KyokaSuigetsu
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Chapter 22: The Invincible Hulrei—Defeated!
🕑 Added 2025-04-21 07:21:35 +0000 UTC[Due to the rapid pace of your expansion, you've made a lot of enemies.]
[Among them was the "Poisonclaw" great hunting pack. One of the packs you previously absorbed had Poisonclaw as its backer.]
[Partly out of wounded pride, partly due to wariness of a rising threat, Poisonclaw launched an assault on your newly unified Cangyue pack.]
[You refused to back down, leading the freshly consolidated forces into battle.]
[Thanks to your fearsome reputation for decapitation tactics, Poisonclaw's patriarch kept most of their elites in the main camp, rendering your usual strategy ineffective.]
[Their tightened defenses left Poisonclaw on the back foot, despite having superior strength and heritage.]
[With raw strength and numbers, Poisonclaw held the line.]
[You found yourself stuck, your usual tactics blunted. The war devolved into a protracted battle of attrition.]
[Years passed. Both sides lost over half their population.]
[Even the battle-hungry Buli grew weary of a war with no end in sight.]
[But you didn't care.]
[Whether Buli or Foxian, to you, they were all just tools. Ever since learning the truth about your mother's death, you no longer considered them kin.]
[The Poisonclaw patriarch, on the other hand, still had scruples—his identity as a council elder of the Buli tribal assembly made retreat impossible.]
[Eventually, War Chief Hulrei could no longer tolerate it. While he accepted casualties in hunts—whether predator or prey—he refused to allow endless internal bloodshed.]
[He commanded both sides to settle the matter in another way: a sacred duel under the witness of the Abundance Aeon. Winner takes all.]
[Before Hulrei and the council's witnesses, you defeated Poisonclaw's patriarch with ease—and devoured his heart, claiming his strength.]
[You took his elder seat. The Cangyue and Poisonclaw hunting packs were unified.]
[Hulrei openly praised you, calling you the most "Buli-like" of all.]
[But as you gazed at him, your mind was already thinking: how to replace him.]
[The other elders had outlived their usefulness. Your new target became the Buli's greatest enemy—the Xianzhou Alliance.]
[Compared to the Buli, the Xianzhou were a far more formidable foe.]
[The Buli distrusted Foxian intellect and thus stagnated technologically. They put their faith in the divine power of the Abundance Aeon rather than in tools, forging, or progress.]
[Meanwhile, the Xianzhou possessed superior weaponry, trained soldiers, and unshakable belief.]
[Thankfully, the Buli had allies—such as the Winged Ones, who were also hunted by the Xianzhou.]
[The Winged Ones dominated the skies, the Buli ruled the land. Their alliance became a nightmare for the Xianzhou.]
[With your strength, cunning, and clarity, you proved devastating to the Xianzhou.]
[You played to the Buli's strengths—dispatching elite raiding teams to strike at Xianzhou merchant caravans, baiting the Cloud Knights into sending small pursuit units, which you would ambush and annihilate.]
[These guerrilla tactics became the Cloud Knights' nightmare.]
[Though few in number, your squads were vicious and overwhelming. The Cloud Knights' own small teams had no chance.]
[If they dispatched large forces, they couldn't catch your mobile units and risked exposing the Xianzhou ships to direct attack.]
[If they sent Sword Champions or Dragontamers, it would be overkill—wasting resources without solving the core issue.]
In other words, Solon had fully exploited asymmetrical warfare.
The Cloud Knights were well-armed, highly disciplined, and best at massed troop operations.
The Buli, with their monstrous bodies and solo fighting prowess, excelled in small-scale strikes.
This, combined with the fact that the Xianzhou were on the defensive, gave Solon a major edge—they were always reacting.
[Your strategy caused little material loss, but immense psychological damage. The Cloud Knights were left choking on frustration.]
[Your infamy soared—second only to Hulrei himself. Countless Cloud Knights cursed your name.]
[Within the Xianzhou, you became a household name—for all the wrong reasons.]
[But you didn't care.]
[Hulrei, on the other hand, was thrilled. Your tactics diverted major Cloud Knight forces, easing the burden on his own frontline.]
[What he didn't know… was that you had your sights set on his throne—and especially, his heart: the divine relic granted by the Abundance Aeon—the Crimson Moon.]
[Years passed. You had slain more Cloud Knights than anyone could count. Your name became legend. Your prestige even overshadowed Hulrei.]
[Thanks to your perfect bloodline, your strength had no ceiling—it grew like wildfire.]
[During the grand ritual to the Lord of Longevity, you issued a challenge to Hulrei.]
[He gladly accepted.]
[And he lost.]
[All those years of growth had taken you far beyond him. Hulrei, despite countless battles and experience, was no match for your overwhelming might.]
[Sometimes, raw stats really do just win.]
[You saw the pride of a true wolf-king in Hulrei. After his defeat, he accepted his death with dignity—even smiling at the thought that the Buli now had a stronger, smarter leader.]
[You knew you'd never forget a foe like him.]
[Out of respect, after extracting the Crimson Moon from his chest, you ordered a proper burial.]
[By devouring the Crimson Moon, the divine relic of the Abundance Aeon, your bloodline reached its peak—surpassing even Dolan, the first Buli ever blessed.]
[But you knew—it still wasn't enough.]
[The Buli and Foxian races had inherent limits.]
[If you wanted to break free… then you could no longer remain a Buli—or a Foxian.]
[You made your choice. You fully absorbed the immense power of the Crimson Moon.]
[The overwhelming force of abundance surged through your body, threatening to drown you completely…]
