I Am Also An Extraordinary Creature
Chapter 363 - 287 Fires Everywhere_1

Chapter 363: Chapter 287 Fires Everywhere_1

The injured native warriors were still actively trying to heal themselves, although their numbers had been reduced to less than a tenth. Those who remained were steadfast in will and powerful in their purity; otherwise, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the dark corruption that spawned the blackening.

While they attended to their wounds, Zheng Yichen was examining an amulet in his hand. Being influenced by demonic thoughts this time, he managed to retain some of his original self-awareness, which was largely thanks to this amulet made from the "exuvia" that belonged to him in a previous world.

Before it became an amulet, the layer of exuvia could absorb demonic thoughts. Even though this diminished the power of the Demonic Abyss Seven Kills that Zheng Yichen could unleash, exchanging a degree of lethal power for a special effect seemed worthwhile after the amulet proved its utility.

Preserving part of his normal self-awareness allowed Zheng Yichen to finely appreciate and control the state of demonic thoughts, and then there was another function of the amulet: while it could absorb demonic thoughts, those absorbed wouldn’t disappear. The originally white amulet was visibly turning black at an observable speed.

However, Zheng Yichen wasn’t worried about the amulet breaking; he had several similar ones. The demonic thoughts absorbed by these amulets could be utilized separately, essentially turning them into portable battery packs. Although the amulets themselves had a purifying effect on demonic thoughts, the stored energy would be completely purified after some time, making them unusable as a reserve power source.

But they were very useful in short-term combat.

The Demonic Abyss Seven Kills wasn’t a mere basic attack, and the strike that killed Bai Liming wasn’t Zheng Yichen’s full strength either. This move required not only a substantial amount of demonic thoughts but also sufficient Inner Strength. Without enough Inner Strength, the move could still be used, but the power would be less spectacular, turning what would be an area attack into a single-target hit.

"Cough... We have temporarily controlled the blackening!" A native warrior with a grimace stared at Zheng Yichen. There was no misunderstanding between them, whether there ever had been was another matter. But they were well aware that Zheng Yichen hadn’t left yet because he was waiting for them to go mad...

Once they went mad, he could then proceed to kill them one by one. The elderly predecessors guarding various locations were also monitoring the situation here. Though they were distant, that didn’t stop them from gauging their personal condition.

If the elders didn’t intervene when Zheng Yichen slaughtered, it was a sign that their people were beyond saving.

"Not yet," Zheng Yichen put away the amulet in his hand. It should have helped with their condition, but it was his belonging, a gift from his girlfriend. Why should he give it to these people?

So far, the remaining native warriors were still emitting strong demonic thoughts.

While Zheng Yichen waited, he suddenly noticed something. Looking into the distance, his giant saber swiftly pierced through the chests of several Boundary Breakers, and the remaining two grew even weaker due to the extra loss of blood.

Having done this, Zheng Yichen quickly rode away on his motorcycle, sensing something intriguing...

After his departure, the remaining native warriors breathed a sigh of relief. Despite still being angry at heart, they felt a sliver of relaxation. It wasn’t that they feared death, but the influence of this particular blackening was bizarrely strange.

Without understanding the origins of this power, its spread could potentially transform the world’s populace into a horde of madmen. Such a targeted and potent force couldn’t possibly be the result of mere coincidence.

"I’m going to ’ask’ them thoroughly!" sneered a native warrior, his face twisting into a fierce grin. The blackening was suppressed, but its influence persisted, keeping him in a state of irritation. He had no sympathy for the two Boundary Breakers that Zheng Yichen purposefully left behind.

Distinct divisions emerged among their ranks along with additional information, turning former comrades into suspects.

Their true comrades were those who chose to sacrifice themselves in the fight against the blackening!

"First, let’s take them back to the base. It’s not safe here," said another warrior who was still somewhat rational. They had controlled the blackening and in doing so limited their power; commencing battle would cause the contained black spots to spread rapidly.

"...All right."

When they returned to the military base, they found it completely plunged into chaos. Most of the soldiers had fallen into madness, while the few who were still normal were attempting to flee. Under such disarray, those who sought escape were quickly dispatched before they could make a move.

After witnessing this scene, the native warriors realized that the military stationed here was finished. The spread of the Black Light was alarmingly fast; they could only watch from a distance, unable to approach.

Even drawing near would mean succumbing to the rampant influence of the Black Light and meeting their doom.

That Bai Liming could generate such a blackening was definitely no coincidence or an innate trait; it was a... conspiracy!

Once certain steadfast beliefs began to waver, things that had seemed impossible in their memories suddenly became possible.

They had once believed that the Boundary Breaker was none other than the Dusk mercenary. Even if the Dusk mercenary claimed that the Boundary Breaker was the enemy, their ’investigation’ presented a plethora of evidence that the so-called Boundary Breaker was in fact the Dusk mercenary, and some of the Dusk mercenaries had even successfully entered that massive otherworldly phenomenon.

But afterwards, nothing changed. Instead, the phenomenon became even larger. They trusted the results of their own investigation more than those who did not belong to this world.

Now it seemed, was it really as their investigation had found?

Perhaps there had been problematic individuals among them all along, like spies, who had infiltrated for decades and even climbed to the upper echelons of certain fields, then at critical moments, would suddenly detonate and backstab, inflicting fatal blows to those industries...

"Go to another place!"

Enduring the discomfort of their darkening transformation, they hurried to another military camp, only to find it too plunged into serious chaos. Differently here, there was an unwelcome visitor, swinging a giant saber, with those deranged by the darkening ignoring the others around them and concentrating their fire on the intruder.

This scene was all too familiar to them; it was reminiscent of when Zheng Yichen had fought them before, invoking their battle instincts with the Asura Battle Intent, which had resulted in chaos.

Only now, Zheng Yichen was engaged in a very serious massacre. Those covered in black spots, who had fallen into madness, were effortlessly cut down into blood mist. They wanted to intervene but they knew all too well what was happening.

Afterward, they felt lost. Most of the military’s strongholds were destroyed. Even though they had located some unaffected areas via communicator, those were too far away for them to reach quickly, and the places that were currently safe were too few.

Then, they arrived at a location guarded by a senior figure. There, they found him split-faced, half dark, half normal, which deeply saddened them. This had undoubtedly been a long-planned conspiracy.

However, because of the ’Dusk mercenary’ and Bai Liming’s issues, the conspiracy had leaked, causing the real mole to detonate the plot prematurely.

They had been ensnared, and even the top-tier individuals in this world had been trapped.

When they had approached, the senior had kept them at a distance, fearing that he would not be able to resist attacking them. The influence of Black Light on them was too profound; he could have resisted or even eliminated the influence, but he was busy maintaining the balance of the sky’s node and couldn’t spare the energy to deal with it, maintaining a dangerous equilibrium instead.

Through the connections between nodes, he could confirm that at least a quarter of those maintaining the nodes had been affected. News had also spread that someone had intended to strike in the shadows but had been preemptively discovered and the threats dealt with. However, those intending to do harm weren’t Boundary Breakers, but bona fide natives.

Worse still, Black Light continued to "spread" along the nodes. The sky canopy itself seemed to be part of the conspiracy. The situation could not be maintained for much longer without affecting those who were still unaffected. Soon, they would all be turned into smaller, dark entities,

"Elder, what about withdrawing the sky canopy?" a Three Glory warrior asked urgently.

"It’s too late," the two-faced elder said. "It’s too late indeed..."

The sky canopy had already taken shape. Though not for long, it had already accumulated enough power; after all, the initial purpose of the sky canopy was to amass enough ’Three Glory’ energy to completely erase the phenomenon, equivalent to evaporating an entire continent in one fell swoop.

Withdrawing the sky canopy was akin to unleashing all the accumulated Three Glory energy. Without using it to attack, merely dispersing it would instantaneously mutate the life forms of this world. A normal Three Days Across the Sky would deepen the effect on the creatures of this world, leading them to gradually distort and go mad.

But at least, there would be a slow-boiling frog effect, a gradual heating that might allow the creatures being cooked to adapt somewhat. The process would not be so violent.

Now, removing the sky canopy would be like pouring boiling water into the pot; even those with strong adaptivity would perish on the spot, adaptation would require time.

Besides, the sky canopy might also be part of the conspiracy. If they were to attack, they might not be able to resolve the phenomenon, and with how things were, an attack would immediately affect those not yet influenced by Black Light, pinning them to this spot.

The elder’s gaze fell on the two Boundary Breakers in the group: "The purge of traitors has begun, and your involvement is crucial to its success."