Chapter 39: Into the Mists of Darkness

The evening sun cast its crimson hue over the thriving city of Valeria.

The once-fledgling fortress now pulsed with the discipline of trained soldiers, the thrum of construction, and the steady beat of progress.

But high in the Lord's Hall, the air pulsed with something else entirely.

Selene stood by the arched window, her golden eyes reflecting the city lights.

She hadn't said a word for nearly ten minutes.

Not because she was nervous. No, it was something deeper. A strange warmth in her chest. A tension she couldn't name.

Behind her, Jin approached, the quiet rustle of his cloak the only sound.

"You once said marriage was just a weapon in this world," he said softly, pausing a few paces away. "Then let me show you what real connection feels like."

Selene turned slowly. Her cheeks were faintly pink, her breath hitched. But her voice was steady. "I'm not afraid."

What followed was more than a union of bodies.

As their hands met and lips brushed, Jin felt his qi intertwine with hers. It wasn't simple passion—it was alignment. Spiritual resonance.

The room glowed faintly with ethereal light as the Divine Dual Spirit Body within Selene awakened, reacting to Jin's bloodlines.

[System Notification: Cultivation Boost +70%]

[Bloodline Synergy Confirmed: Divine Dual Spirit Body Compatibility 97%]

[New Technique Acquired: Primordial Cycle Scripture - Lost Art of the Ancient Gods and Immortals]

In that moment, their cultivation surged. Their connection sealed something powerful. Something old.

Selene gasped softly as energy surged through her meridians.

Jin held her close, grounding them both. He whispered against her lips, "This world doesn't deserve you. But I'll carve a place where you never have to run again."

The next morning, Jin rose quietly from the tangled sheets. He brushed her hair aside, kissed her forehead, and left the room without a sound.

There was no time to waste.

150 kilometers from Valeria, Jin moved silently through thick forest. The deeper he went, the heavier the air became. A miasma of corruption clung to the trees. Dead flora. Half-eaten corpses. Mutated animals.

But Jin's Tyrant Body, infused with the Azure Dragon and Blood Demon bloodlines, held firm.

He crouched behind a gnarled root and spotted the clearing.

It was vast—a blight on the land.

The Monster Camp.

Twisted tents made from beast hides formed crude structures. Bone stakes pulsed with red light. The fires burned green, casting sickly shadows over creatures that should not exist.

Dozens of mutated beasts roamed freely: scaled canines with three eyes, mantis-wolves, stitched ogres. Some trained with weapons, others carried organs, and a few were fused creatures groaning as they moved.

At the heart of the camp, a colossal black tent pulsed with energy. That had to be the command tent.

Jin watched as a pale, hooded figure exited.

An old man—frail in frame, but radiating dread. His staff was carved from a dragon's femur. His eyes were pure white.

All the beasts bowed.

[System Notification: Necromancer Rank - Supreme Grade]

[Estimated Danger: Lethal]

Jin's pulse quickened. He needed intel.

He quietly accessed the system store.

[Item Purchased: Beast Transformation Scroll - Mid Rank Alpha Beast (Duration: 60 minutes)]

With a deep breath, he activated it.

His body shifted. Muscles expanded, fur sprouted, his posture changed. Amber eyes blinked beneath a beast's brow.

He slipped into the camp, mimicking grunts and gait.

It was worse up close. A place of flesh and horror. Screaming half-creatures. Organs nailed to trees. Jars of blood and twitching meat.

A group of goblins chanted over a fused corpse while ogre-mages cast blood spells, forcing limbs to reattach.

[System Notification: Manual Beast Creation Ritual Detected]

"Disgusting," Jin whispered.

He continued moving, keeping his pace steady.

"New one!" barked a boar-headed ogre, slamming a halberd into the ground. "Hearts to the main tent! Move!"

Jin froze.

[Warning: Communication Breakdown Detected]

He accessed the shop again.

[Skill Acquired: Beast Tongue - Intermediate Level]

Language flooded into his brain.

He bowed. "Yes. Moving now."

The ogre grunted and stomped off.

Jin turned northeast, where the system had pinged a dark energy.

He reached a grove where the ground twisted inwards, almost like a wound. There, bound in black iron and exuding corrupted qi, lay a massive skeletal structure—a dragon corpse. Its bones were cracked but radiated twisted power.

[System Alert: Evil Dragon Skeleton Detected]

Jin felt a chill.

So this is how they're making stronger beasts...

He backed away, but something stopped him. He needed proof.

Suddenly, a two-headed beast emerged from the dark—half panther, half reptile.

"Who are you? You don't smell right."

Jin reacted instantly. He activated Dragon Claw Strike.

With a blur of movement, he tore through the creature's throat, catching the body before it could fall.

He dragged it into the shadows and harvested a corrupted core.

[Item Acquired: Mutated Core - Proof of Ritual Creation]

His time was running out. The scroll would expire soon.

He fled, carefully retracing his steps, dodging patrols. Just before the scroll dissolved, he crossed into the treeline and shifted back to human form.

He collapsed briefly, panting.

Back in Valeria, the soldiers drilled in formation.

General Gorvan clapped his hands. "New formation! Square stance!"

"Did you hear about the new wall extensions?" one soldier muttered.

"Yeah. Jin's planning two more outer rings. Said something about siege preparation."

"That new girl, Selene? She's... something. Like a priestess and a noble rolled into one."

"Heard they connected spiritually. Whatever that means."

"Means she might be one of the wives."

Laughter.

"Don't joke. You saw what happened to that beast scout yesterday?"

"Jin caught it from three kilometers away. Burned it from the inside with dragon fire."

"Yeah. We're not following a man. We're following a force."

Lila passed them, smiling. "Less chatter. More discipline."

They snapped to attention.

Arielle joined her, arms crossed. "City's growing too fast. But I like it."

Sarah walked past with scrolls. "Medic station expanded. Seven new alchemists."

Jin returned by nightfall, dust-covered and pale.

Lana met him at the gates.

"What did you find?"

He handed her the core. "Proof that the horde wasn't random. Someone's building them."

She gasped. "That energy... it's vile."

"I saw a necromancer. Supreme grade. And a dragon corpse."

The core pulsed in her hand.

"We need to prepare for war," Jin said.

Selene arrived at his side, taking his hand without a word.

He looked at them all—his women, his generals, his city.

"Valeria isn't just surviving anymore," he said.

"We're rising."

And somewhere far away, in the rotting ruins of a forgotten temple, the necromancer looked up.

"So, the little lord has teeth," he muttered.

He smiled.

"Then let's pull them out one by one."