Volume 5 – A Distance Within Reach, Chapter 86: Black Tide
Ruoyu sighed. “This name is indeed odd, but you’ll understand why we call ourselves so after finding out certain things.”
“As a person living in the lowest rung of society in the dark nation, every day is a struggle between life and death. But although we are petty and can only crawl in the dark, we possess as much power as there are granules of sand on the Ganges River. We are the foundation of the entire dark nation pyramid. We fight for freedom in hopes that one day, we can overturn the Evernight Council and grasp fate in our own hands!”
The lady’s last words were full of passion. Qianye raised his brows and asked, “Are you all humans?”
“No, only a part of us are human. There are werewolves, vampires, and even demonkin in. Race is neither relevant or important. The most important part is that we share a common vision, and that is to overturn the Evernight Council!” Ruoyu seemed emotionally stirred.
“What is your mission here?”
Ruo Yu hesitated for a moment. She then glanced at Qianye’s expression and spoke with careful deliberation, “To seek potential rebels, draw them to our cause, and nurture them. As our members expand, so does our strength.”
“Does that mean I’ll become your enemy if I kill Brudo?” Qianye’s voice was tainted with killing intent.
“Why must we reach such a stage?” Ruoyi replied with a question. “Our interests coincide, do they not? At least regarding the overthrowing of the Evernight Council.”
Qianye put away the Twin Flowers after pondering for a moment. “Go then. Tell Brudo of my decision. As for your organization, do not act in my territory in the future.”
Ruoyu was stunned after hearing this and immediately sought to explain, “But our existence won’t cause the slightest bit of obstruction to you! The Evernight Council is our common enemy. I believe there are many areas in which we can cooperate.”
Qianye remained unmoved. His fingers tapped a couple of times on the table as he said, “Perhaps, but I have no interest at the moment. We can discuss further in the future when I encounter an issue.”
Qianye sat pondering in the tent after Ruoyu’s departure.
He felt an inherent dislike for the Dark Crawlers organization; their ideals sounded too far-fetched. Perhaps they held considerable power, however, it was undoubtedly a pipe dream to think of overthrowing the Evernight Council which had several big-shots overseeing it.
Moreover, even if they did manage to overthrow the council, what then?
The definition of freedom was too broad and was honestly not a term suitable to prattle about. Who knew what would happen if he allowed such an organization to roam free within his territory.
As for the potential retaliation after clearing their organization out, Qianye wasn’t overly apprehensive—this was something every lord would have to face in the process of exerting control over their territory. Even without the Dark Crawlers, there would still be other people and other matters. He was even less worried about Brudo’s side. It was just as Qianye had told Ruoyu, the one who couldn’t pay the price of this battle was the werewolf viscount, not him.
Qianye gave Duan Hao and Zhu Wuya instructions pertaining to the follow-up matters and, seeing that it was still early, decided to return that very night. His western campaign had come to an end after having subdued the werewolf tribes. He had managed to fully achieve his initial concept.
This was the first time Qianye had truly pioneered a new territory. However, he didn’t feel at ease during his journey back. The appearance of Twilight and Ruoyu caused the entire area to be suffused with dark clouds. Moreover, it seemed like things would escalate over the days to come.
The sky over Evernight was always gloomy, but the dark races felt no discomfort from the dreariness.
Although darkness origin power on the continent was intense, it was extremely violent. For most dark race members, it wasn’t a suitable place for living or cultivation. It was far inferior compared to the upper continents like Twilight Continent where many ancient races had originated.
At this moment, Nighteye was standing against the wind on an isolated mountain peak which pierced into the clouds—a single step in front of her was a bottomless ravine. Count Klaus was standing behind her. Within a short month, his hair had grown whiter, and the wrinkles on his face had increased significantly.
Klaus gazed at the lonesome figure of Nighteye’s back and finally said with a sigh, “Your Majesty.”
Nighteye turned back and said gently, “Don’t call me Your Majesty. You’ll always be my father in my heart."
Klaus was alarmed and said hurriedly, “No, you can’t say it like that! You’ve awoken Great Monarch Andruil’s bloodline. That is your true inheritance. Nothing will happen to me if others hear these words, but it will bring you a lot of trouble!”
Nighteye laughed self-deprecatingly. “Are my troubles any less at the moment? I wouldn’t mind adding a bit more.”
Klaus also sighed and asked, “What are your plans from now on?”
Nighteye replied indifferently, “I won’t let them have their way. I most certainly won’t agree to this engagement!”
“With the Grand Prince around, he definitely won’t allow Feras to act as recklessly as he said he would,” Klaus reminded.
Marriage was an extremely sacred word among the twelve ancient clans. But more often than not, it was also just a formality.
To the long-lived vampires, the true significance of marriage was an alliance. Secondly, it was to create a pure-blooded descendant with a powerful bloodline. As such, not every vampire had the right to marry. This was especially true among the twelve ancient clans where gaining the right to marry indicated that the person had gained the clan’s recognition.
Although inferior to Nighteye, Feras was also a primo. He was born of the fifth-ranked Sperger clan and one of the strongest competitors for the next term clan lord.
Nighteye understood what Klaus wanted to say and thus interrupted his words, “I’ve decided to go to war.”
“Go to war?” Klaus was astonished. He said hurriedly, “Don’t be rash. You’ve just ascended to the viscount rank. This war will be covered by an iron curtain. It will be one of the cruelest and bloodiest! Your life will truly be in danger if you enter the battlefield.”
A faint, ineffable emotion emerged in Nighteye’s gaze. “The rewards of a bloody battle are bountiful. I should have more confidence in speaking to those old fellows if I have enough contributions, right?”
Klaus wanted to say something but was hesitant.
How could the present issue be canceled out with mere military contributions? But he was very clear about Nighteye’s present mood—she only wanted to leave a thread of hope for herself. Military contributions in a bloody battle were generous, but the risk involved in accumulating them was significant, and chances of survival were slim.
…
The sound of a rumbling engine echoed through the wilderness as Qianye rushed forward on his motorcycle.
Blackflow City had already emerged far over the distant horizon. He had long since arrived back in human territory. The wild beasts of the wilderness and the wanderers of various professions posed no threat to the current Qianye. But for some reason, there was an indescribable uneasiness in his heart, and it was becoming progressively prominent.
The motorcycle’s rumble shook the earth and caused a number of giant rats to leap out from an unremarkable hole in the ground. They were a full meter long from head to tail and almost looked like an ugly dog. Seeing the motorcycle speeding toward them, their eyes turned red as they pounced forth amidst sharp squealing sounds.
An origin power radiance suddenly emerged. A defensive layer covered the entire vehicle as it whistled through the swarm of giant rats amidst a shower of blood. A number of giant rats were sent flying, unable to stop the motorcycle’s advance in the slightest.
Qianye braked urgently and caused the bike to spin several times in place before bringing it to a stop. He jumped down, walked over to one of the corpses, and picked one up with his dagger.
Crashing into an origin barrier at high speeds was no different from bumping into a steel wall. The giant rat’s bones had all shattered, and it hung flaccidly on the blade, barely recognizable.
However, what Qianye was interested in was why it had attacked the motorcycle.
The giant rats were the lowest in the wilderness food chain, so it definitely wouldn’t provoke something like a motorcycle under normal circumstances. But a swarm of them had actually launched an attack at Qianye—this kind of suicidal action didn’t conform to their nature.
But Qianye couldn’t find the reason for their sudden violence at all. He tossed the giant rat carcass away and put away the Scarlet Edge. His originally gloomy expression turned even more solemn.
In truth, he had encountered such an incident more than once on his way back. In addition to omnivorous beasts like giant rats, even small animals that were normally docile had turned ferocious all of a sudden and would occasionally launch suicidal attacks at the passers-by.
The atmosphere over the entire wilderness was somewhat different.
At this moment, engine rounds rumbled in the distance as two jeeps appeared over the horizon and sped toward Blackflow City at full speed. The vehicles were riddled with signs of damage and large patches of dried blood. Qianye could see even from afar that the passengers were also wounded, and a number of them were in critical condition.
They swerved over after seeing Qianye and slowed down near him. The burly man at the wheel shouted at him, “Brother, return to the city quick! The beasts in the wilderness have gone mad and will bite anyone they see! This is a sign that a beast tide is imminent. Don’t stay outside the city and court death!”
After shouting thus, he stomped on the gas pedal without waiting for Qianye’s reaction. A large puff of black smoke shot out from the jeep as it bolted away like a wild stallion.
“A beast tide?” Qianye had lived on Evernight for a fair length of time, but he had never heard of such a term.
However, the changes in the wilderness weren’t too bad in places closer to the city. The strength of the wild beasts was limited and could hardly pose a threat to fighters. But what about those beasts deep in the wilderness capable of using origin power? Were they just as berserk?
Ordinary and berserk beasts were a completely different concept. The fighting power of berserk beasts would suddenly advance by a couple of ranks. For instance, the giant mountain crocodiles were rank five or six demonic beasts. Qianye could normally do them in with a single strike of his blade, but he would have to run if numerous berserk mountain crocodiles were to swarm at him.
If a beast tide really were to appear, the entire Blackflow City warzone would be in imminent danger. The defensive structures Wei Bainian had left behind in Blackflow City would suffice to resist a dark race army, but the surrounding towns and bases would become ruins.
Qianye suddenly glanced back at the depths of the wilderness.
A black line had appeared over the distant horizon at one point and was gushing toward him. It looked like a large patch of dark clouds, but in Qianye’s eyes, it was just an insubstantial dark color. Everywhere it passed, the land below the skies would turn abnormally dark.
“What is that?” Qianye was bewildered.
The dark line was expanding rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it had occupied half the sky and was still spreading. Whatever it was, its omnipresent grandeur made even breathing difficult.
Qianye jumped onto the motorcycle rapidly and drove toward the incoming darkness. Along the way, he encountered many hunters, mercenaries, and adventurers. Most of them were full of injuries and running toward Blackflow City in a flustered state.
There were violent beasts everywhere in the wilderness. Even the timidest of rabbits would reveal its incisors and rush toward Qianye with great ferocity. Fortunately, these beasts were weak—they were only attacking instinctively on sight and hadn’t started moving in ranks. This allowed Qianye to breathe a sigh of relief.
An hour later, Qianye stopped the motorcycle. He stood gazing at the sky in what seemed like a completely empty wilderness.
In the air, the darkness flowed past like the tide, and the demarcation was extremely clear. In front of it was a clear sky, and behind the line was a murky firmament, a world where day and night were difficult to tell apart.