Chapter 280: Gareth, You Have Failed
Genesis, in Loras’s arms, seemed to understand. He reached for Evangeline and cried even louder, "Mother!"
Evangeline’s lips curled into a slight smile. Her voice was calm and unhurried. "Genesis, Mother keeps her promises. Don’t cry anymore."
She turned to Loras and Thorne, her expression serene, but her tone held a faint, chilling killing intent. "Take Genesis back. Keep the Beastman tribes stable. When I return, I will lead them across the Triangle Sea."
"Eva!" Thorne’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently. He grabbed her arm and said in a deep voice, "I’ll go with you!"
Evangeline raised her eyes and looked at him quietly. Under her gaze, Thorne’s face paled, but he stubbornly refused to let go.
He was afraid. Afraid that if Evangeline left just like this, she would never come back.
Although The Swarm was far from the Beastman Continent, they swarmed out in full force every rainy season, bringing no small amount of suffering to the continent’s beastmen.
The Parasite Swarm, in particular, was infamous. The Deep Sea Sandwurms were one branch of The Parasite Swarm that lived in The Deep Sea.
"I don’t want you to take that risk. I won’t allow anything to happen to either of you." Evangeline’s expression was serious. As she spoke, her gaze flickered between Thorne’s and Loras’s faces for a moment before she said in a firm voice, "The ship will take you back."
With that, Evangeline leaped gracefully from the ship. Her Cold Frost Whip whistled through the air, freezing the cliff walls with a layer of frost.
Thorne rushed forward. Watching Evangeline quickly disappear into the clouds, his face turned ashen as he slammed a hand against the ship’s hull.
The ship didn’t even rock. Instead, it accelerated out of the Triangle Abyss and flew toward the coast.
*
「Beneath the Triangle Abyss.」
The Everwake’s arms mechanically maintained the motions of stabbing and sweeping.
His body was covered in marks from the Lemurs’ sharp claws, dripping with blood. Two of his magnificent Feather Wings were also broken. However, The Parasite Swarm had come prepared. And since the Lemurs were the natural enemies of The Swarm, the Blade-Wing Insectoids had already suffered heavy casualties. Almost all who could fight were dead, and the females and young within The Hive were in grave danger.
Suddenly, a Lemur Beastman leaped toward him.
It abruptly transformed into its huge beast form in mid-air, its sharp claws and fangs hooking toward The Everwake.
The Everwake turned to block, but his Bone Spear, having endured a long and fierce battle, could no longer bear the strain. With a loud CLANG, it shattered. At the same time, the Lemur Beastman’s claws pierced his chest, sending him flying backward!
He tumbled heavily to the ground, only coming to a stop when his back slammed into a large tree.
Immediately after, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Haaa..." The Everwake lay on the ground, his chest heaving violently. His rainbow-colored compound eyes stared in the direction the ship had departed.
On this day, when The Swarm faced disaster and the Blade-Wing Insectoids were on the verge of extinction, he had a child.
His name was Genesis, and he was an exceptionally beautiful child.
’Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep my promise. I couldn’t stay with him forever.’
The Everwake saw the sharp fangs lunging at him from the corner of his eye. He gave a weak, wry smile and slowly closed his eyes.
"Heh." The Everwake let out a final, soft laugh. ’How I wish I could watch my child grow up, hear him call me Father every day. That would be more gratifying than being the king of the Blade-Wing Insectoids.’
The excruciating pain he expected never came. Instead, a piercing SHRRIIIP was exceptionally clear, as if it was right next to his ear.
The Everwake’s eyes flew open. The scene before him was reflected in his magnificent pupils.
The sun was setting, casting rays of twilight that pierced through the clouds in wisps and strands, bathing the entire Triangle Abyss Canyon in color.
Amid the colorful twilight, he automatically ignored the grotesque Lemur carcass before him, not even glancing at the black smoke that swarmed out of it. His gaze fell directly on the slender figure.
She came against the light, and though she was surrounded by a bone-chilling cold, she brought him a warmth like that of the evening glow.
Evangeline formed a hand seal. A brilliant spiritual light struck the black mist, which dissipated into the air with a shriek.
Her expression unchanged, she stepped over a thumb-sized insect and looked down at The Everwake. Just as he thought Evangeline would mock him for overestimating his abilities, she simply crouched down, roughly grabbed his jaw, and poured a cool potion into his mouth. The next moment, a burning sensation spread through his organs.
He gasped for breath, the intense pain in his body gradually fading amid the burning heat.
"Why did you come back?" The Everwake’s colorful eyes were fixed on Evangeline as he asked in a hoarse voice.
Evangeline gave him a cool glance and said calmly, "You are Father Aethel. Whatever enmity we had in the past, I now hope you live well, fulfill your promise, and stay with him forever."
Before her voice had even faded, she turned around. Her long whip cut through the air, sweeping out like a mystical serpent and flinging away all the members of The Parasite Swarm that wore the skins of Lemurs!
The few remaining Blade-Wing Insectoids witnessed Evangeline’s heroic, godlike descent and all gasped in shock.
Under Evangeline’s cover, they quickly retreated behind The Everwake, yet they couldn’t help but peek out, watching her every move with rapt attention.
Her steps were unhurried as she moved. Her long whip was nimble, as if it were alive. With every crack, it unerringly exterminated a member of The Parasite Swarm.
For a time, the entire Blade-Wing Insectoid territory in the canyon was filled with the sharp, overlapping SIZZLE of their demise.
An orange-red flame ignited around Evangeline. Wherever she passed, the black mist of The Parasite Swarm turned to ash.
The Everwake stared at Evangeline’s figure, and in a daze, he found the woman before him to be a complete stranger.
But his heart pounded uncontrollably in his chest.
She was so unfamiliar, yet so dazzling he could barely look away.
*
「Far away, in the dense thicket.」
Gareth’s eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared at the scene unfolding before him.
The savage grin that had been forming on his face instantly twisted into fury. "Impossible! How is this possible?!"
’The Everwake was at his limit! The Blade-Wing Insectoids were about to be wiped out! Why? Why did this female come back? Why is a witch from the Beastman Continent so powerful? Isn’t she afraid of dying?’
Hecate watched Evangeline, who was wreathed in flames, saving the entire Blade-Wing Insectoid race. Her expression was exceptionally complex.
She, too, was the Queen of The Corrosive Swarm, whose word was law. She held power, but she could never annihilate such a formidable force as The Parasite Swarm with a mere gesture like this female could. ’If I had such abilities,’ she thought, ’why would I ever need to worry about a single Everwake?’
At this thought, Hecate’s gaze burned with a fiery light.
Hearing Gareth’s voice, she sneered and said in a low voice, "How is it impossible? She can control a Ferocious Beast of that sheer size. What is there that she can’t do? Gareth, you have failed."
Gareth’s gaze turned abruptly savage. He whipped his head toward Hecate. "What’s one failure? Hecate, I will never let The Everwake go. As for you... heh, you’re coming with me."
As soon as he spoke, Gareth chopped the back of Hecate’s neck, and she collapsed limply.
Gareth caught Hecate in one arm. He glanced back at The Everwake and Evangeline, his expression deep and dark. The next instant, he started hauling Hecate with him, unfurled his Feather Wings, and rapidly departed the territory of the Blade-Wing Insectoids.
