Qianye wasn’t all too happy even after the easy victory because the six-armed commander never appeared. Additionally, there was a vast world behind this “door,” and no one could tell how many secrets were hidden there. That six-armed giant also gave Qianye a sense of familiarity that he couldn’t quite explain.
After the battle was over and the troops were cleaning up the battlefield, Qianye entered the foggy region on his own to check on the situation. The wall of mist at the center was still there, almost as though it had never changed since that day. However, Qianye could feel a certain obstruction after going in. It felt like there was a thin membrane blocking his way, but he could not find the door no matter how hard he tried to sense it.
Qianye was confident in his memory—he knew that the door had to be there, but he simply couldn’t go through it. After several vain attempts, Qianye could finally confirm that this “door” was in a closed state and there was no way to go through it.
Frustrated, he walked out of the misty region to find a number of high-ranking officers waiting for him outside.
An officer from the Great Qin passed over a document, saying, “Sire, this is a secret missive from the Empire.”
Qianye became focused on the contents after reading the first few lines. This late report from the Empire spoke of a “door” appearing on the Qin Continent, and that the situation on the other continents was unknown.
This report came from Zhao Jundu and its intent was to warn Qianye to be on alert for changes on the Fort Continent. Qianye broke into a frown—he had sent word to the Qin Continent the moment he had discovered the door, but it would seem the messenger never reached their destination. Was this a coincidence, or was it something inevitable?
Song Hui said as Qianye put away the message, “That werewolf is awake, maybe his information might be of use. He says he had almost died inside the mist, but he ended up killing one of the beasts and accidentally swallowing one of its organs. He blacked out afterward and was already in our hospital when he woke up.”
Qianye glanced at all the corpses strewn across the ground. “That means eating their organs will give us the power to resist the white mist?”
“Looks like it.”
“Does he remember the type of beast and the part he ate?”
“He doesn’t remember.”
Qianye frowned deeply. “Now that’s a bit troublesome.”
There were over a dozen types of creatures, and each of them possessed hundreds of different body parts and organs. Added together, there were thousands of possibilities. How were they going to pick the right one?
The great shaman noticed Qianye’s frustration. “This is easy. Just pick a couple of beasts from each species and chop them up, then bring some death row prisoners over to try them one by one. We’ll have results in a couple of days.”
Xu Jingxuan said, “We can also find a lot of death-row prisoners in Zheng. It’ll take only a couple of days to send them over. It’ll take some time, though, if we need them in the thousands.” Humans and werewolves were different species, so it’s rare that the same medicine would work for both races. Now that they were in a rush, there was no time for gradual exploration and adjustments. The most effective method was to increase the sample size.
There was no room to discuss whether this method was humane. Qianye said after some thought, “Just do it that way, then.”
Song Hui wanted to say something, but she ultimately held back. “Leave this to me, you’ll have results in three days.”
The werewolves were currently collecting beast carcasses and sorting them into piles. Qianye couldn’t quite understand why many of them were smiling.
The great shaman said, “With all the prey we managed to gather, we’ll be able to get through this winter with ease. Many of our pups will grow up, and old blokes like us can live a while longer.”
Song Hui didn’t have a good impression of these werewolves. She said rather impolitely, “You’ll get through this winter, but what about the next? What difference does it make?”
The great shaman wasn’t angry. He said with a laugh, “Things won’t be the same once we get through this winter. The seeds and techniques from the humans will provide for a lot more werewolves.”
He continued, “With enough to eat, we can grow normally without having to rush maturity. This growth period will ensure that we don’t overdraft our talents and life-span. The werewolves of the Jade Sea are not inferior to those from the upper continents!”
This topic was fairly serious. The way the werewolves of the great corridor and Jade Sea reproduced made it difficult to even see them as long-lived species. This went to show that even racial inheritances would be distorted by the circumstances, quite similar in nature to the demonkin of the Thunderfrost Temple.
But Song Hui wasn’t taking it. “What, do you guys plan to prove yourself on the battlefield? Fight against the Great Qin?”
The great shaman said, “We don’t mind fighting the Great Qin if required.”
Song Hui shouted, “We spared your people, now you want to make enemies of us?”
The great shaman replied calmly, “We don’t mind fighting the humans, nor do we mind fighting the Evernight Council. Everything will depend on Sire Qianye. We are loyal to him and his descendants. We are neither the Great Qin’s vassal nor Evernight’s. The Great Qin is not equal to Sire Qianye.”
Song Hui didn’t know what to say.
Qianye interrupted the argument, saying, “Get to work!”
After dismissing the generals, he went back to an isolated room to cultivate and replenish his origin power. This new war had just begun, with a lot more battles to come. A world governed by such different laws would not appear for no reason. The answer was thus clear—this vast world on the other side of the “door” had to be this new world the Evernight powerhouses were talking about. If this theory proved true, they would probably have to fight the dark races again in the future.
On the Twilight Continent, Castle Ducasse had turned into a giant military base. The ancient castle stood high above, looking down at the fog as it spread across the plains. Over two hundred thousand Evernight soldiers were gathered outside of the misty zone. The battle had just ended, leaving small mountains of beast corpses. Apparently, this first wave had failed to break the first defensive line before it was completely slaughtered.
On the top floor of the ancient castle, two dukes were standing side-by-side as they gazed down at the battlefield.
The duke on the left said, “These creatures are truly terrifying. They’re actually an army! I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes.”
The other duke nodded. “Our losses would’ve been serious if the higher-ups hadn’t given us preemptive information.”
“How about the humans? They must be in chaos by now.”
“At least they won’t be able to cause trouble for us anymore.”
As the two dukes were chatting away, a sudden and inexplicable sensation bore down upon them. The alarmed dukes looked down to find a luxurious airship landing in the courtyard of the ancient castle. Nighteye walked out from the vessel and headed back to her room in the main building.
The two dukes watched until Nighteye disappeared into the building before heaving a sigh of relief.
“Her Majesty is back.”
“The ‘door’ is open, so of course she’s back.”
“Was she wounded? I have a feeling she’s a bit weaker than before.”
“Not just that. It even looks like her blood energy cultivation has fallen back. She’s probably at the level of a glorious marquis right now, isn’t she?”
“More or less, she doesn’t feel like a duke anymore. I heard the price involved in opening this ‘door’ will cause a drop in bloodline power.”
“Then, isn’t she weaker than us right now?”
“But why do I feel a sense of terror whenever I see her? I don’t think I’ll be able to use my full power if I ever have to face Her Majesty in combat.”
“The same goes for me.”
A group of Evernight warriors had just finished pushing the first airship into the garage when a second arrived on the landing pad.
Several mysterious vampires in black robes walked out from the vessel and entered Nighteye’s residence in a single file.
In the great hall. Nighteye slowly removed her battle armor, sword, and handgun, handing them to the nearby attendants. All the while, those black-robed vampires stood completely immobile at the doorway.
Nighteye picked up a piece of paper and wrote down some names on it. She then passed it to the leader of those black-robed vampires, saying, “Investigate these people carefully.”
The black-robed captain took the paper and found that the names included Ji Tianqing, Li Kuanglan, and Song Zining. He only performed a salute before withdrawing from the chamber.
Nighteye finally gave in to exhaustion after their departure. She threw herself onto the sofa and slowly rubbed her temples.
A door opened on the other side of the room, from which a chuckling Twilight emerged. “You’re still going to get to the bottom of this matter, aren’t you?”
Nighteye made no movement or sound.
Twilight sat down beside her, saying, “The latest news says he’s already a divine champion. The entire Empire was shaken by his breakthrough. There’s no way they’re going to let us have such a person.”
Nighteye said indifferently, “Stand up.”
Twilight was startled. “What?”
“Stand up and stand still.”
Twilight didn’t know what to do. “I…”
Tapping her temples, Nighteye said impatiently, “Did I say you can sit beside me?”
Twilight was stunned but she stood up unwillingly.
Nighteye finally looked up with a faint sneer. “Don’t tell me you think I’m Nighteye?”
“Could it be…” Twilight reacted rather swiftly, swallowing the remainder of her words upon seeing the chill in Nighteye’s gaze.
Nighteye said coldly, “I am not her, nor am I interested in her matters. As for the people I’m investigating, the reason is simple. Those who target me will have to pay the price for their offense, a price they cannot afford!”
Twilight bit her lips, her expression unnatural. Although Nighteye hadn’t moved, Twilight could gradually sense a sharp, penetrating cold from her. The chill wasn’t obvious, but it seeped into the depths of her bloodline and numbed her entire body.
That was Nighteye’s suppressive might, one which she was no longer restraining. Twilight’s blood almost stopped flowing in the face of this pressure. This reminded her of the tremendous distance between her and Nighteye, almost like the distance between two continents.
Nighteye shot her a glance, saying, “It’s not just humans, whoever dares to sully my dignity will pay a price. Do you understand?”
Twilight forced out a smile. “I understand.”
“Get out if you do. Also, this place is not for you to come and go as you wish. If you enter without permission again, you can forget about leaving. My country does not welcome species of lowly bloodlines.”
Twilight’s expression was unsightly, both from the humiliation and the suppression. Feeling unresigned, she said, “I’m a primo too.”
Nighteye snorted. “Only according to your standards.”
Twilight clenched her jaws and bowed deeply. She then withdrew in the same posture, closing the door carefully upon her exit.
A cold gleam flickered through Nighteye’s pupils as the door closed. She glanced at Twilight’s direction, saying, “I’ll have to see what exactly you people are up to.”
