I Collect Skill Fragments in the Demon World
Chapter 878 - 509: Becoming the Sea of Blood
A slaughter began, just like that!
Although the Blood God Child was Zhang Chen’s clone, it was still affected by the wind and sand. But there were just too many beasts. The Blood God Child could directly sense the blood of living creatures; by the position of their blood, it kept confirming the direction of the large demon beast herd, then seized the chance to strike and butcher them.
Zhang Chen watched the killing intent roiling in the sandstorm. With the addition of the five Blood God Children, constantly filling in gaps and blocking and killing powerful tigers and lions, the pressure on the Human Race was greatly reduced.
At this moment, a drop of dark red blood seeped out from the sole of Zhang Chen’s foot, silently soaking into the sand. After a twist underground, it turned into a Blood Spring, and endless blood gurgled out of it. That blood turned into a Blood River, which began to spread and irrigate along the tunnels dug by the snakes and rats. Wherever it passed, all snake and rat creatures turned into bare bones in an instant, their flesh dissolved by the Sea of Blood, their souls directly swallowed by the Sea of Blood, becoming Wandering Souls that struggled ceaselessly within it.
All creatures that died in the Sea of Blood had their souls imprisoned by it, then sank into it, never to be reborn for all eternity.
Facing the Sea of Blood Power, how could the underground snakes and rats have any strength to resist? They didn’t even have time to react before they were directly slain.
As the blood-red current spread, a complex and immense Sea of Blood network appeared underground. After all the creatures on the surface died, their blood was drawn down, seeping through the sand and falling into the Sea of Blood, becoming nourishment for it.
Zhang Chen kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, sensing the Sea of Blood’s power spreading underground. A trace of contemplation flashed in his eyes. "The Sea of Blood Power I release is different from the Sea of Blood Power summoned by the Blood Sea Array. The Sea of Blood Power I summon has its might infinitely weakened; how powerful it is is entirely tied to my own strength. The stronger I am, the stronger the Blood River I summon. But the Blood Sea Array is: the stronger the Sea of Blood is, the stronger the Sea of Blood it summons."
"Even so, it’s still heaven-defying. The strongest function of this Sea of Blood is its endlessness, absorbing the blood between Heaven and Earth. As for its combat power, I don’t actually value that much." Zhang Chen’s thoughts flowed silently in his heart.
Right now yellow sand billowed, blowing the world dim. Countless beasts bled out; who knew how many of the Human Race were likewise turning into bones.
With the emergence of the Sea of Blood, Zhang Chen sensed that the Blood God Children’s power had been strengthened, their methods even more mysterious. They could even borrow the underground Sea of Blood network to exert certain wondrous uses—such as: teleportation.
So long as the Sea of Blood network extended to a place, they could teleport there in an instant.
"My Blood Sea Array is getting stronger and stronger." A thought flashed through Zhang Chen’s mind.
The slaughter was growing ever more intense, and the people of the escort agency were gradually gaining the upper hand. But suddenly, a strange fluctuation came from the distance, accompanied by earth-shaking rumbles, drawing Zhang Chen’s gaze. His eyes pierced through the sandstorm, and the next moment his pupils abruptly contracted: "Damn it! Elephants! The Dragon Tiger Escort Agency is in danger."
Those were elephants! Simply not something human strength could contend against.
And there were hundreds of elephants, rumbling toward the convoy in a grand charge.
"I wonder where the demon beast controlling them from behind is hiding?"
Zhang Chen carefully probed, but that demon beast never appeared within his sensing range, making him secretly curse, "That demon beast is hiding far too well, cowering way in the rear, not willing to take even the slightest risk."
A grave look surfaced in Zhang Chen’s eyes. The Human Demon cavalry were temporarily suppressed for the moment, but what about those elephants?
"Do I have to use the Beast Taming Technique? Or use explosives? But I don’t have that many explosive packs on me." Zhang Chen’s eyes were filled with severity.
"Young master, let’s break out! The Demon Race’s giant elephants have appeared, we can’t hold them off." A guard of the escort agency grabbed the blood-crazed Chen Ping and shouted loudly.
Chen Ping shook his head at the words. "This place is already surrounded by the beast horde. Right now, with those tens of thousands of laborers dividing the demon beasts’ attention, we can ease most of the pressure. If we abandon the refugees, we won’t survive either. Things have come to this; we can only fight to the death, we cannot abandon those refugees."
Cold cruelty filled Chen Ping’s eyes, killing intent flowing in his voice. He raised the long saber in his hand and shouted, "Use fire attacks! Those giant elephants are still just beasts in the end; they fear the power of flame."
Watching the ceaseless slaughter all around, a trace of hesitation flashed in Zhang Chen’s gaze. To be honest, with the appearance of the giant elephants, he couldn’t see any hope of the Human Race’s victory. Especially those Human Demons—each one vicious to the extreme. Ordinary refugee strongmen simply couldn’t beat them. Those Human Demons were extremely powerful, their ferocity, agility, and speed far surpassing that of common Human Race strongmen wherever they passed.
"Encircle and kill the giant elephants!" Zhang Chen issued the order to the Blood God Children, and then one Blood God Child after another pounced toward the giant elephants. Miserable bellows rang from the elephants’ mouths; in just the time for a cup of tea, one giant elephant after another turned directly into bare bones.
For a Blood God Child to completely devour a giant elephant’s blood, it needed about thirty breaths of time. There were over a hundred giant elephants here, and Zhang Chen could dispatch only five Blood God Children. After just a short moment he had already calculated in his heart: "There’s not enough time!"
Before the giant elephants could even be slaughtered, they were already on the verge of smashing apart the Human Race’s formation.
"When enemies meet on a narrow road, the brave wins. Things have come to this, I can’t just stand by and watch, because once the refugees and the escort agency get scattered, my little sister and stepmother will lose their protection too." As the thought stirred in Zhang Chen’s heart, the Beast Taming Technique finally activated. With the shift of his thoughts, the wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards that charged into the range of his Beast Taming Technique suddenly pounced on their own companions, tearing into them, and in an instant a bloody slaughter unfolded.
All the beasts slaughtered with no purpose at all!
It was just that Zhang Chen’s control range was limited; he could only control beasts within two thousand meters, still far from covering the entire camp. However, the fifth-rank Beast Control Technique gave Zhang Chen confidence: all Demon Beasts below fifth rank couldn’t even raise a thought of resistance in the face of Zhang Chen’s Beast Control Technique, let alone these ordinary beasts in front of him.
Two thousand meters wasn’t far, but it was definitely not close either!
Zhang Chen suddenly turned the controlled beasts against each other, easing the crisis for the Human Race in this direction. Especially many ferocious beasts began directly attacking the Human-Demon coalition, catching them completely off guard and dealing them heavy losses.
A bloody carnage was thus staged. Crimson blood flowed into the ground, becoming nourishment for the underground Sea of Blood. All the blood was drawn into the Crystal Core, turning into Zhang Chen’s Points, and a portion of the bloodstained miasma that could not be converted into Points was sent straight into the Sea of Blood, further enhancing the Sea of Blood’s might.
The Demon Beasts’ sudden rebellion left many humans baffled. They stared in shock at the beasts in front of them turning on each other, eyes full of disbelief.
And that Demon Beast hiding in the dark seemed to sense that something was wrong. As strange tones spread through Heaven and Earth, the attacking beasts became even more frenzied, even more suicidal. Zhang Chen could even feel that the beasts under his control were producing a faint will to resist under those sounds, yet in the next instant they were forcibly suppressed by the Beast Taming Technique.
No one could oppose Zhang Chen’s Beast Taming Technique!
"That Demon Beast must be hiding beyond two thousand meters." Zhang Chen silently observed the scene within the darkness, deep in thought.
Unfortunately, he didn’t dare leave his little brother and little sister’s side, lest the Demon Beasts seize the opportunity. At this moment the Sea of Blood flowed beneath the ground, devouring all subterranean beasts. With the underground threat gone, the humans’ combat power soared by leaps and bounds.
"If only we had some explosive packs right now. Maybe we could use the chance to reverse the situation a bit more." Zhang Chen muttered as he watched the chaotic melee within the wind and sand.
Zhang Chen manipulating all the beasts within two thousand meters to slaughter each other did give this direction a breather. The eldest young master of the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, Chen Ping, took a deep breath, his body trembling with exhaustion as he collapsed to the ground. He stared, dumbfounded, at the beasts not far away killing one another, his eyes full of confusion.
"Young Master, why did these animals start slaughtering each other?" An Escort Master beside him, panting heavily, asked with a completely baffled expression.
Hearing this, Chen Ping said, "No matter why those beasts are killing each other, it’s a chance for us to catch our breath. Quickly eat some dry rations and replenish your strength. You lot lead four hundred men to support the other fronts. We absolutely cannot allow the beasts to break through our main camp."
"Young Master, leaving only a hundred Escort Masters by your side is unwise. Why don’t you personally lead the four hundred cavalry to reinforce the others, and I’ll stay here to guard this place? Even if we don’t know why these animals are killing each other, we can’t let our guard down. If they’re putting on an act and seize the opportunity, we’ll be in deep trouble." The Escort Master beside him disagreed with Chen Ping staying here and insisted on staying in his place.
Chen Ping shook his head at that. "No, you can’t take my place! This is an order. You are to obey immediately. I’ve awakened my Bloodline Power; even if those animals are playing tricks, I can hold out for a while and buy time for your return."
Hearing this, the Escort Master fell silent, merely saying, "Young Master, take care," and then led the four hundred cavalry away.
At this moment the wind and sand blotted out sun and moon. Chen Ping looked at the beasts locked in brutal combat and a trace of curiosity flashed in his eyes. He really couldn’t figure out why those beasts had started infighting.
"Could it be that those animals are having internal strife?" Chen Ping’s face was full of puzzlement.
Dozens of li away, Chai Chuanxin stood atop a mountain peak, a vertical flute in his hand. Watching the unending slaughter in the night, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he silently thought, "If I want my bloodline to evolve again, I need a massive amount of human blood and Essence Qi. Human blood is a great tonic. Now that the Demon Race has entered the passes, how could I not get a share of the spoils?"
Zhang Chen would never have imagined that the initiator of this beast tide here was actually the Gambling Fox.
Beside the Gambling Fox, a young man in green robes had murder flickering in his eyes. "Chai Chuanxin, is that Secret Technique you mentioned really genuine? Don’t you dare try to fool me! Otherwise..."
PS: Thanks to big boss ’Nian Jiu+’ for the reward. Big boss, please stop tipping and help subscribe to this book instead; this humble author is already endlessly grateful. Those familiar with this author know that just helping with subscriptions is more than enough, so I usually don’t publicly express thanks—mainly because I’m afraid everyone will waste money on rewards. (The above text is under two hundred words, so it’s free.)