Bai Zemin's words did not surprise Kang Lan very much since she had been following him since the beginning of the apocalypse when the world changed and became the hell it was today.
However, the same could not be said for Evangeline.
As an assassin, from the very day she was trained until the day she carried out her last mission before the apocalypse and even after, the only thing her temporary bosses naturally cared about was whether she successfully completed the mission she was given or not. As for whether she survived in the process or lost any limbs, none of them ever cared.
Of course, Evangeline knew this was normal, so although it was difficult at first, she slowly got used to it and her personality eventually adapted to that of a professional assassin over the years.
Therefore, that her immediate leader cared about her and praised her not for managing to kill a First Order beast while keeping two others at bay but for staying alive was something Evangeline was experiencing for the first time.
Yan Tu also returned and after greeting Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue he took a step back to stand next to Lu Yan. This action alone made it clear that although he respected Bai Zemin for being the strongest, his true loyalty was to Lu Yan; this was very natural, and Bai Zemin was clear that he could never have the total loyalty of all his men.
After all, humans were not outdated machines. As thinking beings, each intelligent human had their own thoughts and ideals.
Bai Zemin noticed that Yan Tu also had several wounds on his body ranging from minor to moderately severe. One of them in particular revealed by its fast regeneration that Kang Lan's Lesser Healing skill had been serving its purpose perfectly.
It was only after looking at the miserable conditions of Evangeline and Yan Tu that Bai Zemin realized that if not for Kang Lan, the human fortress would have long ago fallen.
Kang Lan was not the strongest, nor was she the fastest, nor was she the one with the largest Mana reserve despite her clear talent for magic. However, it was only thanks to her existence that Bai Zemin managed to arrive in time.
Of course, everyone contributed and if just one of the pieces present was missing or damaged nothing would be the same. Bai Zemin was clear about that.
"What happened?" he finally asked as he looked at Lu Yan.
The latter smiled bitterly and slowly began to narrate the events.
From the explosion in the center of the forest over a hundred kilometers deep to the powerful rumble that slightly shook the ground beneath the base and alerted everyone.
Finally, he added, "We all thought you were dead when we heard that you and Miss Shangguan had gone into the forest. That explosion was too scary after all.... In the end, the beasts closest to the outer perimeter of the forest suddenly started to come out as if fleeing from something... and then what you can probably imagine for yourself happened."
"... I see..."
Bai Zemin didn't need to figure too much for a complete blueprint of everything what had happened to form in his head. However, even though it was partly his fault, he was also a human being and not an omniscient existence.
He had no way of knowing that the power of Crimson Blood Judgment in conjunction with his Blood Manipulation now evolved to Second Order and his newly acquired Gravity Manipulation would result in a colossal explosion of such magnitude.
Bai Zemin also had no idea figuring that tonight he would end up meeting three evolved Second Order beasts.
There were many things that even if one planned ahead they could be completely ruined. Bai Zemin did not have the ability to control fate and all he could do was hold on with everything he had while trying his best not to fall between stumbles.
"What will you do now?" Shangguan Bing Xue naturally knew the difficulties Bai Zemin was going through, and in an attempt to help him, she decided to change the subject.
Many times, due to the power that Bai Zemin displayed from time to time, most would forget that he was just a young man who was previously an ordinary college student.
Perhaps, in the minds of many, Bai Zemin felt no burden. However, as a person of great power, Shangguan Bing Xue knew that those people were terribly wrong.
She herself could feel enormous pressure on her shoulders even while she was asleep.
How great must be the pressure of Bai Zemin as the highest leader then? Just thinking about it made her feel a little sorry for him.
Bai Zemin was naturally unaware of the thoughts of the woman beside him. After hearing her question, his expression turned indifferent and as he looked at the mutated and evolved beasts that were still glaring at him with fierce but cautious eyes, he finally spoke in a cold voice:
"Since these brainless brute beasts came out of that damned forest, then there is no need for them to return at all."
After saying this, Bai Zemin took a quick glance at his current status window.
--------------------------------
[Bai Zemin -
Status Points: 20
Level: 50
Race: Human
Class: Blood Berserker
Subclass: Lower Leader
Title: One Hit to Kill - Irregular
Strength: 716 (+20) / Agility: 772 (+60) / Health: 623 (+20) / Stamina: 951 (+20) / Mana: 674 (+65) / Magic: 687 (+105)
Skills:
Active:
Blood Manipulation (Second Order active skill) level 1 / Crimson Blood Judgment (Third Order active skill) level 5 / Regeneration (First Order active skill) Lvl 5 / Shadow Blink (First Order active skill) level 1 / Lightning Movement (Second Order active skill) level 5 / Invisibility (First Order active skill) level 1 / Gravity Manipulation (First Order active skill) level 5.
Passive:
Special Forces Soldier (Unranked passive skill) level 5 / Stone Heart (Third Order passive skill) level 5 / Superhuman Health (First Order passive skill) level 5 / Bronze Skin (First Order passive skill) level 5 / Mechanic (Unranked passive skill) level 5 / Throwing (Unranked passive skill) level 5 / Blood Will (Second Order passive skill) level 5 / Blacksmithing (First Order passive skill) level 1 / Danger Sense (Unranked passive skill) level 5]
--------------------------------
Although he was aware of such a thing, looking at the number of his stats and comparing the height they were at now compared to a few hours ago, Bai Zemin felt that a lot of time had passed even though it had actually been less than a day.
When a person experienced many things all at once, one after the other without a break, the natural perception of time could atrophy to a great extent; this was precisely what Bai Zemin was suffering at the moment just as Shangguan Bing Xue was probably doing but to a probably much lesser extent.
How powerful was he currently? To be honest, even Bai Zemin himself did not know to what extent his power had expanded at this point.
"However, my current self should definitely be able to do it." He thought in a murmur, attracting everyone's confused gaze.
Bai Zemin ignored the questioning gazes and simply advanced towards the army of over 2500 Unclassified beasts, 5 First Order beasts, and the First Order mutant plant.
Seeing him approaching, the beasts roared in unison as if warning him not to come any closer. The powerful roar shook the earth and the raindrops burst before hitting the ground due to the shockwave.
The faces of the armed men turned pale and the soul evolvers who had now awakened from their battle lust finally realized what they were up against, finding it incredibly hard to believe that the ones who held off such overwhelmingly superior numbers of beasts had been them.
Amidst the fear and surprise, pride naturally grew in the hearts of these people and many of them could not wait to tell their friends or loved ones of their heroic feats this night that would mark the first great scale war between the faction they belonged to and other evolved races.
As they watched the back of that seemingly unstoppable young man, none of them thought of a possible defeat.
In the past, he possessed the ability to decimate this many enemies with ease. Not to mention his current him.
Therefore, Bai Zemin ignored the warning roars and continued to advance as the aura exuding from his body increased with each step he took forward. The only reason he had not finished off all these beasts yet was because he had a better idea.
As the Soul Power within him bubbled furiously, Bai Zemin could clearly feel an incredibly sturdy barrier blocking something within his soul, and after some light thinking, he naturally came to the conclusion that this barrier must be the obstacle blocking him from entering the next evolutionary stage.
However, even though that seemingly indestructible and power-packed barrier blocked his Soul Power there, Bai Zemin's Soul Power had long ago exceeded the limits of a First Order existence. Therefore, when the Soul Power gushed out of his body, the pressure the beasts before him felt was by no means the pressure that a First Order existence could release!
Bang!
Bang!
When Bai Zemin's pressure completely surpassed the threshold of level 50 and advanced even beyond level 70, regardless of whether they were Unclassified beasts or the First Order beasts, they all immediately shut their mouths as they shuddered on the spot.
Although the wild beasts had lost all sense and knew no fear, when one's power reached such a terrifying level as to shake that madness that made them unstoppable in the face of fear or pain, the beasts instinctively felt death itself over their heads.
The only existence on the enemy battlefield that did not shudder or flinch too much was the First Order mutant plant. The plant shuddered as if it was struggling with something and a moment later finally swung its vines fiercely towards Bai Zemin.
His expression remained unchanged and with a slow and calm movement he caught one of the vines aimed at his head.
The rest of the vines hit his armor but except for slight bang sounds, Bai Zemin's body did not even move from its place let alone being hurt.
After catching the vine that seemed to be a bit more dangerous, Bai Zemin turned his body 360 degrees at full speed.
Swoosh!
The main body of the First Order mutant plant naturally swept over and spun. Before the plant could do anything, Bai Zemin's overwhelmingly higher Agility along with his 700+ Strength points did a perfect job in sync.
Boom!!!
The main body of the mutant plant sank deep into the concrete floor and several pieces of wood and mysterious colored leaves were torn from its body. The strange creature writhed apparently in great pain but no matter how hard it tried it failed to get back on its feet.
"Stand obediently there." Bai Zemin sneered with a faint smile before declaring, "All your lives have owners!"
Immediately afterward, his newly acquired storage treasure floated before slowly landing on his outstretched palm and releasing an ominous crimson radiance.
Even the small pearl seemed to be aware that its main use in this life would be to become a lethal weapon in the hands of its master. With hundreds of liters of blood from a terrifying Second Order beast, the color radiating from the object could only be described as frightening to the eye.
Bai Zemin activated Second Order Blood Manipulation instantly and the thick river of thick blood that swayed among the collapsed houses and trees shuddered as if it sensed his summons.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!...
Waves of blood rose high in the sky and under everyone's gaze, the night seemed to turn crimson for a few moments. Miles of blood after miles of blood were covered by the now floating river and the amount of mana contained within made everyone tremble in fear.
* * * * * * *
Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3