“Make him stop!” The woman, brimming with excitement, climbed the steel frame of the vehicle and leapt onto the roof, shouting at Qian Ye. At the same time, she fired a burst from her assault rifle into the sky.
Qian Ye’s expression turned cold. He had no intention of paying attention to these scavenger vultures. Ignoring the woman’s provocations, he accelerated his motorcycle, the engine roaring in a mesmerizing melody as it sped off into the distance.
Sha She commanded the off-road vehicle to make a sharp turn, chasing after him, while simultaneously pulling out a large-caliber sniper rifle and aiming at Qian Ye’s back, firing a powerful shot. This was a gunpowder sniper rifle, but it packed a formidable punch; a solid hit would instantly kill an ordinary soldier. Sha She was out for Qian Ye’s blood!
Qian Ye wasn’t looking for trouble, but that didn’t mean he would tolerate someone trying to kill him. He pushed the handlebar, cranking the power to its maximum. The motorcycle transformed from docile to fierce, the engine roaring as it drew a wide arc, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The front of the motorcycle now faced the rapidly approaching off-road vehicle.
Sometime between, Qian Ye had acquired another sniper rifle. Holding it one-handed, the long, icy barrel aimed at the off-road vehicle, the patterns on the gun body lighting up swiftly.
The woman on the roof, with keen eyes and broad experience, immediately recognized the gun. “Eagle Strike! That’s an Eagle Strike, turn around! Turn around quickly!”
“No! Keep going, suppress them with firepower!” Sha She roared, and the off-road vehicle suddenly accelerated, charging towards Qian Ye like a wild horse breaking free.
Qian Ye’s right hand, holding the gun, was as steady as a rock. He pulled the trigger.
The unique sound of the Eagle Strike echoed across the wilderness. The entire windshield of the off-road vehicle shattered into countless glittering fragments. Sha She, sitting in the passenger seat, vanished in an instant, leaving behind a headless corpse.
The woman screamed hysterically, and the driver, startled, instinctively yanked the steering wheel. The off-road vehicle spun out of control on the wilderness.
The Eagle Strike roared again, and the engine of the off-road vehicle exploded. The remaining occupants were flung into the air, only to be cut down by the scorching metal shards, slicing through their bodies like hot knives through butter.
Qian Ye remained calmly seated on his motorcycle, one-handedly holding the Eagle Strike, his face serene, not a flicker in his eyes. The muzzle slowly lifted, pointing at the other two off-road vehicles. They sharply turned and desperately sped away.
Qian Ye had no interest in chasing them. He waved his hand, storing the Eagle Strike in Anduia’s mysterious space, then made a large U-turn, continuing in his predetermined direction.
Sha She had made a fatal mistake. He assumed that a sniper rifle as powerful as the Eagle Strike required a proper shooting stance. Qian Ye, holding the rifle one-handed, if he dared to pull the trigger, would not only injure himself but also surely miss the fast-moving off-road vehicle. Thus, he ordered the vehicle to speed up, hoping to close the gap before the opponent could dismount and aim.
In Sha She’s mind, the wielder of the Eagle Strike must be a sniper. Even if some snipers were skilled in close combat, they couldn’t possibly surpass the scavenger vultures roaming the wilderness. Moreover, the opponent was alone. However, there were always exceptions. Sha She never imagined that for Qian Ye, the Eagle Strike was already a weapon he could use single-handedly.
Qian Ye still carried the Eagle Strike because he was extremely familiar with it. With his current strength, not only could he use it one-handed, but he could also fire over a dozen consecutive shots without effort. Against weaker enemies, the Eagle Strike was more practical than a level-five sniper rifle.
During his journey, Qian Ye encountered several groups of dark race warriors. In comparison, these dark races had much sharper instincts. Sensing the dangerous aura and the oppressive pressure from the difference in rank emanating from Qian Ye, they all kept their distance.
Upon entering the border of the Dark Realm, Qian Ye got off his motorcycle and stored the massive vehicle in Anduia’s mysterious space, filling the limited space to the brim.
Qian Ye donned light armor for better mobility, took out the Twin Flowers and the Crimson Fang, and set off into the mountains, heading towards the first dark race settlement marked on the map.
According to intelligence, this settlement housed dozens of spider demons and hundreds of servant spiders. Observing from a kilometer away, Qian Ye confirmed the situation and marked the map with the symbol “Spider 3” before heading to the next location.
The next settlement was a regional transportation hub, so it was quite sizable, housing various dark races, even including a few demon kin. Qian Ye was more cautious this time, ascending a small hill a kilometer away and using his extraordinary vision to observe the general layout of the settlement from that distance.
This place housed over a thousand dark folk, qualifying as a small town. After observing, Qian Ye marked the map with the symbol “Mixed 6.”
This was the Empire’s standard method of notation. The prefix represented the main race of the settlement, while the number indicated its level. Dark race cities were categorized based on size, defense, and guarding forces, with higher numbers indicating greater strength.
For example, the main stronghold of the Blood Race on the Twilight Continent was a mighty city of Level 20. As for the location of the Dark Parliament, no one knew, as no human had ever set foot there.
Thus, Qian Ye continued to advance, covering hundreds of kilometers in just one day and night, scouting over a dozen settlements. Most were small fortresses of Level 3 or below, with only two towns and one viscount’s castle.
All the scouted locations, combined, possessed the strength of a full Imperial main division. But these forces were scattered, and if the attack was swift enough, they could be taken down one by one. The four viscounts were a nuisance, but with Zhao Yuying’s appearance, Qian Ye felt confident in defeating them individually.
However, the ultimate and greatest obstacle lay in the Fjord. If Qian Ye wanted to build a city there, he would directly confront the wrath of a Spider Demon Baron. The Fjord was less than a hundred kilometers from the baron’s territory, almost right at his doorstep. A war was almost inevitable.
Still, Qian Ye chose this spot because, within a radius of several hundred kilometers, the baron was the weakest.
His rank was the lowest among the barons, and having lived for several hundred years, he was nearing the end of his lifespan. His strength was gradually waning, reportedly not much stronger than Brams. Most importantly, his clan lacked a strong successor.
Qian Ye planned to infiltrate the Spider Demon Baron’s territory, scout thoroughly, and then return to Heilu City. With his current strength, he could easily take on any organized dark race patrol. However, his primary goal was to gather and verify intelligence, so despite his internal essence being depleted, he resisted the urge to act.
On the third day, the magnificent and beautiful fjord came into view. The emerald waters were clear as a flawless green gem, with granite peaks ready for construction. Beyond the fjord lay the Spider Demon Baron’s territory.
At this moment, Qian Ye sensed something, quickly leaping onto an ancient tree, concealing himself in its canopy.
Soon, a lycan running at full speed appeared in the distance, heading directly toward Qian Ye.
The lycan had transformed, with a glossy black fur, but was covered in wounds, a nearly one-meter-long, bone-deep gash on his back, with no signs of healing. His powerful regenerative abilities seemed to have failed.
Qian Ye’s true sight revealed that the lycan’s dark origin power was exceptionally pure, far surpassing that of an ordinary lycan. To possess such purity before reaching the rank of a viscount, he was clearly a prodigy in his clan.
Originally, this lycan should have had the strength of a baron, but now, heavily injured, he could barely run and probably couldn’t even fight a knight. He charged straight to the base of the tree where Qian Ye was, collapsing and convulsing, unable to get up. All his wounds ruptured, blood gushing out.
In the distant woods, more than a dozen figures emerged silently.
Qian Ye’s eyes narrowed. They were all bloodkin, and each was formidable. The leader wore the sash of a third-class viscount, but Qian Ye’s true sight showed that his dark origin power was as pure as the wounded lycan. Among the bloodkin Qian Ye had encountered, only those from the Twelve Ancient Clans could possess such power.
It seemed the lycan was being hunted by these bloodkin.
Qian Ye remained concealed, his right hand now holding two antimagic mithril bullets, silently loading them into the Twin Flowers. Charged with Qian Ye’s blood essence, the bullets were a deadly weapon against the bloodkin. Using two mithril bullets was somewhat wasteful, but given the number of bloodkin, he didn’t want to take chances.
However, the internal strife of the dark races meant little to Qian Ye. As long as he wasn’t dragged into it, he had no intention of intervening. After making his preparations, he watched the developments below the tree.
The viscount slowly approached the fallen lycan, “You can run pretty fast, escaping over a thousand kilometers. But you can’t run anymore, can you? Xi’er, I heard you were absorbed by the Peaks of Glory, always so arrogant, not even placing us, the Twelve Clans, in your eyes. But did you ever think this day would come?”
The young lycan could no longer maintain his combat form, reverting to human. He struggled to prop himself up, leaning against the tree trunk, glaring at the bloodkin viscount with anger, “Even if you kill me here, the truth will still be known. Duras, you can’t hide it from everyone! When it comes to light, you’ll all die!”
“So what? Once our Holy Son succeeds, even the Eternal Night Council will look at him with respect. Who would dare to meddle?” Duras sneered.
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