In the Dawn Continent, a fortress was built in just a few days, leaning against the mountain. The outer walls of the fortress were made from the armor plates of warships, providing far superior defense compared to ordinary fortifications.
Utilizing the natural terrain, watchtowers and firing points were set up on the wings of the mountain. The places where the demonkind used to find cover had been leveled. Now, any attack on the bloodline clan’s fortress would have to be made through a narrow pass at the cost of many lives.
Even so, Howard was still unsatisfied. He appeared in every corner of the fortress, constantly fine-tuning the defensive structures and personnel, aiming for the best possible outcome.
Yan Tóng and Qian Ye sat side by side on the cliff top, with a blazing sun hanging high in the sky, continuously spewing out burning primal energy.
Qian Ye, watching Howard’s busy figure, asked, “Is he unable to recover?”
Yan Tóng sighed softly and replied, “Howard was attacked when he awoke, and he didn’t absorb enough vital blood. This kind of injury can only be healed by an ancient blood pool. But now, the blood pools of the Beyn clan are all in the hands of the demonkind, so there’s no way.”
“How long does it take to rebuild a blood pool?”
“Built according to ancient methods, a blood pool takes at least a hundred years of primal energy absorption to be barely usable. An ancient blood pool has at least a thousand years of accumulation. Now that the River of Blood is gradually receding, it will take even longer to restore its power.”
The Demon Emperor’s move directly targeted the Achilles’ heel of the bloodline clans. Without the ancient blood pools, even if the bloodline descendants could survive and secretly reproduce in some hidden corners, it would take over a hundred years to regain some strength. To restore their former glory, it would take a thousand years, if not more.
However, everyone was not completely hopeless. As long as the Queen of Night was still around, the bloodline clans still had hope.
At this moment, little Zhu Ji ran from afar, shouting as she ran, “Daddy, look what I caught!”
In her hand, a giant insect covered in carapace and spikes struggled desperately, occasionally spitting out thick yellow fog, which was obviously highly toxic. But the so-called deadly poison was a joke in front of Zhu Ji, and the spikes on its body were obediently flattened in her grip.
Qian Ye turned his head, his smile freezing, and shouted, “Be careful!!”
Little Zhu Ji was stunned, not understanding why Qian Ye’s face had suddenly changed. She looked at the struggling giant insect in her hand, puzzled. Was she supposed to be careful of this? How could something so delicate and beautiful be dangerous?
Just as she was pondering, a huge shadow loomed over her. Zhu Ji turned back in shock and saw an exceptionally tall man standing behind her, his aura of dominance covering the entire mountaintop.
“So, this is your daughter,” he said with a low, amused laugh.
“Sosa! Stop!”
Ignoring Qian Ye’s roar, Sosa extended his large hand, grabbing Zhu Ji and lifting her up for a closer look.
Qian Ye’s whole body turned cold, his half-activated assault stance instantly freezing. He was afraid of provoking Sosa, who might crush Zhu Ji with a single squeeze. Even if he moved at full speed, he had no confidence in being faster than Sosa’s closing fingers. The Great Duke of Wolves was always known for his strength.
“Haha! Never thought…” Sosa burst into laughter, but it was cut short after two laughs.
With a burst of strength, little Zhu Ji pried open his hand and leaped to the ground, dashing towards Qian Ye like a flying arrow.
Sosa was stunned, looking at his own hand, unable to believe it.
As the Great Duke of Wolves, strength was undoubtedly Sosa’s pride. To gain even greater power, he had even modified his body, and in full combat form, Sosa was a giant four meters tall.
Only a massive body could control more powerful forces—this was Sosa’s creed. He had walked a path that no one before him had ever taken.
However, Sosa had never imagined that this seemingly delicate and beautiful girl, who could be easily broken with a gentle touch, could actually pry open his hand and escape. It felt like accidentally pressing down on an ant, only to have the ant flip his palm open.
Sosa flexed his fingers, and some joints actually throbbed with pain. This girl’s sheer strength was probably on par with that of some dukes. He had been unprepared and suffered a small loss.
Putting down his hand, Sosa feigned nonchalance, his gaze sweeping over Yan Tóng and Qian Ye, and he coldly demanded, “Where is Howard? Let him come out to see me.”
Qian Ye pulled Zhu Ji to him, hiding her behind his back, and asked, “Why are you here?”
Sosa sneered, “Do wolves need a reason to eradicate the bloodline clans?”
Yan Tóng said coolly, “I said the same thing to the wolves not long ago.”
Sosa’s eyes blazed with anger. “When the assembly put you in command of the allied forces, you sent my warriors to die in front of the imperial fortress! Did you not foresee this day then?”
Yan Tóng showed a hint of mockery. “The decision to use the wolves for the sacrifice was made jointly by the bloodline clans, the demonkind, and the spider demons. Only the wolves didn’t know. Now that you work for the Demon Emperor, do you think you’ve hit the jackpot? The result won’t be any different. The bloodline clans will rise again, while you will only end up as cannon fodder.”
Sosa was furious. “Even if the bloodline clans rise again, you won’t live to see it! I heard that Howard is half crippled. He hasn’t shown his face, so the rumors must be true. Since that’s the case, I’ll send you two youngsters back to the River of Blood!”
Sosa took a few strides forward, each step causing the mountain to tremble. In a few steps, he was in front of Yan Tóng and Qian Ye, and he swung his massive hand, slamming down on them!
This wasn’t the New World, and in the Dawn Continent, the stronger ones were less affected by the environment. Qian Ye and Yan Tóng, of course, wouldn’t fight head-on, dodging to the left and right. But as Qian Ye moved, he felt a strong gravitational force from Sosa’s hand, making it difficult to move.
Yan Tóng was also clearly affected, but as an ancient legend, her blood energy erupted violently, quickly countering and breaking free from Sosa’s pull, escaping gracefully.
Zhu Ji, with all her might, ran forward, somehow resisting the pull and escaping the reach of the giant hand. With both of them running away, Sosa was left with only Qian Ye.
Sosa was taken aback again. Zhu Ji’s earlier performance had already raised his estimation of the group, but he hadn’t expected Yan Tóng and Zhu Ji to escape his attack range. However, with Qian Ye still there, he continued to slam down his hand, confident that he could cripple Qian Ye without Yan Tóng’s interference.
Just a mere duke.
Qian Ye, unable to avoid, released all his restraints, his blood core pulsating like a mighty bell, and raised his arms to block Sosa’s strike!
A thunderous boom resounded, and Qian Ye’s upper body sank into the ground, countless cracks spreading out across the hundred-meter radius.
The Dawn Continent was constantly bathed in the dawn primal energy spewed by the sun. Each rock that remained was as tough as high-grade alloy and heat-resistant. Qian Ye’s incredible combat art had distributed Sosa’s attack over a hundred-meter area, causing this phenomenon.
Even so, Qian Ye was still slammed into the ground, equivalent to Sosa shattering half the armor of a duke-class warship with a single blow.
Sosa withdrew his hand, and saw Qian Ye struggling to pull himself out of the ground, but a groan escaped his lips, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Just like that?
Sosa looked at his hand, then at Qian Ye, whose rapidly recovering aura revealed that the blow had only caused a minor injury, not even a spurt of blood, just a thread that burned away in the air.
The Great Duke of Wolves’ judgment had gone awry again. Even Sosa found it hard to justify. This wasn’t the New World; here, the strong couldn’t use many of their power rules and were constrained by the environment.
Suddenly, a stunning flash of sword light lit up behind Sosa, aimed at his back. The dream-shocking strike, even Sosa couldn’t ignore. He swung his hand, turning the gravitational force into a repelling force, sending Yan Tóng flying dozens of meters away, and the sword light naturally missed.
Qian Ye took a deep breath, entering the boiling blood state, and the slight discomfort dissipated in an instant.
Sosa didn’t pursue Yan Tóng, turning to look at Qian Ye, “If I didn’t know you were a bloodline descendant, I’d think you were a spawn of the Spider Queen.”
“The potential of the bloodline clans is higher than you imagine,” Qian Ye said.
Sosa snorted, “Is that so? Then you won’t get a chance to realize that potential. Today, there’s no Liu XX to save you. As for Yan Tóng, if she recovers all her power, she might be a match for me. But now, she’s just a small nuisance.”
In the distance, Yan Tóng’s figure flickered, and she broke free from the repelling force, unleashing another dream-shocking sword light at Sosa’s back. But the sword light only reached halfway when a dark wall appeared, intercepting and annihilating it together.
The Wall of Sighs, Qian Ye and Yan Tóng were familiar with it. Turning her head, Yan Tóng saw that it was Duke Bloxas.
“You’re a bit early,” Sosa said coldly.
Bloxas, with no intention of sparing Sosa’s feelings, said, “The Emperor’s mission comes first. I can’t let them escape just to cater to your ridiculous vanity.”
Sosa’s eyebrows rose, and a terrifying aura spread, “Do you think two mere dukes can escape from me?”
“Two mere dukes?” Bloxas chuckled, “I heard that the one in front of you dealt a heavy blow to a certain Great Duke in the New World. And the same person just now took a full-power blow from a certain Great Duke.”
Sosa’s face flushed red, and he roared, “He used a despicable sneak attack!”
“Is that so? I only see the result,” Bloxas replied.
Sosa was speechless. The result was that the Mozaar wolves were forced to retreat to the area around the gates, and they had to avoid Qian Ye to expand.
At the time, Qian Ye had held off Sosa, while Grand Secretary Liu had successfully ambushed, and the malice of the New World hung over them, forcing Sosa to retreat. Bloxas’s mocking words made Sosa unable to refute. What could he say? That Grand Secretary Liu’s strength was far above Bloxas’s?
Although Sosa knew this was true, how could he prove it? The minimum pride of a Great Duke made him disdain to argue. And the current situation made it impossible for him to confront Bloxas. At least, he didn’t dare to really fall out with Bloxas or affect the Demon Emperor’s plans.
With no outlet for his anger, Sosa roared at Qian Ye, “Kneel down immediately and hand over the Black Book, and I might give you a quick death!”
Qian Ye was stunned. He hadn’t expected Sosa and Bloxas to come for the Black Book, prioritizing it even over the direct descendants of the major ancient bloodline clans. But they clearly didn’t know that the Green King Renaud had already integrated Qian Ye’s blood core and heart into the Black Book, and handing it over would be suicide.
Qian Ye said, “Surrendering without a fight is not my style.”
“In that case, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“You serve the demonkind, haven’t you considered the consequences? The Peaks of the Ancients probably don’t approve of your actions,” Qian Ye said.
“The Peaks of the Ancients? They’ve long abandoned tradition and their ancestors. They have no respect for their forefathers, they are all sinners! Compared to the bloodline clans, I find the Peaks of the Ancients even more disgusting.”
Qian Ye said coldly, “To betray your own people and speak so piously, no wonder you are the weakest Great Duke.”
This time, Sosa was truly enraged, “Who says I’m the weakest?”
“Among the Great Dukes, is there anyone you can’t defeat?” Qian Ye retorted.
“Of course there is! For example…” Sosa started to say a name, but was interrupted by Bloxas, “They are stalling for time!”
“Does stalling for time make a difference?” Sosa asked.
“Of course, it does,” Qian Ye answered, not Bloxas.
Sosa narrowed his eyes, “Are you making fun of me?”
Qian Ye drew the Long Burial, “How dare I make fun of a Great Duke? But if I were a wolf, I wouldn’t let go of the enmity with the bloodline clans, but I wouldn’t sell out to the demonkind either. After all, the wolves are still one of the Four Sacred Clans, and a Great Duke should have at least some dignity.”
Sosa’s face grew darker as he listened, “Very well, you have really angered me.”
Holding the Long Burial, Qian Ye backed away several dozen meters, increasing the distance between him and Sosa.
“Will that help?” Sosa laughed, and in one step, he was in front of Qian Ye, his massive hand like a cloud, pressing down!
Just as Qian Ye was about to unleash primal energy to dodge, Sosa’s foot stepped down, causing the earth to tremble. Waves of primal energy surged like a tide, dispersing the energy Qian Ye was about to release.
Qian Ye felt like he was standing on soft mud, unable to muster any strength, and as Sosa’s giant hand pressed down, he could only block it again.
The giant hand descended, and another thunderous boom echoed.
Sosa grunted, taking a half-step back, his palm stinging as if cut by a knife. His hand felt like it had struck an upright dagger, and even though his hand was as hard as a battle axe, it was still injured.
Qian Ye had actually injured him with a direct hit? Sosa was extremely surprised, looking at Qian Ye.
Qian Ye, looking at the Eastern Peak in his hand, also had a strange expression on his face. The blade of the Eastern Peak was slightly bent, showing light damage. This sword, which had been infused with the horn of a giant rhinoceros and soaked in the Pool of All Beings, was thought to be indestructible. Yet, blocking Sosa’s strike had caused minor damage, proving that the term “indestructible” also depended on the opponent.
Sosa’s ability to break the Eastern Peak with a single blow was a surprise to Qian Ye. He had just taken Sosa’s blow on his own, feeling strained but not completely helpless. The second blow was indeed stronger, but still not overpowering.
What was going on? Had the Eastern Peak become softer?
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