The four-armed warriors were focused solely on killing Qian Ye, utterly indifferent to the casualties among the two-armed people. Seeing Qian Ye dodge several attacks, a few of the four-armed warriors grew increasingly agitated, shouting out commands and directing the two-armed people around them to swarm and box him in, compressing his space for movement.
Qian Ye knew that the two-armed people and the four-armed warriors were not from the same echelon, but he had never expected that the four-armed warriors could actually force the two-armed people to throw themselves into such a death trap. The two-armed people were also intelligent beings, many with human or dark race blood, and they should have instinctively resisted such suicidal orders.
In the eyes of many two-armed people, Qian Ye saw fear and struggle. They hesitated, reluctant to close in, as getting too close to Qian Ye meant death. But as the four-armed warriors roared their commands, a strange yellow hue soon clouded their eyes, like a veil of yellow mist covering their irises, leaving no trace of any emotion. Then, devoid of reason, they charged at Qian Ye with ferocious roars.
Qian Ye realized that it was the four-armed warriors driving them, and he sneered inwardly. Before the two-armed people could encircle him, he forced his way through the crowd, appearing before one of the shouting four-armed warriors. With a single swing of Dongyue, he severed the warrior’s legs.
The four-armed warrior screamed and fell, writhing in pain, his four arms flailing wildly. The heavy weapons around him created a death zone, smashing the nearby two-armed people into bloody pulp.
Qian Ye only maimed them because he wanted to turn these severely injured and disabled four-armed warriors into natural obstacles. Otherwise, even a hundred thousand two-armed people, let alone a mere ten thousand, could bury him alive.
But there was more than one four-armed warrior barking orders. Oddly, despite dozens of four-armed warriors issuing commands simultaneously, the two-armed people did not descend into chaos. They continued to surge towards Qian Ye, as if under the command of a single leader.
Qian Ye found this peculiar. He speculated that perhaps the commands issued by the four-armed warriors were simple, like “Attack!” and required no thought, so it didn’t matter how many of them gave the orders.
As the number of four-armed warriors increased, Qian Ye cut down several, dodging continuously, but his situation remained dire. Glancing around, he noted the positions of all the four-armed warriors, and a plan formed in his mind. If they thought they could corner and kill him with the two-armed people, they were sorely mistaken.
The four-armed warriors were extremely tall, with the strongest reaching up to ten meters, and the weakest at least three or four meters. Among the two-meter-tall two-armed people, they stood out like towering fortresses. The two-armed people could form a ground obstacle, but they couldn’t cover the sky.
With a thought, Qian Ye leaped into the air, soaring over several dozen meters, landing on the head of a four-armed warrior. Dongyue forcefully knocked away the warrior’s weapon, and with a twist, he decapitated him.
After the strike, Qian Ye immediately leaped again, touching a tree trunk mid-air, and then pounced on another four-armed warrior, claiming another victim.
Qian Ye flew through the air, slashing seven four-armed warriors in quick succession, clearing the area around him. Though the two-armed people still swarmed below, they posed no threat.
At that moment, an unexpected change occurred.
The surrounding four-armed warriors all drew longbows from their backs, nocking arrows. In an instant, countless arrows whistled through the air, heading straight for Qian Ye!
Seeing the faint green light on the arrows, Qian Ye’s eyes narrowed. These were tracking arrows!
Qian Ye dived toward a giant tree, spiraling around its trunk, ascending higher and higher.
The tracking arrows followed, circling the ancient tree, rapidly closing the distance.
In moments, Qian Ye reached the treetop. Here, the tree trunk was much thinner, offering little cover. Although most of the arrows hit the trunk, about ten still pursued him.
Qian Ye, a prodigy even by the standards of the twelve ancient bloodline clans, capable of surpassing the genius Edward, far exceeded Edward in speed and agility. Yet, even with all his might, he couldn’t shake off the tracking arrows. The archery skills of the natives of the Great Maelstrom were truly astonishing, surpassing even those of the Empire.
With no way to go up, Qian Ye plunged downward, crashing into the mass of two-armed people, instantly turning them into a bloody mess and sending dozens flying.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—several tracking arrows almost brushed against Qian Ye, plunging deep into the ground, leaving only their feathered ends visible. In their sharp turns, their accuracy was slightly off, missing Qian Ye for the most part.
But Qian Ye still grunted, an arrow piercing his shoulder and another lodging in his thigh.
The arrow in his thigh went deep, while the one in his shoulder was embedded in his scapula, failing to penetrate further.
Qian Ye’s face turned pale, and he yanked out both arrows. They had ordinary arrowheads, without serrated barbs, but they bore strange blue stripes, indicating they were laced with poison. Qian Ye felt a slight numbness, a sign of poisoning, but a turn of the Blood Flame burned away all the toxins.
Qian Ye felt a small sense of relief. The natives probably thought the poison was enough, and did not need to refine the arrowheads. Such meticulous work was too time-consuming for the natives, who spent their days busy reproducing and nights in deep sleep to resist the cold, barren night. Coating the arrows with poison was much more efficient.
Moreover, the poison that made even Qian Ye feel uncomfortable would be lethal to any beast elsewhere. Even a powerful demon like Adan would need significant effort to detoxify. In the midst of being surrounded, even a slight delay meant certain death.
Out of the numerous tracking arrows, only ten managed to reach the end, and only two hit, which was lucky. From another angle, if every arrow could follow to the end, these four-armed warriors would not be just ordinary fighters, but each would be near the rank of a Divine General.
The two-armed people closed in again, and Qian Ye dared not fly, as it would make him an easy target. He dashed into the crowd, using the crudest method to protect himself.
Qian Ye’s movements became minimal and precise, incapacitating his opponents without killing them unless necessary, preferring to inflict non-lethal injuries. This wasn’t out of mercy, but to conserve every bit of energy for the upcoming crisis or opportunity.
The Book of Evernight could convert blood essence, but even at its fastest, it couldn’t keep up with the energy expenditure of a full-fledged battle. And while physical strength and blood qi could be replenished, origin power could not, and it was slowly depleting.
In the Great Maelstrom, most races adapted to high gravity, making their bodies extremely sturdy, a perfect counter to Qian Ye’s vortex powers. The effectiveness of his domain was limited, and life stealing couldn’t be used casually. Many of his trump cards were now useless, leaving only the Origin Gun. But that was reserved for the ultimate crisis, and he couldn’t use it lightly.
In a blink, dusk fell.
Covered in blood, Qian Ye had killed nearly a hundred four-armed warriors and an untold number of two-armed people. His body felt increasingly heavy, and his movements sluggish. At this point, his blood qi and origin power were nearly depleted.
“Is there no escape?” Qian Ye sighed inwardly. He had never expected to die, not in the front lines against the dark races, nor in the internal struggles of the Empire, but in the human wave tactics of the natives of the Great Maelstrom. It was somewhat frustrating.
The six-armed giant stubbornly refused to enter the forest and was now a considerable distance from Qian Ye. With his remaining strength, Qian Ye couldn’t even attempt a void flash to take the giant down with him.
Night fell, and the forest grew darker. But darkness was no hindrance to Qian Ye, whose dark vision, inherited from the ancient bloodline, was far superior to that of the four-armed and two-armed people, some of whom had dim vision.
With the pressure slightly reduced, Qian Ye, who had been pondering an escape, decided to break through toward the Pool of All Lives.
At night, even if there was no frigid, lifeless night, all living beings would instinctively choose to sleep, pausing even reproduction.
The monstrous beasts in the Pool of All Lives were likely the same. In their drowsiness, they probably wouldn’t notice a mosquito buzzing around them, as long as it didn’t provoke them.
Qian Ye gambled that at night, the underwater beasts would be less vigilant and would dismiss Qian Ye’s presence at the edge of the pool.
When night fully descended, Qian Ye finally broke through the encirclement, reaching the boundary between the forest and the pool.
The distant six-armed giant suddenly grew agitated, roaring and commanding the two-armed people and four-armed warriors to intensify their attack. Unable to resist, the giant tried to enter the forest, toppling several trees. Despite the damage, it persisted in its advance.
This indicated that the six-armed giant feared something in the Pool of All Lives, and it instinctively didn’t want Qian Ye to get close.
The more the enemy didn’t want him to do something, the more he should do it. This was usually a good strategy. Qian Ye resolutely stepped across the boundary.
Upon crossing, a low, angry growl echoed above the Pool of All Lives, and a wave of desire washed over Qian Ye, slamming into him and the two-armed people and four-armed warriors who had followed. Even those who hadn’t crossed the boundary but were close felt its wrath. The creature in the water was clearly venting its anger.
The wave struck, and Qian Ye felt a momentary daze, quickly suppressed by the Dawn’s Light origin power, restoring his clarity.
Around him, the two-armed people and four-armed warriors had fallen, behaving like rutting beasts, desperately mating. They clearly could produce offspring and had no resistance to the wave of desire.
Qian Ye was pleased. The wave of desire was weaker than during the day, suggesting the aquatic beast was also sleeping, merely going through the motions. But even this minimal effort was enough to stop Qian Ye’s pursuers, who were far beyond their limits.
Qian Ye continued toward the Pool of All Lives, but before starting, he glanced in a distant direction. There, he sensed an unusual commotion, with the natives besieging someone.
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