Chapter 66-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

"Sir Knight, are you sure which direction the core is in?"

Roy ran, panting. As soon as he finished speaking, he was nearly thrown off his feet by a blast of air from behind.

He looked back in disbelief. "Do we really need to destroy the core? I think if they keep fighting for a little longer, the entire Demonic Domain will be gone soon."

The Mutant Plants chasing them were uprooted by the waves of power radiating from the distance before they could even make a move, and the overwhelming net of branches instantly turned into red ash.

Lucy couldn't help but turn her head, curious. "Is Muqing really S-rank? Her S-rank seems different from yours, White Knight!"

Hearing Lucy's innocent question, Bai Mulin wiped his face with a hint of shame. "I really am S-rank! Muqing's situation is special. She didn't use her full strength during the test; it was just a formality. Looking at it now, she's at least double S."

On one hand, Muqing's ability was somewhat difficult to control, and using its full power could cause widespread damage.

On the other hand, their parents didn't seem to want Muqing's ability rank to be too high. Bai Mulin had once overheard his parents' worried conversation, mentioning things like the former Empress and the birth of the Crown Prince. As he grew up, he gradually understood that it wasn't a good thing for Muqing to possess such a high-rank talent.

But now, it seemed everyone present, including the irrational His Highness Sykes, should be grateful that Muqing possessed such a powerful talent. Otherwise, under the Crown Prince's mad-dog-like pursuit, they might have all been wiped out long ago!

Percy, running at the very front, turned to urge his chatting companions, "We need to hurry up. Don't let your guard down."

"Even if Muqing can suppress Sykes, there's still that blonde girl. She's probably the biggest variable. We have to find the core as soon as possible."

Speaking of which, they had been busy fighting the Mutant Plants and dealing with the aggressive Sykes, and that girl who could nullify abilities had vanished at some point... and Zhao Mei, he was gone too.

Percy suddenly recalled the first Demonic Domain where he fought alongside Zhao Mei, and the flood that had swept through the entire street. At the time, he was unwilling to suspect Zhao Mei was responsible—after all, possessing such immense power while also being skilled in healing was simply too incredible. But thinking back now, he realized he had been too arrogant.

The drizzling rain continued to fall, its calming effect invisibly weakening the Mutant Plants' assault. This time, Percy was almost certain it was Zhao Mei's ability.

Perhaps he, like himself, possessed a dual ability and, for some reason, had to conceal the other one.

Zhao Mei might be holding off the girl with the nullifying ability right now. Thinking of this, Percy quickened his pace—they couldn't let Zhao Mei's efforts be in vain!

Soon, in the direction Bai Muqing had indicated, they found a red flower bud as tall as a full-grown adult, hidden in an inconspicuous corner of the dense forest. It was so red it looked as if it was about to drip blood.

Countless slender branches connected to the bottom of the bud, pulsing almost imperceptibly like blood vessels.

This was the true center of this Demonic Domain. Everyone who had been swallowed by this crimson forest had become nourishment for this flower.

Percy's face turned pale, and he staggered a few steps forward. So the "Blood Flower" was literally a flower of blood. Ten years ago, his parents, and the families of hundreds of others, had all become a part of the flower before him.

Suddenly, the closed bud trembled. It opened two petals, revealing the upper half of a body in a red uniform, standing inverted in the center like a stamen, its legs still twitching slightly.

Seeing his comrade's mangled remains, Bai Mulin couldn't hold back. He rushed forward with red eyes.

Sensing the movement, the Blood Flower instantly devoured the rest of the corpse. It rapidly swelled into a towering giant plant, its strong roots expanding at an incredible speed, cracking the earth and kicking up clouds of dust.

Percy and the others were forced to retreat until the blood-like, ostentatious petals fully unfurled high in the sky, like a sun at dusk, red enough to drip blood.

Lying on the giant skull, Ye Zheng watched the suddenly blooming Blood Flower. She slowly sat up, staring at it thoughtfully.

She looked quite pathetic at the moment. Her white sleeves were torn in several places, revealing deep, bloody scratches, and one side of her face was comically swollen. She hadn't healed herself, wearing such a face as if she felt nothing, gazing at the ostentatious Blood Flower in the distance.

The blonde girl beside her looked slightly better. Other than her exceptionally gloomy expression, she appeared to have no external injuries.

However, only Sierra herself knew that the decent-looking guy in white aimed for hidden, vital spots when he fought. All her injuries were under her clothes. His methods were so underhanded!

Her gaze fell on the girl's listless profile, and Sierra laughed neurotically again.

"See that? That's the Blood Flower. You were so close to seeing it in person back then, along with your family."

"Stop trying to provoke me. We won't get anywhere by continuing this fight."

Ye Zheng didn't spare Sierra a glance, still looking at the flower swaying high in the sky, her voice calm.

She fought Sierra to create an opportunity for Bai Muqing and the others. Sierra was tougher than she had imagined. Although this girl who had been in the Demonic Domain for ten years had never received any systematic training, her savage ferocity was hard to handle, even though she had taken quite a few beatings from Teacher Qin Lu.

"Ha, don't think I can't see it! You're just trying to stall me. You think that bunch of losers can deal with the Blood Flower if you hold me back? You've never seen its true power."

"Is that so? But you've survived for ten years in front of the man-eating Blood Flower. You were the only survivor back then. In my opinion, you're more troublesome than the Blood Flower."

Sierra didn't speak. She shifted her gaze from the girl's profile and looked at the swaying Blood Flower along with Ye Zheng.

The indelible, bloody memories uncontrollably blurred her vision, and even the sound of the wind became a chaotic hum from the depths of her memory.

She didn't know how the outside world had recorded the incident from ten years ago. Would they know? Did Ye Zheng know? Of the group of people driven in back then, most didn't die from the Blood Flower, but at the hands of their fellow humans.

Once the Blood Flower awakened from its slumber and bloomed, it meant endless feeding. After it quickly digested one person, it was the next person's turn. No one wanted to be next. The Demonic Domain was still very small back then, so hundreds of people cried, screamed, and ran in all directions within the confined space. Most of them died from being trampled.

Those few magnificently dressed adults shivered inside a translucent shield. Although it was riddled with holes from the Mutant Plants' attacks, it was still useful for fending off the ordinary people who surged forward.

Someone hoped the adults in the shield would show some mercy and let them in for refuge. So one person, then two, then more and more people ran in that direction. Those who came later didn't know why, thinking everyone had found an escape route, so they followed along.

The people at the very front were pressed against the defensive shield by the continuous surge from behind. A squeezed-out eyeball stuck unwillingly to the translucent shield. The adults inside watched the ever-growing pile of bodies in increasing horror, watching helplessly as countless people clawed at the shield until they were crushed and trampled to death by those who came after.

Faces of those who died with grievances even covered their view of the Blood Flower, causing them to curse in terror.

Why did she know it so clearly? Because she was the first person to run towards that shield.

The seven-year-old Sierra thought she was being clever, thinking that those respectable public figures would be like that mother and daughter she had met. If they would just offer a little kindness from their fingertips, she could survive.

However, as she was being squeezed and trampled to the bottom outside the shield, she finally understood what a ridiculous idea it was to beg from the powerful. No one in the world would help her, neither the lofty adults right in front of her nor the ants like herself behind her.

"You guessed right. I'm much more troublesome than the Blood Flower."

The girl sitting next to Ye Zheng suddenly stood up. Her messy blonde hair looked even more disheveled in the wind. Sierra looked down, her burning red eyes fixed on the seated Ye Zheng.

"Did you think you were the only one who could draw power from this bone?"

Sierra laughed loudly. "How do you think I survived back then? My body was covered by the corpses of countless people. Luckily for me, I was trampled upon this very bone."

And then she awakened her second ability—Damage Nullification.

Ye Zheng slowly stood up. She had a feeling that there was much more to the "Blood Flower" incident back then than was commonly known.

Sierra stared at her without blinking, her expression mocking.

"Ye Zheng, you snuck in here with two different identities. You must be dying to know what really happened back then, right? Unfortunately, all of you will be left with regret, forever trapped in this place!"

Beneath the skull, the devastated land was already falling apart. Sykes, who had been moving a bit sluggishly, seemed to have been stimulated by something and went berserk again. The ground continuously collapsed, and even the flying gravel was pulverized by his domineering and powerful force.

Watching Sykes's performance, Sierra clapped her hands excitedly. "Look! This is the heir to the Empire. I can only control low-intelligence monsters. I didn't expect him to be so easy to control!"

The girl followed Sierra's gaze downwards, then looked at Sierra's expression. Although Sierra wasn't particularly smart, she had beast-like instincts. Zhao Mei's identity couldn't be hidden from her. She had even discovered that Sykes was very easy to control.

An untimely doubt surfaced in Ye Zheng's mind. Although Sykes wasn't a genius, his IQ barely reached the average for a man. Had he really been reduced to the level of a low-intelligence monster?

She shook her head, temporarily casting these thoughts aside, and her dark eyes focused seriously on Sierra.

"Sierra, I don't want to be your enemy. Call me sentimental, but I still want to ask—"

"Is there any possibility of us standing together?"

Atop the towering white remains, the two girls stood side by side, a few strands of long black hair and golden curls occasionally intertwining in the wind.

"There is never a possibility."

Sierra dropped her mocking smile. Her red pupils were darker than the Blood Flower in the distance, like bloodstains that had dried to black. "I will never trust you again."

Ye Zheng wasn't surprised by Sierra's answer. She nodded, though she was a little confused by Sierra's use of the word "again"—when had Sierra ever trusted her?

Seeing the girl's slightly puzzled expression, Sierra moved her lips smugly. "Let's see together whose pawn is stronger..."

Before she could finish, she saw the white figure beside her leap down.

"Ye Zheng!!"

As she plummeted, Ye Zheng heard Sierra's piercing scream, filled with intense hatred and disbelief.

Just before she hit the ground, a gentle breeze swept her up and placed her steadily on the ground.

Ye Zheng felt Bai Muqing's presence, her eyes fixed on Sykes not far away. She spoke softly in the wind, "Let's end this quickly, together."

Author's Note:

I saw some babies saying they wanted to see a manga extra for Zheng. Let me spoil this a bit in advance. After Zheng completely becomes a popular villain, the company will release a spin-off manga with her as the protagonist,

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