Chapter 114 – The End

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

Listening to the thunder of artillery in the distance, Wen Yu shrugged. He took the Military-issued food Kuangliu handed him and began chewing in large mouthfuls.

Kuangliu ate beside him as he spoke.

"How much longer do you think this battle will last?"

"How should I know? Missing home? Missing that warm bed of yours?"

At Wen Yu's teasing, Kuangliu shrugged helplessly before answering.

"It just feels like it's dragged on too long. We've been fighting for seven days. All we do is roam around out here, and we can't even get a decent night's sleep."

He bit viciously into the food in his hand, taking out his resentment on it.

Wen Yu turned to look at his three Soul Pets in the distance, as well as the soldiers the Military had withdrawn from the front line, all of them battling the Bipedal Lizards. He muttered, "Seven days. I'd like to get some sleep too, all right?"

"But it won't be much longer."

Kuangliu nodded.

"No. It won't."

…

Seven days had passed in the blink of an eye since the reinforcements entered the Treasure Land.

Everything at the Outpost was going smoothly. Four supreme powerhouses ranked in the top ten of the Human Sequence each guarded one wall. Supported by the Military's increasingly powerful Class Holders and vast quantities of modern weaponry, the disorganized Bipedal Lizards could not break through the Outpost's defenses. They could only become Points for the humans.

Wen Yu and Kuangliu had reunited some time ago. They roamed outside the Outpost, clearing out any large concentrations of Bipedal Lizards they encountered.

According to drone surveillance, the black hole formed when the Demon Realm Gate shattered had been steadily shrinking. The number of Bipedal Lizards emerging from it had not fallen, but their quality had plummeted. The strongest among them were only Level 3.

Under these circumstances, the Outpost had even begun deliberately controlling the pace of the battle. They allowed the Bipedal Lizards to eat the corpses of their own kind so that they would produce still more Bipedal Lizards.

Wen Yu did not care about the particulars. What mattered was how much his own strength had changed during this period.

Kuangliu had already reached Peak Level 4, and he had accumulated more Points than could be counted. All he lacked was a return to the Outpost to complete his Class Change.

Wen Yu had done no worse. One-Eye and Xing had reached Peak Level 4 some time ago. The two beasts were now undertaking the final preparation for Promotion-stockpiling the energy they would need.

Mutant Beasts did not have to undergo a Promotion Trial. However, every increase in level represented a fundamental transformation of their life essence, and the energy required was incalculable. One-Eye and Xing tempered their Physical Attribute through combat while devouring Bipedal Lizard flesh and the Level 4 Beast Attribute Magic Crystals Wen Yu supplied, preparing for the Promotion that could begin at any moment.

By Wen Yu's estimate, it would not take much longer.

Faceless, meanwhile, had advanced to Level 5 long ago.

At present, Faceless had transformed into a Level 5 Bipedal Lizard. It was busily sweeping up the flesh on the ground beside Wen Yu, then producing Level 4 Bipedal Lizards, killing them, and eating them.

Wen Yu naturally intended to exploit this cruel cycle of harvesting Points for every advantage it could give him.

…

Kuangliu looked at Faceless with obvious envy and spoke in a sour voice.

"You really are cruel. This is basically making a mother eat her own children…"

Wen Yu ignored the envy and jealousy in Kuangliu's tone. He replied with perfect calm.

"Cut the bullshit. You know what kind of man I am. If the benefits are big enough, there isn't a horror in the world I wouldn't commit."

Kuangliu fell silent for a moment.

"Sometimes, I really envy you. You have no attachments and nothing tying you down. You're alone, free to do whatever you want. That sounds pretty good."

Wen Yu sighed at the sentiment.

"It is. I think things are fine as they are… With no family to feed, feeding myself is enough. If I run into a Demonic Creature stronger than me one day and die, then I die. It won't make any waves. No one will grieve for me, and I won't have to grieve for anyone else."

"I think you ought to find yourself a girlfriend."

Kuangliu grinned as he teased him.

Wen Yu shook his head helplessly.

"A girlfriend would mean an attachment. The enemies I face and the battles I fight leave no room for weaklings to get underfoot. Besides…"

At that, Wen Yu gave Kuangliu an odd look.

"If I really had a wife and children, I sure as hell wouldn't feel safe leaving them in the Yanjing Settlement."

That single sentence silenced Kuangliu.

If Lin Haifeng ever got hold of leverage against Wen Yu, he would have no qualms about "troubling" Wen Yu with it.

…

The fighting in the distance continued, but its intensity had fallen far below what it had been at the beginning.

One-Eye and Xing had been freed from combat entirely. They lay beside Wen Yu, devouring the Level 4 Magic Crystals and flesh he fed them.

The time for the two beasts' Promotion was close.

In theory, Xing should have advanced much faster than One-Eye. Yet he still had not done so. Wen Yu estimated that the energy required for the Promotion of a Divine Beast Species was simply too great.

Power did not come without a price.

Kuangliu, who had gone to the front line to warm up, strolled back from the distance. He waved the communicator in his hand at Wen Yu and got straight to the point.

"A message from Fang Wenhai. The Bipedal Lizards at the Outpost are no longer a threat. He wants us to return, assemble a team, and seize the Demon Qi Shield Generator."

Wen Yu nodded slightly.

"Have they found the device?"

"The Bipedal Lizards already moved it back to Demon City."

The Demon Seed had issued that order when the Demon Qi Matrix was breached.

Wen Yu considered the matter briefly before speaking.

"You go back first. I'm staying here until my two Soul Pets finish their Promotion."

Kuangliu nodded. Without saying anything further, he took some of the men and headed toward the Outpost.

From the look of him, he could no longer wait to undergo the Level 5 Promotion Trial.

…

In fact, the amount of time One-Eye and Xing needed to advance exceeded Wen Yu's expectations.

It was not until a full day after Kuangliu left that One-Eye's body finally began to change.

First came a series of cracks from his bones. Then One-Eye's body began swelling wildly like a balloon. The immense pain forced agonized howls from his throat.

There was nothing Wen Yu could do to help. He could only stand nearby, occasionally killing a Bipedal Lizard foolish enough to crawl toward them, and wait in silence.