[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-358":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","THE VILLAIN'S POV",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},336899,598,"Chapter 358: The Highblood (2)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-358",358,"\u003Cp>Clana’s expression slowly shifted the moment she heard that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s impossible. Then how—wait... you didn’t escape that city?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded, and she lost it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No way! You stayed there alone against that army?! Wait—don’t tell me... you survived that?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truth be told, I was planning to face them all on my own... but it never came to that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That army was fake. An illusion created by that witch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An illusion?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes... just a mirage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So everything we’ve been through... was for nothing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One revelation after another, Clana clutched her head again as her migraine returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That desperate teleportation, which everyone thought was the only way to survive, turned out to be meaningless...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, it had led to the deaths of many students—a truth I’d confirmed using the third-person pov to spy on their last meeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clana didn’t take it well. And just seconds later, she began coughing again—her body crying out from hunger and thirst after depleting her supplies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that, I pulled out everything I had, handing over all the food and water I’d stored so far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gave her my full share, untouched, but she refused at first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t accept this... what will happen to you if I take all of your rations?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t need them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I replied instantly and pushed them closer to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body was unique. Surviving for a few weeks on aura alone wasn’t that difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clana couldn’t argue anymore. She drank and ate with desperation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But Frey... how did you find me without a mark?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the teleportation, the witch’s mark was our only clue to finding each other. The only way to locate the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Finding you was just luck. Pure coincidence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d been searching nonstop for ten days, passing through multiple Ultras camps and cities—until I stumbled upon her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just luck, huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What about you? Why didn’t you regroup with the others?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that she was better, I started asking the questions I’d held in for days. This was the first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I tried... but I couldn’t make it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clana sighed, frowning as she recalled the past days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What exactly happened?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These cursed mountains...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pointed outside with her finger and began recounting everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This mountain range stretches for hundreds of kilometers. It’s a nightmare land in itself—filled with nightmare creatures that appear the deeper you go...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I listened intently to what Clana had to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the first time I’d heard of another Nightmare Zone besides the ones I already knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crossing the mountain range is practically impossible,\" she said. \"Even if we somehow managed to survive all the nightmare creatures along the way, it would take far too long. But... I did find a path that lets us bypass everything safely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s a secure passage—an arcane corridor that allows for instant teleport from this side of the range to the other.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the problem is... that passage is a military base. An Ultras stronghold. The moment I got near it, they were already waiting. They chased me for days—you know the rest.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She supported her explanation by sketching a rough map in the dirt. She drew the jagged outline of the mountain range and a thin line through the middle that represented the passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ll have to find a way around it,\" she said flatly. \"Selena’s mark points to the other side.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I cut her off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re not going around the mountains. We’re going straight through the front gate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excuse me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clana stared at me like she’d misheard, her voice raised in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I stood by what I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re going through that base—through the gate itself. Even if it means tearing it down on top of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Frey... do you hear yourself? That place is crawling with them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know. But we don’t have a choice if we want to reach the others.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they’ve already found a way back home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we waste time trying to circumvent the mountains, we might miss that one chance entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I chose the direct route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ll go as soon as you’re fully recovered.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said it with conviction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clana scowled automatically. The trauma of the past few days was still written all over her face—and now I was asking her to walk back into battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But we had no choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If anything happens... Clana, I want you to leave the fighting to me. If you have to run.. then run. I want you to always put your survival first, understood?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"....\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t say a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She just nodded, hesitant and silent—especially with me standing that close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, our path was set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It took Clana another 24 hours to recover enough to move again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, we set out toward the passage she’d mentioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We wore black cloaks that covered us from head to toe for disguise, especially Clana—who I wrapped in every spare piece of clothing I had, leaving only her eyes visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all... even if the Ultras didn’t know she was an enemy, they’d still flock to her on sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ll try to sneak in. If possible, I want to avoid fighting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Infiltrating the lower blood caste wasn’t difficult. Their defenses were weak, and most of them were barely stronger than fodder. I was confident we could get through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It took only minutes to reach the entrance of the passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I expected to find the same kind of weak fortifications I’d seen all across the primitive Ultras lands—but I was met with something else entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nestled between the mountains stood a massive gate—fortified with magic cannons and dozens of guards stationed above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gate opened now and then, letting some Ultras in and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what caught my attention wasn’t the architecture or the overwhelming presence of the fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the Ultras themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those auras... their vibrant expressions... the way their bodies radiated explosive strength. They were nothing like the lower-blooded cannon fodder I’d fought the past few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I scowled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These aren’t lowbloods.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were entirely different. Not even comparable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were the real strength of the Ultras—the ones who had forged demonic contracts. The ones with demon blood running through their veins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Highbloods...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I muttered unconsciously, just as Clana stepped back in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s impossible! I was here just a few days ago. There were none of them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was visibly shaken. Realizing the full power of what now stood before her, she stumbled backward instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s fall back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wanted to retreat—but I grabbed her hand before she could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned to me, confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We keep going.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Trust me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tightened my grip and moved forward, pulling her along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Frey... stop!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Step by step, we approached the massive gate—until we came fully into view.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they wanted to, they could bombard us with the arcane cannons perched above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant they hadn’t realized yet... that we were enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As we got closer, two guards stationed outside moved into view—towering men with massive swords strapped to their backs, their aura radiating with suffocating force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Frey, stop!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clana’s voice cracked, panicked—especially after sensing their S-class auras.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw the fear in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I didn’t stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Face-to-face with the Highbloods...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was ready to enter the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>",1210,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.347Z","2026-06-01T04:30:13.202Z",1,"novelbin.me","ff203da67066cc9120d63de360861212cf28a75bdef5fc1c1b5a675dc810a166","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-359","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-54",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]