This time, the one who entered the corpse nest was none other than the leader of the Phoenix Vanguard's first division the current Guardian of Humanity Azure Dragon!
Alongside him was his top-tier support specialist, Deathrope.
The two originally flew in by helicopter, but midway through their flight, they were attacked by flying undead creatures. Their aircraft was shredded in midair, forcing them to make the rest of the journey on foot.
When they finally reached the corpse nest, Azure Dragon charged forward like an unstoppable force of nature, clearing a straight path toward the center of the hive with sheer, overwhelming might.
Meanwhile, Shane Mountain, who had been exploring deeper inside, immediately sensed the tremor of power spreading through the nest.
"This timing... it must be Azure Dragon," Shane muttered with a grin.
Without hesitation, he changed direction and sprinted toward the center.
After all, this was the perfect opportunity to collect Azure Dragon's blood something that might not happen again until the Great Capital War. But by then, the battlefield would be dominated by god-tier beings, and without transcendent power, even he would feel uneasy.
A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "Guess I've caught a case of firepower anxiety."
At the center of the corpse nest, Azure Dragon's expression hardened as he looked around. There was no trace of the Corpse King not even a single high-level undead.
"Where is everyone?" Deathrope asked, puzzled.
"Damn it! It's a trap!" Azure Dragon's eyes went wide with realization. "The Corpse King deliberately created this fake nest to lure our elite forces here! He must've used the distraction to escape H-City!"
It was the only conclusion that made sense. A simple diversion and they had all fallen for it. The thought made Azure Dragon's jaw tighten in frustration.
Just then, Shane arrived, locking eyes with Azure Dragon.
"What, the Corpse King isn't here?" Shane frowned. "He was just trying to infect me a while ago through those two Eldor and Ghoststaff. How's he gone already?"
He crossed his arms, muttering, "Don't tell me Azure Dragon actually killed him? Nah... The Corpse King's a high-tier bioform now. No way he'd go down that easily."
Ironically, Azure Dragon was thinking almost the same thing. At first, he suspected that Shane might have finished off the Corpse King, but that made no sense if the Corpse King had truly died, command would have received the signal already.
And that explosion earlier in the east while powerful wasn't enough to kill a god-tier entity. It might not even take down a heaven-tier one.
After a brief exchange, both came to the same conclusion.
The Corpse King had run away.
"Wow, really? The Corpse King just bailed without even putting up a fight?" Shane scoffed, half-amused. But when he thought about it again, it was completely in character. The last time the Corpse King faced him and the Immortal Master, he hadn't hesitated to retreat immediately. Now, with two god-tier opponents before him and one capable of bursting into a transcendent state staying would've been suicide.
"Yeah... makes sense. Only an idiot would stick around," Shane said with a shrug.
He turned to Azure Dragon. "Alright then. If you find any trace of him later, let me know. I'll bring my team and back you up."
"Much appreciated," Azure Dragon replied.
"Of course," Shane grinned. "But hey, I don't work for free. How about letting me take a little sample of your blood for... research?"
The moment Azure Dragon saw the oversized syringe gleaming in Shane's hand and the hungry look in his eyes, a chill ran down his spine. Without another word, he grabbed Deathrope and bolted.
"My blood contains classified national uh, top-secret genetic data! Not for civilian access!" he yelled as his voice faded into the distance.
Shane sighed, pocketing the syringe. "What a shame."
With the Corpse King gone and the other corpse guardians already dealt with, there was no point in lingering. He turned and left the nest.
"Still... where did things go wrong?" he wondered aloud as he exited the ruins, heading toward the neighboring L-City.
Meanwhile, deep beneath H-City's sewers, the Corpse King was already fleeing with all his resources dragging along his "beloved" assistant as they vanished underground. He'd abandoned his entire fortress and even his trusted lieutenants. Their survival would depend purely on luck, but the Corpse King knew one thing for sure if he stayed, he'd be finished.
Back in L-City, Julian Drake had just landed and immediately called his parents to tell them he was safe. They finally breathed a sigh of relief; the communication blackout in H-City had nearly driven them to panic.
At the same time, Shane's parents were also on the line, anxious for news of their son.
"Don't worry, Uncle, Auntie," Julian said cheerfully. "Shane's fine! He just asked me to get the company started before he returns. Once he's back, we'll take things to the next level!"
That reassurance instantly calmed them down. They knew their son well he'd always been ahead of the curve. He'd convinced them to buy property back when he was in middle school, and now, the family had more wealth than they could spend in four generations.
He'd started his first company in college and made millions in just a few years, even after spending plenty on legal battles to protect Julian.
If Shane was already thinking about business again, that meant he was absolutely fine.
"That boy... still can't make one phone call to his mother," Mrs. Mountain muttered with mild annoyance before handing the phone back to Mrs. Drake.
After a few more warm exchanges, the call ended.
Julian didn't go home right away. Instead, he headed straight to apply for an online business license a process that usually took weeks due to endless bureaucratic red tape.
But this time, something strange happened.
The moment he scanned his ID card, a smiling official appeared before him, personally handing over the complete set of approved documents, licenses, and even business incentives.
"Mr. Drake! It's an honor! If you need anything in the future, feel free to reach out to me directly. The name's Guang!" the man said warmly.
Julian blinked, stunned. He'd never seen government efficiency like this before.
Still dazed, he left the building with everything settled. "Guess I'll just ask Shane about it later," he murmured.
Next on his list equipment rentals.
Servers. Storage units. And a lot of them.
For some reason, Shane had insisted that they needed massive digital storage and computing power.
When Julian arrived at the rental company, a round, cheerful man was already waiting at the entrance.
"Mr. Drake! Pleasure to meet you! I'm Wang Yang just call me Will!" the man said with both hands extended in welcome.
Julian hesitated, but shook his hand politely.
"Uh... hello? You are...?"
"I heard you and your partner are starting a tech firm! Everything's ready for you top-of-the-line servers, premium storage units, the works! Even Ivy University rents from us!"
After a few minutes of enthusiastic flattery, Julian somehow ended up with a full set of high-grade equipment and still wasn't sure how it happened.
Then another problem dawned on him.
"Wait, I haven't even rented an office yet..."
"No problem, my friend! Leave it to me! Give me thirty minutes no, fifteen!" Will said confidently, darting off.
Fifteen minutes later, he returned grinning, holding a signed lease for an entire office floor in one of L-City's prime towers.
By the time Julian realized what had happened, the contracts were signed, the company was officially registered, and the servers were being installed.
He stood on the rooftop, gazing out over the skyline, still half in disbelief.
"Just like that? Done already? Shane spent two months setting up last time..."
______________________________________________________________________________________________
If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to leave a comment, drop a power stone, or add it to your collection your support keeps the journey going!