"What mission?" A look of bewilderment spread across
"You're still trying to lie to me?" Agnes's voice rose by eight octaves. "Don't forget! As the supreme commander of the
"The collection mission at Crescent Moon Lake is an extremely difficult task with a danger rating of five! Even a fifth-tier powerhouse would face considerable risk, let alone you!"
Agnes pleaded earnestly, "If it's for that so-called Holy Light Crystal, just hand it over to me!"
"Thank you, Agnes, but I have my own considerations…"
A bitter smile crept across Belinda's face.
"I know! It's about that Nick, isn't it? Even though you haven't gone to see him in over a year, I know about everything you entrusted
Agnes's voice sank low. "Is it because of him that you're unwilling to accept my help?"
"It's not what you think!" Belinda really didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"That's exactly what it is! That bastard! Sooner or later I'll…" Agnes's fists cracked audibly.
"Agnes!"
Belinda's expression also darkened. "I only consider you my good friend! And this is my final warning — if anything happens to Nick, you will regret it!"
"For him… just for some stinking man! You're actually going to turn against me?"
A terrifying aura surged forth from Agnes's body. Countless dark shadows coalesced behind her, vaguely taking the form of a three-headed giant serpent.
"That's right!"
Despite the innate racial oppression, Belinda held her ground and met Agnes's gaze firmly.
Seeing her like this, Agnes's chest heaved violently. After a long moment, she finally answered, gasping for breath, "So be it!"
The sound of armor clattering to the ground rang out, followed by the distant footsteps of Agnes striding away.
Only after reaching the outside of the villa did Agnes's expression finally turn completely dark.
*Crack!* A snake-headed leather whip lashed out violently, sending a flurry of rose petals and tulip petals dancing through the air.
"Nick!" Agnes gritted her teeth, then quickly shifted to a cold laugh.
"I made a promise to Belinda, but Thomas never did... Still, perhaps I should have been a bit more discreet about it?"
......
"This is the place!"
Belinda studied the map in her hands. She appeared extremely cautious.
At this moment, she stood in the midst of a barren wasteland, its air thick with the stench of decay and death—even making Belinda involuntarily tense.
Ever since the Calamity of
Strife, slaughter, consumption—spreading at ten times, a hundred times the speed—had shrouded the plains in a veil of crimson.
Even... even the radiance of the Mother of Myriad Serpents could no longer reach those frenzied Gluttony Beasts, for they too enjoyed the protection of the Supreme.
The Gluttony Lord Beilusebabu. Though it had descended into the Inferno World less than two years ago, its name was already known to every passerby—enough to make young Serpentfolk cry on the spot.
Under these circumstances, the Gluttony Beasts' terrifying appetite had even triggered a food shortage crisis in the Holy City—something that would have been an utter joke before, yet had become grimly real.
In truth, were it not for the fact that the Gluttony Beasts themselves faced equally dire food shortages—even worse than the Serpentfolk's, to the point where they had begun slaughtering each other—they likely would have already marched their forces to the gates of the Holy City.
Unlike the previous disasters, Belinda had a nagging premonition: under the command of the Gluttony Lord, these beasts would never willingly relinquish any territory they conquered.
The large-scale purification carried out by the Mother of Myriad Serpents at the very beginning would never happen again.
At this thought, a shadow immediately settled over Belinda's heart.
"Once I cross through here, Crescent Moon Lake won't be far away!"
Belinda murmured to herself. Though she had already donned a disguise, this kind of place left her feeling profoundly insecure.
"If only Beck and the others were still around—this operation might have been a little easier. What a pity..."
A bitter smile crossed Belinda's face. Throughout her mercenary career, she had recruited a number of subordinates, but this time, upon hearing she had taken on this mission, every single one of them had refused.
If Belinda were given a bit more time, leveraging her skills, it would have been quite easy to consolidate some influence and loyal subordinates. But a little over a year simply wasn't enough. It wasn't even sufficient for them to get acquainted with one another, let alone forge any real bonds — never mind convincing them to risk their lives alongside her.
"Still, this mission is just to collect Blue Shell Stones from Crescent Lake! As long as I don't provoke those Gluttony Beasts, the danger should be minimal!"
Belinda mused silently to herself, then pressed on across the plain.
After crossing a slope, the landscape ahead spread out before her eyes. Several thousand meters away lay a blue lake, shaped like a crescent moon, stretching across the grassland.
Specks of light, carrying a cold, biting quality, emanated from within Crescent Lake.
"This place was originally a high-tier resource point belonging to the Holy City, but after it fell to the Gluttony Beasts, it was left to fall into complete desolation... And if the Holy City weren't critically short on supplies, desperate to make up the difference, they probably wouldn't have offered such a generous reward..."
Belinda bit her lip.
In truth, with Agnes around, she had no need to venture out on dangerous missions at all. If she were willing to swallow her pride and beg, a single Holy Light Crystal would surely be within reach.
But Belinda did not want to owe Agnes such a debt. Moreover, she simply refused to humiliate herself by groveling like that.
For this reason, Belinda had even been willing to risk her life taking on missions.
"As long as the Gluttony Beasts aren't there, I'll have a chance!" Belinda's eyes lit up. A white eyeball tattoo materialized on her skin, then soared high into the air. Scene after scene was relayed back to her.
"Roar roar... hiss hiss..."
Unfortunately, right at the edge of Crescent Lake, several Gluttony Beasts were lingering, tearing apart the massive corpse of a serpent on the ground.
Each beast was as large as a small hill, radiating an aura no weaker than that of a fifth-tier powerhouse.
"Oh! Damn it! My luck today is truly terrible!" Belinda cursed under her breath.
Through her monitoring eyeball, the situation on the other side was relayed fully into her mind. Among those Gluttony Beasts, one was a colossal serpent covered in cracks, its body bristling with writhing tentacles. Another was a gigantic rat with two heads of eerily mismatched sizes, gnawing through its food at a startling pace.
The last one resembled a patchwork abomination — a massive ball of flesh assembled from the carcasses of various animals. Only at its center was there a huge fissure, from which a red tongue constantly licked at rows of sharp white teeth. Its aura was the most powerful of the three, almost reaching the peak of the fifth tier.
As for the giant serpent corpse on the ground, it too had clearly been a fifth-tier creature. Unfortunately, it was far from a match for these three Gluttony Beasts and had already been reduced to their food.
"What a waste..." Belinda's fists clenched tightly.
That fifth-tier serpent was unmistakably a descendant of the great serpents of Myriad Serpent Plains, yet it could not escape the fate of being devoured.
Even though the Mother of Myriad Serpents and the Holy City had done their best to rescue and relocate the giant serpent groups, the Myriad Serpent Plains were simply far too vast, and these unfortunate victims still appeared in large numbers.
However, despite her fury, Belinda did not rush out to throw her life away — she still had enough sense for that.
"The Gluttony Beasts feed at very frequent intervals. Once they finish eating here, they'll leave sooner or later..."
When it came to waiting and lying low, Belinda had plenty of patience.
Moreover, while these Gluttony Beasts possessed terrifying combat strength and an equally terrifying appetite, their perception and detection abilities seemed to be a weak point, which gave her an opportunity.
"Crunch! Crunch!"
The three Gluttony Beasts ate rapidly, not even sparing the bones. They even greedily licked up every last trace of blood spilled on the soil — the blood of a fifth-tier serpent was rich in high-energy nutrients; a single drop was worth consuming dozens of low-tier Barghest Beasts, making it an extraordinary tonic.
"In times of food scarcity, Gluttony Beasts are even capable of turning on each other! If only..."
Belinda's eyes lit up faintly, like a female leopard lying in ambush, waiting for the right moment.
"Roar... hisss... squelch! Squelch!"
After finishing off the prey they had hunted together, the three Gluttony Beasts regarded one another for a moment, then let out tremendous roars that even caused the void to tremble.
After a clear round of posturing, the stitched horror and the tentacled serpent each departed, heading in different directions.
The Gluttony Beasts' digestive process was extremely fast, leaving them almost no time to rest — they spent their entire lives rushing after food, fighting and killing.
As for the remaining two-headed rat, it shuffled over to the edge of the Crescent Moon Lake as though parched, and both of its heads began drinking the lake water ravenously. The surface of the lake dropped steadily, eventually exposing the dry lakebed.
On the lakebed, faint points of blue light began to flicker.
It was a kind of blue ore that shimmered dazzlingly under the glow.
"Blue Shell Stone!" Upon spotting her mission objective, Belinda was overcome with excitement.
But what the two-headed giant rat did next filled Belinda with dismay.
After guzzling the lake water, the creature simply flopped down at the water's edge and fell into a deep slumber.
Wisps of black gas began to emanate from around its body, only to be drawn in by the two rat heads. Throughout this process, the creature's body grew ever larger, and even a fleshy lump began to swell beside its neck. Its aura intensified with each passing moment, showing a clear trend of pushing toward the peak of the fifth tier.
"Damn it! I've actually stumbled upon a Gluttony Beast's evolution!"
Belinda's expression turned grim. Gluttony Beasts rarely ever rest. The sole exception is when they absorb far too much energy in one sitting and enter a state of evolution!
Every time a Gluttony Beast emerges from such a slumber, its strength undergoes a revolutionary transformation!