Book 3: Chapter 297: The Chaos of the Ruined Capital

Stargazing Capital, Branuir

The abandoned capital in the desert was now in complete chaos. Due to the food shortage, the delicate balance between the various small factions had been shattered. Now they fought and absorbed one another, all scrambling for the meager food rations.

The Alliance's official food distribution to each region was limited. For "Branuir," a zone that had been abandoned, even receiving a small quota was already an act of grace. It simply couldn't compare to the prosperous regions. The small schools entrenched here, faced with this pitiful ration, had no choice but to start fighting.

At first, the larger factions could still maintain control over the situation. But as their stored food gradually dwindled, the conflicts grew increasingly fierce. Even the stronger factions began to join the fray, no longer bothering to uphold order.

Yellow sand mixed with snowflakes swept through the city, converging into a colossal tornado that blotted out the sky. It smashed through a bronze-colored temporary defensive line, and then mages bearing bizarre totems on their backs charged into the formation, battle erupting.

"Damn it! Those bastards from Turbid Dust Gale have broken through!"

"Hurry, open the beast cages in the back! At this point, we can only rely on those mindless monsters!"

"Yes, boss!"

Deep within the city, "Turbid Dust Gale," one of Branuir's top three powers, and the "Howling Star Beasts" had begun their clash. Members of both sides slaughtered each other throughout the abandoned metropolis. The yellow sand was stained with blood, and corpses littered the streets.

Among the crowd, the leader of Turbid Dust Gale, Mengjous, stood out conspicuously. He had a gleaming bald head, muscles like forged steel, and stood about two meters tall. He moved like a giant beast striding across the land, yet he was exceptionally agile.

The leader thrust one hand through an opponent's raised barrier shield. His thick fingers, wreathed in raging winds, clamped onto the enemy's head, then squeezed with brutal force. With a crack of shattering bone, blood seeped from both ears.

Mengjous then flung the dead enemy aside and continued his advance.

"You foolish beasts! You attacked our headquarters a while back, killed so many of our people, stole so much of our food. Now you're going to pay it all back!" Beneath his thick brows, his eyes seemed to burn with blue fire. With a few more strikes, he effortlessly crushed several troublesome Third Tier mages.

"How fragile." Looking at the enemies dying beneath his hands, he couldn't help but shake his head.

The leader then leaped skyward, shooting up like a cannonball. Spreading both arms wide, a massive tornado slowly took shape beside him, whipping up sand and snowflakes. It stretched like an elongated giant python, coiling straight into the clouds, crushing the enemies beneath an overwhelming pressure.

"Kill him!" A savage voice rang out from the enemy ranks, and several dark silhouettes burst forth, charging at Mengjous in mid-air.

As they leaped into the sky, the shadows revealed themselves from the dust. Upon closer inspection, they were twisted beings, half-human and half-beast. They had human heads, but their bodies were covered in muscles like wild animals, and their joints bore bone spurs and scales clearly not belonging to any human.

"What are these?" The Turbid Dust Gale members were utterly stunned.

"Monsters? Demons? Alien creatures with modified bloodlines?"

Facing such abominations, the Turbid Dust Gale members struck out. Fragments of rock, carried by the violent air currents, slammed into the creatures, knocking them off course.

The creatures tumbled to the ground, rolling endlessly. Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths. But then they stood up again, and soon the wounded areas healed on their own, restoring them to perfect condition.

"Monsters with the 'Bloodline' Aspect? But it doesn't feel quite right. It seems mixed with 'Alien Star' and 'Distortion'." A Turbid Dust Gale member frowned.

"Stop worrying about that! Just kill these monsters!" A companion shouted urgently, as several more Turbid Dust Gale members had already fallen to the creatures' attacks.

"We have no choice but to use this." The lower-ranked members ahead quickly discussed, then hurled out their stored oil drums.

The oil barrels were torn apart mid-air. The spilled oil was caught by the gale, rapidly transforming into a sky-covering inferno tornado. This surging cold wave swept across the surroundings. Even from a hundred meters away, a suffocating cold blast pressed against their faces.

Within the low-temperature flames, several monsters were burned down to their skeletons, then crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.

With their support gone, the remaining members of the "Howling Star Beasts" faction were quickly overwhelmed and annihilated by the Turbid Dust Gale members.

Just as everyone thought it was over and began to celebrate, a chilling scream echoed from the far end of the street.

The crowd turned in shock toward the source. Moments later, a horrifying sound of chewing and crunching drifted through the mist.

"What the hell is that thing!" Someone manipulated the air currents to blow away the concealing fog.

Finally, the blurry figure in the mist revealed its silhouette. It was a four-meter-tall monster. It had no human head, but instead four arms, each a grayish-blue hue, with razor-sharp claws on its fingers.

Seeing the fog disperse, the creature, which had been chewing on flesh and bone, turned around. Its eyes were pitch-black and lifeless, with twisted purple-red blood vessels streaking across the whites.

Gradually, an awe-inspiring aura radiated from the monster. It was a suppression of nearly Fifth Tier status. The power of 'Distortion·Bloodline' caused the scattered remains of flesh and blood on the ground to squirm like insects, converging at its feet for it to consume.

After devouring the flesh in its hands, its gaze turned to the Turbid Dust Gale members present, sending chills down their spines.

"They actually managed to cultivate something this twisted and terrifying." Fear gripped someone's heart.

At that moment, Mengjous slowly descended from the sky, his gaze heavy and solemn.

"It's probably not a complete Fifth Tier, but it's still dangerous. Form a tight formation. Don't give it an opening."

"Yes, chief!" The crowd acknowledged.

The remaining Turbid Dust Gale members gathered together, bracing for the fight. The raging winds were compressed into a visible serpentine current, coiling around their formation before shooting out, striking at the monster like a giant python's bite.

"Aaahhh—" A piercing shriek erupted from the monster's mouth, rattling everyone's minds. Then it leaped, brushing past the serpentine wind current. The claws on its four arms extended, flashing with an ominous red gleam as it tore through the formation.

In that instant, dozens of Turbid Dust Gale members were cleanly sliced apart, blood spraying into the air. The atmosphere grew thick with a nauseating stench of blood.

In the sky, Mengjous plummeted. The runic totems on his body blazed with dazzling cyan light. He swung his fist, and it seemed to condense an invisible vortex of air. The monster had no way to escape; it was dragged forward by the pull, charging headfirst into the path of his fist.

Then, with a crack, Mengjous's right arm snapped, white bone protruding from the wound. But his fist had also driven solidly into the creature's head.

Seeing this, the remaining Turbid Dust Gale members rushed forward, driving their spear tips into the monster's body.

Even so, their expressions remained grim, because their weapons met considerable resistance upon entry. They couldn't cut or slice through it, as if stuck fast.

"What kind of monster is this?" Terror flickered in their eyes, but they dared not flee. They just kept unleashing every attack they had.

Unfortunately, this was the moment when their school's lack of foundation became glaringly apparent.

The Turbid Dust Gale members' skills and abilities were rather limited. They had no means of dealing with a 'Bloodline' monster. Their only advantage was the brute force and agility granted by manipulating air currents. Against a creature with excellent self-healing, such tactics proved utterly inadequate.

"Forget it! Get the chief out of here first!" The group carried Mengjous, who was weakened, his arm broken, and retreated. Then someone dug out more oil drums, preparing to burn the monster to death with another blazing tornado.

But the creature recovered far faster than they had anticipated. Before the flames could even fully catch, the monster's head had already regenerated somewhat. Though it lacked any great intelligence, its beastly instincts drove it to thrash and scramble away frantically. Many members died in the ensuing chaos.

Several minutes later, the oil burned out, yet the monster was still alive. It began devouring the corpses on the ground to restore its strength and stamina. The group was forced to scrounge up every last drop of remaining oil to deal with it.

Fortunately, the creature's intelligence was far too low. It didn't know how to dodge or evade. In the end, it finally perished in the sea of flames.

After this battle, Turbid Dust Gale was severely crippled. Even in victory, it could only be called a pyrrhic one.

Considering that Branuir's environment would only grow more hostile from here on, Chief Mengjous led his people to gradually move south toward the warmer regions, searching for a place where they could survive.

But in this mist-shrouded wind season, such a goal was destined to be fraught with hardship. The road ahead was uncertain.