King of Beasts

In the Necromantic Secret Realm.

Not only was Lu Ran on the Sudden Death King bewildered, but afar, General Ha also looked confused.

The massive explosion not only blew away the lower overlord-level Necromantic Crocodile but also sent General Ha in his crow tengu form flying.

During the blast, even half of the dark crow was startled, disbanding from its possession of General Ha, and exclaimed while running:

“Caw! What’s going on!”

Startled, Dark Crow watched as General Ha rolled on the ground a few times, then stood up, wiped the blood from his mouth with his paw, and looked into the distance.

“That is—-“

At that moment, a large amount of energy started leaking from Winter’s Fang.

Extremely cold and gale-force winds quickly altered the surrounding terrain, turning a land of death into an ice-snow tomb.

Cracks started to appear bit by bit on its blade, and both Lu Ran and General Ha fell silent.

Because this time, the shattering was not part of the blade’s separation trait. Winter’s Fang, which had been forged less than half a month ago, was really breaking, genuinely getting damaged.

Seeing this, Lu Ran’s heart sank; he suspected there was a problem during the forging process that resulted in a defective product.

General Ha also looked at Lu Ran with a suspicious gaze, doubting Lu Ran’s forging skills.

“Caw! Only heard of guns exploding from overloading,” said the Crow of Curses.

“Never thought a sword could explode too,” added the crow of death.

“666

1

~” both Crows chimed in.

“Roar—-” Even the Sudden Death King stared intently at the sword.

See, having destructive power alone isn’t enough; you also need strong defense…

“Nonsense,” Lu Ran still refused to believe there were flaws in his forged sword. Although it was his first time forging an exquisite weapon, with all the foundation he had laid and using the Flame Sprite as assistance, he thought it should have been flawless.

“Hmm?”

In the next instant, as the sword continued to shatter, Dark Crow noticed something unusual.

Suddenly, it widened its eyes and exclaimed, “Big King! Big King!”

“The sword didn’t explode; it’s manifesting!”

“It’s alive, it’s alive, this sword seems to be birthing an artifact spirit!!!”

“What?” Dark Crow’s exclamation made Lu Ran’s eyelid twitch. In fact, he had already speculated on this possibility earlier, but because the nurturing time had been so short, Lu Ran found it hard to believe that Winter’s Fang could give birth to a spirit in such a brief period.

You should know, it hasn’t even been half a month since it was forged.

The forging elders within the church had estimated that it would take at least years for a supernatural weapon to nurture a spirit, even of rare quality. For exquisite quality, it might even take a year or more.

Even if the necromantic breath in this secret realm were particularly rich, it shouldn’t be possible to nurture an artifact spirit in less than a week.

However, since even Dark Crow from the necromancy species noticed the anomaly, Lu Ran stopped denying this possibility.

If one had to explain it, Winter’s Fang did possess certain unique traits.

That was its forging materials, most of which were General Ha’s teeth, making it “of the same bloodline” as General Ha. Additionally, General Ha had infused his soul slashing sword intent into Winter’s Fang, constantly slashing at necromantic entities, which may have accelerated the nurturing process of an artifact spirit.

“Is this for real…” Lu Ran swallowed hard as Winter’s Fang, the exquisite sword he meticulously forged, shattered completely with a “crack” sound.

As Lu Ran and General Ha were in utter dismay, amidst the explosive storm of snow and wind, a spirit in the form of a sword, light and nimble, entirely different from the larger form of Winter’s Fang, an ice-blue sword spirit, floated and emerged from the storm!!!

At the same moment, Lu Ran’s Eye of Data activated!

[Name]: Winter Sword Spirit

[Attribute]: Necromancy, Ice

[Species level]: Lower Sovereign

[Growth level]: Level 10

Upon discovering the appearance of the sword spirit, both Lu Ran and General Ha held their breath.

Looking at the ice-blue sword-shaped spirit entwined with fine snow, Lu Ran slightly opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but words failed to form and ultimately condensed into one phrase.

“Holy crap, the necromantic Holy Church is awesome!!!”

It really happened!

At that moment, the Necromantic Crocodile that had been blown away saw the floating ice-snow sword spirit and seemed to realize what was happening. Furious, it attempted to launch another attack, but at this point, there was no chance for it to cause any more trouble.

The Crow of Death instantly possessed the Crow of Curses. Dark Crow’s eyes, dozens of them, opened from within its black feathers, revealing a blood-red hue. These eyes rotated continuously, locking onto the Necromantic Crocodile.

Buzz!!!

In an instant, to an outsider, it seemed like nothing happened, but the Necromantic Crocodile stood motionless.

The next moment, Sudden Death King sprang into action. It opened its gigantic maw. Though not adept at attacking, it didn’t mean it couldn’t do so. Compressed thunder energy, magnified tenfold, erupted from its mouth in a massive thunderbolt. The robust red lightning struck the Necromantic Crocodile, sending its body flying and carving a charred trench into the ground.

“Woof-“

Seeing the Necromantic Crocodile blasted away, General Ha quickly sprinted forward. Leaping into the air, it grabbed the bewildered Winter Sword Spirit and headed back.

As General Ha held the sword spirit in its mouth like a mother cat carrying its kitten, its own level started surging rapidly, soon returning to the upper sovereign tier.

It seemed that not only did inanimate weapons enhance General Ha, but even weapons with life forms added to the King of Swords talent for General Ha!

Moreover, the Winter Sword Spirit’s contribution to General Ha was not much different from that of Winter’s Fang.

No.

There was a difference.

Winter’s Fang, unless reforged, lacked growth potential and would eventually lose durability due to wear and tear. However, the sword spirit was different; it could, like a pet beast, continue to grow and develop through nurturing, showing greater potential!

In any case, Lu Ran never expected that he would nurture a sword spirit so quickly.

“Woof!!”

While being carried by General Ha, the sword spirit seemed uncomfortable and emitted a protesting cry, the blade quivering slightly.

Yes, the sword was “woofing.”

That “woof” not only startled General Ha but almost made Lu Ran and the others lose their composure.

“Thank you, General Ha, I finally know what a sword sounds like,” Dark Crow said, trying to stifle laughter and covering its mouth in disbelief.

Goddamn “woof”!

This sword acted just like one of General Ha’s puppies.

Since the Winter Sword Spirit was no longer an inanimate object, it seemed to dislike being carried in General Ha’s mouth. In a flash, it slipped through General Ha’s uneven teeth and entered General Ha’s body.

Necromancy Special Ability, Possession!

In the past, to enhance General Ha’s combat power and allow it to hold its own against lower overlords, the Crow of Death had also used its possession ability on General Ha, enabling it to enter a new form.

However, the results were not very effective. Fighting with General Ha in this state wasn’t as satisfying as Dark Crow engaging in battle alone.

Although General Ha received some soul enhancement, making its soul slashing sword intent more powerful, it never fully adapted to the form.

The Crow Tengu form, compared to the synergy with General Ha, had Dark Crow feeling it was better suited to align with Lu Ran.

However, with the Winter Sword Spirit possessing General Ha, there was an immediate difference.

Although the Winter Sword Spirit’s Species Level and Growth Level were far lower than the Crow of Death, General Ha could clearly feel its own sword soul becoming incredibly active and powerful.

The overwhelming surge of power brought an expression of excitement to General Ha’s face.

“Howl!!!!”

General Ha suddenly halted, raised its head, and let out a long howl as icy-blue streaks appeared in its fur, radiating an immense aura from its body.

It felt as though it was on the brink of breaking through to an overlord, almost taking that last step.

The air seemed to crackle as if it were freezing, with the sword intent emanating from General Ha like a peerless divine sword about to unsheathe, ready to slice through the world.

At present, the one who felt this the most was the Necromantic Crocodile that had been blasted away by Sudden Death King. Although it had endured Dark Crow’s control coupled with Sudden Death King’s Thunder Dragon roar, it wasn’t enough to finish off a lower overlord.

Yet as it struggled to get up, it faced an even more terrifying attack!

General Ha turned, eyes fierce.

Domain activated!

In the state of being possessed by the sword spirit, even without holding a sword, General Ha seemed to reach a new special state. It successfully deployed a sword domain, even with an empty mouth.

As the wind and snow swept through, it felt like an eternity had passed. The soul of the Necromantic Crocodile not only froze but seemed as though it had undergone innumerable cuts, completely shattering.

[Congratulations, you completed…]

Lu Ran ignored the secret realm broadcast and instead marveled at General Ha, who had once again successfully deployed the Blizzard Sword Domain. He felt a surge of exhilaration.

“Woof.”

Having just taken down a lower overlord of the same level by itself, General Ha exuded an air of sophistication.

“Woof. (A sword is not just a cumbersome tool.)” It turned around.

It walked towards Lu Ran, towards Sudden Death King, towards Dark Crow, proudly lifting its head, clearly satisfied with its achievement.

“Amazing.” Seeing General Ha, with the possession of the sword spirit, effortlessly use the Blizzard Sword Domain, Lu Ran could only think of how worthwhile this past week spent in the secret necromancy realm had been.

“Where’s the sword spirit?”

When General Ha returned, Lu Ran shook its head, signaling it to release the sword spirit so he could take another look.

The birth of this sword spirit was not solely due to General Ha.

Winter’s Fang was forged by Lu Ran himself!

“Woof–” After shaking its head, General Ha released the sword spirit from its body. However, the newly born sword spirit seemed just as bewildered as the Weather Elf had been previously, drifting aimlessly, appearing quite lost.

Seeing this, Lu Ran wasn’t particularly concerned. For a newly born spirit, this was normal. With a bit of cultivation, this sword spirit would undoubtedly help General Ha ascend to the status of a legendary retainer god.

“Since you were born from the demise of Winter’s Fang, and can fluently speak dog language, I’ll name you Corpse Dog, in memory of my lost Exquisite Sword.”

Lu Ran named the sword spirit with a twitch of his mouth, feeling a bit helpless. He wasn’t sure whether the death of Winter’s Fang was good or bad. His initial intention was to cultivate a sword with an artifact spirit, not just a sword spirit.

Perhaps after General Ha evolves, he could use its new teeth to forge a body for Corpse Dog?

While Lu Ran pondered, he suddenly had an epiphany.

It seemed he had realized something. He looked towards Corpse Dog and General Ha.

Now that Corpse Dog was an ownerless spirit, theoretically, it shouldn’t be able to remain in the secret realm. Just like Manager Ying, without a contract holder, it couldn’t enter the secret realm or the Infinite City.

So what was the situation with Corpse Dog? It was born within the secret realm…

Did he just glitch the system?

Lu Ran fell silent for a moment, then patted General Ha, signaling it to enter the possession state with the sword spirit again.

The next moment.

Lu Ran exited the secret realm with his pet beasts.

Corpse Dog remained in a state of possession on General Ha.

…

Afterwards.

Lu Ran re-entered the secret realm with his pet beasts.

Corpse Dog was still in possession of General Ha.

…

Even when entering the Infinite City, Corpse Dog continued to possess General Ha!

…

After a series of experiments, Lu Ran discovered that while he couldn’t place both General Ha and Corpse Dog into the same contract card simultaneously, Corpse Dog, when in possession of General Ha, seemed to be recognized as a single entity by Infinite City.

This did not prevent it from entering and exiting the Infinite City and the secret realm alongside General Ha!

This result astonished Lu Ran. Could it be because the primary material for forging Winter’s Fang, Corps Dog’s predecessor, was General Ha’s teeth?

Footnote:

1. 666(666):

   In Chinese internet culture, “666” is a popular expression used to praise someone for doing something impressive or skillfully.