Volume 6 - 608: The Art of War

[V6C138 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]Eden patted the captain’s shoulder, signaling him to stop the car. Then, he turned back and said coldly, “I’m alive and well, at least I’m doing much better than you.”

That demonkin sneered, “But your arm is wasted! You call that well? Very well, we’ll just pretend you’re fine. How is your contribution status? How many major characters did you finish off?”

Eden was momentarily frozen. He actually had other objectives during this excursion, but a fierce battle had ensued after encountering Qianye—he had very nearly lost his life. If one were to discuss contributions, he had indeed nothing to show.

Of course, the demonkin on the other side knew that Eden had encountered a human expert. His questions were deliberate. He laughed loudly and continued poking merciless fun at the latter. “It looks like Sir Eden’s contribution this time is not being killed, haha!”

Eden’s expression darkened. “Narcis! Just wait for me to recuperate. I’ll be waiting in the arena to teach you how not to get beaten to death.”

Narcis’ eyes narrowed. “Fine with me, that’s just what I want! I’m very willing to lose to you in the arena. That’ll probably add some shades of honor to the glory of the Dark Abyss. But how long do you need me to wait? Ten days? Twenty days?

“Two days is enough.”

“Very well, two days it is then.” Narcis made no more provocations and simply drove away.

After driving for a while, the vampire youth beside Narcis asked, “There are many variables in the arena, are you confident?”

Narcis appeared rather relaxed. “I’ve fought Eden many times in the arena, and it’s usually my victory. Moreover, I have just awakened a new totemic ability. It’ll be just right to try it out on him. I’ll let those old fellows understand that only our Masefield is the number one clan!”

Eden encountered no other trouble after this brief interlude and promptly received medical treatment.

He had been on guard against Qianye’s peculiar attack back then. Not only did he activate Demonic Traversal but also used every defensive method at his disposal. Although his wounds looked frightening, the damage was only physical—there were no hidden injuries to his origin power and bloodline. He should be fine after a day of rest.

A majestic castle had been constructed at the center of the fortress. The hexagonal main building was well over a hundred meters in height, capable of looking down on the entire fortress.

The roof of the building had been opened up entirely to form a gigantic, fully-furnished office. If there were an Evernight historian present here, he would find that the decorative weapons and armors here were all named, signifying the legends and history behind them.

There was an old man in black robes standing in front of the window with a metallic tablet in his hand. The origin arrays on this item were currently projecting a chaotic ball of shifting light.

This ball of light held no special meaning in the eyes of an ordinary person—they were nothing more than a chaotic weave of radiant lines. In the eyes of this old demonkin, however, every line was filled with great significance. The information within was flowing too fast for an ordinary eye to discern.

The ball of light flickered for a moment before fading away. The old man placed the metallic tablet back onto the table and fell into silent contemplation. The sphere of light had transmitted the battle reports from the floating continent during the past few minutes, including the most recent major incidents.

“Men.” His deep voice hadn’t yet faded away when two demonkin experts walked in, ready to receive their orders.

The old man hesitated for a while before asking, “What is Eden doing? Why does he have no contribution points at all?”

One of the demonkin noticed the dissatisfaction in the old man’s voice and quickly began reporting Eden’s most recent movements. “Additionally, Young Master Eden has arranged for a fight in the arena with Narcis of the Masefield clan.”

“He encountered an evenly matched human expert, did he? That’s not a bad thing. He does need this kind of tempering.” The old man’s expression relaxed somewhat. “Moreover, he knows how to use this kind of method to set the opponent back and redeem his fame. I guess he’s not a disappointment after all. Tell him I’ll visit the arena the day after tomorrow.”

The two demonkin excused themselves with a bow.

At dusk on the third day, the arena was filled to the brim. Reportedly, even some true powerhouses had arrived to watch the match. This wasn’t just a battle between Eden and Narcis—it was also a clash between the Dark Abyss and the Masefield clan.

Narcis was clad in an armor of black and violet; in his grasp was a long, double-edged pike. Eden brought no special equipment. He wore the Dark Abyss’ traditional black armor and was equipped with twin blades.

The toll of a bell echoed, signifying the start of the battle. Eden shot toward the opponent like a black arrow, determined to start off with a strong exchange of blows. Narcis was infuriated at this disdainful action. His pike flickered through the air like a dark violet snake and shot toward Eden’s origin furnace—a killing move right off the bat.

However, the latter’s momentum remained unchanged. With a latch and a twist of his twin blades, the halberd rose uncontrollably into the air. Eden, at this point, was only a few meters away from Narcis. One moment, he was dealing with the halberd, but in the next, he was already blasting Narcis with a torrent of attacks.

Incomparably sharp blade intent rushed at the latter’s face—it was as though they would cut into his flesh the next instant.

“How the...” Narcis was both shocked and furious. A beam of violet demonic energy shot promptly into the air, forming a totemic image resembling a giant scorpion.

The scorpion had just taken form and raised its stinger when it was swept away and crushed by Eden’s tempestuous assault. It didn’t even have the time to reveal its might.

The dual-bladed halberd flew into the air and landed at the other end of the arena. Eden’s twin blades pressed hard against Narcis’ neck, pressing him down and allowing him no room for retaliation.

Narcis quivered as he snapped out of the shock and noticed Eden’s intentions. His face turned pale as he roared, “Y-You! Don’t even think about it!”

“Is that so?” Eden’s smile appeared callous and cruel. His twin blades pressed down without hesitation, sinking little by little into Narcis’ flesh. The blades would eventually cut off his head if the latter did not kneel.

Eden’s voice echoed clearly in Narcis’ mind.

“Do not forget that we are in a life and death battle, and this is the Dark Abyss’ territory. What does it matter if I kill you? Nothing but an expensive compensation. Don’t worry, though. I’ll take good care of Isabella after your death. Despite how busy I am, I’ll make sure there’s always a male scent on her bed.”

“Isabella will never follow you!” Narcis roared.

Eden was just as frosty. “Is that so? Without you, how long can a little tribal girl remain aloof? She’ll follow me obediently after a month at most. I won’t even need to use any tricks. Of course, you’ll be a corpse by then, so you can’t bet with me.”

Narcis was livid. The blades were as cold as a ten-thousand-year-old glacier, pressing down constantly and causing fresh blood to flow down his neck. In the end, his knees weakened and fell hard onto the floor.

Upon the platform reserved for major characters, some were satisfied, some were sighing, while others were furious.

Eden put away his twin blades and left without sparing Narcis a single glance. A demonkin expert stopped him at the exit and said, “Your Excellency, Elder Preston wishes to see you.”

Eden followed the man in silence and, moments later, arrived at the top floor of the castle.

That demonkin elder was standing before the window, gazing hard at the boundless sky.

Eden’s mouth moved a couple of times before finally calling out, “Father.”

The old man turned around in evident delight. “I don’t know what happened a while back, nor do I care. But your combat techniques have improved by leaps and bounds. In terms of combat arts, you’re already approaching the elder-level. This means that your comprehension of demonic energy has finally touched the borders of the grand origin. Now, that’s a power befitting a son of darkness! Those who cannot reach this level have no right to receive its blessings.”

Eden’s face was lowered and his expression, hidden.

The old man continued as though he didn’t see anything. “You did well this time, all your losses will be shouldered by the clan. Since you’ve lost the Carol of Shadows, we’ll grant you Tribute of the Abyss.”

Eden was astonished. He said after a moment of hesitation, “It might be difficult for me to use the Tribute of the Abyss right now.”

“It might be now, but you’ll get used to it very soon.” This old man arrived in front of Eden and patted his shoulders. “With the potential you’ve shown, it’s not difficult at all for you to reach the Marquis rank, but my expectations for you will go well beyond that. Do you understand?”

Eden lowered his head. “I understand.”

The old man nodded and allowed Eden to withdraw.

Even after closing the door, Eden’s heart was filled with the details of his exchange with Narcis. An opponent with whom he was evenly matched before had fallen so easily under his blade. Moreover, the latter had reportedly awakened a new totemic ability. Eden felt everything was a bit surreal. How had his combat arts improved to such a realm in one short month?

But Preston’s attitude proved everything because Eden knew his father’s temperament very well. The man had never offered such praise in the past century, no matter what he achieved, not even when he was selected to be a member of Dark Sun out of tens of thousands of people.

However, another shadow emerged in his heart. Just how powerful was that person who had forced him to flee with a broken arm? Eden’s joy vanished in the blink of an eye and turned into coldness.

...

Meanwhile, everything was peaceful on Qianye’s return journey.

It was just that a small problem would pop up in his head from time to time. Why had Eden appeared in that particular region of Misty Wood?

Judging from his gear, Qianye had thought he was here to assassinate high-ranking human champions. However, he felt that something was off after giving it some thought—with Eden’s identity and the dark race’s usual style, he should be accompanied by a squad.

Qianye was already very familiar with the process of registering contributions. Qianye was one of the earliest independent experts the Li family had recruited, so all the registration staff recognized him.

While confirming his registration, Qianye was shocked when he saw the mission distribution map on the wall. He reached out to point at the map and asked, “What’s the situation on the Bai clan fortress’ side?”

The logistics officer looked up at the map and said, “What else? The Bai clan has been driven out. I heard the black-blooded bastards have built a new base there and the group that attacked us came from that fortress. The Bai clan people are truly useless.”

Qianye paid no heed to the officer’s continuous complaints. The Li clan’s extravagant expenditure in recruiting experts was proving effective. Their contribution points were climbing steadily, and they even managed to repel a number of dark race assaults. As such, they became a dazzling force among the empire’s weakening forces.

It was inevitable that the winners would become overbearing. Naturally, their people held a disapproving mindset regarding the four major clans. The Bai clan’s loss at the Desert Valley was so fast and embarrassing that it had become a hot topic of discussion. As for the Song clan, they had long since become the target of many an ambitious high-ranking aristocratic family. The Li family wasn’t even interested in discussing them.

Qianye listened absent-mindedly to the officer’s explanation of recent developments while looking carefully at the map.