Chapter 220: A Fairly Decent Victory

Beneath the Black Sun, Duke Brox was in a perilous situation. He struggled to resist the sun’s gravitational pull, barely managing to not be dragged in.

Within the Black Sun’s range, the duke’s flagship began to distort, on the verge of collapsing into the center of the Black Sun. Such power would surely doom Qian Ye, who was in the heart of the Black Sun.

At this moment, the Black Sun suddenly shrank, and a hazy darkness enveloped it entirely.

Duke Brox, hesitating whether to retreat further, could hardly believe his eyes. In that darkness, he saw the primordial scenes of the world’s birth.

Qian Ye and Duke Brox simultaneously saw the emerging world within the darkness.

The Black Sun leapt into this nascent world and exploded, releasing a terrifying force akin to the origin of darkness. However, the erupting energy did not destroy the world of the Black Tome but instead accelerated its evolution.

In an instant, the world went through the entire process from birth to expansion to infinity. Next, the scene that the inhabitants of this world were familiar with appeared: landmasses coalesced, a near-ground protective layer emerged, and various species began to thrive and grow on the land.

Among the landmasses, the demonkin, blood kin, werewolves, and spider demons appeared. Though their appearances were significantly different from the present, they could still be recognized. Some others, however, clearly did not belong to the current mainstream races of the Eternal Night world.

Duke Brox grew excited, exclaiming, “What are those? The Three Holy Clans? This is what they should look like!”

Qian Ye was also absorbed in watching the evolution of the Black Tome’s world. When the Demon Emperor’s power struck, the Black Tome expanded, absorbing all the demonic energy from the crystal and releasing the evolving world. This time, the Flourishing Chapter revealed more detailed and richer details.

Hearing Duke Brox’s words, Qian Ye felt a twinge and immediately tried to retract the Black Tome. Fortunately, it complied without any anomalies, returning obediently to his body.

To this day, Qian Ye still did not fully understand the true purpose of the Black Tome. Initially, it was just a container for origo, and recently, it had helped him comprehend the flow of origo in the Eternal Night world, allowing him to use the skills of a duke while still at the marquis stage.

However, Duke Brox’s reaction was subtle, indirectly confirming that the Black Tome’s evolving world was not mere illusion. The creatures Qian Ye had never seen might be the three races rumored to have vanished from the Holy Mountain. Qian Ye found Duke Brox’s excitement unusually intense, but the Black Tome was now his core and heart, crucially important and not to be left out for study.

After stowing away the Black Tome, Qian Ye summoned another origo bomb and hurled it at Duke Brox.

This time, Duke Brox showed no intention of intercepting. Instead, he let out a long howl, ordering the ship to retreat, and launched himself into the sky, escaping the explosion and flying away swiftly.

In a flash, Qian Ye found himself outside the ship in the void, observing Duke Brox’s departure. He was stunned—Duke Brox was actually fleeing the battlefield?

Duke Brox’s abandonment of the ship was understandable. With Qian Ye infiltrating the core of the ship and using a damaging combat style, the power area would eventually be destroyed. If the stalemate persisted, the ship would end up as scrap metal, making it better to find a new battlefield.

As for the demonkin dukes, most had exhausted their demonic energy in the flagship battle and needed time to recover. They couldn’t be relied upon to face the Hall of Valor.

But if Duke Brox and the four dukes retreated to the rear, waiting for reinforcements, they would cause some trouble for Qian Ye. Now, Duke Brox had completely abandoned his comrades and thousands of elite warriors, fleeing alone.

Recalling the events, Qian Ye didn’t think he had dealt a heavy blow to Duke Brox. Could one of the origo bombs have been particularly powerful? He shook his head, dismissing the unrealistic thought.

Suddenly, Qian Ye sensed something and turned, seeing Ye Qingzhu appear on the slowly descending deck of the duke’s flagship. She gazed in the direction Duke Brox had fled, lamenting, “He ran quite fast.”

Qian Ye realized that Duke Brox must have sensed Ye Qingzhu approaching and feared being surrounded, thus retreating instantly.

The descending flagship then exploded with a thunderous roar, a strong surge of demonic energy rising. Qian Ye and Ye Qingzhu looked over, but saw no figures in the demonic energy. Amidst the explosion, four faint shadows flickered, like bolts of lightning, heading in four directions.

Those were the four demonkin dukes on the ship. Qian Ye hesitated but decided not to pursue. Even for him, killing a duke was extremely difficult, especially when they were determined to flee.

Ye Qingzhu remained motionless, seemingly taken aback. Seeing her, Qian Ye understood that she was still in a weakened state, her imposing demeanor merely a facade. Otherwise, Duke Brox shouldn’t have sensed her approach before Qian Ye, given her latent bloodline.

With Duke Brox’s escape, the four dukes followed, and the heavily damaged flagship finally gave way, burning as it fell to the ground. Many survivors flew out, seeking survival. Warriors and crew members without flight abilities also jumped, screaming as they fell. They preferred death by impact to being burned alive.

Losing aerial control, the demonkin ground forces halted their offensive and began to withdraw. Qian Ye seized the opportunity, commanding the Hall of Valor to descend and attack, driving the demonkin forces back.

The demonkin air fleet commander was exceptionally valiant, leading the floating warships under the Hall of Valor’s bombardment, desperately retrieving the ground forces. After losing nearly half their ships and transport vessels, they managed to save the elite soldiers and hastily retreated. Those left behind had to fend for themselves.

Qian Ye maneuvered the Hall of Valor to the edge of the continent, blocking the remaining council forces’ retreat. On the other side, the blood kin commander wasted no time, advancing and forcing the stranded forces to surrender.

A decent victory.

The blood kin casualties numbered only a few hundred, seemingly minor. But those brought to Dawn were the direct descendants of several clans, whose bloodlines were more precious than their strength. As Howard counted the casualties, his expression grew somber, each death paining him deeply.

If all the blood kin brought to Dawn perished, the ancient clans of Cardon, Larkin, and Vanza would be wiped out, along with their marks in the Blood River. These clans, having gone a long time without a progenitor and with their blood pools and most family bloodlines destroyed, had little hope for revival among the common bloodkin branches in the Fortress Continent.

The demonkin losses were far more severe.

Though Duke Brox and the four dukes escaped, they lost two-thirds of their thousand-strong elite force. The air fleet managed to escape with only a fraction of their ships, and several transport vessels were also destroyed. The loss of the duke’s flagship would take years to replace.

This battle demonstrated that Duke Brox had underestimated Qian Ye, Ye Qingzhu, and the Hall of Valor. Bringing four dukes as subordinates and wielding the Wall of Sighs, he managed to hold his own against the Hall of Valor, which was impressive. Among the duke-class ships, he had few rivals.

However, the Hall of Valor’s power exceeded expectations, forcing Duke Brox to repeatedly activate the Wall of Sighs and perform high-magic maneuvers, depleting the dukes’ energy. In the critical ship battle, they could offer no support.

No one anticipated Ye Qingzhu’s single strike piercing the ship’s shield and armor, allowing Qian Ye to enter the ship unscathed. Throughout the aerial battle, nearly every key event deviated, making Duke Brox’s defeat inevitable.

The first victory brought some joy to Howard’s face. Yet, he knew it was just the beginning. Duke Brox represented the demonkin vanguard, or the council’s main force. If the Dark Overlords appeared, these blood kin descendants might not survive.

However, no one mentioned this possibility.

After defeating the demonkin advance, Howard directed the blood kin to clean the battlefield. Several downed floating warships provided valuable resources.

Over ten thousand captured demonkin and spider demon warriors were put to work. With supplies and labor, the blood kin’s defensive base would be repaired within a day or two.

On the Twilight Continent, the Sparker Clan’s core territory, like many other places, had banners of the Council at key locations, but the Flame Crown flag was rehung above the Magma Castle.

Hubis’s large desk was almost a mountain of books, with volumes stacked everywhere. These documents varied in form, from thick, hardbound books to scrolls in long, crystal or jade boxes, and numerous handmade, unstandardized items.

All these documents shared the appearance of great antiquity, especially the loose scrolls, whose aged surfaces made one handle them with care.

Hubis leaned against the desk, eyes closed, seemingly dozing.

The Demon Emperor sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, reading a book and occasionally glancing at the sunset. The book in his hand, clearly of blood kin style, had ornate covers and edges, with bindings that changed color in the setting sun. It was entirely handmade, even the text was transcribed by a renowned scribe.

Having read a chapter, the Demon Emperor sighed contentedly, saying, “This book is truly well-written…” He turned to the desk, smiling, “Lord Hubis, you seem more relaxed here!”

Hubis, neither pretending to sleep nor opening his eyes, replied coolly, “Your Majesty, with your myriad responsibilities, even this manifestation might delay much after a few days.”

“Seeing these ancient books and documents makes it worthwhile.”

“Thank you, for entrusting these handwritten, unique manuscripts to me, preserving them from the fires of war.”

The Demon Emperor lowered his head, flipping another page, “Precious texts and rare resources deserve reverence. This book seems to show me the arduous endeavors of the ancient blood kin progenitors, each a legend in their own right.”

“The book in your hand is from Cartel of the Mowei Clan, a revered poet who never broke the baron rank. His understanding of bloodline talents and the war’s participants remains shallow. The book’s value lies in two points: one, it records many battles truthfully; two, the calligraphy.”

“Truth is enough. I seek the truth of the ancient times.” The Demon Emperor glanced at the mountain of books, “Even poetic records are intriguing. I may stay longer.”

Hubis said, “I trust you will keep your promise, and I will remain here during the holy war, not stepping outside the castle.”

The Demon Emperor smiled, “I trust you, though I now doubt myself somewhat.”

Hubis slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the Demon Emperor. Given his status, such words were not simply about breaking a promise.

The sunset’s glow filtered through the opposite window, casting a golden light between them.

After a moment, Hubis said calmly, “Regardless, I am grateful for your permission to return here. The clan castle is the root for every blood kin bearing the name. If we fall in battle, our souls will return to the Holy River, but our bodies will wish to be buried in our homeland.”

The Demon Emperor’s gaze softened, “About Lin, I regret it, but I will not apologize.”

“Making you regret it is harder than an apology,” Hubis said, a hint of irony in his voice. With Metatron’s memories, he understood that a self-made dark saint was not one to hesitate.

The Demon Emperor said, “Hubis, haven’t you noticed? I still haven’t escaped his influence.”

Hubis, startled, blurted, “How could the art of destiny affect a Saint Mountain!”

The Demon Emperor sighed softly, “Saint Mountain? Hah…”

Hubis’s blood core trembled. He recalled an old incident. Back then, the Queen of the Night, deep in the void, fought the Celestial Ghost, unable to return in time, leading to a loss in the lower Eternal Night. No one suspected the interference of the Great Qin Empire, so deeply was the Queen’s might ingrained in their hearts.

“So, Your Majesty, what is your decision? To remove the source of your unease?”

The Demon Emperor smiled bitterly, not answering.

At that moment, Hubis sensed something and looked out the window. A demonkin warship appeared on the horizon, speeding towards the castle, slowing down only as it approached.

Before it landed, a figure shot out, circling briefly in the air, detecting a thread of the Demon Emperor’s deliberately released aura, and flew towards them. Impatient, he entered through the window, appearing before the Demon Emperor.