Page 162

West Sea:

"Admiral, has the situation here always been like this?"

Watching wave after wave of ferocious attacks by zombies, Mr. Heiyun, who had secretly entered the West Sea, frowned deeply.

The one in charge of the main defense of the West Sea’s principal city was now the eldest son of the Duke of Qin, Lumings, the next heir to the title: Lu Hong.

"It hasn’t always been like this..." Unlike the somewhat scholarly appearance of the Duke of Qin, his legitimate eldest son, Lu Hong, was tall and imposing, his face bearing some of his father’s traits, but his overall image was that of a true battle-hardened commander!

At this moment, in response to Mr. Heiyun’s question, Lu Hong lowered his voice and said, "On the third day of the zombies’ attack, we had discerned their pattern and ceased the mass slaying of zombies.

Moreover, we tightened our defenses. With ample military strength in the West Sea, we herded most of the West Sea’s citizens into the city and cleared the fields.

Utilizing the spare time during the day, we searched the countryside for food.

Before your arrival, sir, everything had been quiet, and the zombie hordes had not actively attacked the city for two months! "

"What about now?" Heiyun’s brow furrowed even more; the intensity and number of attackers were different from what he had expected.

"Unclear... there must have been some major change with the monsters in the sea!" Lu Hong’s expression was also grim, "Since yesterday, these zombies have become abnormally violent, and their combat strength is incomparable to before. Many mutated beings have appeared."

He said this and pointed to a distant location, where there were dozens of zombie monsters at least ten meters tall, and at the center, a pile resembling putrefying flesh, about thirty meters high.

"Those monsters did not exist before; they must be a result of the zombies devouring each other.

That pile of putrid flesh-like monsters seems to be specifically designed for sieging cities.

Once it crashes over, a vast amount of acid capable of melting flesh sprays to a distance of a hundred meters.

The slightest inattention, and the soldiers on the city walls will be infected en masse. "

"And those white zombies with long fingertips, crawling on the ground, are extremely agile. They climb the walls faster than Mountainous Demons in the hills. With such high walls around the West Sea city, they often scale it in just a few steps. Hidden within the zombie horde, they manage to catch us off guard frequently. If it weren’t for those deputy generals who fully unleashed their lineage powers and desperately blocked the breaches yesterday, I fear that by the time you arrived, sir, West Sea city would have already fallen. "

"Is it that critical?" Heiyun was taken aback, "Were there no signs?"

"It’s my fault!" Lu Hong said with some annoyance, "In the days leading up to this, although there were many zombies appearing around West Sea city, I observed that they were clearly not from a single force, as they would fight and consume one another.

There were roughly three to four different groups.

I thought that as long as we defended West Sea city, these zombies would eventually kill each other off.

I became somewhat lax in my observations these past days, but the attack from yesterday makes it clear that those zombie forces are starting to cooperate. .. and look over there!"

Mr. Heiyun followed the direction pointed to by the other, and his heart skipped a beat!

He hadn’t seen it clearly at first, and had thought it was just murky seawater, which was why it seemed black. But on closer inspection, how could it be merely turbidity in the water? There was an unbelievably huge shadow encircling the shallow waters of the West Sea!

What kind of monster was that?

At a glance... it almost encompassed the entire West Sea coastline!

"If I’m not mistaken, it should be the Old Ancestor Shen," said Lu Hong with a serious expression.

"Old Ancestor Shen?" Heiyun nodded, "That’s indeed possible... It’s rumored that the previous Old Ancestor Shen’s transformation into a dragon was through the practice of Serpent Arts, but... isn’t that a bit too large?"

Heiyun felt something was off. It’s true Old Ancestor Shen could transform into a massive serpent through the Serpent Arts, but isn’t this size an exaggeration?

Although he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, if it were of such size, there couldn’t possibly be no rumors about it throughout the entire West Sea.

"Moreover, is Old Ancestor Shen in league with these zombies?"

"Most likely..." Lu Hong nodded, "We must have been marked. I don’t know why it’s so adamant about taking West Sea city, but since yesterday, these zombies have been attacking fiercely, regardless of the cost, even not sparing the daytime for surprise assaults. The intensity of their attacks is even more outrageous than when these zombies first landed. Sir, if this is the case, my father’s hope for me to secretly preserve our strength is probably in vain. .."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Heiyun didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Originally, the Duke of Qin accepted this mission because he sensed that this event could be a chance to unlock ancient powers. Using the identity of Prince Reincarnator, he sought to seize the opportunity first.

The Lu Family had records indicating that Reincarnators are born with secrets of ancient powers and possess information unknown to all others.

The King of Qin managed to seal the Otherworldly Demon Statues, preventing an ancient invasion, proving that Reincarnators indeed have the power to stop the ancient ones.

The King of Qin could do it, simply because he had sufficient intelligence. The Duke of Qin believed that if he had as much information, he could similarly prevent the ancient invasion.

The ancient... although fearsome, holds the secrets to longevity. The biggest mistake the King of Qin made was... forbidding them from exploring the ancient!

The world he wants, where humans and demons coexist, is not opposed by the Duke of Qin and others; they too do not wish for the human race to always be prey to demonic consumption.

But the King of Qin was wrong to prevent the human race from gaining more powerful forces!

Coexistence with demons?

How can one coexist without equal strength?

You, the King of Qin, are the mightiest demon in the world, able to command all Reincarnating Demons to obey you, but what if you are no longer there?

Won’t the human race, weaker in power, return to what they once were?

Moreover, Demons can reincarnate, again and again, amounting to eternal life. Do you, King of Qin, intend to rule forever if you keep reincarnating?

You stand with the Human Race now, but what about in the future? What if one day you change your mind?

After all, Reincarnating Demons often lose most of their memories and undergo significant changes in temperament. Is it appropriate to rest the fate of the entire Human Race on you, King of Qin, alone?

Lumings does not agree, and neither do Heiyun and the rest... hence, when the Siao Family orchestrated their betrayal, countless Martial Families chose to remain silent. Ultimately, it boils down to one thing—the King of Qin is too self-interested!

And this opportunity is truly once in a millennium!

The Crown Prince is weak, nowhere near as powerful as King of Qin; however, he indeed possesses memories concerning some ancient information. According to the plan, as long as we extract all the information from the Crown Prince, Duke of Qin is confident in suppressing this time’s ancients!

Although grand in scale, this time it is not nearly as critical as the last incident involving the Otherworldly Demon Statues.

Last time, a few of us accompanied King of Qin in suppressing the ancients, and we’re no longer as fearful of their advent as we were before.

As long as the method is correct, stopping them is not an impossibility!

There are risks, but there are also substantial rewards!!

Each advent of the ancients shatters the civilization of the Human Race, while each time the power of the ancients is stolen by those foreign Reincarnators. This time is different—they want to take the initiative themselves!

The plan has been going smoothly so far...

The Emperor gave the green light, allowing Duke of Qin to be in charge of suppression, and for the sake of reputation, also let the Crown Prince accompany the army—all within their calculations.

But why... at this critical juncture, have we been targeted by these ancient powers?

This is truly not a good start!!

-----------------------------------

Elsewhere, on the outskirts of the Jiangnan route, atop a valley, a middle-aged man with incomparably handsome features followed behind Princess Chang, watching the pitiful state of the Crown Prince with unmoved eyes, yet his gaze drifted toward the misty sea.

This man resembling the Vermilion Bird inheritor Fei Jun by nearly seventy percent, is none other than Fei Tianxing, the current husband of Princess Chang and the Family Head of the Vermilion Bird Fei Family.

"I am puzzled," Fei Tianxing said, not sparing a glance at the Crown Prince, who had been reduced to a human stick, and instead asked, looking toward the seaside, "Your Majesty, why would you permit Duke of Qin to be responsible for this suppression?

Does he not know the opportunities within the advent of the ancients? "

"He doesn’t know..." Princess Chang said with a smile.

Fei Tianxing was taken aback. The ancient Martial Families, the Lu Family is one, and so is the Siao Family... right? They should all have records regarding the ancients. So why doesn’t the Emperor, as the Family Head, know, yet Princess Chang does?

"The Family Head was originally supposed to be me!

" Princess Chang said with a sneer, "That man took an unconventional path, and somehow contacted an old monster within the Path of Yin and Yang, gaining unprecedented power. For a time, he even outpaced my growth. Additionally, considering he’s a man, after much deliberation by the previous Family Head and the wishes of many branches of the family, they ultimately let him become the Family Head! "

"However... the elders of the Siao Family were wary of how he obtained his power, so they did not hand over some of the core information, including the records about the ancients."

"Then... what about the suppression of the Otherworldly Demon Statues by King of Qin?"

"When King of Qin suppressed the Otherworldly Demon Statues, very few of our offspring were involved. Other than myself, only Lumings, Liu Yu, and Miao Miao, a few top Warriors, were present. He was responsible for the northern battlefield, so he didn’t take part in that event."

"I see..."

"King of Qin did not allow people like Lumings to explore the Demon Statue inheritance and directly sealed the Demon Statue in The Void Realm, completely severing Lumings’s certain ambitions.

That’s the real reason he didn’t come to King of Qin’s aid then.

Hence, the rumors outside—that in view of his loyalty, he took on the title of King of Qin, calling himself Duke of Qin—are truly ironic. "

Princess Chang laughed coldly, "It’s clear that he inherited the majority of King of Qin’s support from the Human Race... "

Fei Tianxing fell silent...

He knew... his wife held a grudge against her own brother who had harmed King of Qin and detested Duke of Qin for failing to come to the rescue!

He knew... in his wife’s heart, the one she admired was always that man...

At this thought, he involuntarily spoke up for Duke of Qin, "But back then, Duke of Qin indeed gave up the struggle for power, ceded the throne to the Siao Family, and compromised for the sake of the common people... "

"Compromise?" Princess Chang suddenly laughed, "After the Empress died, that guy directly tore up the treaty, drove Liu Yu to death, and did we see him stand up to fight back? Where is that supposed compromise? He clearly didn’t dare!"

Fei Tianxing: "...."

"You will soon see his true nature..." Princess Chang, watching the setting sun, said coldly, "Order the troops to march, and tell Old Ancestor Shen... the flesh and blood have been delivered to him!!"