As Genji and Bruce approached the edge of Zerg territory, they encountered a swarm of Zergs. The swarm dragged a trail of dismantled bodies, belonging to both their slain enemies and fallen clansmen. Many Zergs bore large chinks in their carapace, a testament to their victorious hunt.
Genji intended to circumvent the swarm due to their sizable numbers, but the Zergs mistook this avoidance as a sign of weakness. Without hesitation, they dropped their spoils of war and lunged at him.
'No big deal, I'll just wipe them out.'
But as Genji reached for his saber, a blood tentacle stopped him, waving wildly from below. Looking down, Genji saw Bruce brimming with the desire to fight.
"Getting restless, huh?"
Bruce neighed in response as more tentacles sprouted from his sides.
"I'll leave them to you then. Let's see how much you've improved." Genji slid off and took a few steps back, giving Bruce ample room to utilize his abilities.
The tentacles separated from the nightbane and transformed into a myriad of droplets, all hovering around Bruce. It was as if time had paused during a rainy day, allowing one to fully admire the airborne crimson-red droplets glistening in the starlight.
Suddenly, they shot forward, transforming into whisker-sized needles that pierced through the gaps in the Zergs' defense. The first wave collapsed, their bodies filled with red needles.
These needles liquefied again and flowed back, carrying the green Zerg blood with them. The fallen bodies quickly shriveled, like a raisin in the sun, left for too long to fester. And like the raisin, the blood transformed into something unrecognizable, becoming a tornado of blades that shredded the approaching swarm.
From there, the bloodstorm escalated exponentially, ending the battle within seconds of Bruce's first kill. As the diced-up bodies fell, the blood gathered above Bruce and compressed inward. All impurities were expelled, leaving only the most vitality-rich components.
This compact orb of blood flowed downward, straight into Bruce's open mouth. After wallowing, Bruce licked his nose, cleaning the remnants off his face before turning to Genji with an expectant look.
"That's impressive. You might be better at dealing with swarms than me," Genji praised Bruce, acknowledging the nightbane's hard work. "But don't you find the taste awful? That's insect blood. It's not even red."
Bruce proudly raised his head and pointed his hoof at the impurities pushed out during the compression. He gagged at the pile before pointing his hoof at the air and rocking his head from side to side. From the gestures, Genji surmised that the ejected parts contributed to the bad taste while the purified product was bearable.
"Did you develop a technique to purify the taste of blood?"
Bruce raised his head proudly, pointing his nose at the sky with pride. He had worked hard on this move, all to assist Genji without torturing his taste buds.
'I'm such a smart horse. Now, I get the best of both worlds. Tasty life, here I come.'
*sigh* "Food really is your motivation in life."
"Neigh!"
They continued their journey, eventually reaching the neutral zone, where factions gathered for battle. It was a chaotic area, full of constant conflict and bloodshed, with each faction seeking to suppress the others. Here, there were no winners, but plenty of losers. No matter which faction it was, they had all lost an uncountable number of experts here, all to fuel the rise of a short-lived star.
Also, any signs of weakness would invite swift attacks from rival factions, often leading to temporary alliances formed solely for decimating a single enemy. This was the case even if two factions were fighting a decisive battle. They would put aside all grudges and swarm the weakest link like sharks to fresh blood, seeking to tear them apart.
As such, one could never predict when an enemy would become an ally or an ally an enemy. All these relations shift back and forth like a swinging pendulum, ensuring only the most adaptable generals thrive.
After finishing a target, the factions would resume their conflicts, potentially finding a target to gang up on if they lost too much force. Of course, there were times when a faction anticipated this and teamed up with the bullied target, only to recreate the deadlock from before.
However, even within this unlikely alliance, they still had to worry about betrayal. If the weakest faction managed to injure their teammate significantly, they could transfer the target over and align themselves with the attackers. There was also the possibility a faction only proposed an alliance just to betray them at a crucial moment.
Everything about this area was messy, but that was exactly what Genji wanted. Only this way, could he lose the endless armies after him.
"Let's head to the central battlefield. We should earn a lot of contribution points there."
Bruce inspected the map in Genji's hands and adjusted their course. As they journeyed, they encountered many parties that attacked them.
The first was an overhead ship belonging to the Celestials that rained a storm of plasma on them. Genji easily stopped all of this with his newly developed Daggerless Arts: Cocoon. Luckily, they left Genji alone after realizing their attacks were futile.
Anyone who could achieve such a feat wasn't someone they could fight as a scout team. The best move in this case was to escape before they got annihilated and report the discovery. To their relief, Genji made no move to stop them, allowing them to leave the vicinity within seconds.
Genji was also content with this outcome because he didn't need to waste contribution points on removing this annoyance. Although he was dissuaded from attacking the Celestials, that didn't mean he wouldn't if they kept provoking him.
After that, he encountered a speedy android resembling a slasher from his previous world. The difference was that this model had much higher stats than their 1st step counterparts, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.
Upon spotting Genji, the android instantly launched an attack, striving to dismember him. However, Genji's stats were no longer restricted, allowing him to unleash a speed beyond its sensors. Suddenly, the android collapsed into a pile of metal, unknown gel, and fluids.
But hidden beneath these scraps was a blinking camera, broadcasting its experiences to the Sentinel remotely controlling it. Then a hoof came down, crushing the delicate part that slipped through Genji's attack.
'Weird. Where did that shiny thing go?' Bruce wondered to himself, searching for the toy he accidentally crushed.
"What are you looking at? If you're curious about these androids, then I can hold back next time so you have a complete body to play with," Genji said, walking back.
Bruce appreciated the offer, but he shook his head. It was only a slight curiosity about the unknown, so there was no need for Genji to go out of his way. It wasn't like the central battlefield would be lacking in these robots given how frequent the battles were.
Next, they encountered a stampede of parasitized beasts. On their backs, many LuminalRealm members sat, casting spells to buff their rides. The group was too big to be a scouting party, but that didn't deter Genji from engaging them.
Unlike the other factions, Genji harbored both a grudge against the Parasites and a dislike for the realm paired with them, which was enough reason to fight.
Genji concentrated for a few moments before he kicked off the ground, appearing above the stampeding dinosaurs. A heavy coating of cutting intent swung down, unleashing the time-stilling attack he had mastered in the previous world. The next moment, everything collapsed into a pile of squirming tentacles and broken flesh, flooding the ground with puddles of blood.
The confused survivors gave him a blank look, which quickly warped into horror when they realized what had just happened. But before they could react, a ring of light swept over them, bisecting them at the waist. The distant beasts also lost their ankles and stumbled awkwardly.
"Finish them," Genji shouted, confusing the cultists about who he was talking to. To their knowledge, Genji was alone and didn't have a partner.
But their confusion turned to terror when the blood around them started to bubble and flow erratically. They had never seen such a devilish scene, even as cultists who conducted countless sacrifices. They weren't used to the unknown, only insidious scheming and bullying the weak.
Now faced with a greater, bloodier killer, they didn't know what to do. They were unfamiliar with the situation, its weaknesses, or even the person responsible for this phenomenon!
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As such, they were quickly dispatched, dying before they could take any further action. Following their deaths, the buffs on the parasitized beasts faded, weakening them enough for the blood to penetrate their defenses. Like this, it didn't take long before everything was finished, and Bruce had another snack.
"No purifying this time?" Genji asked.
Bruce flicked his tongue to show that the beasts had a pleasant taste compared to the Zergs.
"Whatever suits your liking, I guess. I'm not the one swallowing rivers of blood," Genji shrugged before they continued their journey.
Their next encounter was against a field of magic traps. A group of mages had set up the area to protect their camps but left them behind after finishing. It was an annoying area, consisting of explosion runes, gravity, ice spikes, flame tongues, poison, illusion, vines, and other attacks.
They tried going around, but the area was larger than Genji's expectations. Genji couldn't comprehend how they laid so many traps, but eventually, he had had enough. Unleashing a massive wave of cutting intent, he destroyed the surroundings and skipped across with Like A Feather.
With each landing, he would repeat the bombardment and glide for a while before using a pebble to test the area. Only when he was certain there were no traps left did he summon Bruce again.
"Fucking mages and their weird magic. Don't let me find you all or you're going to have a bad time."
After going through all that, they finally arrived at the vicinity of the central battlefield. The area was fitting of that name because, within minutes of arriving, Genji heard an explosion in the distance. Bruce knew his intentions before Genji said anything and dashed right at the source.
As the sounds of battle grew louder, they stopped near a hill, which Genji rapidly scaled with his strong physique. Upon reaching the top and gazing into the distance, he spotted an array of war machines shooting plasma attacks at a horde of animals.
These animals looked normal, lacking the purple tentacles of their parasitized cousins. This battle was between the Celestials and Beasts. However, there were no fortresses behind the Celestials. It was not a defensive battle like the ones Genji was used to, but a frontal fight full of aggression. They weren't defending their battlelines but seeking to obliterate the other party.
The larger beasts used their strong bodies to tank the incoming attacks, shrugging off the damage with only minor burns. Following behind them, a series of faster units tore through the frontlines with their sharp claws before diving back into cover.
To combat this, the Celestial soldiers drew their plasma swords and channeled their energy into them. Sparks of light flew around them as they clashed with claws, slowly chipping away at solidified keratin. Occasionally, the fur of the dodging beasts would get caught by the buzzing energy, singeing into ash.
The fighters at the front ignored all this, falling into a haze of melee and blood. They fought with all their might, paying no mind to their opponents who would replace their current ones. It was a frenzy, one that wouldn't end until they eradicated the other party.
Loud roars and shouts swept across the battlefield, rumbling like deafening thunder. Amidst this chaos, a Celestial in mechanized armor stepped forward, leaping onto the front lines with a broadsword etched with cyan energy lines.
The sword glowed a bright blue before a coating of energy wrapped the blade. In the next moment, he crashed into the head of a giant dinosaur, jerking it aside. Without waiting for the creature to recover, he swung his sword, unleashing an energy arc that beheaded the beast.
The energy coating on the sword dimmed in intensity, but the warrior refueled it before it could fully extinguish. Then, he pushed off the tilting head, soaring straight for another giant beast.
The wary beast took a step back and swiped out with its front claws, but its defense was futile against the Celestial's strike. This time, the energy coating extended outward, transforming his sword into an unusually long blade, which cleaved down the middle. As he landed, cracks formed around his feet, and rocks spiked upward in a ring.
The impact shook the beast, causing it to slide apart and fall in different directions. Only the tail remained intact under the slash, but it tore under the weight of its two halves, sending blood flying everywhere.
The Celestial swapped to a one-handed grip and stepped into the wave of beasts, swinging ferociously. With each swing, a beast fell, opening up a path forward.
Occasionally, he used his free hand to grab a foe on the side and used them as a meat shield before throwing them into the trajectory of his swings.
He tore through the crowd without opposition, boosting the morale of his soldiers.
They would shout, "The general has joined the battlefield! It's time to give it 120%."
Then the soldiers chased after the warrior's footsteps, doing everything they could to kill the foe before them. When necessary, they would even use their bodies to bind the enemy, allowing their comrades to deliver a finishing blow through them.
They made this decision without hesitation because they knew someone would replace them. Thus, they could recuperate with peace of mind, knowing they had contributed to their victory. And if they met their demise, they held no resentment, for they had fought with honor.
This suicidal fighting style pushed the beasts back, but the charge was short-lived. While the general was leading the assault, a beast fell from the sky, having jumped from the backlines. It was a colossal beast, standing at 20 meters on its hind legs and boasting an equally long tail.
Its thick scale armor covered its entire body, gleaming with a glossy sheen. Triangular spikes protruded from its back, threatening to impale anything that landed upon them.
The beast had a triangular lizard snout and squinted its beady eyes to focus on the opposing Celestial. However, the most striking feature wasn't these physical traits, but the crown-shaped scales adorning its head. This was a beast king, the physically strongest creatures on the battlefield, and the commander of the opposing faction.
Upon landing, the beast king pushed the general back, followed by a brutal swing of its long tail. The Celestial general brought his sword up to block the spikey strike, but the force was too much for him.
The strike had concentrated all the beast king's strength and was something only another beast king could block. Even then, it was confident it could force the other kings to stumble back multiple steps.
As such, the general was flung backward at tremendous speed, crashing into the soldiers following him. There was a sickening crunch and yelps of pain as the Celestials cushioning his impact, turned to a mist of blood.
Yet, despite these collisions, the general showed no signs of slowing down. For as far as he killed in beast lines, he plowed through Celestial ranks, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake.
When he finally halted, many of his bones were broken, but he had no time to catch his breath. The beast king had finished charging its atomic breath and was about to unleash it.
The general urged his energy core to unleash everything, concentrating the energy in his arm for reinforcement. Then he raised his sword above his head, took a step forward, and swung with all his might.
On the downward curve, his weapon met the cauterizing atomic breath and split it down the middle. The strike traced the breath back to its origin, but the beast king simply tilted its head and chomped the attack apart. A light crack formed on its teeth, but it was otherwise unharmed.
The general, on the other hand, spat out a large mouthful of blood, too spent to continue. It had taken everything he had to block the atomic breath, but the beast king showed no sign of fatigue. That was the price he paid for entering the battle before his opponent, despite being the weaker party.
"They seem to be on the verge of losing. Should we join the battle?" Genji asked, lowering his binoculars.
"Neeeiiiiggghhhh," Bruce responded, indicating his desire for the rivers of blood below.
"I think so as well."
Genji extended his hand, touching his pointer finger to his thumb, forming a small circle. Bruce understood the gesture and transformed back into his sheath form, morphing into a stream of blood that solidified between Genji's fingers.
Genji secured Bruce to his side, drew [Jaguar], and propelled himself off the ground. In the next moment, he materialized beside the beast king with shadow flames and concentrated cutting intent in his saber.
With barely any resistance, [Jaguar] tore through the scales, creating a large arc of blood. Then, the shadow flames detached from the blade, continuing to expand along the attack trajectory.
An ear-splitting roar of pain emanated from the beast king, causing it to wildly thrash its tail. Spotting Genji in the corner of its eye, the beast king lashed its large claws at him.
Genji brought his saber down and drew his knees close, reducing the area of impact.
'Deep breath in, deep breath out.'
Following this mantra, the air around him spun, conjuring a cocoon of cutting intent. Solid Core activated at full force, stiffening his body to its limits before the Quantum Shield layered beneath his cocoon.
This was all his defensive abilities at once, but Genji had no confidence in defending against such strength. That was how potent the strike was. Just before the contact, Genji triggered Dominance Aura: Special Stat, momentarily stunning the beast king.
Only then did Genji find some reassurance in his defense, but it didn't diminish the pain that ensued. The moment the palm connected with the outer layer, both the cocoon and Quantum Shield instantly collapsed, offering almost no resistance. Luckily, this shredded the palm, reducing the area of impact.
Then, the palm connected with [Jaguar], thrusting it into his flesh before his entire body was flung aside, feeling as though a speeding train had crashed into him.
Under this immense force, Genji crashed into the distance like a disintegrating meteor, creating a zone devoid of life. As the dust settled, a massive crater came into view. At its center stood Genji, coughing out mouthfuls of blood.
"As expected of a Beast King. It's still too much to endure their attacks without Berserk. Alright, drain!"
He drew his sheath and summoned the copious volume of blood from the battlefield. Whether beast or celestial blood, it all gathered above him, forming a red flower that vanished from the stem.
It was an ominous phenomenon, making everyone wary of the unknown intruder. Moreover, he had injured the beast king, showcasing combat powers that rivaled their general at his peak.
"Who are you?" The general yelled, ungrateful for the help. Although Genji helped him, it didn't change the fact he was an outsider. In situations like these, one could never lower their guard, especially considering Genji might turn against them. There was no guarantee he would only attack the beasts.
The beast king also took a guarded stance. This was the first time someone had inflicted such severe damage with one strike, even if it was negligible against his overall strength. The greater concern was what other attacks Genji possessed if that was just a greeting.
"GRRRRR." The beast king growled lowly, warning Genji to mind his own business and not interfere in their battle.
"Somehow, I feel I'm not very welcome," Genji said, walking out of the crater.
"What do you think?" The general asked coldly, pointing his weapon at Genji.
"That's fine as well. I got what I wanted, so I'll leave now. You two can continue your battle." With those words, the flowing blood ceased, leaving a field of shriveled corpses with not a single drop of blood.
Genji waved goodbye and swiftly disappeared, leaving two hesitant parties behind. Although the intruder had departed easier than expected, they were reluctant to resume the battle.
After all, they didn't know if Genji would return and ambush them midbattle. It had happened once so what was stopping him from doing it again?
The general exchanged a glance with the beast king, and both nodded in agreement, choosing to retreat. Their desire to battle had faded, replaced by the urgency to report back and investigate the mysterious blood-draining intruder.
Such an eye-catching figure couldn't have appeared out of nowhere, so they needed to understand his abilities. Otherwise, they would suffer greatly, potentially losing enough core combatants to become a public target.