Within the body of that fierce beast, weighing only a few hundred kilograms, there was far more blood than in an ordinary land creature. The blood flowed continuously into Qian Ye’s stomach, absorbed by his body in a Blood Boil state, filling him with abundant blood energy, which then merged into his blood core, pulsing out tendrils of flaming gold blood.
In a flash, Qian Ye could no longer draw any more blood, and it was only at this point that his intense bloodthirst was somewhat sated.
Qian Ye threw aside the now-dried carcass of the beast. The primal, savage act of draining its blood had helped to release some of his pent-up frustration. After a moment of stunned silence, he quietly re-examined his injuries.
In the Blood Boil state, his body’s healing speed increased several times, even dozens of times over. At the site of the terrible cut on his chest, new flesh buds were growing rapidly, and the wound had already closed by more than half. Qian Ye found a roll of bandages from Andlya’s space and wrapped the injury securely, moving his arm slightly to ensure that it would not impede his movements.
Inside his body, the remnants of black titanium and the flaming gold blood had largely canceled each other out, and they had lost their flow. The remaining portions, though stubborn, still existed and needed to be slowly eliminated, but it was only a matter of time.
As a price, all of Qian Ye’s blood energy had been completely consumed. But in this perilous underground world, there were numerous sources to replenish his essence. Qian Ye also noticed that the Book of Evernight and the Wings of Origin seemed to have gradually gained a kind of spirituality. When faced with danger, they would control the absorption of dark origin power, and just now, they did not compete with the blood core for blood energy. All he needed to do was to eliminate a few more packs of beasts, and his blood energy would be fully restored.
While examining his body, Qian Ye suddenly noticed the Wings of Origin. This renowned gun, said to possess its own soul and capable of continuous growth, was now slowly flapping. The two formed feathers were detailed and vivid, as if they were real.
Soon, Qian Ye finished tending to his wounds, put on his armor, and placed his various equipment in the most convenient positions before leaving the temporary stone chamber.
The labyrinthine caves within the mountain were like an enormous maze, with enemies possibly appearing from any direction at any moment. Even geniuses like Aiden, who possessed the Eye of the Underworld, had long since abandoned their arrogance, exploring with a sense of awe and reverence.
At this moment, they were exploring inside a vertebra left behind by a colossal void beast, which had fallen many years ago. Just one bone was so massive; the complete skeleton would surely exceed the visual limits of a single person. This void beast, when alive, might have been as vast as a floating landmass—what a magnificent existence it must have been.
And the will of the giant beast, even after all these years, could still suppress countless strong beings. If the void beast was compared to a mammoth, then the people of both factions were not even ants. Perhaps, if everyone were combined, they might barely make up one ant leg.
The true face of this world, revealed only in a corner, was so astonishing. The numerous brilliant geniuses of the two factions, having once aspired to, strived for, and even dreamed of or worshipped certain powers, now realized that in the presence of this fallen void beast, all of those powers were nothing.
Aiden’s mood was like that of a new recruit. When he first stepped onto the battlefield, he was just as cautious and full of uncertainty as he was now.
Suddenly, a shadow flashed at the end of the passage. But when he used the Eye of the Underworld to look, there was nothing there.
Aiden made a gesture to Nighteye behind him, lowering his voice. “Wait for my signal. Once I mark the target, shoot it down, whatever it is!”
However, what Aiden received was not Nighteye’s response, but the cold barrel of a sniper rifle. The gun in Nighteye’s hand was almost touching the back of Aiden’s head, and the trigger was halfway pulled. Any slight tremor in her hand would result in a shot being fired.
At such close range, and at such a vital spot, regardless of what kind of origin bullet Nighteye had loaded, even if it wasn’t a physical bullet, it could still take Aiden down with one shot.
“What are you doing?!” Aiden’s back stiffened, utterly surprised.
“From now on, don’t try to command me. Do it again, and I’ll kill you!” Nighteye said word by word, her killing intent unmasked, making it clear to Aiden that she was not joking.
Aiden was completely bewildered, trying to explain, “This isn’t a command, but cooperation! Since we entered the Beast’s Slumber, haven’t we always cooperated like this? Only by leveraging each other’s strengths can we go further. Don’t forget, there are not only Empire’s strong ones here, but also the Sky Devil’s clone!”
“Don’t try to command me,” Nighteye repeated.
“Alright, alright, I understand,” Aiden raised his hands, responding with a bitter smile. He knew Nighteye’s temperament well. This girl, often lost in deep thought, was actually very stubborn. If she said something twice, there was no room for change.
Nighteye slowly lowered her sniper rifle.
The two continued on, and Aiden, somewhat annoyed, kicked the cave wall, muttering, “How are we supposed to fight this battle?”
Nighteye ignored him.
As time passed, the strong from all sides gradually penetrated deeper into the mountain. The deeper they went, the higher the likelihood of the two factions meeting, and the more formidable the local natives and beasts became.
Outside the Beast’s Slumber, both the Evernight and the Empire were continuously dispatching more forces.
Most of the people entering the Beast’s Slumber were strong ones gathered from all over, or those who were temporarily unable to leave due to prior engagements. Although both factions had deployed heavy troops, they maintained a stalemate, with minor skirmishes occurring daily, but no large-scale battles.
Until the Sky Devil’s clone was destroyed and the ancient essence was acquired, the final decisive battle would not commence.
In the center of the Evernight Parliament-controlled front, a grand castle was built along the mountain range. Originally, the construction period should have taken at least six months, but it was completed in less than half a month, indicating the use of many high-ranking warriors in the construction.
In the eyes of the tens of thousands of dark warriors on the entire front, participating in the construction of the castle was a great honor. This building was dedicated to the Grand General of the Spider Demons, Roxas, and the King of Shadows, Metatron, and served as their residence.
Including the mountain height, the main tower of the castle stood hundreds of meters above the Beast’s Slumber. In the large living room on the top floor of the main tower, Roxas and Metatron stood side by side, gazing at the Beast’s Slumber through the large windows.
In fact, whether it was the Beast’s Slumber or the hundreds of kilometers of the dark front line, it was far beyond the visual range of ordinary people. However, the power of these two overlords was so terrifying that everything was within their sight, including the Empire’s defense lines.
Of course, Zhang Boqian, who was stationed on the Evernight battlefield, could also see the dark front line.
In the center of the Empire’s front line, there was an area completely shrouded in a misty white fog, invisible even to the two dark overlords. If one looked long enough, in the depths of the smoky white, a point of light could be seen, a brilliance that neither Roxas nor Metatron wished to gaze upon directly.
At the center of that white fog was where Zhang Boqian was located. Only the power of a human sovereign could block the gaze of the dark overlords. The glaring light of dawn that Roxas and Metatron saw was the source of Zhang Boqian’s origin power, the foundation of his ascension to the status of a sovereign.
The Evernight faction had tried every means to learn about the battle situation when Zhang Boqian ascended to the rank of a sovereign, hoping to infer his combat strength, but they had yet to succeed. Yet, as the two dark overlords gazed from afar, they personally witnessed the grade of the dawn origin power of the Empire’s youngest current sovereign, a light that even they found blinding.
The hall at the top of the castle, where the two overlords stood, was over a thousand square meters in size and over ten meters high, exuding a sense of spatial beauty. Except for the two overlords, there was no one else in the hall. The nearest ones were the two Marquises guarding the entrance.
Even a slight overflow of the overlords’ power would cause a strong vibration in the surrounding space. When they stood together, their powers interwove, causing severe distortions in the space. Those below the rank of Marquis could not even approach.
Compared to the King of Shadows, the Grand General of the Spider Demons, Roxas, appeared much shorter, standing a whole head lower than Metatron. His face was refined and scholarly, like a scholar who spent all day reading in the royal library, showing none of the cruel and ferocious nature of the Spider Demons.
They gazed at the Empire’s front line, and Roxas broke the silence first: “The Empire has sent in another reinforced regiment, and four floating warships for logistics have not returned.”
Metatron mused, “With this, the humans are no longer at a disadvantage in the crucial aspect of floating warships. Though they may still have some ground force and strong ones, they are at a disadvantage.”
Roxas sneered, “Disadvantage? Maybe in terms of strong ones, but in terms of ground forces, I don’t think they are at a disadvantage. On paper, our numbers are indeed superior, but is that thirty percent advantage really as significant as it looks? Don’t forget, there are young talents like Song Zining among them, and the humans’ advantage has always been in their formation warfare. Moreover, during large battles, their various units are always coordinated and unified. What about us? We may have more numbers, but how many tribes can obey orders and cooperate?”
Facing Roxas’s accusation, Metatron, who was nominally the highest commander of the Evernight side, laughed lowly, “You are absolutely right! I also believe it is necessary to centralize command. How about this: starting tomorrow, the Dark Hunters will be integrated into the Wind Striders, under the unified command of the Wind Striders. What do you think?”
Roxas’s expression changed slightly. The Dark Hunters were one of the most elite special forces of the Spider Demons, with few numbers but extremely strong individual combat power, and they had adaptability to all terrains. They were one of the few aces in Roxas’s hand.
Apart from Roxas himself, there were no more than ten individuals in the entire Spider Demon race who had the authority to mobilize this unit. Now, Metatron was going to take away the command of the Dark Hunters with a single word, hitting Roxas’s sore spot.
Roxas snorted heavily, “The Wind Striders are just an ordinary legion, hardly elite. What qualification do they have to command the Dark Hunters? It should be the other way around! I think the Wind Striders should be assigned to the Fifth Legion.”
Metatron turned and looked down at Roxas, revealing a sinister smile. “Then how about this: let the Wind Striders and the Dark Hunters fight in a closed battlefield. Whoever wins will command, how about that?”
Roxas’s eyes flashed with sharp light as he stared straight at Metatron, saying word by word, “Respected King of Shadows, are you trying to provoke a war with the Spider Demons at this moment?”
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