It’s hot. It hurts. It’s dark. It’s red. Every inch… is red. It hurts. It hurts. Who… Who is trying to kill me?
I couldn’t figure out the source of my pain, but I could feel the pain saturating every nook and cranny of my body. My senses couldn’t handle it all because there was too much to process. All I remembered was seeing my scowling face reflected in a beast’s eyes before I passed out.
It felt as though snakes were biting their way up from my fingers, as though tigers were gouging out my intestines, as though a gorilla had crushed my bones… I didn’t see death after all the pain, though. I saw her.
Who is she? I should remember. Why are my memories so vague? Who is she?
I couldn’t avert my gaze when she was so adorable. The way she smiled was similar to a maiden on her wedding day.
I was smiling when I saw blood splatter.
St-stop! Don’t! Stop! Stop! I said, stop!
Upon opening my eyes after death, it occurred to me that I didn’t need to stop it – not that I needed to – for it was already in the past.
Ha, haha…
The emptiness in my heart hurt far more than the pain invading me.
Fools. You want to kill me? Do it. Make it snappy. Snappier. If you don’t, I’ll kill you. What a crazy, stupid world.
The other stuff I recalled was blood-like red, visibly, touch-wise and even smell. There was too much for me to calculate the volume, but it didn’t change the reality that we mutually absorbed each other. My limbs were deprived of energy, so all I could do was desperately suck in the blood flooding my nose and mouth.
I had no idea how long I swallowed blood for. I regained self-awareness, nonetheless. I felt heavy and bloody hot. I espied a chiselled maroon body, hair splayed and face decayed. The only thing that I could make out possible was a fang coming down from the left side of their mouth. When he opened his mouth, I saw two rows of pointy teeth.
Ah, I get it now… I’ve become a monster.
***
A dragon’s son was still a fierce opponent even if it was disadvantaged. Even without help, blood and essence replenishment, Chichen was still strong enough to put up a fight. The evil beasts didn’t get incapacitated just because they were hurt bad, and assuming you had immobilised them would be a fatal mistake. Even with Moyan Luohou’s safe game plan, it took them three hours to end Chichen.
Moyan Luohou caught Chichen’s skull again, prompting Chichen to thrash around. Moyan Luohou methodically evaded and then cracked Chichen three times again, stopping Chichen. Moyan Luohou subsequently returned to his original spot, then took his time wiping his blade down with a long piece of cloth.
Besides restraining Chichen, Abels had only been spectating; that was not to say he had it easy because he was virtually stopping attacks head on with Evil Eminence Powerfield. If he had to compare, the difference between that and blocking with his own limbs would be so minimal that it he wouldn’t be able to tell which was tougher.
In terms of brute strength, Chichen was a notch above Abels after regaining his violent character. The reason Abels could defend was owed to him combining hard blocks and redirects. In other words, he’d redirect as much as tenable, then absorb the remainder. Even with his stamina, he was bound to be drained by the time they were done.
“Fantastic. I have grown stronger,” Moyan Luohou said out of nowhere as he continued cleaning his blade.
Abels: Huh? This fight has helped him advance further while I’m like an idiot, resigning myself to death for this fate?
“Not exactly,” Moyan Luohou stated. “Firstly, I don’t understand what you are thinking, but your expressions are easy to understand.”
Abels rubbed his face.
“Second, without your Evil Eminence Powerfield, it is impossible to win this fight.”
“From my perspective, you seem to be capable enough to slay it on your own.”
Moyan Luohou bobbed his head. “One on one, I certainly could kill it. Howbeit, if I don’t lose an arm or a leg, I will need more than three years to recover fully. As the patriarch of Moyan Clan, I cannot act carelessly. Following that, I can’t waste three years. If that is what it comes down to, I will not partake. Had Mr. Ming not promised you would participate, I would not be here.”
He could seriously slay this thing on his own? He’s a monster himself…
“You need not fret. I am almost thirty years older than you, so it is understandable for my technique to be more polished. Additionally, as a resident of Nanjiang, slaying beasts is part of life. You will surpass this old one with time. You need not belittle yourself.”
Th-this freak can seriously read minds?!
Abels deployed a nod to indicate he heard Moyan Luohou, but he noticed the latter’s stern expression: No way. He could hear me call him a freak?
“Something’s amiss. Retreat!”
Abels caught a glimpse of red smoke whisking out from Chichen’s body. Regardless of whether that was a normal phenomenon when they died, it was clearly a toxic gas, and they couldn’t go wrong avoiding it. On his way out, though, Abels’ intuition warned him against running. Hence, he expanded the circumference of Evil Eminence Powerfield to disperse the poisonous smoke whilst gripping Sea Deer Hunter to resist the poison.
Chichen’s corpse didn’t mutate or anything. At the end of the smoke, however, was an unconscious individual who looked as if he had his blood sucked out of him.
Abels blurted, “Hero Lian?”
