Chapter 817 - 812: Bron’s Steelphobia
Profound Water Palace.
The Blood Bat Tribe had already canceled their ambush plan and were brazenly garrisoned in the Profound Water Palace.
Right now, the Yellow Springs Gate sluice had yet to be opened, and the canal blockade line hadn’t been activated either. That Ghost Frog Group still couldn’t be put to use, temporarily roosting in the silt of the Yellow Springs Canal outside the Profound Water Palace.
Clearly, the demons had judged that no one would come to disturb the Profound Water Palace.
In contrast, the three Awakened teams of Bron, Alvarez, and Tito were cautiously hiding among the rocks and trees around the Profound Water Palace.
At Bron’s strong insistence, the Blood Bat had finally not let down his guard.
He dispatched several Blood Sucking Demon Bat reconnaissance squads, and brought along the demon unit specialized in anti-stealth—the Hundred-eyed Demon—to patrol around the main island of the Profound Water Palace.
The Hundred-eyed Demon was a caster-type demon; under its Spiritual Power scan, invisibility could be pierced. When several Hundred-eyed Demons worked together, their anti-stealth priority would also rise.
The Hundred-eyed Demons themselves couldn’t fly; they sat on the backs of the Demon Bat patrol squads, carried aloft by the bats as they flew their patrols, practically serving as "early-warning aircraft."
Over here, the Blood Bat took the initiative to come over and strike up a conversation with Bron.
This left Bron "flattered and alarmed," because the Blood Bat’s Favor Level toward him was very low. He had no idea why the Blood Bat would take the initiative to talk to him.
But Bron found out soon enough.
"Melt Heart (Bron’s alias in this world), I heard you gave Old Ox a whole Penglai Jade Tree?"
Bron nodded.
A hideous smile appeared on the Blood Bat’s pale face. "I want one too. Don’t worry, I’ll look after you from now on. I’m way more reliable than Old Ox."
Demons were demons; they never bothered to hide their desires, even their extortion was this brazen.
Bron was numb. "My lord, Penglai Jade Trees are treasures produced in the Eastern Wilderness Forest Sea, extremely rare... Next time I go to the Eastern Wilderness Forest Sea, I’ll definitely bring one back for you."
The Blood Bat’s smile faded as he said coldly, "Melt Heart, this time Old Ox believed your false intel, and the Yellow Springs Belt is probably lost. He’s committed a huge mistake in front of Lord Black Emperor; he can forget about the Legion Commander position from now on. You think I’m worse than Old Ox? So you look down on me?"
"My lord, I’ll search through my subordinates’ things and see what other rare treasures there are besides the Penglai Jade Tree. I’ll be sure to satisfy you." Bron yielded.
The Blood Bat grunted. "At least you know what’s good for you."
Bron was just thinking about how to get big results with little expense—bribing with treasures demons liked but that weren’t actually very valuable—when suddenly a shrill outer alarm sounded.
Several Demon Bats came flapping back in a panic. "Lord Blood Bat, bad news! Gangxin is attacking!"
"What?" The Blood Bat was startled; he had no time to keep squeezing Bron and hurriedly got to his feet.
Bron’s Spirit lifted. Even though a powerful enemy was at hand, he felt as if his long-suffered grievance had finally been redressed, the clouds parting to reveal the moon. He immediately wanted to argue it out with the Blood Bat:
"Lord Blood Bat, my intel wasn’t fake! Gangxin really came! Hurry and open the Yellow Springs Gate sluice and meet them in battle!"
"How many people did Gangxin bring?" the Blood Bat asked.
"Three in total!" the Demon Bat scout said.
"Three people? Do they include Beiming Jihu and Dong Bochengzhi?"
"No!"
The Blood Bat shot Bron a cold, mocking glare. "I remember your intel said the human coalition would feint against the Spider Demon Cave, and their main force would come attack the Profound Water Palace. Now Gangxin is just bringing two small lackeys, and this is what you call their ’main force’? And you still want me to open the Yellow Springs Gate? Don’t you know Yellow Springs water is easy to release and hard to recall?"
Bron said anxiously, "My lord, Gangxin is extremely cunning! This attack must be something he’s planned for a long time; it’s definitely not as simple as it looks. We have to prepare for the worst..."
As he spoke, Bron took out a black-and-yellow stone from his Storage Space and handed it to the Blood Bat. "This ’Earth Vein Profound Yellow Stone’ is a Secret Treasure of Black Tortoise Mountain Rock. Please accept it, Lord Blood Bat. I truly am loyal to the core!"
[Demon General Blood Bat’s Favor toward you has increased by 1200. Current Favor Level: Friend.]
The Blood Bat took the Earth Vein Profound Yellow Stone, smacking his lips. "Melt Heart, what you’re saying makes sense too—overestimate the enemy rather than underestimate. Boys, open the Yellow Springs Gate sluice, mount the Ghost Frogs, and prepare to meet the enemy!"
Hidden to the side, Alvarez and Tito saw Bron acting in such a wretched and shameless way. They both shrugged, speechless, and exchanged secret transmissions.
"Did Bron get a phobia of Gangxin or something?"
"He’s a bit too scared of Gangxin. Just a native from some remote little planet..."
Rumble, rumble.
The ten-meter-tall Yellow Springs Gate thundered open.
The long-accumulated Yellow Springs water surged in a mighty torrent into the Yellow Springs Canal, then spread to both banks.
With the Profound Water Palace, at the highest point of the terrain, as the center, only a patch of land two to three kilometers in radius remained. The rest of the island’s surface was filled, shallow and deep, with Yellow Springs water.
The deep parts formed the Yellow Springs Canal.
The shallow parts turned into Yellow Springs marsh.
The grass and rocks on the main island of the Profound Water Palace were rapidly stripped and softened by the highly corrosive Yellow Springs water, turning into an acidic sludge-like substance.
This Yellow Springs water spread everywhere posed a powerful threat to Awakened as well. Even just standing in the Yellow Springs marsh, their Life Value would rapidly drop.
The Durability of their Equipment would quickly plummet to zero and be completely destroyed. And once the corrosion to Life Value exceeded the threshold for limb-disability, even their feet would rot away.
The Blood Bat stood before the main gate of the Profound Water Palace, with eight hundred Blood Sucking Demon Bat tribe members arrayed in front of him.
He had originally had more Blood Sucking Demon Bat subordinates, but since they excelled at flying and were born as couriers and patrol troops, some of them had been requisitioned by Ox Demon Shaking the Earth.
The current eight hundred elite Blood Sucking Demon Bats stood on Yellow Springs Ghost Frogs, leaping and gliding through the Yellow Springs marsh, in full battle formation!
"With defenses like this, how could Gangxin possibly break through?"
Alvarez, standing on the back of a Ghost Frog, grew a bit anxious. "We should have waited for Gangxin to enter the field first, then opened the Yellow Springs Gate to form a ’trapped-in-the-urn’ situation..."
Before he could finish, a sudden rumbling quake sounded, accompanied by the rush of water.
The Ghost Frogs and Demon Bats ahead surged back like a receding tide!
"What’s going on?" the Blood Bat shouted in fury. "Who gave you permission to fall back?"
"My lord, Gangxin... Gangxin has broken in! The lads can’t hold him!" A Blood Sucking Demon Bat at Enhanced Warrior Level, also the Blood Bat’s adjutant, flew back from the front lines in a panic.
"Is Gangxin made of iron or something, not afraid of Yellow Springs water? Even Steel can’t withstand Yellow Springs water!" the Blood Bat roared.
"Gangxin has the Black Shark Queen at his side! The Black Shark Queen is casting Water Element Magic and has parted the Yellow Springs Canal..."
"Impossible, the Black Shark Queen is clearly at the Yellow Springs Belt on North Island, several hundred li from here! Can she split herself into Clones?"
The Blood Bat couldn’t believe it.
Previously, the Blood Bat Tribe had relayed information that the Black Shark Queen had joined Dong Bochengzhi and Beiming Jihu in attacking the northern Yellow Springs Belt. The Black Shark Queen had even used her Water Control Ability to strip the Yellow Springs Belt of its natural barrier; this was beyond doubt.
So how could there be two Black Shark Queens?