Eternal Thief

High above the peaceful yet eerily deserted, because of the Great Corpse Carnival, of the Lower Grave Strata, the Upper Ancient Battlefield, which used to be cold and still told a very different story.

The land itself seemed to have come alive with tension.

Cracked earth stretched endlessly beneath a dim, blood-tinged sky, broken weapons, half-buried skeletons, and shattered war banners littered the ground like echoes of an age that refused to die.

Yet the stillness was gone, replaced by movement, intent, and the sounds of fierce battles, as if the past were going to repeat itself in some morbid way.

The participants who were still entering the ’Hunter’s Hunt’ from the Abyss of Wandering Souls, flickered across the battlefield like restless ghosts.

Some moved alone, cautious and silent, hiding their presence as they scanned their surroundings, while others had already gathered in small groups, forming fragile alliances that could break at any moment.

Moreover, clashes had begun, however, not open war, but sharp, sudden bursts of violence like a flash of blade, a surge of Qi, or a scream cut before silence again could be seen or felt throughout the battlefield.

After knowing the rules and the nature of the Hunter’s Hunt, every participant engraves an absolute truth in their hearts. No one can trust anyone!

Thus, even before the trial had officially begun, the hunters had already started hunting.

Beneath it all, hidden deeper than any participant could perceive, shadows watched, which were none other than the members of the Corpse Clan.

They were scattered across the battlefield, concealed within corpse vessels, buried under layers of deathly aura, or fused into the terrain itself as they waited patiently for the signal, which would not only be the beginning of the Evernight Trial but also mark the beginning of their Great Corpse Carnival.

However, neither side knew the full truth; not the eager participants carving out advantages for themselves, or the hidden Corpse Clan preparing their ambush, and certainly not any of them knew that, in this brief span of time, the very foundation of this entire domain, the Undead Boundary, had already been stolen!

---

Elsewhere, deep within a hidden space of the Undead Cradle, a faint crimson glow pulsed in the darkness, and she stood right at the center of it; the Evernight Demon King!

Her childish figure was as cute as it was terrifying, with her long, bone-white hair flowing like a living light down her back, faintly shimmering with streaks of deep crimson under the dim light.

Her pupil-less, empty eyes glowed with a cold, otherworldly brilliance, and her presence bent the space around her as she was as elegant as she was untouchable!

At that moment, the seemingly playful and mysterious Evernight Demon King was working.

Before her floated a massive altar, incomplete yet already radiating an ancient, oppressive aura with layers of intricate runes spiraled across its surface, shifting and rearranging as if alive.

In her hand was something unusual. A massive brush with a handle that resembled a blade, long and sharp, while its bristles were thick, flowing like strands of liquid darkness.

With each motion, she drew symbols in the air, and the brush moved with precision, cutting through space as if carving reality itself.

Behind her, a pitch-black pot hovered, and inside it, a thick crimson liquid churned slowly. Every time the brush moved, threads of that liquid rose from the pot and flowed into the bristles, as if eagerly feeding the strokes.

A faint metallic scent lingered in the air for something about that ’ink’ felt... wrong.

Anyhow, she didn’t pause as her movements were becoming faster than before, almost urgent. Each rune she inscribed locked into place with a faint pulse, forming part of a greater structure that was nearing completion.

Her lips moved slightly at this moment, in a low yet cold tone, filled with anticipation, she started to mutter under her breath...

”Little fish... you can’t die yet...”

Another stroke and another rune ignited...

”You are the only hope to tear down this wretched place...”

The brush paused for the briefest moment before her eyes flickered with something deeper.

”...and to retrieve that treasure.”

Then she continued even faster!

---

Not far from the fading edge of the unseen boundary, another presence hid in silence, its massive, almost immovable frame.

His corpse vessel stood like a war-forged colossus, towering and broad. Dark, hardened flesh stretched over a frame that looked more like armor than a body. Jagged bone protrusions lined his shoulders and arms, while faint runic scars glowed across his torso like sealed wounds.

His corpse flames burned deep within hollow sockets, steady, but seething, for he was none other than the Corpse Puppet of the First Bone Corpse Commander of the First Bone Corpse Legion, making him the strongest Corpse Commander!

Before him floated a projection showing multiple locations across the battlefield, each marked with faint signals representing hidden Corpse Clan members lying in wait.

Everything was ready and in place, yet his expression seemed to be twisted as killing intent churned beneath the surface with barely restrained rage, as if he was waiting for something that should have already happened.

Finally losing his patience, he moved, and a secret method activated with a thin strand of connection stretched outward before it linked!

The next moment, Belfast’s voice came through, but the former could speak; the Corpse Commander roared.

”Has the Governor responded yet!?” His voice was filled with fury, ”With those deceitful Council bastards pushing this far, this is no longer a game!”

There was a pause, and then Belfast’s voice, strained and uncertain, replied, ”I... don’t know. The Governor... suddenly cut off the connection.”

”What!?” The Corpse Commander’s aura flared violently, ”What could be more important than the Carnival!? Shouldn’t Lord Governor already be monitoring everything!? Hundreds of young ones have vanished, and we’re still pretending this is a trial!?”

His voice dropped, darker as he dangerously growled, ”The Council is clearly making a move again. We should cancel this entire farce!”