Sini had thought that by mastering the strange power of Nine Nether, she could at least put up a fight against John.
Yet, she found herself utterly powerless, and to make it worse, humiliated in return.
“Alright,” John consoled her. “Your ability is actually quite strong; it’s just that your Soul Technique is still a bit lacking.”
He casually took out a handful of Soul Essences, over forty of them, along with one Undying Flame, and said, “These are Soul Essences. They’ll help strengthen your Soul Technique.”
That Undying Flame was something he’d obtained recently after defeating a peak upper-tier god from the Shadow Clan.
It seemed that many of the Shadow Clan elites possessed the Undying Flame, which he suspected had something to do with the Spirit Stone mines.
As for the Soul Essence, with plenty of hunter brood mothers around, he could easily obtain as much as he wanted.
“Really?” Sini’s face lit up as she eagerly accepted them.
John cautioned her, “Only the Undying Flame can refine the Soul Essence. This fire is extremely dangerous, so be careful with it.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be cautious!” She nodded quickly, aware of the Undying Flame’s power and knowing better than to release it recklessly.
“And from now on, you’re forbidden from leaving the World-in-Hand!” John added, directly revoking her control over the World-in-Hand.
The main reason Sini had been able to freely enter and exit the World-in-Hand wasn’t just because she controlled the Nine Nether power but because he had granted her partial access to the space.
“Why?” Her smile faded, replaced with frustration.
“No reason. Just do as I say,” John replied, knowing all too well the dangers lurking on Shadow Star.
The Nine Nether power Sini wielded was deadly, capable of killing hunters and Shadow Clan members, but if she encountered an upper-tier god, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
Ignoring her protests, he warned the other women not to assist her in any way, and then left the World-in-Hand.
Tonight, he intended to continue plundering resources from the mines.
John returned to the novice village, which was as silent as ever, with no sign of unusual activity.
He glanced at his Beast Clan doppelgänger and, after some thought, used the Talent Copy Stone to replicate the god-level disguise talent.
The god-level disguise talent had originally come from a Shapeshifting Witch he’d defeated, and he could replicate it further.
While the Beast Clan doppelgänger could act on its own, his true form was far more efficient and powerful.
Soon, he successfully copied the god-level disguise talent, transforming himself into a lower-tier god of the Shadow Clan, then tore through space to reach one of the mines.
Night had fallen deeply, yet soldiers still patrolled the area, every one of them with a lower- tier god’s power or higher.
John was curious-who exactly were they guarding against?
The Shadow Continent was open to multiple races, yet aside from those from the Skyline Continent, he hadn’t seen any other races arrive.
Even the human race, cut off when the Skyline Continent fell, no longer had a connection.
And yet, Shadow Star still had a passageway connecting to Earth.
John didn’t dwell on the matter further. Exposing himself, he summoned the Shadow Clan warriors guarding the mine into his World-in-Hand.
Merciless slaughter ensued.
Afterward, he collected all the mined ore and moved on to the next site.
Several of these mines had been fully excavated and abandoned, now claimed by hunters’ brood mothers and transformed into Hunter nests.
John showed no mercy here either, killing the brood mothers and collecting their Soul Essences.
—
By dawn, he had raided over seventy mines, amassing a vast quantity of Shadow minerals. What thrilled him most was obtaining 112 Soul Essences.
However, a new issue arose.
Having killed so many hunters’ brood mothers, the Hunters’ hatred mark on him had intensified, and even the god-level disguise talent couldn’t fully mask it anymore.
This would complicate future actions.
“Forget it. I’ll continue tomorrow night,” he thought, noting the approaching sunrise. He opened a spatial portal and returned to the novice village.
During this raid, he had also captured a peak-level upper-tier god from the Shadow Clan. Tomorrow night, he’d perform Memory Extraction on him.
What he didn’t know was that chaos had erupted across several cities on Shadow Star.
A dozen city lords had convened.
“Boss, we’ve tallied the losses. In one night, we lost 76 mines’ worth of resources, and a substantial number of hunters’ brood mothers were killed,” one of them reported through gritted teeth.
“It must have been that Nature Clan Overseer, Ice Talker! I almost caught her last night, but she escaped again!” a bald man said, frustration clear on his face.
He believed last night’s events were all Ice Talker’s doing in retaliation.
“Boss, I have an idea,” sneered a dark-faced figure nearby. “Ice Talker herself doesn’t have many weaknesses, but her subordinate, Terran, cares deeply about the Saint Spirit Clan. Why not round up the Saint Spirit Clan members and conduct a public execution? That’ll force Terran to show up, and Ice Talker will certainly appear as well.”
“Hmm, not a bad plan!” The others lit up at the suggestion, showing their support.
The young man at the head of the group nodded in agreement. “Let’s proceed with this plan. Oh, and let’s hold the execution at Mine 1099, where that Godslayer has been seen. It’ll send a message and serve as a warning to him!”
“Agreed!”
“I’ll set it up right away!”
“I’ll bring in all the Spirit Stone ores mined recently. If those Nature Clan fools show up,
they’re as good as dead!”
The group immediately set things into motion.
…
At dawn, the novice village echoed with the roar of the hunters’ brood mother.
John frowned, tempted to eliminate the creature altogether.
Before long, everyone had gathered in the village square.
It was now the third day, and they were physically and mentally exhausted, faces numb with despair, having completely lost hope for the future.
[Announcement: Due to disrespect toward the Shadow Clan, the Saint Spirit Clan members
will be publicly executed this evening at Mine 1099.]
…
The announcement echoed three times, and a faint glimmer of interest returned to the
people’s dull eyes as they murmured among themselves.
“Saint Spirit Clan? What kind of race is that?”
“Public execution… tough luck for those guys.”
“Sigh, maybe death would be a release for people like us.”
…
Most remained indifferent, their spirits deadened, and the plight of the Saint Spirit Clan
didn’t stir much sympathy.
“My Lord!” Dumas whispered, as if recalling something. “Isn’t old Quagmire a member of the
Saint Spirit Clan? What did they do?”
John shook his head, remembering that the mine they worked in was numbered 1099.
A vague feeling crept over him that this had something to do with him.
At that moment, the old village chief appeared, having heard the system’s announcement, his
face equally puzzled, seemingly clueless as to the intentions behind this.
“Silence!” he barked, his voice cutting through the murmuring crowd, before adding coldly,
“Gather at the mine.”
With a wave of his hand, a teleportation array appeared, and he stepped inside first.
Everyone followed without hesitation, entering the array one by one.
John followed at the back, arriving at the mine.
The area was packed with Shadow Clan elites.
The old village chief was arguing with a man in a black robe, though the surrounding space
was isolated, preventing John from hearing what they were discussing.
Spatial ripples occasionally appeared, as one Saint Spirit Clan member after another was escorted in, gathering in the square.
John noticed that Quagmire was among them.
The crowd below was silent; everyone had gathered in the square, whispering quietly among
themselves.
“Quiet!” A peak-level upper-tier god from the Shadow Clan appeared, casting a cold glance
over the crowd. “Today’s your lucky day. You’ll get to rest and witness the execution of these
Saint Spirit Clan fools!”
With a wave of his hand, a squad of soldiers appeared, directing John and the others toward
the square.
The thirty thousand members of the Saint Spirit Clan were surrounded by Shadow Clan soldiers, with two hunters’ brood mothers stationed nearby.
The upper-tier god climbed onto a hastily erected platform, his voice icy as he addressed the
crowd. “Take a good look-this is the fate of those who dare to oppose the Shadow Clan!”
He glanced toward the two hunters’ brood mothers, giving them a signal.
Roar…
A guttural roar followed as the two hunters’ brood mothers began their soul attack, their
sonic waves engulfing the Saint Spirit Clan members.
“Aaagh…” Screams filled the air as thirty thousand people clutched their heads, writhing in
agony on the ground.
This soul attack wasn’t intended to kill them; it was merely meant to torment.
John’s expression was cold. These Shadow Clan members were utterly ruthless, likely
planning to torture them all day before executing them in the evening.
He hadn’t had much interaction with the Saint Spirit Clan, but Quagmire had once helped him.
He couldn’t just stand by and let something happen to Quagmire.
Scanning the area, he saw tens of thousands of Shadow Clan elites. Most were mid-tier and
upper-tier gods.
With over a hundred peak-level upper-tier gods in the mix.
If he could pull them all into his World-in-Hand, he might just have a chance of obliterating
them.
Clink… Clink…
Suddenly, the sound of chains caught his attention. Quagmire had somehow moved closer, sitting cross-legged beside John.
In a low voice, he said, “Kid, are you thinking of making a move?”
John nodded, asking quietly, “Is there a problem with that?”
“There is. Don’t do it! I know you’re The Overseer, but you’re not a match for these guys.” Quagmire glanced at the platform and continued, “That old man up there is your village chief, right? And the man in the black robe beside him is the lord of one of Shadow Star’s 108 main
cities.” “What?” John was taken aback. He’d already learned from his memory plundering how fearsome the main city lords of Shadow Star were.
Quagmire went on, “The old man’s name is Kangus, once a main city lord himself, and his
strength is profound. That gray-robed man, if I’m not mistaken, is Grimnir, lord of Main City 105. Both of them have the power to kill The Overseer.”
“They can kill The Overseer? Even in the World-in-Hand?” John asked curiously. “I’m talking about inside the World-in-Hand,” Quagmire replied, casting him a sharp glance. “They have the means to destroy it. Just don’t act rashly. These people aren’t here for you.”
“Then who are they after?” John asked, confused. He already knew there were forces on
Shadow Star opposing the Shadow Clan, but could these people be connected to the Saint Spirit Clan?
Quagmire frowned, then said, “If I’m right, there’s a Saint Spirit Clan Overseer named Terran. He’s joined the Nature Clan, though. Could it be that he’s arrived on Shadow Star too?”