Chapter 273: Dark Undercurrents Surge
After leaving the Blood-colored Fortress, rolling mountain ranges stretched endlessly, dense vegetation flourished, and a wild, primitive aura rushed toward him.
Towering trees dozens, even hundreds, of meters high could be seen everywhere. At the same time, the energy particles in the air were noticeably richer.
Not far behind Zhou Ming stood the city walls of the Blood-colored Fortress that guarded the Blue Star Alliance.
Lofty and majestic like towering mountains, they stood with the might of “one man guarding the pass against ten thousand,” blocking the Ferocious Beasts of the Endless Forest Sea from entering Alliance territory.
Compared to the strongholds outside the Panlong Mountain Range in the past, the defensive level of the Blood-colored Fortress was on an entirely different scale.
So-called tanks and armored vehicles were merely conventional weapons. Energy cannons, nuclear weapons, and fully organized squads composed of Professional Beast Tamers were by no means few.
Compared to entering the other side of the Blood-colored Fortress, approaching the wall that faced the Endless Forest Sea made even Zhou Ming feel a faint aura of death.
After glancing around casually, Zhou Ming rose into the air in the direction indicated on the map. With physical qualities already comparable to a high-tier Ferocious Beast, he moved freely through the towering mountains and steep ridges.
Not long after Zhou Ming left the Blood-colored Fortress, a squad composed of ten High-level Professional Beast Tamers also departed one after another.
High-level Professional Beast Tamers, in the absence of Transcendent-level powerhouses, were already absolute elites.
Such a conspicuous squad naturally drew the attention of the Alliance garrison troops stationed at the Blood-colored Fortress. After all, some of the Beast Tides that had crashed into the fortress in the past had been caused by certain powerful individuals.
This was also a side effect of the Alliance’s use of civilian combat forces.
After causing trouble, these Beast Tamers’ first instinct was to retreat into the various fortresses established by the Alliance to avoid threats.
“Ten High-level Professional Beast Tamers moving out together—has another treasure been discovered?”
Inside the Blood-colored Fortress Command Center, an elderly man with a lean frame but eyes as sharp as an eagle speculated as he examined the delivered intelligence.
This man was none other than the Supreme Commander of the Blood-colored Fortress, Lieutenant General Chai Shengping of the military. He possessed terrifying Mid-level Transcendent strength and had advanced along the path from Shepherd to Legion Commander.
He commanded three Lord-level Ferocious Beasts and over a hundred high-tier Ferocious Beasts.
He had once arranged the Iron Pagoda Grand Formation using his own Beasts, eliminating a small-scale Beast Tide that struck the Blood-colored Fortress.
He was known externally as the true authority of the Blood-colored Fortress.
“Reporting to Commander Chai, the other party’s objective remains unclear. However, their identities have been verified—they are members and retainers of the Wind Eagle Yang Family from the Alliance Headquarters.”
Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, Chai Shengping immediately understood why this matter had been reported directly to him rather than left to the intelligence analysis department for decision-making.
“That old ghost of the Yang Family died two years ago. Now they only have two Early-stage Transcendents holding the line. Are they trying to stir something up again?”
Although the Wind Eagle Yang Family was an established force within the Alliance Headquarters and still had two Transcendent powerhouses suppressing matters, with their strongest Mid-level Transcendent ancestor deceased, Chai Shengping—himself a military general—felt no particular fear of the Yang Family.
What he truly worried about was the Yang Family causing trouble within the Endless Forest Sea, leaving him to clean up the aftermath.
“Commander, before reporting this, I checked the records of those who entered the Endless Forest Sea. It may be related to this person.”
The major who came to report had come well-prepared and immediately placed a file in front of Chai Shengping.
It was information regarding Zhou Ming.
Although Academician Lei Yuan had sealed Zhou Ming’s records, the fortress in the Furious Flood Dragon Mountain Range possessed extremely high-level access privileges. As a result, Zhou Ming’s information had been investigated thoroughly.
“Zhou Ming. High-level Beast Tamer. Class advancement system unknown. Boyfriend of Academician Lei Yuan from the Alliance Academy of Sciences.”
“Interesting. So the Yang Family intends to target the interests of the Alliance’s technological reform?”
The moment Chai Shengping saw the relationship between Zhou Ming and Lei Yuan, he immediately guessed the Yang Family’s objective.
With the Yang Family’s ancestor deceased and their strength declining, they had set their sights on the reform movement within the Academy of Sciences.
“A family that has been passed down for several hundred years, yet now scheming against a young girl. I’d say the Yang Family’s fortune won’t last much longer.”
Setting aside his other identities, Chai Shengping was, in the end, a soldier who had endured countless bloody battles. By nature, he despised such conspiracies and underhanded schemes.
“Commander, what should we do? Should we intervene?”
Facing his subordinate’s question, the Transcendent powerhouse who had guarded the Blood-colored Fortress for decades frowned slightly.
Although he was a Transcendent-level expert and the Supreme Commander of the Blood-colored Fortress, he was not one of the players who moved the pieces on the chessboard.
Within the Alliance, only the lofty Legendary Saints were qualified to be chess players.
At most, he was merely a spectator.
After all, there were numerous factions within the Alliance. Intervening rashly in certain matters could bring trouble even to him.
After a moment of silence, Chai Shengping fed Zhou Ming’s file and the intelligence regarding the Yang Family members entering the Endless Forest Sea into the shredder.
“From today onward, treat this as if nothing happened. Not a single word of what you saw or heard is to be leaked. Otherwise, military law will be enforced.”
“Yes, sir.”
In the end, Chai Shengping chose to pretend nothing had occurred.
The reason was simple: Lei Yuan was ultimately only a researcher. No matter how high her standing within the Academy of Sciences, she could not influence the internal struggles of the Alliance.
Unless this matter involved Lei Yuan’s personal safety, Chai Shengping felt it was not worth stirring up trouble on behalf of her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, after Zhou Ming left the range of the Furious Flood Dragon Mountain Range and officially entered the Endless Forest Sea, he immediately released his Beasts.
Ripples seemed to spread beneath his feet as Ironthread Snakes of varying lengths surged forth like a tide into the forest.
“Hiss—hiss—”
Inkband and Vermilion Jade, the earliest Beasts Zhou Ming had tamed, rubbed affectionately against him.
“Alright, go hunt.”
Inkband and Vermilion Jade had now grown beyond five meters in length, their strength roughly comparable to Mid-level Professional Beast Tamers.
As for Iron Block and Silver Scale, their bodies had already exceeded twenty meters. The remaining Colorful Scales and Golden Horn were around ten meters long, with strength comparable to Entry-level Professional Beast Tamers.
No matter who examined them, none would recognize that they had evolved from Ironthread Snakes.
As for the ordinary Ironthread Snake group, aside from those newly contracted later, the rest had grown beyond three meters, their strength all at the threshold of high-tier Ferocious Beasts.
The reason lay in the limitations imposed by bloodline. Unless bloodline mutation occurred, or Zhou Ming personally carried out Bloodline Modification, their growth potential remained capped.
Considering bloodline purity and to avoid problems when advancing to Transcendent Master, Zhou Ming had temporarily refrained from modifying the ordinary Ironthread Snakes.
Looking at the massive creatures before him, Zhou Ming briefly soothed them before allowing them to hunt.
Although serpent-type Ferocious Beasts could endure long periods without food, Zhou Ming generally did not let them go hungry in order to ensure better development of his Ironthread Snake swarm.
At the camp, someone had supplied large quantities of low-tier Ferocious Beast blood daily. Now, Zhou Ming could only allow them to forage freely and obtain prey on their own.
As the snake swarm swept through the surroundings, Zhou Ming mobilized his spiritual consciousness. Combined with the unique bloodline aura he emitted, he began attempting to establish contact with the Ironthread Snakes living within the Endless Forest Sea.
A fluctuation perceptible only to Ironthread Snakes spread outward.
At this moment, the lowest-tier Ironthread Snakes living within the Endless Forest Sea left their hiding places and lifted their heads, gazing in the direction where Zhou Ming stood.