Chapter Ninety-Three: The Evil God Behind the Demonic Beast Tide

At this moment, more than a third of the nebula-like vortex within Zhuang Xiaoyuan had been tinted gold. After half a month of relentless cultivation, and with the pure divine power contributed by the few class-level evil demons she had slain before, her own divine power had reached the peak of the lower prayer rank. Now, after having exhausted it and then restored it once more, her divine power level naturally crossed that threshold and advanced to the middle prayer rank.

With the rise in rank, part of the divine power flowing through the nebula vortex seeped into Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s body, giving her strength, constitution, and agility a slight increase.

But after all, this was only a minor breakthrough, so the enhancement was not especially obvious, nor did any special new ability appear. Still, having advanced to the middle prayer rank, the total amount of her divine power had increased considerably. Golden divine power was merely condensed silver divine power; a trace of golden power was worth roughly three or four traces of silver in energy. Thus, the golden portion occupying a third of the nebula vortex actually surpassed the remaining two-thirds of silver divine power in total energy.

However, compressing divine power was truly too slow. After all, one first had to cultivate the divine power, forcing it into the already full nebula vortex. The incoming power would squeeze the existing power, and only after that compression would it become golden divine power.

In the end, it all came down to the painfully slow pace of cultivation. If only she possessed first-rate cultivation potential... well, that was merely Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s own fantasy. Even now, fifth-rank potential was already exceptionally rare. In the past, she had possessed nothing more than a feeble talent not even worthy of being called the lowest rank.

Zhuang Xiaoyuan, her divine power restored to fullness, slowly opened her eyes. What met her gaze were the silhouettes of her subordinates, sprawled in disarray across the floor covered with cotton blankets. Only then did she notice the army-green blanket draped over her own body, as well as the transparent insulated lunch box beside her, filled with food.

Looking at the blanket over her and the lunch box by her side, Zhuang Xiaoyuan felt a wave of warmth despite the weather growing cold with winter approaching. A faint smile curved her lips. Carefully, she lifted the lunch box, making as little sound as possible so as not to disturb her subordinates’ rest. She opened it, took out her chopsticks, and began her late dinner.

The food in the lunch box was plain in taste, and because it had sat for a while it had grown somewhat cool. Yet when she tasted it, Zhuang Xiaoyuan still felt it was as delicious as the dishes she used to make when she had become Erina Nakiri.

Although they had once fought and crossed blades because neither side would yield to the other, perhaps there were still a few who refused to accept this yellow-haired little girl who had not even come of age. Maybe they were still cursing her inwardly, thinking that if they had been divine-armored warriors too, they would certainly have been stronger than her.

But no matter how unconvinced, no matter how unwilling, when facing the same enemy, everyone would still work together as one. And when they noticed that a comrade was in trouble, they would still instinctively care. That was what soldiers were. That was comradeship.

Perhaps two people who had been shouting insults at each other and competing bitterly only yesterday would become the comrades who saved your life at the critical moment today. That was the atmosphere of an army. That was why human beings believed they would win, because I am not alone.

After finishing the delayed dinner, Zhuang Xiaoyuan gently set down the lunch box and did nothing more. She cast one last glance at her subordinates, and with a heart warmed by their care, she closed her eyes again and resumed her daily cultivation of divine power.

The next day, Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s unit took over the transport and supply duty from the other half of the group that had begun the task in the middle of the previous night. Perhaps because the failed attack yesterday had caused the evil gods to restrain themselves, the second day passed peacefully. Still, Zhuang Xiaoyuan had the uneasy feeling that this calm merely heralded the storm soon to come.

Far beyond Maple City, on the other side of the monstrous tide of evil beasts, lay a shattered ruin. Within that ruin, the only place that remained neat and orderly was a beautiful villa. People came and went through the entire house, making it look nothing like an abandoned human settlement. Instead, it resembled a lavish vacation villa specially built by some wealthy tycoon.

“Lord Akasa, the Ripple Plan has failed.” A young girl was half-kneeling beside the villa’s swimming pool, head lowered as she reported. If not for the black demonic pattern engraved upon her forehead, no one would have known that this young girl was an evil god whose sole purpose was the destruction of all living things.

“The Ripple Plan failed? I already knew that yesterday. If you came here just to tell me that, then you know the consequences.” The target of her report, a young man with his upper body bare and wearing sunglasses, was lounging lazily on a deck chair. On his left and right were two girls with identical faces: one was massaging his legs, while the other carefully peeled a grape and brought it to his mouth.

Whether it was the young man on the deck chair or the twin girls beside him, all three had demonic markings on their foreheads. However, unlike the girls’ markings, which were pitch-black, the young man’s was a crimson red, as though it were dripping blood.

“Eep.” At his words, the kneeling girl trembled, as if she had recalled something she would rather not remember. Her face filled with fear, she stammered on: “I-I’m afraid it’s not only the Ripple Plan, Lord Akasa. The Fishing Plan failed too. The bait was eaten, and the fish got away.”

After speaking, as though she had realized something, her body suddenly tensed and she lowered her head. As expected, exactly as she had feared, an invisible attack arrived silently and struck her directly, hurling her far away and smashing her into the wall of the villa.

“The bait was eaten, and you still let the fish escape. Are all of you useless? Why have you come back at all? Tch, human food is disgusting.” Akasa did not move an inch, yet he sent the kneeling girl flying. Rising from the deck chair, he spat the grape he had just put into his mouth onto the ground. With a look of disgust, he spat again and strode step by step toward the collapsed wall.

“I am deeply sorry, Lord Akasa. Please give me a chance to redeem myself.” Crawling out from the pile of bricks where the wall had collapsed, the girl did not even dare lift her head. She threw herself fully to the ground before Akasa.

“Give you another chance? Hmm?” Akasa lifted his right foot and stepped on the girl’s head, grinding it back and forth. There was not the slightest trace of emotion in his eyes, as though before him stood not his subordinate, but merely an ordinary, useless tool.

“Please... give me one more chance. This time, I will definitely succeed.” With Akasa’s foot pressing down on her head, the girl did not dare move at all. Her body trembling faintly, she forced the words of pleading from her mouth.