Chapter 110 – Return

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

The Shadow Assassin Captain nodded at No. 8's words. He looked at the approaching Bipedal Lizard swarm with a complicated expression.

"Go. I just never expected that thing to be so weak. Dying alongside such a pathetic creature leaves a bitter taste."

No. 8 said nothing. He walked to the Demon Seed and prepared to process the corpse.

He raised his short sword and dug at the Black Crystal embedded in its forehead.

Then he frowned.

The moment the crystal came free, Black Light flowed across its surface. It shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, dissolved into a wisp of black smoke, and slowly disappeared.

"That contradicts the Academy of Sciences' intelligence…"

No one but No. 8 knew what intelligence the Academy had given him. He hesitated over the vanished crystal, then quickly placed the Demon Seed's entire corpse into his Spatial Ring.

After one last glance at the Shadow Assassin Squad, his figure slowly faded from view.

The Bipedal Lizards in the distance drew closer.

…

The Shadow Assassin Captain released a long breath as he watched the savage creatures charge.

His own flawed decision had caused his comrades' deaths, and helplessness weighed on him.

As for now…

The remaining Shadow Assassins drew their short swords, prepared to make one final struggle.

"Brothers, tod-"

A massive sonic boom rolled in from behind and cut the Captain off.

The next instant, a huge black shadow dropped from the sky and crashed straight into the oncoming Bipedal Lizard swarm.

High above, Wen Yu's black trench coat snapped in the wind as he fell freely from a hundred meters in the air. He slammed down directly in front of the Shadow Assassin Squad.

After lightly dusting himself off, he asked, "Would someone mind telling me… why every Bipedal Lizard in the city is charging this way?"

…

Wild Song roared. Throb thundered.

Wen Yu killed a Level 5 Bipedal Lizard with a casual attack, then led the Shadow Assassin Squad into a fighting retreat. Together, they drew most of the encircling creatures out of the Outpost.

Strictly speaking, the Demon Seed's final command had proven extraordinarily "useful."

The Bipedal Lizards obeyed it without question, following the Shadow Assassin Squad as they withdrew. The crisis inside the Outpost was resolved with surprising ease.

Of course, it was not a permanent solution.

The Demon Seed's final mental pulse could not last forever. And given the Bipedal Lizards' miserable intelligence, it would not be long before they broke free of the command and ran wild again.

They would devour any living thing not of their own kind.

"Boss! Save me!"

Xing and One-Eye, covering the retreat ahead, shouted for Wen Yu. Tangled in a mass of Bipedal Lizards, neither could move.

Xing was in relatively good condition. Demon Dragon Armor had greatly increased his defenses; even Level 5 Bipedal Lizards could not injure him easily.

One-Eye was far less fortunate.

His entire body had been bitten into a bloody ruin. Life-And-Death Combat Ability and Flesh Tome had increased his Physical Attribute enormously.

As One-Eye put it, he could fight ten at once now.

Unfortunately, there were far more than ten Bipedal Lizards here.

Wen Yu ended his Combat State, recalled both Soul Pets, then summoned them again. With the Shadow Assassin Squad beside him, he continued sprinting outward.

"So you killed the Demon Seed?" he asked.

The Shadow Assassin Captain nodded. Naturally, the Shadow Assassins had heard Wen Yu's name.

"Where is the body?"

"No. 8 took it. And the Black Crystal in the Demon Seed's head vanished the instant it was removed."

The Black Crystal that marked a Demon Seed's identity had obvious significance. In some respects, it might even be more valuable than the Magic Crystal inside the creature's skull.

Wen Yu frowned.

The only Demon Seed he had killed-the Ancient Demon Seed-had been eaten by Xing, so there had been no crystal to recover. He had not expected such a crystal to disappear once removed from the body.

The thoughts flashed through his mind, but he put them aside.

It was not a mystery he needed to solve.

"Do you have any tissue from the Demon Seed? Even a drop of blood will do."

The Shadow Assassin Captain nodded and raised his short sword.

Black blood had begun to dry along its blade.

…

As he continued drawing the Bipedal Lizards away from the Outpost, Wen Yu opened the Fourth Soul Realm and summoned Faceless.

Faceless had been "working hard" near the Outpost. Wen Yu had recalled it the moment the Bipedal Lizard pyramid began advancing toward the city.

After devouring vast quantities of flesh, Faceless had grown more elastic. Based on estimates from Wen Yu and the Academy of Sciences, it was close to Promotion.

Wen Yu accepted the Captain's sword, carefully scraped off the black blood, and placed it directly on Faceless.

Faceless's body rippled violently.

The black blood sank inside, and the creature's entire form churned for a long moment. Then everything returned to normal.

Faceless remained Faceless.

"Whether the Demon Seed's bloodline can't be copied or Faceless's level is too low, the result is the same. The plan to copy the Demon Seed and control the Bipedal Lizards failed."

Wen Yu did not know the Demon Seed's level. In fact, neither did the Shadow Assassin Squad.

The creature had performed far too poorly. Its fifth Skill had never produced any effect, either. According to Military intelligence, the Demon Seed possessed only four Skills.

Wen Yu relayed the information to Fang Wenhai, recalled Faceless, then turned and resumed firing.

There were too many Bipedal Lizards behind him, but their quality was insufficient. Even the Level 5 ones failed to meet Wen Yu's standard. By fighting while retreating, he could harvest a great many Points.

As for the corpses…

Beyond the occasional mouthful of flesh torn away by Xing or One-Eye, Wen Yu had no time to deal with them. He could not even stop to extract the Magic Crystals.

…

When Fang Wenhai learned that Wen Yu had returned-and, more importantly, that the Shadow Assassin Squad had drawn the Bipedal Lizard swarm outside the city-he finally released the breath he had been holding.

"That was far too close."