Chapter 465 – Source of the Waves, Shattered Space

Because Jiang Cheng himself was also a legend, he understood just how incredible this method was.

Through his control over the power of heaven and earth, he could roughly sense the situation in Red Mountain City.

But this perception wasn’t sharp enough.

Even if he could sense it, if a monster legend truly appeared, he still wouldn’t have time to act.

He had to harness the power of heaven and earth to fly over, then swing his sword and slash. By the time this entire process was completed, it would be enough for a legendary monster to tear down an entire section of the city walls, causing countless casualties.

The reason he could ride the two-headed soaring dragon earlier to put out fires everywhere was because even if a fourth-order boss leaped onto the city walls, the defenders of Red Mountain City could hold out for a while.

If the defenders of Red Mountain City were all a bunch of rabble, even if he were a legend, he wouldn’t be able to hold the line for long.

Compared to Jiang Cheng, who roughly understood what was happening, the Red Mountain City Lord and Red Mountain City General Xie La, who had just arrived at the command center, were completely baffled as they watched arrows being shot toward the sky.

What did this mean?

General Xie La of Red Mountain switched to a hero’s perspective, overlooking the city wall defense line, and suddenly exclaimed in shock, “They’re dead! Just now, in an instant, six high-level monsters died!”

This was only what she saw, not including what she didn’t see.

She saw these seemingly unremarkable arrows, which actually didn’t have much destructive power, accurately piercing through the monsters’ crimson eyeballs, penetrating out from the back of their heads, and splattering blood in a trumpet-shaped pattern.

The monsters struggled a few times before their bodies crashed to the ground with a thud.

If one could accurately shoot a monster in the eye, then even an elite-level expert could potentially kill a high-level monster with a single strike. But this “if” was itself an impossible premise.

“Through precise sniping, Tianyuan Seventeen can quickly and with low consumption kill high-level monsters one by one.”

“Possibly, anyone weaker than her can be quickly eliminated.”

The Red Mountain City Lord judged.

She truly was a ‘rookie slayer.’

In the eyes of this Tianyuan General, he himself was also a ‘noob’ that could be killed with a single arrow.

He was envious, but it was beyond his reach.

At this moment, he finally breathed a genuine sigh of relief.

“With Tianyuan reinforcements and such a powerful Tianyuan General present, my Red Mountain City should have no problem surviving this disaster.”

“We’re stable!”

…

Hundreds of miles away from Red Mountain City, in a certain wilderness area.

The ground had collapsed, forming a giant pit over a kilometer in diameter.

The pit was deep, like a giant mouth leading to the netherworld. At this moment, monsters were continuously pouring out from within this giant mouth, rushing in all directions.

In the pitch-black, profound darkness, massive golden-red lights lit up, like two blood-gold moons suspended in the gloom.

Then, a second pair, a third pair, and a fourth pair of golden-red dragon eyes appeared one after another.

Their eerie gazes looked around, as if peering at the city of Red Mountain hundreds of miles away.

“Delicious food, I can’t wait any longer.”

“But the Ice Burial Grand Duke forbids us from acting prematurely to avoid alerting the enemy.”

Another crimson dragon spoke, craving blood and flesh but with some reservations.

“How have we alerted the enemy? Don’t spout nonsense with your eyes wide open.”The first crimson dragon pointed at the monsters continuously surging outward and said, “Look, these little creatures have been flooding into the Twilight Great Domain even before we arrived. Since the snake has long been startled, isn’t it reasonable for us to catch a few for a taste?”

“Hmm…”

The speaking crimson dragon pondered for a moment before correcting himself, “We merely discovered the anomaly here and followed to investigate the situation, then crushed one or two insects daring to resist us. That sounds more reasonable, doesn’t it?”

“That’s perfectly reasonable!”

Several crimson dragons, sniffing the dense scent of living beings in the distance, could no longer restrain themselves. Their massive figures flew out from the dark void, soaring toward the far horizon.

…

“These monsters are indeed somewhat abnormal.”

Mu Yuan stood on the watchtower near the city walls, observing the distant battle.

Not long ago, he had received reports from Deng Long and several other elite fighters, all mentioning issues with the monsters they were combating.

They were incredibly foolish!

The high-order monsters possessed strength, speed, and killer techniques comparable to occasional third or fourth-order BOSS encounters in the wild. They were extremely bloodthirsty, fearless, and their combat instincts were above average, yet…

They lacked tactics.

Monsters adept at frontal assaults would only charge straight ahead; those skilled in ambushes employed nearly identical patterns when emerging from shadows.

Deng Long had battled numerous high-order monsters before. Compared to intelligent creatures that understood coordination, feints, surprise attacks, and numerical advantages, these fell far short.

“These monsters indeed seem to lack intelligence.”

Beside him, Guild Leader Jiang Cheng remarked.

As a veteran warrior who frequently fought on the frontlines with extensive experience, he had also noticed the monsters’ peculiar behavior earlier, though the intense combat had left him no time for contemplation.

The Red Mountain City Lord looked utterly bewildered.

What was wrong with them?

How could such ferocious monsters be considered weak?

But with one being a representative of the younger generation and the other a seasoned expert, their consensus must be correct. The Red Mountain City Lord pondered: As the Lord who should have the clearest understanding of the battle situation, why hadn’t he detected any abnormalities?

He couldn’t be blamed.

The Red Mountain City Lord and his officers had limited experience dealing with high-order monsters.

The Tianyuan elites were different.

The Battle of Wolfhead Mountain Fortress, the Defense of Tianyuan City, multiple campaigns against overlords, dozens of large-scale tribe eradication missions…

Though the Tianyuan elites might not have been conscious for long, their combat experience and understanding of monsters—particularly high-order ones—were profoundly rich.

Jiang Cheng said, “Upon reflection, the assault waves outside the city also lack any strategic pattern. It seems there might not be a mastermind controlling the tide.”

Mu Yuan asked, “Have there been similar cases in the past?”

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment. “During the peak of the Crimson Mist calamity months and the southward surge of crimson tides, similar phenomena occurred. Affected by the Crimson Mist, many high-order monsters would lose rationality, becoming more bloodthirsty and frenzied. But currently…”

The present situation didn’t match these conditions.

The sky remained clear blue, without any ominous crimson moon hanging high.The monsters hadn’t become more frenzied—during the Crimson Mist disaster months, while monsters lost some rationality, their increased ferocity actually made them more difficult to handle. Even some Fourth Order monsters during the disaster months wouldn’t completely lose their minds, merely experiencing reduced intelligence.

Jiang Cheng continued, “Additionally, some newly-born high-level monsters… just like our newly-recruited high-tier troops, possess very low intelligence or haven’t yet developed wisdom. You should be aware of this.”

The Red Mountain City Lord remained bewildered, but Mu Yuan understood clearly.

Isloria had once wanted to research this topic, but with too many affairs piling up, it was eventually set aside and never revisited.

Dolai had Devoured some Crimson Mist but couldn’t provide any substantial explanation.

Mu Yuan said, “However, high-level monsters only emerge in areas with dense Crimson Mist… such as the Land of Filth during Crimson Mist disaster months, or Foul Nests. Moreover…”

Mu Yuan had some vague suspicions in his heart, but couldn’t be certain.

The monster tide had appeared suddenly, coming in wave after wave like massive surges. There were periods when the monster assaults were less frequent, but ultimately, the waves continued endlessly with no end in sight.

Mu Yuan continued leading his troops in defense here.

He didn’t need to remain stationed permanently though. Given the intensity of this monster tide and its peculiar emergence, it had already drawn official attention.

After all, this was the Alliance Heartland.

Reinforcements dispatched by Boulder City authorities would take over Red Mountain City’s defense operations. They needed to hold out until the official reinforcements from Boulder City formally arrived.

「Mission: Reinforce Red Mountain City (★) (Completed)」

「Mission: Hold Defense and Assist Investigation of Red Mountain City Surroundings (★★↑) (In Progress)」

These were official support, defense assistance, and investigation missions issued by Taixuan Liangyi, jointly reported by Boulder City and Tianze City authorities.

One was a one-star mission, the other temporarily rated as two stars.

The star ratings were equivalent to those of Pioneer Group missions, with mission contributions and merits also accumulating within the Pioneer Group system.

One and two-star ratings were actually quite substantial.

Lords like Baiyan and several others probably could only receive ordinary missions that didn’t award merit points.

Formal Pioneer missions, even at just one star, were basically targeted at Legendary Realm experts or situations with potential Legendary-level confrontations. Missions in Pioneer Group warzones typically started at one star.

However, most new Pioneer Group members could usually only take on group-type one-star missions.

Back when he discovered and prevented the establishment of a Filth Nexus, it was only rated as a three-and-a-half star mission.

Both these missions were issued by the Taixuan Liangyi branch in Tianze City, though not directly assigned to him—and there was no way to contact them directly either.

Mu Yuan had connected with the Taixuan Liangyi branch through Tianyuan’s representative stationed in Tianze City, understanding the situation and providing updates.

He was walking along the city walls, surveying the surroundings.

“Boom—”

A roaring sound approached from the distance.

He saw surging elemental tides and a red dragon stirring up a storm of flames.

A Burnsteel Wyvern.

Mu Yuan identified it at a glance.

This Burnsteel Wyvern wasn’t a true Dragon, its bloodline purity being similar to Old Jiang’s twin-headed Soaring Dragon. The difference was that this Burnsteel Wyvern had already stepped into the Legendary Realm.

It measured twenty to thirty meters in length, its spread wings burning with raging flames.

Its steel-like scales shimmered brilliantly within the fire.On the back of the Legendary Realm Steel-Ignition Wyvern stood a tall, straight figure.

“I am Long Tianjun, the Dragon Heaven Lord, here to provide support.”

The Dragon Heaven Lord had not received the call for aid long ago, but he happened to be in the area and possessed the powerful Steel-Ignition Wyvern of the Legendary Realm as his mount, allowing him to arrive ahead of others.

His gaze swept the surroundings, noticing that Red Mountain City was not in a critical situation, and he couldn’t help but murmur, “Am I a step too late?”

After all, being late meant he wouldn’t be the main force in the relief effort, and the contributions and merits he could earn would be lesser.

Of course, his purpose in coming to aid wasn’t solely for those merits.

The Steel-Ignition Wyvern did not fly into Red Mountain City.

Standing on the dragon’s back, the Dragon Heaven Lord glanced at the Red Mountain City Lord, who had hurried over, and then fixed his eyes on a slender figure further away.

“Tianyuan?”

He looked over and said, “Since Red Mountain City already has a strong ally like you, I won’t linger here. I will investigate the source of this monster tide.”

With that, the Steel-Ignition Wyvern flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

Mu Yuan rubbed the tip of his nose, pondering for a moment: “…Who is that?”

Isloria, who had appeared beside him at some point, adjusted her round, intellectual-style glasses and spoke in a tone as if reading from a script: “Dragon Heaven Lord, a famously incurable dragon-obsessed lord. He has invested heavily in cultivating an elite dragon-type flying squad of outstanding quality and has fused with the bloodline of some high-level dragon himself. Records show that the Dragon Heaven faction has two Legendary Realm experts and two Epic-level commanders currently in training. This is the publicly available information.”

“It’s worth mentioning that Dragon Heaven Lord has only been in the Eternal World for six years, making him a top-tier lord among his peers. He has also represented Taixuan in the Dragon Court disputes.”

Mu Yuan: “…”

He wanted to say something, but for a moment, he couldn’t find the right words to express his thoughts.

But to be fair, wasn’t this Dragon Heaven Lord a bit reckless?

Without even understanding the situation behind the monster tide, he dared to venture deep alone to investigate?

Are all dragon-obsessed lords this bold?

Suddenly,

“Boom—”

A brilliant burst of flame exploded in the distant sky.

Amid the flames, a massive orange-red dragon, trailing fire and smoke, plummeted from the sky.

Immediately after, a blood-colored giant shadow, several times larger than the Legendary Realm Steel-Ignition Wyvern, revealed its form amidst the smoke and dust. It was a true dragon, looking down upon the insignificant wyvern.

“A blood-colored dragon!”

Mu Yuan’s pupils contracted slightly.

He was all too familiar with it—his… his Tianyuan City forces had slain quite a few blood-colored dragons.

“Blood-colored dragons are quite rare, as they are not conventional monsters. They are special creatures formed, revived, and fused when monsters of the Heavenly Aberration Eternal Life faction take over dragon corpses.”

For this reason, the sudden appearance of this monster tide was likely due to…

But now was not the time to dwell on that.

“Dolai! Seventeen!”

“Leave it to me.”

Dolai rode the storm, its small figure tearing a vast white trail across the sky.

But faster than Dolai was Seventeen’s arrow.

Within a forty-kilometer range, Seventeen’s truth prevailed.

At that moment,

The Dragon Heaven Lord gripped the Steel-Ignition Wyvern’s back, merging with the dragon as one.

As the wyvern descended to a lower altitude, its entire body abruptly flipped over and shot upward once more.

“Is this the mastermind behind the tide?”He glanced at the distant Red Mountain City. “How could I possibly lose here? It’s just a mere monster legend. So what if it’s a Dragon!”

The Dragon Heaven Lord was burning, his Aura continuously rising. The Burning Steel Wyvern was also fearless, its entire body engulfed in blazing flames.

Fighting two against one, he truly wouldn’t lose to a legendary Dragon. He was confident.

However…

Buzz!

Heaven and earth trembled.

Crimson mist gathered from all directions, forming a second, third, and fourth blood-red Dragon.

Four pairs of golden-red dragon eyes stared fixedly.

In an instant, the Dragon Heaven Lord was drenched in cold sweat.

He was already in imminent danger.

He fell from the sky once again.

Whoosh—

An arrow tore through the sky—a brilliant, starlit arrow that made no attempt at concealment.

One after another, nine stars shot forth in succession.

The Star Arrow repelled the blood-red Dragons.

The Dragon Heaven Lord finally had a moment to catch his breath.

“That’s right, Red Mountain City still has the Tianyuan Lord. With our combined strength, we might just be able to repel these Dragons.”

The Tianyuan Lord’s powerful reinforcement had arrived!

A blue-haired girl rode atop a flying Slime, holding a staff adorned with small wings.

She pointed her staff forward.

The Dragon Heaven Lord watched intently, ready to seize the opportunity for a perfect coordinated attack.

He…

Crack, crack, crack—

The space in front of the staff fractured into a spiderweb of cracks, spreading dozens, then hundreds of meters. The cracks appeared abruptly and spread rapidly.

One of the blood-red Dragons was trapped like an insect in the spatial web.

Crack—!

The Dragon’s scales shattered piece by piece, its Flesh sliced into chunks, blood gushing out as it struggled fiercely.

It let out a furious roar: “Roar!!!”

Crack—

The space completely shattered, collapsing inward.

Sand, debris, broken trees, flying rocks…

Shattered scales, severed limbs, mangled Flesh, a shattered head with wide, staring eyes…

All were sucked into the collapsing space.

Only a dark, abyssal, black hole-like fractured space remained, slowly healing under the laws of heaven and earth.

And,

before the broken void, a chubby girl holding a staff, its tip lightly pointed forward.

(End of Chapter)