Chapter 120: The Struggle for Dominance

A smile appeared at the corner of Carol’s mouth as she asked, “Why not in time?”

“Once my blood is injected, it won’t be so easy to erase. In the Neutral Zone, there may be no one capable of repairing this engine.”

“Isn’t it better for you? We had an agreement.”

“Aren’t you tempted by the Hall of Heroes?”

“I have little interest in it. Otherwise, I would have already established my own power long ago.”

Qian Ye just looked at Carol quietly.

Carol avoided Qian Ye’s gaze, chuckled self-mockingly, and said, “Alright, I admit, I was stunned and quite intrigued when I came here. But when I tried to approach the heart, I felt a fatal danger. I guess that’s the will of someone who doesn’t want me to touch the Hall of Heroes.”

Unexpectedly honest, Qian Ye nodded, then cut his wrist with Dongyue, letting the blood flow into the engine. The engine’s hum grew louder, and Qian Ye’s consciousness connected with it, gradually extending to every part of the Hall of Heroes. Wherever the silver threads from the silver heart reached, Qian Ye’s awareness could extend to.

It was a strange feeling, as if he had become a drake. Only the drake’s body was too damaged, feeling unusually heavy.

But this sensation only lasted for a moment, and Qian Ye soon felt tired. The drake’s body was too strong, and even with the engine’s control, it was too much of a burden for Qian Ye now.

The engine revved faster, the silver heart began to glow, and the entire mountain space vibrated, with stones and soil shaking off. At this moment, the drake’s heart was regaining vitality, and the Hall of Heroes was awakening from its slumber for the first time.

At the peak of the Absolute Peak, the mountains began to shake, with cracks appearing on the slopes and rapidly expanding. Large chunks of earth and rock started sliding down, resembling a natural disaster. The entire mountain seemed to collapse, and suddenly, a giant beast burst out, flying up into the sky, hovering quietly.

Only then did the Hall of Heroes reveal its true form. From afar, it looked like a giant beast that had lost most of its flesh, leaving only a complete skeleton. Internally, it was over a thousand meters long, but externally, including the head and tail, it was nearly three thousand meters long!

Only a small part of its flesh remained, forming the ship’s belly, while the rest was a hollow skeleton, through which one could easily see outside. The drake’s flesh was controlled by the silver threads emitted from the heart, covered with a layer of rock. This was a unique ability of the void drakes, to control earth and stone. The thick rock covering the flesh served as natural armor.

Just the sheer size, and just to lift it into the air, required an enormous and terrifying amount of power. Even if it were only a skeleton, fully powering a battleship would only make it hover, and not for long.

Qian Ye had already released his control over the Hall of Heroes. Simply starting it and making it float left him slightly dizzy.

At this moment, the Hall of Heroes was still just a framework, lacking even a full shell, relying solely on the innate abilities of the void drake to float and fly. Fortunately, the void drake could naturally form a defensive field around its body, resisting the cold and turbulent air at high altitudes. Although crude, the tall spines pointing to the sky silently proclaimed the void drake’s former might.

Qian Ye flew around the drake-ship, roughly planning the future layout of the Hall of Heroes. The short wings of the drake, spread out, made perfect weapon platforms. The row of spine-like protrusions could serve as natural masts, hanging power sails. The drake’s skull was the strongest, suitable for mounting the main cannon and serving as a control room to protect the crucial personnel. As a preliminary project, Polestar King had already set up a control room there.

As for other uses, Qian Ye had no ideas yet. The Hall of Heroes was simply too large, large enough to fit a mother ship inside.

“Where are you going now?”

Before Qian Ye could answer, he felt the ship shudder, with primordial force storms arising, causing the Hall of Heroes to sway slightly.

Standing at the edge of the ship, Qian Ye looked down and saw the layers of space enveloping the Absolute Peak collapsing, with the distant giant spatial gate slowly crumbling. The Path of Inquiry was destroyed, cutting off the path to and from the drake labyrinth. From now on, this place truly became an isolated island.

However, with the Hall of Heroes, Qian Ye could travel freely. Severing the connection to the underground labyrinth made it safer.

In the midst of the primordial force storm, two figures suddenly flew out, breaking through the force field around the Hall of Heroes and rushing into the ship. They saw each other and froze. Qian Ye was also surprised, not expecting that Qingyue and Claudia, under such harsh conditions, were still alive and seemingly well.

When Qingyue and Claudia saw each other, their eyes immediately filled with murderous intent, but neither acted immediately. Instead, they quickly observed their surroundings, their gazes falling on the huge silver heart and the attached engine.

Anyone could tell that was a critical spot, and both Qingyue and Claudia seemed to know it well. They simultaneously lunged toward the drake’s heart. As Qingyue attacked, a large-caliber primordial force gun appeared in her sleeve, aimed at Qian Ye’s head. Claudia, meanwhile, shot a dagger at Qian Ye’s waist.

Both seemed to share the same thought, both equally ruthless. If Qian Ye didn’t dodge to claim dominance, they clearly didn’t mind eliminating him in the process.

Qingyue’s shot was perfectly timed, forcing Qian Ye to lean back, avoiding the bullet but slowing him down. Qingyue instantly passed him, heading for the drake’s heart.

Qian Ye deflected Claudia’s dagger with his right hand, but this allowed her to overtake him.

Seeing the two women charge at the drake’s heart, Qian Ye showed no concern, instead smirking coldly.

Polestar King’s setup on the drake’s heart had not been activated yet. It was meant for adversaries like Wei Lao and Carol, but using it on these two would likely be overkill.

As Qingyue neared the heart, her hair suddenly stood on end, and she screamed, turning and running back, even faster than before. Claudia, moving slower, saw Qingyue’s reaction and stopped without hesitation. She felt a sense of impending doom, her face turning pale, and she turned to run as well.

Their keen instincts surprised Qian Ye. Carol detecting Polestar King’s setup wasn’t surprising, but for them to sense lethal danger at the last moment showed impressive talent.

However, while they escaped one peril, they couldn’t avoid the next. Qian Ye held Dongyue horizontally, blocking their path, asking with a half-smile, “Where do you plan to go?”

“Get out of the way!” Claudia’s face darkened as she shouted sternly.

“Impossible,” Qian Ye laughed.

Qingyue glanced at Claudia, moving closer to her, and asked Qian Ye, “What do you want?”

Qian Ye laughed, saying, “I’d like to ask, what do you want?”

Qingyue’s face darkened, “So, you’re determined to take our drake-ship?”

Qian Ye smirked, “Your drake-ship? What part of it belongs to you?”

Qingyue snarled, “My ancestors were among the first to enter the drake nest. They discovered this place, so the drake-ship naturally belongs to us!”

“Does everything your ancestors saw belong to you? Moreover, many people found the drake nest, and your ancestor was just one of the mercenary followers.”

Qingyue’s face darkened, and she said coldly, “Are you determined to make enemies of us Gaohu in the Neutral Zone?”

Qian Ye’s face darkened as well, angered by her insolence, and replied, “And what if I am?”

“Do you think you can handle us?”

“Us?” Qian Ye looked at Claudia. If he remembered correctly, these two women had been mortal enemies not long ago. Now they were “us”?

Claudia’s expression was unchanged, saying, “Of course, us. We’ll deal with you first, then discuss how to divide the drake-ship.”

Qian Ye finally sighed, saying, “You don’t even know the origin of this Hall of Heroes and dare to say such things? You really have no shame.”

Claudia said indifferently, “This is the Neutral Zone. There’s no shame or honor here; if you want something, you take it. If you can’t, it’s because you lack the ability.”

“Indeed, if you can’t, it’s because you lack the ability,” Qian Ye said.

Claudia found Qian Ye’s calmness odd, almost unnatural. Just then, her gaze shifted, and she saw Carol standing nearby.

Carol stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a rib of the drake, watching them with amusement. She had been there all along, motionless. When she completely concealed her aura, she seemed to vanish, and neither Claudia nor Qingyue noticed her.

Even for a god general, this wasn’t easy. Claudia’s face turned grim as she realized she had underestimated Carol.

Claudia’s mind raced, and she said, “Lady Carol, I never expected to see you here. This is great! Please, kill this boy, and the drake-ship will be ours.”

Carol smiled faintly, saying, “It’s not ours, it’s yours, the Moonlight White Devils, right?”

Claudia said, “If Lady Carol would give up the drake-ship, we would naturally compensate you. For true powerhouses, the drake-ship isn’t very useful, is it?”