Chapter 135: The Hatching Ground of the Kindred

Chapter 135: The Bloodkin Incubation Grounds

Confronted by the bloodkin monsters surging toward them like a vast dark tide, the entire force opened fire in panic. Luo Bing and the others were powerless to do much; there were simply too many enemies. Warriors were constantly seized and dragged into the air by the creatures, throwing everyone into a state of terror.

Xia Zheng did not panic. His mind raced as he summoned an immense amount of psychic power. Then he threw back his head and opened his mouth, spraying forth a beam of light. In the next instant, as though the sun itself were rising, the entire space was flooded with radiance.

While replenishing his depleted psychic strength, he controlled the “artificial sun” he had created. The bloodkin—or rather, those who had not yet fully evolved—seemed to fear sunlight intensely. Some were purified by the light on the spot, reduced to heaps of ash-like remains.

With the appearance of the artificial sun, the bloodkin fled the area in haste, leaving ruins scattered across the ground. Even so, several hundred soldiers had been killed or wounded in the assault, reducing the army’s strength to roughly thirteen thousand.

Morale had fallen somewhat. Xia Zheng encouraged them, saying, “What lies before us is not an easy road, but one where nine out of ten may die. Yet we are soldiers. Even if we must pass through fire and boiling water, we will not shrink back. Our fellow countrymen in the Eternal District are waiting for us to save them. We must drive the bloodkin out.”

“Drive out the bloodkin!”

The others raised their arms and shouted. At last, their morale began to recover.

Although Xia Zheng knew that maintaining the artificial sun above them consumed an enormous amount of psychic power, he had no other choice. He could only grit his teeth and endure it.

The lower-ranking bloodkin, terrified by the artificial sun, fled wherever its influence reached. Most of them were reduced to ashes. In all likelihood, more than several thousand had been burned to death by the artificial sun.

“Ugh…”

Someone began to vomit, apparently having witnessed some horrifying sight beyond belief. Soon, more people followed.

Xia Zheng led Luo Bing, Liu Chuxing, and several others toward the place where the soldiers were vomiting. There, they saw a scene that made their blood run cold.

The walls were uneven and dark green. On closer inspection, one could see human bodies sealed within them, their states of life or death unknown.

“They’re still alive…” someone reminded them.

At once, several soldiers began digging.

The walls seemed almost alive. They writhed and squirmed, yet after Luo Bing and the others attacked them repeatedly, they finally managed to dig out dozens of humans who still had a breath left in them.

“I… I don’t want to die… I don’t… want to die…”

“Save… save me… save me…”

“Why… why did you only come now…? Almost everyone in the city is dead…”

Everyone desperately wanted to save them, but before long, the survivors breathed their last. Their bodies seemed to have been used as nourishment for the walls, which in turn produced the lower-ranking bloodkin.

Along one side of the wall was a structure resembling a blood vessel, nearly half a meter in diameter. From within it, red eggs were periodically delivered, each standing roughly eighty centimeters tall.

Unable to contain his fury, a soldier smashed open one of the freshly laid eggs. A great mass of fluid gushed out, like egg white mixed with amniotic fluid. Within it appeared a tiny bloodkin infant, a grotesque hybrid of bat and human.

Its eyes slowly opened, and it immediately sensed the terror of the artificial sun. Yet the artificial sun was too far away to harm it.

Like a human infant, it seemed frail, bewildered, lonely, and helpless. When it saw Luo Bing, it even reached out its arms, wanting to be held. As one of the few women present, Luo Bing was mistaken for its mother. She clenched her teeth and tried to kill it, but something seemed to restrain her, and she could not bring herself to strike.

Another soldier extended the barrel of his rifle and prodded the infant bloodkin. At once, its ferocity emerged. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp fangs that had not yet fully developed, and tried to suck the soldier’s blood.

Rat-a-tat-tat…

After a burst of gunfire, the infant bloodkin was shot to death by the surrounding soldiers. Luo Bing rushed over, her body trembling uncontrollably as a heavy sense of guilt rose within her.

“Let them deal with it,” Xia Zheng said with a sigh.

He led Luo Bing away. Moments later, a storm of gunfire and explosions erupted behind them. The writhing wall that had produced the eggs, along with all the dead humans sealed inside it, was burned to ashes.

With tears streaming down her face, Luo Bing asked Xia Zheng, “By all rights, I should hate the bloodkin. But why do I feel guilty? Why am I shedding tears for the enemy?”

“No. You are not crying for the bloodkin. You are crying for your own conscience. The infant bloodkin looked no different from a human child, and it was so weak and helpless. You are a woman, and it awakened your maternal instincts. That is simply part of being human.”

Xia Zheng drew Luo Bing into his arms and comforted her.

Even though the truth was as he had said, Luo Bing could not stop sobbing. If the bloodkin had not been so aggressive from the very beginning, if they had not sought to exterminate humanity, perhaps none of this would have happened. But there were no “ifs” in this world.

Mistakes continued to compound, and misunderstandings grew ever deeper. When the day came that reconciliation was no longer possible, a bloody war in which one side had to die would become unavoidable.

The bloodkin were far too aggressive. Unlike humanity, a civilized species tempered by the trials of countless wars, they had no desire to resolve disputes through negotiation.

This space was vast beyond imagination. Xia Zheng struggled to maintain the artificial sun overhead as he led the others onward. It took them nearly two hours to finally emerge.

The night wind swept over them, carrying fresh air. Everyone felt as though they had survived a catastrophe. Outside, moonlight bathed the land. When they turned to look behind them, they saw a gigantic, pitch-black cavern entrance, like the gaping maw of some enormous beast. They felt as though they had just crawled out of its belly.

The exit lay in the northern part of the Eternal District. They had broken through the barrier from the south, yet somehow emerged in the north. Clearly, the space that had nurtured the bloodkin stretched across an immense distance.

Strangely, this place appeared untouched by the bloodkin. It was tranquil and peaceful. Under the gentle moonlight, it even evoked the serenity of a quiet countryside.

Xia Zheng led the more than thirteen thousand survivors cautiously toward this seemingly undamaged region, waiting for a report from the scouts.

Half an hour later, the scouts returned and reported that the city was completely calm. The residents appeared normal, as though the bloodkin had overlooked the place entirely.

“Are you certain those people are our countrymen?” Xia Zheng asked, puzzled.

The scout nodded. “Yes, sir. I am certain. I even recognize some of them. I am a resident of the Eternal District myself.”

“Hmm… Strange. Why is everything so peaceful here?”

Xia Zheng stroked his chin, unable to make sense of it. Luo Bing and the others were equally perplexed.

To be cautious, Xia Zheng ordered everyone to remain hidden for the time being. He then selected ten people, most of them genetic warriors. Luo Bing and the others were naturally among them. They intended to enter the city and investigate. If trouble truly arose, they would still be able to send out a distress signal or order a retreat, preventing the entire force from being placed in danger.

Before leaving, Xia Zheng used his ability to create a concealed camp. He carved it directly into the stone wall near the cavern entrance, making it solid and durable, and even established a temporary command post there.

Once everything was arranged, Xia Zheng led Luo Bing and the others toward the city to uncover the truth.