Monsters Are Coming-Chapter 894 - 252: Black Tide Investment, Abyss Seed

Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

The waning moon droops over the undulating mountain ridge, dyeing the sky a rusty dark red.

Fibrous embers slowly twirl in the air, forming vortices before scattering like snowfall.

The view advances northwards from the ancient battlefield piled with bones, and the land abruptly breaks off ahead.

A massive abyssal chasm runs across the mountain ridge.

Black mist churns at the bottom of the abyss, and a sinister tower rises, piercing through the fog and pointing at the blood-red waning moon.

The tower's structure is composed of bone-like material, with a colossal Black Tide Melting Furnace at its core, teeming with energy within.

At this moment, the Earth Thought Evil Spirit hovers on the platform atop the tower, attempting to receive orders with the Evil Eye.

Messages had been sent out, but no orders were coming from any Evil Spirit Warriors.

No orders mean no resource income.

No resource income means during the player rampage phase, expenses will exceed resource gains.

For the player, Qi Die, and even the monsters lurking in the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, the waning moon signifies the arrival of spring.

But for the Earth Thought Evil Spirit, the waning moon's arrival means frost is here; it has to scrimp and save to survive the winter.

The current player's strength is no longer what it used to be.

Whether this winter can be endured is unpredictable.

If the beastly players go mad and launch into high-frequency war mode, winter resources will only dwindle further.

Thinking of its sudden downfall, the Earth Thought Evil Spirit feels bitterness in its heart.

Just a few days ago, it was contemplating how to develop faster; now it retracts its Black Tide Energy, completely abandoning an aggressive expansion strategy.

Particularly the emergence of numerous weak players, like a slap on its face.

It's a clear provocation.

It now has only one thought: to urgently develop channels for external resource acquisition.

Taking orders for substitute battles is, in its view, the most convenient way to secure external income.

Previously, it had earned income through two substitute battles, enduring the toughest times, ushering in the Waxing Moon.

But days have passed, and no other Black Tide Commanders from any nodes have contacted it for substitute battles.

It can somewhat understand the reason.

Every Evil Spirit Warrior emerging from Black Tide Nodes has climbed up through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

They generally come from countless shattered small worlds, standing out in purgatory, and have undergone the cruel honing of the Main World, with a lone wolf-like arrogance engraved in their bones.

Just like it back then, harboring pride.

Apart from special circumstances, it did not wish to accept aid, loathing pity even more.

It only wished to stir up a dark surge in Monster World through its own efforts, to prove its excellence.

Recalling its mindset upon first descending.

Back then, it was arrogant, not believing it needed help.

Thinking if a colleague extended a helping hand, it would be more nauseating than the enemy's blade.

And it firmly believed that dying in battle was a Black Tide Warrior's honorable return path, but accepting pity was a disgrace that would taint even the soul.

But that was the past.

Now, its attitude towards external resources is clear.

Take if given, beg if not.

What's face worth next to a few resources? As long as there are resources, face is nothing!

Resources obtained by kneeling can still be used to bash in the heads of beastly players and stupid insect races.

And then from kneeling, they stand up.

It had long seen through it all.

What damn dignity can be exchanged for a drop of Black Tide Energy?

Back then, it was also a stubborn fool holding its head high; now as long as resources are adequate, sent from any node, they were its bread and butter.

In the Monster World's intense super battlefield, the standard for evaluating dignity is essentially one thing.

Surviving is winning.

And the dead have no right to speak of dignity.

But that's just its view; many Evil Spirit Warriors still hold onto their pride as they strive in Monster World.

This group of Evil Spirit Warriors would not easily accept help from other nodes.

Furthermore, aside from dignity, there's another reason.

That is battle achievements and ranks.

Battle achievements refer to the performance data shared under Black Tide Node information-sharing, viewable among other nodes via shared data from the Evil Eye.

This includes how many races devoured, the extent of expansion, and so forth.

Rank refers to the battle power evaluation level when Black Tide strength develops to a certain scale, affecting the allocation of resource aid shares.

The current tier division within the Black Tide Army, from low to high, is: Commander, Commander Level, Lord, Angel Envoy, King.

The King tier is further subdivided, with considerable disparities in combat strength between them.

Above that is the Demon God Level.

The Evil Eye's mother "The Thirteenth Divine Eye" is a half-step Demon God in the Demon God class.

Each Black Tide tier has different resource allocations.

For example, certain regions illuminated by the Evil Moon generate numerous Corrosion Cores enshrouding Domain Nodes, continuously extracting energy.

But no Evil Spirit Warriors are stationed in these regions.

The extracted resources in this part go into a resource pool, distributed to different Evil Spirit Warriors according to the allocation ratio set by the King of that region.

Currently, its resource allocation qualifies for the Commander Level, but its battle power rank remains at Commander Level.

(PS: Chapter 122 mentioned that the Earth Thought Evil Spirit was elevated one aid level by the King, receiving Commander Level resources.)

This results in others viewing its battle achievements, seeing rank information, and feeling it is unqualified to partake in commanding campaigns at their node.

But the problem is, they fail to see what high-level match they're fighting, who wouldn't collapse?

This godforsaken place, the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, surviving here is already a feat; what use is battle achievement?

Thinking of this, Earth Thought Bully feels resentment well up in its heart.