Chapter 124: The Battle of Wills

Qian Ye finally learned the source of the golden stone, and as he thought about the two holy trees in the Hall of Heroes, he couldn’t help but consider capturing a six-armed creature alive.

However, he quickly dismissed this idea. Even the weakest of the six-armed creatures were Glorious Marquises, equivalent to human Divine Generals. Such powerful beings were easy to kill but far more difficult to capture alive, let alone tame.

At that moment, the six-armed creature took out another piece of stone, poured its blood over it, and submerged it in the pond. After absorbing enough tree sap, it began to hammer the stone, apparently intending to forge a stone knife.

But this time, things did not go smoothly. The six-armed creature grew visibly impatient, submerging the stone in the pond again. It then looked up at the holy tree, selecting a branch and snapping it off.

As the branch broke, Qian Ye suddenly felt a dull pain, and his consciousness involuntarily expanded, enhancing his connection with the holy tree, even merging into its awareness.

The holy tree emitted mournful cries, as if it could hardly bear the pain of the broken branch.

Qian Ye then realized that the holy tree could feel pain too.

But at that moment, within the holy tree’s consciousness, Qian Ye suddenly touched a cold, slippery, and malevolent presence. In his mind, an image of a white flesh ball instantly appeared.

This was the central hub of the beast nest, something Qian Ye had seen in multiple forests. He had destroyed some but left most intact, keeping them under constant patrol and observation.

This was the first time he encountered it on a mental level. As soon as he touched the will of the nest’s central hub, the six-armed creature suddenly became alert, looking around cautiously.

Without hesitation, Qian Ye immediately took out Long Zang and fired a shot without adjusting the origin power ratio, using the stored energy!

Long Zang’s power was so formidable that even Suosa could barely resist. The six-armed creature, being the lowest-level entity, stood no chance. Just as it turned its head, the origin bullet struck its forehead, causing its entire head to explode. It wobbled a few times before falling to the ground.

After slaying the six-armed creature, the entire forest’s army of beasts began to stir, crawling out from the soil and searching for the intruder.

Qian Ye narrowed his eyes. To confirm his hypothesis, he didn’t reveal himself but instead tried to connect to the nest’s central hub through the holy tree’s will once more.

In an instant, a cold, arrow-like will pierced toward Qian Ye’s soul. Qian Ye sneered inwardly, and the ancient aura, deeply rooted in his blood core, surged forth, meeting the will of the nest’s central hub.

The cold, willful arrow shattered upon contact with the ancient aura, and a mournful wail echoed from deep underground. Qian Ye clearly felt the will of the nest’s central hub withdraw from the holy tree’s consciousness, retreating like a tide into the depths.

A battle of wills and souls was like a game of card comparison, where the higher the will, the better. With each ascension, Qian Ye connected to the Blood River and received new inheritances, making his backing immensely strong. He paid no heed to a small, undeveloped nest’s central hub.

With the nest’s central hub defeated, the beasts lost their command and fell into chaos. Some scrambled around the forest, while others retreated back into the soil, continuing their slumber.

Knowing the location of the nest’s central hub, Qian Ye easily found the entrance to the underground lair. The nest’s central hub, sensing its impending doom, drove waves of beasts to stop Qian Ye despite its pain.

However, Qian Ye feared nothing more than a group fight. Sword in hand, he cut down several beasts with each flash of his blade. The entire process flowed seamlessly, without wasting any effort.

Even the fiercest beasts fell to Qian Ye’s seemingly effortless strikes. The impossibly heavy Dongyue felt as light as a willow leaf in his hands.

Occasionally, when he reached a wide area where beasts gathered, Qian Ye unleashed the Dawnfield, instantly suppressing all the beasts. Then, with the Vitality Seizure, hundreds of beasts became corpses.

Qian Ye originally had no interest in the vital blood of these beasts. The new world’s beast vital blood was filled with strange impurities, containing powerful origin power but unusable. Even after repeated refining with the Song Clan’s ancient scroll, the results were limited, making it less valuable than ordinary ferocious beasts, yet requiring many times more time and effort.

Thus, during large-scale hunts, Qian Ye would directly store the seized vital blood in the Black Tome, planning to find a suitable opportunity to use it later.

But after this vitality seizure, Qian Ye suddenly felt a slight loosening in the strange origin power locked in the beast vital blood. His heart stirred, and he flipped another page in the Black Tome, storing the vital blood.

After this wave of beasts was eliminated, no other large-scale beast armies appeared. As Qian Ye continued deeper, only small groups of beasts attempted to block his path, and they were growing weaker. Some were even covered in egg whites, obviously just hatched in haste.

Qian Ye didn’t need to do much; dragging Dongyue forward, its weight alone was enough to crush the beasts underfoot. Not long after, he reached the chamber where the nest’s central hub resided.

This nest’s central hub was clearly new, only about the size of a person, and the chamber was modest, far from the grand underground lake-like chambers of the four sacred tree forests Qian Ye had seen.

Seeing Qian Ye, the nest still radiated a cold, hostile aura, showing no signs of submission.

Seeing its stubbornness, Qian Ye sneered and, with a swing of Dongyue, split the central hub in half. Blood flames engulfed it, reducing it to ashes. Qian Ye already had live central hubs for study, and he didn’t need another basic one.

With the central hub gone, the beast nest ceased to function, and the remaining beast eggs would never hatch. Qian Ye planned to clear and transport these eggs, as the Imperial Research Institute offered a high price for them, trading them for Holy Tree potions.

Qian Ye decided to stay for a day to ensure the remaining beasts were cleared, then proceed to the next forest.

Returning to the Hall of Heroes, Qian Ye added another mark to his map. The forests formed an arc, pointing to the gates of the Mosaar Wolfmen.

Qian Ye carefully planned his expansion route, aiming to suppress the Mosaar Wolfmen’s territory without getting too close to the gate, to avoid giving Suosa too much leeway. After confronting the Dark Monarch, he understood the power disparity and needed to be cautious in calculating the situation.

After a week, having taken two more forests, the Hall of Heroes began its return voyage. The troops that had first boarded the ship needed rest and replenishment, and those fresh from the training grounds would take their place.

The City of Emerald Waves was now much livelier, with the slums being torn down and replaced by new buildings blending human and wolfman styles. The city was filled with unfamiliar faces, and provocatively dressed women, both human and wolfman, were everywhere.

Whether human or wolfman mercenaries, their first priority during leave was wine and women. This massive demand not only lifted the wolfmen out of poverty but also attracted wolfwomen from across the Emerald Sea. Human mercenaries favored wolfwomen, while human women from Zheng Kingdom were the favorites of wolf chieftains and priests.

In just a few months, the City of Emerald Waves, located on the shore of the Emerald Sea, had transformed completely. It now housed nearly a million wolfmen, far surpassing the former capital, Stormwind, in prosperity.

Qian Ye put down the map and stepped out onto the balcony, overlooking the Duke’s Mansion’s square and the distant Emerald Sea, a breathtaking view.

With the current war, the square had been converted into a docking field for airships, the only place in the city capable of accommodating large airships.

At the edge of the square, several boxes were stacked. Despite their small number, they were guarded by hundreds of elite warriors, along with two chieftains and a priest. These three wolfmen, all Count-level, showed no laxity.

Qian Ye was pleased. The wolfmen truly regarded him as the Dark Son, their hearts and minds fully devoted, working diligently and fearless in battle—indeed, there were no better subjects.

From his perspective, there seemed to be no difference between humans and wolfmen, and sometimes, he found the wolfmen more obedient and endearing.

The boxes, though small and unremarkable, were transported by the fastest and most advanced escort ship in Qian Ye’s fleet, with a Marquis-level protector always on board. The tight security was due to their immense value.

The boxes contained the sap of the sacred trees from the new world. Qian Ye now controlled dozens of forests, but a week’s production amounted to just these few boxes.

To maintain the forests, Qian Ye couldn’t extract too much sap, and this amount was just right. Usually, he would send a shipload of sap weekly, returning with potions and military supplies. The fastest escort ship was reserved for the sap, while bulk military supplies were organized by the clans themselves.

Looking at the somewhat empty square, Qian Ye felt something was missing. He frowned, seeing a general running toward the Duke’s Mansion, a sense of unease creeping in.

This general had followed Qian Ye since the Darkfire era, known for his steady demeanor. Thus, Qian Ye entrusted him with logistics. His current urgency suggested a troublesome issue.

Qian Ye returned to his study and waited. Soon, a knock came, and the general entered. His first words were, “My lord, the latest batch of potions has not arrived!”

“Explain. What’s the reason?”

“The Empire has stopped shipping.”

“Show me the manifest.”

The general, prepared, presented the receipt and shipping records. Qian Ye glanced at them, his face darkening, “Not counting this unshipped batch of sap, we have already sent three batches to the Empire, and they stopped shipping a week ago?”

The general replied, “There was a delay, possibly due to unforeseen circumstances. I did not dare speculate and asked the clan’s scions, confirming that the Empire has indeed stopped shipping.”