Chapter 255: Black Black Tide Investment, Abyssal Seeds (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

The waning moon hung low over the undulating mountain ridges, dyeing the sky a rust-like dark red.

Fibrous embers rotated slowly in the air, forming vortices, before scattering across the sky like falling snow.

Moving the gaze northward from the ancient battlefield piled with skeletons, the earth suddenly fractured ahead.

A massive, bottomless chasm stretched across the mountain ridge.

Black mist churned at the abyss's base, where a ferocious tall tower rose from the ground, piercing the foggy haze and pointing toward the blood-red waning moon.

The tower body was constructed from bone-like materials, with a massive Black Black Tide Furnace at its center, where internal energy surged.

At this moment, the Earth Nian Evil Spirit hovered on the platform atop the tall tower, attempting to accept orders alongside the Evil Eye.

The message had been sent out, yet no Evil Spirit Warrior had sent an order.

No orders meant no resource income.

No resource income meant that during the phase of player rampage, resource expenditure would exceed resource gains.

For the players, the Strange Butterflies, and even the monsters lurking in the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region, the waning moon signaled the arrival of spring.

But for the Earth Nian Evil Spirit, the descent of the waning moon meant winter had arrived, requiring frugality to survive the cold season.

The strength of players at the current stage was far different from days past.

Whether this winter could be survived was unpredictable.

If those bastard players went mad and initiated a high-frequency war Cultivation Mode, the resources available for surviving the coming days would only dwindle further.

Thinking of its sudden downfall, the Earth Nian Evil Spirit felt bitterness in its heart.

Just a few days ago, it had been considering how to develop faster; now, it had already retreated into its Black Black Tide energy, completely abandoning its aggressive expansion strategy.

Especially the emergence of numerous weak players, which felt like a slap across its Iron Face.

This was clearly a provocation.

Now it had only one thought: it must urgently open up external channels for acquiring resources.

Accepting orders for proxy fighting was, in its eyes, the most convenient way to obtain external profits.

Before this, it had earned profits through two proxy fights, enduring the most difficult times and welcoming the first quarter moon.

But several days had passed, and no Black Black Tide Commander from any other node had contacted it to request proxy services.

It could roughly understand the main reasons.

Every Evil Spirit Warrior emerging from a Black Black Tide node had climbed up over mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

They generally came from countless shattered minor worlds, standing out in purgatory, and after undergoing the cruel tempering of the main world, arrogance like that of a lone wolf was carved into their bones.

Just like it had been back then, filled with pride.

Except under special circumstances, they were unwilling to accept help and even more disgusted by pity.

They only wished to stir up a dark frenzy in the Monster World through their own efforts, thereby proving their excellence.

Recalling its mindset upon first descending.

Back then, it was arrogant and did not believe it needed assistance.

It felt that if a colleague extended a helping hand, it would be more nauseating than an enemy's blade.

And it firmly believed that dying in battle was the glorious destination for a Black Black Tide Warrior, but accepting pity was a shame that would defile even the soul.

But that was the past.

Now, its attitude toward external resources was very clear.

If given, take it; if not, beg for it.

How many resources was Iron Face worth? As long as resources were given, who cared about Iron Face!

Resources begged for while kneeling could still be used to smash the dog heads of those bastard players and idiotic insect races.

Then, one could rise from kneeling to standing.

It had long seen through everything.

What damn dignity could exchange for a single drop of Black Black Tide energy?

Back then, it was also a stubborn youth holding its neck high, but now, as long as resources were in place, whichever node delivered them was its provider of food and clothing.

In a super battlefield of such intensity as the Monster World, there was actually only one standard for judging dignity.

Surviving made one a winner.

And the dead had no qualification to talk about dignity.

But this was only its own thought; many Evil Spirit Warriors still adhered to the pride in their hearts, struggling in the Monster World.

These Evil Spirit Warriors would not easily accept help from other nodes.

Secondly, besides dignity, there was another reason.

That was combat records and rankings.

Combat records referred to the fact that, under Black Black Tide node information sharing, one could view combat record information shared by Evil Eyes from other nodes.

This included how many races had been devoured, how much area had been expanded, and so on.

Rankings referred to the combat power assessment grades after the Black Black Tide's intensity developed to a certain scale, which would affect the share of resource subsidies received.

At the current stage, the rank classification within the Black Black Tide Legion, from low to high, was: Commander, Grand Commander, Lord, Apostle, and Monarch.

Among the Monarchs, there were even more detailed classifications, with vast gaps in combat power between them.

Above that was the Demigod level.

The Evil Eye's mother, the "Thirteenth Divine Eye," was a Half-Step Demigod within the Demigod class.

Each Black Black Tide rank had different resource quotas.

For example, some regions were illuminated by the Evil Moon, generating numerous Corrosion Cores that entangled domain nodes, continuously drawing energy.

But these regions had no Evil Spirit Warriors stationed there.

The resources drawn from these areas would enter the resource pool and be distributed to different Evil Spirit Warriors according to the allocation ratios set by the Monarch of that region.

Its current resource quota was at the Grand Commander level, but its combat power rank was still at the Commander level.

(PS: Chapter 122 mentioned that the Earth Nian Evil Spirit was raised one subsidy level by the Monarch, receiving Grand Commander-level resources.)

This led others, upon viewing its combat records and rank information, to feel that it was fundamentally unqualified to participate in commanding campaigns at their nodes.

But the problem was, they didn't even look at what high-level games they were playing; who wouldn't collapse under such conditions?

In this broken place called Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, surviving was already an achievement; what use were combat records?

Thinking of this, resentment surged in the heart of the Earth Nian Bully.

Wasn't it just that they obtained a development-suitable starting environment, allowing even a pig to manipulate the Black Black Tide to devour everything in a favorable situation?

What about me?

Damn it, I applied various tactics, having to calculate resource consumption while also seeking strategies to defeat the enemy.

Natural Disaster Backlash Tactic, Mental Taunt Tactic, Player Infiltration Plan, Treasure Chest Tactic, Information Collection Tactic, Data Simulation Tactic... To survive, I dared not rest for a moment; can they compare?

To use the players' words: starting with an SSR spawn point means you can win by rolling your Iron Face on the keyboard; my grandmother could achieve a perfect victory using her feet with such operations, so what the hell are you pretending about!

If we had Black Tides with equal resources and combat power, I could beat them until they doubted life itself.

Listening to the Earth Nian Evil Spirit's frantic complaints, the Evil Eye silently nodded.

It utterly agreed with these words.

Facts proved that the Earth Nian Evil Spirit had always been playing high-level games.

If not for the restrictions imposed by the Player Race and the Insect Race, its development steps would have long broken through the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, far from the difficult predicament of today.

Thinking of this, the Evil Eye spoke up at this moment to comfort it, providing emotional value:

"Earth Nian, those warriors who only know how to mindlessly push forward are merely good-for-nothings who can only play favorable situations."

"But you, my Commander." The Evil Eye looked at the Earth Nian Evil Spirit, its voice filled with respect:

"You are playing chess with your life; every step is a desperate situation, every battle is growth, even every breath requires calculating consumption... You are the strongest new-generation Evil Spirit Commander in my eyes, at least in the Pale Continent region."

"Shut up." The Earth Nian Evil Spirit glared.

"Oh."

The Evil Eye's praise actually made the Earth Nian Evil Spirit feel even worse.

Amidst surging thoughts, it took a deep breath:

"Evil Eye, perhaps we can adopt a different method to earn external resources from other nodes."

"I don't understand." Hearing these words, the Evil Eye felt somewhat confused.

"Other nodes refusing our assistance is merely due to concerns over Iron Face and combat records," the Earth Nian Evil Spirit said slowly.

"But if we change our approach, not offering help in the posture of a superior, but providing developmental support as a partner?"

The Evil Eye's pupils slowly contracted into a thin line:

"Do you mean packaging the proxy fighting service as a strategic investment?"

"Exactly so." The Earth Nian Evil Spirit nodded with a smile:

"Many nodes share similar predicaments to ours; even if they are only temporarily trapped in a development bottleneck, they must desire to break through the blockade, and our assistance would undoubtedly be aid in times of need."

"The specific plan is to inject partial resources in the form of cooperation, negotiate to obtain war profits, then seek opportunities to provide command assistance, thereby earning more external resource profits, achieving mutual benefit and win-win results."

"After all, the Evil Spirit Warriors of other nodes are simply unwilling to admit they need charity, but if external forces provide cooperative support, this is a form of assistance that other nodes will find hard to refuse."

The Evil Eye immediately understood the Earth Nian Evil Spirit's idea:

"Changing proxy fighting into investment?"

"Correct; doing this has another benefit: once there has been one cooperation, a certain level of trust can be established. In the future, when nodes we have cooperated with encounter difficulties, they will first think to seek my help, gradually building long-term cooperative trust relationships. Later, if I encounter trouble and request support, they will have no reason not to extend a helping hand."

"This gives me the opportunity to establish a resource domination chain, weaving a resource network..."

After listening to the Earth Nian Evil Spirit's analysis, the Evil Eye nodded:

"Not a bad idea; doing this can even bypass the Monarch's oversight, after all, this is an agreement signed between two nodes while the Evil Spirit Warriors on both sides are still alive... Let's try it."

Following Di Nian Evil Spirit's thoughts, Evil Eye sent the message to other nodes.

Three hours later.

The Tianyuan Node received a message.

At this moment, Evil Eye looked up at Di Nian Evil Spirit:

"Di Nian, there's work to be done. Are you in?"

Hearing the reminder, Di Nian Evil Spirit instantly perked up:

"What kind of work?"

"The opposing node doesn't need you to participate in campaign command, but it does need you to provide resource support."

"How many resources do they need from me?"

"Seventy percent of the resources from our node; all will be returned after the campaign ends, with an additional bonus of twenty percent of the campaign's profits in resources."

"Are you trying to beggar me? Asking for seventy percent of my resources and only giving me twenty percent in return!" Veins throbbed on Di Nian's forehead; he felt this demand was simply outrageous.

"Are you in or not?"

"In!"

Although dissatisfied in his heart, he agreed decisively.

Evil Eye did not answer; suddenly, the High Tower trembled, and dense dark red light points ignited within the pitch-black tower body, brightening and dimming in alternation like pumping blood vessels.

Energy data packets composed of Black Black Tide energy were finally shot out from the tower's peak, transforming into a pitch-black pillar of light that flew toward the Evil Moon in the sky, drawing a long black trajectory through the air.

Using the Evil Moon as a relay station, energy resources were transferred rapidly.

"Let's go over and take a look."

"I need to apply; you do not have the qualification to go to other nodes without authorization."

"Hurry up."

Pale Continent, Land of Embers.

The moment consciousness descended upon the node's High Tower, the sight that met the eyes was a scene of decay and desolation.

The scorched black earth was full of cracks, resembling a shattered spiderweb spreading in all directions.

From within the fissures, several wisps of turbid black smoke rose from time to time, carrying a pungent odor.

As far as perception could reach, the mountains remained only as bare bodies; the rocks had been scorched black and shattered by high temperatures, while wild winds raged across this land, emitting mournful howls like countless wronged souls wailing.

Not far away, dried-up rivers lay like ugly scars stretching across the scorched earth.

The riverbeds were covered with cracked clods of earth, along with piles of twisted and deformed black remains.

Di Nian Evil Spirit's consciousness projection looked up to see a dazzling waxing moon.

Information regarding the Node Commander's combat record flooded into his mind.

Like him, the other party was also a Commander-class Evil Spirit Warrior.

Having descended into the Monster World two months later than him, yet their devouring combat record was in the hundreds, and their territory area was even twenty-nine times larger; this made him secretly curse in his heart.

Information about the enemy was also presented in his mind at this time:

[Ember Dragon Clan]:

Population Count: 1,393,832 (discovered)

Comprehensive Combat Power Assessment: Marshal Class

Biological Form: Composed of three species—Volcano Dragons (Fire attribute), Abyss Swamp Dragons (Poison attribute), and Hurricane Wyverns (Wind attribute)—each occupying different ecological niches within the clan.

Volcano Dragon: Massive and sturdy in size, covered in scales like molten lava; when their wings spread, they resemble curtains of burning flame. Their heads are huge, capable of spewing high-temperature magma from their mouths, scorching the earth wherever they go; they are the symbol of strength within the Ember Dragon Clan.

Abyss Swamp Dragon: Slender and winding in body, possessing poison sacs; they can shuttle flexibly through complex terrain. Their tails are like poisonous long whips, and they excel at creating battlefield poison mists (referable to Plague-type units).

Hurricane Wyvern: Light and agile in form, with broad and tough wings, possessing high mobility; they specialize in creating battlefield storms.

Clan Warfare Characteristics: Excel at manipulating natural weather as weapons, possessing extremely strong battlefield control, but rely heavily on environmental changes.

Clan Social Structure: ...

Recorded Tactical Methods: ...

Weakness Records: ...

After reviewing the information on the hostile force, Di Nian Evil Spirit decisively retrieved the recording of previous battle scenes.

With Evil Eye's assistance, the footage advanced at 1000 times speed.

Countless scenes flooded into his mind.

In these scenes of direct confrontation, the Evil Spirit Warrior's command habits focused mainly on controlling Disaster-type and Torrent-type units.

Facing the Ember Dragon Clan, whose battlefield destructive power was immense, every advance was difficult.

But in Di Nian Evil Spirit's eyes, what kind of predicament was this? It was merely a wall that could be collapsed by ramming into it a few more times.

To even request aid over this was simply useless!

Thinking that the other party had arrived two months earlier than himself, it was obvious their development model had been purely brute-force pushing up until now; they clearly hadn't yet learned to make good use of their unit arsenal.

At this moment, Evil Eye's voice sounded in his mind:

"Di Nian, you are mistaken; the other party seeking resource support is not because they cannot handle it themselves, but because they wish to break through environmental limitations as quickly as possible and accelerate their development pace."

"I know that, but they are still useless."

Evil Eye: ...

His gaze shifted toward the battlefield direction; a new round of engagement was gathering momentum.

The Black Black Tide swept across the earth, and Disaster-type units fell like raindrops from the churning black clouds.

At the end of the shared perception view, the horizon burned fiercely, with countless sparks dancing in the distance.

The Volcano Dragons appeared first; their massive bodies crushed the earth's rock layers, each step capable of triggering eruptions of underground magma.

Their bodies were like moving mountains, with golden-red rivers of fire flowing between the gaps in their scales; hundreds of thousands of dragon eyes lit up amidst the smoke and dust.

When they collectively spread their wings, a blazing curtain of light pierced through the air, illuminating an area of several dozen li as bright as day.

The blowing wind carried a scent of sulfur.

Subsequently, the Hurricane Wyverns tore through the cloud layer to appear; their wing membranes vibrated during high-speed flight, emitting a roaring sound, storms were born from their flapping wings, and the sky was instantly sliced into a shattered curtain.

In the shadows below, the Abyss Swamp Dragons wound along the ground, swimming forward; wherever they passed, the remaining vegetation withered, and their toxic slime trailed behind, creating bubbling swamps.

Just as they were about to make contact with the Black Black Tide army, pale green spirit patterns appeared on the scales of the Abyss Swamp Dragons, and countless swollen poison sacs pulsed rapidly.

Roar!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, an Ember Ancient Dragon, three times larger than its kin, followed onto the scene.

The next second, a million Ember Dragons roared simultaneously.

The sound waves transformed into tangible shockwaves, causing the nearest several mountain peaks to collapse amidst the roaring thunder.

Magma pillars collectively spewed by the Volcano Dragons pierced through heaven and earth, while the poison mists released by the Swamp Dragons and the storms stirred up by the Wyverns intertwined in the air, forming a vortex of death with a diameter exceeding several dozen kilometers.

The clouds were dyed a turbid purplish-red; boiling poisonous rain sprinkled down, corroding deep holes into the ground where it landed.

Through the data provided by Evil Eye, Di Nian Evil Spirit already knew the strength comparison between both sides; the Black Black Tide was at an absolute disadvantage.

This was also the reason this node had chosen to seek help.

His gaze shifted to the figure hovering on the platform ahead.

This Evil Spirit Warrior's name was "Ghost Fang"; he wore a set of dark silver ferocious armor, its surface patterned, with shoulder guards shaped like reversely growing bone spurs, surrounded by six metal barbs, and each side of the chest plate embedded with a red-veined crystal stone, creating a domineering appearance.

Combat record data showed that before coming to the Monster World, Ghost Fang had already been battle-hardened in Minor World campaigns.

He had previously participated in Minor World wars twelve times, always serving in a supporting combat role.

It was precisely due to his excellent performance in controlling evil spirits during these campaigns that he was selected to become an Evil Spirit Warrior of the Monster World, beginning the cultivation of his war command abilities.

But Ghost Fang was different from him; he had not graduated from the Abyss Trial.

Reviewing past campaigns revealed that Ghost Fang's luck was extremely good; the location where he first descended happened to be near a Corrosion Core that stored a large amount of unextracted Black Black Tide energy, giving him a development momentum far beyond what he could compare to.

Secondly, within his territory, there were eighteen nodes capable of continuously producing energy profits.

"Di Nian, you are jealous."

Di Nian Evil Spirit did not respond, turning his gaze back to the battlefield.

Under Ghost Fang's control, the Black Black Tide army erupted into a fierce slaughter with the Ember Dragon Clan.

But in terms of combat power comparison, the Ember Dragon Clan was stronger than the Black Black Tide army by more than a little; it was a one-sided massacre throughout, with dragon shadows sweeping across the battlefield.

Operating under habitual thinking, Ghost Fang chose to continue generating output-type units, attempting to gain resource energy to nourish the Black Black Tide by accelerating the devouring speed.

This scene made Di Nian Evil Spirit frown involuntarily.

This fighting method was indeed feasible; after all, the Ember Dragon Clan were not players, and every one devoured would allow the Black Black Tide to grow.

Secondly, the evil spirit units of the Black Black Tide that died in battle could also transform into black mist and automatically merge back into the Black Black Tide, so the energy loss was not significant.

But from his perspective, this fighting style had serious drawbacks.

If the Ember Dragon Clan were allowed to tear through the Black Black Tide's defensive line and head straight for the High Tower, it would be very easy to Iron Face a crisis of decapitation.

Facing a war where the enemy is strong and we are weak, the best war model should be defense-oriented.

Relying on the Black Black Tide's characteristic of growing through devouring, they could nibble away at the Ember Dragon Clan's strength bit by bit.

In the late stage, when the gap in combat power was no longer a crushing trend, they could then adopt a violent offensive strategy.

Through the war footage, Di Nian Evil Spirit applied a series of labels to Ghost Fang.

Impatient, radical, tactically short-sighted, bad at weighing options... failing to find a balance between offense and defense, between short-term resource acquisition and long-term battle trends, stubbornly choosing the most habitual violent offensive fighting style, and failing to understand how to adjust strategies flexibly.

"Di Nian, this is a problem common among novice commanders; don't forget your own combat strategy when you first descended."

The Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit did not answer, its gaze fixed on the battlefield.

Under the assault of the Ember Dragon Clan, the Black Black Tide was constantly torn apart and reformed; Ghost Fang's tactics appeared fierce but reeked of recklessness.

"Too smooth!"

Just as the Evil Eye had said, Ghost Fang had never truly faced a desperate situation.

Unlike its arduous struggle on the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range battlefield, where even victory demanded a price.

Ghost Fang's growth after descending into the Monster World had been without twists or turns.

It had yet to learn from predicaments when to endure, when to fight, and when to abandon immediate temptations to plan for the future.

The Black Black Tide's ability to devour all things had made Ghost Fang accustomed to the invincibility of sustaining war through war.

Even when occasional failures occurred, they were merely ripples in the resource pool, quickly covered by more plundered resources.

Thus, it did not understand that defense was not cowardice, but a means to wear down the enemy's sharp edge into a blunt blade.

Nor did it understand that retreat was not defeat, but a way to accumulate greater strength for a counterattack.

These were all combat habits cultivated in favorable battlefields.

From this, it was evident that Ghost Fang had never experienced a true desperate situation in minor world campaigns.

Watching Ghost Fang's maneuvers, the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit felt extremely uncomfortable and could not help but complain in its heart:

"No way, the enemy has started their charge and is preparing to push the Gao Ta, yet you're still generating damage-dealing units?"

"I beg you, look at the perception map, will you? The flank lanes are about to be torn apart, and you still haven't changed tactics?"

"You idiot! If we keep fighting like this, the Gao Ta will explode, Laozi will lose all my resources, and how will I play when I get home?"

At this moment, the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit resembled a cloud gamer in a player's livestream room.

Its heart was full of emotion, yet it could not send any danmu comments to complain.

Finally, it let out a weary sigh in the depths of its heart:

"Forget it, I won't scold anymore."

Although if the Gao Ta exploded, its investment would all go down the drain, earning nothing from external channel resources and losing most of its family fortune.

But it would not be easy for the Ember Dragon Clan to truly capture the Gao Ta; the Black Black Tide's devouring characteristic kept its benefits in a state of continuous growth.

Sustaining war through war, the Black Black Tide was also becoming stronger with every battle.

It was evident that Ghost Fang was now appearing extremely nervous.

Prompted by its portable Evil Eye, it had already begun switching tactics; calamity-type units successively appeared, forming a defensive line in an attempt to block the Ember Dragon Clan's decapitation strike.

However, Ghost Fang appeared extremely unfamiliar with controlling the calamity-type units.

"Ghost Fang, I am familiar with calamity-type units; give me command authority," the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit finally spoke up with a suggestion, unable to watch any longer.

Hearing these words, Ghost Fang turned its cold gaze toward him.

"Ghost Fang, Di Nian is indeed extremely skilled in using calamity-type and plague-type units; I suggest transferring command authority," the blue-skinned Evil Eye hovering behind Ghost Fang offered its advice.

"I can win this battle."

"I know you can win, but I can solve the problem faster, allowing the Black Black Tide you lead to break through the Ember Dragon Clan's blockade at the fastest speed; do not forget that I also have investments in this battle, so our interests and goals are consistent."

Hearing these words, the coldness in Ghost Fang's eyes faded slightly, but it still hesitated.

Seeing Ghost Fang wavering, Di Nian struck while the iron was hot:

"Of course you can win, but I hope this campaign can end faster."

Speaking thus, the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit waved its hand; the battlefield projection instantly enlarged, the Ember Dragon Clan's offensive highlighted, and wherever the dragon fire passed, the Black Black Tide's evil units evaporated in sheets; although the arrival of the calamity-type units stabilized the battle line, the rate of loss remained astonishing.

"Look here." The Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit's fingertip pointed to a gap torn open by the elite dragons:

"All your calamity-type units are piled on the front, while the flank has only Shadow Killers left; the opponent's Dragon Fire Priests will burn through this defensive line in three minutes."

Speaking thus, in the instant Di Nian's thought turned, numerous light dots appeared on the projection.

Each light dot represented a different unit type, simulating the situation to assist its own tactics.

The blue-skinned Evil Eye hovering behind Ghost Fang flashed with a faint glow in its eyes as data streams cascaded like a waterfall:

"Calculation complete; if Di Nian takes over and uses this new set of tactics, our casualty rate is projected to decrease by 83.82%."

Ghost Fang's pupils contracted slightly.

Di Nian struck while the iron was hot at this moment.

"Ghost Fang, I can help you solve the problem."

Hearing these words, Ghost Fang's fingertips suddenly clenched tight, and the Black Black Tide on the Gao Ta surged accordingly.

Finally, it squeezed out a single word from between its teeth:

"Good..."

As the voice fell, command authority transferred.

But this time, the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit had no intention of stealing resources.

The previous two times it could steal were because one was a pure novice who had not even finished constructing the Gao Ta.

Coupled with unfamiliarity with the Player Clan, that opponent had handed over all permissions to him.

The other Black Black Tide node had even lost its Evil Spirit Warriors, leaving the blue-skinned Evil Eye no choice but to give all command authority to him.

But this time, Ghost Fang had only granted control over the evil units and the right to consume resources, while the blue-skinned Evil Eye would record all resource consumption data.

Even if it wanted to steal, there was no way to do so.

Connecting with the Evil Eye and taking over command, the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit formally entered boost-playing Cultivation Mode.

The Black Black Tide on the battlefield suddenly stagnated at this moment, as if time itself had frozen here, before the Black Black Tide violently contracted.

The evil units on the battlefield were instantly decomposed, transforming into the most primal Black Black Tide energy.

The next second, the evil units reorganized in a brand-new form.

The first to appear were the plague-type evil units, the "Nether Bone Bulwark."

Their massive forms seemed composed of countless compressed corpses; as dragon flames swept over, the charred bone fragments on their surfaces rapidly fell off in the burning, revealing the writhing flesh and blood beneath, absorbing fire damage and converting it into elemental curses.

Every attack by the Ember Dragon Clan was merely pouring power into themselves.

At the same time, viscous plague fungal carpets began seeping out from the battlefield ground.

Countless tiny sporocysts appeared on the surface of the fungal carpets; whenever a dragon stepped on one, the sporocyst would silently burst, releasing elemental toxins.

Facing the entanglement of the plague-type units, the Ember Dragon Clan released fiery breaths, but this only accelerated the volatilization of the toxins, and a pale green poisonous mist gradually filled the air above the battlefield.

Calamity-type units were also generated at this time, retreating the battle line to form an impregnable city wall.

Following that came countless surge-type units, the "Erosion Scale Worms."

These translucent worms were tiny in size; under the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit's control, they precisely drilled into the gaps in the dragon scales, devouring flesh and blood with wide mouths.

Throughout this, the Evil Eye continuously provided data support.

The Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit was also fully immersed in the war.

The battle situation gradually began to reverse.

At this moment, no one was more surprised than Ghost Fang.

While observing the battlefield, it discovered with shock that the Ember Dragon Clan's fierce charge, under the Black Black Tide controlled by the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit, was like striking cotton.

The raging flames could not completely destroy the calamity bulwarks, and violent assaults were blocked by the fungal carpets.

Even more fatal was that, as time passed, the parasitic Erosion Scale Worm swarms inside the dragons began to multiply massively by devouring flesh and blood, causing their movements to become increasingly sluggish, while the dragon flames and storms they spewed gradually lost their power.

This set of tactics used by Di Nian was completely different from the Black Black Tide style under its own control.

It did not seek to unleash the Black Black Tide's characteristic of devouring and growing, but instead adopted the most insidious method, draining the Ember Dragon Clan's vitality bit by bit.

It was simply despicable to the extreme.

Even more outrageous was the backlash of the calamity units.

As an Evil Spirit Commander, Ghost Fang could not imagine why Di Nian would care so much about the survival of every single unit.

It focused its control on the status of every single evil unit.

As the disadvantage reversed, Ghost Fang's gaze locked tightly onto the battlefield, feeling unbelievable in its heart.

In its command philosophy, the Black Black Tide's strength lay in swiftly devouring everything with a surging momentum; no matter how strong the enemy was, it could use the Black Black Tide's advantage of devouring and growing to complete a reversal and crush them.

But the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit's tactics were like a carefully laid conspiracy, with every detail reeking of calculation.

Watching those Erosion Scale Worms being precisely controlled one by one, a chill of disgust rose in Ghost Fang's heart.

These surge-type worms from the Third Palace should not have appeared in a battlefield of this scale, yet now they had become the fatal move gradually gnawing away at the Ember Dragon Clan.

It had never thought that war could be fought this way, not relying on the Black Black Tide's greatest advantage, but using such a meticulous method to gradually drag the enemy into the abyss.

What shocked Ghost Fang even more was the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit's attention to every single unit.

In its view, units were merely consumables; if they died, they died, as long as it brought about final victory.

But the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit was completely different; he treated every evil unit as a precious resource, rapidly causing them to backlash and then re-nurturing them before they lost their combat capability.

This meant that the Black Black Tide power on the battlefield remained in a state of continuous replenishment.

"Madman..."

A chill rose up Ghost Fang's spine.

It suddenly realized the essence of the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit's tactics; this was not fighting a war of attrition, but an attempt to squeeze every shred of power from the Black Black Tide.

It wanted to utilize the Black Black Tide resources in its hands to the utmost limit.

Having experienced countless wars, this was the first time Ghost Fang had seen an Evil Spirit Warrior utilize resources so efficiently.

Before witnessing this set of tactics with its own eyes, it would have only sneered at it.

After all, the Black Black Tide's advantage was devouring and growing; it cared more about the growth of resources than the extreme squeezing of limited resources.

Doing so was undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse, discarding the Black Black Tide's strongest advantage.

But after personally witnessing Di Nian's extreme micro-management, it was completely shocked.

Most importantly, this was the first time the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit had encountered the Ember Dragon Clan, even though it possessed comprehensive data records.

But knowing the data and applying it on the battlefield were two entirely different matters.

He even discovered that the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit's understanding of the Ember Dragon Clan was rapidly improving amidst the war.

In the shared battlefield view, countless points of light and data flipped wildly, undergoing high-frequency calculations every second.

Turning his head to look at the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit, which was completely focused, Ghost Tooth's expression changed.

At this moment, the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit appeared to him like a battlefield artist, currently performing a precise war surgery.

Using the Black Black Tide as a blade, it was dissecting the Ember Dragon Clan piece by piece into nourishment.

And the Ember Dragon Clan's resistance was precisely restricted, leaving them no choice but to allow the scalpel to cut with exact precision.

He even noticed that while the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit was manipulating the Black Black Tide to clash head-on with the Ember Dragon Clan, it had already generated partial troop types to sortie from underground.

Weaving a net in the shadows, preparing to block any potential retreat by the Ember Dragon Clan.

It had preset preparations for a late-stage hunt, and the confidence overflowing on the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit's Iron Face seemed to declare that the Ember Dragon Clan were merely prey trapped on an operating table, their qualification to escape stripped away in advance.

"Blue Eye, I want its information."

Ghost Tooth said solemnly in his heart.

"Understood."

Immediately, detailed information about the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit appeared in Ghost Tooth's mind.

Upon seeing the four characters "Abyss Warrior," which the Evil Eye had updated and marked over half a year ago, Ghost Tooth's pupils contracted sharply.

He suddenly understood.

This fellow was a survivor who had fought their way out of the Abyss Trial.

They were also a potential seed qualified to make an "overreach" request to the Monarch; no wonder they could perform so brilliantly on the battlefield.

But the only thing that made him feel puzzled was:

The Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit was so outstanding and had descended into the Monster World even earlier than him.

While enjoying support from Commander-level resources, their rank remained at the Commander level, and the amount of territorial resources and captured nodes they held was not large.

Attempting to review the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit's campaign records, he discovered that the Earth-Reciting Evil Spirit's auxiliary eyes had locked away portions of the campaign data.

Without Monarch-level clearance, it was impossible to review; this file contained only a single line of text:

[Player Strategy Guide: Encounter the Player Clan? Find me for proxy battles. Professional, paid service!]

Ghost Tooth: ...

He could not understand why data on fighting the Player Clan needed to be classified and sealed, yet also offered as a paid proxy service.

With that kind of energy, wouldn't it be better to expand territory externally and acquire more resources?

Possessing such strong power, yet choosing to earn profits through this method.

This truly made him feel unable to comprehend.

(End of Chapter)