Rumble, rumble…
A constant muffled roar came from the distance, and the land, already turned to mire, rippled again and again, reminding adventurers heading into the darkness that the road ahead was far from smooth.
That place—right now, a terrifying battle was breaking out.
Luo Shuangyue narrowed her eyes, her silver-red pupils growing deeper.
She enhanced her eyesight, so she could just barely see the battle erupting far away.
In this world that might be flat, what she could see was much more than back on Mother Star.
“Anxing, and two unfamiliar figures.” Of the two sides fighting, Luo Shuangyue was very familiar with one—Miss Anxing, who had recruited her to the Demon Faction.
As for the other two, they were no doubt the native powerhouses of this world. Their strength was rather impressive; even in the home ground of the demons, they managed to fight Anxing to a draw for now.
But what did it matter?
Anxing’s endurance here was frightening. If they couldn’t finish this quickly, the end result would only be Anxing dragging them down to their deaths, bit by bit.
“Maybe they have some strategy I don’t know about?” Shaking her head, Luo Shuangyue carefully
put on her hood, hiding her face in the darkness.
What she was about to do next wasn’t something to be seen in public, so she specifically used Demonic Energy to create a black robe with a hood, wrapping herself tightly from head to toe.
Now, in anyone else’s eyes, she was just a short figure dressed all in black, with her appearance completely obscured.
Maybe only Manzhu, who’d met her once, could barely glimpse a shadow of her old self from this appearance.
Anxing absolutely wouldn’t recognize her now—after all, she’d only unlocked this little girl form after Anxing had left.
Their previous encounters had all been only on the level of perception, never face-to-face. Naturally, Anxing had no idea Luo Shuangyue had shrunk.
As for others, there was even less chance of them recognizing her; they didn’t even know what Luo Shuangyue originally looked like.
“Hope both sides beat each other up so I can comfortably pick up the leftovers…” Luo Shuangyue muttered with ill intent, and continued heading into the depths of darkness.
Her pale bare feet stepped on the pitch-black mire, yet the thick darkness could not stain that snowy whiteness in the slightest.
She wouldn’t get dirty, but walking barefoot in this muddy ground still made Luo Shuangyue feel a little uncomfortable—a kind of disgusted sensation.
Ah, it’s all to save on magic power, I’ll endure it!
Pulling her black robe tighter, Luo Shuangyue quickened her pace. She guessed that this outbreak of the Black Calamity would last several days. The closer she got to the Core Region during this time, the more benefits she could snatch up.
After hurrying along for a while, Luo Shuangyue noticed the sounds of battle had faded away—seemed those two natives realized they couldn’t beat Anxing and chose to retreat.
Anxing didn’t pursue them either. Right now, her top priority was protecting her soon-to-be-born kin, not chasing Sanctuary folk to extinction.
Besides, the enemy still had considerable strength left; if she left her home ground, victory would be uncertain.
In such circumstances, as a demon with brains, of course Anxing wouldn’t recklessly give chase.
Besides… once the battle was over, she still had a guest to receive.
“Your fighting is as crude as ever.” Black-red flowers bloomed from the pitch-black soil, entwining into a lavish throne.
Manzhu sat on it, legs crossed, looking with some disdain at Anxing, who had just driven off the invaders and was catching her breath, regaining strength.
“A woman who only snipes from behind, you think you have the right to judge my fighting? And the Demonic Energy you used to make that chair—surely, it’s not even yours?” Anxing turned to Manzhu, snorting coldly.
Their relationship in the Organization was never good. Their personalities were polar opposites, neither respecting the other.
Even Anxing, who valued kinship most, couldn’t be bothered to show Manzhu a good face.
“There’s more Demonic Energy here than she can consume alone, isn’t there?” Manzhu had no intention of self-reflection; instead, she felt Anxing was just looking for an excuse.
“Aren’t the three girls you recruited also sneaking bites of this feast?”
Though those three were just hovering on the periphery and the Demonic Energy they snatched wouldn’t affect the situation here, that didn’t stop her from bringing it up to needle Anxing.
Your subordinates do it, why can’t I?
If you have the guts, go punish your three little ones too!
“And where are they, compared to you?” Anxing didn’t fall for it at all; she wasn’t stupid, and could see things as they were.
Manzhu was sneaking the essence, the Demonic Energy most crucial for the birth of new demons, while Luo Shuangyue and the other two were loitering around the edges, eating mere scraps.
The two acts simply couldn’t be compared.
“If you had acted, those two wouldn’t have gotten away so easily.”
During the fight, Manzhu had just watched the whole time. If she’d attacked those two enemies as well, Anxing believed they wouldn’t have escaped so lightly.
But this woman just watched—she did nothing!
“Even if I’d acted, if they really wanted to leave, they could still do it.” Manzhu rolled her eyes. The opponents had kept some power in reserve and had their minds set on retreat; even if she acted, she couldn’t stop them.
And there was no way Anxing could leave this place to chase them. If Manzhu went alone, that would just be courting disaster.
Since acting or not made no difference, why bother?
Waste of effort? That wasn’t Manzhu’s style.
“They’ll definitely come again. I’ll hide and watch from the shadows. If you’re strong enough to show me a fatal weakness, I wouldn’t mind lending a hand.”
“Opportunities are to be seized by oneself. I’m not your subordinate, and I won’t help you force out their weakness.”
“Heh, then go fight them on your own; just pretend I don’t exist. My job is only to drag you away by force when you get stupid, nothing more.”
Seeing the conversation was going nowhere, Manzhu couldn’t be bothered to keep arguing. She just needed to complete her mission—why care about the rest?
She’d rather find some fun elsewhere.
Like maybe, playing some games with those three little girls…
“They are my people, and Organization members too.”
But before her thoughts could take shape, Anxing interrupted, cutting off her mischief.
“Don’t forget the Mentor’s rules. You wouldn’t want to be punished by the Mentor, would you?”
“Rules? Why would I ever break the rules?”
“Let’s hope your actions are as you say…”
The two, locked in a head-to-head standoff, could not hold a normal conversation. Anxing couldn’t trust Manzhu, and Manzhu only regarded Anxing’s actions with contempt.
Even under the Mentor’s pressure, the two could only cooperate in name; meeting meant not fighting to the death, but rather a war of words.
Still, a verbal battle was better—and less tiring—than a real one.
Luo Shuangyue, of course, had no idea her two “companions” were arguing so fiercely.
By now, she had reached the edge of the Core Region, but instead of going straight in, she sneakily dug a hole and buried herself.
Black thorns burst from her body, their roots spreading in all directions.
This power from Phantom Thorn was working at two hundred percent efficiency.
Even without entering the Core Region, just absorbing energy here with her massive root system could greatly boost Luo Shuangyue’s strength.
And Luo Shuangyue had no intention of stopping there—she wanted to send her feelers into the Core Region, but now wasn’t the time.
She had to wait until the natives launched another attack, then sneak in unnoticed.
If she strolled in openly now, Anxing would spot her and fling her out without mercy.
That way, she wouldn’t be able to get her fill.
So, sneaking in was a must—better to move hidden in the black mire than out in the open.
All Luo Shuangyue could do now was wait for those natives to attack again.
After who knew how long, she finally heard the familiar sounds of fighting once more. She sent out two thorny feelers, each with an eye, peeking in the direction of the battle.
Anxing and the two natives had begun their second clash, and this time, the attackers were clearly more determined than before.
Perhaps, with the birth of the Demon Emperor imminent, these natives wanted to risk everything to see if they could take Anxing down and prevent the birth of the Demon Emperor?
Too bad they didn’t know—even if they beat Anxing, Manzhu, whose strength was no less than Anxing’s, was waiting for them behind.
“Hey, perfect timing!”
But what did this have to do with the cute, brainless Luo Shuangyue? She certainly didn’t want the Demon Emperor to descend so easily, but with her strength, she couldn’t meddle in that battle.
She could only take advantage of the chaos to stretch her roots into the Core Region and start gulping down the new Demon Emperor’s offerings.
Ah, this Demonic Energy really was delicious!
One mouthful and Luo Shuangyue felt like she was about to ascend to the heavens—this was so much better than toiling away killing monsters for Magic Crystals.
Her roots spread rapidly; Luo Shuangyue’s goal was to cover as much ground as possible while Anxing was too busy to notice, then hide and feast like crazy.
She’d already tested it—the Demonic Energy here in the Core Region was so chaotic that even a Demon Emperor like Anxing couldn’t sense things precisely.
So, there shouldn’t be any surprises to her plan.
Unless… she ran into someone else with the same idea as her…
Not long after her secret feast began, Luo Shuangyue’s black thorns touched another root system, also buried deep in the darkness.
Then, in her “ear,” a somewhat familiar voice rang out: “Yo, didn’t expect you to have the guts, little one.”
That malicious tone—no doubt, it belonged to the Demon Emperor Manzhu she’d met before.
Luo Shuangyue’s heart skipped a beat, but then she realized Manzhu was doing the exact same thing as her.
So you’re stealing too? Luo Shuangyue groaned inwardly—and by the look of it, Manzhu wasn’t even sneaking; she was outright plundering!
“What a coincidence, Mentor Manzhu. I thought you’d already left.”
“Oh? Why did you think I’d left?”
“If you hadn’t, how could Anxing be struggling so hard in that battle?”
If Manzhu had lent a hand, would Anxing be under so much pressure now?
No way—the demon side had home field and numbers; a two-on-two should be an overwhelming advantage.
Yet here was Manzhu, not only not helping Anxing, but stealing the newborn Demon Emperor’s power from behind. She was basically a parasite.
“My job isn’t to help her defeat those people. But you—Anxing trusts you, and yet here you are doing this behind her back. Aren’t you afraid she’ll punish you?” Manzhu snorted. She’d realized this little one was not as harmless as she’d thought.
She and Luo Shuangyue were birds of a feather.
She scolded Manzhu for not helping Anxing, but in reality, Luo Shuangyue—Anxing’s closest—was also sneaking behind her back the moment Anxing wasn’t looking.
If anything, this little one was even more shameless than Manzhu herself.
“I’m just unable to suppress my instinct to devour Demonic Energy. I believe Anxing will understand.”
Luo Shuangyue truly didn’t fear being caught.
After all, this wasn’t the first or second time she’d filched some energy—Anxing was long used to Luo Shuangyue’s sneaky bites.
Even if Anxing discovered her roots reaching into the Core Region, at most she’d just kick her out. Her life would never be at risk.
“Heh, looks like Anxing has been thoroughly played by you.”
“Mentor Manzhu, you’re joking. I just think we might have some common ground—maybe even reach a little understanding.”
Luo Shuangyue’s meaning was clear: let’s not mess with each other.
You eat yours, I eat mine—there’s more than enough here for everyone. She couldn’t eat it all herself anyway.
Bribing Manzhu with some meat from this pot was a sure win.
Manzhu didn’t reply, but she withdrew her roots from Luo Shuangyue’s area and showed no intention of telling Anxing.
Apparently, she’d accepted this silent pact.
After all, there was no conflict between her and Luo Shuangyue. Peacefully sneaking a meal together was the best deal.
However… “Those people probably have more tricks up their sleeves. That region over there is your responsibility to guard.”
You can’t just eat without working; if Luo Shuangyue wanted a share, Manzhu would naturally dump some of her own tasks on her.
As for whether Luo Shuangyue could handle any attackers—Manzhu didn’t care in the slightest.