Chapter 144: The Woman of a Brother

The news of Ye Tong’s arrival at the Dark Source Point base spread quickly among the dark races in the entire war zone. Those who knew a little about the secret matters were abnormally excited, feeling that they finally saw a glimmer of darkness in the endless and blinding dawn.

During this period, the Empire was fighting dispiritedly, and the dark races suffered even more. The troops entering the war zone every day would leave their wills in advance, for none expected to return alive. The situation could be said to be even more severe than during the Holy War.

The troops suffered, and so did the strong commanders at all levels. The loss of units also meant the loss of officers and the strong.

The dukes in charge of commanding the war zone daily could not escape either, living under immense pressure. Although reinforcements were sent from the rear, just as many were dying at the front. In such a passive situation, the Supreme Beings of the Holy Mountain remained indifferent, issuing only one command: to attack and drive the humans out from around the Celestial Pit.

With no other choice, the dukes took turns leading, only to suffer one defeat after another at the hands of Song Zining or Zhao Jundu.

In the dark races, there was a rumor circulating that Song Zining’s Heavenly Fate Techniques might have approached the level Lin Xitang had when he first rose to prominence.

However, such speculation was useless and only further restrained the high-ranking combat power deployed by the Evernight Council. Only the top few masters could use divination near the Celestial Pit, and the council treated them like treasures, unwilling to put them on the battlefield.

This lesson was learned from the time with Lin Xitang. When the two walls of the Empire began to shine, both sides clashed on the battlefield, and their divination and heavenly fate techniques fought to the death across the void.

Especially during that period, the Heavenly Fate school of the Empire fell into a low ebb, with signs of internal strife, making the Evernight Divination extremely useful in disrupting the macro-strategy of the chaotic Empire. A bit of rumor, a bit of change in the battlefield weather, and a bit of suppression by the pinnacle strong, could make the entire war zone of the Empire run ragged.

At that time, Lin Xitang’s achievements were not particularly prominent, and the battle damage ratio was still within acceptable limits. But as time went on, the Evernight side finally discovered something strange. Any diviner who had crossed paths with Lin Xitang and returned to the Evernight gradually began to feel unwell, gradually weakening. Some died within months, others dragged on for years but still died early.

It wasn’t until several years later, after the end of the Heavenly Fate chaos in the Empire and many secrets became known, that the Evernight Council linked the problems of the Evernight diviners during that period to Lin Xitang.

Someone formally proposed a seemingly absurd but chilling hypothesis: Lin Xitang’s true target was to hunt down diviners.

But by then, it was too late. Although Lin Xitang had not targeted master-level figures, the active participants in the camp’s strategic layout and observation were all the young geniuses of various races. Given enough time, real masters would emerge from these experienced diviners.

But now, many of them had fallen victim to Lin Xitang’s methods and were on a dead-end path. Such soul injuries were even beyond the capabilities of the Supremes.

Thus, Lin Xitang, with his own strength, caused a decades-long gap in the ranks of the Evernight diviners.

Since then, the Evernight Council has become extremely cautious in using divination, only observing the general situation on ordinary battlefields without directly intervening. The two walls of the Empire thus began to truly shine in the entire Evernight world.

Now, on the Celestial Pit battlefield, it seemed history was repeating itself. Song Zining’s high rate of taking the initiative, almost always anticipating the enemy, could not be solely attributed to military strategy; he must have used Heavenly Fate Techniques. As a result, the Evernight Council became even more cautious in deploying diviners, making them more passive on the battlefield.

When Ye Tong led her forces out, this was the situation she faced. She did not care, leading her troops leisurely towards the Celestial Pit, as if it were a mere sightseeing trip.

On the summit of a hill, the two marquises besieging Wei Po Tian gradually turned pale, their breath becoming weak. They exchanged a glance and suddenly attacked, all deadly moves, before abruptly retreating.

Wei Po Tian laughed, his Soul-Slaying Blade cutting through the air, instantly opening a large gash on the back of one marquis, deep enough to see bone. The marquis staggered, not daring to stay, abandoning his troops and disappearing over the horizon.

Wei Po Tian retracted the Thousand Mountains, smirking, “Still trying to play this trick? You’ve done this a dozen times, do you think I’ll fall for it again? If you want to run, leave a mark first.”

Wei Po Tian turned and saw the dark race soldiers retreating like a tide, leaving corpses covering the slopes below the hill.

He roared and charged forward. The Wei soldiers followed, leaping from their fortifications to pursue and kill the remaining enemies. After a fierce slaughter, they killed over a thousand dark race soldiers before stopping.

Wei Po Tian, full of pride, shouted, “Count the spoils, treat the wounded, and clean up. We’re heading back to the base for rest!”

The soldiers cheered, many discussing how to spend their money to relax after returning. The next battle might not allow them to come back.

Hearing the soldiers’ chatter, Wei Po Tian laughed and scolded, “Look at your small ambitions, only thinking of drinking and women! This time, the merit is enough to buy land and property. When we return, ninety percent of your military merit will be turned in, and I’ll find good land for you in the province. When we go back, everyone will be a noble family!”

The soldiers cheered again. Everyone becoming a noble family was impossible, but with land and assets, they could build a clan. With effort, a minor nobility could be achieved. When these small families thrived, the foundation of the Wei family in the Far East would be solid. Generations of noble families developed this way.

Amidst the cheers, a cold voice sounded in everyone’s ears, “In such a hurry to go back?”

Wei Po Tian’s face changed, turning to see a dark race force at the valley entrance. Though small in number, the dense aura of the strong made his scalp tingle. This force of about ten thousand included ten marquis-level strong.

The dark army appeared silently, as if emerging from the void. Wei Po Tian had detected no warning signs, and even the fleeing Evernight troops probably did not know of this force.

Wei Po Tian, seasoned in battle, bellowed, “Back to the fortification!”

The Wei soldiers turned and ran back to the hilltop, as long as they reached the defenses, ten thousand enemy troops could not overwhelm five thousand elite private soldiers.

Wei Po Tian led the rear guard, and the mysterious force did not rush to pursue, advancing steadily. The pressure gradually filled the battlefield.

Seeing most of his private soldiers return to the fortification, Wei Po Tian relaxed, about to join them, when a figure suddenly appeared before him.

He looked up, shocked, “You, why are you here?”

Ye Tong replied, “Is there anything wrong with me being here?”

Wei Po Tian hurriedly said, “This is not the place to talk, quickly get behind the defense, the dark race forces are coming soon!”

Seeing his anxious expression, Ye Tong said, “Don’t worry, they won’t come.”

“Won’t? The dark races would pass up such an opportunity, that’s… strange…” Wei Po Tian turned and saw the elite soldiers and the dense auras of the strong standing motionless hundreds of meters away.

Wei Po Tian looked at the dark race forces and then at Ye Tong, his mouth slowly opening wide.

“Exactly, this is my force,” Ye Tong said.

Wei Po Tian scratched his head, “How can this be? What should I do? You’re Qian Ye’s wife, how can I lay a hand on you?”

Ye Tong’s tense face softened for a moment, then turned cold, though a hint of amusement lingered in her eyes, “I am no longer related to him. Besides, even if I were, he isn’t one of you, right?”

“You may say so, but we are brothers. How can I harm the woman of my brother?” Wei Po Tian said earnestly.

The armies couldn’t hear their conversation, but the dark race marquises stood nearby, each wearing a strange expression, barely suppressing their laughter.

Wei Po Tian gave them a stern look, “What are you laughing at? I might be reluctant to hurt Ye Tong, but dealing with you lot is a piece of cake. If you don’t believe me, send two of you, and I’ll take them on!”

Such challenges were common, and usually advantageous against Wei Po Tian’s turtle-shell tactics, but this time, a spider marquis laughed, “We’d naturally all attack together, otherwise, what’s the point of so many people, to watch?”

Wei Po Tian spat, “A real disgrace to the so-called Holy Blood!”

But the provocation was futile, the marquises stood still, all eyes on Ye Tong.

She said, “They are here to watch. Stop talking and fight.”

Wei Po Tian scratched his head again, “I told you, I can’t bring myself to fight you…”

Before he finished, Ye Tong appeared in front of him, a cold, smooth hand gripping his throat. Suddenly, Wei Po Tian’s vision spun, and he was thrown heavily to the ground, the impact so severe it summoned his Thousand Mountains.

Ye Tong released him, standing up, looking at him coldly.

Wei Po Tian rolled over, still dizzy, confused. He urged, “Leave quickly! There’s a Heaven King in the area, they might target you.”

“Why would they target me?”

“Being so powerful, you beat me, some Heaven King might see potential and sacrifice you,” Wei Po Tian said seriously.

Ye Tong’s icy face finally cracked into a smile, “Beating you would attract a Heaven King? You really… think highly of yourself.”

Wei Po Tian shook his head, clearing his mind, “Isn’t it normal? Who could match me, a typical marquis? You’re a well-known genius, likely to be a target. You don’t know the mindset of those in the rear, they prefer to kill young geniuses, not necessarily dukes.”

Ye Tong said, “Enough talk, use your Thousand Mountains. I’ll explain why after.”

Reluctantly, Wei Po Tian summoned a peak towering into the sky, readying his stance.

Ye Tong didn’t move, pointing to his waist, “Soul-Slaying Blade.”

“If I use it, I might hurt you.”

“Suit yourself.”

Ye Tong flashed, appearing in front of Wei Po Tian, lightly slapping his Thousand Mountains.

The slap seemed light, but Wei Po Tian’s ears rang, as if he were inside a giant bell, and it was ringing. His vision filled with colors, unable to see clearly.

The towering mountain shattered, pieces barely holding together, not completely dispersing.

Seemingly surprised that one slap didn’t break Wei Po Tian’s Thousand Mountains, Ye Tong smirked, finding a solution.

If one wasn’t enough, then another.

In an instant, the Thousand Mountains dissipated, and Wei Po Tian fainted on the spot.