Chapter 548: The Crimson-Armored General

This was a dim and chilling place; within the gloom stood a structure resembling an altar, and atop the very summit of the altar, a human figure sat motionless in meditation.

That figure wore crimson armor, the color of the armor a blood-red as if dyed by fresh blood, unconsciously radiating a terrifying killing aura; merely sitting there, he emitted a shocking pressure that caused the void around him to constantly twist.

Beneath the crimson armor, a pair of cold and shadowy eyes suddenly opened.

A flash of fury surged within those eyes.

"Useless!"

A low voice, thick with intense killing intent, spread through this gloom, causing the energy of heaven and earth to tremble and boil.

"My years of plotting, how hateful! Damn the Academy Alliance!" The General in Crimson Armor spoke in furious tones from beneath his visor, for in that previous moment, he had sensed that the arrangements within the Thunder Tree had suddenly vanished; obviously, this was caused by the Thunder Tree regaining its spiritual intelligence.

And previously, he had exhausted all his efforts, employing numerous methods, first using a poison array to weaken and suppress the Thunder Tree's spiritual intelligence, then relying on the corruption of evil-nation qi to cause the Thunder Tree to lose control.

Originally, everything had been proceeding perfectly, yet now it was all utterly destroyed at this very moment.

At this moment, even the General in Crimson Armor, with his profound depth of character, felt a surge of anger churning in his heart, wishing he could break out of seclusion immediately and slaughter all those brats from the various academies.

But in the end, he still restrained himself.

Because now was not the time, and moreover, those brats would inevitably arrive here eventually.

"This Academy Alliance is truly treacherous, setting this Red Sand Commandery as the trial ground for the Holy Grail War; do they intend to use the power of these students to eradicate the Red Sand Commandery?" The General in Crimson Armor's eyes flickered, and a cold expression constantly surged forth.

"However, they can only dispatch these students, which also reveals that the various academies are fundamentally powerless to support the Black Wind Empire; the situation here cannot be resolved by the arrival of a few ordinary Marquis-level experts, unless it is a King-level expert."

"Hmph, but how can King-level experts move so easily? In this Eastern Region of Outer Shenzhou, even among the various Holy Academies, such experts are few and far between; they all bear heavy responsibilities themselves, how could they care for other places?"

"Very well, since you wish to send these top geniuses from the various academies to their deaths, then this General shall fulfill your wish this time, letting you know what heartache feels like."

A voice permeated with killing intent rang out; finally, the General in Crimson Armor stood up, his figure moved, and when he appeared again, he was before a door, then he pushed the door open and stepped out.

Light shone in; the General in Crimson Armor stepped out, and the place where he now stood seemed to be atop a Gao Ta, while outside the Gao Ta were countless buildings and houses stretching to the horizon, the scale of that city far surpassing Zhenjiang City.

And within this Red Sand Commandery, there was only one city of such scale, namely the commandery city of Red Sand Commandery, Red Stone City.

What was merely surprising, however, was that unlike Zhenjiang City, which had been destroyed into a mess, this Red Stone City was actually kept in extremely perfect condition; gazing into the distance, one could see the crimson city walls guarding the city like giants.

Of course, a city kept in perfect condition was only surprising; what was even more shocking was that within the General in Crimson Armor's vision, Red Stone City was bustling with activity, with countless figures flowing through the city, a scene of prosperity just as it had been in the past.

The General in Crimson Armor watched this scene with cold eyes and murmured faintly, "Truly a terrifying Huan Jing, capable of being so lifelike; if one fell into it, even an expert of the Earth Fiery General rank would gradually lose their self."

As someone who was equally extremely familiar with this place, although the scene before his eyes was extremely real, he understood that this was merely a Huan Jing; the countless figures before him were merely illusions conjured by the Huan Jing, and the so-called prosperity reeked of an indescribable eeriness.

And the Huan Jing before his eyes was obviously the work of that person.

The General in Crimson Armor cast a sharp gaze toward the center of the city; in his vision, the void there was permeated with blood-red color, the blood-red distorting space and blocking perception, yet he was able to penetrate that blood light and see within.

Deep within that intense blood light, a seductive figure lay quietly prone, as if a fox feigning sleep; her face was exceptionally charming and captivating, and even though her eyes were not yet open, she still radiated an extremely enchanting charm; looking at such a person alone caused a surge of heat to rise in one's heart, while countless desires wriggled through the body like snakes.

But the General in Crimson Armor remained unmoved; his gaze fixed on behind that seductive woman, where an exceptionally thick blood-red tail slowly swayed in the void like a poisonous dragon.

If one looked closely, one would discover that the blood-red tail seemed to be constantly flowing with fresh blood; the red fur on the tail was sometimes soft, moving with the wind, and sometimes like steel needles, and when it slid, it even cut faint traces into the void.

Faintly, countless shrill cries seemed to emerge from within the blood-red tail.

The General in Crimson Armor stared at that blood-red tail for a long while, because he knew very well that every single red hair on that tail was transformed from a life in Red Stone City; when that thing arrived back then, it had taken quite some time to refine all one million people within the city.

Truly ruthless to the extreme.

However, facing this blood-red tail that was enough to make people feel disgust, a look of obsession floated into the eyes of the General in Crimson Armor, and then a low laugh issued from beneath his visor, the laugh sounding slightly eerie.

Because in a certain sense, this was also his work.

"Not bad; after waiting these years, it is finally ready to be harvested."

"However, aberrations are indeed creatures of calamity; in these two years, it has even begun to covet me, heh..."

"The Academy Alliance's interference in Red Sand Commandery this time is actually an opportunity."

A gloomy color flashed in the eyes of the General in Crimson Armor; the ultimate goal of those top students from the academies would inevitably be Red Stone City, and when they arrived here, they would surely destroy it; at that time, both sides would fight to the death, while he could reap the benefits of the fisherman.

"The fruit sown has finally reached the time of harvest."

"It is just a pity for the Thunder Tree; originally, that was preparation for my future plans... but no rush; as long as we thwart the Academy Alliance's interference this time, there will be plenty of time and methods to deal with it later."

The General in Crimson Armor laughed hoarsely, then he glanced once more at the blood-red void in the distance; his hands formed an eerie hand seal, and at his fingers, a ring was revealed; the ring presented a dark-red color, and on the face of the ring was engraved an eye, the sclera of the eye being black while the pupil was white, the strong contrast bringing forth a sense of eeriness.

"Light and dark share the same source; good and evil return to one." The General in Crimson Armor murmured softly.

Afterwards, he laughed lightly again, and within the laughter, there was carried a certain eerie obsession and expectation.

"At the moment of return to one, the True Self descends."