Chapter Thirty-Four: The Evil King and the Poisonous Queen

The composure of this strange being unsettled Feng Tianlin. He probed, “Are there many like me?”

The eerie creature across from him pondered for a moment before answering slowly, “You may have only just awakened and don’t quite understand. In the entire world, there are probably no more than ten ancient anomalous beings like you.”

What! There really were so-called ancient anomalous beings? And more than one? This was troublesome.

“How did they come about? And what are their strengths?” Feng Tianlin pressed on.

“Sigh, isn’t it all those humans bringing it on themselves? They insisted on excavating more and more ancient tombs, which accelerated the resurgence of the anomalous and released a host of ancient powers. I don’t know all the details myself—their strength should be similar to yours. Most have been contained by the spiritualists and martial artists of Huaxia, with a small number remaining hidden.”

“You don’t seem to be from Huaxia, are you?” the creature asked, scrutinizing him.

So that was it. From what he’d gathered before, the resurgence of the anomalous indeed began with the excavation of some tomb. But since he was a doll, he obviously couldn’t be an ancient anomalous being from Huaxia—so the other mistook him for a foreigner.

When it came to lying, Feng Tianlin was a master. Without hesitation, he began to bluff.

“That’s right. I am an ancient anomalous being from the White Banner Nation, come across the ocean to develop in Huaxia.”

“What! White Banner Nation? Could you be one of those three???” The creature’s tone was distinctly agitated.

This caught Feng Tianlin off guard, but it didn’t faze him one bit; he continued his act seamlessly.

“Them? Just a bunch of small fry. Do you think it’s worth comparing them to me?”

At this, the eerie creature was no longer simply shocked but fearful. To be in the presence of such a powerful kindred—how could he not feel fear?

“When did you gain the ability to speak?” Feng Tianlin, seeing his act was working, pressed on.

“You don’t know? Any leader-class anomalous being can awaken higher intelligence upon reaching B-level. We can’t truly ‘talk’ like you, only manipulate our internal energy to make sounds, and not as freely as you do.”

So that’s how it was. But another question arose—what exactly was a ‘leader-class’ being? And what did it have to do with his own leadership skill?

“Leader-class, you say? Tell me more. I’ve been through some things and forgotten a lot.”

This didn’t arouse the other’s suspicion in the least—after all, for a creature that had slept for at least a thousand years, forgetting some things was normal.

“Once anomalous beings reach a certain number, an outstanding one will emerge—the leader. We leaders can control a portion of the anomalous, making them follow our commands.

Of course, I am only the lowest rank of leader; higher-level leaders can even control lower-level leaders.”

So that’s it. Feng Tianlin now had a rough idea: a leader was essentially the chief among lower-level anomalous beings. No matter how strong a single being was, it could never match the power of an organized group. For anomalous beings to develop in the long term, leaders were indispensable; it was a law of natural evolution.

“Do humans know about the existence of leaders among anomalous beings?” Feng Tianlin inquired.

The other creature let out a grating laugh. “Heh, how could they? We’re all lying low, following the orders of Lady Venom Queen under Evil King’s command. How could we let humans catch us?”

“Venom Queen under Evil King? Who’s that?” Feng Tianlin was startled; the title sounded formidable.

“The Venom Queen is the supreme leader of all of Qin Province—an ancient anomalous being who awakened more than a decade ago. Her power is rumored to have surpassed S-level, reaching a realm even higher. Compared to your current strength, she’s still much stronger.”

Supreme leader of North China? Beyond S-level? These two revelations exploded in Feng Tianlin’s mind. To think he’d uncover such shocking news just by accompanying Ruan Miao for a meal.

No wonder, when interacting with this anomalous being, the system hadn’t prompted him to form a team—the other already belonged to a group.

North China included Qin Province where Ling City and Tianjing City were located, plus Dragon, Soldier, and Household Provinces, and the capital. This Venom Queen under Evil King was essentially the overlord of anomalous beings in all of North China—a testament to her power.

Seeing Feng Tianlin silent, the anomalous being hesitated and asked, “Didn’t Venom Queen send people to assist you when you attacked Tianjing City? Don’t you know her?”

This was bad—he might be exposed. Feng Tianlin’s eyes flickered and he responded at once.

“Tianjing City was just a small place. I didn’t pay much attention…”

He hadn’t finished before the anomalous being interrupted anxiously.

“Then your arrival in Ling City now—are you planning to take it?”

Feng Tianlin was baffled. Take Ling City? He was just an E-level anomalous being—how could he manage that?

But seeing his silence, the creature took it as confirmation. “Truly worthy of an ancient anomalous being—your thoughts and actions are on a whole other level from ours. But let me advise you: keep a low profile. Don’t disrupt Venom Queen’s plans.”

Feng Tianlin was speechless. When had he said he wanted to take Ling City? How could he disrupt Venom Queen’s plans?

“So what exactly are Venom Queen’s plans?” Feng Tianlin asked seriously.

Hearing this, the anomalous being puffed up with pride. “Of course, it’s to occupy all of Huaxia! To make every person in Huaxia a tool for us to absorb fear from! Hahaha!” He burst into laughter, the very picture of a villain.

Make every person in Huaxia their source of fear to feed on? That sounded appealing, but…

If anyone was to cast all of Huaxia into terror, it would be him—the Nightmare Doll!

If other anomalous beings tried to compete with him for that? Hmph, Evil King or Venom Queen, he’d deal with them in time!

But the future could wait—he didn’t have that kind of power yet, but he had to keep up appearances.

“Hahaha, perhaps I was too impatient. In that case, I’ll give Venom Queen some face and not make a move on Ling City!”

With that, Feng Tianlin issued orders to his followers. “Let’s go!”

“Wait!” Just as they were about to leave, the anomalous being suddenly called out.

Feng Tianlin thought, This can’t be good—did he see through me?

But the next words left him speechless. “I never told you my name. I am Black Red Fiend.”

So it was just a self-introduction. Feng Tianlin nodded. “Oh.” He prepared to leave once more.

“Wait!” He was stopped again.

“What is it?”

“Could you tell me about the most glorious era of us anomalous beings in ancient times? I’m very curious about that history. If you tell me, I can share with you a secret of earth-shattering importance.” Black Red Fiend lowered his voice as if afraid Feng Tianlin might refuse, even dangling an incentive.

Oh? An earth-shattering secret? In Black Red Fiend’s eyes, he was an ancient anomalous being—so a secret that would shock even such beings must be truly extraordinary.

Obviously, Feng Tianlin was intrigued. All he had to do was spin a story or two and he’d get a valuable piece of information out of it—certainly worth it!