Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

The Olan People suffered a crushing defeat.

The pursuit in the southern hills region continued past two in the afternoon, showing no signs of stopping.

Su Chen, however, chose to leave early.

During this time, he personally took down a Death Black Knight, plundering a Dark Element Soul Core and a Cursed Sword Skill Lv.8.

Cursed Sword, the counterpart to the Light Element’s Holy Blade, belonged to the elemental weapon class of Runes.

Su Chen suppressed the thought of absorbing it. His personal Rune Construction already contained three Dark Element Runes, and considering the scarcity of Soul Cores, it wasn’t wise to commit entirely to the Dark Element.

Not to mention, upgrading to Lv.9 required a brand-new, single-element Great Soul Crystal.

Additionally, among the many Lv.7 Dark Element Runes were two unidentified Strong Runes. One was Dark Abyss of Darkness, which formed a regional, deep black force field.

It was like falling into a gravity trap. Moving even an inch was difficult, and it was impossible to activate any spatial jump techniques.

He tentatively named it the Black Abyss Skill.

With this understanding, he was certain that once he absorbed it, the Rune’s information would also interpret it as ”Black Abyss.”

The other Technique manifested as a Black Ring Collapse, releasing a black ring that contracted inward. Wherever the black light passed, air and objects were violently pulled toward the center, finally producing a micro-collapse that forcefully crushed the target at its core.

Its effect was somewhat similar to the Wind Vortex Skill, possessing a terrifying binding and pulling force that was difficult to escape.

’The effect is pretty good. It can be used in combination with Dark Gravity and the Black Abyss Skill, and it even has a synergy with the Gravity Skill.’

But it was the same old story.

He had too many Dark Element Runes. If he could find a Vortex Skill Lv.8, Su Chen would probably absorb it without a second thought.

Speaking of which, these variously armed Death Black Knights were practically walking treasures, but unfortunately, they were far too rare.

Previously, these terrifying creatures had been bound by a contract, forcing them to desperately attack Dongfu City at all costs. They were completely single-minded, without any flexibility.

Just to deal with one required Su Chen to use at least two of his full-power sword techniques.

After that binding force was gone, the Death Black Knights’ minds suddenly became active. At the very least, their tactical execution became more dangerous and terrifying, and they even knew how to maneuver and evade.

Other experts from Dongfu City tried to hunt them down, but the knights always managed to forcefully escape.

But the most valuable items on the field had to be the Magic Guide Hub Crystal Pillars. The vast majority had been taken away by the Lorentz Conglomerate’s personnel, leaving only three behind as spoils of war, which were also completely carved up.

Su Chen took a whole Magic Guide Crystal Pillar for himself.

When the passing Ghost Assault Team saw this, they raised no objections.

After casually hunting down several dozen High-level Spellcasters, he and Ruoruo returned to the Rune Core’s main base around noon. The remaining fugitives were of no value to him whatsoever.

”What’s your rank?”

Su Chen asked the cool beauty beside him as they returned to the mission hall.

His own rank was stable at first place, his contribution points having reached 1,791.

Considering he had personally killed the second-ranked Desert Beast Master, his hold on the first-place throne was all the more secure.

”Rank 25, with 785 contribution points.”

Ruoruo glanced sideways at Su Chen, a faint ripple of emotion appearing in her eyes.

Climbing from 42nd to 25th, the increase was still just average.

The people at the top were all fighting desperately for points, clinging to their ranks.

”Simple. We just need to kill the enemies in the top ranks.”

Su Chen wouldn’t be stingy with his lover, Xiaome. He intended to help her climb the rankings, eliminating potential rivals along the way.

Ruoruo was no mere trophy.

She had performed exceptionally well as his loyal wingman in past battles, able to keep up with his line of thinking and provide flawless support.

She was accommodating both in and out of bed, so naturally, he wouldn’t treat her poorly.

Su Chen glanced at a list in his hand. When he had run into the Ghost Assault Team again earlier, Captain Zhang himself had specifically informed him that top-tier enemy combatants were highly active in other areas.

The Secret Art Bishop, Netherworld High Priest, and others who had been driven off by the vast army early in the morning had all appeared on the western front.

The Five-Star Radiant Lord, whom he had yet to encounter, was also quietly racking up kills.

And the conglomerate, true to form, excelled at diversifying its investments and never put all its eggs in one basket. Thus, the other regions were not lacking for Demon Warlocks.

Taking advantage of the undermanned border towns, they had inflicted considerable losses on Dongfu City.

Although small in scale, these groups were composed entirely of top-tier experts. They typically operated as lone wolves or small squads, infiltrating and launching surprise attacks. If an attack failed, they could easily withdraw.

Not to mention, apart from its important border towns, Dongfu City itself was basically undefended and could easily be breached.

Before heading out to provide support, Su Chen and Ruoruo first returned to their camp. After all, they couldn’t exactly perform high-mobility hunts while carrying a Magic Guide Crystal Pillar.

...

「3:00 PM.」

In a residential complex in Dongfu City, mournful cries echoed as a toxic, plague-like mist spread everywhere.

As the enemy churned out corpse after corpse, the bodies would either rise as obedient zombies at a command, or they would rapidly rot, bloat, and then immediately explode.

The Corpse Explosion Skill erupted. Rotted flesh and bone fragments, saturated with a highly concentrated corpse poison, swept through the entire block of buildings.

’This is bad!’

Realizing he had suddenly lost contact with his key subordinates on the perimeter, the Undead Priest jolted in alarm. His black robes billowed, carrying gusts of sinister wind, as his figure shot like a specter toward the distant forest.

But it was too late.

He was in Su Chen’s sights.

Even though Su Chen hadn’t managed to lock onto the priest with Dark Gravity at the first opportunity, how could the priest possibly win a chase with his meager spatial jump abilities?