Chapter Sixty-Four: On the Eve of the Ambush

The fleet-footed Leopard Corps, having escaped ten miles away, left only a few leopards on guard while the rest maintained their habitual posture. The leopards raised their heads slightly, gazing forward, half-crouched in readiness. One had to admit, these leopards were truly well-trained.

“I wonder what’s going on now?”
“What else? If we hadn’t dragged down the Lord earlier, the Black Demon Sword would’ve been slain long ago.”
“That’s right, the Black Demon Sword was clearly no match for our Lord just now, only able to use us as shields while fleeing everywhere.”
“Too bad so many of our brothers died—what a humiliating disgrace!”
“We all underestimated the Black Demon Sword’s strength. Who would’ve thought that someone at level eighteen could deal such terrifying damage?”
“No doubt, a purple spirit weapon is indeed dreadful!”
“If the Lord were to devour his spirit core, wouldn’t that mean…”

At this remark, a fervent gleam flashed in every leopard’s eyes. A single thought rose within them: if their Leopard Lord refined the Black Demon Sword’s spirit core, there was a high chance of advancing to a purple-ranked spirit beast. This was tremendous news, especially since the Grand Lord was well past his prime, while the Leopard Lord was at his peak. Replacing him in the future would be effortless.

Of course, such words could never be spoken aloud, but their excitement could not be concealed. At this moment, the leopards had forgotten their slaughtered brethren, their minds filled instead with dreams for the days ahead.

Suddenly, a burst of purple light shattered all their fantasies.

“Swish, swish, swish!”
“Ahhh!”

Hundreds of sword shadows rained down from the heavens, killing scores in an instant.

A black longsword pierced the air, catching the leopards off guard. The faint purple glow struck terror into their hearts.

“Not good, enemy attack!”
“Mother, it’s the Black Demon Sword again!”
“Didn’t he die?”
“Could our Lord have fallen?!”
“This... it’s impossible!”

Chaos erupted, terror spreading like wildfire. Qin Chuan, like a tiger among sheep, dispatched them one by one, harvesting quadruple experience with ruthless efficiency.

“Ding! Kill…”

The moment he entered, Qin Chuan took dozens of heads, and the tally continued to rise.

“Mother, run!”
“Leopard Flash!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! In a panic, the leopards scattered in all directions, cursing their lack of extra legs.

“Aha! The hunt begins!”

This time, Qin Chuan was determined not to let any escape. His swift combo attacks followed one after the other. Even those who fled beyond range could not outpace him; his speed advantage allowed him to catch up easily.

It was a massacre. Qin Chuan’s experience soared, and his kill tally climbed.

Half an hour later, Qin Chuan checked his attribute panel with satisfaction—this harvest was even richer.

Evolution Points: 414,800 / 1,638,000
Experience: 2,423,400 / 13,107,200
Rage: 80 / 100
Kill Count: 520 / 5,000

“Quadruple experience is the best! I hope more waves come my way, haha!”

At that moment, Qin Chuan had no idea that three more waves of experience were already “traveling day and night” towards him.

Although the Swift Firebird Corps specialized in long-range attacks, their speed was the fastest. The Leopard Corps, masters of agility, found Qin Chuan first. All were eager to claim credit, hoping for a generous reward.

However, none could have anticipated that their speed would make them the first to deliver themselves into Qin Chuan’s hands.

Both corps suffered devastating blows—the Swift Firebird Corps lost two-thirds of its members, while the Leopard Corps was utterly wiped out.

If the Grand Lord were to hear of this, he would surely cough up three liters of blood in fury. Each corps had cost him a fortune in resources and effort, and within a single day, Qin Chuan had destroyed two. Any spirit creature would be heartbroken.

Just then, Sleepy Bug rushed back, blurting, “Big brother, five miles to the left I found three hundred Blood-Mad Lions, heading this way. They’ll arrive soon.”

“Good work, little brother. Keep scouting. I’ll deal with this lot.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Qin Chuan had previously encountered Blood-Mad Lions in Wind Spirit Valley, knowing they belonged to the power attack category, tough-skinned and hard-hitting. Yet, their so-called toughness was like paper before Qin Chuan.

As power types, their movement speed wasn’t the fastest. Despite their relentless march, they lagged behind the Swift Firebirds and Leopards.

“Lord, that blaze ahead must be from the Swift Firebirds. Looks like they’ve spotted the Black Demon Sword.”

The Blood-Mad Lion Lord smacked his lips in annoyance. “Damn, those Firebirds are so irritating. They’re always first to snatch every benefit, leaving us nothing but scraps.”

“Let’s hope this time we get lucky and seize the credit!”

His prideful lions echoed his sentiment.

“Lord is right! We’ve all had enough of them.”
“If we run into the Black Demon Sword, we’ll give it everything to take the glory!”

The Lion Lord was a formidable sight, his body armored with blood-red scales, clearly built to withstand punishment. His crimson eyes burned with menace, sharp teeth gleaming coldly, capable of slicing through metal and stone.

Among the six great lords, the Blood-Mad Lion Lord was a fearsome character, possessing powerful close-range skills.

Blood-Mad Lion’s Roar (Active): Stage One, Level Three Lion’s Roar. Sonic attack within fifty meters, inflicts 70% sharpness value damage.
Within three meters, targets struck suffer knockback and stun for one second, depending on their resilience to sonic harm.
Stage Two: Level One Slow, adds 5% sharpness value damage, lowers target’s speed by 5%.
Bloodbath (Passive): Each level adds 5% resilience, 10% sharpness, currently level nine.
Heart of Valor (Active): Ignores 2% attack chance, currently level four, lasts three seconds.
Lion’s Descent (Active): All attributes increase by 15% for ten seconds; after the skill ends, all attributes decrease by 15% until recovery.

Because of the Lion Lord’s strength, the Grand Lord was always wary of him, never providing enough resources and even favoring the Firebird Lord. The Lion Lord resented this, so now, given the opportunity, he would certainly compete.

He was unaware that his nemesis, the Firebird Lord, had already met his end.

Meanwhile, Qin Chuan was quietly hiding in the grass, preparing to deliver a special surprise to the Lion Lord.

Drawing on his knowledge of the Blood-Mad Lions, Qin Chuan calculated the Lion Lord’s attributes: sharpness between 300-350, resilience 350-400, speed 150-200.

“No wonder they’re called elites—their main stats are quite impressive!”

“Heh, but if I’m lucky, I might be able to take him out in one go.”

“Honestly, I’d like to keep a low profile, but my strength won’t allow it!”

Facing the Lion Lord, whom all spirit creatures in the core feared, Qin Chuan brimmed with confidence, even a touch of smugness.

Ahead, the sound of beasts running grew nearer, and Qin Chuan narrowed his eyes.

In a moment, a great battle would erupt.