Chapter 656: Gurlad Awakens, Fury and Anomaly

The Blood Clan Progenitor's planet.

This was an endless sea of blood, the place where the Blood Clan Progenitor, Gurlad, slumbered.

But the once calm surface was now churning with violent waves.

The ground shook and the mountains trembled, as if an eighth-magnitude earthquake had struck, the entire world vibrating faintly.

This was a sign that Gurlad was about to awaken from his slumber.

A figure flew over to the blood sea where Gurlad resided.

In midair, the figure knelt down on one knee.

"My Lord!"

The blood sea grew even more turbulent, and the blood-red moon in the sky swelled larger and larger.

The waves transformed into a whirlpool, beginning to spin. From the center, a simple stone coffin slowly rose.

Rising alongside it was a chain bound to the coffin. With every inch the chain lifted, the world shuddered once more.

It was as if the chain were connected to the world's core.

A bloody light flickered from the coffin.

With a cracking sound, the coffin opened.

Revealing Gurlad's figure inside.

Gurlad had awakened from his slumber.

He hadn't woken up on his own; instead, he had sensed an anomaly.

Or rather, ever since someone had snatched away Lilith's bloodline from within the Bloodline River not long ago, he had been in a state of constant abnormality.

An inexplicable, raging fury often surged into his heart without any reason.

He had been suppressing this irrational emotional impulse.

And just now, he once again felt a tremor from the Bloodline River.

Several Descendants had consecutively lost their connection to the Bloodline River, some at Silver-tier and others at Bronze-tier.

This change stirred an intense sense of irritation within Gurlad.

It was like being exhausted for ages, finally able to sleep, only to be rudely awakened for no reason.

This irritation fully ignited the furious emotions he had been suppressing all this time.

He spotted Archduke Gute not far away.

"Gute, has anything special happened recently?"

"Have you found the bastard who stole Lilith's bloodline?"

Gurlad barely held back the fury churning inside him, rubbing his head as he asked.

"My Lord, there's still no clue about the thief who took Lilith's bloodline. As for recently..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Gurlad keenly sensed something off from Gute's hesitation.

"My Lord, we have indeed encountered some situations recently... hehe... a few days ago, Mortarian..."

"Stop!" Gurlad's gaze fell on Gute, filled with scrutiny and evaluation.

"Uh... My Lord?" Gute was bewildered.

"What were you laughing at just now?"

"Laughing? I wasn't laughing! My Lord..." Gute frowned slightly as he looked at Gurlad.

He sensed something ominous from Gurlad's gaze.

"Did... did I just laugh?" This time, it wasn't a rhetorical question but a confirmation to Gurlad.

Gurlad didn't answer, only nodded lightly.

The blood sea fell silent.

A deathly silence.

Gute's mind was in turmoil.

Incredulous, unbelievable, panic and fear intertwined.

The Lord wouldn't joke about something this important, which meant he had indeed smiled eerily just now.

But he hadn't felt a thing or reacted, not even knowing when he had fallen victim. Such a method...

It filled him with terror from the depths of his soul.

Gurlad had already arrived before Gute.

"Open your mind!"

Blood Energy rippled as Gurlad placed one hand on Gute's head.

The next moment, Gurlad's consciousness had entered a different space.

This was a red world, filled with floating debris suspended in the air.

Only at the center of the space was a floating island.

At the center of that floating island stood a black church.

Inside the church, a figure materialized, and it was Gute.

This was Gute's mental space.

That black church was also a Gold-tier treasure, providing Gute with soul protection.

But clearly, its defense had failed.

Gurlad turned to look at Gurlad.

"My Lord!"

The next second, a sea of blood surged from Gurlad's body, spreading outward from him, engulfing the entire mental space.

In an instant, Gute's mental space was covered by the crimson tide.

But Gurlad's expression grew even more solemn.

"Hmm? Nothing?"

"Even I can't find it?"

Now Gurlad truly felt this was troublesome.

He probed Gute's mental space again, but the result was completely clean.

Gurlad left the mental space.

"My Lord..."

"Have you fought anyone recently? Or has anyone come into contact with you?"

Gute was taken aback by the question, but quickly replied:

"Recently, I've been guarding here without leaving even half a step. I haven't contacted anyone. As for fighting..." A figure flashed through Gute's mind, and his eyes lit up.

"The only time I've had to fight recently was once. That was some time ago, in the Bloodline River, when I clashed with the bastard who stole Lilith's bloodline..."

Gurlad's eyes narrowed upon hearing this.

"Him!"

The raging emotions surged in his heart once more. Forcing them down, he continued: "I understand. I'll figure out a way to deal with your situation. Continue telling me about recent events. What exactly happened?"

This time, Gurlad looked at Gute with serious attention.

"My Lord, some time ago, Mortarian's Civilization Relic emerged. As a result, one of the players that Lava and the Snake of Rebirth valued was eliminated inside. Normally, this would be perfectly ordinary."

"But after they investigated, they discovered that the deaths of those two players were related to Night Ancient. Currently, over a dozen decent Descendants have already died in the war."

"Night Ancient? What does he have to do with this?"

Gurlad's emotions grew increasingly volatile, especially when he heard the Snake of Rebirth being mentioned.

"A prophet from the Star Track Cult said that the two players who survived and came out of that Civilization Relic were one member of the Wolf Clan and the other a Descendant of Night Ancient. As for Artus, the one the Snake of Rebirth saw, the Invitation Letter he held was given to him by Night Ancient."

"That Wolf Clan member said that Artus had killed Lava's people at the time, and then Artus was killed by Night Ancient's Descendant. All of this indicates that Night Ancient had schemed against everyone and became the ultimate victor."

"But in reality, when I asked Night Ancient, he said he didn't know his Descendant had entered the Civilization Relic either, and he wasn't even aware his Descendant had an Invitation Letter. The Invitation Letter in Artus's hands was indeed given by him, but the reason he gave it was due to a mission commission..."

"Is that all?" Gurlad clearly knew Night Ancient very well.

Gute nodded slightly.

"Among those who entered the Civilization Relic that time, there was also one of our Descendants, someone from Charles's side. And he... died at Artus's hands."

Now everything was clear.

Gurlad looked at Gute with a strange expression.

"Are you sure Night Ancient didn't set this up?"

Gute shook his head.

"Night Ancient wouldn't hide anything from me. I believe what he said is true. The problem obviously lies with his Descendant.

After questioning, that Descendant claimed she never entered the Civilization Relic. She had indeed possessed an Invitation Letter before, but it was stolen by a thief who entered her world.

But based on Night Ancient's description, this Descendant seems anything but simple. She's extremely ambitious and is very likely problematic."

"Oh~ Tell me more."

"Night Ancient said that when she was at Bronze Rank, she brewed an Epic-tier Blood Brew. And just now, she eliminated a player on the Bloodlands Leaderboard..."

A smirk tugged at the corner of Gurlad's mouth.

"The Bloodlands... A Descendant targeted by the Bloodlands, framed by the Wolf Clan, and a genius who could brew Epic-tier Blood Brew at Bronze Rank—what kind of problem could she have?"

He stared at Gute and let out a cold snort.

"If a genius like that doesn't have ambition, *that* would be the real problem! Night Ancient has been fighting the Wolf Clan too long. Has his brain turned to muscle too?

That fool! He's beyond saving. It seems he's been sitting in that position far too long!"

In that moment, the raging fury within Gurlad's heart was completely ignited.

---