Starforce Warriors-Chapter 555: Dog Dog Dog (2)

“A battle took place here. The subspace creatures that lived here were killed.” Li Xiaofei quickly determined what had happened.

But that only made things stranger. He proceeded to inspect several more temples of varying sizes. The results were the same. Everywhere he went, there were clear signs of combat.

The floors and walls bore unmistakable traces of battles, with deep, jagged marks that looked like they had been gouged out by beastly claws. The so-called deities that had resided here were nowhere to be found.

The further Li Xiaofei explored, the more peculiar the situation seemed. What exactly was going on? Finally, he arrived at the core of the entire Temple complex and the grandest and most magnificent structure: the Central Shrine.

Standing thirty meters tall and covering over twenty acres, the shrine was entirely golden, resembling a palace fit for a king of the deities.

As he ascended the golden steps, Li Xiaofei noted the continued absence of any signs of life. Inside, the once-pristine sculptures, idols, and lavish ornaments worth a king's ransom had all been shattered into pieces.

The air was thick with the cloying stench of subspace creatures. At the very center of the shrine sat an enormous idol. It depicted a grotesque, mountainous figure with a bloated belly. It had eight legs, fleshy wings sprouting from its back, and a hideous grin on its monstrous face.

"This is the most powerful deity in the Jiepeng Temple: the Lord of Terror,” Li Xiaofei recognized it immediately.

However, the statue was now covered in cracks and clearly damaged during the battle that had occurred here. An intense aura of subspace demonic energy emanated from the statue. If one closed their eyes, it felt almost as though the statue were alive.

The statue also seemed strangely familiar. It bore a six-to-seven-tenths resemblance to the fat figure that the Black Emperor had devoured on that fateful day.

"The biggest question now is... what exactly happened inside this Temple?"

Li Xiaofei explored the entirety of the Temple but couldn’t find a single living being. Logically, besides the so-called deities, there should have been many Jiepeng people who had been sent here as offerings. For example, those prodigious boys and girls should have been here, but not a single one could be found.

This left Li Xiaofei bewildered. He had expected to face an earth-shattering battle upon arriving at the Temple. He had even prepared to unleash his Hellhound. Yet, this felt like throwing a heavy punch straight into cotton.

"Forget it, might as well release the hound first," Li Xiaofei muttered as he summoned the Black Emperor.

"Search the area and see if you can find any survivors," he commanded.

The Black Emperor waddled through the Temple, sniffing and searching diligently. After a thorough search, it came back to Li Xiaofei, its tiny tail wagging like a propeller, and barked twice.

"You couldn’t find anything either..." Li Xiaofei sighed, finally confirming that the Temple was truly devoid of life.

Wait. Hold on. Why do I understand dog language?

Li Xiaofei froze for a moment. The Black Emperor had merely barked twice, yet he seemed to grasp its meaning perfectly.

Is this some kind of special communication technique?

"The Temple shows clear signs of battle, and these marks are fresh," he analyzed. "In other words, a fierce and hidden battle took place here not long ago. All the Jiepeng 'deities' have been slaughtered. Where the hell am I supposed to find subspace creatures now?"

Li Xiaofei felt a headache coming on. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Of course. The Divine Followers who are running rampant in Tokyo Base City! These entities, which aren’t supposed to appear in the mortal realm, have suddenly emerged and seemed to have gone rogue. Their actions have to be connected to the Temple’s downfall.

Li Xiaofei wasted no time. Grabbing the Black Emperor by the scruff, he leaped into the air and left the Temple. At the mountain’s base, the stationed Jiepeng troops erupted in astonished murmurs once again. Commander Akirō Yūya exhaled in relief.

"It seems this unknown Saint is a friend of the gods in the Temple; otherwise, this Saint wouldn’t have left so quickly and calmly," he speculated.

Turning to his gathered officers, he declared loudly, "Defending the Temple is our greatest honor. The gods will guide the empire toward an incomparably bright future and make us the most powerful nation on Earth. Sacrificing everything to the gods is our duty. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

"Not loud enough!"

"Understood!"

"Good! That’s the spirit!"

***

Tokyo Base City, Downtown.

Li Xiaofei soon encountered a familiar face. Bajie was frantically running for his life with four high-stage Divine Followers hot on his heels. The moment Bajie spotted Li Xiaofei, his eyes lit up like he’d just seen a savior.

"Dog, dog, dog..." He shouted desperately, as if clinging to his last shred of hope.

Li Xiaofei hesitated for a moment before saying, "Fire in the hole?"

Bajie froze briefly, then rushed over and panted, "Your dog! Where’s that big black dog?"

Li Xiaofei raised his hand, unleashing four streaks of sword qi, instantly blowing apart the heads of the four high-stage Divine Followers pursuing Bajie.

He blew on his fingers casually, the very picture of nonchalant flair.

"Why do you need the dog?"

Only then did Li Xiaofei bother to ask. Bajie grabbed Li Xiaofei and started running alongside him.

"It’s because they’re unkillable!" Bajie complained bitterly. "These monsters are disgusting. Me, a Saint Slayer, being chased for my life... It’s humiliating! The ones whose heads you just blew off? Give it some time, and their heads will grow back. I even tried chopping them into minced meat, and they still managed to regenerate!"

Regeneration that strong?

Li Xiaofei felt a slight twinge of surprise. He had acquired the bloodline of the Golden Lizard King through the Tsukiha Yaiba, granting him extraordinary regenerative abilities. This type of regeneration was different from martial experts forcibly reconstructing their bodies and limbs by burning their energy and blood. It was a pure, innate bloodline ability.

The regeneration of these high-stage Divine Followers seemed to operate on the same level as a bloodline's natural regenerative ability.

"Then burn them to death!"

"Tried that. Doesn’t work. Ordinary fire can’t incinerate them to ash."

"What about other methods?"

"Tried those too. These monsters are practically immune to both water and fire. Not only can they regenerate, but their attacks are insanely powerful. Even I, a Saint Slayer, would lose half my life if I got hit by one of their claws. The energy they emit completely suppresses starforce qi."

"That bad?"

"Yeah, it’s that bad."

"So how long are we going to keep running?"

"If we don’t run, we’ll get worn down to death."

"Isn’t there a solution?"

"There is! That’s why I’m looking for your dog!"

The two bantered back and forth like a comedic duo, before abruptly stopping at the same time. Bajie wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Right. Damn it. Why the hell am I still running? We’ve already found him."

Li Xiaofei didn’t waste any more time. He summoned the Black Emperor from the Secret Time Pavilion once again.

"Woof!"

The moment the little black dog landed, it began to grow rapidly. In less than half a breath, it had transformed into a massive black dog, six or seven meters long and over four meters tall.

Its jet-black fur gleamed like polished onyx, exuding a lustrous sheen akin to a black satin cloak. The thick black mane around its neck added to its imposing presence, making it look less like a dog and more like a mighty black lion brimming with power and authority.

"Woof!"

The Black Emperor let out a thunderous roar. Its voice resounded like a tiger's growl and the roar of a Divine Dragon, echoing across half of Base City. It pounced forward, jaws wide open, and swallowed one of the high-stage Divine Followers whole.

Crunch, crunch. Crack!

Crispy. Chicken flavor.

The Black Emperor savored its meal with relish. The remaining three high-stage Divine Followers, faced with this massive black beast, felt a fear that seemed to pierce down to their very souls. They turned and fled without hesitation.

But how could they escape the Black Emperor’s clutches? It quickly caught up with them, swallowing each one whole.

"Brilliant!" Bajie’s eyes widened in awe as he clapped his hands in admiration. "This black dog is ridiculously powerful. It’s the perfect nemesis for Divine Followers!"

He sidled up to Li Xiaofei, his face filled with anticipation.

"Where did you find this dog? Does it have any brothers, sisters, or even parents? Just give me one. I’ll even break my own ribs to feed it!"

Li Xiaofei stared at him, speechless.

This guy... absolutely shameless.

"Tell me, what’s the deal with these Divine Followers?" Li Xiaofei asked, steering the conversation to the matter at hand.

He recalled that Bajie had dealt with these Divine Followers quite effortlessly during the previous battle. How had they, who once seemed like mere small fry, become so fearsome in such a short time?

"They’re from the Nether God Fortress, deep in the demonic lair," Bajie explained. "There’s a subspace demon there, constantly laying eggs and frantically producing Divine Followers. At this rate, Tokyo Base City is doomed. Over the past month alone, at least fifty to sixty thousand people have been captured and dragged there. The Jiepeng royal family is acting like they’re dead—no response at all."

Nether God Fortress?

Li Xiaofei’s mind stirred. He had been there before. It housed several subspace laboratories.

So, there is a high-level subspace creature hiding there.

"Let’s go take a look," Li Xiaofei said decisively.

"What? Are you serious? That place is a real demonic lair now. Saints go in, corpses come out," Bajie quickly tried to dissuade him.

"Are you scared?" Li Xiaofei teased.

"It’s not me who’s scared—it’s you!" Bajie retorted. "Don’t think just because you’re strong now, you’re invincible. Subspace creatures use a higher tier energy attribute that’s fundamentally different from our starforce qi. I’ve got loads of intel on them. You might want to look it over first."

The Dragon Group had indeed gathered a wealth of information on subspace creatures. But Li Xiaofei didn’t even glance at it.

"I’ve got a dog. What am I afraid of?"

Bajie froze, then rubbed his chin, pondering.

"Well... in that case, I’ll go with you," he said, suddenly striking a righteous pose.

"If you run into trouble, I’ll step in to save you," he added, with an air of self-sacrifice.

"Whatever makes you happy," Li Xiaofei shrugged.

Perhaps it was because they both cultivated techniques like the Dual Sacred Bodies of Blade and Sword and Meridian Severing Technique, but Li Xiaofei felt that Bajie was worth keeping around.

Li Xiaofei summoned the massive Black Emperor with a whistle. The giant black dog turned obediently, and the two of them climbed onto its back. The three of them then charged toward the Nether God Fortress.

The journey was a grim one. Flames raged everywhere as buildings lay in ruins. Corpses soaked in pools of blood littered the ground. Tokyo Base City was truly on the brink of destruction. As they drew closer to the Nether God Fortress, the number of Divine Followers they encountered increased dramatically.

"The number of low-stage Divine Followers has already exceeded 100,000," Bajie began explaining. "Because of their energy suppression and undead bodies, even experts in the Meridian Expanding Realm are no match for them. There are around thirty to forty thousand mid-stage Divine Followers, who are capable of threatening half-Saints."

"If a Divine Follower injures you, their subspace energy will invade your body, acting like a poison that’s nearly impossible to expel. Over time, it can be life-threatening. You’ve already seen the high-stage Divine Followers. Even someone as strong as me has to avoid them when possible. The number of high-stage Divine Followers is uncertain, but most of them are guarding the lair."

Bajie gave a detailed rundown, but Li Xiaofei conveniently ignored the ‘someone as strong as me’ comment.

The closer they got to the lair, the more he could feel the overwhelming and terrifying presence of subspace energy saturating the heavens and the earth.

From a distance, the Nether God Fortress prison seemed to be shrouded in black mist, as if it existed in a separate dimension. Even Li Xiaofei felt a twinge of nervousness as they approached. The situation seemed far more troublesome than he had imagined.

He glanced at the Black Emperor.

Will it be able to handle this?

Who would have thought that after a lifetime of cultivation and being hailed as an unparalleled genius, he’d end up relying on a dog?