Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Like a massive machine, the Martial Arts Department (MAD) of Jiangnan city base promptly went to work, receiving intelligence reports and other information before circulating them.
“Intelligence suggests that the Black King Drake of Chongming Island succeeded in its ascension above rank-nine. Right now, Ferals in a radius of several hundred miles from Chongming Island are becoming restless and flocking towards it… in less than three days, a great Feral Swarm would form.”
Qin Fan appeared somber, and relayed the information he received immediately to MAD headquarters.
A Feral’s ascension to a King Feral would definitely cause a Feral Swarm. This seemingly unreasonable phenomenon had become an unwritten rule: there would be unrest whenever a Feral ascended above rank-nine, and they would immediately attack a human city.
The ascension of Mount Dadong’s Graywolf King saw an assault on human settlements too, but the government’s immediate evacuation of the citizens kept casualties low, and the threat of a nuclear bomb prevented any unrest.
In fact, Long Mountain Lin had been wounded because of the unrest caused by a Feral’s ascension to King Feral.
Once such a Feral Swarm overflow, the scale would definitely be grand. Moreover, the Feral King would control the swarm without joining the fight, or divine-tier humans would get involved. Even so, the scale of destruction that thousands of Ferals could cause was exceedingly horrifying, and a while ago, Yunnan’s Jinghong City was almost destroyed by a Feral Swarm, causing over a million casualties.
The battle was simple horrific that the newly ascended Black Ape King even joined the fight, although it was eventually slain by the blade of one human martial artist.
“Investigate immediately!”
Qin Fan growled. “Notify the filed intelligence officers to put a twenty-four-hour surveillance on Chongming Island!”
“Located at Changjiang Delta, Chongming Island is not far from other cities including Jiangnan, Yangzhou, Jiaxing, and Shanghai. We must confirm the city they are targeting before the Feral Swarm starts moving!”
Wang Gang acknowledged his orders with a fist-palm salute before turning and leave.
Meanwhile, Qin Fan leaned on his chair for a long time before making a call.
“Deputy Zhou…”
“No worries, Chief Qin,” Zhou Yu replied. “I’ve already informed Minister Wang and diverted various elites from other provinces.”
“Moreover, aren’t the three great martial clans— the Murong clan, the Long clan, and the Wei clan all in Jiangnan now? There are also many other elites there, and I’ve just contacted the clans myself. When the fight breaks out, their elites would all join the fight.”
Qin Fan was pleased, but soon chuckled bitterly. “Deputy Zhou, you know those martial clans always prioritize profits…”
Deputy Zhou chuckled coldly at that. “Minister Wang had already said that repelling the Feral Swarm and protecting their homes is the greatest profit there is. If those three clans disobey your instructions, their existence is unnecessary.”
At those words, Zhou Yu turned to look behind himself.
Wang Hou was smoking a cigar and leaning on his genuine leather chair while resting his foot on the desk leisurely.
There was a Thermos cup on his desk, holding Wang Hou’s favorite caterpillar fungus plus wolfberry drink.
Zhou Yu’s whole body felt unsettled at the sight of Wang Hou’s posture and the Thermos cup on the desk, and could not help asking, “Minister Wang, you are now a void-tier elite and the highest authority of the MAD. There might be some negativity if the media caught of a photo of you acting like this, surely?”
Snuffing out the cigar and taking a sip from the Thermos cup, Wang Hou flatly said, “Could the media photograph me without my permission?”
“And even if they did, would they dare to circulate it without my permission?’
“So what if I’m Void-tier? I’m still human, and can’t I drink some wolfberry for my kidneys?”
Spitting out a wolfberry he had inadvertently drank, Wang Hou then rose to stand beside the window, saying, “Old Zhou, contact Chief Commander Li at the military and Minister Huang of the Ministry of Education… Let’s go big this time. That Black King Drake is just a newly ascended King Feral and not too powerful, so contact ten top rank-eights and rank-nines to see if they could kill it!”
Zhou Yu winced at that, and he was about to speak when Wang Hou stopped him, smirking as he turned around. “If they succeed, we could kill any new King Ferals that intend to incite Feral Swarms, until every new Feral King wouldn’t have the guts to do so.”
“Minister Wang, the other King Ferals wouldn’t agree to that, would they?”
Wang Hou replied indifferently, “It’s war if they disagree. We’ll just take them with us and baptize the world with nuclear warheads. Could the Ferals survive, even if we humans all went extinct in the process?”
“Hell!”
“Stirring a Feral Swarm just because they ascended? Who on earth gave those vermins such right?”
Zhou Yu felt his blood boil and surge at that, and he quietly said, “Count me in on the Black King Drake’s death then!”
“Minister Wang, I’ll contact the military and the Ministry of Education right away and dispatch ten top rank-nine elites—fifteen if they weren’t enough, or every last rank-nine in the country. I’ll never believe they can’t take out a new King Feral!”
In short, a single King Feral’s ascension had left the Hua Nation’s top command in shock.
1
***
Meanwhile, Jiang He was now deep into the wildlands and getting ever closer to Chongming Island.
After driving 200 miles out of Jiangnan, he got off his car.
The road ahead was very much ruined, with signs of fighting everywhere, as well as giant Feral footprints that left a deep mark into the road.
Alighting and putting his sports car into his System Backpack, Jiang He casted Blind Princess’s Eight Practices and sprinted towards Chongming Island.
Even as he darted away, his mind was remembering information about the island.
Located on the Changjiang Delta area, Chongming Island was once prosperous, with many development areas and scenic areas nearby.
It was also the converging point of many rivers as they flowed into the sea.
Nonetheless, the area fell to a sharp decline following the Revival of Qi.
There were constant Feral attacks at the rivers, with behemoths rising from the oceans and going on wanton rampages.
And now, Chongming Island was basically an isle of death for humans.
“Sigh…
“This place was supposed to be bustling, and yet it turned out like this!”
On his way to Chongming Island, Jiang He saw ruins of cities, towns and factories, as well as rusting vehicles on both sides of the road and dried bones.
Even so, Jiang He was quite surprised and puzzled…
As he continued running, the Ferals he encountered were common ones, and were either rank-one and rank-two.
“Aren’t Ferals nocturnal? Why do I always have a hard time encountering them whenever I come out at night?”
“Perhaps the Ferals’ habit had changed, and now they sleep at night?”
Still, that thought was soon moot.
As he approached Chongming Island, Jiang He noticed in delight that there were more Ferals around him now!
