Its already distorted beak suddenly opened, and a long tongue shot toward Armor King. The Earth’s top mutated lifeform, utterly defenseless, had its head pierced through. Then, the Nine-Winged Crow’s tongue turned blood-red, and the wounds on its body seemed to be healing.
A Nine-Winged Crow that had regained even a third of its strength was enough to cleanly slaughter every human and monster here.
Though Ye Zhongming and the others had retreated as a precaution, they were still prepared to act, seeing this.
There was no choice. If something unexpected happened now, the entire operation would fail.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”
The monster commander nearby suddenly relayed this message to Ye Zhongming.
Ye Zhongming didn’t understand; his gaze locked onto the commander. If it couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation, he would take action against the Nine-Winged Crow.
Cloud Peak had indeed exhausted its ammunition against the millions of monsters, but what they had prepared for a level-nine lifeform hadn’t been used yet.
“It’s leaving behind its legacy. Give… the King this chance.”
“I don’t want a level-nine legacy constantly seeking revenge on me!”
With that, Ye Zhongming waved his hand.
Cloud Peak was about to strike.
“It won’t happen,” the monster commander quickly stopped Ye Zhongming. “A legacy is just a continuation of a level-nine lifeform’s bloodline. Only the bloodline is passed down. Everything else—consciousness, thoughts, even form—is completely new.”
“It’s like…”
The monster commander grew anxious, struggling to find the right words. After a pause, it said, “It’s like how humans pass down their lineage, leaving behind proof of their existence in this world.”
“Let me handle it.”
Perhaps fearing it couldn’t persuade Ye Zhongming, the monster commander walked toward the level-nine Nine-Winged Crow itself. Cloud Peak held back its attack, observing how things unfolded.
Seeing its once most trusted subordinate approach, the Nine-Winged Crow cried disdainfully. The commander vibrated the appendages on either side of its head, communicating with the Crow in a way humans couldn’t understand. Their wariness didn’t lessen.
In the end, no one knew how the two monsters communicated, but the Nine-Winged Crow suddenly flicked one of its wings, sending the commander flying far away.
Its strength was immense even when it was near death. The commander, a mental lifeform with a fragile body, was torn open by the blow, dozens of wounds splitting its flesh, and purple blood drenched its entire body.
Yet, the commander stood up and returned to the Nine-Winged Crow’s side. This time, not only did its head appendages move, but its mouth also made sounds, seeming frantic.
The Nine-Winged Crow ignored it, pridefully… lifting its body.
Previously lying on the ground, its full state hadn’t been clear. Now, standing, everyone could see the massive wounds covering its enormous frame—the smallest larger than a grown man, the biggest spanning half its abdomen, dozens of meters long.
It raised its head, and its entire body trembled. After the commander let out a cry of unwillingness, the Crow tilted its head back and spat out a blood-red pearl.
Ye Zhongming’s expression shifted. He roughly understood what was happening.
This pearl was likely the Nine-Winged Crow’s legacy—perhaps its bloodline or genes, representing its talent and potential to evolve to level nine. It might even contain its remaining energy.
The commander’s final approach hadn’t been to “resolve” its King, as it had implied to Ye Zhongming, but to… demand the legacy.
It had failed. The Nine-Winged Crow had no intention of passing its legacy to a traitor.
Who it chose instead was unclear, but it certainly wasn’t the commander. Otherwise, the elk-like monster wouldn’t have been so furious and regretful.
And the sheer resentment was obvious even to an idiot.
But what exactly was this pearl, now slowly rising into the sky? Was it randomly assigning a monster to inherit the legacy, or had the Nine-Winged Crow already selected a successor through some secret method?
As Ye Zhongming pondered, he noticed the entire monster army growing restless. The few remaining flying monsters surged toward the Nine-Winged Crow. High-level ground monsters also rushed forward.
The trend spread instantly. Monsters from other parts of the valley moved simultaneously, charging toward the Crow.
It wasn’t just the monsters. Ye Zhongming noticed the battle beasts in his stronghold growing agitated, especially those bought from Thousand Beast Villa—tamed but not bound by contract. They began stampeding like the monsters.
The same happened with Thousand Beast Villa and Five Ring Money. The former, in particular, relied heavily on battle beasts for combat, most of which were tamed through Beast Pool equipment rather than contracts. Now, herds of beasts ran uncontrollably, dragging down or even attacking handlers who tried to stop them. In moments, significant casualties piled up.
Five Ring Money fared better, with fewer battle beasts, mostly for riding. Their riders jumped off when they saw trouble.
The Resistance Zone and Guang Yao’s forces were largely unaffected, having very few battle beasts.
Even high-level contracted beasts showed intense desire. Even Red Hair and Yellow Ball sent clear messages to Ye Zhongming, hoping to compete for the red pearl. Yangos had already advanced a hundred meters, gathering momentum. It would’ve burned every obstructing monster if not for awaiting Ye Zhongming’s order.
Ye Zhongming realized that the pearl held an immense allure for all mutated lifeforms and that consuming it might bring tremendous benefits.
But he also feared risks.
Who could guarantee a dying level-nine’s actions were truly a legacy and not a trap? The commander’s earlier words might’ve been truthful, but that didn’t mean they still were. Without certainty, Ye Zhongming hesitated to risk his battle beasts.