Chapter 41-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Ye Zheng turned to look at the woman who had appeared out of nowhere.
Wu Shu's smile was relaxed, without the deliberate, hearty geniality she used when greeting Sykes and the others. Her penetrating eyes were a deep purple, like a bewitching vortex.
"If you have the strength, the points are yours."
This woman was a seeker of profit, Ye Zheng thought silently. That made things simpler. After all, no one wanted to defend Sykes's points.
Wu Shu let out a scoffing laugh. "I hope my B-rank talent won't disappoint you."
A B-rank talent was considered excellent among ability users, but in a competition crowded with gifted prodigies, it seemed mediocre, even inadequate. If Ye Zheng remembered correctly, B-rank Wu Shu was the lowest-ranked captain in the third phase of the competition.
However, when Wu Shu mentioned her talent rank, there wasn't a hint of self-deprecation. Her voice was tinged with an eager excitement.
The next moment, the black figure suddenly vanished from Ye Zheng's side.
A twisted shriek echoed through the vast space. Ye Zheng turned to look at the slender monster that almost touched the ceiling. A round object dropped down, leaving only a half-severed human neck at the top of the bug's body.
The gigantic, centipede-like body stiffened. Even the countless small, wiggling bug legs on its sides went still.
The panicked and frightened crowd froze for a moment in unison, staring blankly at the motionless monster.
From a high position, Wu Shu was sitting next to the severed neck, swinging her legs on the huge bug's body. Her deep purple eyes looked down with a half-smile.
Ye Zheng looked up, and their gazes met.
As far as she knew, Wu Shu's ability was teleportation, which was a huge advantage in the second phase of the competition that focused on collecting tokens. Even though Wu Shu led her average Middle District team to advance, most people didn't think much of this lone female captain, assuming she was just a lucky woman who posed no threat in the third phase.
A faint smile spread in Ye Zheng's dark eyes. Any woman who could elbow her way into a male-dominated field must have a level of strength far exceeding most of the men there.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
Wu Shu, sitting high up, froze. She saw the girl in the blood-stained white dress below shaking her head at her.
Almost immediately, realizing what had happened, Wu Shu jumped down without hesitation. In that moment of freefall, she clearly saw another head growing out of the severed neck.
It was still that woman's head. Her delicate face looked lost and confused. When she saw Wu Shu jumping down, she even showed a look of surprise, like an innocent bystander.
Wu Shu found it absurd. Who was more terrifying here?
Lucy was startled by the black-dressed woman's descending figure. A cluster of colorful butterflies immediately squeezed together to try and catch her, but as soon as the woman's body touched the butterflies, she vanished in mid-air again.
"Little sister, your butterflies are poisonous."
The next second, the woman's helpless sigh sounded in Lucy's ear. The girl, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, glared warily at the woman who had suddenly appeared beside her. She defended herself, "I can control it!"
"Alright, your ability is suited for working with me."
Wu Shu quickly reined in her smile and looked at the human-headed bug that was inching towards them. It was a real pain that even beheading the monster had no effect.
In another secluded corner.
"Muqing, did you figure out what that thing is?"
After Wu Shu's probing attack, Ye Zheng had also calmed down. The key was figuring out where to start with such a behemoth.
Bai Muqing stood quietly beside Ye Zheng. She pursed her lips and slowly began, "The energy of all ability users and monsters is relatively evenly distributed throughout their bodies. For example, right now, I can 'see' your energy field, and it's normal."
"But this monster, it's very strange."
"Its energy is abnormally concentrated in one place, below the back of its neck, in a place similar to a human's spine."
Ye Zheng's beautiful brows furrowed. "Perhaps the bug egg was parasitic in that spot."
Bai Muqing neither confirmed nor denied. She continued, "Also, I'd advise you not to touch the body under its head..."
"Damn it!"
Not far away, Wu Shu's figure reappeared on the ground. She looked down at the sharp dagger in her hand, which was splashed with the monster's green blood. The blade stained with blood was immediately corroded and blunted.
"Don't worry about the knife; are your hands okay?"
Lucy came closer and looked at the woman's calloused hands. The skin on the back of her hands and palms where the green blood had touched was already corroded away. The flesh mixed with the strange green blood looked shocking.
Just now, her butterflies had touched the blood that splattered from the monster and had fallen to the ground like powerless pieces of paper. If creatures born from abilities couldn't handle it, what about a person!
Lucy gripped Wu Shu's wrist, so worried she wanted to stomp her feet, even though they had only just met.
A fair, slender hand suddenly covered hers. Lucy and Wu Shu both looked up at the Saintess, who was looking down. The girl's long eyelashes cast a small shadow, making it impossible to see the emotion in her eyes.
"Leave it to me."
The cool stream of water diluted the intense stinging pain. Wu Shu had received treatment from many healers before. She always fought fiercely and recklessly. She had become familiar with all the well-known healing ability users in the Middle District.
She could feel that Ye Zheng's healing ability was far superior to that group of people. She truly was an A-rank ability user from the upper district.
All ability users above A-rank from the Middle District had gone to the upper district. As soon as they were detected with a high-level talent at the age of 12, the upper district academies would make an exception for these lucky individuals from the Middle or Lower Districts.
Of course, such lucky individuals were extremely rare. Ninety percent of high-level talents were from the upper district.
Clearly, Wu Shu wasn't so lucky, but that didn't stop her from competing on the same stage as these proud prodigies from the upper district.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out abruptly in the shelter.
Wu Shu looked up warily. She saw the monstrous bug with a human head suddenly begin to twist its massive body violently. It looked to be in extreme pain. The human head on top let out a high-pitched shriek of agony.
The giant body's movements seemed to shake the entire shelter. The people who had just managed to calm down panicked and scattered again in confusion. The whip-like bug body twisted madly, its sharp tail hook sweeping towards the dense crowd—
Wu Shu's pupils contracted. She thought she would witness a wave of casualties in the next second, but the giant tail hook stopped abruptly in mid-air. The crowd beneath it froze for a moment before scrambling to get away.
It was as if an invisible hand had clamped down on the giant bug's tail.
She shifted her gaze and saw that Ye Zheng had already healed her hand at some point. The girl's eyes, a black so pure it was almost reflective, were looking behind her.
Wu Shu followed Ye Zheng's gaze and turned her head. The white-haired, white-robed girl, whose appearance was strangely sacred, had her eyes tightly shut. The powerful energy fluctuating from her body washed over Wu Shu, startling her.
Within this shelter, the strength of both monsters and ability users was suppressed, but the power coming from this Bai Muqing... Wu Shu felt that she could probably easily control her.
"Don't act on your own."
"I will detonate it, so there is nothing left and no ability to regenerate."
Bai Muqing opened her lips. The monster immediately let out a more horrifying, high-pitched wail. Wu Shu was rarely scared by monster roars, but the sound this monster was making was so human-like that it gave her a strange feeling, perhaps because the monster had taken over a human woman's body.
Wu Shu looked at the monster, biting her lip. Bai Muqing's strength was unquestionable. Did she have a chance to take down this monster before Bai Muqing did?
She wasn't here to do charity. The points were what mattered most to her.
"Wait a moment."
Ye Zheng's hand landed on Bai Muqing's shoulder. She said softly, "You are very strong, but this monster is too strange. Even if you successfully detonate its body, the large amount of corrosive blood that would splatter could easily cause casualties."
She had heard that within the [Divine Domain], Bai Muqing could control any living being. Ye Zheng had never seen Bai Muqing truly use her power. As a pious believer in the God of Hope, Bai Muqing seemed to dislike using destructive abilities.
She mostly just used her [Divine Domain] to find people, and she even reportedly helped find lost cats.
It was a bit of a shame not to see Bai Muqing's true strength, but Ye Zheng had to do this.
Bai Muqing's lips were tightly pursed in displeasure. After a moment, she said in a muffled voice, "Then what do you want to do?"
Ye Zheng smiled. She pulled over the silent Wu Shu, who immediately snapped out of her daze and stared at her.
"Wu Shu, can your ability take people with you?"
Wu Shu raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Take you? I can, but the range and distance will be limited."
"What? What? I want to join too!"
Lucy came over when she heard the commotion. The shortest of the three, she looked up at her three peers, her high ponytail swaying.
Under the gazes of the three, Ye Zheng stated concisely, "Muqing and Lucy will be responsible for controlling the bug. Wu Shu and I will go and kill it."
Wu Shu asked, "You've found the bug's weakness?"
"Muqing says its power is concentrated behind its neck. It's worth a try."
"But why should I take you with me?"
Ye Zheng was a healer. Healers were supposed to stay in a safe position in the rear. She had never seen one so eager to go to the front line.
"Are you afraid I'll drag you down? I can help you defend against the bug's blood."
Ye Zheng answered as if she had expected the question.
Wu Shu smiled and readily agreed. This way, the points would be hers.
She turned and walked towards the massive bug. Ye Zheng followed behind her, her face gentle and her posture graceful, like a breeze carrying the scent of flowers. But the look in her eyes as she watched Wu Shu's back was faintly obscure.
I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the points will have to wait for the next time.
Ye Zheng lowered her eyes and thought silently.
Just now, when she was healing Wu Shu's corrosive wounds from the green blood, she made a startling discovery.
The green blood contained an extremely faint yet familiar aura. Thanks to what she had gained in the previous Demonic Domain, Ye Zheng recognized this aura as belonging to... a dragon bone.
It was an extremely bizarre thing for a dragon bone to appear in a monster, or rather, in a woman of unknown origin. Because of this, it was even more worth investigating.
Ye Zheng had a premonition that this was another incredible discovery, and it came with immense risk.
For now, she would not allow anyone else to get close to the dragon bone. It was an extremely dangerous thing for both her and Wu Shu.
Therefore, the dragon bone could only be hers.
Author's note:
Baby is about to play a prank and says 'definitely next time'.
Comments
Post a Comment