C1940 The Collector
A humanoid green mouse stood before me, a stark contrast to its towering subordinates. This Beast God, hailing from the Desolate Realm like the others, was a mere two meters tall, its body radiating an eerie dark green glow. And it was notably plump.
Unlike the Eagle God Soderis, the greyhound, the Celestial Star Beast God, and the Wind Spirit Beast God, this one was distinct. Clad in a patterned robe, its fur was elegantly concealed beneath the ornate garment with gold trim, exuding a sense of meticulous grooming. Its hands were tucked into the wide sleeves of its robe, which draped over its protruding belly, cinched by a belt. The belt's buckle was a refined, miniaturized crescent moon, emitting a cold, piercing light.
With a clean-shaven face and a deliberately kept long beard on its chin, the Beast God emerged amidst pools of blood, as if standing in a natural lake of emerald jade. Despite its corpulent frame, the small eyes of the mouse shone with intelligence.
"What a disgrace," it lamented.
From within the belt encircling its ample waist, colorful blood particles drifted out, each one brimming with the essence of life. These particles fell into the green blood lake, created from the blood and bones of the deceased giant rat.
Like seeds of life sown into fertile soil, they rapidly took root and sprouted. Blood and bones began to reform, and life was reborn. Soon after, new green mice lazily rose to their feet within those sanguine pools, their bones and sinews teeming with vitality.
"The harvesters I've raised carry the weighty task of a king; they certainly cannot perish so easily," the Rat God murmured to itself.
The vibrant particles that had facilitated the rebirth of the giant rat now shone more brightly, returning to the Rat God's belt. The Rat God's hand rested momentarily on the crescent moon buckle before turning its attention to the dire circumstances of the Eagle God Soderis and the greyhound, whose four legs had been shattered by the Abyss Goanna.
The greyhound lay dying in the mud, its cries silenced, its red eyes clouded with bewilderment. It seemed unable to accept that the Starry Behemoths of this world surpassed the Beast Gods in rank.
"Poor creature," the Rat God observed with a hint of pity.
The Rat God's gaze was icy, showing no inclination to rescue the greyhound, even going so far as to mock it before turning its attention away. The Celestial Star Beast God and the Wind Spirit Beast God, both looking rather disheveled within the watery domain of the Chaos Roc, struggled to free themselves, though their injuries were not severe. After surveying the scene, the Rat God's eyes finally settled on Yu Yuan.
With a whoosh, the waistband it was pressing on erupted with a surge of blood energy fluctuations, as if innumerable blood energy lights were being meticulously arranged within it. Its eyes, small as green peas, were filled with a grave intensity as it demanded, "In the Dim Starfield, that blood-colored river... is it your Founder?"
Yu Yuan remained silent, his brow furrowed as he regarded the belt with a cold stare. "Are you harvesting bloodlines?" he asked, sensing an aura from the belt that was similar yet distinctly different from the Yang meridian's source. The Yang meridian dispersed the Life Seeds of alien beasts throughout the Desolate Realm, facilitating the widespread emergence of their kind.
It appeared that the Rat God's belt was designed for collection, indicating that the Rat God was on a unique mission. Drawing upon the secret arts and power of the Yang meridian source on the Origin Blood Continent, Yu Yuan pieced together a mental image and slowly deduced the truth.
"You've come to our Origin Realm with the mission to gather as much blood as possible from various races—the Silver Scale Clan, humans, the Star Race, Dark Elfkind, and every intelligent race outside the alien beast category. You aim to collect their essence," Yu Yuan surmised. "Naturally, the blood of the most powerful beings contains the most complete knowledge and secret arts of their respective races. Is that correct?"
Yu Yuan pressed for confirmation.
The humanoid Rat God from the Desolate Realm, now silent at Yu Yuan's words, grew increasingly wary. Realizing that Yu Yuan had unraveled its mission, the Rat God found him somewhat enigmatic and, unable to gauge Yu Yuan's true capabilities, decided to withhold any response to his inquiries.
Soderis, the Eagle God, glided closer on its wings, overhearing Yu Yuan's words as it neared. Its battered wings seemed to stiffen abruptly. The Eagle God halted its approach, calling out from a distance, "Nors, the Starry Behemoths of the Origin Realm, are unexpectedly formidable. We truly were not prepared for them."
It was offering an explanation to the Rat God.
"You acted on your own accord, provoking not just one Starry Behemoth!" Rat God Nors, with his unique role among the six Beast Gods, served as a strategist. "You were in charge of the Shrouded Tower. When I left and the foremost expert of the Starfield arrived, you should have immediately activated the Shrouded Tower!"
He chastised the Eagle God severely.
"I've warned you before, the Starry Behemoths from the Origin Realm are superior beings that even our king has never encountered! On his first visit, he didn't come across any Starry Behemoths in the Perish Starfield. Their era had just ended with the fall of a dragon."
"We have no understanding of these superior beings since we haven't acquired their blood essence."
"You have grossly underestimated the Starry Behemoths that once reigned over this world!"
Rat God Nors exclaimed in anger.
The Eagle God, Soderis, mumbled and dared not talk back.
Before Nors had departed, he had specifically instructed that if an ancestor of the Deep Sea Basilisk, a true Starry Behemoth, were to arrive, the Shrouded Tower should be released without delay.
They needed to eliminate the first Starry Behemoth to understand the capabilities and combat power of this species.
Doing so would provide a reliable point of reference for future encounters with Starry Behemoths.
Soderis had not heeded Nors's advice. As the keeper of the Shrouded Tower, his failure to act promptly led to Yu Yuan and the Chaos Roc following suit.
This was the cause of the calamity.
"Is there another one?"
Yu Yuan scanned the area, seeking his target, and inquired again, "Upon my arrival in the Silver Starfield, before the Shrouded Tower ascended, I detected six. Besides you, there's another Beast God who hasn't shown up."
"What, do you think you can ignore me?"
Slash!
A streak of golden lightning tore through the dark expanse of the starry sky.
Another gash appeared on the wing of the Eagle God Soderis, who, quivering, desperately scrambled closer to Rat God Nors.
"Help me, Nors!"
It pleaded with the Rat God, who bore the closest resemblance to a human.
"You despicable creature!"
Nors shot it a withering glare, his hand gripping the buckle at his waist. With a forceful press and a sharp tug, the buckle erupted.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was as if the crescent moon itself had been refined into the buckle, which now spewed forth over a dozen streams of murky blood.
The power within these blood streams was a chaotic mix, containing elements from the intelligent races of the Desolate Realm, as well as Demons and beasts loyal to the Demon Phoenix that had been slain upon arrival.
The remains of the Deep Sea Basilisk and members of the Silver Scale Clan were also present.
Nors, the Rat God, not only collected the blood essence of various races from the Origin Realm but also stored the surplus blood energy that he couldn't immediately assimilate.
This reserve was intended for those gravely wounded in battle.
The turbulent blood energy from the dozen streams sprayed onto the wings of Soderis, the Eagle God, filling the gaps and stickily mending the injuries.
Except for the talon severed by Yu Yuan, Soderis's wounds healed swiftly.
This was the miraculous work of life force regeneration and creation!
The belt and buckle worn by Nors were undoubtedly gifts from the King of the Desolate Realm, imbued with the power of the Origin Blood from that domain.
It was akin to how Yu Yuan could use a single drop of Lvliu's blood essence and a drop from the Disaster Snake, along with a significant sacrifice, to recreate a young Lvliu or spawn a small Disaster Snake.
Bone regeneration and organ reconstruction were effortless feats for him, as they were for the King of the Desolate Realm.
Crack!
The Abyss Goanna, having finished its play, finally managed to sever the greyhound's head and extract its heart amidst the tumultuous energy of the muddy terrain.
Aoao!
The ancient lizard unleashed a roar capable of shattering the sky, sending energy rampaging through its domain and triggering a horrific energy surge that radiated for thousands of miles from its center.
Several Ninth Level giant rats that had crept too close met their demise, overwhelmed by the energy maelstrom and vaporized into a mist of blood.
Members of the Silver Scale Clan, drawn by the Celestial Star Beasts and the Wind Spirit Beasts, had been feasting on distant stars. Now, as they approached the old lizard, the Ninth and Eighth Level alien beasts sensed danger and fled. Yet, they were overtaken by the old lizard's frenzied blood energy, one after another, annihilated beyond any hope of return.
Even the Rat God, Nors, couldn't bring them back to life once they had turned into a mist of blood, and his green eyes brimmed with sorrow.
"It's for the best, it really is," Nors came to realize swiftly. He gave a slight nod and declared, "The death of a greyhound serves as a warning to many more like you! We have a multitude of challenges ahead on our journey. Don't be fooled into thinking we're invincible!"
