It was early morning when the whale calmly emerged from the mountain, with all the members of the group waiting for it. Turning around, the whale saw Ruri with a purple cat and a small wyvern with bluish scales on her shoulder, watching them intently.
Behind Ruri, a group of hundreds of draconic beasts was lined up in their human forms, waiting. They had taken on human metamorphoses, trying to imitate Ruri’s Eastern features; they were short with dark skin and black scales covering their bodies. Like Runula, they were terrible at metamorphosis technique; with their talents mainly focused on their bloodline, they were pathetic in all other areas.
Before, it was impossible to tell them apart, but looking now, Alm and Bruno noticed that nearly 95% of these beasts in human form were male. Just as the most powerful Fey on the planet were women due to Yin, the beasts followed the same logic. Therefore, the discarded and abandoned to die were mostly male, taken in by Liumi.
Even though they were from different draconic races, they were united and emitted a peculiar unified presence, like sheathed blades ready to move in sync at any moment.
Runula did an excellent job training them. Alm and Bruno were very proud of this little half-wyvern, who was once clumsy and had no notable qualities; they taught her to lead, and after so many years, she became someone very reliable. The gaze of all these beasts towards the whale was one of extreme admiration and trust; Liumi worked hard shaping their psyche.
In their eyes, Ruri was like a dragon empress with her exalted bloodline; and they were willing to die and kill for her. The whale was a divine, untouchable figure, creating a mystical pair in their eyes.
Ruri spoke with a smile. "Master, they want to seek your approval. Runula and I tested them personally, and these beasts can fight in groups perfectly, not easily defeated by anyone."
Bruno watched them closely, sensing the clear connection through the faith they had. Beasts were different and didn’t need statues to worship.
Follow current novℯls on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.
The whale hadn’t ordered the collection of the Yinblood Jewelry in these months because they were waiting for these beasts’ resolution. Ruri had already reached a level in her dragon bloodline where adding more of these jewels wouldn’t make a difference; now, she needed the scales. But if they gave everything to these beasts, they would become much stronger. After announcing that they would create an army and everyone would be commanders, Ruri was the first to prepare these beasts and got her first soldiers.
"I am not a savior or someone who will protect you," the whale said dryly to all the beasts. "If your goal is only to be powerful and respected, I’m sorry to tell you that you won’t live to enjoy it. By fighting under my command, you may die at any moment."
Everyone turned to the whale, and their gazes didn’t waver. Until one of the few female beast figures stepped forward and spoke.
"We were all rejected by our families and left to die brutally. Everything we have was given by your kindness. We don’t want to follow you to become powerful. We only want to fight by your side, to build a place where everyone has a chance to live like we did."
A male figure added, "Even if we die, if our death helps you, we are sure many others like us can be saved."
Alm and Bruno nodded. Wild life among beasts was always cruel, but there was a limit. Even the weakest had uses and could be more useful to the powerful living. But in the queen’s universe, with the laws inclined for everyone to be as powerful and brutal as possible, being born as a weak beast was a terrible fate; having your soul refined by someone and losing consciousness forever was common.
"From today, you will be the first army: Dragonblood Army."
The whale said and turned to Ruri, who smiled and immediately a rune on her forehead lit up. Countless runes appeared and all the draconic beasts received them, officially becoming her pets, taken into the beastly world. Ruri now had a hidden army she could bring with her.
"Let’s go," the whale waved, and everyone moved out of the forest, stepping out of the formation.
A few hours later, the whale and the now 16 visible members of his group arrived at the central area, where Mistie was waiting.
Alm and Bruno only knew that this last red sealed world was relatively close to the planet Gloom and that they couldn’t be transported by a teleportation formation like the others.
"We need to hurry. It will take half a day to get there, and the entrance will open shortly after we arrive," Mistie said.
She waved, and a white flying boat appeared above her. The whale jumped up, followed by everyone. At the same moment, Mistie moved, and they all pierced through space, easily leaving the planet.
Everyone quickly settled on the vessel. After a few minutes, they noticed with puzzled looks that the glorious sect leader was the size of a human, sitting next to Quirio among them. She was trying to chat with him calmly, but the young man responded only with brief words.
Everyone sensed her intentions and was shocked. Only Quirio seemed oblivious, acting extremely respectful. Mistie smiled, not minding, and stayed as physically close as possible. She talked about cultivation and pretended to be a mentor to him, while he listened eagerly, oblivious to everything else.
After three hours heading toward the center of the galaxy, they entered a region resembling a storm. Everything around was dark, with no stars or any visible light source. Violent thunder roared, accompanied by flashes of lightning.
"These lightning and this storm are not natural manifestations. They are the result of laws clashing and breaking space-time," Mistie explained calmly, already expecting to see everyone stunned. But she noticed that everyone was around the whale, very close, with calm expressions, chatting as if they were enjoying the trip.
She paused for a few seconds, but everyone remained indifferent, and the whale turned to her as if demanding a quick explanation. She sighed and continued.
"This sealed world is called the Southern Desolate Battlefield. As the name suggests, this place is the result of a past apocalyptic battle. It was sealed and became a small world."
"Why the South?" the whale asked calmly.
"Because the Desolate Battlefield was divided into 7 sealed red worlds. Our sect took the one in the South, while another sect called the Phoenix Cry Sect took the one in the North. The other five are naturally domains of the Shadow God Sect."
Mistie saw the whale’s expression as emotionless as always, but everyone around him stared at her with bloodthirsty expressions upon hearing that name. She continued.
"This place is a rugged and very dangerous land. Terrifying space laws are everywhere; even I could die if I’m not careful. But don’t worry, all the Desolate Battlefields are isolated and have no connection between them."
The whale asked gently, "Let me guess, all twelve entrances open simultaneously throughout the galaxy, right?"
Mistie nodded in confirmation, puzzled. Alm and Bruno mentally smiled. The Shadow God Sect could easily invade sealed worlds as they had before. Since there was an obvious connection between the twelve, they could obviously circulate between all of them and enter this one. The two were excited; this seemed like a great opportunity for profit.
"The place is dangerous, and they will surely invade. But unlike the other sealed world, here they can’t move recklessly. Our Yinblood sect made a map with safe routes. If you follow them, you can move quickly; they will have problems. The real danger is at the entrance and exit, but with me here, I can protect you. Even if an army comes, my power can distract them, and we can return to the sect with this vessel."
"Alright, and what are the treasures there?" Ruri asked, her eyes shining.
Mistie sighed before answering. "Besides the chance of finding remnants of valuable things from those who died in battle, there is a race of unmistakable and powerful blood plants. They are a natural treasure for alchemy. The Phoenix Cry Sect, the third largest alchemy sect in the universe, buys all the blood plants they can find for a very high price."
"Are they cultivable plants?" Ruri asked thoughtfully, and Mistie answered affirmatively.
Ruri remembered Leafar and Ervly, two plant cultivators she met in the Heavenly Realm. She was very young, and that was a strong memory of the adventure she had with her master. There were no such races on the Pristine planet, and she had never encountered another one since.
They continued to move quickly, but the clash of laws and the storm grew more intense. No one dared to feel these terrifying laws; they were too powerful and beyond their current cultivation.
Seven hours later, the whole group saw countless illusions around them as they flew. They saw meteorites falling in torrents, stars exploding, giants holding up the sky, a one-winged beast cutting through the starry sky. There were countless forms of life fighting intensely. The images were all chaotic.
Everyone did their best not to be affected by the illusions, but it was very difficult as the illusions constantly tried to capture their attention. The three Fey were the most affected due to how shocking the scenes were.
These weren’t simple illusions; they were real. The wills of the dead and the reflection of the power from immortal cultivators who had fought there in the past were creating this. They felt rage, despair, fear, and countless emotions from before their deaths, lingering to this day.
After half a day, the flying boat finally approached a small round piece of land floating in the void. Except for the whale, Kaiyka, and Mistie, everyone was covered in sweat; it seemed like they had gone through a year of bitter struggle and were exhausted.
As they arrived, Mistie stopped the vessel with a serious look, while the whale merely snorted. On that small piece of land the size of a moon, every inch was crowded with cultivators. And none of them were from the Shadow God Sect.