Chapter 371: Genocide

“Cough, cough, cough…” After a long while, a faint coughing sound came through. Hearing this, everyone was deeply moved.
“Brother Rod!”
“Head!”
Suddenly, everyone became excited. If there was movement, that meant Rod was fine! Their hearts, which had dropped to the bottom of the valley earlier, soared back up, undergoing a 180-degree change. Every face was filled with excitement.
They rushed inside, and the scene before their eyes was astonishing. The once-standing mountain peak had turned into a pile of ruins, completely devastated. Huge cracks spread in all directions like spider webs, looking terrifying.
At the center was a pit about twenty meters wide and three to four meters deep. In the middle, a figure appeared before them! Struggling to get up, the person’s hair was disheveled, looking in a terrible state.
“Head! Are you… are you okay?” Seeing the person’s appearance clearly, Viski couldn’t help but ask.
Rod indeed looked terrible, seemingly suffering serious injuries.
“I’m… I’m fine, damn it!” cursing fiercely, Rod was visibly upset for the first time in front of these people. This time, he had come close to death. If not for his battle armor protecting him at the critical moment, he wouldn’t be standing here. He also wondered what that guy had done—such a powerful self-destructive attack! Thinking of it, Rod took a deep breath in relief.
The self-destructive power of a Yin Huang-level warrior was indeed terrifying. He knew his own physical strength well. Even so, without the protection of the Tianfeng Battle Armor, he wouldn’t know what would have happened to him. He probably would have died along with everyone else.
At the same time, Rod also discovered another function of the Tianfeng Battle Armor: at critical moments, when his life was at stake, it would activate absolute defense, using all his combat energy to create a defensive barrier to protect him. It was this defensive barrier that saved him before.
However, such defensive measures came at a heavy cost—his entire combat energy was exhausted in just one defense! It was clear that ordinary people couldn’t afford to use this kind of energy.
“It’s good that you’re okay, it’s good that you’re okay!” Seeing Rod’s pained expression, Nightingale comforted him. Although they didn’t know what had happened, as long as Rod was alive, that was enough.

Huff… Climbing to the ground, Rod gasped for breath in disarray. Looking at the manor in the distance, which was now quiet, Rod turned to Merk and asked, “It’s over. All 817 remaining members of the Mi Jiao clan have been wiped out. We’re still conducting final searches and clean-ups. The Mi Jiao clan has been erased from the Source of Darkness!” With a bitter smile, Merk spoke solemnly.

He couldn’t feel joy—one of the four major clans, the Mi Jiao clan, had been completely destroyed. Though revenge had been taken, it still felt grim. After all, their two clans had once had a decent relationship, but differing paths had led to a situation where they could no longer coexist, even at the cost of life. Their clan’s destruction made Merk think of his own Black Phoenix clan. In this world of survival of the fittest, strength meant everything. For example, if it weren’t for the greater strength of the Black Phoenix clan, it would be they who had been wiped out this time, with the Mi Jiao clan cleaning up the battlefield!

“That’s good! Search thoroughly, and let’s leave this place as soon as it’s over!” After some thought, Rod said. He knew Merk and the others must be in a bad mood. But this wasn’t a place to stay long. Not to mention that the pro-war faction might have received news and troops could be heading here soon! Even the neutral faction, being the closest, required them to leave immediately—otherwise, if they discovered the fate of the Black Phoenix clan, it wouldn’t benefit them either. The next plan was about to begin, leaving them little time. So, the top priority now was to hurry up and proceed to the next phase.

Hearing Rod’s words, Merk and Dolon nodded silently, exchanged a glance, and without saying another word, turned and headed toward the Mi Jiao manor. They had reached a consensus in silence.

As for Rod, he began to recuperate under the protection of the Death Scythe Squad. Although his armor had saved his life earlier, the intense shock still caused some internal injuries. These injuries might not seem serious, but they were the real hidden dangers. Many warriors suffered because they ignored such minor injuries, allowing them to fester inside. One day, they would erupt like volcanoes, leading to catastrophic consequences—either stalling their progress for life or leaving them as half-disabled people with severe injuries. Over time, those injuries became irreparable.

These were not the results Rod wanted, so he took any seemingly minor injury seriously until he was sure there were no problems with his body. Thus, Rod’s health could be said to be excellent.
After a whole night of preparation, it wasn’t until the sunrise rose and the sunlight shone over the land that everything came to an end. At that moment, Mi Jiao Villa was filled with a deathly silence! The Black Phoenix clan suffered minimal losses in this battle—perhaps because their enemies were too weak. This time, the Black Phoenix clan lost only six people and had over thirty injured, with the rest unharmed!
As for the Reaper Scythe Squad, they once again demonstrated their terrifying and astonishing strength, suffering no serious injuries and killing the most enemies. Now, looking at them, everyone felt a great deal of awe and fear. The way they took enemies’ lives and their imposing presence were deeply etched in everyone’s hearts, filling them with genuine fear.
It’s believed that if it weren’t for a life-or-death duel, none of these people would dare to oppose the Reaper Scythe Squad.
“Are you ready?” After a night of training, it was nearly noon. Rod arrived at Mi Jiao Villa and asked Merk, seeing the neatly arranged group.
“Everything is ready. We can set off at any time!” Merk said, taking a deep breath as he gazed into the distance.
“Then let’s go!” Merk replied after a moment of thought.
“Set off!” With a wave of his hand, Merk gave the order loudly. Although these people didn’t know what awaited them next, since both the clan leader and the law enforcer had given the order, they naturally followed without hesitation.
Nearly two hundred people left the empty Mi Jiao Villa and headed into the distance. Perhaps aside from Rod, Merk, Dolon, and the members of the Reaper Scythe Squad, no one else knew that what awaited them was an even more intense and brutal battle.
……
“Did you hear? The Mi Jiao clan has been wiped out?”
“Damn, you’re from the mountains, right? Only now you’re hearing this news? I’ve known about it for ages!”
“Well, it seems the end is really coming. Even one of the four great clans, the Mi Jiao clan, can be destroyed! It seems…”
“I heard it was the Black Phoenix clan who did it!”
“Impossible. The Black Phoenix clan doesn’t have that strength. I heard it was a group of demons—those demons did it!”

Three days later, the entire Dark Source trembled as if struck by a massive earthquake, and everyone there became agitated. The reason was simple: one of the four major families, the Mi Jiao clan, had been wiped out. Apart from seven members who were besieging the opposition in Dark Moon City, the entire clan was slaughtered to the last man. From then on, the Mi Jiao clan became a footnote in the history of Dark Source—the downfall of one of the four major families.

Some said it was the work of the Black Phoenix clan, while others claimed a powerful mysterious force was responsible for their destruction. Regardless, this news sent shockwaves through Dark Source. It was the biggest story since the pro-war faction’s campaign against the opposition, even surpassing it in significance. Yet everyone knew it must be related to that battle, as the Mi Jiao clan was an ally of the pro-war faction. Their destruction indicated that the opposition, along with the Black Phoenix clan and the Dragon clan, had launched a counterattack.

At the same time, another piece of news arrived: the Black Phoenix clan had suffered a severe blow. The Mi Jiao clan, allied with the pro-war faction, had nearly wiped them out, leaving everyone stunned. Many concluded that the destruction of the Mi Jiao clan must be revenge by the Black Phoenix clan. However, others dismissed this idea, arguing that as another of the four major families, the Black Phoenix clan could not have the strength to destroy the Mi Jiao clan after such a heavy loss.

At this moment, more people turned their attention to the pro-war faction. With one of their allies, the Mi Jiao clan, annihilated, what would they do? This concerned everyone—would the pro-war faction help the Mi Jiao clan seek revenge? If they did, it would surely trigger an even more intense battle. If not, they might face disgrace, and their alliance with the Wolf clan could also waver. Suddenly, the pro-war faction found themselves at the center of the storm.

Meanwhile, many smaller clans grew uneasy. If the Mi Jiao clan could be easily destroyed, what about them? Were they not in even greater danger? These smaller clans, especially those allied with the Mi Jiao clan, felt threatened.

On the other side, in Dark Moon City, the leaders of the pro-war faction also received news of the Mi Jiao clan’s destruction. Upon reading it, each of them turned ashen.

Seven of them now wore expressions of resentment, their eyes filled with sorrow and anger as they looked at the others. “Speak up, what should we do? The destruction of our Mi Jiao clan is surely related to the Hei Feng clan. Our attempt to confront their clan leader and key members failed, and now that our Mi Jiao manor has been destroyed, it must be revenge from the Hei Feng clan!”
The atmosphere was gloomy. The pro-war faction and several key members of the Wolf Clan could say nothing as they listened to the seven remaining members of the Mi Jiao clan. How could they not understand this? How could they not be aware of what had happened?