"I can. Don't worry." Bai Zemin said smiling.
After Evangeline heard Bai Zemin's words, she unconsciously nodded.
"I see… So your Strength stat has really reached the point where you can not only lift that giant sword but also wield it."
Evangeline couldn't imagine what level Bai Zemin's true total power was at. Not to mention that she had seen how powerful his combined skills and combat style were; the skill Gravity Manipulation that in the past transformed the soul evolver of the North Camp into a terrifyingly difficult monster to deal with fell into Bai Zemin's hands and although it was still a First Order skill the power that this skill displayed under his control was immeasurably higher.
However, the stronger Bai Zemin was the more joyful Evangeline felt in her heart. This was because the stronger he was, the greater her hopes for the fulfillment of her greatest wish; a wish that had been hopeless before but that when the world changed brought with that change a small glimmer of light in the midst of a long road of darkness.
Bai Zemin simply smiled slightly and did not say much about it. Although he could only wield 'Crimson Thunder Dragon's Last Words' for about thirty minutes before his Stamina was completely depleted, there was no need for anyone but him to know about it.
As long as he finished the battle before that time, then everything would be fine. As for if the battle dragged on, Bai Zemin could always use 'Persuasion, Secret of Thunder'.
The power of 'Crimson Thunder Dragon's Last Words' would only see the light of day in short deadly battles where Bai Zemin really had no choice but to unleash his full strength. As long as no enemy capable of forcing him into a corner appears, the monster would stay under seal.
* * *
The next day, the first thing Bai Zemin did as soon as he woke up was to put on all his equipment.
Armor, gloves, boots, cloak, dagger, etc. As for the treasures that came from the Soul Record such as rings, bracelets, pendants, etc; Bai Zemin slept with them always since it was not necessary to unequip them at all.
When he left his villa under the encouraging, surprised, and respectful eyes of his maidens, a large group of people was waiting for him.
Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, Chen He, Zhong De, Cai Jingyi, Kang Lan, Evangeline, Nangong Yi, Nangong Lingxin, Xiao Ming, Lu Yan, and many others. There were approximately thirty people present and all of them were the most powerful soul evolvers in the entire Transcendent faction.
Even those soul evolvers who did not belong to the Blood Spear Legion by default and were part of one of the other two great legions were present.
The eyes of several of the ladies present sparkled at the sight of Bai Zemin in his battle armor, completely ready for combat. It had to be mentioned that the present him was truly charming; not only was he extremely handsome but his earnest expression coupled with his warrior's attire made him especially attractive to any woman.
In Bai Zemin's faction, there were many powerful women and it was an undeniable fact that many of them were even more powerful than most men; therefore, anyone who dared to say that women were a weak gender would definitely be in for a surprise for underestimating these fierce tigresses. However, it was true that women were instinctively attracted to strong men.
For example, before the world changed, a successful and beautiful woman would definitely not look at a no-good man. However, a successful and handsome man would definitely not ignore a beautiful woman even if she didn't have much to give besides her looks.
Women were by nature primarily looking for men who were in a better position than they were to form mates. Men, on the other hand, were less "picky" in that respect.
Bai Zemin was handsome, powerful, the wealth of an entire faction was in his hands, he was the top leader of a large armed and evolved army as well as the very founder of the Transcendent faction whose goal was to reign supreme. Therefore, he was undoubtedly the hottest and brightest flame of all in the eyes of women.
Shangguan Bing Xue took a step forward and her eyes flashed in an odd manner as she calmly said, "Ready to go?"
Bai Zemin was about to nod when he suddenly remembered something and instead said, "Wait a second."
Swoosh!
His body swayed and disappeared like a ghost.
Shangguan Bing Xue barely saw a glimpse of the direction in which he went running. What puzzled her was that he was clearly heading toward the workshop. But before she could think too much, the ground began to shake slightly. The movement was so subtle that a normal person might not have noticed it at all.
The next instant, Bai Zemin appeared once again before everyone's eyes carrying a sword almost as tall as he was. He was clutching the hilt with his right hand while resting the dull blade on his shoulder pads.
At the sight of the giant sword that caused even the atmosphere to shudder slightly every time lightning flashed over the weapon releasing a terrifying magical pressure, the expression of the vast majority changed and many of them even took a step back unconsciously; somehow they felt as if a wild beast was peering at them from the shadows waiting to devour them.
As she looked at Bai Zemin standing in front of her, Shangguan Bing Xue sighed in her heart. At this moment, he had a faint smile on his handsome face and his usually cold eyes were sparkling with joy; his charm was different from usual, but neither she nor anyone else could deny that he looked really awesome.
Of course, little did they know that Bai Zemin's joy stemmed from the fact that now he finally understood the reason why Evangeline was so surprised yesterday while talking about the giant sword.
"I told you, that thing is a monster." Evangeline took a step forward and looked at the sword in his hands. Her mouth couldn't help but twitch a couple of times as she said, "You better not use it. At the very least, you can't use Gravity Manipulation to strike as you did before to kill that First Order earthworm."
Bai Zemin nodded with a slightly serious expression on his face. He really did not dare to use Gravity Manipulation while throwing 'Crimson Thunder Dragon's Last Words' from great heights. The result could be catastrophic beyond description.
He was secretly shocked because he really didn't expect to be able to forge such a terrifying monster! While it was true that the goblin leader Geminder's Second Order Soul Stone had helped a lot, the result was far beyond what Bai Zemin had estimated at first!
Shangguan Bing Xue finally snapped out of her initial surprise and remarked, "That sword of yours…. How much does it even weigh?"
Bai Zemin smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I will reduce its size with Infinite Reduction to make its weight fall by 50%…. Even so, this thing will still weigh more than an automobile."
Even with the weight reduced by half that sword will weigh more than a car? They all looked at each other in dismay before forcing wry smiles.
This leader of theirs was a little too crazy, wasn't he?
…
Under the gaze of thousands of survivors, a convoy of approximately 30 vehicles modified to survive the changes brought by the apocalypse sped through the streets of the base, kicking up clouds of dust and disappearing beyond the south gate.
"I hope they win… Otherwise what will become of our lives…?" Said a young man who had just arrived not long ago at the base but was slowly starting to live a new life thanks to the order there.
This young man had even gotten a job in the machine workshop, helping to make improvements and modify different vehicles on a daily basis or just dismantling others. He was quite satisfied with his current life compared to the hell he had to live before he was found by a team of the Blood Sword Legion and brought here. At the very least, the young man no longer had to worry about starving to death, no longer had to fear not having a roof over his head, nor did he have to fear a zombie showing up at night to eat him.
"Hahaha, little brother. You don't need to worry about that! Our leader is really awesome, you know?" A slightly chubby middle-aged man laughed out loud as he held hands with a woman his age.
The young man was surprised to recognize this couple, "You… You are Mr. Chu and Mrs. Yang from the 'Lasting Night' restaurant?"
The 'Lasting Night' restaurant was a place mainly visited by soul evolvers as only they could afford to pay the high prices that the dishes there demanded. However, the price was definitely worth it since according to rumors they even sold First Order mutant meat capable of greatly benefiting anyone who consumed it and granting valuable stat points for those who ate it for the first time.
In addition, Mrs. Yang was said to be an incredible connoisseur capable of preparing magnificent dishes. It was rumored that her Cooking skill was already in the second stage of evolution, so her dishes also provided extra benefits thanks to her ability to extract the maximum benefit from nutrients.
The middle-aged man laughed again. He looked quite friendly as he slowly narrated, "At the beginning of the apocalypse, when the world changed and humans turned into those terrifying beasts called zombies, my wife Yang Xi and I managed to survive only because she had plenty of food reserves due to her profession as a chef. We managed to survive for a whole month until soldiers sent by His Majesty Bai Zemin arrived at the village and saved the few survivors."
"When we were led to the Beginning Village, everything was a mess around here. The organization was poor, there were occasional murders, women sold their bodies for a piece of bread, there was no order at all. However, later my wife and I learned that His Majesty had only recently taken over the leadership of the village after overthrowing the previous leaders. A week later, the changes began to become noticeable and now, a month after His Majesty began his reign here, people might even easily forget that outside the world is a mess were it not for the constant movement of patrols." The middle-aged man surnamed Chu sighed as he counted wistfully.
"Now, not only can everyone get a job, but even children can go back to basic education. Even an old couple like the two of us were able to establish a business after selling all our belongings to set up a restaurant." Said the man proudly, "Therefore, you don't need to fear, young man. His Majesty is a man of miracles. A week ago, he led a small team of three people and captured a settlement of several thousand survivors. Now that His Majesty Bai Zemin is personally stepping forward once again, the only possible outcome is victory. Just sit back and wait for the benefits! Hahaha!"
The young man was surprised to see that not only the Chu and Yang couple seemed to think so. Many other survivors who were listening as they watched the dust cloud drift further and further away with the advancing vehicles nodded in agreement.
To these people who were rescued from hell, the society established within the walls of the faction of Bai Zemin was no different from heaven.
The eyes of the survivors were bright, there were no people wearing shabby clothes, everyone who wanted to work had meat and rice on their tables, those more intelligent and daring were even able to set up their own businesses. From a certain point of view, the world of these people had slowly begun to spin again; and the core of it all, the main engine, was the young man named Bai Zemin who together with 700 soul evolvers set off in a southerly direction to attack and conquer another settlement.
* * * * * * *
Thank you very much to everyone who voted for Blood Warlock with Golden Tickets! <3
