Chapter 788: Survival of the Fittest
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Chela from the Scorpion Mercenaries!”
Gong Yi’s gaze was locked on the figure advancing toward them.
It was Chela, one of the Eight Great Poisonous Scorpions from the Scorpion Mercenaries and also one of the top experts under Caslort. His aura wasn’t inferior to the trio at all, and his killing intent was stronger than them by far too much.
“Tsk tsk, you guys haven’t run away yet?” Chela’s thick lips curled up to show his teeth which had a b.l.o.o.d.y red tint to it. It was said that he liked to eat human flesh, especially humans from the Federation, as they had a special taste.
“I thought you Federation people were smart. However, I see that there are idiots too.”
Bang!
A figure suddenly crashed down from mid-air, creating a giant sandy hole in the desert. A terrifying big hand reached out from the hole as a gigantic ball of meat squeezed its way out from it, just like a fat sandworm.
It was Rozan, the giant from the Eight Great Poisonous Scorpions. He could sneak around and infiltrate any place in the desert at will. He was a Peak Heroic Soul Stage expert with a ubiquitous presence in the desert.
“What a handsome fellow! Big sister here will get rid of you personally in a while.” A figure appeared on Rozan’s shoulder. It was a topless woman who had dark skin but white teeth. It was the Yin Scorpion from the Eight Great Poisonous Scorpions. Her strength was absorbing men’s Soul Power, and she was also notorious in the desert.
“Heheh, the feudal lord wants Sister Hong alive. Kill everyone else.” Demon Scorpion had the appearance of a bald and muscular man with bright red lipstick. He was a s.h.e.m.a.l.e that was androgynous. He was the cruelest out of the Eight Great Poisonous Scorpions. Half of Caslort’s main force had arrived.
At the same time, in the Holy Land, w.a.n.g Zhong was sending Skylink messages to Grai and the others, including Feng. He needed Pioneering Orders that could send them to Earth. With his current status, he could only obtain them under the name of their exploration team. However, a Pioneering Order that could send them to Earth would cost 5,000 Holy Coins even under the name of an exploration team.
Nonetheless, Feng had the Pioneering Orders ready for w.a.n.g Zhong, borrowed under the name of the Wanderl.u.s.t Team. Although they hadn’t known each other for a long time, Feng knew that w.a.n.g Zhong wouldn’t be so anxious if he had any other way out. She didn’t press for details or act upon her own judgment. To Feng, w.a.n.g Zhong wasn’t a stranger, and he would ask if he needed anything else.
Immediately after Feng left, Grai, Napier Mo, Mo Ling, Sharmie, and Mario all reached the meeting place. They looked at w.a.n.g Zhong, wondering what made him so uptight.
“Hey, Old w.a.n.g. What’s going on? You’ve already started missing us when we just said goodbye a moment ago?” Sharmie bellowed from a distance upon seeing w.a.n.g Zhong walk in.
“I have a mission on hand, but there are no rewards though. What do you guys think about going on a killing spree on Earth with me?” w.a.n.g Zhong’s voice was very calm, but anyone who knew him well could tell that he was livid.
Everyone was slightly startled; even Sharmie remained quiet and kept her joke to herself. It was extremely rare to see w.a.n.g Zhong like this. This guy was very ‘casual’ normally, but now they could feel a bone-chilling wave of cold air coming from him suddenly, which they weren’t used to.
Napier touched his clown nose. “I like to get rowdy. Let’s go for it. Hope the enemy’s not too weak!”
“Senior’s mission must be very interesting.” Grai grinned.
Sharmie was so excited that she pulled out a cannon immediately. The Flaming Rose was a second-hand soul tool bought from an alchemy workshop. She and Mario had spent all their a.s.sets on it. Although it was a low-end product and could even be considered inferior in a sense, its firepower was way stronger than the runic weapons on Earth. “This sister’s cannon has been thirsting for a fight! Let’s go! Whoever w.a.n.g Zhong wants to blow up, this sister right here has got your back!”
Mario always danced to Sharmie’s tune, so he would follow Sharmie anywhere. Everyone’s power had increased to a certain extent, but they hadn’t tested it out yet. They did explore secret realms, but it was different this time since their opponents were humans!
The appearance of four of the Eight Great Poisonous Scorpions made Caslort’s army — which was originally confused — burst into cheers wildly. The morale of the army was restored as they grew more bloodthirsty and enthusiastic.
The glimmer of hope that Katchirda’s warriors harbored for a moment was crushed instantly. The Scorpion Mercenaries’ reputation preceded them. In the desert, their reputation wasn’t inferior to that of the Grim Reaper or the Hurricanes. They earned their prestige in the desert from countless killings. Several large and powerful clans with many Heroic Soul soldiers were ma.s.sacred by them.
Even the scorching sun and yellow sand couldn’t conceal the fishy smell they were reputed for.
“Our destiny is the yellow sand. Our lives are intertwined with yellow sand. Protecting the oasis, our home, is our destiny. Protecting the oasis, our home, in both life and death.”
A Katchirda warrior suddenly started singing Katchirda’s tribal song. It started off with him singing alone before the entire tribe gradually joined in.
They lived here and would die here, so this was their home.
No one expected these Katchirda warriors to initiate the first attack. They raised their spears while they sang. Their power was like that of ants, yet they went ahead anyway. Their eyes flashed with a fear of death, yet they didn’t hesitate.
Roars came from Caslort’s army as they went forth too. Their army was dozens of times larger than that of the Katchirda warriors. Both parties met head-on in the sand dunes.
When the people of the desert fought, they didn’t do so with a lack of cooperation. Killing had been a part of their lives ever since they were born. They had an innate ability to fight and cooperate together. They fought selflessly. It was fine even if they were sliced by a blade; they would just tear off their clothes and wrap it around their wounds, then continue!
The Katchirda warriors seemed to become fiercer when they bled. Fighting without any regard for their lives, they seemingly managed to break free from the feudal lord army’s suppression. Of course, this was because the feudal lord army didn’t start with a strong attack since they didn’t want to suffer heavy losses. They used their advantage in numbers as part of their main strategy.
The outcome of this battle wasn’t decided by the members of the feudal lord army. After the stronger people killed the core opponents, the remaining Katchirda warriors that were still alive would be of superior quality and would probably be of some use. These were all handy resources that could be made use of.
Gong Yi took a deep breath. As a crazy and certified gambler, he would never give up hope. He didn’t think that the solution to their problem was to fight it out physically. However, they had no other choice. “Let’s fight then.”
Reynolds was the first to dash out while Gong Yi followed closely behind him like a shadow. Sister Hong waved her hand, and her silver snake whip chased after Gong Yi, making his shadow seem like a snake.
Once they moved, it would definitely be an instant kill in one shot!
The three of them moved in unison, heading toward Chela at lightning speed. In their single-file formation, the trio’s Soul Power combined into one force and flowed toward Reynolds, who was at the front of the formation.
Hum…
The sound of a blade being drawn could be heard as Reynolds’ Heart Blade appeared. The silver glow it gave off was blinding.
“Die!” Reynolds shouted.
The Heart Blade was infused with a crazy amount of Soul Power and suddenly expanded, becoming a 10-meter giant sword that swung down on Chela!
Reynolds exuded an aura that was of Peak Heroic Soul Stage power, while Sister Hong and Gong Yi could each harness over 5,000 Gra.s.sos of Soul Power.
After w.a.n.g Zhong left, the three of them didn’t stop cultivating after recovering from their injuries. On the contrary, after receiving pointers from Mu Zi, the three of them had different revelations. Although the cursed lands wasn’t full of opportunities like the blessed lands, the high-intensity battles they went through allowed the trio to acc.u.mulate an unimaginable amount of experience. With Mu Zi’s enlightenment, their power skyrocketed.
Chela glanced at the opponent’s killer move and didn’t move at all. He sneered. “Rozan.”
With a loud growl, Rozan’s gigantic figure landed in front of Chela. A layer of silver energy enveloped his body. The topless Yin Scorpion was still wrapped around him, sticking out her blood-red tongue and twisting her waist. She rested on Rozan’s shoulder, a dangerous green light flas.h.i.+ng in her big eyes.
Pssssst!
The Yin Scorpion suddenly opened her mouth and hissed like a snake. The green light in her eyes shot toward Reynolds’ Heart Blade. With a crackling sound, the silver glow enveloping the Heart Blade was overshadowed by a thin layer of gray aura. Surprisingly, the blade went through petrification, and large amounts of Soul Power leaked out from the cracks on the blade formed as a result of petrification.
Bang!
When the Heart Blade landed on Rozan, it had already lost its spirit to fight against the power of a Heavenly Soul Stage. Sparks flew everywhere. The silver Soul Power resembled that of countless artillery fire, and it was seemingly being blasted into a calm lake. It was dazzling and eye-catching.
Puff!
Reynolds’ body trembled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. A powerful force from Rozan had rebounded the attack back to Reynolds.
In that instant, the trio’s formation fell apart, and the Soul Power linkage between the three of them also broke down, dissipating quickly.
At a distance away, the strong bald guy, Demon Scorpion, didn’t join in the fight with Gong Yi and the others. He turned and targeted the Katchirda warriors instead. “Keep them alive. They’re valuable!”
As he said that, he stretched his hand and pointed at the Katchirda warriors who were busy fighting for their oasis, their homeland. A silver glow of Soul Power could be seen as numerous bubbles appeared out of thin air and headed for the Katchirda warriors at an alarming speed. The warriors stabbed at the bubbles, using their spears with precision. However, their attacks didn’t have any effect as the bubbles were still intact. The bubbles continued to move and trap several warriors inside of them. With a silver glow, the warriors trapped inside these bubbles fainted.
“Again!”
Gong Yi let out a low cry. The situation was grave. Gong Yi retreated a few steps, while Sister Hong, who was originally at the back, moved to the front. With a hiss, her poisonous snake with blood-red fangs s.h.i.+elded Reynolds beside her. With their movements, they reconnected their Soul Power linkage. It wasn’t a vertical circuit anymore, as they formed a triangular circuit of Soul Power.
All of the Soul Power flowed toward Gong Yi, as his G.o.d of Gamblers Dharma Idol appeared with a confident laugh. The cards in his hand were being shuffled rapidly, and the power of destiny was infused into the cards.
It was time to draw cards…
Crack!
The corner of Gong Yi’s eyes suddenly ripped apart as two lines of blood streamed down his face onto his s.h.i.+rt. He didn’t seem to sense that as he had focused all his attention on his Dharma Idol. This time, he didn’t depend fully on luck but used his Soul Power to forcefully draw the cards he wanted. As he drew the cards, every movement he made was like fighting against the entire world. It was as if the sky was falling, and he was the only one supporting it.
Bang!
With difficulty, three spades were drawn out. Spade J, Q, K…
Strength was a part of luck too. Gong Yi’s hands trembled as he used a large amount of Soul Power to draw the fourth card from the hands of his G.o.d of Gamblers Dharma Idol. It was also a spade, as an Ace slowly rose from the deck of cards that was shrouded in black mist.
Reynolds and Sister Hong were under attack. Petrifying laser beams shot out of Yin Scorpion’s eyes, and Reynolds used his Heart Blade as a s.h.i.+eld to block all her attacks. With every attack he blocked, another crack appeared on the Heart Blade. Yin Scorpion was at the Peak Heroic Soul Stage, and every petrifying attack harnessed more than 5,000 Gra.s.sos of Soul Power. Furthermore, this wasn’t purely a Soul Power attack as it carried a petrifying special ability with the Earth attribute!
Sister Hong’s silver snake whip restrained Rozan and Chela as she divided her Soul Power into two portions. She was fighting in a way with no regard for her life. It was obvious that Rozan and Chela were holding back in fear of injuring her. Even so, forcefully dividing all her Soul Power into two portions and channeling it continuously had caused her internal organs to s.h.i.+ft and be damaged. A stream of blood flowed out from a corner of her mouth as a result of her injured internal organs. Blood filled Sister Hong’s chest cavity and then flowed out from her mouth. Blood stained her originally pale lips, making it look beautiful. It was a beautiful yet sad sight, but she was still smiling.
Gong Yi let out an angry growl. The Ace of Spades was in his hand. Now, there was only one card left to draw!
“Two of Spades!”
Boom!
The G.o.d of Gamblers was smiling, with fluctuations of Soul Power surrounding him. Gong Yi knew that this was the attribute of luck that his Dharma Idol carried — Lucky Draw!
The face of the card came into sight, a spade!
The number was slowly appearing too! A faint ‘2’ was forming slowly on the card.
The soul skill of the G.o.d of Gamblers, a straight flush of spades, inevitably carried a trace of the power of the natural laws. Although the power was fragmented, it could break through all defenses as long as the opponent hadn’t reached the Heavenly Soul Stage! Rozan and Yin Scorpion could block Reynolds’ strengthened Heart Blade, but they couldn’t oppose fate!
Just before Gong Yi’s last card was fully drawn out, an aura suddenly materialized from afar and dominated over the ma.s.ses from a high position. In this s.p.a.ce, a domineering force suddenly collided with that card that was yet to be fully drawn out.
Crack!!!
There was a crisp, crackling sound of Soul Power as a layer of gray mist covered the card that was almost drawn out.
It was as if Gong Yi’s body suffered a heavy blow, and a s.h.i.+ver ran through his body. Using his super-vision, he could see someone standing on a sand dune far away. It was a tiny black figure, but those eyes pierced through his soul like lightning. That was a pair of terrifying eyes with a powerful aura!
Without any Soul Power or combat techniques, just a pair of eyes, its silver cold glance was a heavy blow to Gong Yi’s spirit.
“Draw it!”
Gong Yi slapped himself twice suddenly, and his face became swollen instantly. The huge force he hit himself with was able to set him free from that mental h.e.l.l.
Boom!
The last card was finally drawn out fully, yet the number that should have been ‘2’ was replaced with a blank s.p.a.ce now.
It was a blank card!
Bang!
His hand was complete, and the five cards combined into one, turning into a black dragon. However, the place where its abdomen should be was empty, so it could only be considered as half of a black dragon.
With a growl and with violent fluctuations of Soul Power surrounding it, the black dragon turned around in mid-air and headed straight for Chela.
Chela bellowed furiously. Why was he being targeted twice consecutively? He was also at the Peak Heroic Soul Stage!
Hearing Chela’s scream, two b.l.o.o.d.y streaks suddenly appeared in Rozan’s eyes. He originally didn’t dare to attack Sister Hong violently since he wanted to capture her alive. Rozan roared fiercely as his rolls of fat trembled. He punched Sister Hong, forcing her to retreat, and headed straight for the black dragon.
Using his body as a s.h.i.+eld!
Boom!
With sand and stones flying around them, the dragon executed a Yellow Sand Dragon Fist!
Amidst the sandstorm, Rozan let out an agonized growl. He was injured!
However, the black dragon was disappearing slowly too.
Gong Yi had a tragic smile on his face. Once he started drawing his cards, either he or his opponent was bound to lose.
COMMENT
With the G.o.d of Gamblers as his Dharma Idol, there could only be these two outcomes.
It was time to draw cards again!
Meanwhile, someone was watching them from a distance in the hills.
Lightning flashed in Moyus’s eyes as he looked at the ongoing battle. Suddenly, he heard a movement. “You guys go there too. Finish this quickly.” He said in a faint voice.
“Roger.”
Four figures jumped down from the sand dunes and headed toward the battlefield with lightning speed.
A moment later, a group of guards followed Caslort, who was well built and dressed extravagantly, up the sand dunes.
“My Lord.”
Moyus bowed slightly to Caslort.
“No need to be so polite to me.” Caslort laughed heartily and helped Moyus up.
After speaking, he turned to look at the battlefield, a smile on his face. “This must be hard for you. Nonetheless, I have plans for that woman. The female slaves that she trained are not bad indeed.”
Evidently, the reason why the battle hadn’t ended yet was because Caslort specifically requested Cao Hong to be captured alive. A woman that could trick half of the aristocrats in the Tutankhamun Empire was extremely useful. Just looking at the way those female slaves were trained was enough for him to see that there were countless paths he could take to attain more power.
Caslort explained the rationale behind this request to Moyus. It wasn’t that he was l.u.s.ting after her; he had other intentions instead. Moyus was not only his trusted partner, but in fact, the two of them were related in another way too. Both of them were brothers with different fathers. The awesome thing was that Moyus was focused on cultivation, while Caslort cared more about power and status; so Moyus used his power to secure Caslort’s place, while Caslort was able to provide better cultivation resources for Moyus with his higher status.
This was a win-win situation that both of them had benefited greatly from. Caslort became a powerful feudal lord in the Empire, while Moyus was able to obtain countless resources from helping Caslort. In the process, he sharpened his skills and earned his Scorpion King t.i.tle.
The Scorpion Mercenaries was only ranked fifth in the desert. However, its team leader Moyus was at the Peak Heroic Soul Stage, and he was also one of the top three experts in the desert. He even had the stellar battle record of defeating a Heavenly Soul Stage expert before!
Although the person he defeated was only at the Initial Heavenly Soul Stage, it was still a magnificent feat! This wasn’t a normal battle against people of a higher level than him; it was a battle between a Heroic Soul Stage and a Heavenly Soul Stage. This meant that Moyus was incredibly talented and had a formidable trump card.
After hearing what Caslort said, Moyus frowned instead. As the rest of the Eight Great Poisonous Scorpions joined the battlefield, that supposedly useful woman became desperate and red Soul Power exploded from her entire body. It appeared that she was about to draw power from her soul. “If so, I’ll capture her personally then.”
Not only couldn’t they let her die, she had to be kept in a ‘useful’ state.
Moyus took a step forward.
BANG…
With that step, gusts of wind blew through the desert as yellow sand and dust were blown all over the place. Moyus was in the middle of the sandstorm as he was the one who had caused it.
With his second step, he had already arrived in front of Sister Hong. He stretched his hand out and reached for her.
Sister Hong, who was fighting with all her energy, suddenly trembled. Runes appeared all over her body, turning into chains and locking her movements. She couldn’t move at all.
“Kill the rest of them.”
Moyus said. He reached out and grabbed Sister Hong, bringing her to Caslort.
Reynolds and Gong Yi could only look at Cao Hong being brought away, unable to do anything. They were at the bottom of the hierarchy. They came to this dilapidated desert to try to build a world that belonged to them, a new world with freedom.
However, in front of absolute power, they were pitiful. All solutions and negotiations were dependent on your power. They would be killed immediately if they couldn’t serve any use.
Gong Yi looked at the sky while Reynolds was making his final struggle. A desert would always be a desert; it wouldn’t change because of someone’s arrival or death. There was a tragic smile on Gong Yi’s face. Could a man’s determination really conquer nature?
That was just a joke. He had been taking gambles all his life; however, he didn’t expect to lose here today.
At that moment, a s.p.a.ce warp appeared, and everyone could feel the tremors on the ground. A small dimensional door opened.
Gong Yi’s tense face relaxed. Someone finally arrived.