Chapter 103: Chapter 93: 4-24: Fallen Soul Sword (3)
Standing atop the ruins, Zhang Hai sensed something and turned around. The wings on his back suddenly retracted as a brilliant, scorching light swept toward him.
"Kill!"
The sword was drawn!
At that moment, a faint, dark shroud materialized out of thin air.
The shroud sealed off the entire battlefield. Night had already fallen, and under the cover of this shroud, no one outside could detect anything amiss.
At the same time, the expressions of the residents who had been kneeling, kowtowing, and even praying fanatically froze. They gradually grew numb, as if hypnotized or robbed of their souls. They stopped praying, stopped kowtowing.
Half a wing was abruptly severed! Qi Heng was incredibly fast, moving like a streak of dark light as he snatched the falling wing from the air.
Like a beast, Zhang Hai felt no pain. He struck out with his palm, and the Light Gauze atomized, instantly blanketing an area dozens of meters wide.
Qi Heng’s expression remained unchanged. He turned his sword on its side, brilliant light flaring as he met the palm strike head-on. Then, he thrust his sword forward in a perfectly ordinary-looking stab... It was an utterly textbook move.
Though Zhang Hai sensed the danger and tried to retreat explosively, his body seemed to be forcibly frozen in place. In that split second of hesitation, the sword pierced his chest.
"Checkmate."
Zhang Hai’s body went rigid. Though his face remained as stiff and numb as before, his once-frigid eyes now grew vacant, just like those of the kowtowing residents.
"Once this sword is drawn, it plunges everyone within the shroud into an imaginary world of extreme pleasure, causing them to lose all perception of the outside world and appear paralyzed. And if a Transcendent whose power doesn’t surpass this Forbidden Artifact is fatally wounded by it, they will also..." Li Kang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Well, the consequence is..."
"Hee hee hee hee, HAHAHAHAHA, heh heh heh!" The once-composed Qi Heng suddenly collapsed to the ground. His face twisted into a knot, snot and drool streaming out as his body convulsed uncontrollably, as if in a fit of madness.
Zhang Hai, his chest impaled and his eyes lifeless, fell to the ground along with him. But soon, Captain Qi began to swing the sword wildly, pulling it free. Blood splattered everywhere.
Li Kang slapped a hand over his face. "The user has to endure the sum total of the pleasure experienced by everyone within the shroud!"
Chu Bamboo: "..."
’Terrifying!’
’These Forbidden Artifacts are getting more and more ridiculous,’ Chu Bamboo thought, his eyes glazed over. ’Is this some kind of sick joke on the user?’
’There are maybe one or two hundred people scattered around inside the shroud. Considering those buried under the rubble, it’s probably over three hundred, right?’
’More than three hundred times the pleasure?!’
Chu Bamboo silently wiped away a bead of sweat. ’I don’t even want to think about it. No wonder even a Transcendent like Qi Heng is in such a wretched state...’
’And no wonder Hai Yun is so disrespectful to him in private. It must be hard to respect a superior you constantly see making such a fool of himself!’
"Don’t come near me! Get away! Get the hell away from me! Don’t you stop me!" Qi Heng shrieked, swinging his longsword erratically to keep Hai Yun from approaching. He had clearly been overwhelmed by the extreme pleasure, completely addicted to it.
Hai Yun remained expressionless. He took a few steps forward and thrust the scabbard in his hand toward the flailing sword. He had clearly done this countless times before, sheathing it perfectly in one go.
Qi Heng’s body instantly went rigid before he collapsed limply to the ground, gasping for breath. His eyes were vacant and unfocused. He accidentally inhaled the foam he was spitting out and began to cough violently, causing even more snot and tears to stream down his face. He curled into a ball, a picture of ultimate misery.
Hai Yun paid him no further mind. He even took out his phone and snapped a few pictures.
"...I’m a little curious," Chu Bamboo said suddenly after a moment of silence. "Did he specially request that Forbidden Artifact for this mission? There shouldn’t have been enough time, right? Or does he always carry that weapon around? If so, since you’re also a captain, why..."
"Wait! Uncle Zhu, watch—" Ning Linglong’s expression changed drastically, but she only had time to stretch a hand out toward Chu Bamboo.
Behind Chu Bamboo, a shadow belonging to some unknown person hidden in the darkness seemed to come to life, rising to its feet.
The next moment...
SHLIIICK!
"..." Chu Bamboo didn’t turn around. He looked down at the hand that had burst from his chest, gripping his heart. He let out a cough—it was unclear if it was one of understanding or relief—and said, "So, it was you."
Then, his heart was crushed in its grip.
