Chapter 530 - 437: The Dead Land

Chapter 530: Chapter 437: The Dead Land

Beyond the Star Nation lay a land of absolute stillness.

There was no distinction between day and night here; the entire world was shrouded in darkness. This darkness was exceptionally silent, devoid of wind, water, elements—even humans and animals.

Any sign of life came to an end here. This place was filled with nothing but Death Energy.

In a boundless, desolate wasteland, a stretch of black trees resembled a forest. But upon closer inspection, one would find that the trees held no life. They were charred, rotten wood, yet as hard as iron.

In the center of this forest was a pool of black, stagnant water, where withered branches and rotten leaves had silently collected for ages. As they decomposed, they sank to the bottom. Over time, this place had transformed into a putrid swamp, its stagnant water thick and viscous.

It was said this dead land held no life, no light. Yet, within this decaying, putrid swamp, a few faint, will-o’-wisp-like flickers of yellow light appeared and disappeared.

There were not many of these lights—a dozen or so. The largest was the size of a fist, while the smallest was tinier than a fingernail. The fingernail-sized light would brighten and dim intermittently, as if the slightest disturbance from something falling nearby could extinguish it.

But it was also resilient.

A slightly larger will-o’-wisp nearby seemed to make up its mind. With a Herculean effort, it leaped over to the smaller one’s side.

Looking closer, one could see that within this larger will-o’-wisp was a ceaseless flame. It had no consciousness, no life, and certainly no intelligence—only a craving for energy.

This was the most basic instinct of all life at its inception.

As long as it absorbed this even smaller will-o’-wisp, it could grow stronger again.

Emitting an eerie, fiery-red glow, it suddenly darted behind the tiny light.

The power of life was forbidden here. Yet, they managed to survive in the form of will-o’-wisps. The larger the wisp, the stronger its power and energy.

The law of the jungle was omnipresent, even in this dead land. The small wisp was no match for it and was quickly absorbed by the larger one.

After absorbing the smaller wisp, its energy grew a little stronger. Its status in this swamp of death had risen once again.

In terms of size, it had gone from the lower-middle ranks to the middle. If it could absorb just one more wisp of this size, it could climb even higher.

But in the next second, a much larger will-o’-wisp suddenly appeared and, in less than three seconds, consumed it completely. However, after absorbing it, the large wisp unexpectedly shot back at high speed, ultimately returning to the eye socket of a skull.

Within the two empty, vacant eye sockets, another will-o’-wisp was already flickering. As this one drew near, they both flared up, casting a lustrous sheen of life onto the white bone of the skull.

It had spent countless days in this dead land. After today’s battle, a hint of vitality seemed to have returned to its skull.

Such struggles were happening everywhere in this dead land.

To survive, to make one’s own flame grow, the only way was to continuously absorb other will-o’-wisps and increase one’s size. Otherwise, you would be mercilessly consumed.

This struggle wasn’t confined to the swamp; it was happening everywhere beyond this forest.

This dead land was boundless, like a reflection of the other side of the vast, infinite universe. It was as large as the universe itself.

In another dark region, far from this dead land, a sinister black aura permeated the air. The area was covered in charred, hardened flora. They had no life, only an individual consciousness that existed in another form.

At the edge of this darkness stood a massive palace made of Bonescorch. From the outside, the Bonescorch’s skeleton was filled with veins and blood vessels. Within its skyward-thrusting skull, a pair of scarlet eyes teemed with the shadows of countless will-o’-wisps.

The interior was vast and reeked of blood. A straight, wide path led from the forest entrance to the heart of the palace. Lining both sides of this path stood skeletal creatures, their eye sockets embedded with gemstone-like energy. They held spears or wore sabers, standing motionless as statues.

The two rows of skeletal beings were like the most loyal guards, motionlessly protecting the peace of the palace.

A three-meter-tall, wolf-headed beast sat majestically on the Bonescorch throne at the far end of the palace, his body radiating black Death Energy.

His expression was unreadable as he looked down at the two men kneeling before his throne.

Both men had human bodies, but one of them had a human head with a featureless face. Upon closer inspection, it looked like it was covered in countless closed eyes.

"Of the three of you, Archie has the most talent and is the most like me, but he is too emotional in his dealings. Otherwise, how could he fail to handle matters on such a small planet? Sigh."

"My King, why don’t we go to Earth directly? Why let Archie lead the charge? The number of inferior slaves on Earth is decreasing instead of increasing, and the root cause is Archie’s failure to carry out your orders properly.

I believe you should recall Archie and allow me to go there, gather the slaves, and launch an attack on the humans."

The wolf-headed figure on the Bonescorch throne nodded slightly in agreement. "Thousand-Eyes, you know my temperament. Although our clan has always settled matters through strength, we are in need of manpower right now. I do not wish for you to continue fighting amongst yourselves.

This time, you will go to Earth... and assist him from the sidelines."

"My King...!" The countless closed eyes on Thousand-Eyes’ face trembled, as if he still wanted to argue for more.

The wolf-headed King’s face contorted with anger. "As long as you help me conquer this planet, then in the future, if you have the ability to kill him, you may inherit my position." He looked at the other man kneeling below. "Linden, that statement... applies to you as well. Understand?"

The remaining man beneath the throne raised his head, revealing a completely human face. But if one observed him closely, they would see that the visible parts of his neck and palms were covered in thick, black scales.

"My King, I believe we should bring the spatial plants marked with our clan’s sigil. Earth currently lacks a Space Stabilizer, and by my calculations, the families from the Star Nation should be arriving soon.

They are unaware that such a nascent planet is actually a high-level world undergoing life evolution.

Most of them are just going there to plunder, waiting to fight over spacetime fragments after the planet is destroyed. If they arrive and discover it’s a high-level life-bearing sphere, it will be too late for them to go back and prepare a Space Stabilizer.

To seize the initiative, I think we can bring plant life that can support the space. By the time the various families from the Star Nation arrive, it will be too late for them.

Then wouldn’t Earth belong to us?"

After hearing this, the wolf-headed King burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Excellent! You are still the most thorough. We will do as you say!"

But Thousand-Eyes voiced his objection. "But My King, have you forgotten? There are only two mature plant lifeforms in this dead land, and they are enormous. The probability of them being destroyed while traversing the spacetime tunnel to Earth is over ninety percent.

If they are destroyed, won’t all our efforts be for nothing? And even if they arrive safely, a plant of that immense size will require an incredibly long time to merge with Earth’s core and seize its spacetime elements.

The various families of the Star Nation are no pushovers; they will stop at nothing to get what they want. It would be one thing if they simply joined forces to destroy the plant life we worked so hard to bring. But if a master at the Cosmic Level or higher appears and claims it for themselves, we will have suffered a double loss."