The sky darkened, a shroud of blackness enveloping the land, and the previously raging gales had, at some unknown moment, fallen utterly silent.
At the ruin's entrance, countless people stared at the man in black who was slowly rising from a sea of fire, the silence absolute!
Within the searing flames, his figure flickered in and out of view, somewhat indistinct, yet one could vaguely discern a pair of sharp horns upon his brow, like those of a… demon guarding the very gates of hell!
The battlefield, moments before bristling with killing intent, seemed to have abruptly fallen quiet…
Murong Xue was frozen stiff, her beautiful face pale. Her red lips parted slightly as she stared in utter disbelief at the shadowy figure within the inferno. She had witnessed firsthand the defeat of Bing Yun by that magma monstrosity and knew intimately the terror that creature wielded!
But…
It had been…
Defeated with a single blow, its fist shattered?
Moreover, the figure, so near yet seemingly distant as the horizon, gave her an intensely familiar feeling, especially those sharp horns… she felt certain she had seen them before!
Bing Yun, standing beside her, felt her pupils contract sharply. Her expression immediately tightened as she fixed her gaze on the silhouette, an unreadable meaning flashing in her eyes.
As countless people remained stunned, a dragon’s roar from the distance drew everyone’s attention away.
Under the gloomy overcast sky, beyond the periphery of the oppressive black monster army, a clear, world-shaking dragon cry erupted, echoing across all directions! Following this, a golden light, sharp as a rapier, pierced the heavens, unleashing a dazzling divine radiance that forcibly sliced open the dark canopy of clouds, tearing open a rift of light between heaven and earth!
A commotion then broke out in that area, and immediately thereafter, a Golden-Scaled Flood Dragon, several thousand feet long, its body magnificent and coiled like a winding mountain range, blazing with a rich golden light, strode forward with imposing grandeur, charging onto the battlefield!
Upon the dragon’s head, several figures could be vaguely discerned, appearing like black dots from afar, too indistinct to make out clearly.
Just as everyone watched in astonishment…
A man clad in white-and-blue armor stood atop the dragon’s head. His handsome features could captivate any young woman. He surveyed the entire battlefield, saw the carnage at the ruin's entrance, and clenched his fists.
Slowly, he took a deep breath!
He opened his lungs, pouring all his strength into a mighty shout:
“We—are—here!!!”
The sound was high-pitched and impassioned, reverberating across the entire battlefield, drowning out the roars of countless monsters, and reaching the ears of the millions crowded at the ruin's entrance. Every person frantically shoving and pushing suddenly stiffened, then turned their heads in astonishment…
Soon, sharper eyes recognized the figures on the dragon's head.
“Look, it’s King Bai Long from the Brightness Base City!”
“And Tyrant Yue Heng!”
“The Brightness Base City has arrived!”
“They’ve come to rescue us!”
Countless people wept tears of overwhelming emotion, crying out loud. In that moment, regardless of acquaintance, they hugged each other in excitement, shouting and weeping with elation.
Many retreating main forces exchanged glances, seeing the sheer ecstasy, excitement, and overwhelming emotion reflected in each other’s eyes.
“It’s actually the Brightness Base City…” Bing Yun gazed toward the figures on the dragon’s head, murmuring softly, a trace of tender emotion curving her lips.
“We’re saved, we’re saved!!”
“We don’t have to die! The Brightness Base City is here to save us!!!”
Everyone raised a hand to wipe away their tears, their eyes shining with infinite hope. Looking at the Base City that had once created miracles, with Bai Long and the others overseeing things, nobody felt the paralyzing fear anymore, nor did they trample others to squeeze into the ruins. They knew that the arrival of the Brightness Base City meant that the one who forged miracles would also be here…
Just then—
“Roar!”
A furious roar shook the firmament. Everyone involuntarily shivered and looked up in terror. They saw the magma monster advancing, trampling rows of skyscrapers underfoot. The ground turned charred black in its wake, and many plastic objects spontaneously combusted. Its eye sockets held no pupils, only twin plumes of burning flame, like raging anger!
Swish!
It raised a hand and snatched at the magma that filled several streets. In an instant, like boiling water, it flew upwards and reformed at its severed arm, creating a perfectly intact fist.
Everyone gasped in astonishment—had this attack caused the magma monster absolutely no lasting damage?
“Roar~~ Roar!!”
The magma monster seemed possessed of infinite wrath, emitting a guttural snarl. It raised its fist, imbued with colossal divine power, and brought it smashing down toward the black-clad figure! The enormous flaming fist frictionally smoked the air, descending like a comet impacting the Earth, with an outwardly slow, yet inwardly blindingly fast trajectory, it slammed down!
“Ah!”
Those near the ruin entrance cried out involuntarily. Timid little girls even squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear witnessing the sight.
Murong Xue’s mouth fell open, but the words caught in her throat—
The shadow figure slowly raised its head to face the punch imbued with the majesty of heaven and earth. He slowly extended his hand—a palm, pale and fair, reaching out through the passage of years!
Boom!
The entire ground convulsed violently, the streets shook as if struck by a magnitude-ten earthquake, and countless structures burst apart, collapsing in ruin.
Those who had just cried out were instantly wide-eyed, their eyeballs almost bulging out, mouths agape in stunned silence.
Where the youth in black stood, a massive crater had appeared, the surrounding dozens of feet of pavement cracked and splintered. His legs were planted deep into the cement, yet his slender palm, which seemed to possess no brute strength, had managed to catch the building-sized fiery fist!
Amidst the mingling light of blood and fire, he slowly, deliberately, took a step forward!
The sky above the Base City instantly filled with dark clouds.
Ye Chen slowly lifted his head, his face a mask of chilling murderous intent. His cold gaze shot directly at the magma monster, a ferocious killing aura sweeping across the entire area. With his other hand, he slowly clenched his five fingers, crushing the air in his palm, then unleashed a blow filled with violent force straight onto the magma fist!
Bang!
It felt like striking a mirror; the entire world trembled. Immediately following, the skyscraper-sized magma fist disintegrated like crumbling earth, exploding violently. The entire arm burst open from within, dissolving into countless streams of magma that rained down in torrents.
The watching crowd fell into a profound silence!
“Aooo…”
The magma monster let out a piercing scream, its eyes blazing crimson with vicious brutality. It raised a claw and beckoned, causing the entire sea of magma fire to surge violently, clearly preparing to rise and reform its fiery limb. Just then, it was as if an icy wind swept over the entire battlefield…
Countless monsters seemed to freeze in place.
The churning, rolling sea of magma fire instantly solidified, then calmed, becoming utterly still, without the slightest ripple. After a short while, the very center of the magma pool began to bubble fiercely, making a “gurgle gurgle” sound.
Everyone stared in astonishment…
Roar!
A burst of fire tore through the sky, bathing everything in deep red. A divine magma dragon reared its head and roared toward the heavens. Standing upon its serpentine head was a youth in black, hands clasped behind his back, his posture ramrod straight like a javelin, enveloped entirely by a killing aura, his demonic hair whipping wildly in the wind, his eyes gleaming with mesmerizing light.
The Flame Dragon!
Ye Chen stood astride the divine flame dragon, his demonic hair wildly surging, like an unmatched God of Slaughter, looking down upon all living things, coldly fixing his gaze upon the magma monster. The limb that had belonged to the magma monster was now forcibly subjugated; his consuming power had brutally crushed the residual will within the magma, and using the power of incineration, he had seized control of the entire sea of fire!
The magma monster could no longer reclaim it!
“Ye Chen?”
“Why is it this Killing God…”
“What is he doing here?”
Upon seeing Ye Chen’s features, countless people stared in shock.
“It’s him!” Murong Xue’s body trembled slightly, her eyes showing a hint of complexity. “It really is him. I sensed it, I just never expected it to be him!”
Beside her, Bing Yun paused for a moment before quickly regaining her composure, her eyes suddenly shining brightly. “So, the Killing God is the Wolf Emperor, and the Wolf Emperor is the Killing God—they are the same person! Now I don’t have to worry about which one I should select for my sleeping quarters, hehehe…”
With her intelligence, she grasped the underlying reason after only a brief thought. In the early days, the Killing God had a poor reputation; if he established a base city, the Huaxia Base City would surely suppress him. But things were different now. The overall combat power of the Brightness Base City was not much inferior to the Huaxia Base City; exposing his identity was no longer a concern!
Most people on the field, those who reacted quickly, understood the implication. After all, few people surviving in the apocalypse were truly foolish. Those who were slower on the uptake grasped the reason through the murmurs of those around them.
“The Killing God is the Wolf Emperor!”
“That great Wolf Emperor is actually the bloodthirsty Killing God?!”
“Hmph, we must have misunderstood him.”
“How can you be sure it’s a misunderstanding?”
“Damn it, he’s here saving us now. Do you think someone so bloodthirsty would do something like this?”
“…Perhaps.”
Everyone looked toward the black silhouette, their eyes filled with a degree of reverence. In truth, most people didn’t harbor ill will toward Ye Chen. However, fueled by countless rumors, their impression of him was: this man kills like flies, is bloodthirsty, deeply enjoys slaughter, and possesses immense personal power, etc…
No one liked a bloodthirsty powerhouse.
Yet, looking back now, everyone realized Ye Chen hadn't actually committed any heinous acts.
Killing Yun Shaojing!
The battle at Nine Dragon Mountain, slaying countless experts!
Killing Guild Leader Long Teng!
Beyond these, he hadn't massacred ordinary people. As for accusations of “harming humanity and being anti-human,” that was far too childish; only fools would believe it.
In this world, the strong prey on the weak. Killing opponents of the same caliber was considered fair combat, perfectly normal in the chaotic apocalypse. Only relentlessly slaughtering defenseless ordinary people qualified as bloodlust, and Ye Chen had refrained from that.
Most people living in the apocalypse possessed strong independent judgment and would not blindly follow others’ rhetoric, or they would have died long ago. Even if some lingering doubts remained, once they learned that this savior was the legendary “Wolf Emperor,” those questions vanished like smoke.
It was akin to suddenly discovering that a rumored bandit was actually an incarnation of the Buddha; naturally, one would assume the rumors were mistaken.
Furthermore, at their most desperate and terrified moment, Ye Chen arrived to rescue them. Many were deeply moved and grateful. Even if some fools harbored internal dissent, they dared not voice it, lest they be cursed and trampled upon by the countless people surrounding them.