"Second Brother, is it inappropriate for us to come here and wait for Yunji without the head of the family knowing?"
North Sea City, a group of middle-aged men dressed in white fox furs watched the harbor from a distance, slightly covering their noses.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call North Sea the City of Blood. The seawater near the sea has long been soaked into thick blood plasma, and the North Sea City is filled with the smell of blood. Even the snowmelt in winter cannot wash it clean from the ground, and the strong smell of blood can be smelled from miles away.
"The patriarch has completely lost his mind. Are we just blindly following him?" The leader glared at the person behind him. He was handsome and wild, bearing at least a six or seven-tenths resemblance to Murong Yunji. He whispered, "When those snake demons offered us demon meat, the most cautious one was our eldest brother. But I don't know what's gotten into him lately; he's actually planning to mingle with those demons!"
"I admit, without those giant snakes, we people of the Northern Wasteland would struggle to even survive. But those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. Do you really think those snakes that devoured billions of Northern people are benevolent? Would they come to bestow favors upon you? To rely on those monsters for so long, I truly don't know what you're thinking, brother."
The people behind him fell silent upon hearing this. In recent days, the ice and snow in the Arctic have melted, and some demons that had never been seen before have awakened. They are extremely ferocious, and each attack is extremely crazy. The few Northern Desolation Kingdom near the edge of the Arctic were devoured on the first day. If it weren't for the sudden attack of those giant pythons, the Northern Wasteland Clan would not know if they could have resisted those monsters.
Moreover, the surrounding demons are getting stronger and stronger. Take the Northern Wolf Kingdom for example. The wolf demons on the Northern Wolf Icefield have become several levels stronger in just half a year. Now, any wolf is at least a third-rank Third Rank, and even the stronger and larger wolf demons are at the First Rank- rank level. In the past, anything above the Third Rank was considered a great demon, First Rank level were all royal bloodlines within the Wolf Kingdom.
No one knows for sure what level the Wolf King is at now. If it weren't for the giant pythons protecting him, the Northern Wolf Kingdom might really have become a kingdom of wolves.
It's not wrong to say that the people of the Northern Wasteland are protected by giant pythons.
These giant pythons not only protect their safety, but also provide them with demon meat to strengthen their muscles and bones, increase their strength, and teach them secret techniques.
"But it seems those snake demons are indeed helping us."
"Yes, putting everything else aside, the secret techniques they taught are extraordinary. Laoda practicing for a while, our strength has increased dramatically. Now I can hardly see through Laoda."
"Besides, cooperation between demons and monsters isn't unheard of. Didn't our Wolf Kingdom cooperate with the Demon Wolves for mutual benefit before? And in ancient times, the human race was able to survive only by relying on the power of demons and monsters."
"Can they be the same?" The burly man at the head turned around, his gaze icy. "Since the rise of warriors a thousand years ago, our human race has held the advantage against demons. At the same level, a warrior can defeat ten times as many demons. Not only has the Great Jin completely driven the demons out of the Central Plains, but even in this Northern Wasteland, those demons are at a disadvantage when cooperating with us. Even though those beasts crave the flesh and blood of our human race so much, they dare not make demands for human sacrifices in cooperation."
"The mixing of humans and demons is something that powerful families actively requested in order to acquire superior bloodlines. For thousands of years, we have actually controlled the demons, not the other way around. But things are different now. The giant serpent in the north is far stronger than us. Haven't you noticed that they are keeping us under their control?"
The group exchanged glances, speechless for a moment. Domestication didn't sound appealing, but with so many advantages, what was wrong with it?
"You lot," the burly man sighed, "They could have easily eaten you all, they could have been more direct and kept you in a dungeon, why did they choose this method? They only needed a small number of human sacrifices to supply the entire country with demon meat? Even from the perspective of an ordinary merchant, you know this is unreasonable, right? Why would they do this? You don't really think those monsters are taking pity on you, do you?"
Several people shook their heads. Even a small human sacrifice is still cannibalism. If you cannibalize people, what kindness can you possibly have towards the human race?
"I don't know what those giant snakes are trying to do, but it's definitely not to make us better. I'm not stopping you from taking the benefits from those giant snakes; you should take them as they're right, as long as they don't harm you. In this world, every little bit helps, but we can't just give up on one path. If there are other options, of course we should prepare some in advance, shouldn't we?"
"Second Brother, is the escape route you mentioned Jiangnan?" a tall, thin man asked.
"Is there a better choice than Jiangnan now?" The man called Second Brother pointed to the sea and said, "When the giant serpent from the north ravaged the land, only Jiangnan stepped in and rescued billions of northern people from its jaws. Even now, the giant serpent from the north cannot invade Jiangnan."
"Where did the blood in North Sea City come from? Xu Hu led his soldiers to charge in countless times. Now, besides Jiangnan, who else dares to confront those monsters head-on?"
"That's because those monsters in the north haven't made a serious move yet, right?" the tall, thin man said sinisterly. "If that giant serpent that came with the Northern Wolf had made its move..."
The faces of those around them immediately darkened. The thought of that incredibly powerful creature made them all shudder.
They had never encountered such a situation before. Just by his aura, they felt as if the entire Northern Wolf Kingdom would be swallowed up in one gulp by that guy!
It's simply unimaginable. How could humanity possibly fight against such a thing?
"That thing?" The burly man also took a breath before saying, "It is indeed exaggerated, but do you really think there is nothing in Jiangnan that can rival it?"
"Huh? This?"
"You should know that the Ancient Dragon Palace was opened half a year ago under the supervision of Chen Qing from Jiangnan. That old fellow, the Duke of Wei, went there once and gained the ability to freeze the North Sea. To this day, no giant serpent has been able to destroy this ice path. Half a year has passed. How is Chen Qing's strength now? How much benefit has he gained from the Dragon Palace? Who can say for sure?"
"I'm afraid those giant serpents have refrained from deploying their top forces to attack Jiangnan because they're wary of this. Don't you think the several attacks on North Sea City were more like tests?"
"Testing the waters?"
"Yes. A test!" the burly man said in a low voice. "Neither side knows the other's strength, and neither dares to deploy their top combat forces. They're just stuck in this stalemate in North Sea City. I think neither side is prepared, which is why things are like this. When the real battle breaks out, it won't just be a tug-of-war in North Sea City."
"So, that heartless girl Yunji came back this time to gather intelligence?"
"Most likely. That woman, since marrying into the Shen Family, has she ever come back even once in all these years? She's always been the kind of person who's carefree and heartless, suddenly coming back to visit her parents' home, ha, at this crucial juncture."
"But was it really necessary to come all the way to the North Sea to pick her up? What would my brother think if he found out?"
"We must avoid our eldest brother!" the burly man whispered. "Haven't you noticed that ever since our eldest brother started cultivating that so-called Infinite Spirit Curse, although his strength has increased by leaps and bounds, and his spirit body can now leave his body to an exaggerated distance, move freely under the blazing sun, and use magical techniques, hasn't his personality changed quite a bit lately?"
After a moment's hesitation, the group nodded slightly. Indeed, their eldest brother had seemed much more gloomy lately. Both his personality and demeanor were strange, and they felt that he didn't seem like a human being anymore.
" Yunji came to gather information. We want to establish connections with Jiangnan, so it's only natural that we show her goodwill and warn Yunji to be careful of my elder brother and his group, isn't it?"
"That's true."
"And it's also a good opportunity to see what level Jiangnan has reached these days!"
"Huh?" The big guy next to him was taken aback. "Can you even see that?"
"Of course," the burly man sneered. "Before coming here, I already used some means to let those monsters in the north know that they were going to send people smuggled across the border again."
"Huh?" Everyone was stunned and looked at the big man.
"Look," the burly man said, pointing to the cracks in the ground of North Sea City.
Upon closer inspection, everyone was horrified to see countless writhing bodies beneath the surface, clearly indicating that an unknown number of giant snakes were lurking there.
"Second Brother... is this... is this appropriate? What if Yunji finds out?"
"Don't worry. I transmitted the message through the energy of a neighboring country, and I've also silenced the person responsible for the transmission. The people from Jiangnan are mainly here to gather intelligence on the northern snake demon forces; they won't get bogged down in these details, of course. The prerequisite, of course, is that they survive this wave."
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone immediately felt the earth tremble.
Looking down, they gasped in horror. Within North Sea City, countless giant snakes surged into the sea of blood, instantly raising massive waves on the once calm surface.
But on the opposite side of the churning blood waves, there was only one person!
Sorry for the late post. I'm visiting today, so I shouldn't be too busy with anything else for now. I'll start updating more tomorrow.