“Ah!” William Howard cried out loudly, suddenly sensing something. He hurriedly directed the warship to smash backward, but at the very moment the warship was launched, he abruptly looked up and was shocked to discover that this beast actually possessed extraordinary intelligence. Its innate magical power, combined with a feint maneuver, had lured out his strongest magical weapon, and now it was pouncing down on him from above!

Just as William Howard was in utter despair, a pitch-black, enormous mouth suddenly lunged out from the side and swallowed the fifteen-zhang-long Great Desolate Tiger in one gulp.

Chapter 0010: The Absolute Domain of Divine Cinders Mountain (Part 1)

William Howard was so terrified that his hair stood on end. He fled desperately into the distance, but the giant beast that had devoured the Great Desolate Tiger in the darkness was not satisfied. From beneath William Howard, a thick, strange snake tail emerged, and with a casual twist, it crushed the immortal armor on his body to pieces.

William Howard let out a miserable scream, using all his strength to command the warship to smash heavily toward that enormous mouth in the darkness. After all, he had trained for many years on the battlefield of Huangtai Fortress and knew where the vital points were.

But with a thud, the massive warship was sent flying back by the recoil, golden light scattering everywhere—it had suffered significant damage!

In the darkness, a huge, heavy shadow swayed for a moment, then retreated into even deeper darkness. The enormous snake tail, coiling around William Howard, quietly withdrew into the shadows as well.

With a gentle squeeze, the snake tail caused William Howard's entire body to crackle and snap—every bone shattered, and even his soul was squeezed out. The snake scales were covered with barbs, and the pitch-black, sinister poison pierced into his soul, causing its spiritual light to extinguish rapidly.

Brian Cooper and Eric King exchanged glances, both filled with terror. The demon lurking in the darkness had already gone far, but the two of them did not dare to move for a long time.

Deputy Commander William Howard, whose strength was only a hair's breadth below that of the Tiger Elite, had fallen so easily in this absolute domain! To this place, human cultivators were truly nothing more than food and fertilizer.

Brian Cooper felt his mouth go dry, his whole being nearly overwhelmed by despair and discomfort. William Howard was his superior, but neither he nor Eric King had ever considered “rescuing” him, nor did they feel the slightest guilt. In this situation, rushing out would only mean certain death.

Eric King looked at Brian Cooper: “Scholar, w-what should we do?”

Brian Cooper thought for a moment, then beckoned to him: “Follow me.”

The two of them crouched low and quietly made their way to the battlefield from earlier. On a patch of gravel, there were still traces of fresh blood spat out by William Howard, which made their hearts pound with fear.

The terrifying aura of the giant beast still lingered nearby. Just standing there made their hearts race and their breathing short. Brian Cooper forced himself to calm down and searched the surroundings. He saw a huge boulder in the direction the beast had left and led Eric King over to it.

They circled the boulder twice, but Brian Cooper found nothing and was disappointed. Not far from the boulder, however, there was an ironwood tree. This rare tree only grew in absolute domains, and in ten years, it would not grow more than a finger’s width. Its trunk was as hard and black as iron.

This ironwood tree was thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around. A large chunk of its steel-like bark had been scraped off, probably when the giant beast brushed past as it left. At the spot where the bark was damaged, Brian Cooper made a discovery.

Eric King saw it too: “Is this the beast’s scale?”

He reached out to take it, but Brian Cooper quickly stopped him: “It’s poisonous!” Eric King shuddered, recalling William Howard’s tragic fate, and quickly withdrew his hand.

Brian Cooper used a small knife to pry out the broken scale with great effort, then tied it with a rope and carried it in his hand.

The scale still carried the beast’s aura. Brian Cooper breathed a sigh of relief and said, “For a short time, this should fool a lot of wild beasts.”

Eric King gave a thumbs up: “You’re the man.”

But Brian Cooper didn’t feel happy at all. He pointed in a direction: “That warship seems to have fallen over there. Let’s go try our luck.” If they could get a ninth-grade magical weapon, even if the two of them could only use it a few times together, it would at least give them a last-resort means of self-defense.

Eric King’s eyes lit up: “Alright.”

They only remembered the general direction and carefully made their way through the dangerous night. After crossing a mountain peak, they were lucky not to encounter any danger. Skirting a few huge rocks, they saw a patch of golden light flickering in a small grove ahead.

“There it is.”

Just as Eric King was about to step forward, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to shake.

Brian Cooper cried out inwardly, “Not good!” and quickly pulled Eric King back. But before they could retreat, the ground beneath them suddenly split open, one side rising sharply. The two of them screamed as they fell.

Their cultivation was not yet high enough to fly. As they plummeted, Eric King just managed to grab Brian Cooper and cushion his fall. Below was pitch black—they had no idea how deep it was. Dirt and stones fell with them, and with a crash, they landed heavily on the ground.

Eric King’s plump body compressed and rebounded, cushioning Brian Cooper. The two of them bounced up together, and this time the impact was much less. Brian Cooper managed to stand up in one motion, while Eric King was so winded by the fall that he bounced several times before coming to a stop.

Brian Cooper hurried over: “Fatty, Fatty, are you alright?”

“Cough, cough, cough…” With Brian Cooper shaking him, Eric King finally coughed violently and recovered, waving his hand: “I’m fine, not dead yet. Damn, that hurts…”