Chapter 388: Clash at the Valley
The commander unrolled a crumpled map on the table, pointing a trembling finger at a narrow canyon to the east.
"The Valley of Shadowed Scales," said the commander. "If you take the ridge pass, you’ll reach it in under an hour. But the enemy force outnumbers the royal guard three to one. Going alone is a suicide mission."
"She isn’t going alone," said Alexander, grabbing Liora around the waist before she could protest. "She’s with me."
Without waiting for the commander’s response or the serpent guards’ objections, Alexander exited the royal tent and unfurled his bat wings. With a powerful flap that kicked up a gust of wind and dust across the camp, he launched into the night sky carrying the princess in his arms.
"Alexander! You could have warned me before taking off!" Liora yelled, clinging to his collar as the wind whipped her face.
"If I warn you, you’ll take ten minutes deciding whether you’re ready," Alexander replied with a faint smirk. "Hold on tight, brat. We’re going full speed."
The forested southern landscape transformed beneath them into steep, rocky terrain. As they drew closer to the valley, the air grew thick with the stench of blood, corrosive venom, and the distant echoes of magical explosions.
Alexander descended toward the mountain ridge to assess the situation. Below, at the bottom of the canyon, the battle was reaching its absolute climax.
A contingent clad in dark plate armor and extra spider appendages formed a crushing siege against a decimated unit of scaled warriors. At the center of the clash, a tall woman with pale skin, dressed in black silk robes and surrounded by eight giant spider legs sprouting from her back, laughed disdainfully as she hurled web threads burning with poisonous fire.
Facing her, the Serpent Queen—her upper body covered in emerald scales and blood drenching her royal armor—parried the strikes with a massive double-ended spear. Beside the Spider Queen, a man dressed in modern-style clothing with a calculating smirk directed several mages who were sealing off the canyon’s escape routes.
"That bastard..." Liora whispered, gritting her teeth as she identified the human advisor standing beside the Spider Queen. "He’s the one who sold out my family."
"So that’s the famous advisor," Alexander said, tightening his grip on Liora as his crimson eyes glowed in the gloom. "He doesn’t look like much. Time to make a memorable entrance."
Without a second thought, Alexander dove down from the top of the ridge like a dark meteor. He hit the center of the battlefield at brutal speed, driving his feet into the ground and creating a devastating shockwave that pulverized the surrounding rocks and sent dozens of warriors from both sides flying.
As the cloud of dust settled, it revealed Alexander in his Vampiric Emperor form, keeping Liora safely tucked in his arms.
"The cavalry is here, bugs!" Alexander declared with an arrogant smirk, looking around with absolute superiority.
However, the atmosphere shifted in an instant. As he felt the raw pressure emanating from the Spider Queen and the Serpent Queen, a cold sweat ran down Alexander’s spine. The accumulated power of both sovereigns was a crushing force; they weren’t simple beasts or third-rate commanders. They were ancient monsters whose magical domain far exceeded his initial expectations.
"Well, well... what do we have here?" said the human advisor, stepping forward as he adjusted his suit collar.
In that moment, the advisor unleashed his aura without restraint. An overwhelming physical density compressed the air around him, causing the ground beneath his feet to spiderweb with cracks. Alexander’s eyes widened in shock as he recognized that presence.
"You..." Alexander whispered, narrowing his eyes. "You’re Big Black."
The man let out a deep, raspy laugh, eyeing him up and down with utter disdain.
"Aren’t you the brat my bitch wanted as a pet?" Big Black mocked, cracking his knuckles. "What a small world."
Alexander remembered him right away. The first time he laid eyes on him in that dark warehouse, Big Black projected an imposing, terrifying presence. However, now that Alexander had ascended to the rank of Vampiric Emperor, the man’s figure no longer appeared as unreachable or as formidable as it once did.
Yet Big Black was no mage or long-range strategist; he was a pure close-quarters combatant.
"Let me show you why you shouldn’t have stuck your nose where it doesn’t belong, kid," said Big Black.
The human activated his base skill: [Steel Body]. His skin morphed into a dull, grayish hue, as dense as refined metal. Without pausing, he unleashed his first evolution: [Titanic Strength], multiplying his physical power a thousandfold in the blink of an eye. The veins in his arms bulged like iron chains as the ground trembled with every step he took toward him.
To top off his transformation, Big Black condensed that entire muscular mass using his ultimate skill: [Explosive Muscles]. Unlike a continuous transformation, this technique allowed him to unleash all that superhuman force in a super-concentrated burst of power.
In a microsecond, the ground beneath Big Black’s feet detonated inward, and the man vanished from sight, turning into a projectile of flesh and steel charged with enough power to shatter a mountain.
Big Black’s strike was devastating. His fist, packed with the super-concentrated burst of his [Explosive Muscles], connected directly with Alexander’s torso, creating a sonic detonation that pulverized the surrounding rocks and kicked up a massive screen of dirt and debris.
The impact tore through Alexander’s figure, shattering his body in an instant. However, instead of blood and gore, the Vampiric Emperor’s torso dissolved into a swarm of thousands of dark bats that fluttered into the air bypassing the physical damage before reassembling a few meters away, untouched and holding Liora safely in his arms.
Alexander let out a cold laugh that echoed through the entire canyon.
"I thought you were stronger..." Alexander said, adjusting his collar as his crimson eyes gleamed with amusement. "But if this is all you’ve got, you’re not interesting at all. A heavy punch is completely useless if you’re just hitting the air, Big Black."