During the last war, Qian Ye had already noticed that this world, especially this forest, seemed to harbor hostility toward all foreign life. Back then, it was more evident in the form of the Void Beast’s will suppressing everything.
Now, the Void Beast’s will has vanished, but ordinary life still cannot survive in the Misty Forest. For instance, a common beast would not last long here; it would soon collapse from exhaustion and become nourishment for the entire forest.
However, the spider minions bred by the arachne are thriving in the forest, which is quite abnormal. During the last war, Qian Ye had never seen these palm-sized reconnaissance spiders. Now, their large numbers indicate that the dark races have at least cracked some secrets of the Misty Forest and mitigated a bit of its hostility.
If this speculation is true, it means the Misty Forest is no longer a fair battleground, and it is leaning towards the dark races. Or, in other words, the dark races have taken the lead in adapting to the forest. Moreover, from a practical combat perspective, the ability to use spider minions gives the dark races an advantage in reconnaissance.
Qian Ye sighed inwardly; this was not good news. The ultra-long sight range in the Misty Forest was his greatest advantage. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen this unfriendly natural environment as his battlefield. If he loses this advantage, the upcoming battles will be tough.
However, at least for now, while the existence of the spider minions might extend the dark races’ senses, the individual abilities of the strong have not been enhanced.
Qian Ye waited quietly until the troop completely disappeared ahead. He carefully judged the distance and then darted from the side, circling forward to find a suitable ambush position. He took out Thunder and loaded a secret silver bullet into the chamber.
Sure enough, before long, the team appeared dimly in the mist. Qian Ye waited patiently. At less than 500 meters, he didn’t need a scope; he could lock onto a vampire in the center of the group with his true vision.
From the richness of the blood aura, the target should be a third-rank viscount. Although clearly not the leader of the entire troop, he was at least the commander of the vampire warriors.
Holding his breath, Qian Ye activated his heavy-caliber round and precise shooting abilities. When the layers of origin force light wrapped around the origin force bullet in the chamber, he slowly pulled the trigger.
The thunderous gunshot broke the silence of the Misty Forest. Even with suppressed perception, the sound spread through most of the troop. Before the gunshot reached their ears, the viscount’s face had already changed. Just as he was mobilizing his blood aura and trying to pinpoint the danger, a large hole appeared on his face, almost half of his head blown away.
Qian Ye sighed inwardly; although the shot hit directly, the viscount’s instinctive evasion had shifted the point of impact, shattering the vampire fangs. Fanged teeth of a viscount were not only proof of military merit but also valuable commodities.
His actions were swift, and he instantly reloaded and aimed at a clearly taller arachne further back in the formation.
The gun roared again. This male arachne, dressed in heavy armor, gaped in disbelief at the large hole in his chest and fell slowly. The enhanced secret silver bullet had penetrated through his armor in one shot.
Qian Ye reloaded another bullet, and the muzzle flickered with origin force flame. Another arachne, trying to regroup the troops, fell immediately.
Thunder boomed one after another, and in an instant, Qian Ye fired ten shots, each bringing down a high-level warrior.
It was only then that the dark races determined Qian Ye’s location. It wasn’t that they were slow to react, but the reconnaissance spiders still had no reaction to him, and the warriors in the Misty Forest had chaotic perceptions. Even if they heard the gunfire, it seemed to come from all directions, and most could only perceive within 200 meters.
But this troop was indeed elite. Once they finally pinpointed Qian Ye’s position from the direction of the continuous gunshots, the counterattack came swiftly. Countless origin force bullets whistled, drawing trails of fire, and the treetop where Qian Ye was hiding suffered severe damage. Many chambers nurturing exotic creatures were broken, and thick, deep-yellow fluid flowed continuously.
However, the dark races’ attack did not provoke a strong reaction from the giant tree. The broken chambers did not show any fully formed exotic creatures or small people, only irregular, fleshy tissue sometimes oozing out with the fluid.
Qian Ye grumbled inwardly about the forest’s discriminatory treatment while braving the hail of bullets and fired two more shots, felling two werewolf knights at the front. Then he leaped gracefully down the giant tree and withdrew deeper into the forest.
Just that round of attacks had inflicted significant damage on the dark race’s troop. Qian Ye’s targets were all high-ranking warriors, at the very least knights, including a third-rank viscount. Although most of the common soldiers were unharmed, the deaths of many mid-ranking officers would inevitably reduce the troop’s combat power.
Qian Ye maintained a steady pace, just enough to keep the pursuing forces gradually closing in. Leading the chase were dozens of werewolves, followed by the vampires.
Glancing back, Qian Ye smirked. It was no surprise that most of the pursuers were werewolves. In the mist, visual range was the most affected, followed by hearing, but their sense of smell was relatively lesser. However, the forest would quickly devour all scents, leaving them to disappear over time.
But during the chase, the lingering scent acted like a guiding beacon, which was the werewolves’ forte. In comparison, the vampires lagged behind, gradually falling further back.
Qian Ye suddenly stopped, Twin Blossoms in hand, facing the direction of the approaching werewolves.
Dozens of werewolves transformed into battle forms, their eyes red, howling through the dense mist, only to find Qian Ye right in front of them! Without hesitation, they leaped and pounced on him by instinct.
Gunfire echoed incessantly in the Misty Forest. The sound of the Mirage Mandragora and Bloody Mandala intertwined, weaving a beautiful symphony of death.
For Qian Ye, driving these two fifth-level pistols was a light burden. His movements were lightning-fast, loading, cocking, and firing in a seamless motion, barely visible to the eye. A shower of bullets erupted, and the charging werewolf elite warriors fell in a heap, each struck in a vital spot, either dead or severely wounded.
Even the fiercest and most bloodthirsty werewolves couldn’t help but be thrown into confusion, their charge halting momentarily.
Qian Ye immediately put away his guns, threw several vampire grenades, and retreated. The successive explosions blocked the pursuing vampires. By the time the smoke cleared, Qian Ye was nowhere to be seen.
A pile of werewolves lay on the ground, those who died instantly were the ones hit by bullets, while the rest were seriously injured. A vampire baron walked over, using his longsword to flip over the heavily wounded werewolves, inspecting their wounds without hiding his disgust.
After a brief inspection, the vampire baron silently removed his white glove, stained with a single drop of blood, and tossed it onto the face of a black-brown werewolf warrior. “Leave them here,” he said coldly.
The heavily wounded werewolves roared in anger, and the surviving werewolves, unwilling to comply, surrounded him.
The vampire baron showed no mercy. His sword flew up, striking the hearts of the two nearest werewolves, shredding them with a twist. He glared at the remaining werewolves, “Who else wants to die?”
The surviving werewolves, already few in number, had their leader killed by Qian Ye. Facing the watchful vampire warriors, they reluctantly retreated, growling in frustration.
The heavily wounded werewolves were left behind, soon to become nourishment for the Misty Forest. Their injuries, causing uncontrolled origin force leakage, would draw the forest’s attention, and simple bandages would not suffice. If not left behind, they would need to be escorted out, or they would meet the same fate.
“Clean up and move out. If you don’t reach the destination by midnight, you know the consequences!” The vampire baron barked, leading his troops back to the main group. The remaining few werewolves glanced at each other, let out a growl, and reluctantly departed.
Qian Ye did not venture far. Moments later, he tailed the troop once more. He intended to wear down this formidable force. Such an elite unit, if allowed to join the battlefield, would wield combat power several times greater than in the Misty Forest.
This time, Qian Ye did not climb the treetops but hid behind a giant tree. Though he lost a better vantage point, he could quickly escape after an attack. The upper echelons of the troop had already suffered heavy losses, and now he aimed to deplete their remaining strength.
Qian Ye moved gently and slowly, with a strange rhythm, activating the origin force array of Thunder. However, the overflow of origin force energy was channeled around his body, not dissipating outward. This was due to the latent power in his bloodline, making his origin force weapons inconspicuous.
The secret silver bullet in the chamber was gradually becoming hot, with the origin force surging in the pre-set array, quickly reaching the critical point.
With a roar, the secret silver bullet flew out, and the thunderous gunshot echoed again in the Misty Forest. This time, the vampire baron in the line had no reaction; his head exploded into a cloud of blood before the sound of the gunshot reached him.
Qian Ye felt a twinge of regret, losing another pair of fangs…
He reloaded and prepared to aim at the next target, a bulky arachne knight. At this distance, it was practically a live target. The muzzle of Thunder shifted slightly, and the crosshairs settled on the arachne’s core.
The core of an arachne that hasn’t reached viscount rank is not fully grown, and its defense is much weaker. Qian Ye’s shot would pierce the heavy armor and severely injure it. In the current Misty Forest, without sufficient strength, severe injury equaled death.
As the secret silver bullet left the chamber, Qian Ye suddenly sensed an intense danger. He didn’t have time to think and leaped sideways to dodge. But as he moved, a powerful blow struck his back, sending him flying, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mid-air.
The blood was a vivid red, with specks of golden light burning within, and the concentrated vitality caused the surrounding base material to stir.
Qian Ye’s heart sank. The blood he spat was Burning Gold Blood! This meant he was severely injured.
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