184: Chapter 184 Devouring

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away, at the West Federation frontline command camp.

A streak of blood-red light descended from the sky, slamming heavily in front of the medical tent in the center of the camp.

Boom!

The blood-red light exploded, revealing a shriveled, emaciated figure that looked like a ghoul.

Monroe knelt on the ground, his hands dug deep into the soil.

Monroe's hair had turned completely white, his skin was as shriveled as dead tree bark, the light in his eyes was unfocused, and he kept vomiting black blood clots.

"Save... save me..." He reached out, calling out hoarsely toward the tent, "Lord Edmond... Legion Commander... save me..."

The camp's alarm sounded instantly.

A dozen figures darted out from various tents, and when they saw Monroe's miserable state, everyone gasped.

"Monroe?!"

"How did he end up like this? The Blood Escape forbidden technique?!"

"Where is Aiken? Where did Aiken go?!"

A tall figure pushed through the crowd and walked up to Monroe.

Edmond lowered his head, looking at this once high-spirited companion who had now become this inhuman, ghastly mess; the expression on his face shifted from shock to livid.

"Who did this?" Edmond's voice was as cold as ice.

Monroe raised his head, and the moment his unfocused gaze met Edmond's, a sudden burst of intense resentment and fear erupted; he clutched Edmond's pant leg so tightly that his fingernails broke, screaming hoarsely:

"Lin Mo! It's Lin Mo!!"

"His true strength is far beyond Tier 6! The intelligence was wrong! He severed Aiken's arm... and I fear he has already been taken to Ironwall City!"

Monroe suddenly began to convulse violently, his eyes rolling back, and a large amount of white foam poured from his mouth. The backlash of the forbidden technique erupted completely at this moment, and his vitality was fading rapidly.

"Hold him down! Use the divine technique stabilizer!" Edmond roared.

Several medics rushed forward, but Monroe's body suddenly swelled violently, and eerie black veins appeared beneath his skin—the precursor to the Blood Escape forbidden technique spiraling completely out of control.

Just then, a hand wearing a white glove gently pressed down on the top of Monroe's head.

Hum—

A vast, majestic power, as if from the nine heavens, instantly suppressed the rampaging divine technique within Monroe's body.

Monroe's body collapsed limply; though still shriveled, at least his life was preserved.

Edmond turned around abruptly and knelt on one knee: "Legion Commander."

Augustus stood in the center of the camp, his golden hair fluttering slightly in the night wind. He did not look at Edmond kneeling on the ground, nor did he look at the half-dead Monroe, but instead gazed toward Ironwall City, and for the first time, an emotion called gravity appeared in his deep eyes.

"Lin Mo..."

He whispered the name, as if savoring a glass of aged, strong liquor.

"Issue an order."

Augustus withdrew his hand, a trace of black blood staining his white glove; he gently took it off and threw it on the ground.

"Initiate the Dragon Hunting protocol."

"Summon all troops stationed outside. Within three days, I want Ironwall City wiped off the map."

The night wind picked up, causing the flags in the camp to flap loudly.

...

The night in Ironwall City was colder than on the wasteland.

Lin Mo lay on the bed in the officers' quarters, staring at the shadow cast by the light on the rafters.

The wound on his left hand had been re-dressed and wrapped in thick bandages. The stinging pain in his palm had turned into a dull ache under the influence of the numbing ointment, but the burning sensation inside his body was becoming increasingly intense.

His dragon blood was boiling, as if magma were rushing through his veins, and every heartbeat made his chest feel stifled.

Logically speaking, with a wound of this severity, it should have healed on its own within half an hour given the passive effect of Awakening of Insects.

Yet, a full half-day had passed, and there was no sign of the wound healing.

Even conventional medicine had no effect whatsoever.

Lin Mo had heard before that the West Federation had deities, and most of their high-tier Awakeners could borrow the power of these deities!

After witnessing the terrifying nature of divine techniques, Lin Mo finally realized how frightening this ability, which was completely different from that of conventional Awakeners, truly was.

The door was gently pushed open, and Shen Yi walked in, followed by a peeking Ji Wuchen.

"Drink your medicine." Shen Yi handed the bowl to Lin Mo, her tone brooking no argument.

The dark brown medicinal liquid emitted a bitter smell, mixed with a metallic, fishy odor.

Lin Mo took the bowl, didn't even frown, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. The liquid slid down his throat like a line of ice into his stomach, then immediately turned into a violent chill, colliding with the divine power that was constantly corroding his body.

"Ugh..." Lin Mo let out a muffled groan, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead, and his clothes soaked through in an instant.

"Bear with it." Shen Yi sat by the bed, placed her fingers on his pulse, and a faint cyan light glowed from her fingertips.

"Quite painful?" Ji Wuchen leaned against the door frame, watching Lin Mo's instantly twisted expression, and grinned. "Miss Shen, isn't your standard for 'quite painful' a bit high? He looks pale to me."

"Get out." Lin Mo squeezed the two words through his teeth.

"Don't be like that, I'm just concerned about you." Ji Wuchen shamelessly walked in, carrying a cloth bag in his hand.

"Besides, I brought you something good. Look, Old Li from the mess hall secretly slipped it to me, saying it's some kind of soup stewed with century-old ginseng, to help you recover..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill down his back.

Gu Yunting appeared at the door at some unknown moment and said coldly: "General Han wants you to report to the armory for weapon damage. Also, City Lord Yan wants to see you."

"Now?" Ji Wuchen wailed. "I just got back, my legs are still weak!"

"Now." Gu Yunting's gaze swept over Lin Mo on the bed, and he nodded imperceptibly, acknowledging him, before grabbing Ji Wuchen by the back of his collar. "Don't disturb his recovery."

"Hey, hey, hey, take it easy... Lin Mo! I'll come to see you in a bit! Remember to drink that soup..."

The voice gradually faded away, and the room became quiet again.

Shen Yi released Lin Mo's wrist and frowned slightly. "The situation is a bit better than I imagined. Your dragon blood seems to be... self-repairing?"

Lin Mo closed his eyes, feeling that violent power within him.

Indeed, under the stimulation of the Cold Abyss Powder, although the divine technique power within his body became even more violent, it was being consumed at a visible rate as it was constantly devoured by the golden-red dragon blood.

"A blessing in disguise." Lin Mo opened his eyes, a flash of golden light crossing his pupils. "This battle has given my body a certain resistance to divine techniques!"

Shen Yi was stunned, then sighed helplessly. "When others are corroded by divine techniques, they suffer damaged meridians and are bedridden for half a month at best, or have their very essence polluted and are crippled at worst. You, on the other hand, use divine techniques as a whetstone."

Lin Mo flexed the fingers of his left hand.

The wound on his palm, cut by the ship-cutting blade, was still oozing blood slightly, but the charred black edges had faded to a light gray, and new flesh was slowly weaving outward from the inside of the wound.

He looked down for a moment, as if confirming something, then withdrew his hand and said in a flat tone:

"Although this strange method of infiltration is troublesome, I now understand the basic principle. Next time, it won't be effective against me."

Shen Yi looked at him and suddenly smiled. She unhooked the tactical water bottle she had swiped from the hangar from her waist, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to him.

She stood up to tidy the medicine bowl, stopped when she reached the door, and said softly, "Get some sleep. Yan Yue said he would interrogate Aiken tomorrow morning and wants you to observe."