not only did the target survive, but he also had the strength to counterattack and flee. This level of defense even surpassed Aidan’s own.
Regaining his composure, Aidan raised his right hand high, and in a moment, several hazy figures appeared around him.
“Go, kill him,” Aidan ordered succinctly. The figures bowed and retreated, disappearing into the pervasive fog of the forest.
Aidan did not follow. He surveyed his surroundings, scrutinizing every detail, and then approached a clearing where Qian Ye had spewed a mouthful of blood.
The purple matrix on the ground surged and bubbled violently, as if boiling. Aidan had seen this many times and knew the corrosive and devouring nature of the purple matrix. Blood on it would be consumed within a few breaths. The boiling indicated that the blood contained a rich amount of origin energy, reflecting Qian Ye’s strength but also the severity of his injury.
Just as Aidan was about to leave, something caught his attention, and he paused, staring at the churning purple matrix, his eyes widening!
The matrix continued to undulate, growing more intense, expanding to a few meters in radius. Even if Qian Ye was severely injured, how could one mouthful of blood spread so far? Moreover, in the center, where the matrix boiled most fiercely, it began to sink, revealing the soil beneath.
The matrix was not consuming; it was being eroded and dissolved!
Aidan was shocked. The Eternal Night faction, especially the demonkin nobles, had studied the Misty Forest extensively. The possible reasons for this phenomenon were limited, the most likely being that Qian Ye’s blood contained an even more potent corrosive force than the matrix.
Yet, despite understanding the principle, Aidan found it hard to believe. The Abyss of Darkness, where he came from, specialized in corrosive and toxic powers, and he was one of the best. Yet, his corrosion was not as strong as the purple matrix. How could a human achieve this?
Another possibility was that the origin energy in Qian Ye’s blood was of such a high grade that the matrix could not consume it, only resist and exhaust it. The wide area of bubbling indicated that it would take multiple times, or even ten times, the matrix to neutralize Qian Ye’s blood.
In that case, wasn’t this guy a genius of the Empire?
Aidan’s eyes flashed with a dark flame. If that was the case, he could not let the target escape. He didn’t rush to pursue, instead pacing a few steps and shouting, “Guard!”
A faint shadow appeared nearby, bowing, “Your orders?”
“I recall this is Li Family’s territory. Contact that person and have him eliminate the target. Tell him that if this is done well, he can have everything he wants.”
The shadow bowed respectfully and disappeared into the mist.
Aidan looked up at the sky, exhaling softly, “Dying at the hands of one’s own is not a fitting end for a warrior. So… please die at my hands.”
Dozens of kilometers away, Qian Ye ran at full speed, constantly changing his route. Faint figures would appear around him, launching swift, gray-lighted strikes at his vital points. These figures seemed to materialize out of thin air, with no discernible pattern, but their attacks were swift and deadly, making Qian Ye’s evasion extremely difficult. Every so often, he would get hit.
Another shadow appeared behind Qian Ye, driving its gray light toward his back wound. This attack was vicious, and Qian Ye barely managed to parry it with his blood-drinking blade, deflecting the strike to his waist.
The gray light revealed itself as a short, unremarkable sword. Yet, this very sword had cut through the coiled dragon, leaving a wound on Qian Ye. Though the cut was only finger-length, it signified that the attacker had the capability to injure him.
Despite his injuries, Qian Ye managed to keep pace, though he couldn’t underestimate these pursuers.
After a short sprint, a glint flashed in Qian Ye’s eyes, and he abruptly stopped!
The shadows reacted swiftly, forming a circle around him. The sudden halt broke their invisibility, revealing their forms.
“Four of them?” Qian Ye’s gaze swept the area, taking in the situation.
Without hesitation, the four shadows lunged, their gray swords targeting Qian Ye’s vital points. Qian Ye grabbed his East Mountain sword, roared, and swung it thrice with both hands.
Secure the Eight Directions!
More accurately, the three swings now only secured three directions, but the East Mountain’s power made the shadows feel as if mountains were pressing down on them, rendering them immobile.
The three strikes divided the three shadows into six pieces. The fourth, having avoided the frontal attack, finally got an opening, stabbing Qian Ye in the waist. Qian Ye did not dodge, allowing the sword to pierce his body. The sword, sharp and driven with full force, penetrated the coiled dragon and deeply into his flesh.
However, the coiled dragon, a treasure prepared for his protection, had formidable defense. The shadow’s sword could go no further, and it was momentarily stuck.
Qian Ye grabbed the shadow, pulling it close, and held the East Mountain to its throat, severing its head with a slight press. He kicked the decapitated corpse away, wary of any final counterattacks.
The battle was over in a blink, with the four shadows lying dead.
Qian Ye, too, was not unscathed. After catching his breath, he gripped the hilt of the short sword, grunted, and pulled it out. A stream of dark blood gushed from the wound. Qian Ye let the gray bleed out, turning it to bright red, before closing the wound to stop the bleeding.
The blurry corpses on the ground gradually became clearer. Qian Ye was taken aback. Even among the dark races, this was rare. Regardless of how powerful a race, their concealment and transformation abilities would fade upon death, revealing their true forms.
These shadows, however, whether killed by the Secure the Eight Directions or decapitated, retained their form, indicating their extraordinary strength.
Bending down to examine, Qian Ye confirmed that the remaining dark origin was demonic, meaning the four shadows were demonkin. They bore no insignia, but their coordinated attack suggested they were from the same family.
Clearly trained for assassination, these shadows were skilled in pursuit, assassination, and coordinated attacks. While Qian Ye had eliminated them, he had paid a heavy price, nearly depleting his origin energy and using almost all his resources, including the new coiled dragon, which was now in a semi-destroyed state.
And there was still a more dangerous pursuer on his tail, likely not far behind.
Before Qian Ye could think further, he felt the ground trembling beneath him. Suddenly, he remembered something, cursing inwardly. Looking up, he saw several massive trees shaking, their bark bulging as beasts inside prepared to burst out.
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