Inside The Black Mist

“I said, quit it for me!”

“How can you say that?”

“Tianyang.”

“Tianyang…”

In his daze, Tianyang saw his mother, looking so heartbroken. Seeing her tear-streaked face, the boy wanted to say “I’m sorry,” but Nanfei turned and walked away.

Tianyang hurried to catch up, but no matter how fast he ran, Nanfei only grew further away.

Eventually, her figure disappeared into the boundless darkness.

…

Suddenly, Tianyang opened his eyes to see a beautiful face with a soft glow, showing an anxious expression.

After a moment, he realized it was Xiaoniao\'s face.

“Tianyang, are you okay? You kept talking to yourself just now; it scared me to death.” The girl held her chest with a worried look.

Tianyang shook his head and then realized he was resting his head on the girl\'s lap. His face flushed, and he quickly sat up, only to feel a sharp pain in the back of his head.

“Take it slow,” Xiaoniao supported him. “You hit something hard. When I found you, you were unconscious. Luckily, you were face up, so you didn’t drown.”

Drown?

Tianyang heard the sound of flowing water. Looking around, he saw he was by a stony riverbank. The river in front of him was turbulent upstream but curved sharply and meandered downwards at the stony shore.

The water in the river bend was slower. It seemed he had drifted here and was rescued.

Several campfires were burning on the stony shore, with a few people gathered around them. Tianyang even saw a face he found unpleasant.

Xie Miao!

He withdrew his gaze and looked back at the girl. “So, did you fall down too?”

Xiaoniao stuck out her tongue. “I accidentally stepped into an empty space and fell down. Fortunately, the abyss below was a big river. The water was deep, but many companions still died.”

The girl’s face was somber. “When I arrived at the shore, I saw several bodies washed up by the water. Later, I found you. I initially thought... but fortunately, your chest was still warm and you were breathing.”

“Bodies?” Tianyang looked around but didn’t see anything like that.

Xiaoniao pointed to a spot on the shore. “The bodies were buried over there. There are several piles of stones, like graves.”

“Have something to eat first. I have water and food.” Xiaoniao took out her field supplies to share with Tianyang.

Tianyang shook his head. “I have some too. I’ll just eat my own.”

Xiaoniao puffed out her cheeks. “You don’t need to be so stingy with me.”

Tianyang smiled, insisting on using his own supplies. Fortunately, the multi-functional waist pouch was waterproof. Even though Tianyang floated down the river, the contents inside stayed dry.

He also found that the Crimson Moon Warblade was still tightly gripped in his hand.

Xiaoniao looked at the sword. “You don’t know how tightly you held it. I couldn’t even loosen your grip.”

Tianyang sheathed the sword and took out some water and food to eat.

While eating, he reviewed his rank information and found changes.

[Rank 2: Eradicator

Abilities: Weakness Detection, Instant Kill, Mirage

Ascension Progress: 19%

Enhanced Domain: Physical Strength +1

Next Rank: Ripper]

Tianyang was startled, not just because he had ranked up, but also because the Ascension Progress for Rank 2 was 19%!

He remembered that before, it was 91% for Rank 1, so this meant his ascension progress had surged by 28%.

Not only had he completed the rank-up, but he had also pushed Rank 2 progress to 19%.

As expected of a colossal dark creature; the contribution was significant! It was a pity he fainted at the time and didn’t know if the creature left any materials behind.

After all, it cost him a gravity grenade!

After eating, Tianyang took out his communicator to contact Han Shu. But the device was filled with electronic noise, apparently suffering from severe interference.

“It’s useless.” Xiaoniao, sitting nearby, shook her head and pointed to the riverbank. “Look over there.”

Tianyang followed her finger and saw a cluster of black crystals emerging from the riverbank. They emitted occasional flashes of deep purple light, and dark mist rose around the crystals.

“Mist Crystal!”

Tianyang exclaimed softly. Mist Crystals were a product of the Inverse Universe and the source of black mist. They emitted a special energy that turned the surrounding air into black mist.

In addition to producing black mist, Mist Crystals also interfered with electronic signals. Wherever they were, communication devices became useless.

More importantly, Mist Crystals didn’t appear sporadically. Although they might seem like just a few clusters on the surface, digging might reveal massive crystal veins.

Some veins were even as large as mountains!

Mist Crystals existed in almost every Inverse Universe, and it was said that in realms numbered within ten, there were even super-large caverns called “The Abyss of Darkness.”

These caverns, like volcanic craters, continuously released black mist, turning the entire world into an eternal night!

Footsteps approached.

Tianyang looked up and noticed a large cave under the cliff in front of the shore. At that moment, several figures ran out of the cave.

Xiaoniao stood up. “Let’s go over and check. The scouts are back.”

“Scouts?” Tianyang patted his butt and got up.

Xiaoniao nodded and pointed to the riverbend. “Besides this stony shore where we landed, the other places are sheer, smooth cliffs. Climbing up is almost impossible, so it’s good there’s a cave here.”

“And there’s wind in the cave, which means there’s air flow. We might find a way to the surface.”

“Hey, what’s the situation?”

At this moment, Xie Miao’s voice came from the front.

Tianyang and Xiaoniao walked forward and found that among the scouts, there was also Yan Bing.

Seeing Tianyang awake, Yan Bing smiled and nodded in greeting.

The two soldiers who had gone scouting reported to Xie Miao, “We followed the cave, but soon found that it has many branches, like an underground maze.”

“We didn’t venture too far, but in one of the caves, we found a Death Tree.”

Xie Miao’s eyes lit up. “A Death Tree? Where? Take me there and I’ll chop it down!”

A Death Tree was a plant from the Inverse Universe and was quite mysterious since Wanderers were born from Death Trees!

Therefore, clearing a Death Tree would yield substantial contribution points, but Death Trees were usually surrounded by many Wanderers.

So clearing a Death Tree was not an easy task.

After his excitement, Xie Miao also realized this. He thought for a moment and called out, “Come over, everyone gather around.”

He called several times, and soon over twenty survivors on the shore formed a circle.

Xie Miao climbed onto a large rock so everyone could see him. He patted his chest and said, “I’m a lieutenant. Is there anyone with a higher rank here?”

The crowd looked at each other and shook their heads.

Among these twenty or so people, half were soldiers. The remaining seven or eight Ascenders, including Tianyang, were all second lieutenants.

Xie Miao’s face showed satisfaction. “In that case, according to the fortress’s battlefield regulations, if we lose contact with the main team, the highest-ranking officer will be responsible for gathering and organizing the scattered members and acting as the temporary commander.”

“So now, I, as the lieutenant, will command everyone. No objections?”

In the crowd, Xiaoniao whispered, “I don’t like this self-righteous guy.”

Tianyang didn’t like him either, but Xie Miao was following the rules, so he couldn’t oppose it.

Seeing no one objecting, Xie Miao nodded. “Then, listen to my arrangements. We will go to chop down the Death Tree to prevent being attacked from behind by a group of Wanderers when we leave.”

Although Tianyang disliked Xie Miao, he had to admit his concern was valid.

In open areas, Wanderers were not much of a threat. But in confined spaces, with many Wanderers, it could be very dangerous.

Unless one was a high-ranking expert or had large-scale weapons, even ascenders would be overwhelmed by a mass of Wanderers.

So now, Xie Miao’s plan to first clear the Death Tree was reasonable.

But the next arrangement was quite eye-opening for Tianyang.

“All soldiers form the vanguard team. You are responsible for clearing the path and are allowed to shoot freely when encountering Wanderers!”

“The God of War rank forms the central team. If the vanguard is dispersed, you will block the Wanderers.”

“Other ranks will form the firepower main team with me. We will provide fire support to the vanguard!”

Most of the arrangements were fine, except for one. Xie Miao, whose rank emblem was clearly of the God of War, placed himself in the main team.

Tianyang couldn’t find another word to describe it except shameless.

It was obviously taking advantage of others to protect himself, as the firepower main team was usually in the rear, the safest place!

“How’s that? Any problems?” Xie Miao asked casually.

Tianyang raised his hand. “Lieutenant, aren’t you a God of War rank? Why aren’t you in the central team with us?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Right, being a God of War rank and running to the main team.”

The crowd immediately began discussing among themselves. Xie Miao’s face alternated between green and white as he glared at Tianyang and said, “What do you know? I’m the commander, so I have to stay in the rear! Have you ever seen a commander leading from the front? How can they command anything like that!”

“Anyway, all my arrangements are in accordance with the fortress’s battlefield regulations. You can trust my orders!”

Xiaoniao tugged on Tianyang’s sleeve. “I think he’s unreliable.”

Tianyang smiled. “Let’s just follow him, after all, he’s a lieutenant.”

“It’s just a lieutenant, only one rank higher than us. Why is he so arrogant?” Xiaoniao complained.

“You!”

Xie Miao’s voice rang out again. He pointed at Tianyang with a smile. “The vanguard team needs one or two ascenders to lead. I know you’re quite capable, so you’ll be in charge of the vanguard team!”