Chapter 666: Evil Beastmen Settlement

From Albert Bay eastward lies the Grey Valley; crossing the Nevada Mountains on the valley's east side leads into a great basin on the plateau, its area comparable to five or six Empire provinces, terrain complex, perennially arid, and even without Abyss invasion it is a thousand‑mile wasteland.

During the Third Epoch, dwarves called this great basin "Death Valley".

Few Abyss monsters dwell in Death Valley; beyond it lies the Rockchis Mountains that divide the New Continent.

This range runs north‑south across the New Continent, stretching tens of thousands of li, splitting the land in two, forming the natural boundary between the western mountainous plateau and the eastern plain, also the climate divide of the New Continent.

The Rockchis Mountains are a thousand li wide, with many spurs; hundreds of peaks are cloaked in dense, dim forests, countless deep valleys and ravines, spectacular peaks, magnificent scenery.

Yet countless demons tainted by Evil Energy lurk in the mountains and forests.

The sky is shrouded by endless dark clouds, the whole world dim, Evil Energy permeates the soil, waters turn turbid, every plant and tree becomes strangely twisted, already a human forbidden zone.

Crossing the Rockchis Mountains is extremely dangerous; even the Soul‑Hunting Squad rarely does it.

But today, on a peak at the mountain's edge, a faint void ripple rose in the dim forest; seconds later five silhouettes appeared, treading on thick rotting leaves, their sounds reaching the ears of hidden beasts nearby.

Yizite scanned the quiet, eerie black forest.

His gaze pierced the canopy shadows, looking east; at the foot of the peak lies an endless plateau, descending gradually from west to east, with no mountains in sight.

In the distant sky a black vortex, funnel‑shaped, its height unknown.

The vortex's lower half connects to the ground, rotating constantly.

Anyone with some knowledge of the Abyss knows this vortex is formed from the purest Evil Energy; countless Evil Energy gushes out through the Abyssal Gate, dense enough to be seen, forming black clouds that blanket the sky, spreading in all directions, contaminating the land, corrupting creatures, gradually turning the world into Abyssal wasteland.

The closer one gets to the Evil Energy vortex, the stronger and more numerous the Demons become.

The vortex's core originates at the Abyssal Gate.

Such a massive Evil Energy vortex is rare on the New Continent; only a large Abyssal Gate can produce this scale, implying a powerful Demon Lord guards beside the gate.

"We've arrived."

The dark elf pointed toward the Evil Energy vortex and whispered, "This is already the domain of Dimaretu; fifty li east of the mountain base is Danmof."

Reslin and the others stared at the Evil Energy vortex.

Even from dozens of li away, they could feel the terrifying surging energy, as if caught in a sea storm, making them feel utterly tiny, body and mind heavily oppressed. The air is thick with Evil; each breath involuntarily draws Evil Energy, silently infiltrating the body.

Other energies here are squeezed by Evil Energy, affecting the potency of elemental spells and Arcane power.

The Evil God's mutterings in the wind are unusually clear; though incomprehensible, they seep into the mind in waves, constantly unsettling the psyche.

Only Yizite feels at home; Evil Energy has no effect on him, and his strength even increases.

Dao En Sosi raised his hand to cast.

Holy light illuminated the forest; a six‑ring "Group Purification" spell fell on the four people besides Yizite, dispelling the uncomfortable feeling and uplifting their spirits.

"Ha!"

The wild priest continued casting, quickly granting his teammates mental protection.

Even though Reslin and Asina had told him beforehand that they each have means to keep their minds unpolluted, he still cautiously applied the shield to both.

"I hate this smell."

Belak sneezed, drew the two soul spears at his waist, the golden runes on his armor glowed, and a layer of Holy Light barrier manifested around him.

Asina also took off the round shield on her back, holding the shield in her left hand and a deep‑blue single‑handed sword in her right.

The Aegis Divine Shield is Legend Grade gear; to avoid recognition, when in Mo Du, Lei En altered the shield's surface with mythril, not affecting its function but masking distinctive features, making it appear as a superb enchanted round shield.

Even so, when Asina wielded sword and shield, teammates couldn't help but glance sideways.

They glanced at the mythril round shield, then at her sword; it is a long sword forged by Titan Elder Soriim from ancient Blue Dragon teeth, named Blue Dragon's Fang, epic quality.

Her elite Titanic Power Armor is also a full set of epic gear.

The three couldn't help but shake their heads; such luxurious weapons and armor were shocking, instantly deepening their curiosity about Asina and Reslin's mysterious backgrounds.

"I'll clear the way."

Asina led with the shield, Yizite quickly followed.

He held a pair of dark‑green oddly shaped war blades, like huge crescent moons, almost as tall as he, edges sharp, etched with ancient Abyss runes, emitting waves of deep, eerie green Evil Energy.

Behind the dark elf is spear‑wielding Belak, moving light and swift.

Reslin cast Flight on himself, feet leaving the ground, quietly soaring behind the Holy Spear Ranger; the burly wild priest follows Reslin, tasked with protecting the party's casters from ambush.

This is the most common formation for a transcendent team.

After not walking far in the forest, the five reached a cliff edge from which they could gaze at the opposite peak, about three thousand meters away. The sky was dim; for ordinary people or average transcendants, that distance would be indecipherable.

But all five are Legendary High‑rank, and they saw the opposite scene clearly.

It was a settlement of Evil Beastmen.

Since the Abyss invaded the New Continent, Evil Energy has polluted this world; all life here, animals and plants alike, have mutated to varying degrees, becoming the Abyss's minions.

Some of the strongest beasts, after being tainted, absorbed massive Evil Energy and became Evil Beastmen.

They are usually upright humanoids with human‑like torsos, arms and legs, but heads bearing beastly traits—half‑human, half‑beast, many varieties. Their mutated bodies can contort into non‑human shapes, possess low intelligence and beastly features, wield Evil Energy, are filthy, yet far stronger than ordinary humans and even transcendants.

Evil Beastmen are more barbaric than the most primitive trolls, feeding on flesh and blood, surviving by hunting forest beasts or devouring other races.

They cannot reproduce, yet gather in hordes to form powerful settlements, selecting the strongest through bloody combat to become the settlement's chief.

Because beasts constantly mutate, Evil Beastmen are extremely numerous.

Evil Beastmen occupy all forests of the New Continent; alongside Netifu Demon, corrupted elves, and Abyssal dwarves, they form the four great Abyssal powers. They are not pure Demons, yet also worship the four Abyssal evil gods, building demon nests everywhere, turning the land into Abyssal wasteland.

At this moment, a settlement of Evil Beastmen lies in the forest on the opposite mountain.

Reslin looked up and saw a plume of Evil Energy smoke rising from the settlement's center, shooting straight into the sky.

The settlement has erected dozens of crude wooden sheds of stone and timber, not even proper houses, barely serving as wind and rain shelters.

A large group of Evil Beastmen sit around a bonfire, roasting something—whether beast or something else—without removing skin, fur, or entrails, directly skewered on the fire, sizzling, blood and juices spilling out.

Everyone's gaze fell on those Evil Beastmen.

The settlement's members are mostly wild boar men, grotesquely bulky, over two meters tall when standing, covered in coarse black mane, lower bodies wrapped in beast pelts or sometimes naked, massive neck supporting a huge head, a blood‑filled maw with snarling tusks, green eyes fixed on the fire food, drooling profusely.

Yet none of the wild boar men dare to snatch the food; they are merely lower‑rank warriors of the settlement.

The nearest to the campfire were a dozen or so bull‑headed monsters.

They resembled the bull‑headed people of the Old Continent, but were taller—nearly three meters tall—muscles as hard and solid as rock, limbs as thick as pillars, and the curved horns on either side of their heads, if straightened, were over a meter long. Their copper‑bell‑like eyes were filled with madness and brutality.

Bull‑headed monsters are the most common powerful beasts among the Evil Beastmen, possessing at least Mid-stage strength, and most can advance to High-stage within a few years.

When they advance further to Legendary, they become Doom Bulls.

Reslin discovered three Doom Bulls in the settlement, the largest of which was a Legendary Mid-stage.

It sat on a stone chair beside a demon nest, its massive body like a small hill, with a blood‑smeared black‑iron great axe at its feet, weighing at least three to four thousand pounds.

There was also a pack of ram‑beasts comparable in strength to the bull‑headed monsters, their straight black horns pointing upward like sky‑piercing swords.

Ram‑beasts stood half a meter shorter than the bull‑headed monsters, slightly weaker in strength but faster, able to move across rugged mountains and forests as if on flat ground, and a few possessed spellcasting ability, akin to the shamans of the settlement.

The All-Seeing Eye swept over the entire settlement.

Twenty‑five bull‑headed monsters, one hundred thirty wild‑boar men, thirty‑eight ram‑beasts; among them were three Doom Bulls and a Legendary‑rank ram‑beast Shadow Priest.

Reslin counted the Evil Beastmen in a few seconds; the numbers seemed small, yet their overall strength far surpassed the hyena‑wolf tribe of Grey Valley.

After covertly observing for half a minute, the party retreated from the cliff wall back into the forest.

Reslin lightly waved his staff.

An Invisibility Field enveloped him and his teammates, then he activated a Mind Link, allowing everyone to communicate directly in their minds.

Yizite's voice rang in the four minds: "Start with this Evil Beastmen settlement, kill them all, destroy the demon nests, end the battle as quickly as possible, cleanse the evil energy, then teleport away."

The group nodded silently.

That was Yizite's plan, very simple: relying on Reslin's high‑mobility teleportation, massively destroy the demon nests near Dan Mo Fu, weakening the power of Di Ma E Tu. As the Demon Lord guarding the Abyssal Gate, maintaining the expansion of the Abyss Wasteland is its top duty.

Fewer demon nests would cause the Abyss Wasteland to shrink, meaning its territory would diminish—a situation it absolutely cannot tolerate.

If enough demon nests are destroyed, the Demon Lord will inevitably emerge to hunt.

Baro Flame Demon can use Greater Teleport; the Abyssal Gate is linked to the demon nests in its domain, so the destruction of any nest is instantly known to it, and it may teleport here directly.

However, Baro Flame Demon's intelligence is extremely high, making it cautious and cunning.

If it learns that someone has set a trap for it, it will likely retreat back to the Abyss for aid, so before it leaves the Abyssal Gate, we must not leak any information, leave not a single survivor, nor meet any of the demons under its command, lest we arouse suspicion.

Once Baro Flame Demon is far from the Abyssal Gate, that is the prime chance to kill it.

Yizite took a deep breath.

"Let's begin."

Dao En Sui lifted the Earth Scripture at his waist and opened it; soul energy surged, beams of light flashed over himself and his teammates, bestowing Divine Techniques one by one.

First came five Blessings.

Strength Blessing, greatly raising strength; Toughness Blessing, boosting defense and resistance; Earth Blessing, continuously restoring stamina while standing on the ground; Focus Blessing, speeding up casting and combat reaction; Life Blessing, triggering healing when injured;

Extreme Mind Protection, nullifying five mind‑targeted spell attacks within an hour, second only to the Nine‑Ring Mind Barrier;

Holy Armor, dispelling negative energy assaults and reducing spell damage;

Holy Infusion, when the weapon strikes a target it adds holy power, dealing greater damage to demons.

Celestial Power, raising the Strength Element by one level;

Freedom Technique, allowing actions for fifteen minutes free of spell restrictions;

Heaven's Feather, increasing movement speed;

Divine Grace Technique, doubling the effects of already‑bestowed Divine Techniques.

A full twelve Divine Techniques landed on him, but some could not be applied to Yizite because his body bore evil energy; not only were they ineffective, they would also harm him.

The others had no problem at all.

Asina and Belak received terrifying buffs.

Especially Asina, whose Titan Giant strength was already at thirteen levels; the full set of elite Titan Power armor added one level, and after Dao En Sui's Divine Techniques, her strength surged to fourteen levels, nearing fifteen!

"This… "

Asina felt the boundless power within her, not knowing what to say.

Dao En Sui's bestowal was not yet finished; his gaze fixed on Reslin as he released two more Divine Techniques, Element Resonance and Arcane Resonance, each raising the casting speed and potency of elemental and arcane spells respectively, equivalent to a super‑exceptional Element‑grade affinity effect.

Belak was not to be outdone.

He bestowed "Light of Strength" on his teammates and activated a "Pious Aura" that only takes effect within a certain range, raising everyone's strength and defense again; this is the ability of a Sun Knight.

Reslin was the last to act.

He repeatedly swung his staff, and streams of magical light descended.

Greater Giant Strength, Greater Acceleration, Greater Stone Skin, and Greater Spiritual Armor, each raising strength, speed, defense, and resistance, all of them Seven‑ring Spells.

The teammates' expressions shifted slightly.

They had thought Reslin only excelled at teleportation and offense, never expecting him to wield such potent support magic; it seemed there was nothing he couldn't do, and even Asina learned this for the first time.

But Asina had no time for curiosity now.

Dozens of layers of Divine Techniques and spells finally pushed her strength up to fifteen levels!

It was an experience unlike any she had had before!

Yizite, Belak, and Dao En Sui also felt the surge in their physical prowess, moving a few times before gradually adapting.

Even the frail Reslin discovered his strength surged to seven levels, his constitution, stamina, and speed comparable to a Legendary transcendent, able to strike foes directly with his Endless Storm staff.

"This feeling—awesome!"

Belak, looking at his arm, couldn't help but exclaim.

He had only five levels of strength before, now bordering on Legendary, feeling he could punch a Doom Bull dead without a soul‑gun.

The group gazed at the Evil Beastmen settlement in the forest atop the opposite mountain, eyes alight with anticipation.

"Prepare for battle!"

Reslin whispered softly in his mind, gripped his silver staff and swiftly cast a group Greater Teleport, setting the destination at the center of the Evil Beastmen settlement.

Seven seconds later, all five members of the team vanished simultaneously.

(End of chapter)