Chapter 651: Black Ice Metamorphosis, Hogg's Perseverance, and the Sense of Pressure

Inside the Command Vehicle.

Alpha stared at the sudden change on the screen, frowning slightly.

The vitality of a Silver-tier Player was truly terrifying.

Taking two nuclear warheads head-on, and still bouncing around like this.

It was almost unimaginable.

He had naturally seen Black Ice drinking some kind of liquid.

And immediately warned Hogg.

But Hogg had already used that moment to accelerate behind Black Ice, his Mechanical Armor gleaming with cold metallic light.

A red glow coated his metal claws as he stabbed down toward Black Ice's head.

But the instant he touched Black Ice's body-

A shockwave formed from Blood Energy burst out from within Black Ice.

Hogg was sent flying directly.

Then, that dense Blood Energy wrapped around Black Ice, forming a three-meter-tall red blood cocoon.

Veins of black and red spread across the cocoon's surface, and it began pulsing, bright and dim, flickering.

Thump-thump—thump-thump—thump-thump…

Alpha listened to the sound transmitted back by the drone, a sound like a heartbeat, and pressed his hands against the screen, trying to see more clearly.

Hogg stabilized himself mid-air, landing with a slide tackle before finally stopping.

He stared at the blood cocoon, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

"Alpha, the energy inside this cocoon is incredibly strong. I attacked with full force just now, and I was still easily repelled. I'm afraid whatever comes out of that cocoon won't be easy to deal with. We need to prepare early."

Hogg's suggestion was very reasonable, and Alpha naturally understood this.

"Understood. We'll send support immediately."

The position where Hogg and the other were was not far from the Pioneering Group.

Moreover, in the previous chase, they had already moved far away from the Core Area of the nuclear blast, arriving about three kilometers out.

Here, the radiation contamination was no longer as dangerous.

Under Alpha's command, the Pioneering Group split into two forces. The launch vehicles deployed on-site, raising their launch units, ready to fire at any moment.

Thirty Mechanical Armored Vehicles and two hundred Pioneering Group members were responsible for protecting the launch vehicles.

The remaining vehicles and personnel all turned and charged toward the location of the blood cocoon.

But the course of events far exceeded Alpha and Hogg's plans.

Just as the Pioneering Group was about to rendezvous with Hogg.

They heard the 'thump-thump' sound of the heartbeat coming from that blood cocoon.

This sound seemed to have a kind of magic, beginning to resonate and sync with the heartbeat of Life itself.

And then, it started to manipulate everyone's blood flow.

"Something's wrong!"

Hogg, as a Werewolf fused with Lilith's genes,

Could essentially be considered to be of the same lineage as Black Ice.

In fact, his bloodline rank was even above Black Ice's.

At this moment, he keenly detected the power pulse of the River of Blood.

On that blood cocoon, he felt a hint of threat.

"Alpha, stop approaching. Fall back immediately."

"Repeat: stop approaching. Fall back immediately."

Hogg's urgent voice was received by Alpha.

Without any hesitation or doubt,

He immediately ordered a turnaround and retreat.

The convoy executed the command the moment they received it.

At this moment, the Pioneering Group's strict discipline was on full display.

It was only after the convoy began to pull away

That Hogg's explanation came through again.

"This Black Ice guy is off. His control over blood has increased several times. If you get close, he might drain all the blood from your bodies in an instant."

"What about you? Can you handle him?"

Alpha asked with a frown.

This was the most critical issue now.

Hogg glanced back at the blood cocoon, his wolfish eyes narrowing as he felt the increasingly active wild power within him.

He said softly, "Trust me!"

It wasn't until the convoy of Mechanical Armored Vehicles had retreated a full kilometer

That the sound that drove the heartbeat finally began to fade.

As their blood flow returned to normal, everyone only then felt a slight weariness in their bodies.

Some Soldiers even felt a warmth flowing from their noses.

They quickly lifted their helmets to check.

Only to find it was nosebleeds.

A not insignificant number of soldiers had the same thing happen.

When Alpha received the reports, a wave of fear washed over him.

He stared at the blood cocoon on the screen, which was pulsing faster and faster.

"Is this really Silver-tier?"

It was easy to imagine that if Hogg hadn't sensed something wrong just now and ordered them to fall back immediately,

Everyone might have died here without even realizing it.

"The Bloodlands… a bunch of beings even more terrifying than the Blood Clan."

At the same time, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Alpha's eyes.

"Hogg, to be safe, let's just attack with a nuke!"

Alpha chose the most cautious method.

But he never expected Hogg to refuse outright.

"Alpha, the Master wants it alive, so it has to be alive. Don't worry about me…"

Hogg watched the blood cocoon pulsing faster and faster, its Blood Energy becoming more and more overwhelming.

He was already struggling to contain the wild power inside him, and spoke word by word, almost through gritted teeth:

"It's rare to run into an opponent I can fight with everything I've got. I have a feeling this will be my breakthrough opportunity."

At these words, Alpha paused for a moment, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Understood. Go ahead and do it!"

"He's coming out!" Hogg's voice rang out at the same time.

By now, the blood cocoon's pulsing had become incredibly fast.

When it reached its critical point—

Kee—

An inhuman shriek came from the blood cocoon.

Right after, a blood-red hand pierced through from inside.

The cocoon membrane, which had been so tough that even Hogg's claws couldn't tear it, was effortlessly split in two.

Revealing a gaunt, skeletal humanoid creature curled up inside.

As the cocoon peeled away, a pair of jet-black eyes tinged with crimson suddenly snapped open.

Blood Energy transformed around its body into a mist-like aura.

The surging energy caused particles in the air to constantly rub and vibrate.

Hum—hum—

A humming sound arose.

A barely visible black Electric Arc flashed through the blood mist.

But then another black Electric Arc lit up again.

Black Ice slowly stood up.

Feeling the power surging within him, a smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.

He looked at Hogg as if he were a piece of prey.

Hogg stared at Black Ice, now over four, nearly five meters tall, and couldn't help but swallow.

That was the only word for it.

The oppressive feeling was just too strong.

He hadn't felt it before, but now, Hogg was experiencing a genuine wave of pressure.

At the same time, the faint wolf howl in his ears was becoming clearer.

The [Wild Fang] pendant hanging on his chest was also growing warm.

The Wolf Clan bloodline was beginning to awaken.

Hogg's breathing became more rapid, and his body hunched over, like a starving wolf coiling before it springs on its prey.

Poised and ready to strike.

And as the Wolf Clan bloodline began to exert its power, his Blood Energy also became exceptionally active. A similarly dense aura of Blood Energy gathered around Hogg.

A phantom image of a Werewolf, baring its fangs, eyes filled with murderous intent, and its whole body drenched in blood, appeared behind Hogg.

Blood-red runic marks also appeared on Hogg's claws and fangs.

They were blurry at first, but were gradually becoming clearer.

Hogg's own transformation was about to begin.

Black Ice's and Hogg's gazes collided in mid-air. A faint flash of light appeared at the point where their eyes met.

In that same instant, the air went still.

Black Ice moved!

Hogg moved too!