Chapter 35: Comrades in Arms

Qian Ye did not rush to climb to the treetop for a look. Instead, he drew out Dongyue, channeling origin power into it. Immediately, a faint crimson light shimmered along the edge of the sword, and the silver patterns on its body also glowed faintly.

After adding Tian Shui Heavy Silver and Hair Shadow Crystal, Dongyue’s power had increased significantly, far surpassing that of an ordinary seventh-level weapon. Though the strange tree’s trunk was hard, it was merely on par with armored vehicle steel, no match for Dongyue’s cutting edge. With a slight exertion, Qian Ye had already cut a deep gash in the tree.

The tree shuddered, as if moaning in grief, and the layers of purplish-black matrix around its roots rippled, swiftly receding. This scene appeared incredibly eerie, as if the tree and the purplish-black matrix covering the vast forest were alive.

However, under his True Sight, Qian Ye saw that it was the disrupted flow of origin power inside the tree after the cut that caused this phenomenon. The tree’s root system spread widely, and the origin power fluctuations traveling through the roots created the ripples in the matrix.

A milky white sap oozed from the crack, emitting a faint, pleasant aroma. As soon as it flowed out, wisps of origin power radiated from it. Qian Ye dipped a finger into the sap and tasted it.

Indeed, it was Origin Liquid!

However, the origin power attributes in this natural Origin Liquid were closer to void origin power, situated between the Evernight and Daybreak realms, leaning slightly more towards the dark side. Compared to the Origin Liquid in the Zhao family’s bone-washing pool, this natural Origin Liquid required additional components and a series of purification processes to remove the dark origin power, making it suitable for Daybreak cultivators.

Yet, even so, it was still astonishing. As one of the top imperial clans, the Zhao family needed two to three months to prepare a pool of Origin Liquid. By this calculation, a single bizarre tree could produce Origin Liquid worth thousands of gold coins, and how many such trees were there in this vast forest? Thousands, or even tens of thousands? This forest alone was worth a local war for the empire.

Qian Ye felt a sense of awe. This was just a small part of this landmass; there must be even more treasures hidden in the unknown regions.

No wonder both the Evernight Council and the empire were eager to conquer and explore new continents. Every time a visionary patriarch emerged among the great clans, they would choose to expand their territories, despite the high risks and inevitable sacrifices.

New territories meant more resources, and more resources meant faster development. Only in this way could humans gain more living space and survive in this world favored by darkness.

At this moment, Qian Ye suddenly noticed that the shockwave, which had been spreading far and wide, disappeared at a certain point.

Someone!

Qian Ye immediately activated his True Sight and looked in the direction of the disturbance. He saw a figure flicker and then vanish.

The person moved extremely fast, and even Qian Ye couldn’t catch any further traces. He promptly lifted Dongyue, suppressed his aura, and walked step by step toward where the figure had disappeared.

The figure never reappeared, as if it had a new objective and had left the area.

As he approached the spot where the figure had vanished, Qian Ye suddenly caught a strong whiff of blood. He quickened his pace, moving like the wind over the purplish-black matrix without causing any disturbance.

Rounding a tree, Qian Ye froze.

Behind the tree lay several corpses, all wearing Zhao family attire. Qian Ye’s heart sank. He scanned the surroundings before approaching the scene.

He recognized most of these Zhao family experts, who were elite warriors and the best of those sent by the Zhao family to explore. Yet, they had died here before even reaching the core area.

Qian Ye’s expression changed, and his heart felt as if it had plunged into icy water. Composing himself, he didn’t immediately examine the bodies but instead reactivated his True Sight to scan the ground and trees around him.

There were surprisingly few signs of combat left at the scene, and there was no trace of Azure Sky or Purple Qi of the West. This meant that Zhao Jundu was not with them.

Qian Ye let out a breath, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly. He crouched down and turned over a face-down corpse. His expression darkened further.

Not only had he seen this person before, but he had met him under the Iron Curtain. When Qian Ye returned to the Iron Curtain, he had saved a Zhao family team that was in dire straits. This person, as a war general, had the opportunity to escape alone but chose to fight to the death, holding off several times his number of enemies until Qian Ye arrived.

Because of this deed, the person received recognition from the main family and was chosen for special cultivation.

Ironically, he had survived the dual threats under the Iron Curtain but fell in this strange forest. Young as he was, all his dreams had now dissipated.

Qian Ye’s heart felt heavy, as if bearing a great weight. Under the Iron Curtain, brutal battles honed a group of elite warriors and made comrades easier to recognize. Nothing tested a person’s character better than repeated brushes with death. Although they had spent little time together, Qian Ye regarded those Zhao family warriors who fought alongside him as comrades-in-arms.

Comrade, a word heavier than friend.

Qian Ye reached out and touched the body, unfastening the armor to examine the wounds. There was only one fatal injury: a fine, smooth cut on the neck. This blow was swift and precise, severing the cervical vertebrae and killing him instantly.

It seemed this warrior, Zhao Shizhong, had encountered an overpowering foe. But the problem was that the strike was too easy, giving Zhao Shizhong no chance to resist, resulting in such a wound.

Qian Ye knew very well about his combat strength. Within the range of a Dark Viscount or Earl, unless someone like Zhao Jundu, with an ability similar to the Eightfold Town’s domain, dealt the blow, Zhao Shizhong could not have been killed so easily.

Qian Ye himself could have killed Zhao Shizhong instantly, but he wouldn’t have produced such a clean wound, nor would he have done it without any struggle. Could these Zhao family warriors have encountered a high-ranking noble, such as a Dark Marquis?

Qian Ye extended a finger and pressed it against the throat of the corpse, moving it downward while continuously sending wisps of origin power into Zhao Shizhong’s body. When he reached the chest, he felt an unusual response from the returning origin power. Pressing lightly, the skin at that spot sank and formed a pit.

This pit was larger and deeper than what would form on a normal corpse, indicating that not only had the muscles lost elasticity, but the sternum was also concaved. Qian Ye hadn’t used much force, certainly not enough to depress the sternum. Clearly, for some reason, the corpse’s sternum had become unusually fragile.

Qian Ye pondered for a moment and gritted his teeth, “Sorry, brother!”

He drew his military knife and cut open the corpse’s chest to examine the internal organs. The opened chest revealed that the organs were utterly destroyed, some even turning into a shapeless mass of flesh.

Clearly, Zhao Shizhong had suffered a mysterious attack, with no external wounds but his internal organs almost completely destroyed, rendering him unable to resist. That final blow had only severed his last chance to struggle, as all life had ended the moment his organs were ruined.

As a War General, origin defense had no blind spots, only varying degrees of strength. But what kind of attack could penetrate a twelfth-level War General’s origin defense and directly destroy the internal organs?

Qian Ye’s heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition washed over him. He thought of his Eye Art: Control, which possessed a similar ability.

Eye Art: Control could bypass origin defense and directly affect the opponent’s internal organs. However, Qian Ye had tried it, and the destructive power was insufficient to destroy the core organs. In the past, he used this ability to create openings, thus controlling the rhythm of the battle.

But the person who killed Zhao Shizhong had, under the defense of a Zhao family elite, directly destroyed most of his internal organs. This level of lethality far exceeded Control.

Qian Ye exhaled deeply, feeling a lingering unease. He examined the other corpses, finding one with the same cause of death. The lower-ranking warriors’ internal organs were mostly intact, but they were killed from the outside by a clearly powerful opponent.

These corpses, bleeding and lying there, had already triggered a reaction from the matrix. The matrix, like loose soil, absorbed the blood. Saturated with blood, the matrix writhed, gradually piling up and creeping over the corpses. It wouldn’t be long before the matrix would cover the bodies entirely.

Frowning, Qian Ye felt uncomfortable at the sight, recalling his eerie encounter in the Black Forest. He suspected the strange matrix might also consume flesh as nourishment. He slashed the matrix, moved all the bodies to one place, sprinkled fuel, and set them on fire. He preferred to let his former comrades turn to ashes in the flames rather than be consumed by the matrix.

Standing by the fire, Qian Ye watched the flames rise. The matrix seemed to fear the fire, retreating. The parts affected by the flames also ignited, though not intensely.

After a while, Qian Ye headed deeper into the forest, following the direction where the mysterious figure had vanished. He no longer cared to explore the secrets of the bizarre trees; he wanted to track down the person connected to the deaths of the Zhao family warriors.

After walking a few dozen meters, Qian Ye glanced back. The towering flames had become very blurry. Walking a few more dozen meters, he could no longer see the burning flames without using True Sight. This showed how much the forest suppressed perception.

Qian Ye had lit the flames with the intention of luring the enemy. His vision was far greater than average, allowing him to spot anyone approaching and launch a fatal attack. However, it seemed ineffective, as even if he set an entire tree ablaze, only people within a hundred meters would likely see it.

Qian Ye moved through the forest at a steady pace, always alert to his surroundings.

Hundreds of meters away, a pair of eyes watched him through a specialized scope. In the scope, the bat-wing-shaped crosshairs followed Qian Ye’s head.

However, no gunfire sounded from the forest as Qian Ye walked out of the scope’s view.

On the spherical crown of a distant tree, Nighteye lay, her presence seamlessly blending with the surroundings. She cradled a beautifully crafted sniper rifle, silently observing the world through the scope.

Only after Qian Ye had gone a long way did she slowly rise, disassembling and stowing the sniper rifle.

Next to her, the scenery blurred and distorted, revealing a demonkin figure with a vertical eye on his forehead, emitting a dim green light. He cast a puzzled glance at Nighteye and asked in a low voice, “Did you find nothing? I sensed an abnormal origin power fluctuation in that direction.”

“If you have doubts, you can check it yourself,” Nighteye replied in her usual cold tone.

The demonkin frowned and said, “Your Highness, I mean no disrespect. Although I have the Eye of Piercing Shadows, I am still inferior to Your Highness. Therefore, my role is to assist and protect you.”

Nighteye remained indifferent and said, “Let’s move to the next location.”