Bloodhowl Highlands.
Raine had vanished for an entire day.
The whole highland was shrouded in an anxious atmosphere.
Even the deputy captain, Aaron, personally went out to search.
Squad after squad was dispatched. Some even risked pushing close to Crimson City to investigate—yet not the slightest trace of Raine was found.
"Still no news?"
Black Falcon watched another search team return empty-handed again, pacing back and forth in agitation.
Kyle, Matthew, and the others were even more restless.
What they feared most was that a strong expert from the gargoyle race, or the Soul Devourers, had secretly taken revenge.
Aaron stood at the edge of the highlands, his gaze sweeping across the distant mountains veiled in dusk.
At the same time—
A search squad was cautiously moving deeper into that mountain range.
This place was infested with alien races and mutated beasts spawned from the abyss, a massive hidden threat to Bloodhowl Highlands.
The patrol force existed largely to monitor this region.
Yet what felt eerie to the squad was this: after advancing for a long time, the surroundings remained frighteningly quiet.
Forget alien ambushes—they didn't even hear the slightest movement from ordinary wild beasts.
"Sir! Look!"
One of the soldiers whispered urgently.
What came into view was a heap of shattered wreckage.
"It looks like… it was smashed apart by brute force?"
The squad leader crouched down to inspect the wounds carefully, brows knitted tight.
"Keep searching forward. Stay alert."
The deeper they went, the more horrifying the scenery became.
Shattered rending-claw wolves. Torn-apart beasts.
Severed limbs and broken bodies scattered everywhere—this place looked like it had suffered a bloody massacre!
"No wonder it's so quiet…"
A veteran couldn't hide the shock in his eyes. "They've been… cleaned out."
The leader made a snap decision.
"Send someone back to the highlands immediately and report what we found!"
…
Highland Command Hall.
"Sir! Major discovery in the foothills!"
"Did you find Raine?!"
Aaron and the others' eyes snapped toward the messenger at once.
"We still haven't found him,"
the runner panted, "but we discovered a huge number of alien-race corpses in the foothills—no signs of any living creatures."
"A mass slaughter?"
Aaron's eyes narrowed. "Did that kid run over there?"
The thought made his heart sink.
He knew how dangerous those mountains were. Even if he led a team in personally, he would still have to proceed with extreme caution.
Just then, commotion rose outside the camp.
Everyone hurried out—and saw a streak of blood-red light racing in, landing at the edge of the highlands.
As the glow dispersed, who else could it be but Raine?
He looked a little travel-worn, but his spirit was full, his aura compact and restrained.
"Raine!"
Kyle was the first to rush up, furious and frantic.
"You little bastard—where the hell did you go? Do you have any idea how many people were worried about you?!"
"I went to the Bloodred Mountains to kill alien races,"
Raine explained.
Seeing the anxious faces, warmth stirred in his chest—along with a touch of guilt.
He hadn't expected his absence to cause such an uproar.
Aaron stepped forward, eyes sharp as fire as he examined him, and said in a deep voice,
"Back to the tent. We'll talk inside."
They returned to the command tent. Aaron dismissed everyone else, leaving only Black Falcon and a few officers.
"Those alien races… you killed them?"
Aaron got straight to the point, his tone unreadable.
Raine nodded.
Silence instantly fell over the tent.
Black Falcon and the others sucked in a cold breath.
Aaron stared at Raine. Even with his composure, storm waves were crashing inside his heart.
He had personally gone to investigate. Along the route, he'd found no fewer than ten Elite-rank alien corpses!
And that was only what he had discovered—there were likely many more that hadn't been found yet!
A Formal-rank recruit, entering a death zone alone, slaughtering so many Elite-rank enemies…
This couldn't be described as "genius" anymore.
It was monstrous.
He suppressed the shock and abruptly changed the subject.
"Business!"
"News has come from Crimson City. Several young alien powerhouses have publicly declared they'll personally hunt you down."
"Lord Garson's suggestion is that you temporarily withdraw to Iron Dragon Fortress to avoid the heat. What do you think?"
Raine barely hesitated.
"I want to stay on the front line."
He knew it was for his own good.
But retreating to the inner city meant leaving the battlefield—leaving the source of bloodstone. His advancement speed would slow dramatically.
That wasn't what he wanted.
What surprised him even more was that the alien prodigies' threat had made the Seventh Division so nervous that they were even considering pulling him back.
That was passive weakness.
"Fine."
To everyone's surprise, Aaron didn't oppose him. He simply added,
"I'll remain stationed at the highlands for now."
He'd come here with the intention of personally protecting Raine for a period of time.
With his peak Master-rank strength, unless a Grandmaster personally took action, guarding Raine for a while would not be an issue.
But what Raine said next made Aaron and the others' pupils contract sharply.
"Officer Aaron,"
Raine lifted his head. A sharp, blade-like light flashed in his eyes.
"I want to go to Crimson City. Will you come with me?"
"You're going to Crimson City?"
Aaron's brow furrowed deeply.
"Yes."
Raine's lips curled into an icy arc.
"Since those alien prodigies are saying they'll kill me—then instead of waiting for them to come to my door, I'll strike first."
He paused, then continued coldly.
"I want to go straight there and butcher the ones who made those threats—solve it once and for all."
And there was an even more important reason:
If he stayed under tight protection, how could he freely hunt alien races and acquire bloodstone?
With temporary rank-boosting and his freshly broken-through two-star Obsidian Golem Body as trump cards, he had more than enough confidence.
Aaron, Black Falcon, and the others fell into a long silence. You could practically hear a pin drop.
They were stunned by Raine's words.
Crimson City?
And he wanted to kill the very prodigies who had threatened him?
The words were domineering—hard and fearless—but the plan was so insane it bordered on suicide.
"Just us,"
Raine emphasized. "Fewer people. Smaller target. Faster movement. Kill them and leave immediately."
Too many would only be baggage—easy targets during retreat.
"How confident are you?"
After a long silence, Aaron finally spoke.
"One hundred percent."
Raine's answer carried a chilling certainty.
"Officer Aaron—do you have the guts to make this trip with me?"
Aaron stared at him deeply.
"You're sure you want to go to Crimson City?"
"I'm sure."
Raine's gaze was calm, unwavering.
Aaron held his eyes for a long time—then slowly nodded.
"Alright. I'll go with you."
…
Crimson City, Inner City Spire.
Two young alien races sat facing each other.
One wore a robe, his aura cold and sinister—Narkus, a Soul Devourer prodigy.
The other was burly, his skin carrying a rocky texture. He was one of the young powerhouses named as a designated hunter this time—Krug.
"When do you plan to make your move?"
Krug toyed with a crystal in his hand.
"I heard the deputy captain of the Seventh Division, Scarlet Wall Patrol—Aaron—has returned to the highlands again."
"Perfect."
Narkus grinned, revealing sharp teeth.
"I was already finding it boring to kill a mere bug. I spread the news specifically to make them take it seriously—so they'd send someone with weight."
"I'll ask High Priest Sydell for help. If necessary, he can restrain Aaron. Then I'll crush that human called Raine's skull with my own hands—right in front of him."
He looked toward the direction of Iron Dragon Fortress, his tone laced with disdain.
"The borderlands are a small stage, after all."
"Once this trivial matter is handled, I'll apply for transfer to the Tidefront Battlefield. I've heard the true human paragons—and the top paragons of our Seventeen Royal Clans—are fighting for the Abyss Heart there. That's the kind of stage worth spilling blood on."
Longing flashed in Krug's eyes as well.
The Tidefront Battlefield—an ground for the strong, where Legendary and Epic were born!
To go there—even merely as a spectator witnessing those peerless prodigies' brilliance—would be an honor.
"Oh, right,"
Krug remembered something.
"Before I came, I heard the gargoyle royal line is trying to salvage Prince Yobir's reputation. They seem to be planning to send a genius over here…"
Narkus fell silent for a moment.
If the gargoyle royal line intervened, the nature of things changed.
Those true heirs of genius—both strength and status—were far beyond anything he could compare to.
"Do you know who they'll send?"
he asked in a low voice.
"Not sure."
Krug shook his head. "The gargoyles rarely pay attention to secondary battlefields like this."
"It probably won't be the very top-tier heirs… but whoever comes will carry far more weight than a greenhouse flower like Yobir."
Even though Yobir was royal, in gargoyle eyes he probably barely qualified as a "genius."
"Forget it."
Narkus finally made up his mind.
"Let's kill that human first. Even if a real gargoyle genius arrives later, the credit will still be ours!"
…