"Burning potential? Was the damage severe?"
Yarna looked toward Aaron.
"We conducted a thorough post-battle examination. There was no lasting damage,"
Aaron replied, then turned to Garson and said solemnly,
"My Lord Governor, he is a seed of our Seventh Division, Scarlet Wall Patrol.
Both his combat strength and temperament are top-tier. He's worth cultivating with everything we have."
"I understand what you mean."
Garson nodded. "The Seventh Division, Scarlet Wall Patrol will give him our full support."
He gazed out the window into the night, remaining silent for a long moment before speaking slowly.
"However, the Seventh Division's resources are meager. We can't offer him much.
This will be a harsh road, and the responsibilities he bears will be heavy."
The front lines were a hell where even human geniuses struggled to survive.
Here, there was no difference between a genius and an ordinary soldier—blood could be shed at any moment.
"We'll do everything we can to support him,"
Tom pledged as well.
Raine belonged to the Seventh Company, but he was also a talent of the Seventh Division, Scarlet Wall Patrol.
The others nodded in silence.
"I'll personally keep an eye on that young man,"
Garson arranged. "As for the highland defenses, the gargoyles likely won't launch a large-scale counterattack in the short term."
"Use this opportunity to reinforce the fortifications and adjust defensive deployments."
"Yes!"
…
Bloodhowl Highlands.
The various companies began clearing the battlefield.
First, they gathered the remains of fallen comrades and erected monuments to the heroic dead.
Second, they collected alien bloodcores, a crucial resource for awakeners' advancement.
Additionally, supplies could occasionally be found on higher-ranked enemies.
Though rare, these were vital supplements for improving strength within the army.
Otherwise, awakeners could only rely on slowly absorbing Nex to advance—far less efficient than devouring bloodcores.
Kyle and the others began rigorously training the Colossus Warform.
Inside a spacious underground chamber—
Raine was studying Blood Pact!
His Obsidian Golem Body had already reached the peak of the first star. To continue advancing, he would need to rely on stronger external forces to complete entry into the second stage.
Bewitching Eye and Stoneform Skin were bloodline abilities and required no deliberate training. As his strength increased, their power would naturally grow.
At present, his focus was on mastering the Obsidian Golem Codex and Blood Pact,
as well as the two newly acquired combat techniques—Riftpierce Thrust and Windflow Step.
Among them, Blood Pact was especially critical. This forbidden art possessed tremendous potential.
On the battlefield earlier, it had already delivered several devastating blows for him.
Blood Pact allowed the caster to establish a soul contract with a specific Abyssal Behemoth.
Once the contract was formed, Raine could summon the contracted partner at any moment of crisis to aid him in battle, or borrow its inherent traits and power.
Using his own blood qi as a catalyst, he slowly traced an ancient, obscure dark-red contract sigil in the void.
The instant the sigil took shape, a chill rose from the depths of his soul.
The next moment, a point of dark light ignited at the center of the contract rune!
The sigil began to rotate slowly, radiating a strange fluctuation of soul energy.
Kreee—!!!
A cry filled with brutality and authority erupted from the depths of the abyss!
Boom!
A violent gale shot skyward as a massive black shadow tore through the darkness and appeared before Raine!
It was a griffin—
But by no means an ordinary one.
Its size rivaled that of a small wyvern. The eagle head was savage, its beak hooked like a scythe, and dark-golden vertical pupils burned with abyssal flames!
The lion's body was not covered in feathers or fur, but in heavy scales polished like obsidian.
When its wings spread, the edges of its feathers gleamed like blades!
Dense abyssal aura coiled around it. Its strength was unmistakably at the peak of the Formal rank, with half a foot already stepping into the Expert threshold!
Even more terrifying was the murderous aura it exuded—clearly a top-tier predator of the abyss.
Abyssal Behemoth — Infernal Griffin!
It hovered dozens of meters in front of Raine, fiery pupils fixed on him.
Raine could sense that it would respond to any of his thoughts.
And every attack or defensive action it took would be fueled by the consumption of his own blood qi!
In other words, it could continue growing stronger as Raine himself grew—without any upper limit.
Success!
Raine felt a surge of exhilaration.
This Infernal Griffin belonged to the royal lineage among griffins, possessing terrifying combat power.
It was also an exceedingly rare combination of flying mount and combat partner—its value beyond measure!
"That should do it,"
Raine said, glancing at his newly contracted partner.
"I need to accumulate bloodstone and bloodcore as soon as possible!"
He changed into a spare uniform and walked calmly out of the chamber.
The Infernal Griffin's massive body hovered in midair, then gradually dissipated…
Blood Pact — successfully initiated!
Raine stood atop a massive boulder on the highlands.
He looked down at the shattered battlefield below, then toward the plains in the distance, shrouded in dusk.
After standing silently for a long while, he turned and left.
But instead of returning to camp, he quietly sprinted toward the foothills on the left flank.
That was the route they had taken earlier when rushing to provide reinforcements.
In truth, it was a vast mountain range connected to the Plains of Sighs, stretching all the way behind Crimson City.
Numerous alien races and abyssal creatures dwelled there. Even Master-level Flame Lions had been spotted deep within.
However, Raine's target was not the depths of the mountains, but a special Black Waterfall.
This waterfall had been drawn up from the abyss by alien races. It was said to contain a certain dark-elemental power, extremely effective for tempering the Obsidian Golem Body.
Along the way, he could also hunt down isolated alien races to obtain more bloodstone.
Once he entered the outer foothills, Raine no longer concealed his presence.
His blood qi erupted, and he surged through the forest like a dark-red storm.
Dead trees snapped as he charged past, exploding with crackling sounds.
Many alien races were drawn by the noise.
When they saw a lone human youth charging in, they froze for a moment—then unleashed ferocious roars.
How arrogant! A human daring to enter an active alien-race zone alone, deliberately making noise?
This place had long since become a human death zone—especially at night!
Facing such provocation, the alien races bared their fangs and growled.
A Formal-rank Rending Claw Wolf was the first to leap out, its sharp claws aimed straight for Raine's back.
The other beasts were not to be outdone and swarmed forward.
A cold smile curved Raine's lips.
His form shifted as Windflow Step activated, turning him into a streak of blood-red shadow.
He met the airborne Rending Claw Wolf head-on!
In the instant their gazes met, purple light flashed in Raine's eyes.
Bewitching Eye!
The wolf demon froze.
Blood qi surged through Raine's right fist as he smashed it into the wolf's head.
Crack!
The sound of a skull shattering rang out clearly.
The wolf's body flew backward like a torn sack, crashing into the alien races behind it.
At the same time, the Obsidian Golem Body covered Raine's form.
Like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, he rushed up to a Trainee-rank Spined Imp.
His left hand clamped down on its head, his right seized its arm—both arms tensed.
Rip!
With a tearing sound, the Spined Imp was ripped clean in half!
Blood sprayed like rain.
The surrounding alien races instinctively halted their charge.
Raine did not slow. He punched straight through the body of a Scale-Armored Serpent, then violently tore it in two.
Grabbing half of the serpent's corpse, he swung it like a heavy hammer, smashing it left and right into the surrounding alien races.
Even Formal-rank enemies were gravely injured by a single blow.
"What kind of monster is this?"
"Is this really a frail human? Retreat—now!"
A Formal-rank Rending Claw Wolf turned to flee.
Raine would not allow it to escape. A streak of black light shot through the air!
The Blackglow battle spear pinned the wolf to the ground in the blink of an eye!
Raine strode forward, pulled out the spear, and continued the slaughter of the remaining beasts.
He carved a bloody path all the way—
Until he finally stopped before a thunderous, roaring Black Waterfall.