Chapter 366: Victory

It appeared again. Rod didn’t get up. Covered in blood, with a hint of dangerous intent in his eyes, he narrowed them as he watched Jiaohong charging toward him from afar! He saw Jiaohong’s sharp claws, reeking of blood, plunging down toward his body.

“Brother Rod…”

“Head…”

In the distance, seeing Rod lying motionless on the ground, Jiaohong took the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow. Everyone panicked. If Rod failed now, who else on this battlefield could withstand Jiaohong’s onslaught? What would become of the Black Phoenix clan then?

The Nightingale and Death Scythe Squad members rushed at Rod at full speed, hoping to avert the blow and save him.

Lucy casually cast a powerful magic spell at Jiaohong! Unfortunately, it had no effect. This ultimate magic, one even god-tier warriors feared, emitted a shrill buzzing sound the moment it touched Jiaohong’s body before vanishing into thin air, leaving everyone stunned once again.

The members of the Death Scythe Squad were still too far from Rod. Despite their speed, they couldn’t reach him in such a short time—his speed surpassed theirs!

In the blink of an eye, Jiaohong reached Rod and slammed a palm down.

Despair and anger filled everyone’s hearts. Meanwhile, the Mi Jiao clan and demons secretly harbored some expectation—expectation of Rod’s death—but they couldn’t feel joy. Jiaohong, now demonized, had abandoned all loyalty, and they too were in danger.

“Blast!” At that critical moment, when everyone was in despair, whether it was too late or not, as the sharp claws were about to pierce his body, Rod’s eyes suddenly flashed with intensity. He slid along the ground, then suddenly pushed off with his back foot, unleashing his last ounce of strength to rebound forward.

While Jiaohong was still unprepared, Rod rushed up to him and slapped his chest! The last trace of his fighting spirit was poured into his body. Though weak, it was enough to trigger the hidden energy he had hidden inside Jiaohong earlier.

After that strike, Rod was also severely injured and flew backward like a kite with its string cut, soaring dozens of meters before crashing into the arms of the Nightingale and the others who were rushing over.

“Boom…” A muffled, indescribable sound came, followed by the cracking of bones—crack, crack, crack—the sharp sounds reaching everyone’s ears.
Jiaohong, who was chasing Rod, suddenly stopped in his tracks. Then, his body began to twist uncontrollably as he let out a terrifying roar. Visibly, parts of his body kept bursting open while other areas twisted, as if some immense force was tearing him apart.
Everyone was stunned, watching in silence as this unfolded.
“Dark energy… It’s dark energy! Rod has injected dark energy into Jiaohong’s body!” At that moment, top warriors like Merck understood what was happening.
Dark energy—a force extremely difficult to control—yet Rod could manage it, and quite well at that. He had poured it all into Jiaohong’s body, hiding it there to detonate once enough accumulated. Due to Jiaohong’s terrifying physical defenses, external attacks were useless, so Rod chose to destroy him from within.
Seeing Rod covered in blood, they finally understood why he had opted for close combat—to kill Jiaohong! That’s how it was. Looking at the blood-soaked man, everyone’s eyes filled with awe.
“Head…” Seeing Rod barely alive, Viski and the others cried out in concern.
“Are you okay?” Nightingale, tears in her eyes, hugged Rod and asked anxiously. At that moment, Rod’s weak state touched everyone’s heart.
Cough, cough, cough… A few coughs later, blood spilled from the corners of his mouth. Rod forced a smile. “I can hold on! Let me rest for a while. It seems the Black Phoenix clan’s days are numbered! We can’t give the Mi Jiao clan a chance today!”
With each word, Rod felt endless pain throughout his body—a pain as if every cell was convulsing! The physical struggle had imposed too much strain and damage on him.
Looking back, he saw that the Black Phoenix clan had launched their final counterattack. Nightingale reassured him, “Don’t worry. No one from the Mi Jiao clan will get away today!”
Then, a killing intent radiated from her. At that moment, Nightingale was utterly cold. She glanced at Lucy, “Take him aside to rest! Members of the Death Scythe Squad, listen up! Eliminate every member of the Mi Jiao clan—leave none alive!” With that, she took the lead, her Bone Whip swirling as she charged forward. Following closely behind, the members of the Death Scythe Squad also joined the battle with cold expressions.
“Big brother, are… are you okay?” Seeing Rod’s condition, Lucy asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to die! It’s all external injuries, nothing serious!” In this regard, Rod was indeed right. Although he looked extremely disheveled at the moment, his injuries weren’t that severe, and it wouldn’t take long for him to recover! Everyone was worried because Rod’s injuries from the close combat were visible on the outside. As for his internal organs and meridians, they were firmly protected by his combat energy, so they hadn’t suffered any damage. Some minor shocks could be easily resolved with a little rest. Of course, the main reason for this was that Rod’s physique had reached an extremely abnormal level—nine tiers of physical strength, which speaks to just how extraordinary it was. Hearing Rod’s words, Lucy felt somewhat relieved. She helped Rod sit down carefully and protected him. Suddenly, several warriors from the Black Phoenix clan appeared beside Rod and surrounded him tightly, seemingly to protect him. At this point, Rod could be considered a great savior to the Black Phoenix clan, having saved them from extinction. The gratitude they owed him was self-evident, and they certainly didn’t want to see him get hurt at such a time. As for how to repay this kindness, that was their concern. At the moment, Rod didn’t have time to think about such things. Seeing that he was safe, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sat in seiza position to begin cultivating. He needed to restore his combat energy as soon as possible to heal his injuries. He completely ignored the battles around him, only faintly hearing the sounds of fighting and screams, and clearly smelling the strong scent of blood. Cultivating in such a chaotic environment, Rod unexpectedly discovered that he could absorb the killing energy and malevolent aura from the battlefield to use for his own benefit. Coupled with the replenishment of elemental energy, his recovery was astonishingly fast. In just half a day, his combat energy had returned to the fifth tier. For an ordinary person, such a recovery would likely take ten or eight days. Opening his eyes, as his combat energy recovered, his physical condition also improved significantly. The pain gradually subsided, allowing Rod to feel completely at ease. Looking up, he saw the entire battlefield in chaos, filled with smoke, continuous screams, and groans. Everywhere there were broken limbs, wounded people, and corpses.

The battle continued, with the Black Phoenix clan clearly gaining the upper hand, pressing the remaining members of the Demon clan and the Mi Jiao clan at the foot of the mountain and besieging them! The power of the mages was fully unleashed—every moment saw members of the Demon clan and the Mi Jiao clan falling. The members of these two clans were utterly desperate; first the elders were killed, then the clan leaders, and successive blows broke their fighting spirit, forcing them to retreat step by step.

It seemed the battle would end soon, and Rod had no intention of continuing to participate. He sat in place, slowly channeling his combat energy to heal his body. As he recovered, he realized he had gained a lot from this battle. Not only had he stabilized his Yang Xuan realm strength, but his physique also seemed to have strengthened further through that brutal close-quarters combat—a truly remarkable sensation!

The battle lasted a full day and night before ending the next day. By then, Rod had fully recovered from his cultivation, his combat energy reaching level eight, with his body almost unharmed. The remaining minor injuries had healed to levels five or six and could be fully restored with rest. The results were satisfactory.

As for the outcome of the battle, the Black Phoenix clan, with boosted morale, achieved a decisive victory. Aside from a few remaining Demon clan soldiers who escaped in the chaos, the entire Mi Jiao clan and the rest of the Demon army were annihilated.

On the other hand, the Black Phoenix clan also suffered significant losses. Relying on the power of their mages, they lost over four hundred people, most of whom died during the ambush earlier; fewer died afterward. Fortunately, the core members of the Black Phoenix clan were not severely injured in this battle, which was a fortunate outcome.

Additionally, the Death Scythe Squad stood out in this battle. Wherever they went, they were like a harvester, unstoppable, displaying terrifying combat prowess that was hard to believe. Their cold eyes and skilled fighting techniques were truly admirable. After the battle, it seemed each of them had taken at least as many lives as they had lost.

At that moment, they radiated intense killing intent, forcing even the members of the Black Phoenix clan to avoid them, fearing they might be killed on the spot.

When the battle ended, the entire battlefield fell into silence. Almost everyone was unaccustomed to such a large-scale conflict for the first time. Only the Death Scythe Squad, having experienced many such battles, began cleaning up the battlefield—once again earning everyone’s admiration.