bâtiment - Chapitre 16
“Very well!” Huizhi accepted the challenge with a cold smile. He saw Anthony charging towards the dozens of assassins carrying the jade Buddha. He knew what the outcome of the battle would be, but he still won because he had found a more perfect body than the one he had now.
Lightning flashed from Huizhi's fingertips, and Yu Ke quickly rolled to his side. He had seen this before and knew how to deal with it. Then he rushed forward, crossing his twin swords in front of his chest, ready to receive the lightning strike. As long as it wasn't instantly fatal, he wouldn't miss this time.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Anthony and his group were in the lead, and victory was within reach. But he suddenly realized that the Jade Buddha was no longer his concern; his eyes were now only on Huizhi, and he had even abandoned his own safety.
The first bolt of lightning struck him straight in the chest, just like before, but this did not slow him down. Then an even greater surge of energy shot into his body, like a giant hammer continuously striking his head. He felt blood flowing past his eyes, and he could even smell the stench of burning skin. Everything before his eyes became a blur.
But only one target was clear; he could feel it. The military knife, still gleaming with an icy blue light, flew from his hand and was thrown thirty feet behind Huizhi.
He was satisfied to hear a scream. The illusion vanished instantly, and a military knife was already piercing the real Huizhi's abdomen.
Anthony dropped the assassin he was holding and rushed toward Yu Ke, knowing the perilous situation Yu Ke was in.
But he was too late. In an instant, black power surged from Huizhi's body and rushed toward the young officer. At this moment, Yu Ke no longer had the strength to dodge.
"ah--"
With a scream, black souls surged into Yu Ke's body, taking over his consciousness, devouring his original soul, and trying to completely control him, turning him into a demon's walking corpse. This was exactly what Qian Huizhi had dreamed of, because from then on he would be invincible.
Yu Ke struggled and roared in agony, stubbornly resisting the powerful inner demon with his own will, but it was in vain, because the black power was simply too strong. He also knew what the outcome would be if the other party took over his body. He had seen enough of those corrupted souls, and he could not allow his honor to be tarnished any further.
There is only one way to solve this.
"Yu Ke! Cheer up!" Li Shang cried out as she saw Yu Ke's tormented state.
This sound finally brought the young officer to his senses. He immediately turned around with difficulty and, taking advantage of the last shred of his rationality, walked towards her step by step. Holding the only remaining military knife, he wanted to speak, but he could no longer utter a single word. He could only feel his consciousness gradually fading and darkness slowly engulfing his mind.
“Li Shang…” Anthony wanted to say something, but he held back, because he knew she had already understood what she should do from Yu Ke’s eyes. But she still waited, hoping for a miracle, but everyone knew it was impossible.
Anthony looked at the officer again. His eyes were still clear, filled with the tranquility of facing death, just like his last dance. His face was contorted with intense inner turmoil, and he raised his saber higher and higher, closing the distance between him and Li Shang.
+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King
- Mystery Tribe
Section 43, Destroying all evil souls
Anthony gripped his longsword tightly, just in case. At that moment, he saw a powerful beam of healing light shoot from Li Shang's hands, expanding rapidly until it completely enveloped the young officer. Li Shang was making a final effort!
It was absolute light, like a sacred elegy offered to the dying.
As the light faded, Yu Ke remained standing, his military knife clattering to the ground. His lifeless body took one last step forward. It was as if he wanted to embrace Li Shang, but he failed, his body collapsing heavily to the ground.
His twin swords will never dance again.
Anthony turned his head away, unwilling to look at this tragic scene, and the disappointed soul returned once again to the body of wisdom.
"You will pay the price!" Huizhi shouted hysterically.
"You too!" Anthony roared, raising his longsword and transforming it into a streak of silver lightning as he slashed at the Grand Preceptor. At the same time, Huizhi, enduring the pain in his abdomen, began chanting a new incantation.
"Danger!" Clary and Richard had also noticed this and shouted in unison, but Anthony could hear nothing; his mind was only on Huizhi.
Anthony prayed that Huizhi would mispronounce the incantation; whatever he did, he just needed to plunge the sword into Huizhi's heart. But it seemed he couldn't even do that. They were simply too far apart; he had no way to complete the attack before the incantation finished.
But at that moment, the incantation suddenly turned into a heart-wrenching scream. It turned out that Nagyan had secretly gotten up when no one was paying attention, pounced on Huizhi's side, and forcefully stabbed the military knife that was still outside his body into his body!
A little hesitation is enough.
Anthony's sword then pierced Huizhi's body. A powerful energy, like an electric shock, flowed continuously through the sword into Anthony's body, making him dizzy. However, he still managed to stand and pull out the sword.
The wise soul howled and roared in excruciating pain, its piercing cries tearing through the air and shaking everyone's eardrums. The two assassins abandoned Richard and Clary, and without hesitation, scooped up their wounded master and leaped out of the window.
At the same time, countless brilliant golden rays rose from the Jade Buddha, piercing out of the Jade Buddha Hall like sharp swords. The warriors still fighting fiercely by the courtyard wall saw this intense light tear through the sky like lightning, striking the pile of Rakshasa. A pungent, burnt stench assaulted their senses, and countless Rakshasa were reduced to ashes in the intense light, while the rest scattered and fled.
Anthony and his men followed Huizhi as they fought their way out. They leaped over the courtyard wall and chased their mortal enemies through the ruins of the ancient city. But the assassins soon disappeared into the darkness, vanishing without a trace, while more Rakshasa surrounded them from all directions.
They hacked and slashed wildly among the Rakshasa, dismembering any Rakshasa that dared to stand in their way. The hatred of losing their friends had turned them into the most ruthless killers, annihilating all evil souls...
+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King
- Mystery Tribe
Section 44, His war is over
Daylight broke.
All the survivors in the temple attended the hero's funeral.
Their bodies were brought into the main hall of the temple and laid out in a long line on the cold stone slabs. They were draped in white linen. According to their tradition, each fallen knight's sword was placed against his chest, while the palace guards held their weapons at his sides.
After all the bodies had been moved into the room, people gathered. They stood beside the dead. In a silence so deep that one could hear their own heartbeats, the knights carried in the last body on a stretcher and solemnly placed it before the people.
Yu Ke was still wearing that pristine white leather armor, the twin swords that had accompanied him throughout his life still gripped tightly in his cold hands, resting against his chest. There were no other embellishments, it was very simple, just like the ever-present melancholy on his face.
Everyone was filled with immense sorrow, gazing upon this most tenacious warrior they had ever witnessed. His soul was so noble, though it had been tainted, yet he paid the ultimate price to regain his lost honor. For his homeland and his people, he and those who had sacrificed their lives were buried here.
But he had nothing but honor; he was respected, but never loved.
This is a glorious moment, a beautiful moment.
These words will be engraved on his tombstone:
He will no longer be in pain, nor will he be lonely.
His war is over.
He won.
+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King
- Mystery Tribe
Section 45, The Black Arrow
"Defend!" Before the first rays of sunlight pierced the dawn mist, a sharp roar shattered the tranquility of the temple. The weary people once again took up their weapons to face the relentless onslaught of the Rakshasa.
The knights' horns echoed the distant screams of the Rakshasa. Huiren summoned all the monks, who chanted sutras around the Jade Buddha day and night, using all their strength to resist the Rakshasa's attack.
Anthony and the others stood atop the wall. The Rakshasa army surged in from afar like a tidal wave, completely surrounding the temple. They relentlessly charged towards the walls, intent on slaughtering all living beings within.
“It seems we’re completely surrounded,” Cage said.
Indeed, this was the case. The last supply was three days ago, and the remaining food would not last much longer. Even with the most reasonable food rationing, the people in the temple would still face the torment of hunger in three days.
"Go out and fight them!" Cavaliers captain James said through gritted teeth.
"Wait a little longer." Anthony understood his duty to calm the anxious crowd. He knew Hui Ren and the others would find a way to resolve their current predicament. He also knew that the jade Buddha Yu Ke had risked his life to protect yesterday was absolutely capable of defeating Hui Zhi and his henchmen. But before that, they needed absolute calm to have any hope of turning the tide.
"Something's up!" A shout suddenly came from a tower ahead. Anthony looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the Rakshasa were gathering from all directions again, just like last night, one on top of another, and soon they had piled up into tall towers.
At the same time, a new situation arose: a new group of Rakshasa appeared in the Rakshasa army. They were taller and more ferocious than the original Rakshasa.
They strode past their smaller counterparts and gathered near the wall. Although their numbers were far fewer than other Rakshasa, they were still quite astonishing. After they had gathered in a chaotic manner, they let out a strange cry and charged toward the city wall.
"They're coming in! Get ready!" Anthony shouted a warning to those around him.
Sure enough, the Rakshasa hesitated only slightly when they touched the courtyard wall, but this did not affect their speed of climbing upwards. Before long, the ugly head of the first Rakshasa appeared on the top of the wall, but before Richard could even take a look, two purple lightning bolts flew from Richard's hands and accurately shot into its eyes.
Then came the second and the third. Richard's lightning emitted a deadly purple glow, but it still couldn't stop the Rakshasa from climbing over the wall.
"Fight!" James shouted to his knights.
The knights raised their swords high and roared as they charged towards the Rakshasa who had just leaped off the courtyard wall. The palace guards, who had been waiting for a long time, also brandished their leopard-tailed spears and longswords, venting their grief for their fallen commander on the howling Rakshasa.
At the same time, arrows rained down outside the city walls. Some of the shield walls on the walls were destroyed by the giant Rakshasa, while others were already riddled with black arrows.
+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King
- Mystery Tribe
Chapter 46, The Warriors of Man
Anthony and Clari worked together, slashing at the demons within the temple with their longswords and double hooks, who screamed in terror. The longswords and nimble hooks danced around them in a blur of deathly light, searching for the demons' most fatal weaknesses.
When the two warriors of the gods finally discovered the weaknesses of these Rakshasa, they ruthlessly cut them down.
When the Rakshasa recovered from the shock of the attack, two puddles of sewage had already seeped into the ground beneath Anthony's feet, and another puddle lay beneath Clary's feet. Knights and palace guards had also cut down countless enemies on the ground beneath the courtyard walls. The entire monastery was filled with the thick stench of Rakshasa and the stench of blood.
"Back to back!" Anthony shouted, and the knights and palace guards, having adopted the same strategy, began to swiftly move through the disorganized Rakshasa. Clary finished off another one as she rejoined Anthony, and the foolish Rakshasa turned to look at the approaching Clary, giving it just enough time for a longsword to pierce its neck.
The human warriors, back to back, formed a neat array and began to turn around in response to the enemy's movements. Their weapons transformed into deadly flashes that swirled around them, separating the chaotic Rakshasa and preventing them from launching an attack.
Another volley of arrows rained down from the sky, some of which slipped through the gaps in the shield wall and fell, causing considerable casualties among the warriors. At that moment, the Rakshasa let out a strange cry and charged forward again without a second thought.
Anthony immediately unleashed a series of fluid and powerful moves, which should have been enough to defeat his opponents, but they seemed to be encased in thick armor, and his longsword was deflected whenever it struck them. Clary also struggled to find an opening to strike them.
But this did not hinder their attack. Anthony spun around on the ground, his longsword probing every part of the Rakshasa's body. Once he found a soft body exposed, he did not hesitate to end its life with his longsword, cutting it into pieces.
On the other side, the knights swung their greatswords with all their might, cleaving any of their opponents in two.
But the number of Rakshasa within the courtyard continued to increase, and five enormous Rakshasa simultaneously surrounded Anthony and Clari. Anthony fought back against the first two attacks, but the third Rakshasa broke through the longsword's defenses, slashing him viciously in the ribs. A sharp pain immediately rose, accompanied by the smell of blood. Anthony gritted his teeth and persevered, not slowing his attack. Yet another Rakshasa turned into filthy water under his sword.
"Defense!"
James roared, wielding his twin swords to clear a path through the Rakshasa. The other knights and palace guards immediately formed a circle around him, pointing the blades of their weapons toward the outer edge of the circle.
All around were the clang of metal clashing, the sounds of fighting, the roars of demons, and the screams of the dying. People fought fiercely under a rain of black arrows, blood and foul-smelling sewage flying through the air; the temple was engulfed in a agonizing battle. Warriors fell one after another, while the demons multiplied. The situation was once again in grave danger.
"Pefif!" A clear voice suddenly rang out from the crowd, and then a colossal beast appeared before them, accompanied by a gust of wind.
The giant beast roared and charged towards the Rakshasa. Although the Rakshasa were enormous, they were still small fry compared to Pefefov. It roared angrily, grabbing one Rakshasa after another, throwing them out of the temple or tossing them high into the air. The panicked Rakshasa fled in terror.
"Kill them!" A triumphant cheer erupted from the crowd.
Encouraged by the sudden change in the situation, they brandished their weapons and rushed towards the fleeing Rakshasa, ignoring their screams. In an instant, they plunged all their weapons into the bodies of those still struggling on the ground. Foul-smelling sewage splashed into the air, and the situation had turned into a one-sided slaughter. The battle finally came to an end when people stabbed the last Rakshasa in the courtyard.
+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King
- Mystery Tribe