Chapter 367: Target (Part 1)

The battle was over, and the entire battlefield fell into silence. Almost everyone had encountered such a large-scale battle for the first time and found it hard to adapt. Only the Death Scythe Squad, having experienced many such battles, began to clean up the battlefield—once again proving their worth.
“Brother Rod!” At that moment, Lucy came over to Rod, looking exhausted, and called out softly. Her face no longer showed its usual innocence and carefree attitude; instead, there was a hint of melancholy.
That day, she had gone through too much. She was originally like a pure lotus flower—given her status and background, she should never have faced such situations. Unfortunately, the emergence of Rod, the source of darkness, had pulled her into this massive vortex.
“Are you okay?” Looking at her, Rod felt a sense of guilt. Perhaps if he hadn’t appeared, she would never have encountered such things. He felt that it was his presence that had dragged Lucy into this chaos.
“Kid, stop overthinking it. Even if you hadn’t shown up, would the source of darkness have remained peaceful? Things here have already been turbulent for a long time. Can’t you see? Your appearance was merely a catalyst that accelerated the onset of this chaos. Otherwise, similar upheavals would have occurred in another hundred years. Now, Lucy will have to face even more. Since you’re here, protect her well!” As Rod was filled with self-reproach, Xuan Yuan’s voice rang out.
It was like a thunderbolt, leaving Rod stunned and at a loss for words.
Yes, what if he hadn’t appeared? Such chaos couldn’t be suppressed; it would have happened sooner or later. His presence only made it happen earlier. With that thought, his heart gradually calmed down. Looking at Lucy, he resolved in his heart that as long as he was alive, he would never let this girl suffer any harm—under no circumstances!
“Many people from our family died. My second uncle and sixth uncle are gone. Many uncles and brothers are dead too!” Lucy’s eyes reddened as tears welled up. Two streams of tears streamed down her cheeks, and she finally couldn’t hold back her sobs.
“It’s okay. It’s all in the past. Things will get better slowly!” Rod felt a bitter taste in his throat. He didn’t know how to comfort Lucy at that moment.
“Mm…” Lucy replied softly, looking down at Rod. Standing beside him, she gazed at the chaotic battlefield and sighed.

“Done! It’s all taken care of!” Nightingale said as she arrived beside Rod with the members of the Reaper Scythe Squad. At this moment, every member of the Reaper Scythe Squad was covered in blood—both enemy and their own. After a fierce battle, they had all suffered some injuries, as most of their enemies were far stronger than them. The reason they were able to achieve such great results was their perfect coordination. Four years of training had allowed them to maximize their strength, enabling it to grow exponentially through teamwork. Perhaps due to the carnage, the group now exuded a cold and menacing aura, giving off an uncomfortable feeling. “It’s good that it’s done~!” Rod murmured, letting out a sigh. His injuries had mostly healed. Looking at his armor, he thought to himself that it had been of great help to him today. During this time, in the Netherhell Fire, Rod had taken the time to refine this set of armor! After gathering it all, he had to admit that this armor, which he had previously considered useless, had undergone a qualitative change. Now, it still looked imposing, but it was no longer just an ornamental waste. At the moment it was assembled, fortunately, they were in the Netherhell Fire, and the special terrain helped to block the arrival of the heavenly calamity! Otherwise, Rod was sure it would have triggered another thunderstorm as severe as the one that occurred when Xuanyuan appeared. Even so, it still caused tremendous turmoil in the Netherhell Fire! Now, Rod finally knew the name of this set of armor—Skywind Armor! It must have been equipment from ancient times belonging to some powerful warrior, but for some reason, it had scattered across various corners of the continent! It possessed formidable defensive capabilities and terrifying additional effects. The most important feature was that it helped its wearer recover the most combat energy in the shortest time! Otherwise, Rod wouldn’t have had enough combat energy to fight two strong opponents back-to-back, nor would he have been able to recover from his injuries so quickly!

Moreover, in the close combat with Jiaohong, it helped him reduce at least three layers of his strength—this is an incredibly terrifying figure. Thinking of all this, Rod was secretly grateful to have obtained such a precious treasure, especially in these times. The benefits it could bring to him were immeasurable. At the very least, Rod was certain that with the help of this set of armor, his strength could be elevated by at least one level. This was a tremendous advantage in today’s era of war and chaos. It also made Rod secretly vow to use this armor to conquer the world and restore its former glory.

“Alright, it’s time to go!” After pondering for a long time, Rod sighed and spoke to the group. The battlefield had been cleaned up, and the members of the Black Phoenix Clan gradually gathered to return to the Netherworld Villa.

……

“We’ve suffered heavy losses this time!”

Inside the hall of the Netherworld Villa, the atmosphere was gloomy. Some members stayed behind to tidy up the battlefield, while the main members of the Black Phoenix Clan had returned. Those gathered in the hall were all key members, and each of them had a dark expression on their face. Moke, standing at the front, spoke in a deep voice.

“The Mi Jiao Clan! The Demons! Those bastards—we can’t just let this go!” An elderly member with a fiery temper couldn’t help but curse loudly.

“That’s right! We must not spare them, especially the Mi Jiao Clan. Damn it! If not for them, our losses wouldn’t have been so severe. These ungrateful wretches! Who helped them gain independence? Because of them, our Black Phoenix Clan has been at war with the Dragon Clan for hundreds of years. And now they…” The Eighth Elder shouted.

Filled with righteous anger, everyone began to curse and demand revenge!

“This debt must be repaid!” After a long silence, Dolong spoke firmly. As the highest governing body of the Black Phoenix Clan, the Law-Enforcing Elders had spoken, so naturally, no one disagreed.

“We owe a great deal to Brother Rod for what happened this time. If not for you, our thousand-year legacy might truly have been destroyed! It’s fortunate you appeared in time!” Dolong said with deep emotion as he stared at Rod.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone turned their attention to Rod. Everyone present knew exactly what role Rod had played this time—he could be said to have saved the entire Black Phoenix clan. Looking at the Reaper Scythe Squad behind him, everyone couldn’t help but shudder. Everyone could see just how monstrous their combat strength was; there was no need to say more.

“Elder Dolon, you’re too kind. It was just my duty. If we’re talking about favors, I, Rod, actually owe something to your Black Phoenix clan. If it weren’t for the Nether Hellfire, I wouldn’t have been able to make such rapid progress!” Waving his hand, Rod said to the group. Indeed, without the help of the Nether Hellfire, he wouldn’t have been able to advance so quickly. Without that advancement, he wouldn’t have been a match for that Skeleton Elder, let alone Jiaohong later on. As the saying goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Rod believed he had merely done what he ought to do.

“I wonder what everyone plans to do now?” Without waiting for Dolon to speak, Rod shifted the topic. There was no need to keep focusing on him.

Sure enough, this most important and urgent topic was brought up, drawing everyone’s attention away.

“If we go by Jiaohong’s words, unless something unexpected happens, the Dragon clan must also be in crisis now! Since we’re allies, I think we should go and help as soon as possible. Hopefully, it’s not too late!” With a sigh, Merk said with a bitter smile. The Black Phoenix clan had suffered a major setback, and the Dragon clan was likely in the same situation. Everyone knew the saying: “If your lips are gone, your teeth will feel the cold.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We must go help the Dragon clan right away!” Some people agreed with Merk’s view.

“I’m afraid it might be too late!” Others voiced their opinions. “Besides, the Dragon clan’s opponent is the Wolf clan. Everyone knows how strong the Wolves are. It seems…” They didn’t finish their sentence, but everyone understood what was coming next—the Dragon clan was likely in grave danger. The atmosphere became somber.

“What do you think, Brother Rod?” After a moment, Dolon asked Rod. After this incident, the Black Phoenix clan trusted Rod deeply and no longer saw him as an outsider.

Hearing Dolon’s question, Rod frowned slightly, going over this information in his mind. He took a deep breath, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the tea table beside him!

At that moment, the hall was utterly silent. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Rod. He had won everyone’s trust and respect, and they all wanted to hear his opinion.

“I actually think there’s no need to go to the Dragon Clan. This place is very far from them; it would take at least ten days to get there! If something really has happened there, rushing over won’t help, and if nothing has happened, there’s no need to go either. It’s better to do some necessary things, something practical! In fact, even going to Dark Moon City now would be more useful than going to the Dragon Clan!” Rod said in a deep voice after a long pause.

After he finished speaking, he looked up at everyone in the hall. All of them had their brows tightly furrowed, seemingly pondering his words.

“Yeah, Rod is right. That’s indeed the case! It’s better to go to Dark Moon City than to the Dragon Clan!” Doron nodded in agreement with Rod’s opinion.

“I think the same. We can’t go to the Dragon Clan!” Merk also agreed with him. Soon, everyone agreed with Rod’s view, and no one spoke up to oppose it.