Reaper of the Martial World

Book 8: Chapter 187: Mellow (1)

Queen continued to weave through the forest, carrying Dyon while staying to the back of their vanguard.

If the Ancient Battlefield was the final Ancient Game, then how was Jade able to tell Dyon about it? The answer was rooted in the time Jade wrote her message.

The time Jade’s elder self came from was one where the Laws that governed the Heavens had already crumbled under the designs of The Entity. With the Heavens gone, how could they stop her from passing on information about the Ancient Battlefield? In the end, Dyon greatly benefitted from The Entity’s actions.

‘There’s only one question that remains…’ Dyon thought to himself, leaning into Queen’s lean, bronze scaled body. ‘… Just what is it that I can do here now, that I wouldn’t be able to do in the coming future?’

Though Dyon asked himself this question, he had a good idea of what that reason was: population.

Currently, Dyon was unable to take people in or out of the Ancient Battlefield, even Little Yin and Yang couldn’t follow him. But, would this continue to be true once the battlefield descended? Of course not. That meant… If Dyon collected beasts and conquered human settlements here, once the battlefield descended, he would gain a massive boon of population, something he was severely lacking in now.

‘112 years…’ Dyon muttered to himself. He thought it was already asking a lot for him to conquer two quadrants in that time, but to also claim a good portion of the Ancient Battlefield as well?…

‘The descent of the Ancient Battlefield is split into multiple stages.’ Dyon thought to himself. ‘The first is our entry…’

The reason why young geniuses were so important to the concept of the Ancient Battlefield was because during the first phase, only those below a certain age threshold would be allowed to enter. This was the Heavens way of allowing youths to benefit in the same way those failed clans had.

While this battlefield might be a living hell, it was undeniable that it was also a place one could grow stronger. By allowing the younger generation to enter, it further placed the Failed Clans at a disadvantage.

This first phase took place over a long period of time. However, it wasn’t until the second phase that the Game truly began. In this second phase, the borders of the Ancient Battlefield would open, and the Failed Clans would pour outward.

The Failed Clans had one task: to gather up Faith. If they were able to gather up enough Faith within an appropriate amount of time, they earned the right to remain on the Mortal Plane. If they failed, they’d be eradicated, never to return. Of course, the method to do this was by conquering lands for themselves.

Some Clans chose to not take this risk. They remained on the Ancient Battlefield and continued to accumulate strength and momentum for the next descent. But, Dyon knew that even the most cautious Clans wouldn’t miss this opportunity this time around.

After the first phase ended, these Clans would realize how weak this generation’s youths were in comparison to the youths of the past. Not only would they be weaker, but they’d be far lesser in number due to the fact the number of universes and quadrants had whittled down to such a significant extent. Once they realized this, there would no longer be anything holding them back from surging forward.

Though the first entry seemed simple, on the level Dyon’s mind worked on, he knew that it would be anything but.

What if a Clan’s genius, for the sake of their survival, offered a Failed Clan their quadrant? On the one hand, the Failed Clan would easily gain a large amount of Faith in an instant, and on the other, the original Clan would escape bloodshed by taking a step back.

If this happened, then those of the Mortal Plane were finished. They’d be fighting internally against those who only sought after their own benefits, and externally against a new enemy.

‘Could this be…’ Dyon’s eyes sharpened as the wind whipped against his face.

The Mist Clan… They were so very much interested in the Ancient Battlefield. Could they already be planning something like this? Could they already be ready to betray them all?

No, even more importantly, if the Ancient Battlefield is really the third Ancient Game, how could the Mist Clan prepare ahead of time regardless? They shouldn’t know the rules of the game. This restriction was likely put in place precisely so that these loopholes couldn’t be used.

Unless…

Dyon suddenly thought of something that made his heart clench.

What if the celestial beasts really aren’t the only ones who can exit the Ancient Battlefield after paying a price? What if it wasn’t their special ability alone?

If this was true, then it was likely that someone from the Mist Clan found a way to leave the Ancient Battlefield.

Dyon had already tested it himself. This place, the place he thought was just his constitution’s world, was cut off from the Heavens. Because of that, using his techniques or even just flying was near impossible.

Since this was the case, didn’t that mean that there were no rules in this place? What if the people born here weren’t bound by the same rules those of them on the outside were? In that case, would they still be unable to speak of the Ancient Battlefield if they left?

Dyon fiercely shook his head. Even if this train of logic was based on his instincts, there was too much speculation involved for him to trust in it completely.

Right now, he only had to focus on one thing. He could no longer ignore the human settlements. After he gathered a large enough beast army under the control of his soul, he would begin to conquer them, one by one.

Dyon smiled. ‘Since flight is impossible… Tactics suddenly become far more important.’