CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: THUNDER BAT KING

Tens of thousands of thunder bats were slain by everyone’s combined efforts, and now only over ten thousand remain, still frantically attacking everyone.

Of course, the human side has also paid a significant price, with nearly three hundred people killed by the thunder bats, and almost everyone who survived is injured.

"Everyone, hang in there a bit longer. As long as we kill all of these ten thousand thunder bats, we’ll be completely safe."

The steward of the Purple Gold Warship, a middle-aged man, shouted to everyone.

At the moment, he also had numerous wounds, with blood continuously oozing out.

Although he had cultivation at the Ninth Layer of the Energy-Introducing Realm, he still found it quite strenuous to face the large number of thunder bats. Though these injuries weren’t enough to be fatal, if it continued, he would eventually exhaust his strength and die under the claw of the thunder bats.

Among all present, probably only Zhao Huang and Xia Yuan were still handling everything with ease.

After all, they were strong opponents at the Element Transformation Realm; their internal qi and blood were abundant, and their strength far exceeded the thunder bats of the tier-two middle-level demon beast stage, making it not too exhausting to slay them.

Moreover, between the two of them, they had killed at least twenty to thirty thousand thunder bats.

It could be said that without their presence, only a few of the several hundred people on the warship might have survived.

Even that arrogant Leng Ao probably wouldn’t have much hope of survival either.

Although he had mastered the swordsmanship at a minor achievement level, with formidable power, almost every strike could kill several thunder bats, but his cultivation was only at the Sixth Layer of the Energy-Introducing Realm; his internal qi and blood and true qi couldn’t compare to those in the late stage of the Energy-Introducing Realm.

Once his qi and blood and true qi were exhausted, he would only face a dead end.

But as for Wang Ruoxie, he was quite confident in surviving. Although his cultivation was only at the Fourth Layer of the Energy-Introducing Realm, his internal qi and blood were comparable to those of martial cultivators in the late stage of the Energy-Introducing Realm. As for his true qi, it far surpassed that of his peers.

When he initially opened his Sea of Qi, its size was equivalent to five times that of a normal person. Furthermore, he cultivated the Nine Transformation Primordial Scripture, producing extremely pure true qi.

In terms of quantity, his true qi was equivalent to five times that of someone at the Fourth Layer of the Energy-Introducing Realm, and in terms of quality, his true qi even surpassed those in the late stage of the Energy-Introducing Realm.

Thus, whether in qi and blood or true qi, he could rival martial cultivators in the late stage of the Energy-Introducing Realm, perhaps even surpassing them.

Moreover, he had mastered swordsmanship at a great success level, and with the Cloud Emergence Technique, he could easily slay thunder bats with far less effort than others.

"Ah!"

At this moment, another scream was heard, and a mid-stage Energy-Introducing Realm youth was torn to pieces by two thunder bats in an instant.

Yet this scene did not affect the others, as they were already numb to it.

Even the women showed no signs of reaction, their faces betraying no emotion.

After nearly three hours of fierce fighting, the entire deck was piled with corpses, and severed limbs were everywhere.

The thick smell of blood permeated the air.

Zheng Yuan was not far from Wang Ruoxie, fully resisting the attacks of two thunder bats.

With his strength, he had no problem fighting off two thunder bats at once.

However, as more and more thunder bats attacked, he found it increasingly difficult.

With a muffled groan, another deep wound that exposed bone appeared on his arm, and blood dripped onto the deck.

At that moment, the thunder bats did not intend to let him go, their sharp claws simultaneously attacking, aiming to tear him apart completely.

At this crucial moment, a purple sword gleam shot out, instantly obliterating the three thunder bats.

Zheng Yuan turned his head to see Wang Ruoxie’s longsword, wrapped in strands of thunderous light, shimmering with purple brilliance.

"Hide behind me."

Wang Ruoxie gave Zheng Yuan a slight smile and said.

The longsword in his hand was an upper-grade treasure artifact, inscribed with thunder runes. Once activated, it could imbue his attacks with the power of thunder and lightning.

The slash he just made carried strands of thunder, at least several times more powerful than an ordinary attack.

This is the power of a weapon, especially a treasure artifact inscribed with runes. Once activated, it can increase a martial cultivator’s attack power by several times.

And this is just a treasure artifact. If it’s a stronger spiritual artifact or earth artifact, or an even higher-level weapon, one can only imagine the terrifying power it would unleash.

"Alright."

Zheng Yuan nodded and directly went behind Wang Ruoxie.

Through the skirmish with the thunder bat herd, he already realized that Wang Ruoxie’s strength far surpassed his, possibly even on par with those in the late stage of the Energy-Introducing Realm.

He also knew clearly that if it weren’t for Wang Ruoxie’s presence, he would have been killed by the thunder bats long ago.

At this moment, in his heart, Wang Ruoxie had already become a life-and-death friend, and the life-saving grace would be forever cherished within.

Between friends, there’s no need for many words, especially life-and-death friends.

"I’ll kill the thunder bats, and you can collect their blood."

Wang Ruoxie said to Zheng Yuan.

"Okay."

Zheng Yuan didn’t say much, just nodded. Even if Wang Ruoxie asked him to die, he wouldn’t refuse, let alone just collecting the blood of thunder bats.

With Zheng Yuan helping to collect the thunder bats’ blood, Wang Ruoxie could fully concentrate on hunting them down.

In the following moments, at least hundreds more thunder bats perished under Wang Ruoxie’s sword.

Zheng Yuan followed behind him, using a storage pouch to collect the blood of the thunder bats.

"Boom!"

Just then, a thunderous roar echoed across the sky and earth.

In the next moment, a massive black shadow burst out of the thundersea vortex.

This was also a thunder bat, but its body was several dozen times larger than the others, with wings spanning at least several dozen meters.

In the eyes of everyone, it was an enormous creature, almost as large as the Purple Gold Warship beneath them.

A terrifying aura emanated from this gigantic thunder bat, and bolts of lightning, as thick as fingers, flashed on its body.

"Oh no, it’s the Thunder Bat King."

Gazing at this massive thunder bat, Zhao Huang, who was in the Second Layer of the Element Transformation Realm, couldn’t help but exclaim.

Hearing Zhao Huang’s words, everyone’s faces turned deathly pale, their eyes full of terror.

Even Wang Ruoxie, at this moment, showed unprecedented seriousness.

The Thunder Bat King, a tier-three low-level demon beast, rivaling martial cultivators in the early stage of the Element Transformation Realm.

If that were all, it wouldn’t be enough to strike fear into Zhao Huang, a Second Layer Element Transformation Realm powerhouse. However, the Thunder Bat King is among the most formidable of the tier-three low-level demon beasts, equivalent in strength to martial cultivators in the Third Layer of the Element Transformation Realm.

Although it’s just one small realm apart, as cultivation advances, the gap between martial cultivators grows, and upon reaching the Element Transformation Realm, each small realm enhancement can increase strength by at least tenfold.

A martial cultivator in the Third Layer of the Element Transformation Realm can easily defeat a dozen Second Layer Energy-Introducing Realm cultivators.

"Younger Brother Xia, I’m afraid today we both are destined to perish here."

Zhao Huang said to Xia Yuan with a bitter smile.

"Brother Zhao, having such a close friend like you in this lifetime, I would die without regrets."

Xia Yuan replied with a light smile.

Hearing their conversation made Wang Ruoxie’s heart stir with warmth.