The Blood Baron’s equipment was mostly geared towards stealth, concealment, and ambush. He carried two pistols; one was the powerful handgun that failed to fire, and the other could shoot silently, a feature exceedingly rare and special.
Both were Level 4 origin guns, with special crests engraved on their handles. These crests were the marks of the blood clan artisans, indicating the maker’s identity. Only high-ranking artisans had the privilege to leave such marks, and they would only do so on works they deemed exceptional. These special pistols, bearing the artisan’s mark, were as powerful and valuable as regular Level 5 origin guns.
Qian Ye also found a longsword and a dagger on the Blood Baron. The longsword was a Level 3 weapon, equivalent to a Level 4 origin gun. However, the dagger was a surprising Level 4! Such a high-level close-combat weapon was usually wielded by Warlord-level experts, and in the blood clan, typically only viscounts would use them.
The inner armor beneath the Blood Baron’s concealing clothes was also a remarkable piece, made from the hide of some giant beast. It had three complete origin arrays installed. Qian Ye activated them and discovered that two enhanced defense, while the third created a semi-invisible effect by distorting vision for a limited duration.
Qian Ye’s curiosity about the Blood Baron’s identity grew, and he began rummaging through his backpack and tool pouch.
The backpack contained various supplies for the wilderness, including a notebook and several dozen blood crystals. These were important resources for high-ranking blood clans, containing concentrated origin force-rich blood. Ordinary blood clans couldn’t obtain blood crystals and had to rely on blood-sucking to replenish their strength and blood power.
In the tool pouch, Qian Ye found a soft leather-wrapped crystal fragment. It was about the size of a palm, a finger thick, and had a faint sky-blue hue, likely a fragment of some device. It bore engravings of cryptic lines and inscriptions resembling incantations.
Qian Ye couldn’t recognize the script on the crystal, but it resembled an ancient writing called Symbol Speech.
Symbol Speech was an ancient script passed down by the dark races, much older than human ancient scripts. It was said to possess mysterious powers and could form the structure of many origin arrays. Each symbol in true Symbol Speech was considered a complete origin array. Depending on the type of origin force, they could be classified as Dark Symbol Speech, Dawn Symbol Speech, or Neutral Symbol Speech.
Qian Ye couldn’t determine which type of Symbol Speech the crystal fragment belonged to, but anything with Symbol Speech from the dark races was likely an ancient relic of great value. He had seen only one item with Symbol Speech before, a black crystal staff carved with a circle of symbols, displayed in the Red Scorpion Legion’s headquarters.
That staff once belonged to a mage of the demon kin, having claimed the lives of countless Imperial soldiers. Later, the then-commanders of the Red Scorpion Legion ambushed and killed this high-ranking member of the Evernight Council, and the staff was kept as a trophy.
Now, he found a crystal fragment with Symbol Speech on a Blood Baron?
Qian Ye picked up the notebook and, after carefully scanning the surroundings, noticed that the black swamp remained eerily calm. The lingering presence of the horned snake and the Blood Baron still deterred the local fauna, leaving the area in a deathly silence.
He began reading the Blood Baron’s diary, written in a flowing, waterproof ink on supple, water-resistant paper, with the elegant and intricate penmanship typical of the blood clan.
Fortunately, it was a straightforward diary, primarily written in the modern common language of the dark races, with no complicated vocabulary except for some blood clan-specific terms. Qian Ye could understand most of it.
The diary chronicled the recent adventures of this high-ranking blood clan. His travels spanned several continents, and on one page, Qian Ye read something interesting.
“I, Darrow Kulas, a noble baron of the illustrious and ancient Kulas family, have received a conscription order?! Oh, and it’s for the low-bloods’ land on the Evernight Continent! But who am I to complain? I just happened to return at the wrong time. If I’d known, I would have postponed my journey by three months; the scenery on the Azure Continent is truly captivating.”
Qian Ye checked the date and found the entry was written nine months ago. So, the dark races had been planning a major war on the Evernight Continent for over half a year? Yet, there had been no reports of such a large-scale conflict on the Evernight Continent. The only possibility was that the war that summoned this Baron Kulas was a full-scale, all-out war!
The conscription orders were issued at least nine months ago, and if planning and conspiring were taken into account, it might have been several years in the making.
What was so attractive to the dark races that they would launch such a costly war on the impoverished Evernight Continent? Wars were usually fought for resources, territory, or population.
For territory?
It made no sense. The Great Qin Empire had no territorial ambitions on the Evernight Continent; otherwise, they wouldn’t have abandoned it after conquering Qin Land. Though the Empire later established an expeditionary force on the Evernight Continent, their approach was rather laissez-faire.
For population?
The humans on the Evernight Continent were mostly the poorest of the poor, struggling to survive. Most never awakened their origin powers. For most pure-bloods with a disdain for filth, these people were not even worth feeding on, unless driven by extreme hunger. Their dirt and stench were enough to ruin any appetite.
These poor wretches were hardly better than the dark races’ own livestock. What use were they, even if captured in large numbers?
Qian Ye’s thoughts wandered, but the dark races weren’t fools. Many old members of the Evernight Council had lived for millennia, amassing vast experience and power. They rarely made mistakes, and when they did, it was often out of boredom.
Qian Ye returned to the diary, realizing the Blood Baron’s identity was far more significant than he initially thought. Soon, he came across another interesting entry.
“I must admit, the conscription order piqued my interest. Muller said the war was related to the Black Sovereign’s hidden treasure. Though Muller is unreliable, I have a hunch this time. Why? It’s a gut feeling, I suppose. Muller has been wrong so many times, he must be right once, right?”
Black Sovereign? Qian Ye didn’t know which historical figure this referred to, but it was likely a Dark Lord. Even the weakest Dark Lord’s legacy would intrigue the Imperial Marshal.
From here, Qian Ye slowed his reading, finding many shocking entries.
“Which Black Sovereign? The council’s despicable old men try to cover up all history, but they can’t fool me, Darrow Kulas, a mere baron, but also a great scholar and adventurer!
In the past thousand years, only one sovereign fits the description: the second-generation ancestor of the blood clan, the terrifying Black Wing Sovereign Andua!
He disappeared shortly after the Dawn War, his whereabouts unknown. No one knows why, but I believe he went to explore beyond the twenty-seven continents, given the blood clan’s natural advantage… Have I gone off-topic?”
A missing second-generation ancestor? Qian Ye noted Andua’s name, planning to research this Black Wing Sovereign later. For now, survival was the priority.
The rest of the diary covered Darrow’s activities on the Evernight Continent. The conscription orders were flexible, suggesting the war lacked specific resource targets. Darrow, a middle-ranking baron skilled in stealth and assassination, had complete freedom until the war began and he had to join the designated battlefield.
His records showed he explored many places over half a year, though he rarely engaged in serious combat. He mostly killed only when his identity was exposed.
Once, during a ten-day exploration without spilling blood, he attacked a human village in a state of extreme hunger.
He wrote, “Even the young girls and tender children had such coarse blood. This continent is truly fit only for low-bloods. Also, always clean your food, especially on the Evernight Continent.”
Qian Ye’s eyes twitched, but he continued. This was the real relationship between the dark races and humans. Darrow, an adventurer and explorer, was relatively mild, but his mildness stemmed from his arrogance and contempt for humanity.
The diary mentioned several mysterious, inaccessible places: the Forest of Dusk, the Polar Rift, the Nightlight Mountains. These unfamiliar names intrigued Qian Ye, sparking his desire to explore this vast continent once he became stronger.
Suddenly, a new entry caught his eye.
“Today, I found an ancient document with shocking content! Who knew Andua secretly lived on the Evernight Continent for decades? Such a great Black Wing Sovereign, and no one knew he was here! Perhaps this is the truth the council’s old men are trying to hide! A few of them were contemporaries of Andua; it’s impossible they didn’t know. I don’t believe it!”
“Haha, today is a good day! I found evidence of Andua’s activities! Maybe I’ll find something there.”
“A week of hard work paid off! I can’t believe what I found—a fragment with Symbol Speech! Despite being incomplete, its unique design shows it’s the key to Andua’s treasure. Perhaps I should keep it, as it’s fitting for the blood clan to inherit an ancestral treasure.”
“Two more months passed, and I finally made a new discovery. In a tiny, disgusting swamp town, I found my target. An old man, near death, whose ancestors served Andua during his stay on the Evernight Continent. A little persuasion, and I got all the information. His ancestors left a message, instructing their descendants to take the key fragment to the Forgotten Mountains on the Blaze Continent, where Andua’s gift awaited, a reward for thirty years of loyal service.”
“The problem is this damned conscription order. I have to wait until the war is over to go to the Blaze Continent!”
On the last page, only one sentence remained:
“A young human saw through my disguise? Interesting. Maybe I should turn him into a descendant.”
The diary ended there.
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