C1940 Collectors
A humanoid green mouse stood apart from its towering subordinates. This Beast God, hailing from the Wasteland, was a mere two meters tall, its body radiating a dark green luminescence. It was also noticeably plump.
Unlike the Hawk God Soderis, the dark hound, the Starbeast God, and the Galehound God, this creature was clad in a patterned garment. Its fur was elegantly covered by a dress adorned with gold trim, conveying a sense of refinement. Its hands were tucked into the wide sleeves of its dress, and a belt encircled its protruding belly. The belt's buckle was a refined, miniaturized crescent moon, emitting a cold, clear light.
The Rat God, with a clean-shaven face and a deliberately grown long beard on its chin, emerged amidst pools of blood, resembling a natural emerald lake. Despite its corpulent frame, its small eyes shone with intelligence.
"How disappointing," it uttered.
From within the belt cinching its ample waist, colorful blood particles emerged, each carrying the breath of life. These particles fell into the green blood lake formed from the remains of the deceased giant rat, like seeds of life taking root and sprouting rapidly in the soil, with blood and bones reconstructing and life reemerging.
Soon enough, new green rats began to rise languidly within the blood-red lakes. Their bones and sinews teemed with vitality.
"The harvesters I've raised are tasked with a king's duty; they certainly cannot perish so easily," the Rat God murmured in the Otherworld.
After the resurrection of the giant rats, the colorful particles that had brought them back to life grew even more vivid before returning to the Rat God's belt. During this process, the Rat God's hand rested on the crescent moon buckle, now cold to the touch.
Only after attending to these matters did it turn its attention to the pitiable Hawk God Soderis and the dark hound, which lay at death's door in the mud, its four legs broken by the Abyssal Greater Basilisk. The dark hound's breath was faint, its cries silenced, and its red eyes clouded with bewilderment.
On the brink of death, it seemed to struggle with the reality that the cosmic giant beasts of this world surpassed the likes of Beast Gods in rank.
"Poor fellow."
The Rat God's gaze was icy, showing no intention of rescuing the dark hound, even adding a sneer for good measure.
Its attention shifted elsewhere.
The Starbeast God and the Galehound God, ensnared within the Divine Domain of the Abyssal Leviathan, looked rather disheveled, though their injuries were not severe.
After surveying the scene, its gaze settled on Yu Yuan.
Whoosh!
The buckle it was pressing on erupted with a violent surge of vital energy, as if innumerable specks of vital energy were being meticulously arranged and integrated within it.
Its eyes, no larger than green peas, were heavy with gravity as it demanded, "In the Dark Star Domain, that... Bloody River, is it your creator?"
Yu Yuan remained silent, his brow furrowed as he regarded the belt with a cold stare. "Are you harvesting bloodlines?"
He sensed an aura emanating from the belt, akin to that of the Root of the Solar Meridian, yet distinctly different.
The Solar Meridian scattered the Life Seeds of alien beasts across the Wasteland, spreading them throughout this world and enabling the proliferation of their kind.
The Rat God's belt, it seemed, was for collection, with the deity shouldering a unique mission.
By studying the arcane secrets and powers of the Root of the Solar Meridian on the Primal Blood Continent, Yu Yuan pieced together a picture in his mind and began to deduce the truth.
"The purpose of your visit to our Origin Realm is to gather, as extensively as possible, the lifeblood of various races. The Silverscale Tribe, humans, Starborn, and Shadowkin, all intelligent life not categorized as alien beasts—you aim to acquire their lifeblood."
"Of course, the more potent the lifeblood, the more complete the knowledge and arcane secrets of a race it contains."
"Is that correct?"
Yu Yuan pressed for confirmation.
The humanoid Rat God, having come from the Wasteland, fell silent at Yu Yuan's words, its caution palpable.
Feeling its mission laid bare, the Rat God found Yu Yuan's enigmatic nature unsettling. Unable to gauge his true capabilities, it opted not to respond to any of his inquiries.
The Hawk God Soderis, wings beating, drew near from a distance. It had caught Yu Yuan's words upon arrival, and its battered wings seemed to stiffen all at once.
The Hawk God halted its approach and spoke from a distance, "Panot, the Cosmic Giant Beasts of the Origin Realm are unexpectedly powerful. We... we simply weren't ready for them."
He was explaining to the Rat God.
"You acted on your own accord, attracting not just one, but multiple Cosmic Giant Beasts!" Rat God Panot held a unique position among the six Beast Gods, akin to that of a strategist. "You were in charge of the Dark Tower. The moment I departed and the foremost champion of the Astral Domain arrived, you should have immediately activated the Dark Tower!"
He chastised the Hawk God with severity.
"I've warned you before, the Cosmic Giant Beasts of the Origin Realm are high-level beings that even our king has never encountered! During his first visit, he didn't come across any Cosmic Giant Beasts in the Stellar Oblivion. Their era had just ended with the fall of a dragon."
"We've never engaged with such high-level beings, so without their lifeblood, our understanding is limited!"
"And you, you've grossly underestimated the Cosmic Giant Beasts that once reigned supreme in this world!"
Rat God Panot exclaimed in anger.
Hawk God Soderis mumbled, too intimidated to talk back.
Panot had explicitly instructed him before leaving that if the progenitor of the Abyssal Winged Lizards, a true Cosmic Giant Beast, were to arrive, he should release the Dark Tower without delay.
They needed to eliminate the first Cosmic Giant Beast to assess the capabilities and combat prowess of the species.
Doing so would also provide a solid point of reference for future encounters with Cosmic Giant Beasts.
Soderis had not heeded Panot's advice completely. As the keeper of the Dark Tower, his failure to act promptly had allowed Yu Yuan and the Abyssal Leviathan to follow, leading to a grave calamity.
"Is there another one?"
Yu Yuan scanned the area, seeking his target, and inquired once more, "Upon my initial arrival in Aihoyari, before the Dark Tower ascended, I sensed six. Aside from you, there's another Beast God who hasn't shown up."
"What, do you think you can dismiss me?"
Slash!
A streak of golden lightning tore through the Dark Nebula.
Another gash was torn in one of Hawk God Soderis's wings, and he shakily rolled and stumbled closer to Rat God Panot.
"Help me, Panot!"
He pleaded with the Rat God, who bore the closest resemblance to a human.
"Despicable coward!"
Panot glared fiercely, his hand clenching the belt buckle with intense frustration. With a forceful press and a sharp tug, the buckle, seemingly forged from a crescent moon, unleashed a torrent of murky blood streams.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Over a dozen streams of vital energy, tainted and turbulent, burst forth. They carried the essence of various intelligent life forms from the Wasteland, as well as demons and beasts loyal to the Dark Phoenix that had been recently slain. The remains of the Abyssal Winged Lizard and members of the Silverscale Tribe were also among them.
The Rat God Panot, tasked with collecting the lifeblood of diverse races from the Origin Realm, also stored excess vital energy that couldn't be immediately assimilated. This reserve was meant for those gravely wounded in battle.
The chaotic blood streams, rich with vital energy, sprayed onto Hawk God Soderis's wings, filling the gaps and mending his injuries with a sticky salve. Except for the talon severed by Yu Yuan, Soderis's wounds healed rapidly—a testament to the regenerative power of life.
Panot's belt and buckle, undoubtedly gifts from the Wasteland's King, were imbued with the Wasteland's Primal Blood power. This was akin to Yu Yuan's ability to use a drop of Green Willow's lifeblood and a drop of the Chaos Serpent's lifeblood to recreate a young Chaos Serpent, albeit at a significant cost. He could effortlessly regenerate bones and organs, and the Wasteland's King was no different.
Crack!
The Abyssal Greater Basilisk, having had its fill of destruction, finally severed the dark hound's head and extracted its heart amidst the tumultuous energy of the muddy terrain.
Aoao!
The ancient lizard unleashed a world-shattering roar, sending energy rampaging through the area and triggering a horrific energy surge that spread for thousands of miles. Several ninth-level Greater Rats, sneaking up on the scene, met their demise in the energy maelstrom, exploding into a bloody mist.
As the Starbeast God and Galehound God arrived, prompting the Silverscale Tribe to feast upon other stars, the ninth and eighth-level alien beasts near the Lizard sensed danger and fled. Yet, they could not escape the Lizard's frenzied vital energy. One after another, they were obliterated, their demise absolute.
Even the Rat God, Panot, couldn't bring them back to life once they had turned into a mist of blood. His green eyes brimmed with sorrow.
"It's for the best, this is actually for the best," Panot realized swiftly. He nodded gently and declared, "The death of a dark hound serves as a caution to many others like you! Our journey ahead is fraught with challenges. Don't assume we're invincible!"
