Chapter 208 - The Self-Harming Squad

"Just playing with you."

Lu Ran laughed when he saw Sudden Death King’s bitter face, then turned toward Dark Crow.

"Caw."

Dark Crow nodded and closed its eyes slightly.

In the next instant, it felt as if the vast majority of Green Sea’s expanse appeared within its mind. However, the imagery was vague—only the general outlines were visible. For a more detailed observation, the Eye of the Evil God would need to be projected there.

Currently, the Eye of the Evil God’s unique qualities granted Dark Crow unimaginable spatial perception and scouting capabilities. It first projected its Eye of the Evil God to One Ear’s location. At that moment, One Ear was giving a motivational speech to its subordinates in a warehouse.

Suddenly, the void seemed to tear apart as a massive, dark-red eye appeared in the sky out of thin air. The eye’s unique pattern matched Dark Crow’s pitch-black irises, with a blood-red vertical pupil.

Gurgle...

The eye rotated within the Eye of the Evil God, and Dark Crow’s perception of the area became increasingly precise.

"Meow!"

This sudden scene terrified One Ear and its group of cats. They looked at the Eye of the Evil God in alarm, fur standing on end as if facing a life-threatening enemy.

The ominous eye stared down at the dozens of cats for a brief moment before vanishing. It then moved on to search for its next target, as this area had no combat activity.

Dark Crow’s scouting range steadily expanded. During this time, Lu Ran maintained a telepathic connection with it. Soon, Dark Crow’s gaze reached Green Sea’s boundary.

At this location, Insect King was on duty, watching as another swarm of mosquito beasts attempted to cross the waters into Green Sea. Its expression turned unkind.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz!

Hundreds of mutated mosquito beasts formed a dense black swarm and swept in from the air. Although none of them surpassed level 10, their presence posed significant trouble for human cities.

"Swoosh!"

Just as Insect King prepared to spread its wings and lead its prince and princesses in training combat, the Eye of the Evil God abruptly opened in the sky above.

The eerie presence of the Eye of the Evil God not only startled Insect King but also caused the mosquito swarm to feel an immediate sense of impending doom. They sensed they were being locked onto by a horrifying existence.

"Found the invaders."

On Emerald Mountain, Dark Crow opened its eyes and laughed.

"Turn against one another!"

Its voice echoed like an evil deity’s whisper. Cursed spirits flowed from its beak into the void, flying at extreme speed toward the locked enemies.

Normally, Dark Crow’s attack range was only around 100 meters. Yet, with the enhanced scouting trait, its curses crossed 500 meters, 1,000 meters, and even 5,000 meters with minimal energy consumption.

Not long after, the Insect King and its kin stationed at the border witnessed a shocking sight. The entire mosquito swarm went berserk, their eyes reflecting the patterns of the Eye of the Evil God. The insects began slaughtering one another mid-air, their blood splattering across the ground.

Nearby, the Eye of the Evil God observed everything, seemingly the source of all wickedness.

What is this!?

Even Insect King, feeling threatened, looked up cautiously. However, the Eye of the Evil God merely glanced at it indifferently before closing and dissipating.

Through their telepathic connection, Lu Ran roughly perceived the results of Dark Crow’s actions. He was astonished.

This range of over ten thousand meters had effortlessly cursed and wiped out an entire enemy group. In simpler secret realms, it might even be possible to clear the entire area without ever encountering the boss, dramatically speeding up resource farming...

“Ah! My eyes! My eyes! I can’t see! It’s so dark!”

Dark Crow barely had time to revel in its achievement before blood trickled from its eyes. Observing enemies across such vast distances had placed immense strain on its vision.

Nearby, Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King sneered at Dark Crow, unaware of what had happened.

Was that injury really worth all the screaming?

But soon, both fell silent and exchanged glances. Since when had their team become a squad where everyone injured themselves in the name of battle?

“Buzz!”

The next moment, Lu Ran grasped the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer and waved it gently. A golden-green healing energy enveloped Dark Crow, instantly restoring its eyesight.

“Huh?”

The bleeding stopped, and light returned to its vision. Dark Crow was dumbfounded.

“As long as I’m here, don’t worry. Even if your eyes are ruined, I can heal them.”

“No one can compare to the king! Ahh... how mighty is the power of our great king!” Dark Crow cheered excitedly.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran was already itching to test secret realm challenges with Dark Crow. Could they clear areas by cursing bosses from afar and drastically increasing farming efficiency?

However, noticing the Weather Sprite nearby, Lu Ran hesitated. This little one needed attention first.

“Drip...”

The Weather Sprite shrank back in fear when it saw blood dripping from Dark Crow’s eyes.

This deeply hurt Dark Crow.

I’m not an evil crow!

“Next, let’s test your strength.”

Lu Ran addressed the Weather Sprite. Despite being a level 1 Intermediate-King-rank Species, it could theoretically compete with a level 20 Intermediate Transcendent or a level 10 Champion.

Although it was still a newborn, its potential was not to be underestimated!

“By the way, as an elemental being, can you reshape your form?” Lu Ran asked. “You can change your body shape, right?”

He pulled out his phone and showed it a picture of a young girl.

“Oh, wait. You can’t see that. Do you remember the older sister who left home when you woke up? Or the one who just descended the mountain earlier? Can you take on a similar form?”

“Caw?” Dark Crow rubbed its eyes.

The Weather Sprite hesitated. As a cloud, it could naturally take on various shapes. However, being so young, it didn’t understand why Lu Ran was asking. Its current form seemed simpler—why make things more complicated?

Still, since Lu Ran had asked, the sprite complied. Gradually, its fluffy cloud body shifted into a humanoid shape. Though still entirely made of white clouds, the new form felt more lively.

“Wow, you can really do it!” Lu Ran’s eyes lit up. “Can this form summon lightning?”

Immediately, the Weather Sprite transformed into a black thundercloud, electric currents crackling across its body.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning shot from its arm, piercing several trees in succession before fading. *** Moments later, the Weather Sprite fell asleep again from exhaustion.

Lu Ran suddenly called out, “Manager Ying!”

“What now?” Manager Ying appeared, exasperated as it stared at Lu Ran. Why is this kid always so troublesome?

“It’s nothing serious. The Weather Sprite fell asleep again. Could you keep an eye on it? I need to visit Limitless City to buy some milk powder.”

“Why am I—” Manager Ying started to protest but froze mid-sentence, its eyes widening as it noticed the cloud baby Lu Ran was holding.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

That rascal, Lu Ran, had somehow reshaped the Weather Sprite into the form of an adorable cloud kitten—one that looked suspiciously like Manager Ying’s own species! An obvious ploy to trigger its maternal instincts.

Manager Ying was flabbergasted.

“Are elemental species even supposed to be treated like this?” It glared at Lu Ran in outrage.

Oh, playing the family bond card, huh?

“Haha...” Lu Ran scratched his head awkwardly. “Cat forms are just cuter. Besides, Manager Ying, you wouldn’t want such an adorable Weather Sprite to grow up and fight in a husky form, would you?”

Manager Ying was stunned speechless.

“Woof, woof, woof!”

Captain Doofus barked in protest, clearly offended.

“Rawr!”

Sudden Death King insisted that both cat and dog forms were unreliable—transforming into a cloud dragon was obviously superior.

“

Caw.”

Dark Crow, still rubbing its eyes, mumbled something about a Cloud Crow.

Manager Ying shifted its gaze from Lu Ran’s ragtag team of familiars to the irresistibly cute cloud kitten. After a moment’s hesitation, it gritted its teeth and said, “Fine! Just don’t let it turn into a dog.”

“Woof, woof, woof, woof!”

Captain Doofus vowed to remember this grudge.

“Hahahaha.”

Lu Ran burst out laughing. Winning over Manager Ying was surprisingly easy.

“What’s so funny?” it asked, narrowing its eyes.

“Oh, by the way, Manager Ying. Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow already have their evolution traits sorted out, so we’re not in a rush to finalize their next cultivation paths.

“But the Weather Sprite only has its Nature Manipulation trait so far, which isn’t enough. Do you have any intel on Legendary Overlord bosses with similar abilities in level 2 Legendary Secret Realms?”

Lu Ran was already planning to challenge a level 2 Legendary Secret Realm. Xia’s Death Grave Realm had the Asura Centipede, a Low-Overlord species, but the odds of obtaining a trait suitable for the Weather Sprite were slim.

Thus, he decided to ask Manager Ying directly if any Public Limitless Cities or other countries’ level 2 Legendary Secret Realms featured Overlord bosses with weather-controlling abilities.

If such bosses existed, Lu Ran planned to farm them. If not, he could trade the resources for something else he needed.

“Didn’t you say I’m the illegitimate child of Limitless City? Let’s see if the city can provide a suitable trait for me.”

Even if it couldn’t, Lu Ran could still use the resources to trade for what he needed.

“Let me think,” Manager Ying replied. “Mongolia’s level 2 Legendary Secret Realm has the Desert Tyrant hatchling, a Low-Overlord species that controls sandstorms. It’s immensely powerful, and no one has cleared the realm yet.

“Egypt’s level 2 Legendary Secret Realm features the Sun Eagle hatchling, a Low-Overlord species with Sunlight Manipulation powers.

“There’s also a Public Limitless City on the high seas with a boss that’s a young Eastern Dragon. It can summon storms and control lightning, making it a perfect match for the Weather Sprite’s species.

“Oh, and another country has a level 2 Secret Realm boss that’s a polluted, mutated sea beast. It can summon highly corrosive acid rain, but I doubt you’d want that one.”

“Okay, okay. Organize the information and send it to my phone. If there are any strategies included for the bosses, even better. I’m off to Limitless City now.”

Seeing how reliable Manager Ying was, Lu Ran handed it the cloud kitten and eagerly prepared to leave.

He was going to spend some money! And he also wanted to test Dark Crow’s abilities against a secret realm boss!

Lu Ran gathered his self-harming squad and vanished in a flash of light. Manager Ying who started cursing at him under its breath while glaring at his disappearing form was left behind.