Han Kexin, accompanied by Shui Lan, returned to Darkness City to report to the lord, Zhang Nu, who had also just returned.
Eager to showcase her achievements, Han Kexin said, "How about that? We did a pretty good job this time, didn't we? Look what I've brought for you." Handing over the Evil God fragment, she watched Zhang Nu's surprised reaction.
Another fragment of an Evil God, coincidentally from the Eight-Eyed Evil God, was of immense value to Zhang Nu, far surpassing the worth of a hundred epic-grade items. Learning about the situation in Holy Tides City, Zhang Nu was quite pleased with Han Kexin's strategy. Successfully assimilating hundreds of thousands of Pale Moon Kingdom troops would secure the southern front of the Chaos Federation in the Chaos Seas. Even without deploying a single soldier from Darkness City, the decaying Pale Moon Kingdom stood no chance against Han Kexin and her subordinates, Shui Lan, as well as the elite navy.
Han Kexin outlined her plan: "The cities of Pale Moon Kingdom have been oppressing and enslaving various tribes for a thousand years, losing the people's support long ago. By invoking Shui Lan's name and the banner of restoring order, we can easily win over the tribes."
Zhang Nu cautioned, "Don't underestimate a kingdom with a thousand years of heritage."
Han Kexin confidently replied, "No worries, my permanent charm ability is almost ready again. Once I meet the Pale Moon King in person, who is at most a Level 5 monarch, he won't be able to resist my charm."
Han Kexin was employing a dual strategy: rallying various forces to overthrow the old nobility from the bottom up, while also planning to use her permanent charm to directly control the Pale Moon King, thus dismantling the supporting pillars of the kingdom from the top down. With Holy Tides City as a base, the banner of Shui Lan, the Azure Water Empress, and sufficient military forces, taking over the kingdom was a straightforward task for her, merely a matter of time.
Zhang Nu acknowledged their efforts, "You've done well this time. Rewards and punishments are clearly defined in Darkness City, and those who have merited will not be treated unfairly."
Expectantly, Han Kexin inquired, "Really? Then about my bonus..."
Zhang Nu, somewhat irritated, assured her, "You won't miss out on your bonus. For starters, take this!" He then handed her an enormous egg.
Han Kexin was astonished, "An epic pet egg? Undying Phoenix!"
Zhang Nu explained, "This Undying Phoenix is an extremely rare divine beast that can potentially reach mythic levels. Not only does it possess formidable offensive capabilities, but it also has various supportive abilities. Having it will significantly enhance your strength."
Truly a treasure of immense value! Han Kexin was very pleased with this reward. This egg, transformed from the divine fire of a Level 6 monarch phoenix, would hatch at least a monarch-class creature, and with proper nurturing, it could even reach mythic-class. Essentially, it was a super weapon. The Undying Phoenix's divine fire could not only heal itself but also transfer life force to its master, instantly healing the master's injuries, which was more effective than any potion.
For Zhang Nu, boosting his combat capabilities with a pet was unnecessary. Moreover, with his own fire-rebirth ability and the newly acquired "Eye of Regeneration," he didn't need the Undying Phoenix's supportive effects. Thus, rather than keeping it for himself, it made more sense to give it to Han Kexin. Enhancing the strength of Darkness City's second-in-command would enable her to generate even more value for Darkness City.
After thanking her boss, Han Kexin immediately went to hatch the egg. Zhang Nu then turned to Shui Lan, saying, "During our adventure, we found some Phoenix Blood Crystals. These crystals can not only awaken bloodline powers but also effectively repair any physical damage. They might be of help to you."
In her prime, Shui Lan was no less formidable than Zhang Nu is now. Generally, mythic-class powerhouses were considered emperors, and those referred to as Great Emperors or Legendary Emperors were of the legendary class. Shui Lan, at her peak, was a Level 6 legendary unit, reaching the pinnacle of Level 6 and about to touch the threshold of Level 7. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to achieve such great feats. However, after her resurrection, Shui Lan fell to a Level 5 mythic, losing more than 90% of her strength. This was somewhat regrettable, but not irreparable. Phoenix Blood Crystals could potentially restore her lost power, possibly allowing Shui Lan to regain her strength.
Thus, Zhang Nu took out a portion of the blood crystals and used them on Shui Lan. The process was similar to what Nancilia went through, and the outcome was almost identical. As Shui Lan absorbed the essence of the blood crystals and broke free from them, her aura surged, increasing several times over.
[Empress of the Sea Tribes: Shui Lan] Level 6 mythic unit...
After seeing Shui Lan's updated information as a Level 6 mythic unit, Zhang Nu nodded in satisfaction. Although she hadn't returned to her peak state, her current level was more than sufficient. Now, apart from the Demon King himself, Darkness City boasted the Succubus Queen Han Kexin, the Elven Emperor Nancilia, and the Empress of the Sea Tribes Shui Lan, all as Level 6 mythic units.
Such a formidable lineup ensured that even if a Level 7 Hero from the top ranks of the Hero leaderboards were to launch a surprise attack on Darkness City, the city's combined strength would be fully capable of holding its ground.
"Incredible!" Shui Lan was also surprised, "I've actually regained some of my power!"
Zhang Nu reassured her, "There's nothing to be surprised about. Given enough time, it's not impossible for you to return to your peak condition. For now, your task is to continue assisting Vice Lord Han Kexin in seizing the Pale Moon Peninsula."
With her fists clenched, Shui Lan affirmed, "With my current strength, not to mention unifying the Pale Moon Peninsula, even a larger territory wouldn't pose a problem, especially with the Vice Lord's formidable abilities."
Zhang Nu felt very confident about the situation in the Chaos Seas, entrusting it entirely to Vice Lord Han Kexin, only requiring regular updates on the progress. His focus now needed to shift northward. However, before making any moves, Zhang Nu decided to use the Eye of Regeneration.
[Evil God fragment assimilation success!]
[Maximum HP +5000!]
[You've gained a new talent: Eye of Regeneration!]
[ Your "Eye of Regeneration" has resonated with "Eye of Death" and "Eye of Domination", three eyes of Evil God's strength +50%, Evil God's power +100%, maximum HP +10000, maximum MP +10000, all stats +300!]
This substantial boost in stats significantly strengthened Zhang Nu, even disregarding the Evil God powers and talents. The acquisition of the third Evil God eye led to a qualitative change in his abilities, making the Eye of Death and the Eye of Domination much more potent due to resonance between fragments from the same Evil God. The more fragments collected, the stronger this resonance effect became. Zhang Nu realized that these Evil God fragments might offer a viable approach to his ongoing search for godhood.
In this world, local deities such as the God of Radiance and the Goddess of Nature do exist. However, they mostly function as laws and programs, materializing as avatars only under rare circumstances. Essentially, the gods of this world represent the rules of the world itself. Without a tangible entity to interact with, it's challenging to obtain divinity or godhood from them. In contrast, outer gods from other realms, or Evil Gods, possess physical forms and consciousness.
Evil Gods are still gods, endowed with a potent, undying divinity. Being divine, they undoubtedly possess godhood. If Zhang Nu were to collect all fragments of an Evil God, it could potentially activate the corresponding divinity, offering a chance to advance to a Chaos Dragon God. This presents a viable path forward.
Zhang Nu then examined his newly acquired talent.
[Eye of Regeneration] Talent skill. Grants eternal life. Once activated, all healing effects on the bearer are increased tenfold, and the bearer gains the "Undying" effect.
This eye bestowed everlasting vitality upon its possessor. As long as its effects weren't sealed, the bearer's body would be nearly impossible to destroy completely; it could regenerate indefinitely, even from being reduced to shreds. Furthermore, the Eye of Regeneration possessed a potent life force. It could assist in reviving oneself or healing others, amplifying all targeted healing effects by tenfold.
What did this imply? Zhang Nu's "Rebirth from within the Flames" ability, which had previously only been able to be fully charged and utilized every few days, was now able to be used consecutively once ready. With the Eye of Regeneration, Zhang Nu became much harder to kill. Although the Eye of Regeneration might not have been directly usable in combat, its formidable ability significantly enhanced survivability and combat capability. Zhang Nu was naturally satisfied.
Having acquired three of the Eight-Eyed Evil God's eyes, Zhang Nu wondered where the remaining five might be. He decided to have the draconian legions and other forces under his command search for them.
After obtaining the Eye of Regeneration, Zhang Nu decided to conduct an experiment, choosing the newly recruited Ent King Grootroot as the subject. Grootroot's internal flames had been extinguished by Zhang Nu, but due to severe damage, a slow recovery had been necessary. However, it seemed such lengthy recuperation might not have been needed after all.
Activating the Eye of Regeneration, a green eye opened on Zhang Nu's forehead, gazing at the Ent King. In the next moment, a scene unfolded that left all the elves and ents present in astonishment. The charred cracks on the Ent King's trunk swiftly regained their color, and the half of the branches that had been previously withered and charred sprouted new growth as the charred layer fell away.
Grootroot clearly felt his body, once riddled with damage from the Black Phoenix's divine fire, being healed at an incredibly rapid pace. The regenerative power released by the Eye of Regeneration could mend any form of injury in this world. This level of healing had surpassed mortal limits, bordering on the divine, and left onlookers in awe. With such an ability, death had become a difficult feat to achieve."