As the Dawn Force slowly receded, Qian Ye finally put away his Eye of Truth. A few meters away, Boto’s right shoulder was almost entirely obliterated, with only a thin layer of skin connecting his arm to his torso, and the wound was still seeping with the brilliant white-hot Ebon Silver.
In an instant, Qian Ye pounced and thrust his blade into Boto’s heart!
The Spider Duke roared in agony, desperately lashing out at Qian Ye’s back with his remaining good left hand. However, Qian Ye did not dodge but instead bore all the attacks, focusing all his power on drawing blood through the Crimson Fang.
Boto’s heavy punches quickly weakened, and his massive body crumpled to the ground, motionless.
Only then did the vision of the remaining Dark Warriors gradually return to normal, but what they saw was Boto’s corpse.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat tense. Boto was dead, but it was clear that Qian Ye was also severely injured and had used his most powerful moves, the Ebon Silver Sun Bullet and the Desolate Slash.
Although these Spiders did not know what Qian Ye’s two devastating moves were, they knew that a technique capable of severely injuring a first-rank Viscount could not be used repeatedly.
Now, if they rushed him together, paying a certain price, they might be able to kill this intruding human on the spot.
Qian Ye knew this, but he remained calm. In front of the Spider warriors, he leisurely took out a full box of Demon-Breaking Ebon Silver Bullets, loaded two into Twin Blossoms, and everyone could clearly see that there were still eight bullets left in the box.
The Spiders were momentarily stunned. Demon-Breaking Ebon Silver Bullets were something they frequently encountered, and many had been hit by them. The experience was far from pleasant; although Spiders were naturally large, even one bullet was unlikely to be fatal, but it could easily leave permanent, disabling scars.
Given Qian Ye’s ruthless and lethal display, the Spider warriors knew that the first few to charge would surely die. With so many bullets in Qian Ye’s possession, at least half of the Spiders present would have to perish to bring him down.
Qian Ye spun Twin Blossoms around in his hand, looking at the hesitant Spider warriors, and sneered, “Who wants to try first? Let’s see if your waists can take a shot!”
The Spiders were instantly alarmed. Before fully transforming into their humanoid forms, the waist and ribs, where the upper body meets the spider abdomen, were a weak point. If struck by Ebon Silver, it would leave permanent damage, drastically reducing their mobility and combat strength.
In the dark realm, where strength was paramount and hierarchy was strict, a decline in combat power meant a fall in status, and often, the latter happened faster. For many Spider warriors, this was a worse fate than death.
“Don’t listen to his lies, humans are the most cunning!” a Spider Baron shouted.
With a deafening boom, Qian Ye pulled the trigger without hesitation. The Spider Baron let out a pained roar, blood spurted from his waist, revealing a bowl-sized wound, continuously emitting smoke.
One shot heavily injured the Spider Baron, instantly shocking the rest of the Spiders. Then, Qian Ye produced another box of Demon-Breaking Ebon Silver Bullets, and said indifferently, “I have plenty of these, enough for each of you.”
The Spider warriors finally showed fear. The strongest among them, a Baro, whispered, “This must be someone from a major human family. We should retreat!”
While Spiders enjoyed slaughter, they were not stupid. The Spiders from the Evernight were country bumpkins compared to the elite families of the Empire. Now that Boto was dead, the key was how to divide the benefits back in their territory. Being severely injured now would mean missing out on their share of the spoils.
Seeing the Spider warriors retreat, Qian Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected to escape such a dire situation so easily, and felt quite lucky. Originally, he had planned to take more injuries to break through.
Qian Ye retrieved Boto’s Spider Crystal and, no longer wishing to fight, sped towards Silver Stream Bay.
Silver Stream Bay had not yet been affected by the bloodshed and remained peaceful. Qian Ye rested briefly, treated his wounds, and continued on, driving his bike across the vast wilderness, heading back to Black Current City.
Black Current City was much as it had been when Qian Ye left, the atmosphere somewhat tense but still calm. The city now had many more adventurers, mercenaries, and warriors, mostly attracted by the generous rewards for military achievements, willing to risk their lives for a chance at wealth. If they were lucky, they might earn enough to live comfortably for life after the war.
At the beginning of the Iron Curtain, many people fled, but now, the number arriving in Black Current City exceeded those who had left. The bloodshed had just begun, and having a supply base like Black Current City was invaluable.
Adventurers and mercenaries were no simple folk, but few dared to cause trouble in the city. They were keen-eyed and had noticed that the number of soldiers in Black Current City far exceeded other cities. Reinforcements from nearby units had arrived, and the total number of Dark Flame troops was half again as many as a regular independent division.
Moreover, the patrolling Dark Flame soldiers were as well-equipped as the main imperial legions. Only the most reckless would dare to cause trouble in such circumstances.
Nobles and their squads passed through, and upon learning that the Dark Flame commander was none other than Duke Youguo’s granddaughter, Zhao Yuying, they were surprised and restrained their arrogance.
Returning to Black Current, Qian Ye summoned the high-ranking Dark Flame officers to inquire about recent developments. Everything was in order. In terms of defense, three of the four fortress cannons had been upgraded, and the fourth was halfway complete. It would be ready in three days. Once all four cannons were upgraded, the city’s defenses would reach a new level, at least matching the border cities of the Empire.
After hearing the report, Qian Ye was somewhat relieved. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling outside, and, looking out the window, he saw several heavy battle vehicles leading a convoy of armored trucks, filled with soldiers, moving out of the camp.
“What’s going on?” Qian Ye asked.
In the bloodshed, with many powerful individuals involved, regular armies without a strong leader were of little use, essentially sent to their deaths. Like Qian Ye infiltrating the Black Nest and slaughtering all the guards.
Song Hu explained, “The convoy sent by the Seventh Young Master is approaching Three Rivers County. This unit is going to escort them.”
“Are the supplies coming?”
“Yes, this shipment includes components for the fortress walls and a small power tower. These are very important, and the Seventh Young Master has sent his strongest forces to guard them. But inside the Iron Curtain, anything can happen, so I decided to send the heavy unit to meet them.”
Qian Ye nodded. At this critical moment, Song Zining had given him a pleasant surprise. He had thought the supplies would take months, but they had been delivered swiftly. Clearly, Song Zining had pulled some strings to make it happen.
Since there was nothing urgent in Black Current City, Qian Ye found some time to drive a off-road vehicle alone to the capital of Three Rivers County to submit his military achievements.
The capital of Three Rivers County was bustling, with craftsmen busy on the walls, and new gun turrets rising. The city gates were wide open, and people flowed in and out day and night.
The Imperial Military had set up a point here to tally military achievements, making the city a gathering place for hunting teams from surrounding battlefields, with over ten thousand mercenaries and adventurers gathered.
Weaker Dark Race squads, unless crazy, kept their distance from this area.
When Qian Ye drove his off-road vehicle to the city, he saw a chaotic scene at the gate. People entering and leaving were in disarray, refusing to yield, shouting and fighting. The expeditionary forces standing by merely watched, laughing and pointing, with no intention of intervening.
Such chaos blocked Qian Ye in the crowd, and his vehicle couldn’t move for a while.
Qian Ye, with a cold expression, jumped out of the car and forced his way through the crowd to the source of the conflict. The clash was between a group of mercenaries and a noble squad. From their emblem, it was clear the so-called nobles were just lesser gentry, with mediocre combat strength. Their equipment was neat but unremarkable.
The gentry squad shouted loudly, flaunting their titles and clan names, as if they held them. But in the Evernight, only major families from other continents wielded influence; small clans or gentry had no sway and were less useful than the local officers.
Mercenaries and adventurers, known for their boldness, feared nothing. If they got into trouble, they could hide in the wilderness or start anew in another city. The gentry squad, at best, matched the mercenaries in strength, and could not overpower them.
The groups had progressed from shouting to fighting, and it wouldn’t be long before they drew weapons.
The onlookers grew, and the congestion worsened. Qian Ye, with no time to waste, barked, “Fight somewhere else, don’t block the way!”
Qian Ye’s voice was not loud, but everyone heard it, and their hearts raced, feeling a heavy pressure in their chests.
The mercenaries, knowing who to avoid, recoiled, noticing the expeditionary force emblem on Qian Ye. They retreated, fearing a high-ranking officer.
But the gentry squad, undeterred, pursued the retreating mercenaries, fists and kicks flying, not letting up.
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