The sanguine sky rumbled thunderously as rampant windstorms from the lingering, remnant power of Lin Kang, rife with desperation and the scent of death, ravaged the nearby regions. The abrupt appearance of the bloody radiance had drawn away the attention of the Chosen here, but after the fury of Lin Kang's Ascension Art was unleashed, those fortunate enough to survive the initial onslaught began to awaken to their senses.Those with keen minds and senses instantly noticed that their Sea of Consciousness had been subjected to an external influence, suppressing some of their instincts of survival, and fear swelled within their shaken hearts.
Howl!
Before they could fully regain their senses and determine the situation, a savage howl reverberated throughout the heavens and earth. All eyes were subconsciously drawn to a chasm in the barren region. A silver-haired, loosely robed, bare-footed bestial mutant was slowly rising into the air, levitating as bloody light that resembled a raging crimson river flowed beneath his feet. The river extended for tens of miles from east to west.
Yi Yun had lost his sight yet his instincts had always been extremely abnormal. Since the beginning of his days, he'd always had this extraordinary intrinsic Perception. If not for this, he would not have been able to counteract Zuhei's sanguine sky's power, retaining his senses and remaining focused solely on the silver-haired beastman.
At the moment, the hybrid Blessed didn't feel danger, but an incomparably terrifying sensation of dread. It was as if he could smell the air was rife with an impending calamitous scent. It was savage. It was feral. And it was coming!
His warning earlier hadn't fallen on deaf ears, but the Demi-Mortal Lord female Chosen of the Human Race was not one to simply act at the panic of a puny half-breed mortal that she had just saved, completely unaware that her survival had largely been the result of Yi Yun halting a windstorm. Even if she looked upon this half-breed mortal with slight favor due to his innate talents, it wasn't enough to rid her heart of the hundreds of years of instilled belief.
She calmly observed the situation with the rest, using her Mystic Power to hurriedly clean herself, revealing an exquisitely alluring and sensual figure. Her eyes moved to observe the Earthly Saints present, curious about their next course of action.
She tried to find Lin Kang. Alas, the Young Duke's aura was scattered haphazardly. Here. There. And sometimes way over there. Eventually, she realized each area corresponded to scattered bits of flesh and bones, and her heart pounded, causing her ample chest to surge with alluring waves. Unfortunately, her passive 'wait-and-observe' had left her in a precarious situation.
"What happened?!" By now, words were exchanged from the Chosen as many cautiously observed Zuhei's rising form. The flowing river beneath his feet instinctively caused dread to manifest in their hearts.
"AH! NO!!" A shrieking screech brought everyone's focus away as a burly Chosen of the Celestial Race was currently in tears as they gingerly hugged Ka Hong-So's severed head. The stump of his neck was ravaged while his eyes went in opposite directions, utterly dead and uncontrolled, without the slightest trace of light.
What?!
When did Ka Hong-So die?!
HOW DID HE DIE?!
They were all struck with lightning at the realization that a terrifying Earthly Saint had died without any of them noticing. But when they sought to verify the other Earthly Saints' presence, they soon discovered that Lin Kang was also missing, his aura scattered in fragments of bone, blood, and bits of mangled flesh.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere instantly descended into a solemn, oppressive silence. Yet Zuehi's rise remained unstoppable throughout all this, his river of blood slowly gurgling as runes emerged from within. The runes exuded a bloody scent, the faint signs of deathly aura permeated throughout, including a distinctly Apex Predator's presence. Wei Wuyin, Xue Yifei, and Wu Yu would immediately recognize these runes had been forged of blood, tempered by a familiar and exquisitely profound method!
Bloodforge Runes!
They slowly clustered, forming claws that climbed out of the river's flowing surface. The runes kept forming by using the river of blood as its foundation, giving the claws a slender limb. Eventually, these clawed limbs formed of Bloodforge Runes began to drag themselves out of the river, exposing wolf heads, feral bodies, and savage howls.
Bloodforge Canines!
Thousands upon thousands of canines of various lineages emerged, their eyes exuding a ravenous will to hunt, to slaughter, to consume! This caused the entire world to descend into a state of irrepressible CARNAGE!!
The sanguine radiance that cascaded down from the starless sky, enveloped the world for hundreds of thousands of miles, grew thicker, nearly viscous, and liquid-like to the touch.
Yi Yun felt his hand touch upon a wet sensation. It felt as if he was touching blood. When he lightly breathed in, it slowly made its way into his body. He felt terror as a strange mark tried to etch itself into his heart, but shortly as it did, the Mark of Ascendants within his body released a faint hum that dispersed the mark. The mark offered no resistance, like a loyal war dog being told to stand down.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration dawned upon him. The expression of terror on his face was deeply suppressed as he lifted his body with all his might. The woman holding him didn't pay him much attention, but when a pair of hands grabbed her cheeks, forcefully turning her head, her eyes widened as a pair of lips touched her own.
Her eyes widened as shock and disbelief overtook her mind for a moment, not expecting the little half-breed mortal would dare try anything like this! She then felt a soft, weightless energy flow into her esophagus, and she yanked the half-breed mortal from her, the urge to turn him into scattered ash swelled within her heart, but Yi Yun had already lost consciousness.
Seeing how weak he was, she hurriedly calmed herself down from doing something that she would regret. Moreover, simply killing this mortal for stealing her first kiss in this world was far too easy. Her eyes flashed with an angry, vicious light, simultaneously trying to force out the energy that Yi Yun had sent down her throat.
"AHHHHHH!!!" A horrified scream resounded like thunder from hell itself.
The woman's eyes turned to see tens of thousands of wolf-like canines rushing out from the bloody river beneath the bestial mutant's river of blood. They looked normal-sized, yet they dashed across the skies with speed that caused her heart to quiver.
"GE-GET AWAY!!"
"THE SKY!" Another shout resounded throughout the world as someone called attention to the sky. Few decidedly looked up as they began to focus on the wolves that were rushing towards them, attacking these bloody manifestations with their Mystic Power.
"RUUUNNN!!!"
But the woman's head was lifted as she was welcomed by a sight. Her eyes widened slightly as the image of a scarlet-colored Solar Star emerged, surrounded by a ring of chaotic crimson light that danced around it. It was like a flowing river of blood heavily resembling the river beneath the bestial mutant's feet!
"SONG NIYAN!!!! YOU BASTARDS!! LET HER G-GAH!"
Moreover, for those who could see past the blinding radiance, an imposingly domineering wolf donned in silvery fur stood atop this Solar Star.
Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum!
"HEEEELLLLPPPP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"
Her heart violently raced.
A godly apex predator!
This was her first thought as fear caused her to take a step back. She recognized the beast from ancient records, her studious nature showing its potential, yet it only served to cause her mind to stir with the force of ten thousand storms.
The Silver Wolf, Fenrir!
It calmly stood upon the Solar Star, looking down at the world as if it were a divinity that looked over all life and death.Splash.
A soft, warm feeling touched her cheeks. Her eyes only had the domineering sight of Fenrir's manifestation and were given a little bit of conscious light as she unsteadily touched it. She recognized the sensation as wet, recently drawn blood. Hadn't she cleaned herself earlier?
Looking at her fingertips, she saw the bloody liquid drip from her fingers. It was green in color and seemingly from its composition. She determined almost instantly that it belonged to a member of the Celestial Race.
Whoosh!
A figure flew past her.
She turned her eyes as a comet of crimson light followed along. Within the air, impressed upon the ambient mana, a trail of rapidly moving canine prints formed. She gazed at the imprint, following it as a shout of pain and horror erupted. The figure who'd just run past her was subjected to a bone-chilling crunch as their necks were snapped between the bloody maw of two, no, three canines.
They chomped and ravaged with their teeth, ripping the person's corpses to pieces. The sanguine light in the world seemingly quivered around the corpse and it lost signs of its life, soul, energy, and essence within the briefest of moments, as if claimed by some ungodly vicious law.
"What?" The woman finally regained herself, looking at the world before him as colorful blood painted the regions. Corpses littered the area and fights were happening all over. Moreover, any violent shockwaves that approached her were seemingly dispersed by the sanguine sky and starry radiance from above.
She looked absentmindedly about. Her head turned to the left.
A female Soul of Mysticism Phase Chosen of the Titan Race was being split apart, pulled in five directions by seven canines. Her screams were earth-shattering.
Her head turned to the right.
Two Demi-Mortal Lords fought back-to-back as hundreds of canines surrounded them, unleashing bloody light and vicious attacks. Their Mystic Wards were breached and they barely hung on.
BOOSH!!
A Celestial Race's Highlord ignited his Mystic Core, blasting out of a hoard of canines. A few bit at him, attaching themselves to his legs as he sped off. After traveling a thousand or so miles, their auras instantly deflated and their body was split apart by sharp, vicious teeth.
However, in the whirlwind of vicious, bloody slaughter, as she held Yi Yun by the collar, she remained wholly untouched. Two canines rushed toward her, but as soon as they entered within a range of a hundred meters, they split apart and moved past her like she was irrelevant. Her heart continued to pound, threatening to escape her chest.
Countless Chosen had already begun to run away, using all sorts of methods, from talismans to unique pellets and even self-harming methods. The Bloodforge Canines seemed to only briefly halt after witnessing their escape before changing targets with very little hesitation, leaving those unable to leave with a greater crisis.
BOOM!! BOOOM!!!
The last Earthly Saint of the Human Race blasted the Bloodforge Canines apart with their attacks, executing Ascension Arts to save their allies, seeking an opportunity to escape. They didn't bother with her as she was a part of a different camp.
The Earthly Saint found an opportunity, bringing away dozens of Chosen with them in a flash. But the Bloodforge Canines howled with savage ferocity, unwilling to allow such delicious prey to escape the hungry fangs and sharp claws. Their eyes glinted viciously as they gave chase!
THEY CHASED!!
THEY HUNTED!!!
The woman was utterly taken aback by all these events, barely able to wrap her mind around everything that was happening, but the recently given warmth on her lips and in her throat was particularly noticeable to her senses.
The Bloodforge Canines which were destroyed by Minor Ascension Arts, Ascension Arts, talismans, and treasures turned into crimson light that re-entered the bloody river of a Solar Star's river-like ring in the sky. They would then claw their way out and soared back down, refreshed and renewed.
In fact, they seemed slightly stronger than before!
The hunt continued!
On the 42nd day of the Evercrown Ceremony, the greatest slaughter throughout its history unfolded.
-----
Erdiul's Note: Had to manually fix the line breaks on this chapter, my usual program is having issues. If you find any errors, just say so in the comments or ping me on the discord server on the ''Paragon of Sin'' thread. Also, look. Yi Yun survived again because of his Ascendant status, his new heroine aswell. :)
