“Why is this happening?”
Old An couldn’t understand why the mutated lifeforms seemed to have gone mad. They had attacked before, but never in such numbers. Even in past instances where they had coordinated assaults on multiple passages, there had never been so many high-level leaders among them.
Humans treated this place as hunting grounds—but so did the mutated lifeforms.
They wouldn’t recklessly destroy it.
“No idea,” Yan Shuangfei shrugged. She wasn’t interested in why the mutated lifeforms had come—she was happy as long as there was a fight. “But the level eights have pulled back. Maybe they just decided to come get a meal together?”
Standing at the top of the slope, Old An gazed across Blood Street. He could vaguely see movement through the scattered ruins and debris—more mutated lifeforms than usual. It should have been normal, but for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the prelude to some unknown conspiracy against Black Dragon City’s humans.
“Where’s Mr. Ye?” Old An suddenly asked.
“Mr. Ye?” Hai Dayu and Yan Shuangfei exchanged glances. Neither had seen Ye Zhongming.
“Check with Ah Kai, White Skin, and Old Long,” Old An said, a hint of urgency in his voice. The other two leaders didn’t understand why, but they followed his orders, quickly contacting the other locations.
Old An was certain Ye Zhongming had headed in this direction.
“Find him—”
He only got two words out before stopping abruptly. Yan Shuangfei and Hai Dayu also turned their heads toward the east.
“Damn it, Old Long might not be able to hold out alone!” Old An snapped. He looked at Hai Dayu. “Tell White Skin at the Concave Exit to reinforce the Hive Maze. Ah Kai will take over the Concave Exit. Dayu, you go relieve Ah Kai at the Bone Passage!”
“Got it!” Hai Dayu knew there was no time for questions. He immediately relayed the orders and set off with his men toward the Bone Passage, the closest of the three locations.
“You,” Old An called to one of his subordinates, “notify all major factions in Black Dragon City. Have them reinforce the nearest passage based on their camp locations. Those near the walls should organize patrols along the ruined ice walls. If they spot anything unusual, they must hold their ground and report back.”
The man nodded and hurried off to deliver the city-wide mobilization order.
“Shuangfei, you hold here. I’ll send more people your way soon. I’ll take the position at the central command post. Contact me immediately if anything changes.”
The young woman nodded, her entire body thrumming with pre-battle excitement.
Just moments ago, as eight-star evolved, they had all sensed two terrifyingly powerful auras suddenly appearing near the city’s eastern side—close to the Hive Maze. That meant two level eight lifeforms were approaching, possibly even entering the area. Old Long was the strongest individual fighter in Black Dragon City, but even he would be in grave danger facing two Level 8s.
As Old An walked away, his mood was grim.
And yet, strangely, he also felt an odd sense of reassurance.
Because he knew there was someone extraordinary in Black Dragon City.
………………………………………………
Ye Zhongming stood beside a pile of ruins, four dead mutated lifeforms lying around him in grotesque poses.
He had already crossed Blood Street and entered the mutated lifeforms’ territory.
“A Bullsnort Beast, a Disk-Rat, a Mutated Hound-Wasp, a Blackjaw Fiend…”
Frowning, Ye Zhongming studied the four corpses.
Xia Bai stood beside him, while Red Hair had stayed behind at their base to command the female guards. If needed, she could mentally communicate with Ye Zhongming and bring the troops to reinforce him.
“These creatures are at different levels of the food chain. They shouldn’t be together unless…”
Ye Zhongming muttered to himself, sensing something was off.
The reason he had rushed out earlier wasn’t just because of the scent of blood—he had also faintly detected a peculiar energy here.
He couldn’t identify what it was, but it drew him in.
Now, the question was: should he follow that pull?
He’d have to venture deep into mutated lifeform territory if he did. And seeing these four creatures, which should have been natural enemies, coexisting, made him suspect that something had ordered them not to attack each other.
A creature capable of that likely possessed extremely high mental power, meaning it was undoubtedly strong. Disorganized mutated lifeforms were one thing, but organized ones? That was an entirely different threat. Even someone as powerful as Ye Zhongming had to be cautious.
After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to investigate. He wouldn’t be satisfied otherwise.
To be safe, he summoned his two ice birds. They had evolved to level eight and were formidable allies, especially in the frigid northern climate, where their abilities were enhanced. Together, they were as strong as Yellow Ball and Yangos.
At the same time, he instructed Red Hair to position the female guards near Blood Street, ready to provide support if needed.
Once Xia Bai had collected the demon crystals and materials from the corpses, Ye Zhongming led her toward the source of the strange energy he had sensed.
The mutated lifeforms’ territory was a hellish landscape. The cold kept the stench bearable, but frozen excrement, carcasses, and secretions littered the ground, making the place deeply unpleasant.
Ruins of old buildings served as nests for all kinds of creatures, and the original streets were long gone, forcing them to pick their way through open spaces.
Rather than fighting their way through, Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai relied on stealth, avoiding the mutated lifeforms whenever possible.
The deeper they went, the more uneasy Ye Zhongming grew. He noticed that the mutated lifeforms were gathering in large numbers, moving rapidly toward the human-controlled zone. Soon, tens of thousands—maybe more—would converge near Blood Street.
According to earlier reports, large-scale attacks had been rare here for a long time. Both humans and mutated lifeforms had tacitly agreed to treat this place as mutual hunting grounds.
So why the sudden change?
Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai moved swiftly through the ruined city until they encountered a massive horde of zombies, so many that they couldn’t bypass them.
From the shadows of a collapsed building, Xia Bai observed the horde and signaled five. Ye Zhongming nodded. There were at least fifty thousand zombies, and more were joining by the minute.
Among them, he spotted three level eight zombies.
None of them were psychic types, meaning they weren’t the ones giving orders to the other mutated lifeforms.
Were they, too, obeying something else?
What kind of existence could command three level eight zombies?
A bad feeling settled in Ye Zhongming’s gut. He gestured to Xia Bai to retreat while mentally instructing the ice birds, now circling high above, to stay alert.
But just as they turned to leave—
A terrifying wave of energy engulfed them.
The King of Cloud Peak’s face paled.