In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar

The sea in Nordkal is dark in color.

Unlike Liyue or Sumeru, the sea here is deep blue; unlike Maple Leaf, the sea here is clear.

The coastline is quite rugged, sometimes consisting of relatively gentle sandy beaches and sometimes of headlands that need to be climbed.

On some of the larger rock formations, you can see a faint blue glow. This is a special landform formed by the long-term influence of the lunar moment force, which is rare even in Nordkalley.

"It feels so quiet here," Wang Yan said.

Even when he was in the desert, he didn't feel this way, but now the coastline of Xixi Island gave him this feeling.

Paimon, standing beside Ying, asked with some doubt, "Really? I remember it was similar when I came here before; I couldn't see anyone."

Ying nodded in agreement.

Philin said, "When Mr. Wang Yan talks about tranquility, he is probably referring to a certain state of mind. For example, when I am in the grave, although it is noisy around me, I feel very peaceful."

Ying: ...

Paimon: ...

Wang Yan: ...

"Don't tell ghost stories so blandly!" Paimon shouted angrily.

Flins: "This isn't a ghost story, it's true. Next time you come to Long Night's Lair, I can let you try my house."

"Um... let's forget it. We'll be fine living in the lighthouse when we get there."

Paimon quickly waved his hand in refusal.

Ying and Wang Yan couldn't help but laugh.

As he was laughing, Wang Yan suddenly turned serious and looked at a small hill not far away.

His sudden change in expression alerted the two people beside him to the fact that something was wrong.

Ying, Philins: "What's wrong?"

“There’s something over there, the aura of the abyss.” Wang Yan had already summoned the “Seventy-Two Xuanming” to hover around him.

"Abyss!"

The two exchanged a glance, and a sword and a spear appeared in their hands at the same time.

“I’ll go take a look. Please be patient,” Philin said, and was about to step forward.

Wang Yan shook his head: "The aura isn't strong. Let's go together. It should just be a few scattered wild hunters."

“Then let’s go together,” Ying said.

Philin did not refuse and nodded.

The three of them concealed their presence and quietly approached the small mound.

Soon, they lay prone at the top of the slope and looked down—in the hollow behind the slope, about a dozen wild predators were engaged in a frenzied battle of cannibalism.

They roared and pounced on their kind, their sharp claws tearing through their dark shells, their filthy power turning into bodily fluids that splattered everywhere;

One of the Berserkers pierced the chest of another with its bone blade, but was bitten by the neck by a Ghostly Disciple charging from the side and slammed to the ground.

Before the ghostly creature could continue its attack, another wild hunter pounced from the side.

Limbs and severed bodies were scattered, and dark purple abyssal energy seeped out from the wounds, mixing with muddy bodily fluids and corroding the ground into hissing pits.

"What, what's going on? Why are the Wild Hunt fighting each other?" Paimon almost exclaimed in surprise, but luckily he covered his mouth in time, but still couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Wang Yan and Ying also looked at Philins.

Of the group, he was the most professional.

After all, he is the lantern bearer who resists the wild hunt.

But this time, even Philin, who was most familiar with the Wild Hunt, showed a puzzled expression, and then shook his head at Xinghan: "No, the Wild Hunt does not have intelligence, but they generally do not attack their own kind, at most they will only injure by mistake."

"The situation before us is clearly one of active fighting, with even the Wilderness Disciples daring to attack the Wilderness Hunters. This is definitely not right."

Paimon glanced at the Wild Hunt still locked in battle and lowered his voice: "So what do we do?"

Ying: "How about we just kill them all?"

She loves these kinds of assignments: where to go, what to kill, and how many to kill.

This task requires almost no brainpower and is the easiest to complete.

“Um…why don’t we take a look first?” Wang Yan also lowered his voice. “Since it’s abnormal behavior, it’s very likely related to the root of this mutation. Clearing it out directly might just break the trail.”

Upon hearing this, Philin nodded: "Mr. Wang Yan is right. This situation is definitely related to the mutation. Why don't we follow the clues and maybe find the mastermind behind it all?"

"Alright, I'll do as you say." Ying nodded, but did not put away her longsword, still watching the fighting mad hunter warily.

The frenzied battle in the hollow lasted for nearly ten minutes, gradually subsiding as the roars and the sounds of shells tearing apart subsided.

The last two-and-a-half-meter-tall Wild Hunter pierced the skull of its kind with its bone blade, splattering foul bodily fluids everywhere.

With the end of this battle,

Under the watchful eyes of Wang Yan and the others, the emanating dark purple abyssal energy seemed to be drawn in and began to surge wildly toward the victor.

The Berserker raised his head and let out a deafening, ferocious roar, the sound so powerful that it startled the surrounding birds.

However, Wang Yan had no time to look at the birds; his gaze was fixed entirely on the Berserker.

The filthy power that had just defeated the victor scattered across the ground, flooding its body like a tide.

A series of cracking and bone-spurting sounds emanated from beneath the shell. Sharp bone spurs burst out from the shoulders, back, and elbows, their surfaces shimmering with a dark, luminous sheen. Then, the body began to swell violently, the bones stretching and cracking incessantly, the muscles bulging and bulging like writhing rocks.

In just a few dozen breaths, it had grown from two and a half meters to more than five meters tall, its limbs as thick as pillars, its head almost touching the top of the slope, transforming into an abyss giant covered in ferocious bone spikes and exuding a violent aura.

“This…evolution?” Wang Yan couldn’t help but whisper.

Flins shook his head slightly: "I prefer to call it aberration."

"Gentlemen, why don't we talk about why this is happening?" Ying said irritably, her eyes full of vigilance. "If the Wild Hunt can fight each other and evolve, then it will be a huge catastrophe."

Wang Yan and Philin exchanged a glance and nodded.

Ying's words naturally make sense.

In Nordkalley, the human forces have always been at a disadvantage compared to the Wild Hunt forces.

The reason they were able to withstand it is partly because the Lantern Bearers do have a systematic approach to combat the Wild Hunt.

On the other hand, it is also because humans have technology and wisdom that, in a sense, they can use firepower to deal with low-level wild hunters in large numbers.

However, once the wild beasts possess the ability to fight and devour each other to grow, those 10,000 low-level wild beasts could very well become 1,000 mid-level wild beasts.

To put it simply, the 10,000 peasant soldiers became 1,000 regular soldiers.

Although their numbers may seem to have decreased, their actual combat power has increased exponentially.

"Let's follow them for now and see if we can find the source," Wang Yan said in a low voice.

At this moment, the Berserker that had completed its evolution had regained control of its new body. As if it had heard some kind of call, it turned and walked toward Wang Yan and the others' destination.

"It looks like it's also heading to Leto Reef." As the guide, Paimon had a very accurate grasp of the directions.

"Let's go, keep up."

The group trailed far behind the Wildfire Hunter, following it as it went.

Throughout the journey, Xing Si Zao remained silent and did not utter a word.

Ying and Philin were naturally worried about Nordecale's safety.

After all, the previous crises all came from above. As long as the problem at the highest point is solved, the crisis will naturally be resolved, whether it is the Moon Hunter or the March God.

But this time it's different; this crisis comes from the bottom.

Once this evolutionary ability spreads in the Wild Hunt, it will inevitably lead to a more difficult disaster to deal with.

Wang Yan understood their concerns, but he didn't care about Nordkalé's situation, nor did he believe it would deteriorate rapidly.

To put it bluntly, even if things get out of control, the Moon God might just appear and bring things back on track.

It's just that the loss is a bit bigger.

What Wang Yan is currently interested in is the Abyss Power within Wild Hunt.

He discovered that the abyssal power within Wild Hunt was not entirely the same as the power he had previously used to drive elemental forces with the language of the abyss.

The power within Wild Hunt seems to be gaining something more.

Unfortunately, Wang Yan's research on the Abyss was almost zero. Although he sensed something was wrong, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Chapter 179 Wang Yan: I Have Some Skills

Day and night alternate.

Although the distinction between day and night on Shioshi Island is no longer very clear.

But Wang Yan's standard animal-like biological clock clearly told him that a day had passed.

The bloody ship was prepared to be used to capture the poor and evolved mad hunter.

However, the beast walking ahead of them is no longer just a single beast hunter.

Ying and Philin's worries are gradually coming true, as more and more evolutionary savages gather together and head towards Letu Reef.

However, these once-evolved wild predators no longer seemed to have any hunting desire for their own kind, which relieved Ying and Philin.

This somewhat proves that evolution is not infinite; there may only be one chance, and after evolving once, it will not evolve again.

But when Ying and Philin expressed their idea, Wang Yan poured cold water on their hopes.

"They are still gathering, so it's highly likely that they are not incapable of evolving, but rather that they haven't gathered enough numbers to evolve."

"Huh? Really?" Paimon was both surprised and worried.

Wang Yan said calmly, "There are two possibilities at present."

"First, the root of the problem lies in summoning these Berserkers. It may need the protection of these Berserkers, or there may be other reasons. In any case, it needs external forces to help it."

This is similar to the scorpion with the sacred remains encountered in the desert; it creates followers and then serves them.

Any monster with a certain level of ability can do this.

Especially demons associated with the abyss, they are usually accompanied by a large group of minions.

Everyone, from the fishy-smelling silk and vinegar-soaked skewers to the shrewd and shrewd, felt that what Wang Yan said made sense.

Wang Yan continued, "Secondly, as I just mentioned, they may be gathering enough numbers to fight and create a true super monster."

"Of course, there is another possibility, which is that the source of the problem needs resources, and these evolved Berserkers are actually its food."

Paimon's pupils dilated: "Food, food?"

Wang Yan nodded: "That's right. Since the mutation has given these Berserkers the ability to devour and evolve, then the source of the mutation probably also has the ability to devour. If this source is some ancient being, it makes perfect sense that it gathers these Berserkers as resources to restore its power."

Paimon understood and nodded slightly: "I get it. Just like the Moonhunters back then, they had to keep collecting their own fragments in order to recover."

"More or less correct," Wang Yan nodded.

Ying asked, somewhat puzzled, "Wang Yan also knows about the Hunters of the Moon?"

She had no recollection of Wang Yan being present when she and her companions were fighting against the Moon Hunters.

“As a scholar, isn’t it normal to know more things?” Wang Yan smiled. “Paymont’s example is very good.”

"Hmph!" Paimon put his hands on his hips proudly upon hearing the praise.

Wang Yan continued, "And this situation is actually the worst-case scenario, because if we cannot eliminate the source and let it escape, we may have to face an ancient demon and a large group of evolutionary frenzied hunters."

“That’s a really bad memory,” Philins said softly.

He was referring to memories, not images.

Clearly, in his life, he had experienced an era in which a powerful demon led a large number of elite hunters to wreak havoc.

“Hey, look, those guys have stopped,” Paimon suddenly said.

The fishy smell urged them on, and sure enough, dozens of evolved Wild Hunters stopped in their tracks and all looked toward the center of Raitu Reef.

Then, the Berserkers roared in unison, and they began to stride and run, having previously moved at a leisurely pace.

"It seems the source of the mutation is getting impatient."