And so a whole week passed, and [ Nether Crossing ] made no substantial progress; they only got further and further away from the Demon Realm.
Fortunately, the skeleton soldiers of the Skeleton Alliance are not as delicate as humans. They don't need camps, tents, or even food and water. They won't get infected after being attacked by Blood Corpse —they don't even have flesh and blood, so what would they get infected about?
With such a capable group of subordinates, [ Nether Crossing ] was not worried about his safety.
This time, however, [ Whale Tail ] was only responsible for providing backup at the beach instead of traveling with him like [ Giant Arms ] had done before. Could it be that [ Crown ] and the others had already guessed his betrayal but were simply lacking evidence?
After a brief moment of doubt, [ Nether Crossing ] stopped thinking about those questions.
The most urgent task is to find one of the two Grand Dukes and complete the mission as soon as possible. Otherwise, the deeper we go into the Demon Realm, the slower the [ Whale Tail ]'s support will be, and the lower the probability of escaping unscathed will be.
Just then, a surge of Psionic Energy mixed with information came from his side and rear, and then the information appeared completely in [ Nether Crossing's ] mind:
"My lord! My lord [ Nether Crossing ]!"
He turned his head to look and saw a fully armed elite scout leap from his skeletal horse and kneel before him:
"Sir, a battle has broken out ten miles to the southeast; four of our scouts have been killed!"
"Discover?"
[ Nether Crossing ] immediately found the suspicious point:
"It wasn't caused by you?"
"No, the scout who observed at close range reported before he died that two groups of Blood Corpse were killing each other."
"Internal strife?"
[ Nether Crossing ] muttered something to himself, and a skeleton beside him, clearly a trusted confidant, immediately said:
"[Lord Nether Crossing ], according to intelligence, there are only three lineages of Blood Corpse in the Demon Realm. Currently, there is internal strife, and one of them must be our target."
"Of course I know."
[ Nether Crossing ] said with a hint of disdain.
The skeleton man paused for a moment, then immediately began to revise his previous statement:
"What I mean is, I intend to lead the vanguard to investigate further; perhaps we'll find High Tier..."
"No, it won't."
[ Nether Crossing ] suddenly chuckled:
"It's only ten miles from here. If there were High Tier involved, there would be a lot of activity. At most, it's just two Middle Tier fighting amongst themselves."
The skeleton paused for a moment, then seemed to remember something, and nodded vigorously in agreement.
After saying that, [ Nether Crossing ] paused and continued:
"Go, Chalco, take your vanguard and try to capture a few Low Tier- or Middle Tier soldiers alive. We need more intelligence."
That familiar tone made the skeleton instantly lower its head in agreement.
"Yes, Your Excellency... [ Nether Crossing ]!"
Realizing his slip of the tongue Chalco immediately lowered his body even further, while [ Nether Crossing ] pretended not to hear and patted him on the shoulder.
A cluster of crystalline spider lilies appeared on Chalco's collarbone, followed by [ Nether Crossing ]'s hoarse voice, imbued with Psionic Energy:
"Crush this if threatened."
"Yes, Lord [ Nether Crossing ]."
After giving a weak reply, Chalco immediately mounted his skeletal horse and ordered his personal guards to raise the flags and lead two thousand elite skeletons to the southeast.
The skeleton named Chalco belongs to the "Overseer" rank. In the Skeleton Alliance's military system, to serve as a general of this rank, one must have at least Middle Tier Intermediate (level 40 or above) strength.
Although the other party concealed it well, [ Nether Crossing ] still managed to glean a fragment of the phrase " Giant Arms " from the information they sent.
There's nothing that can be done about it. There used to be five skeletal councilors, each leading their own group of skeleton soldiers. Now there are still five skeletal councilors, so whose old subordinates does [ Nether Crossing ] have?
Of course, it's the [ Giant Arms ] that has already been used as a sacrifice to the heavens.
It is obvious from their appearance that, although they do not have four arms, the fighting style of the [ Giant Arms ]'s followers is very similar to that of the [ Giant Arms ] himself, both focusing on physical enhancement and melee combat.
[ Nether Crossing ] inherited the other's four arms, the other's powerful combat strength, and even the other's subordinates. Of course, he also had to inherit the things that [ Giant Arms ] should do.
He pondered the attitude and behavior of the skeleton man formerly known as Chalco towards him, and gradually came to understand him.
The skeletal councilor [ Giant Arms ] is a complete battle maniac. When faced with any problem, the only question he ever asks is whether he can solve it with his super strength.
Such a battle maniac who rarely thinks things through needs one or more people around him who can help analyze the situation if he wants to avoid making mistakes.
Thinking about it carefully, among the entire group of subordinates I inherited from [ Giant Arms ], the senior officers do indeed seem to be the staff officer type.
These people should be the external brains that [ Giant Arms ] prepared for itself.
Now that the [ Giant Arms ]'s abilities belong to him, and his own judgment and thinking abilities are still intact, he naturally feels that these external brains are somewhat superfluous.
Thinking of this, [ Nether Crossing ] felt like laughing, but quickly couldn't manage it anymore.
In the past few days, he has often felt that something is wrong:
Sometimes it's because I can't remember certain things, sometimes it's because my mind suddenly goes offline, and sometimes it's because even though I'm fully rational, I always end up doing things that are out of character.
It was like a lucid dream.
All signs indicate that there seems to be something wrong with his condition.
He had just woken up when [ Divine Wings ] sent him directly to the Demon Realm, and he had no way to ask other councilors for advice.
But since things have come to this point, these problems haven't had a significant impact on him yet, so [ Nether Crossing ] simply treats them as if they don't exist for the time being.
Only by doing the things in the present moment well can we further explore our own bodies.
Meanwhile, ten miles southeast of the [ Nether Crossing ] central army, a fierce battle was underway.
Hundreds of Blood Corpse formed a large circle, leaving the center space for two people who were engaged in fierce combat.
The two men had strikingly similar appearances: both had bloodshot, cloudy eyes, grayish-white skin with purplish-black veins, and dark black extremities due to the accumulation of toxins.
Without a doubt, they are all pure Blood Corpse, or vampires.
Judging from their racial characteristics, they should both have been human in life.
After a brief standoff, a glimmer of clarity returned to the eyes of one of the tall, female Blood Corpse. She casually wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and looked at the vampire in front of her seriously, saying:
"I'll ask one last time, where is Kailun?"
The somewhat short human Blood Corpse also regained its senses and replied while adjusting its body position:
"I don't know what's wrong with you, but I'll say it one last time: I am Kailun."
The next moment, both Blood Corpse simultaneously split open with gaping maws in their abdomens and charged toward each other.