Древние и чудесные искусства

Глава 10

The remaining two were completely overwhelmed by Anthony's rage; surrendering or fleeing was now too late. One of the guards, wielding an axe, decided to take Anthony down with him. He roared and swung his two axes with astonishing strength, charging towards a blurry black figure behind the white light, attempting to break through Anthony's defenses with his own power.

Anthony completely ignored him. When he felt the man's heavy breathing, he executed a beautiful backflip to dodge him and delivered the blow that would have shattered the man's skull in mid-air. As he landed, his longsword once again pierced the guard's chest from behind.

The last guard was frozen in fear, forgetting to defend or attack. The longsword stopped just a millimeter from his throat.

The entire process took less than ten seconds.

"..." Anthony's cold gaze said it all. So, the remaining guards threw down their weapons and scrambled away from the scene, leaving only Yu Ke lying lifeless on the ground.

“Take him with you…” Anthony turned around and said to his two companions.

+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King

- Mystery Tribe

Chapter 21, A New Battle

At the other end of the Jade Buddha Temple, opposite Cage stood a tall monk—his height was large enough to overshadow Cage.

"Take me out..." Cage said to the monk beside him, who was clearly controlled by the Bajushika worm. He obeyed Cage's command with a blank look in his eyes and walked toward the courtyard gate as if sleepwalking.

The boy followed Cage silently, not even asking about Cage's identity, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. However, Cage had a vague feeling that something about the boy was off, especially his face, which was deathly pale and made him feel very uncomfortable.

They ran swiftly through the temple's corridors and soon returned to the gate they had entered through, where Anthony and his companions had been waiting for some time.

"Where have you been?" Krusen asked anxiously as soon as he saw Cage, carrying the unconscious Yu Ke on his back.

But when they saw the boy behind Cage, they understood everything.

"That's amazing! Where did you find him?" Krusen asked in surprise.

“Kruzen, now is not the time to say that,” Anthony said. “Lishang and the others are still waiting for us at the city gate.”

So everyone immediately ran toward the city gate. Along the way, they found that the ancient city was in an uproar, with fully armed soldiers everywhere. Some were searching for the thieves who had broken into the Jade Buddha Temple, while others were rushing to the city gate to guard it.

When they arrived at the city gate, they discovered that Orlando had already thrown the situation into chaos. Pefferf, carrying Orlando, Clari, and Lishang, had smashed the city gate to pieces. The soldiers guarding the city were terrified and surrounded the enormous creature before them, but none of them dared to approach it.

Just then, two cavalrymen spotted Anthony and his men approaching and immediately turned their horses to charge. Anthony, at the same time, brandished his longsword and charged forward. Man and horse neighed, the clanging of metal echoing through the air. The two knights intended to attack Anthony from both sides. Anthony knew their plan but made no attempt to evade. The two horses quickly reached his side, and the knights lowered their lances, intending to pierce the warrior's body simultaneously from two directions.

Anthony had been waiting for this moment. The instant the two sides were close, he suddenly leaped up, his spear piercing past his feet. In mid-air, he swiftly turned and struck the heads of two knights with the back of his sword in quick succession.

The two knights landed on their feet, leaving only their warhorses galloping forward. Krusen and Richard quickly stopped them.

"Take the boy and Yu Ke and leave immediately. We'll meet again in our lowly village!" Anthony gestured to them with his sword before turning and throwing himself into the new battle.

"Good luck, my friend," Krusen thought to himself. He placed the still unconscious Yu Ke on the saddle and charged toward the city gate, the galloping hooves carrying flames that tore through the air as they passed over the heads of the crowd.

+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King

- Mystery Tribe

Section 22, A Tranquil World

Before dawn, everyone returned safely to the village of the untouchables. It was indeed a fortunate thing to have found the legendary boy, so the group was very proud.

The villagers were naturally very excited to see Anthony and his group return safely, and Huiren personally led people to the village entrance to welcome the triumphant warriors.

"Master, we've found that person!" Orlando exclaimed excitedly as he rode his warhorse to the front of the procession.

"Esteemed benefactors, thank you for your hard work..." At this moment, Huiren saw Yu Ke, who was still injured and unconscious. Although he was no longer seriously injured after Lishang's treatment, he was still very weak due to excessive blood loss.

“How could he…” Hui Ren asked, pointing at Yu Ke. Anthony then quietly told Hui Ren the whole story.

"What a sin..." Huiren sighed as he instructed the villagers to prepare a room for Yu Ke to recuperate and rest. Afterward, he went to the boy that the group had brought back. Just as he had said, the boy had a large Buddha character imprinted on his forehead, as if it were written with a gold pen.

"What's your name?" Huiren asked kindly. But the boy just stared at him indifferently, coldly, without saying a word.

"Let's take him to rest first..." Seeing that the boy's expression seemed a bit off, Li Shang hurriedly said.

"Yes, yes..." Huiren said with a smile, patting his bald head. The villagers brought out the food and drinks they had prepared to treat everyone, and the entire village of outcasts was like a festival. Having experienced so much misfortune, this was the first time people had seen a glimmer of light in their dark reality, so the joyful atmosphere was self-evident.

The entire day was spent in an atmosphere filled with hope. After dark, Anthony went alone to Yu Ke's room where he was recuperating. The young man still seemed to be unconscious.

Perhaps he had gone too far? Anthony felt a pang of self-reproach, but then another question caught his attention: Why did he hate him so much? And why did he change so much every time he saw him?

Perhaps we'll have an answer soon. Through him, we might learn more about Huizhi's inner workings, and of course, what he cares about most—the Dark Messenger.

Anthony stood silently by Yu Ke's bedside for a long time, until the first ray of bright moonlight shone through the window of the room, at which point he turned and left thoughtfully.

The darkness behind him slowly swallowed up this peaceful world.

Black, a deep, utter blackness devoid of any light. His entire body floated in mid-air, unsure of where to go, forced to trudge forward with difficulty. Each step felt like a tearing pain in the wound on his chest, but Yu Ke couldn't stop. He could only keep moving forward, growing increasingly weary and weak...

Suddenly, a light appeared, shimmering softly not far ahead.

Is it an export destination?

"Yes, this is your grave..." A voice echoed around them, so familiar, yet Yu Ke couldn't recall where he had heard it before.

"Am I dead?" Yu Ke asked.

"Your enemy has killed you..." the voice replied.

"Who are my enemies?" Yu Ke asked.

Then a figure appeared before him: Anthony, holding a longsword, a mocking smile on his face, as if he were facing a pathetic wretch who could never win.

"Kill him! You will have a new life, and your pain and shame will be wiped away! Kill him now!" the voice urged impatiently.

"I can't do it! I have no power!" Yu Ke struggled painfully, trying to wake up from this absurd dream, but no matter how hard he tried, the surroundings were still filled with terrifying blackness, and the bloody slaughter he was about to face remained.

"Accept my power! Ignite your fury! Destroy him with your invincible twin blades! Reclaim your honor!" the voice roared furiously. The twin blades instantly returned to his hands, burning with black flames. Instantly, a continuous stream of power surged into Yu Ke's body like a flood bursting its banks, engulfing him in pain as if he were about to explode.

"Kill him!" the voice commanded one last time.

Reason was now completely overwhelmed by the dark power, and Yu Ke's mind seemed to be filled with nothing but chaos and a single goal—to kill Anthony!

Anger guided his twin blades, creating a hazy cloud of blade light that rose from the surrounding dark void, enveloping him and Anthony. Each strike was an outpouring of rage, and with each strike, the rage immediately doubled. He could only struggle with his conscience in this futile dance of death, his consciousness slowly slipping away between the blades. He knew that only one person's life could free him now—Anthony's, or his own.

+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King

- Mystery Tribe

Chapter 23, You Are My Rakshasa

Anthony retreated and parried under his ever-growing strength, a mocking smile still on his face. Even as his sword was knocked from his hand, even as Yu Ke's blade pressed against his throat, that same mocking smile remained.

"Kill him!" The voice seemed to have already seen victory, roaring excitedly.

Yu Ke raised his twin swords and slashed at the face that was still mocking him.

Suddenly, the deadly twin blades stopped in mid-air, and a figure with flowing long hair suddenly floated through his boiling mind—the figure who had shielded him from his furious twin blades with his body.

The ethereal consciousness then settled down.

Everything shouldn't be like this! Then many things appeared: people suffering in dire straits, burning homes, his honor and responsibility... but Huizhi's evil smile shattered everything.

"That's enough!"

The twin swords were silently sheathed, and Yu Ke raised his head, speaking to the void.

"Then you should just die!"

The voice turned frantic, and Yu Ke suddenly realized that it was his own voice! Anthony, in front of him, also began to change his appearance. It was indeed himself! Only now, his dark eyes were shrouded in evil, coldly staring at him.

"You are my Rakshasa..."

The twin swords reappeared in his hands, but this time they were guided by honor and justice.

The blade of justice sliced through the defenses of evil in an instant, and honor cleaved anger in two. It was a battle with no suspense, and Rakshasa fell in a single round.

Light returned once more; dawn broke.

Yu Ke opened his eyes and heard the noisy voices outside.

Suddenly, a bad feeling descended from the sky.

All day long, Orlando had been gesticulating wildly as he described how he had broken down the city gates, so he slept very soundly that night. He didn't get out of bed until the sun was high in the sky, only to find everyone else was already gone.

Something must have happened. Orlando, forgetting even to eat breakfast, grabbed his clothes and rushed out of the room. Sure enough, everyone was gathered under the poplar tree in the middle of the village, excitedly discussing something. He saw Anthony and the others standing in the crowd, all eyes fixed on Huiren and the boy under the tree. The two sat cross-legged, facing each other. Huiren kept talking to the boy, but the boy remained coldly silent, refusing to utter a single word.

"What are you doing?" Orlando wondered curiously, and was about to rush over to see what was going on, but was stopped by a large hand.

Looking back, I saw it was Krusen.

“Hui Ren instructed us not to go forward…” Krusen said solemnly.

"Weren't we the ones who found them?" Orlando looked unhappy, but he held back and stood to the side, pouting and silently staring at the two people under the tree.

An hour passed quickly, and no matter what Huiren said, the boy remained silent. Everyone present was growing impatient. Just then, Anthony suddenly had a very strange feeling: the boy's eyes were very strange, as if he had seen them somewhere before—dull and expressionless, like a piece of cold steel…

Yu Ke!

Anthony suddenly realized that the look in Yu Ke's eyes when he saw him under the ancient tower that day was exactly the same! How similar they were, as if they were printed from the same mold—evil, shrouded in a thick, dark evil.

At that moment, there was a slight movement in the crowd. The boy finally lowered his head and reached into his clothes, groping around as if searching for something... At that moment, Anthony felt as if time was freezing, and an ominous feeling arose within him.

"Danger!" Anthony shouted a warning, but it was too late. The boy had already pulled a gleaming dagger from his robes! Before anyone could react, a flash of light appeared, and the dagger sliced through the air, lunging towards Huiren. Huiren was startled and quickly dodged to the side. This instinctive reaction saved his life; the dagger missed a vital spot and pierced his left shoulder. The boy immediately pulled out the dagger and thrust again. By this time, Huiren was too weak to dodge and was about to die under the boy's blade.

In the blink of an eye, just as everyone was at a loss, a gleaming military knife suddenly flew out from behind the crowd and accurately struck the dagger in the boy's hand. The force of the military knife was so great that there was a crisp metallic clang, and the boy's dagger flew out of his hand and landed on the ground a few steps away.

Everyone turned around and saw that Yu Ke had somehow emerged from his room, struggling to stand with another military knife supporting him. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. The attack just now had clearly exhausted his remaining strength; he swayed and collapsed once more into the dust before him.

At that moment, the boy let out a strange cry and jumped up, stretching out his bony hands to pounce on Huiren once again. However, before his hands could even touch Huiren, Clary and Richard rushed forward like two bolts of lightning, one on each side, and grabbed Huiren and the boy respectively.

+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King

- Mystery Tribe

Section 24, A Disappointing Ending

"Not bad!" Richard winked playfully at Clary.