Chapter 8: Survival of the Fittest
Stoden stood aloft in the air. Though the battle around him was brutal, he was like a reef amidst the waves—no one could shake him.
Stoden watched it all coldly.
The warriors and residents of the tribe were dying, and he didn't care at all.
"It's about time," Stoden said in a low voice.
"Now!" A hoarse voice suddenly rang out. Among the Black Dragon Tribe warriors clad in black battle robes, three figures shot out. These three black-robed men, along with Stoden, simultaneously charged toward the two enemy leaders.
The tiger-headed burly man and the gaunt, golden-robed man both laughed.
"This Stoden really did have hidden cards. I just didn't expect there to be three," the golden-robed man, Klotman, said in a low voice.
"Lucky we prepared as well," the tiger-headed burly man said coldly.
Klotman narrowed his eyes, a sliver of cold light leaking from them. He barked, "Kill!" As the sound left his lips, two gray-robed men burst out from among his own forces. These two gray-robed men, along with the two leaders, charged at the enemy.
Three black-robed men and Stoden!
Two gray-robed men and Klotman and Rachel.
Four against four!
"So you hired demons too," Stoden said coldly.
"You're quite wealthy yourself, hiring three demons," Klotman sneered.
With that, neither side wasted any more words. Each side had four fighters, eight in total. These eight were all Highgods. Moreover, they were all the type who had achieved godhood through their own power. Each possessed their own unique abilities, and they began a frenzied slaughter.
"Boom!"
The very space trembled violently. A terrifying shockwave spread in all directions.
"What?" Many people stared in shock.
One-on-one, split into four pairs, they fought madly in the sky. The terrifying spatial tremors continuously radiated outward.
One body instantly turned to nothingness...
Another transformed into an elemental beast...
Yet another became a sword form...
The battles of Highgods were extremely brutal. The four pairs of experts fought each other, and no one dared to get close. Even the Midgod warriors from both sides, who had been fighting desperately moments before, tacitly held back, the intensity of their battle greatly reduced.
"How realistic," Linley muttered as he watched.
Earlier, while the leaders watched, the warriors fought desperately. Now that the leaders were fighting, the warriors on both sides seemed to have an unspoken agreement to stop.
Delia smiled faintly. "It's normal. No one wants to die. Now the leaders are fighting. Whichever side's leader survives in the end wins. For the warriors, it doesn't really matter who's in charge."
Linley watched the four pairs of Highgods battling in the sky.
He had to admit that Highgods were far stronger than Midgods.
"At the very least, a Highgod has comprehended all the profound mysteries of one elemental law," Linley thought to himself. "The difference lies in the degree of fusion."
Weak Highgods hadn't fused any profound mysteries.
Stronger Highgods might have fused two. Even stronger ones, three.
"Two are dead," Linley said softly as he looked up.
Of the original eight Highgods, two had fallen. They were the golden-robed Klotman and one of the black-robed men. In the four-on-four fight, Klotman had been battling that black-robed man.
Klotman, at the cost of severe injury, killed the black-robed man.
But at that moment, Stoden manifested a doppelganger and struck suddenly, killing the severely wounded Klotman. Though Klotman also had a doppelganger, it was only at the Midgod level and was destroyed along with him.
"Stoden!" The tiger-headed burly man's face changed. "I didn't expect your wind-element doppelganger to have reached the Highgod level too."
"Hmph," Stoden sneered. "Klotman is done. You're next."
For them, they generally wouldn't choose to use a refined divine spark. To become a god, they always cultivated on their own.
"Is that so?"
A cold glint flashed in the tiger-headed burly man's eyes. Very abruptly, a phantom shot out from his body, charging straight at his opponent, the black-robed man. This effectively meant the tiger-headed burly man and the phantom were ganging up on the opponent.
"A Highgod doppelganger!" The black-robed man was terrified and immediately retreated.
Stoden's face changed as he looked at the tiger-headed burly man. "Rachel, you really have been hiding things deep."
"Not as deep as you," the phantom said as it solidified into the form of the tiger-headed burly man, Rachel's other doppelganger, of the darkness element.
Linley, watching from the crowd, couldn't help but marvel. "That seemingly reckless tiger-headed burly man Rachel is no less cunning than Stoden." Linley now understood that Stoden and Rachel letting their subordinates fight might have had some ulterior motives.
Just then—
"Lord Bertie, how much longer must we wait?" Stoden transmitted mentally.
Suddenly, black light gathered in midair, condensing into a silver-haired, silver-robed old man. This silver-robed old man held a black whip in his hand. He shot straight toward the tiger-headed burly man and the two gray-robed men.
"Whoosh!" The whip lashed out, distorting space.
One of the gray-robed men snorted coldly. His spear suddenly lengthened, and as it passed, black flames bloomed in its wake.
The whip and spear clashed.
"Hmph," the silver-robed old man sneered.
"Ahh!" The gray-robed man's entire body convulsed. He let out a terrified scream, then went limp and fell from the sky.
This scene stunned everyone watching. Everyone had seen the gray-robed man's strength—he was definitely a relatively powerful Highgod. Yet before this silver-robed old man, he was killed in a single move.
"It's Bertie of the Green Serpent Castle!" The tiger-headed burly man, Rachel, turned pale. He looked at Stoden in disbelief. "Stoden, you..." He hadn't expected that the chief of the Black Dragon Tribe had actually allied himself with the Green Serpent Castle.
"Bertie?" The surviving gray-robed man was also shocked.
Bertie's name was well-known in Yemu Prefecture as a formidable expert. At least, they were no match for him.
"Run!"
Without hesitation, the tiger-headed burly man and the gray-robed man turned into several phantoms, fleeing into the distance.
If a powerful Highgod wanted to escape, other Highgods generally found it very hard to kill him.
"Hmph," the silver-robed old man sneered, glancing at Stoden beside him.
Stoden immediately put on a smile.
"Handle things here. I'm going back," Bertie said indifferently. Then his body exploded into a mass of black light, vanishing before everyone's eyes.
Stoden looked around at the stunned crowd and announced loudly, "Warriors of the Golden Wolf Tribe and the Thunder Tiger Tribe, you may now choose to join the Black Dragon Tribe. Of course, you may also resist. As for the consequences of resistance..." Stoden let out a cold laugh.
The Midgod warriors of the two tribes exchanged glances.
Klotman was dead. The Golden Wolf Tribe was finished. The Thunder Tiger Tribe's strength would also be greatly diminished.
"Of course, your family and friends may also join the Black Dragon Tribe," Stoden declared with a laugh. "In my Black Dragon Tribe, you will be richer and safer than in your former tribes. If you agree to join, put down your weapons."
The Midgod warriors looked at each other. Some of the Golden Wolf Tribe's Midgod warriors put down their weapons. Their chief was dead, so they naturally surrendered.
After all, without a tribe's protection, life would be very hard.
As some surrendered, others followed suit, choosing to join the Black Dragon Tribe. For them, it didn't matter much who was in charge.
"He killed my brother!" Quette muttered, glaring at a man in the distance.
Among the surrendering warriors, many had grudges with the survivors of the Black Dragon Tribe. But Stoden's authority in the tribe was too strong; no one dared to speak out. Still, it was foreseeable that internal conflicts in the Black Dragon Tribe would be frequent.
"Hmph," Stoden sneered as he noticed the hatred in some residents' eyes. He just chuckled softly.
He didn't care about losing a few residents.
In this Infernal Realm, it was survival of the fittest! The Black Dragon Tribe's population swelled significantly. Most of the Golden Wolf Tribe's residents joined. The tribe now had nearly thirty thousand people.
In particular, there were nearly three thousand Midgod warriors.
Stoden had intended to destroy the Thunder Tiger Tribe, but he later discovered that they had already moved away from their original location. Clearly, the tiger-headed burly man Rachel had anticipated Stoden's retaliation. Knowing he couldn't win, he had taken his people and left.
Linley's residence.
"Quette, if you want revenge, you have to bide your time. Your strength is far from your enemy's. He doesn't even know you're an enemy. You can cultivate in peace, and one day, you'll have your chance," Linley advised.
Quette had been brooding over avenging his brother, but the enemy was a Midgod, and the gap in strength was too great.
"Linley, I know," Quette said, his face dark as he nodded.
"Boom!"
A tremor came from outside.
Linley sighed. "Looks like there's another fight outside."
Delia also sighed. "After that big battle half a year ago, thousands of people died in the Black Dragon Tribe. Many of them still have friends or brothers alive. Of course they want revenge. Luckily, most people don't know who the killers were in the chaos, or the tribe would be even more chaotic."
Linley nodded in agreement.
"Let them be chaotic," Bebe sneered. "As long as they don't come near us. If one comes, we kill one!"
"Quette, if you want, I'll help you get revenge," Bebe said generously.
"No need," Quette said coldly. "One day, I'll take revenge myself. Linley, Bebe, I won't bother you anymore. I'm going back." After this, Quette was no longer the cheerful person he had been.
Shortly after Quette left, someone arrived—an old acquaintance, Paffett.
"Linley, you said you wanted to go to Diyi City, right? Tomorrow, the Black Dragon Tribe will send a group on a metal lifeform. If you want to go, prepare five ink stones each," Paffett reminded them with a smile.
"Really?" Bebe was the first to jump up.
Linley and Delia were overjoyed.
They had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"Mr. Paffett, thank you so much," Linley said, his heart surging with excitement. He was finally leaving the Black Dragon Tribe.
Paffett sighed and smiled. "Linley, I knew from the last time you refused to join the army that you didn't want to stay in the Black Dragon Tribe. It's good to leave." He added, "But Linley, Diyi City isn't a place for just anyone. Be prepared."
"Mm, I understand." Linley was in high spirits.
The next morning, Linley, Delia, and Bebe first said goodbye to the friends they had made in the Black Dragon Tribe.
"Quette, don't rush things," Linley advised.
"Linley, the Infernal Realm is vast and boundless. Diyi City is one of the ten cities of Yemu Prefecture. The Black Dragon Tribe is just a small place. That's a real city! Work hard—making a place for yourself in Diyi City won't be easy," Quette encouraged Linley instead.
Linley smiled.
"Don't worry, this little thing won't stop us," Bebe said smugly, rubbing his nose.
"The metal lifeform is here," Delia suddenly said.
Linley looked up. Above the black castle where Stoden resided, the metal lifeform had transformed into a black dragon, hovering in the air. People from all over the Black Dragon Tribe were flying toward it. Linley, Delia, and Bebe said their final goodbyes and flew toward the metal lifeform.
"Goodbye, Black Dragon Tribe," Linley murmured, looking down at the mountain range where black dragons roamed.
This was the first place he had settled in the Infernal Realm. He probably wouldn't be coming back.