Chapter 647: Black Ice Express Appears, [Nuclear Bomb Preparation], Mutation

Another half day passed.

When the last peak Bronze creature on the battlefield was overwhelmed by the tide of Blood Beasts, there was no joy on Black Ice's face—only an unusual grimness.

"What is this?"

On this battlefield, every corpse quickly withered into dried remains, then crumbled and vanished underfoot. In their place, vines sprouted from the bodies, growing against the wind.

They attacked all living things indiscriminately.

Black Ice had considered that Moon Shadow's Breath might have more tricks up her sleeve, but he never expected such a turn of events. What shocked him most was that the battlefield, which should have been piled high with corpses, had been completely devoured by these vines.

This was undoubtedly his greatest blow. The attacks he launched using reserve energy had all become gifts for someone else.

"Moon Shadow's Breath, quite the move. So you saw through my motives long ago and even found a way to counter them…"

But Moon Shadow's Breath was equally stunned.

She stared at the screen showing the vines swaying in the wind and a belated realization flickered through her mind.

"Corpses…"

"I see. So he was using the bodies to produce Blood Beasts."

Once she understood, Moon Shadow's Breath drew a sharp breath. The Bloodlands had truly gone all out to deal with her!

"But then, why did he create these vines? And it seems he can't control them. Could there be a new plan?"

Moon Shadow's Breath could only order everyone to be on full alert.

Meanwhile, Yu Yuan received a message from the Alpha. The Black Ice Express had been found.

[Alpha: It's appeared. That train really was hiding underground. Maybe because the corpses disappeared, it emerged.]

Yu Yuan immediately entered the [Synchronization] state with the Alpha.

On the Command Armored Vehicle's screen, a blood-red, monstrous train looked like a giant earthworm burrowing out of the ground. The front of the train was equipped with a drill-like device. Once it surfaced, it stopped spinning, and the drill split apart into jagged teeth that embedded themselves into the train's head.

"So that's it."

Yu Yuan frowned at the train's centipede-like wheels and the fleshy organs on its body that were clearly weapon systems. These things looked very similar to some devices from the Mortarian civilization relic.

"Coincidence?"

But recalling that when the planet Morphis exploded, much of the biological civilization's technology and knowledge scattered across the Civilization Star Track, Yu Yuan's doubt faded.

"Fair enough. The Blood Duke's Blood Energy is technically part of biological civilization. It's normal to have some related tech."

Just then, the Alpha began issuing orders.

"Lock coordinates on the train. Record energy fluctuations. Deploy trackers."

Drones descended for low-altitude flights to deploy trackers.

But…

At just over two hundred meters from the train, several blood-red beams shot out from it.

Boom—

A drone exploded mid-air.

The Alpha paid it no mind.

Because while those drones made their low-altitude run, high-altitude drones calculated wind speed, direction, and force before dropping trackers from above.

At the same time, three drones hugged the ground, using rocks and vegetation for cover.

They flew low toward the train.

The ground-hugging drones were attacked.

Teeth-like bullets burst out. The drones swayed left and right, dodging like nimble rats.

The trackers dropped from above were about to land on the train.

Just then, a blood-red membrane suddenly enveloped the entire train.

Though the membrane looked thin, when trackers and drones hit it, they exploded on contact.

Clearly, this membrane was the train's final barrier. The Alpha's tracker deployment had failed.

"Forget it. Alpha, the enemy was prepared. It's not possible now."

"Now, Moon Shadow's Breath has clearly found him. They're the ones facing off. Let's just watch."

On the drone's surveillance feed, in the distant sky, the silhouettes of several Bat Knights appeared. The Black Ice Express had obviously detected them.

Flying Blood Beasts poured out of the train…

After Yu Yuan disconnected from the Alpha, a Shadow Dimension rift opened.

He reached out a hand. The [Parasitic Blood Vine] returned, and the rift closed.

The [Parasitic Blood Vine] had gained a third trait—[Blood Energy Immunity].

As the name implied, from now on, Blood Energy would cause it no harm or effect. This trait had developed as a direct counter after it devoured a massive amount of Blood Beasts.

For Yu Yuan, it couldn't have come at a better time. A new idea immediately formed in his mind.

[Wolf Den · King: Show me Moon Shadow's Breath's location.]

Soon, a coordinate point and a blurry photo were sent by the Alpha.

Moon Shadow's Breath was on a plaza in the city.

At the center of the plaza was a blood pool. In the middle of the blood pool stood a coffin, and Moon Shadow's Breath lay inside.

The entire setup was identical to when Yu Yuan had explored Moon Shadow's Breath's castle.

Yu Yuan used the Shadow Dimension to slip into the city and made his way toward the plaza.

At the same time, he sent a new order to the Alpha.

[Wolf Den · King: Nuclear bomb preparation. Lock onto the Black Ice Express.]

Seeing the message, the Alpha froze mid-command.

But a second later, the order was carried out.

The Missile Launch Vehicle, which had been silently awaiting orders since entering this world, finally stirred. The launch units activated and slowly rose upright. The only sound was the steady *tick-tick-tick* of electronic prompts.

The entire Pioneering Group tensed. All eyes turned to the raised launch units—curious, awed, and expectant.

Because everyone knew what was loaded inside.

—A nuclear bomb.

A weapon whose mere name could intimidate anyone. A weapon that everyone feared yet craved—a stabilizing anchor.

And when the second, third, and fourth launch units rose, gasps filled the air.

—

Yu Yuan looked at Moon Shadow's Breath in the blood pool at the center of the plaza and felt a hint of surprise.

In just a few days, she looked far more haggard than before.

He could even see dark circles under her normally pale face. The exhaustion was obvious.

She was nothing like the queenly figure she had been before.

Baffled, Yu Yuan looked around. Perhaps because of the recent battle, there weren't many vampires on the plaza—most had likely gone to the city walls.

A vampire was reporting to Moon Shadow's Breath.

"Lord of Moon Shadow, the air forces report they've found the Black Ice Express's coordinates. It was hidden underground earlier but has just surfaced."

"Underground… I see." Moon Shadow's Breath wasn't particularly surprised. After all, there were only so many ways to conceal a massive train.

She also understood that now that the enemy had left concealment and shown itself, the final battle had arrived.

She stepped out of the coffin. Huge bat-like wings spread from her back.

Surges of energy erupted from her body.

"Prepare for the final battle."

"Yes!" The vampire acknowledged and left.

Just then, a mutation occurred.