Chapter 41 |
Tweeet—
The sound of the flute is low and deep.
It blankets the village with a quiet, animal-like wailing. It felt as if it was a melody from the Grim Reaper. As someone who has learned Qi Men Dun Jia, I sensed that this flute sound itself was a type of incantation.
To find the source of these cursed sound waves, I concentrated my mind. No matter how low and deep the sound was, there must be a point of origin, since it’s a sound after all. As I tracked the direction where the sound was getting stronger, I observed the people on the street from the rooftops. The closer I got to the source, the more people seemed to be suffering.
“Over here.”
Whoooosh!
As I leapt from rooftop to rooftop, it felt as though I was making at least six long jumps at once. It was a level of lightness technique that felt almost like flying. For a common martial artist, such a feat would lead to exhaustion, but I had almost inexhaustible internal energy. I could keep this up for hours. Moreover, having trained in Thunder God Style in Azure Dragon Martial Hall, I was quite confident in my techniques.
However, I felt uneasy.
It was because of the incredible power of the flute sound.
While Qi Men Dun Jia appears to be a convenient, all-powerful method, it is not so. Even Mang-ryang, considered a master of Qi Men Dun Jia, could only use basic techniques like transformation and cloud techniques without a certain mystical power. Achieving incredible feats like summoning winds and rains was next to impossible unless one had invested significant time and effort.
To indiscriminately cast a large-scale brainwashing wave over such a radius without warning clearly defied the common understanding of mystic arts. Although I could easily nullify the wave due to my powerful internal energy, an ordinary person with less than three years of training would lose their consciousness and become infected by the curse within a moment.
“What on earth is this sorcerer doing?”
I reached the epicenter of the sorcery in no time. It was right at the center of the village, and what I saw there made my eyes widen.
“…!!”
Hellish scene!!
Thud
People around the flute player were either choking themselves until their veins burst or suddenly hacking at each other with axes. Some were laughing crazily as they lay on the ground, while others were sexually assaulting women without reason. Some were even dismembering children’s bodies as if they were delicacies.
Blood flowed freely on the streets.
It was as if they no longer felt their own pain—a savage sight! Worse, they seemed to be ecstatically unaware of any pain. While in other areas, people simply fainted, here in the epicenter the effect was terrifyingly intense.
“…Ugh.”
I felt a brief sensation of dizziness, and I was taken aback. I had only let my guard down for a moment, but the cursed sound waves had broken through my resistance and given me a headache. I realized that if I stayed here for too long, unimaginable wavelengths would emerge.
“Hmph, fine. I’ll deal with you slowly.”
I didn’t come down from the roof; instead, I subtly shifted my weight onto my feet. The Grand Sorcerer flute player either noticed or didn’t, but either way, he continued to play his flute. I smirked coldly and threw two tiles from the rooftop.
Thud
“……!!”
One tile hit the flute player’s shoulder, and the other hit his thigh. Struck by tiles imbued with my internal energy, the flute player staggered and fell to his knees. Although he didn’t drop his flute, the frenzied music paused for a moment.
Immediately, the madness that had been swirling around us vanished as if washed away. The townspeople, who had been brainwashed by the madness, came back to their senses and were horrified by the tragedy they had caused.
“Aaaaah!”
“Kuaaaaaah!!”
Realizing the terrible acts their own hands had committed—acts incomprehensible by human ethics—the townspeople’s mental states were already in shambles. The frenzied music had devoured human lives in just a brief moment. I didn’t have the luxury to care for them, so I quickly went to confront the flute player.
The creature was the same as before, dressed in ragged brown clothing that concealed its gender, tightly holding a black flute in one hand. I approached the kneeling creature and asked, “What’s your name?”
The creature remained silent. Annoyed, I pulled away the yellow cloth covering its face, and was shocked.
“Gasp…”
This was beyond grotesque.
It’s a real monster!
The creature’s face was wide with protruding veins, and its eyes were full of sclera with no pupils. It also had no ears. Instead of a nose and mouth, there were incomprehensible tentacles extending from where they should be. The tentacles seemed alive, moving on their own, and had an elliptical mouth at their ends that was munching on something. I noticed its hands were like a frog’s, with a strange membrane between the fingers.
Calling this a human was truly a stretch. This was unmistakably a creature of alien form, a monstrous race. No wonder Captain Ryu had referred to it as a monster.
But that’s beside the point.
I immediately snatched the black flute from its hand. The creature said nothing, its empty white eyes simply rolling as it stared at me. On a whim, I decided to try attacking it.
Thud! Phwack! Thud!
I unleashed a flurry of punches, knee strikes, and kicks, infusing them lightly with internal energy. After about ten strikes, the creature wriggled and staggered, clearly in pain. I thought to myself, ‘This creature has remarkable durability. It hasn’t trained in martial arts, so could it be that its physical body is naturally this strong?’
It had a body comparable to someone well-trained in external martial arts.
I couldn’t waste any more time here. I wasn’t sure if acupoint techniques would work on this creature, so for my final move, I delivered a kick powerful enough to make a human vomit their organs.
[ @&$*&*@$….]
Only then did the creature let out a pained moan. Even that was a bizarre sound that couldn’t be vocalized by human vocal cords, making my skin crawl. Although the figure before me had a human form, it was undoubtedly not human. As the creature spat blue blood from its mouth and became disoriented, I finally grabbed it by the neck and flew away.
[Crash]
“What have I done? I messed up.”
As I soared towards another location, I let out a bitter laugh. Initially, I intended to wait until I saw the creature performing its human sacrifice ritual, but I couldn’t hold back, recalling the girl I had met in the forest a few days ago. The thought of innocent lives increasingly being sacrificed and large-scale disasters occurring in the village made my blood boil.
It might be premature, but there’s no other choice. First, I have to hide myself and extract as much information as I can from this creature. Then, whether I confront the forces of evil directly or assassinate them, I’ll have to decide my next course of action.
After running for a while, I left the village and headed towards the cliff in the northwest. Holding the creature’s neck, I leapt across the cliff in just two or three bounds. After descending a slope, I found a secluded mountain and discovered a natural cave. Considering the distance of around 20 li, not even those evil forces would be able to catch up in a short time.
Thud
I violently threw the creature onto the cave floor. Even though any normal human would have died from the impact, this creature trembled its tentacles and spat blue blood, yet it seemed to have no major injuries. Its race must possess innately strong physiques.
I shook its black flute and said,
“Is this your ritual instrument? Seems like you can’t do anything without this flute. You haven’t even mastered any martial arts.”
[ &@*#%…]
The creature’s white eyes expanded slightly as if enraged. I had the feeling it understood me, but I couldn’t understand its language, which was frustrating. Annoyed, I kicked it again.
[Groan]
[ *(!(#*%(@#*….!!]
“What are you saying? Speak human, you monster.”
[Groan]
[ ……!!]
Seeing the creature rolling on the floor in pain, I somehow felt pleased. Considering the number of humans this creature killed would be in the tens of thousands, this was nothing compared to their suffering. If I had more time, I would deal with it slowly, but as I didn’t, I looked down on it and said,
How much more should I beat it?
Suddenly, the creature extended its palm, as if gesturing a halt. Then, I heard its voice in my head.
[Stop. This will only bring about your downfall.]
Is this telepathy?
But I thought otherwise. Though I learned telepathy during my training at the Azure Dragon Martial Hall, this was completely different.
Telepathy mixes one’s will into the wind and makes it softly reverberate in the ears. What this creature did was more like the legendary “Radiant Wisdom from the Heart Speech”, something not even an exceptionally high-level martial artist could achieve. It made me understand its will directly in my mind, transcending language.
I let out an ironic laugh.
“Is this another of your tricks? Why are you conducting human sacrifices and summoning monsters?”
[….]
“Speak if you can. I just want to beat you to death right now.”
As I slowly raised my fist, the creature hesitated and moved back. It must have thought it would die if it got hit again, so it quickly spoke to me.
[Wait a moment. Human. If I speak, will you let me go?]
“I’ll consider it. You still seem useful.”
Of course, that was a lie. Once I’d heard enough, I planned to dismember and kill this creature. But I had to give it hope so it would spit out information. The creature couldn’t read my intentions, so it slowly communicated through its telepathy message..
[I made a contract with a god. In exchange for offering sacrifices to the gods, I assist you humans. I am proceeding with the plan according to your demands, and only two more actions are needed to fulfill the contract. You’re a subordinate of the emperor, so why are you torturing me?]
The creature seemed rather indignant. It had never thought that its own benefactor would betray it.
Something significant was unfolding. This creature, despite its monstrous appearance, seemed to possess significant intelligence. It even seemed rather clever. In my confusion, I asked for clarification.
“What does that mean?”
[That is…]
[Cough cough]
The creature suddenly spat out blue blood and couldn’t continue speaking. It seemed to have reached its physical limits. I felt I had overdone the torture. Now I wondered whether there was any more information to extract. Then, a crystal-clear and excellent question came to mind.
‘Ah, yes!’
I took out the “Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries that I always carried. And showed the first page to the creature.
“Look! Can you interpret this mysterious language?”
According to Mang-ryang, the mysterious language of the “Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries is almost identical to that of the “Nameless Ritual Sacrifice Rites.” If this creature had indeed interpreted the “Nameless Ritual Sacrifice Rites,” it should also be able to interpret the “Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries.” Upon seeing the tome, the creature suddenly froze its tentacles.
[……]
“Why? Can’t you interpret this?”
[This… How could a mere human have this…?]
The creature seemed genuinely shocked. Up until now, it had been almost unfazed, even when kidnapped and dragged into this cave to be beaten. But now it was visibly shaken, which I could tell just by the way its tentacles had stopped moving and its whole body was trembling like a quaking aspen.
“Just answer. What is this about?”
[Could it be… are you the owner of this artifact?]
“Just answer the question. What is this ‘Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries’ about?”
[Heh… Hahaha… How can this be… I never expected such a trap…]
The creature suddenly let out a mournful cry. Then, his body slowly reddened and began to emit a sinister light. I withdrew, sheathing the tome, when the fiend spat out blue blood and shouted.
[Sacrifice! I mourn in your nightmare!]
“……?!”
*Shoooorrrrr*
At that moment, it felt as if the heavens and earth were shattering. Not just this cave, but the mountains, streams, and sky—everything was vibrating. Simultaneously, I felt an ominous energy pouring down from beyond the sky.
*Grrrrrrrr*
This isn’t good. Something tremendous seemed about to happen.
I grabbed the monster by his collar and yelled,
“You bastard! What the hell have you done?”
[Hehehe.. Nothing much… You don’t seem to know what happens when a ritual is interrupted…]
“What?”
[I was calling them for sustenance… And now that they are all summoned… they’ve lost their target… Now they’ll rampage across the heavens and earth looking for living sacrifices… It’s destruction.]
*Boom! Boom! Bang!*
About thirty yards away, a loud explosion erupted, and a hill disappeared. When I saw the massive entity that emerged from the collapsed hill, I gulped.
“Monsters…”
It was the monster that I had seen before. The only difference was that its size had increased from about 3 meters to a staggering 10 meters. It writhed menacingly, as if it could swallow a mountain. The sight of its flesh rippling as it extended hundreds of eyes and tentacles was nothing short of a nightmare.
*Crash! Boom! Bang!*
That wasn’t the end. Monsters began to burst forth from the ground everywhere. These colossal creatures numbered in the tens, summoned here for human sacrifices.
The fiendish man sneered.
[Farewell… Both you and I are now as good as dead…]
“You must be joking. Do you think I would be afraid of such creatures?”
In a direct confrontation, maybe, but I was confident that I could evade them by trickery. It wasn’t just me they were looking for. I planned to seize an opportunity to exit the cave, but at that moment, I felt an overwhelming murderous intent from all directions.
“……?!”
The eyes of the monsters scattered across heaven and earth were directed at me.
They were clearly targeting only me, there was no doubt about it.
What on earth is happening?
From behind, I heard the cackling of a monster who seemed to be deflated.
[It seems they very well know who disrupted their ritual…]
Kugugugugu!!
The monsters all at once charged toward me at an incredible speed.
I wanted to dodge, but I had no idea where to dodge to. Even at my maximum speed in lightness skill, it was uncertain whether I could avoid their direct attacks, especially since dozens of colossal beasts were swooping down on me.
“Ah! Ah! KRAAAAAAAAAK!!”
I screamed as I exerted all my strength to execute my lightness skill. I kicked off the ground as if flying and floated in the air. Thanks to that, I was able to avoid the first monster’s body slam, allowing me to descend from the cliff cave to the ground.
“Huff…!!”
A wall of darkness flashed before my eyes for a moment.
Dozens of monsters charged in succession, crisscrossing as they ran.
Kukwakwakwang
The next moment, another monster’s body slam crushed me as it passed by.
I felt excruciating pain as everything turned blinding white.
That was my fifth death.