novelraw Chapter 432: Gentlemen, the War Has Begun!
Chapter 432: Gentlemen, the War Has Begun!
Whale Father raised his head:
"Emperor! Please witness what true conquest truly means!"
"Whale Father, you grow increasingly arrogant!" Blood Lion sharply rebuked.
Blood Lion's attendant couldn't help but loudly scold:
"A mere pirate from the barbaric wilderness dares compare himself to the armies of the Black Blood Empire?"
Treating their Black Blood Empire's conquest forces as mere vanguards was undoubtedly an insult!
Yet despite this, they instinctively gripped the weapons at their waists.
Rumble!
The massive pitch-black army surged forward with the seawater, pressing against the island's front.
Blood Lion tried to find their end, but the enormous dark army stretched endlessly like a tidal wave, densely packed beyond sight.At the forefront of the black tide stood Blood Hunter, Ferryman of the Underworld River, Grand Mage General Looking at the News, and Black Death Doctor—
However, compared to these familiar faces, Blood Lion was more interested in those behind them.
A massive army constructed from the blood of the God of the Edges and blood-mechanical implant sets!
They uniformly wore black tentacle living armor, a special armor entwined with steam black pipes and living tentacles that exuded an abyssal aura.
They radiated pitch-black spiritual energy fields at the peak of third tier!
The ability to mass-produce soldiers beyond third tier—
This marked the fundamental difference between national powers and family factions.
Even he, as a War Beast, needed to consume enormous resources and spiritual energy to create soldiers with peak third-tier spiritual power—
To manufacture fourth-tier soldiers in massive quantities required not only the soldiers' inherent quality but also his activation of the War Disaster's Blade Domain!
Conservative estimates placed the black tide's numbers at a staggering ten thousand!
Meaning ten thousand warriors with peak third-tier power!
What an astonishing scale—
Was this the blessing of divine blood?
Blood Lion looked closely and recognized familiar faces among this tide.
Including even the former Navy Admiral White Seagull, the Red Nose Pirate from fifty years ago, and other historically famous pirates who had gone missing.
White Seagull should have died... Blood Lion asked Whale Father:
"Corpse tide?"
A fifth-tier Phantom Affinity necromancer could turn corpses into puppets, creating a massive undead disaster.
However, fifth-tier Phantom Affinity professions were extremely rare.
Whale Father denied it:
"No, those captured fourth-tiers were special cases. They refused to obey our commands, so they needed control, appearing corpse-like..."
"Most Blackfin warriors are powerful and valiant!"
Then Whale Father casually waved his hand:
"Show them your power, demonstrate what Black God's Soldiers truly are!"
"Whale Father! Understood!"
Suddenly, five hundred black tentacle armors within the black tide rapidly expanded, writhing like centipedes, erupting with crimson light—
Simultaneously, the pitch-black blood in their hands coalesced, some transforming into entwined serrated greatswords!
Whale Father explained:
"Forbidden full-body weapon armor, Black God's Soldiers—the complete product of our Blackfin research, possessing three forms: control, destruction, and defense!"
As he spoke, the Black God's Soldiers charged into the Black Blood soldiers' formation.
Their opponents were none other than the Black Blood Empire's Black Blood Heavy Armor Soldiers, Blood Lion's elite troops!
The Black Blood Heavy Armor Soldiers arrogantly looked down upon everything before them.
Madmen!
Mere pirates actually dared challenge veterans who had won numerous battles!
"Blade. Release!"
Crimson light flashed in the Black Blood Heavy Armor Soldiers' eyes as they drew burning blades, their scarlet armor scales dancing—
Instantly, hundreds of crimson light streams flashed.
Whale Father continued nonchalantly:
"Inferior armor and weapons cannot withstand weapons forged from divine blood—"
Splash splash splash!
The tentacle weapons on the Black God's Soldiers suddenly expanded several times, transforming into dense tendril beasts, sharp Mad Shark serrated blades, and intricately entwined Black Whisker tree shields—
Clang clang clang!
The sound of shattering armor!
In less than a minute, the Black God's Soldiers overwhelmingly suppressed five hundred Black Blood Heavy Armor Soldiers with astonishing force.
Pirates actually possessed such formidable weapons... Standing on the ruins, other Black Blood soldiers watched this scene with amazement.
However, they didn't intervene!
Although the Blackfin Crew provoked first, failing to defeat their soldiers with equal numbers would be disgraceful!
Useless trash... Blood Lion clenched his fist, his fifth-tier spiritual energy field explosively erupting!
Those were his troops!
War Beast. Raging Beast's Roar!
Instantly, crimson lion phantoms appeared over the Black Blood Heavy Armor Soldiers, their strength, speed, and spiritual power skyrocketing threefold.
Whale Father watched the scene:
"Blood Lion, unless Saints go all out, they cannot defeat soldiers possessing divine will."
Splash splash splash!
The pitch-black tentacles on the Black God Soldiers' bodies swelled again, tightly enveloping them, turning their interiors into blazing furnaces, making them resemble black elephants wrapped in dark tendrils—
Release. Whale's Blessing!
This power even approached fourth tier!
Without Saint assistance, relying solely on weapons and divine blood, an ordinary third-tier Transcendent achieved preliminary fourth-tier strength!
Moreover, with mass-produced weapons!
In under a minute, five hundred powerful Black Blood Heavy Armor Soldiers were defeated like stray dogs!
Ten thousand warriors approaching fourth tier... Blood Lion felt chest pain.
How much terrifying power had these pirates thirsted for from that marginal existence?
The pirates equipped with Black God's Weapons spat:
"This is what happens for looking down on us!"
"Hey hey hey! Whale Father, the power you gave us is too explosive!"
"These are the Black Blood Empire's people? Too weak!"
Unlike the strictly trained Black Blood soldiers, those under the Black God's Soldiers were Blackfin pirates.
They lacked discipline, were arrogant and cruel.
Now, the Black God's Soldiers in the black tide felt genuine excitement.
They hadn't endured hundreds of torturous nights in the research facility for nothing, converting sixty percent of their blood into Blackfin's divine blood!
Their strength increased tenfold, approaching legendary levels!
This feeling of power flooding their bodies made everyone high.
"Feel like these guys aren't opponents?"
"Call Madame Oli over! I want to humiliate her in front of White Seagull!"
"Bring Black Hunter too! We'll challenge him! Hundred against one!"
The Black God's Soldiers laughed wildly, their behavior turning beast-like, even attempting to crush Black Blood soldiers' groins for fun.
At that moment, black energy flashed in Whale Father's eyes:
"Enough, return to the black tide."
With just one sentence, these wild wolf-like Black God's Soldiers became obedient, sheathing weapons and returning to the black tide like scolded puppies.
Whale Father raised his head, making an inviting gesture:
"Blood Lion General, how about the power we forged using the God of the Edges' blood?"
How long could this power last? Blood Lion watched the massive Black God army.
Ignoring Saints' reality-defying domains and releases, united they might become weapons capable of slaying Saints.
If combined with his War Beast, making these mad soldiers serve him...
Whale Father exhaled thick black smoke:
"Truthfully, bearing divine blood requires at least third-tier constitution. Although there are many A-rank rifts now, mass-producing third-tier Transcendents remains challenging..."
"Blood Lion, if you need it, I have plenty of divine blood! For this great conquest!"
Using the God of the Edges' power... Blood Lion still hesitated.
Currently, five A-rank rifts had appeared on the Witch Sea, along with hundreds of B-rank rifts and thousands of C-rank rifts—
By continuously deploying soldiers to explore rifts, coupled with card makers' workshops and blood vessel workshops to enhance constitution, they could mass-produce third-tier soldiers.
But reaching fourth tier remained extremely difficult without luck.
Now, just one set of mass-produced black blood equipment!
Could create ten thousand Black Tide army members approaching fourth-tier strength!
Even with special rift unique items, they might cultivate briefly weak fifth-tiers.
This was a catastrophe far surpassing A-rank rifts!!
More crucially, with various rifts erupting, the White Tower Federation's Book Tower, Goldenfinch Kingdom's spirit ships, etc., were all sending hunters to conquer A-rank and B-rank rifts, massively harvesting rift unique items, fourth-tier profession cards, and other precious resources—
Currently, the Black Blood Empire's war spanned the entire world, limiting how many Black Blood soldiers could come to the Witch Sea for the great expedition—
If they could mass-produce Black God's Soldiers using Blackfin divine blood.
But...
What was the price of power?
Blood Lion rarely looked gloomy, gazing at the soldiers in the black tide.
He understood: the more one craved power, the easier destruction came.
Permanent land pollution, physical collapse, mutation monsters running rampant, evil god births...
Countless historical tragedies flashed before his eyes.
Even their Black Blood Empire's radical madmen dared not casually use the marginal evil god's power!
Ancient legends said overusing such power caused human lands to continuously compress into the pale sky's domain.
He looked at the Emperor, seeking his opinion.
The Emperor looked down at the black tide, nodded slightly, and calmly said:
"This is not our royal land."
Blood Lion clenched his fist.
Besides massive casualties, recklessly using the God of the Edges' power would turn entire regions into badlands where humans could never live, becoming monster paradises.
But the Black Blood Empire came for conquest!
What happened to this land didn't concern them.
They only needed the rifts' enormous resources.
Not rule, but pure plunder... This was the Emperor's decree... Seeing this, Blood Lion extended his hand:
"Whale Father, let's cooperate to forge this great conquest together!"
Whale Father understood Blood Lion's meaning, smiling:
"Blood Lion, may my subordinates and I receive Valkyrie's rewards and fiefdoms from the Black Blood Empire!"
You want fiefdoms? Blood Lion sneered.
They shook hands, and with Blood Hunter and Black Death Doctor's help, Black Blood soldiers received one thousand new Black God's Weapons.
For safety, Blood Lion instructed their doctors to conduct comprehensive pollution and side effect checks.
After everything was handled, Black Death Doctor turned away, quickening his pace.
Then everyone discussed their great sea plunder plan.
Blood Lion commanded:
"Currently, an A-rank rift Magic Net Library appeared where White Tower Sea and Book Sea meet.
Our intelligence detected the Book Tower's Book Witch is conquering this rift. We'll send fifty Black Blood soldiers to hunt them. In the Devil Sea region, an A-rank Blade Phantom Affinity rift Devil's Throne appeared with 80% mutation rate..."
After finalizing rift conquest plans,
Blood Lion exhaled deeply, realizing that with Black God's Soldiers' addition, their strained forces suddenly became abundant!
Just then, Whale Father lightly gestured, changing the subject:
"By the way, I also plan to send Black God's Soldiers to attack Moonstone City, disrupt their upcoming sanctuary plan, and capture some important people..."
Important people? Did they want to capture Black Hunter again? Blood Lion immediately mocked:
"Stop dreaming! Black Hunter stays in the Ice Witch's cradle, and Beiguo's Hayer has also begun to value him. Capturing him requires both me and Blood Hunter moving simultaneously!"
Multiple attempts on Black Hunter made him a key protection target for Beiguo and the witches!
Not to mention... Blood Lion murmured.
Though unbelievable, he vaguely sensed that the new Saint hidden in storms and waves who saved the refugee fleets might be Black Hunter!
Though newly promoted Saints couldn't adapt to fifth-tier and profession card abilities, far weaker than them, they still required vigilance!
But this remained unconfirmed.
Whale Father must be hiding things from me! Blood Lion thought, feeling slightly vengeful, smiling:
"Perhaps that new Saint I mentioned was sent by Beiguo to protect Black Hunter..."
"Perhaps he is Black Hunter?"
Whale Father ruthlessly mocked.
"..."
Then Whale Father changed topics:
"However, our retrieval target isn't Black Hunter, just a little girl."
"Girl?"
Blood Lion's eyes showed vigilance.
He didn't think Whale Father, like those reveling pirates, had any romantic interests.
He even suspected Whale Father preferred sea beasts over humans.
Whale Father glanced sideways at Black Death Doctor behind him.
Black Death Doctor stepped forward, slightly opening his cloak to reveal his rotting chest.
White bones were clearly visible, along with his diseased heart.
Black Death Doctor weakly said:
"Cough cough... We faced many difficulties in Black God's Soldier research. As lead researcher, my body contracted mutation disease.
I need an assistant, someone matching my expertise in deep sea and mutation disease research.
No worries, she's just a newly promoted Disaster Messenger, a patient! Everyone, rest assured, this is just a small task during wall destruction!"
Black Death Doctor's body trembled, constantly coughing black blood.
Prolonged exposure to marginal blood polluted his spirit and rotted his flesh.
Combined with Black Hunter's previous damage, he could no longer maintain high-intensity research.
He needed a successor, an assistant!
To Black Death Doctor, only Little Crow's talent could replace him in continuing divine blood research.
A mere Disaster Messenger? Blood Lion pressed:
"How to find her? And how do we ensure her survival?"
His Black Blood soldiers weren't skilled at delicate operations like 'capturing alive.'
Black Death Doctor produced a black blood sphere:
"The moment she took our special poison, she became forever ours, forever—"
This little girl received equal importance as other Pirate Generals... Blood Lion nodded.
After all, they planned to attack Moonstone City anyway, destroying everything!
Capturing one sickly Disaster Messenger wasn't problematic.
In the pitch-black storm, the Black Blood Empire and Blackfin Crew discussed great plans for conquering rifts and destroying Moonstone City.
Much later, after everything ended, the Emperor's phantom who had watched throughout gazed at the tidal wave-like forces.
Alliance with the Blackfin Crew during conquest seemed beneficial.
But Whale Father wasn't a blade, more like a wild dog.
Blades were just tools.
But wild dogs sometimes bit.
They still didn't know Whale Father's identity.
After secretly instructing Blood Lion, the Emperor raised a wine barrel, pouring himself bright red wine:
"Gentlemen, I love war, treasure, and glory!"
"I love surging tides too. This tide will surely birth Angel-level powerhouses. Blood Lion was once just an unknown student.
In this unprecedented era, each of you can surpass Blood Lion, achieving the highest heights!"
"Gentlemen, I know you tremble because you'll face A-rank rift monsters, unprecedented powerful enemies.
Whether Hayer, rift monsters, Beiguo's steam mechas, Book Saint, Ice Witch, Black Hunter...
All are powerful enough to trample you.
But only those crossing the Blade Staircase can look down upon everything.
One sword swing surpasses a lifetime of mediocrity.
Keep swinging blades, and they'll become souls under iron hooves!"
"Gentlemen, war has begun, rejoice.
Valkyrie will protect you. Use your blades to tear everything apart, forge supreme glory with blood and corpses!"
Amid the Emperor's shouts, Blood Hunter, Black Death Doctor, Blood General, Grand Mage General Looking at the News, Ferryman of the Underworld River, Drowned Corpse, and other powerhouses gathered, raising cups to the dark sky.
Then five thousand Black Blood soldiers, ten thousand Black Tide pirates, and tens of thousands of shipboard pirates all raised their cups.
Clink!
Amid clinking cups, the surging blood tide crossed the fog, charging wildly across the entire sea.