Northern Dragon Kingdom.
The starting point of the Dragon Vein.
Atop the towering Divine Mountain.
An exceptionally conspicuous fissure had nearly severed Divine Mountain at its waist.
Four Magic Arrays to the east, south, west, and north billowed thick black fumes, which poured into Divine Mountain through the fissure.
Talismans bearing the distinctive style of Kou Island covered the mountain's boulders, occasionally giving off sounds like the wails of vengeful ghosts.
The once-sacred, unapproachable Divine Mountain now resembled the hell of the Nine Netherworlds, with black liquid constantly seeping from cracks in the ground.
At the foot of the mountain.
Thirteen people in black cloaks stood calmly among piles of corpses, gazing at the tottering Divine Mountain in the distance.
Beneath their feet lay the corpses of Dragon Kingdom soldiers; before them stood the steadily deteriorating Divine Mountain.
It was as though the Dragon Kingdom's future would be just as desolate.
The thirteen exchanged satisfied looks and smiled faintly.
"Lord Yalie, how should we deal with these corpses?"
Two black-clad men carrying tachi removed their yin-yang masks, revealing typical Asia Region faces.
They looked respectfully toward the man at the very center of the battlefield.
He was a handsome man with Federation features, flowing blond hair, and deep, sinister dark-green eyes like those of a venomous snake.
"Give them a proper burial."
Yalie had not spoken. The youth beside him spoke first. "These soldiers deserve respect."
Lying on the ground was a border patrol squad.
There were not many of them, fewer than a hundred.
Their fatal wounds were all on the front of their bodies, and some still held attacking postures.
This was one of the Dragon Kingdom's most ordinary patrol squads, yet they had profoundly shaken all thirteen of them.
Despite the disparity in combat strength, no one