“This aura doesn't seem like a Specter or an Evil Spirit!” After breaking free from the Earth Mother's lock, Liu Wen's fleshly body rapidly recovered.
His strength was currently less than ten percent of its peak. Surviving was something he hadn't expected.
“Patriarch Liu, we paid a massive price to save you,” a calm female voice spoke from behind him.
Liu Wen swept his spiritual power behind him, but to his surprise, he didn't sense anyone.
He turned around to look, only to see a woman in a long white dress, the left half of her face nothing but bare bone.
Seeing her distinct feature, a smile couldn't help but appear on Liu Wen's face. “Lady White Bone. I didn't expect a supernatural faction that emerged after us to actually surpass an original supernatural being like me. That greyish-white hand that crushed the Earth Mother even made this old man feel terrified.”
A faint smile appeared on the right side of Lady White Bone's face. “The King of Specters is the greatest creation we have pursued and crafted to date.”
She paused, her smile turning a bit eerie. “Patriarch Liu, do you know why, despite the birth rate of Specters and Evil Spirits far exceeding that of Supernatural Humans, we have yet to hear of a single city-slaughtering event by Specters anywhere on the East Continent?”
Hearing this, Liu Wen vaguely sensed that the giant hand that had appeared was related. “In the two-plus months since the Yangcheng incident, the Nanming Kingdom officials have recorded just over nine hundred supernatural beings domestically.”
“Add in those who haven't been exposed yet, and the number should be around one thousand. Meanwhile, the ratio of Specters and Evil Spirits being born has already reached about sixty to one compared to Supernatural Humans.”
“Hypothetically, even excluding those that have been killed, there should still be fifty to sixty thousand of them. It is indeed strange that with such a massive number of Specters, no city-slaughtering incidents have occurred.”
Although he hadn't traveled much outside of Xichang, it didn't mean he was ignorant of the outside world. He had always paid close attention, especially to matters concerning the supernatural.
Lady White Bone looked at him, her smile unchanging. “That is because over eighty percent of the Specters born on the East Continent have been eaten by the King of Specters.”
As for the Western Continent, it was too far across the ocean. A calamity of Specters would break out there sooner or later.
Hearing her words, Liu Wen's smile vanished. The East Continent had a population far larger than just the Nanming Kingdom. This meant the number of Specters and Evil Spirits devoured by the King of Specters had to be at least a hundred thousand or more.
He looked at Lady White Bone, desperately wanting to ask why they weren't dealt with by Destiny after devouring Specters and Evil Spirits on such a massive scale.
Or perhaps, their actions had already been tacitly approved by Destiny, and the birth of the King of Specters was also Destiny's arrangement.
The more Liu Wen thought about it, the more solemn his expression became as he looked at Lady White Bone. In this world, the growth rate of those favored by Destiny compared to those who weren't was like two completely different species.
“Patriarch Liu, these are our highest secrets. Telling you this is our way of inviting you to join us,” Lady White Bone said, looking at Liu Wen.
Liu Wen let out a sigh. “Sigh. Given the current situation, the Earth Mother will absolutely not let me off. If I don't join you, it seems I have nowhere else to go.”
Although he had managed to handle the crusade against him by various factions this time, the price he paid was by no means small.
It would take at least a month to recover to his peak. During this period, even a mere Archbishop would be able to deal with him.
Hearing this, Lady White Bone smiled. “Patriarch Liu, there is no need to sigh. With the current rate at which Specters and Evil Spirits are being born, the world is bound to undergo another change sooner or later. When that time comes, fighting our way back to the surface with us will only be a matter of time.”
Liu Wen did not reply. His personality dictated that he would never stay with one faction forever. Joining the Specters of Fengcheng this time was merely a way to accumulate strength and serve as a hiding spot to get through his weakened state.
At that moment, the space around them folded once more.
Liu Zhian, Liu Qi, Tiangong, and Silver—two humans and two monsters—appeared there.
“Patriarch Liu, it is time to go,” Lady White Bone said, turning her gaze toward the Opera-Robed Puppet.
The latter raised a wooden finger and tapped the air in front of it. The space in front of them rapidly folded.
The group of humans and monsters was soon enveloped by the folding space, vanishing from the spot.
Inside Xichang City, He Wenxi appeared atop a cracked skyscraper near the battlefield.
Her gaze swept over the entirety of Xichang City. Too many buildings had collapsed or cracked, and too many supernatural entities had appeared. The entire city of Xichang had been reduced to ruins.
Death permeated the area. He Wenxi merely glanced at it, her expression unchanged. “With this battle, the Liu family's era has come to an end.”
As for the giant greyish-white hand that had appeared at the end to crush the Earth Mother, she assumed it was Zhao Jin's doing and didn't think too much about it.
With a shift of her body, He Wenxi turned and left.
In a suburb outside Xichang.
The Grisly Carriage appeared.
“Let's go. Time to settle the rewards. The better the rewards for these quests, the more traps there are,” Xiao Qi said as he led the three onto the carriage.
Killing four supernatural beings was easy enough to complete, but the aftershocks of a clash between top-tier powerhouses could easily wipe them out if they weren't careful.
On the other side, Li Xueming stared at the shattered streets before him. Three scars left by a Specter marked his face.
“In a battle of this scale, the ones who suffer in the end are still the ordinary people.” Seeing such a massive city reduced to ruins, Li Xueming felt a pang of sorrow.
Thud, thud, thud!
Footsteps echoed behind him as Liu Wangao walked up to his side. “The surviving personnel from the Special Bureau have been gathered. There are only fifty-one survivors left.”
Hearing Liu Wangao's words, Li Xueming fell silent.
Over two hundred people had entered, and in just an hour or two, only fifty-one remained. The survival rate of this battle was barely over twenty percent.
Chu Jizhen walked over, holding his lower back, and said weakly, “What are you guys sighing about? Hurry up and go back to rest. I expect we'll have to head back into the city soon to clean up the remaining Specters and Evil Spirits. After all, there are still quite a few citizens underground.”
Hearing this, Li Xueming turned to look at Chu Jizhen. So many people had died, including Wen Yu and the others, yet he couldn't see any trace of grief on Chu Jizhen's face.
‘Wen Yu was a member of his team, after all. Now that she's dead, this guy has absolutely no reaction. Does contracting with an Evil Spirit cause one to lose their emotions?’ Li Xueming stared at Chu Jizhen.
By the seaside villa.
After the battle of Xichang ended, Zhao Jin looked at his Destiny Force.
Destiny Force: 29.82 million strands!
During this period, the world had completely transitioned toward the supernatural, causing his Destiny Force to quickly surpass twenty million.
The Destiny Force was still rising. The battle of Xichang brought about a change in the geopolitical landscape of the Nanming Kingdom. According to Zhao Jin's predictions, he could harvest another one to two million strands.
Rate on N.U.
