Wei Huan immediately shifted his vision to the Eye Demon Lord in that direction, while Mu Zhong simultaneously controlled a nearby camera to fly over.
What they saw, however, was a tribe of over a hundred Carrion Bears being effortlessly torn apart by Wei Huan's undead army the moment they clashed. Within a few breaths, not a single survivor remained, making it impossible to distinguish who among them had been the Dark Beast Lord.
This was not the Challenge World; corpses did not vanish. The bloody scene would remain until the bodies rotted or were devoured by other Dark Beasts.
Mu Zhong frowned at the sight. "It seems it was just an ordinary Dark Beast Lord. I wonder if these Lords have a system to contact others of their kind."
Wei Huan replied, "The most common network for the Dark Beast race is the Thought-Parasite Beast, and it functions through one-way transmission. I'm sure there are high-tech products in their Royal Cities, but out here in the wilderness..."
"Wei Huan, I think we should speed up again. I'm worried about 'Orange Juice' and the others. Wasting time on these ordinary Dark Beasts is meaningless."
Wei Huan nodded. "I agree. We've basicially familiarized ourselves with this world; it's time to accelerate."
...
This was, perhaps, a road of blood.
If the blood weren't black and didn't emit a thick, nauseating stench, it might have felt different. For instance, if there were too much crimson blood, it would feel cruel. But here, it didn't feel that way.
Black blood rained from the sky as countless Dark Beasts were ground into mincemeat by the glowing spheres, acting like meat grinders. Flesh, blood, and bone cascaded downward. The fall of these powerful, high-star lives was like a "whale fall," nourishing the lower-tier races on the ground. They gnawed at the remains, feeling the surging energy within the high-star meat and emitting satisfied purrs.
Wei Huan did not stop once.
He had divided the 700 Double-Headed Hidden Demons into two groups, acting like sawteeth as they rotated around the formation. Their status as high-star nobles and Level 5 undead allowed them to slaughter their own kin with ease; so far, they hadn't encountered a single Dark Beast capable of withstanding a second strike.
Furthermore, with Ghost Crows and Eye Demon Lords interspersed among them, Facehuggers swarming the ground, and strategically divided Swift Wolf squads, they were an unstoppable force, breaking through all opposition!
It was now the latter half of the night.
They had gone from rarely encountering an ambush to facing a literal swarm of Dark Beasts. The battles occurring in the air and on the ground were more than just "satisfying."
Xu Qingqiang, Brother Chui, and the others, who had long since descended to fight on the ground, were covered in a thick layer of black plasma and mangled meat. The mounting piles of corpses didn't vanish, and they looked like a pack of hungry wolves among sheep. Even though they killed Dark Beasts like chickens, they felt no pity; they only grew more excited, venting their pent-up rage with every kill.
As the core elite of Wei Huan's vehicle, they were past the stage of killing for mere venting. They fought for honor, for protection, and for the people of Blue Star—the elderly, children, men, and women. Every Dark Beast killed made Blue Star a little safer.
Finally, roughly an hour before dawn, the number of charging Dark Beasts began to thin. Perhaps they were finally terrified, or perhaps the local population had been wiped out. As the light grew, not a single Dark Beast remained in sight.
The warriors, exhausted after a night of fierce combat, received hot water from Mu Zhong to wash away the blood. They quickly organized into rotations for combat and sentry duty. The guards stood like iron giants at the perimeter in groups of ten, their senses sharp and focus absolute. Those off-duty ate a quick meal and lay down on the shells of the Burrow Beasts, falling asleep instantly with their weapons in their arms.
The orderliness of it all left Xiong Yi and Wu Ning deep in thought. It wasn't just that the discipline was extraordinary—as the main force of Daxia, their own soldiers were just as disciplined. What felt different was this sense of calm and normalcy, a demeanor usually born of broad perspective and experience. Being on this man's "vehicle" meant being at the forefront, having seen the grandest sights.
Then there was the Vice-Captain, Mu Zhong, who was still busy and hadn't rested. As Wei Huan's partner and the son of Commander Mu Dehao, those around him were often so brilliant that he seemed like a secondary figure. But seeing him in action, one realized that Wei Huan didn't handle administrative affairs at all; he left everything behind him to Mu Zhong, which allowed him to charge forward without hesitation.
Managing humanity's strongest vehicle was no simple feat. Xu Qingqiang was defiant, Captain Xue was reckless, and Brother Chui was taciturn—all extreme personalities. Yet Mu Zhong integrated them into a cohesive collective.
Take Captain Xue: he was incredibly strong but his flaws were so apparent that even Mu Dehao couldn't do much with him, temporarily parking him in a Level 3 world. Yet here, he was the main tank, the most dazzling presence, his recklessness transformed into a skill, and he was deeply respectful to Wei Huan and Mu Zhong despite being much older.
Furthermore, during this sudden "Warrior Trial," while everyone else was confused, Mu Zhong thought of everything in advance: a bowl of food before battle, a cup of water after, hot bathwater, and lights in the darkness. He was truly his father's son.
As for Wei Huan—the "Big Boss"—nothing more needed to be said. He was the foundation for everyone here, the umbrella that allowed them to fight wildly and sleep peacefully even in an alien land surrounded by wolves.
Once the sun was fully up, the squad pushed forward again. Without the Dark Beasts blocking them, their speed increased significantly. Mu Zhong, having learned something new from Iron Heart, produced a large iron sheet after going down to the ground twice. He had Captain Xue use brute force to bend it and snapped it onto the back of a Burrow Beast, creating a shield against wind and light so the resting crew could sleep better.
After finishing his chores and handing over duties to Yake, Mu Zhong slipped into the small private wind-shield where Wei Huan was sleeping and woke him. Wei Huan had only slept for two hours—certainly not enough—but given the situation, he had to be responsible for long-range scouting and main combat. They could do without others, but they could not do without him.
Wei Huan sat up, looked at the clever wind-shield, and was about to praise Mu Zhong when the latter smiled and kissed his forehead. "Good afternoon."
Wei Huan woke up fully at that, smiling back. "Good afternoon."
They stayed in the shield for a while to hand over tasks. When Wei Huan stepped out, he was revitalized. His sharp gaze swept the distance as he focused his senses, his brow furrowing again.
'Why is it still so far away?'
Was Moji with the others who were sucked in? What was there? And where exactly was this zone they had teleported into?
They moved quickly during the day. The beasts they encountered were low-level, easily dispatched by the outer undead. Wei Huan ordered the Burrow Beasts to full speed; Dot Mom and Doggo could fly at 1200 km/h. To maintain this speed, the ground scouting undead were retracted, leaving only the Ghost Crows and Hidden Demons for vigilance. The Hidden Demons could burst past 1500 km/h but lacked endurance, so they mostly hitched rides on the Burrow Beasts. The Ghost Crows, however, were truly fast, appearing and disappearing like teleporters, keeping up effortlessly. Crow Sister even had time to fly back with intel.
At this speed, neither Wei Huan's Eye Demon Lords nor Mu Zhong's flying cameras could keep up. But this pace had major advantages: it prevented average undead from catching them, saving time by avoiding unnecessary fights.
By the afternoon, Wei Huan felt clearly that the distance to Moji had shortened. He could vaguely sense the creature emitting a sense of... happiness?
'Happiness?' Wei Huan was puzzled. Why would it feel that way? Was it happy because it was free from his control? Or did it 'think' it was free? Wei Huan's gaze turned cold. He wasn't a control freak, but it would be a terrifying thing if an undead he recruited was no longer under his command. It was like an arrow turning back to strike the archer; such "master-devouring" behavior had to be nipped in the bud.
A full day of travel didn't bring them to the end of the continent; clearly, this land was many times larger than Blue Star. However, the environment began to change. The leaves turned a distinct, dark shade. It reminded Wei Huan of the Colossus Trial where trees were infected with an ominous black-red hue, though here it was just black without the red. He examined a leaf; it wasn't infected by invasive energy, but rather saturated with thick dark energy. Wei Huan could actually absorb a comfortable power from it.
"So, where the darkness is thickest, the power of the Dark Beasts must be strongest. We are approaching their core," Mu Zhong analyzed, looking at the thick black mist rolling over the mountains as the three red suns set.
Night was falling again. The Dark Beasts were about to wake, and a fierce battle lay ahead.
"Tell them to save their strength. Don't let everyone deploy tonight. As we move forward, there will likely be high-intensity combat during the day as well," Wei Huan said.
Mu Zhong nodded. "Understood. I've notified the squad leaders." He then cut the external comms and said to Wei Huan privately, "You need to schedule your own rest properly."
"I will," Wei Huan nodded. He didn't try to be a hero; 24 days could be short or very long, but he knew he'd collapse if he didn't sleep.
As the black mist rolled in, the howling of beasts filled the air. Just as his vision darkened, a fierce object shot like a speeding arrow from directly ahead, aimed straight at Wei Huan. The sudden attack startled Mu Zhong. Most importantly, Wei Huan's undead had been patrolling outside—how could an attack get so close that they could see it with their naked eyes?
Fortunately, the sneak attack failed. Before it could get within a thousand meters of Wei Huan, a group of Hidden Demons lunged from all directions, "thumping" the attacker away like a ball.
Wei Huan's eyes were sharp; he was more adapted to the darkness of this plane. He clearly saw that the attacker was a Double-Headed Hidden Demon—a seven-star one, certainly a high-level Dark Beast Lord. It must have used its mimicry ability to tail them and chose the moment darkness fell to strike.
Unfortunately for it, it was one beast against 300. The undead Hidden Demons, also capable of mimicry, were clinging to the giant Burrow Beasts. When the attack occurred, they launched like fierce fighter jets. The Dark Beast Lord was torn limb from limb in mid-air—head ripped off, organs hollowed out—by the time it hit the ground, it was in pieces, unable to even scream.
"How tragic," Mu Zhong offered a second of mock silence before laughing. He wondered how long that Lord had been stalking them to get that close. It had underestimated them, thinking a single beast could kill them.
Then again, was there anyone left in the Dark Beast race who 'didn't' know who Wei Huan was? Legend said the Dark Beasts had bloodline memory, engraving enemy intel deep within their lineage so even a low-level Ghost Crow would know how to fight Wei Huan. Given the brutality of the day's fighting, the Dark Beast King's hatred for Wei Huan was likely rooted in their very genes. This kind of suicidal pursuit was clearly treating Wei Huan as a mortal enemy to be stopped at all costs.
Mu Zhong said, "Now that it's night, let's slow down."
Wei Huan nodded. If the Dark Beasts had a global network like humans, the Royals definitely knew they were here. Even if they didn't, today would be even crazier than last night. But there was nothing to fear. They had entered the enemy's heartland, the place they feared most. Anything they did here would keep the Dark Beasts awake at night and cripple their foundations.
"I hope we see more Dark Beast Lords tonight."
Killing ordinary beasts had limited impact. Only killing Lords caused real damage, and after Lords came Royals. He hoped the Dark Beasts would send some strong ones.
As for how Wei Huan dared to be so arrogant without his vehicle in enemy territory? Simple: in the Dark Beast Plane, the beasts didn't have "territories" either. Without a territory, a Dark Beast Lord has no walls for protection and no high-level heroes to assist. Everyone was "fighting naked"—who was afraid of whom? Only the 'Dharma Image' of a Dark Beast Royal would make Wei Huan cautious, but after Dot Mom advanced to a Legendary Hero, that deterrent was limited.
"Actually, it doesn't matter if more come," Wei Huan told Mu Zhong during the battle. "Did I forget to tell you? My Great Tomb is filled with Dark Beast skeletons and zombies. The more of them die, the stronger I get. This place... is my armory."
Mu Zhong looked at Wei Huan and smiled.
A night of slaughter passed. Even though the intensity was higher, everyone was in better shape than the first day. They had experience and could rest in shifts. They even shared a few jokes during breakfast before sleeping.
Daytime was for traveling. This was their third day in the Dark Beast Plane. After Wei Huan was woken from a two-hour nap, he found they had covered a significant distance. Besides being closer to Moji, large tribal settlements of Dark Beasts began to appear on the ground. These tribes were disturbed by the speeding group and rushed out to attack, but only a few Lords could keep up for a short distance; most ordinary beasts couldn't even react before the group was gone.
Wei Huan watched the Eye Demon Lord tribe leaders being left behind in the distance and confirmed that there were more and more Lords here. From seeing none in a day to encountering large tribes frequently—often with four or five Lords flying out—it proved they were nearing the core of the race.
In any other situation, this would be good; they wanted to kill valuable beasts. But Moji was still ahead, which meant Liu Chengzhi, Dou Lin, and Captain Fang were likely deep in the heart of enemy territory. How could there be such a gap when they entered from the same place?
"Also, through data collection and the diviner's predictions, Iron Heart has partially cracked the Dark Beast signal and found some clues," Mu Zhong said with a strange expression. "But due to the influence of the world's consciousness, it can only transmit info to us in a different way."
Wei Huan looked at him, confused. Mu Zhong glanced at Wei Huan's data-glasses. "Never mind, I'll share it with 'Little Trash.' Take a look."
"Little Trash?"
"Your portable system. It's been playing the role of a 'companion' since day one, hasn't it?"
"Heh." Wei Huan glanced at the "little piece of trash" hanging by his ear.
AI Butler · Little Trash: "..."
As Mu Zhong made the selection, Iron Heart's information appeared before Wei Huan's eyes in the form of several missions.
[Main Mission: Rescue Companions 0/272]
Completion Reward: Return Channel
Failure Penalty: None
[Side Mission 1: Kill Dark Beast King 0/1]
Reward/Penalty: None
[Side Mission 2: Kill Dark Beast Royals 0/293]
...
[Side Mission 3: Kill Dark Beast Lords 1201/100,000]
...
[Side Mission 4: Kill Dark Beasts 321,000/100,000,000]
...
[Side Mission 5: Intelligence from the East 0/1]
Wei Huan fell silent after reading. No wonder Mu Zhong looked weird. Rather than "missions," these were data statistics and a way to help them define goals. There were no rewards; it was just a last-resort method when there were no other clues.
"What do you think?" Mu Zhong watched Wei Huan's reaction. "At least it tells us to search East. That matches your sense of Moji."
Wei Huan asked, "Didn't the system just collect 'my' information to create this mission?"
Mu Zhong tilted his head and laughed. "Actually, that seems to be exactly it. But that's how a system calculates: collect data, summarize it, and confirm it. We are still in the collection phase."
Wei Huan smiled. "Then let it collect more detail. Have it predict how long until we save the people, when we'll meet a Royal, evaluate combat power, determine our win rate, and the probability of a successful withdrawal."
"Got it. I'll keep an eye on it."
As they spoke, the virtual projection before Wei Huan flashed red. A message popped up in the corner: [Discovered Shura Horse Tribe: 123 ordinary Shura Horses, 1... 2... 3... Shura Horse Lords...]
Seeing the mission reminder constantly updating its data and trying to issue tasks, Wei Huan could only sigh inwardly—everyone was doing their best. In an unknown plane filled with enemies, being able to gather this much info without any leads was already impressive. No one is perfect, and a system... cannot be flawless either.
Wei Huan was busy saving people and ignored the Shura Horse tribe that had risen up in alarm. They threw their javelins, but the speed and height were insufficient to reach the group. Only a few Lords could throw high enough, but they were left behind, shouting in impotent rage.
Wei Huan fought as little as possible during the day; rescue was the priority. At night, he didn't 'want' to slow down, but there were too many beasts—he couldn't go fast even if he wanted to.
And so they went. Occasionally, flying breeds would block the way. Every time they killed a Dark Beast, Wei Huan would glance at the changing numbers on the virtual screen. It was actually quite nice; without the system tallying, he wouldn't have even known he had "accidentally" run over two Dark Beast Lords just now.