128: Chapter 128 Dragon Gene Fusion and the Vampire Demon's Poisonous Scheme
Hive Core Laboratory.
This is the heart of the deepest part of the Divine Realm, the birthplace of all evolutionary miracles of the Zerg Swarm, and an absolute forbidden zone.
The air was thick with a heavy scent of ozone mixed with living tissue; the surrounding walls were not metal or rock, but slowly pulsating deep-purple flesh covered in biological conduits.
In a giant biochemical petri dish, the male Twin Crystal Dragon was silently suspended in mid-air.
Dozens of thick, slimy blood-colored tentacles, like the most precise scalpels, had pierced its brilliant crystalline scales and were deeply embedded into every major organ and nerve center within its body.
It wasn't dead.
But its dragon pupils, which once shone with pride and power, were now completely dull, covered by a cloudy film, leaving only the unconscious stupor of deep anesthesia.
Su Chen's consciousness body floated before the massive central console.
Before him was an incredibly complex holographic genetic map constructed from pure Mental Energy. That spiral chain of light was the life code extracted in real-time from the male Crystal Dragon.
"System, lock onto all genetic fragments related to 'Crystal Reflection'."
His thoughts were cold and precise, without a trace of redundant emotion.
"Strip away the redundant parts of the 'Dragon Clan Bloodline'."
Su Chen's hands moved rapidly in the Void Realm, and those genetic chains, as complex as a galaxy, were easily shattered, peeled away, and reorganized under his will.
"Flight ability, redundant. Dragon Tongue Magic, redundant. Elemental Affinity, redundant."
"I don't need them to grow wings; I only want their shells!"
[Warning: Intense gene rejection detected... Enabling brute-force cracking solution...]
[Cracking... 10%... 50%... 99%...]
[Ding! Target genetic fragment extraction successful!]
Accompanied by a crisp notification sound that resembled crystals clashing, a fist-sized spiral of genetic raw liquid emitting a rainbow-colored halo slowly condensed in Su Chen's palm.
It floated quietly, as if containing a miniature Universe that constantly refracted light.
[Obtained Genetic Trait: Crystal Reflection Carapace (Rare · Legendary Rank)]
[Effect: Completely crystallizes the biological unit's carapace, providing a fixed 60% reduction in all types of magic damage. When subjected to a single-target directed Spell attack, there is a 30% chance to reflect the Spell entirely back to the caster.]
"Perfect."
Su Chen gazed at the genetic liquid in his palm, a hint of fervor finally surfacing in his mental fluctuations.
This was what he wanted—the ultimate weapon against mage civilizations.
This was the true "Anti-Mage Armor"!
"Transmit my divine oracle."
His voice spread through the mental network, instantly reaching every corner of the Divine Realm.
"Equip the genetic sequence 'Crystal Reflection Carapace' to the Ultralisk Legion and Roach units with priority! I will transform my front-line tanks into mobile magic-immune fortresses!"
The moment the divine oracle was issued.
Beneath the surface of the Divine Realm, massive barracks began to violently writhe and expand like hearts.
Within the Spawning Pools, the Ultralisks, originally covered in pitch-black bony carapaces, raised their heads in unison and let out roars of extreme agony.
The roars were jagged and frenzied, filled with wild struggle.
"Crack... Crack crack..."
Their indestructible old shells began to crack from the inside, web-like fissures spreading rapidly, accompanied by the tooth-gritting sound of shattering as large chunks peeled off.
Dark purple blood and interstitial fluid gushed out.
Immediately following, a brand new, semi-transparent, diamond-bright crystalline new carapace burst forth directly from their living flesh!
It was a savage and magnificent Rebirth.
The agonized roars gradually turned into powerful bellows.
When the first evolved Ultralisk stepped out of the Spawning Pool, the sunlight hit its brand-new carapace, refracting thousands of blinding rays of light.
From a distance, the entire Ultralisk Legion seemed to be draped in holy armor made of diamonds, shimmering in the sun, breathtakingly beautiful yet lethally terrifying.
...
Just as Su Chen was immersed in a new wave of military expansion.
Abyss Plane.
In the deepest darkness where even light could not escape and time nearly stood still.
A magnificent ancient castle built from countless skeletons and solidified resentment stood like a hideous bony hand upon an endless, viscous sea of blood.
[Blood Throne].
This was one of the oldest and most unfathomable powers in the southern territories of the Abyss, and also the core stronghold of the Alliance leading the wave of resistance against the Zerg Swarm.
At the top of the ancient castle, around a large obsidian round table, sat various Demon Demigods of different forms.
There were Balrog Lords as massive as mountains, burning with hellfire; Plague Demon Gods emitting scents of Plague and decay with pus flowing from their bodies; and Fallen Demon Kin with rotting bat wings and soul fire burning in their eye sockets.
However, the one sitting in the main seat was not any of those seemingly most powerful beings.
It was an elegant man in a sophisticated black tailcoat, his face as pale as snow. He had meticulously groomed silver hair, and every gesture exuded a composure and arrogance stemming from ancient nobility.
The Great Duke of the Blood Demons, Dracula.
"Everyone, you have arrived."
Dracula gently swirled the goblet in his hand, crimson liquid clinging to the glass. It wasn't wine, but a glass of still-warm holy blood just extracted from the heart of a demigod-level angel.
"Those damn bugs, their offensive is too fierce!"
A Plague Demon God covered in pustules, whose voice sounded like sandpaper rubbing together, was the first to speak, gritting his teeth.
"My 'Ultimate Decay' Plague is completely ineffective against them! That serpentine monster named Ysera in their Zerg Swarm is simply the nemesis of all Plagues and curses! If this continues, within three months, my territory will be completely purified by her damned life energy!"
"What's the rush?"
Dracula took an elegant sip of the blood in his cup, his crimson tongue lightly licking his lips, his deep eyes flashing with a cold, rational light like a venomous snake.
"Brute force is always the choice favored by lower beings."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it silenced all the irritable demons present.
"To win, we must rely on this."
He lightly tapped his temple with a slender finger.
Then, he snapped his fingers.
A Blood Servant standing behind him immediately brought forward a box made of Abyssal Lead, covered in Restriction runes.
The moment the box opened, an indescribable aura mixed with corruption and lethal poison instantly filled the air. The aura was cold and filthy, causing the Demon Demigods present to instinctively frown.
It was a mass of pitch-black blood constantly twisting and writhing inside the lead box.
Within the blood, it seemed as if countless distorted faces of silently screaming souls flashed by.
"What is this thing?" the Balrog Lord asked in a muffled voice, his surrounding flames dimming slightly due to this aura.
"A work of art."
The corner of Dracula's mouth curled into a morbid smile.
"I spent a full hundred years using a drop of a 'Fallen Seraph's' Origin heart blood as a base, then fused it with the ten-thousand-year-old toxic mud from the bottom of the River Styx—the filthiest place in the Abyss—to carefully concoct this masterpiece."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over every demon present.
"Although those bugs are powerful, tireless, and unafraid of death, they have a most fatal weakness that everyone has overlooked."
"The one they call the 'Dominator of Light,' Lumina."
"She is the only known pure light-type unit in the Zerg Swarm's sequence. She is also the greatest guarantee for those bugs to fight recklessly in this Abyss filled with radiation and negative energy. Without her 'Purification Halo,' the whispers of the abyssal will would sooner or later erode those mindless beasts into lunatics who only know how to slaughter."
At this point, Dracula's smile became hideous and distorted, revealing a sense of gratification from long-awaited revenge.
"And the toxin in my hand is a 'Disintegration Virus' specifically written for light-type genes."
"Once infected, it won't cause any pain; it will only silently reverse the target's genetic sequence. The purer and more powerful the light-type power, the faster the disintegration!"
He raised his hand and made a gesture as if gently crushing a crystal.
"I have already made the arrangements. Two years from now will be the Abyss's once-in-a-millennium 'Blood Moon Night,' when the power of the Abyssal Tide will reach its peak. We will set an ambush in Black Wind Canyon, which Su Chen must pass through on his southern campaign, and lure that Lumina into acting at any cost."
"As long as she uses large-scale light-type power..."
"As long as we cripple their light-type healer, those bugs exposed to Abyssal radiation will be nothing more than a bunch of meat on the chopping block waiting to rot!"
Dead silence.
After a brief silence, various greedy and cruel fanatical voices erupted in the meeting room.
"Brilliant! Duke Dracula, truly brilliant!"
"As long as that damned purification is gone, my Plague army can teach those bugs what true rot is!"
"Jie jie jie... When the time comes, I will personally tear that Zerg Dominator apart and use his skull as my new wine cup!"
Inside the gloomy ancient castle, the demons' unrestrained and chilling laughter rang out.