Chapter 62: The Devil’s Sacrifice (12)
Yu Jiao was splattered with the blood of the fallen creature, the dark red liquid dripping down her face, outlining a cold, rich, and beautiful visage.
She sat on the ground, her snow-white clothes stained with dirty blood and slime. Her glistening grey, cat-like eyes were clear in the sunlight, her black hair loose, and, because of the clotted blood, it was stuck to the side of her face.
She sat on the ground, amidst a pile of dead bodies, her head held high, like a bewildered elf.
“No…”
Jiao Baishuang murmured. She was as if woken from a dream, trembling slightly, her eyes gradually filling with tears, as clear as a mirror, as if she were seeing another person through Yu Jiao.
“You… are not my sister!”
Jiao Baishuang picked up her long knife and, while crying, pointed it at her. “Who are you!? Why do you look exactly like my sister…”
Her breath caught.
The moment she had heard Jiao Baishuang call her “sister,” she had understood, and a thousand thoughts had flashed through her mind.
All the strange things were now explained…
Yuan Cang’s interest in her from their first meeting.
Helan Duo’s repeated, unprovoked help.
Nie Hongshen’s occasional, distant gaze when he looked at her.
Even what Fu Sheng had pointed out long ago: “…Although because of your special appearance… the sir has been in love with that person for over ten years… he is taking revenge on the Yu family because of that person…”
So there had been clues all along.
—They were all seeing another person through her.
Her gaze darkened. This is not good.
Three bastards with a white moonlight in their hearts, plus a ruthless, dead husband. The difficulty of the capture mission has just skyrocketed…
After all her painstaking efforts to raise their affection, now, she was being pointed at with a sword, and the bastards were all useless.
Helan Duo was standing on a high platform, as elegant as a pine tree and a crane. His white clothes were stained with blood, his expression composed, a sight that was both beautiful and chilling.
He was ordering people to repair the protective shield, sending people to treat the wounded, and arranging a ritual to purify the pollution. He also had to deal with the occasional sneak attack from the fallen creatures.
As the current person in charge of the Apocalypse Cult, he was so busy managing the situation that his feet never touched the ground. And for some reason, the number of fallen creatures besieging him was particularly large. He really couldn’t be in two places at once. He had sent a team of guards to find the bishop’s wife early on, but to his surprise, the team had been blocked on the way by a giant fallen creature.
Yuan Cang had thrown off his shiny, cumbersome uniform and was now fighting this giant insect.
His body was agile and handsome as he leaped around, his fluffy long hair flying like a lion. He grabbed the giant insect’s antennae, a look of excitement in his eyes. He was clearly in the heat of battle.
The insect was being beaten until it saw stars, its legs flailing. The guards below were trying their best to get out of the way.
And in a quiet corner, Nie Hongshen, who was unable to walk, was now being carefully protected by his personal bodyguards.
He was sitting in his wheelchair, his chin on his hand, like a deep, ancient scroll. His hawk eyes were coldly sweeping over the various faces in the chaotic scene, like a venomous snake, waiting for an opportunity—a vicious politician like him would definitely take this great opportunity to get rid of a few political enemies.
He noticed the confrontation between her and Jiao Baishuang. He paused slightly, then closed his eyes. A pair of long, thin, transparent, strange antennae extended from his temples.
“…”
At the same time.
Fu Sheng was frantically looking for someone. Suddenly, a dark, ghostly purple light leaked from the gap in her closed mechanical eyes. She suddenly turned her head and accurately caught her figure in the chaos.
***
Jiao Baishuang closed her eyes, as if she were in a deep, painful struggle. She took a deep breath and let out a low roar, like a young beast that had lost its parents.
Then she suddenly opened her eyes and pointed her knife at her.
At this moment, Fu Sheng finally arrived at her side, helped her up, and then stood in front of the blade, questioning her sharply, “What are you doing, Second Miss Jiao? Are you trying to break with our Apocalypse Cult?”
Jiao Baishuang’s expression was cold and fierce. A golden-red, cold light flashed, and the blade of the knife slashed towards her.
Seeing this, Madam Jiao cried out anxiously, “Baishuang, no! She’s your sis—”
It was already too late. Just at this critical moment, she saw Jiao Baishuang throw the knife.
With a squish! The sharp blade broke through flesh.
Then, the muffled sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.
She turned her head and saw a fish-like fallen creature lying behind her, the golden-red long knife stuck in its forehead.
—Jiao Baishuang had thrown the knife and shot down the fallen creature that had been waiting for an opportunity to ambush her.
Jiao Baishuang’s eyes were red as she glared at Fu Sheng. “I didn’t want to kill her in the first place. It’s not because I’m afraid of your threats—I just want to be an enemy of your cult!”
After her harsh words, she glanced at her darkly, turned her head with a sob, and asked Madam Jiao with a thick, crying voice, “Mom, what did you just say? Who is she?”
Madam Jiao had just arrived and poked her head fiercely with her finger.
“She’s your sister’s friend!”
She climbed up from the ground, stunned. Jiao Hongyue was twenty-six when she died eleven years ago, and the original owner was only ten. How could they be friends?
But Madam Jiao had no intention of saying more. She just put the gun in her hand, her soft hand tightly wrapped around hers, looking precious.
“Keep it for self-defense.”
It was a small, silver mechanical gun. The energy stone inlaid on it was glowing with a bright red light, extremely beautiful.
She gripped the gun tightly and was about to thank her when she suddenly heard someone cry out in the distance:
“The Resistance!”
Following the direction he was pointing, she saw a tall figure standing outside the glass cover. From his build, he was a tall, burly man.
His entire body was wrapped in black cloth and armor, and even his face was covered by a mask and a hood. His cape was flapping in the wind.
Like a vengeful ghost, come to claim a life in broad daylight.
“This guy is the leader of the Resistance—codename Chow Chow!”
“I knew the protective shield wouldn’t break for no reason. So it was them!”
Someone spat.
“Where are the National Defense Forces!? Hurry up and take him down!”
She had also heard of this Resistance.
They were called heretics by the followers of the Apocalypse Cult. Eleven years ago, they had suddenly risen, led by this Chow Chow, and had committed a series of evil deeds.
Stealing supplies, bombing banks, assassinating officials. They had done it all.
To oppose the Divine Kingdom, they, who had no faith, had even deliberately taken on a notorious name that corresponded to the Apocalypse Cult and challenged the bottom line of the Divine Kingdom—
The God-Slaying Cult.
At this moment, this leader of the Resistance was walking leisurely on the protective shield, as if he were walking on flat ground. The metal on his short boots was clanking against the protective shield.
Soon, he had walked to the hole in the glass cover. He lowered his head slightly and looked down. The mask was in the style of the “Saintess’s Half-Happy, Half-Sad Portrait,” but it was carved to be twisted and evil. At this moment, he was looking down at the people inside the protective shield from a superior height, compassionate and cold.
He stepped down and, without mercy, crushed the temporary protective shield that had been urgently repaired. The cracks spread like a spiderweb.
The transparent protective shield fell, along with the piece he was stepping on. But he was standing in the air, the tattered end of his cape flying, like the wings of a ghostly butterfly.
Amidst the cries of alarm, he nonchalantly raised his mechanically constructed hand and, as if giving a command, lightly tapped.
In an instant, countless fallen creatures leaped out from the grey sand and the black sea, like a black rain, covering the sky and the sun. Their eyes were blood red. They didn’t even look at him, but brushed past him and, in droves, entered the hole and began to hunt.
They pounced on these upper-class people, who were adorned with jewels and well-fed.
…
The man who had brought the disaster leaped down from the top.
He was strolling, passing the people who were being killed by the fallen creatures.
The sound of hissing, roaring, screaming, and wailing… all intertwined into a tragic symphony. The tall man was as if stepping on a drumbeat, his robes swaying. He was walking straight towards her, as if he were about to invite her to a dance.
She was being protected by Fu Sheng, fleeing with the Jiao family.
The leader of the Resistance, codenamed Chow Chow, was trailing behind them, like a hunter, unhurriedly pursuing his prey. With a wave of his hand, Fu Sheng and Jiao Baishuang were sent flying over ten meters by an invisible force, unable to get up for a long time.
Then, he teleported close to her, grabbed her with a long arm, and, ignoring her resistance, threw her over his shoulder. His strong arm was on her waist, and his broad, hard shoulder was on her stomach. Like he was treating a piece of cargo.
“Let her go!”
Madam Jiao was holding a mechanical gun, her face cold as she aimed at him.
The man didn’t look back, just snorted. “You’re overestimating yourself.”
It was a thick, hoarse voice, distorted by a voice changer.
He extended his hand and slowly made a fist. At the same time, the gun in her hand made a grating, creaking sound, and in a flash, it became a pile of scrap metal.
Seeing that he was about to turn his attention to her, she struggled angrily and fiercely pounded his broad back. “Don’t hurt her!”
The man slapped her on the backside. “Behave.”
“…”
He had no sense of propriety. Her backside was burning with pain, and her face was also burning with shame and anger.
“Sir, please let go of our bishop’s wife.”
On the high platform, Helan Duo’s eyes were dark, his voice cold.
Hearing this, he raised his voice. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was disrespectful to the Madam.”
After his sarcastic apology, he once again placed his large hand on the bishop’s wife’s honorable jade backside.
“Then… should I rub it for the Madam?”
As his words fell, he shot a provocative glance at him and, very slowly, rubbed her twice.
“…”
Helan Duo was as cold as ice.
His long hair fell, strand by strand, and, without any wind, it moved as if it were alive, forming sharp, blade-like fins and strangely swaying scale-spines. Then, snow-white scales, inch by inch, covered his bare skin.
The fins and scales were shining with a steel-like, silver-grey luster, and the joints would occasionally flash with a glistening green light, like a beautiful, biological weapon.
“Lord Helan, is… is he aberrated?” someone said in horror.
“It’s over, it’s over! Even the only priest who can purify pollution has aberrated—we’re done for!”
He lifted his expressionless face, and his pale green pupils suddenly faded, congealing…
Snow-white, beast-like pupils were fixed on the uninvited guest.
He leaped down from the high platform, like an arrow, and sharp fins grew out from all over his body, tearing through his clothes. A long, thin, white bone tail quickly grew out and, with a swift swing, it went straight for his life.
The latter was carrying her and couldn’t dodge in time. A deep wound was cut in his chest by the bone spur on the tail.
As he dodged one attack after another, he covered his mouth and nose with his collar. The next moment, he heard a few “bangs”—
The dozens of small statues scattered around suddenly exploded. The flying white powder was like magnetic sand, and it all flew towards the “aberrated” him, wrapping him in layers.
His figure froze. The skin and scales that were in contact with the powder were smoking. He frowned, and the fins and scales on his body all exploded, as if he were in extreme pain.
The plan had succeeded. He took the opportunity to carry her and rush outside the protective shield.
Yuan Cang was completely unaware of the commotion here. He was wearing a helmet, connected to the Smart Brain, and was struggling with the locked protective door.
It was the death warrior that Yu Fenghe had assigned to her who stood out.
He had deliberately neglected his duty before, hoping that she would die at the hands of the fallen creatures. He had not expected a leader of the Resistance to suddenly appear. Seeing that she was about to be taken away, he could no longer sit still. He immediately swung his light saber, not caring about her safety at all, every sword strike aimed to kill.
But even Helan Duo could not stop this person, let alone a small death warrior.
In just two moves, he was beaten half to death. He was spitting blood and actually swung his sword and killed himself. His ferocious mechanical ears were like soft candy, and a faint black gas emerged from them, winding its way around her ankle.
She was being carried on his shoulder, as dizzy as if she were on a roller coaster, and she was completely unaware of this.
And on the other side, Yuan Cang had finally gotten the protective door open. “The door is open! Everyone, get in your cars and hide!”
He turned his head, only to find that his own side was either dead or injured, and even his unlucky little mother had been taken by the enemy.
He immediately gave chase, but before he had even left the protective shield, he was stopped by his deputy. “Sir, the pollution level outside is too high! Let’s make some preparations before we go to rescue the Madam. Besides, the Madam has a tracker on her…”
This delay, and the leader of the Resistance had already disappeared with his person into the grey sand.
***
The moment they were outside the protective shield, he put an old breathing filter on her face.
The smell of blood and dust that hit her face almost made her faint. She immediately wanted to pull it off, but she heard the man say coolly, “If you want to be exposed to the pollution and immediately aberrate into a stink bug or a rotten fish, then take it off.”
The distorted, thick voice of the voice changer was sarcastic.
She paused. Through the dirty protective lens, she saw the huge Tree of Life disappear before her eyes at a visible rate, replaced by a vast expanse of grey sand and black sea. From time to time, a pair of dark, inorganic eyes would emerge, staring at her, as if waiting for an opportunity.
“Madam, you have a lot more to suffer. You might as well get used to it now.”
“…”
The sharp wind was hurting her face. He was carrying her and flying through the air at high speed.
She was still being carried on his shoulder like a piece of cargo. Before her was his flapping black robe. At this moment, it was quiet, and she could clearly hear a high-frequency, faint buzzing sound, right under the cover of the black robe. Like the flapping of an insect’s wings.
She lowered her eyes. The ornament on her ear flashed a blue light, and a slightly anxious, electronic voice came:
“Madam, I am locating you. Helan and Yuan Cang are preparing to rescue you. Please be patient. You will be home soon… Be sure to stay safe.”
She suppressed the anxiety in her heart.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but in the boundless grey sand, a conspicuous grey-white spot suddenly appeared. As he approached and landed, the grey-white spot scattered into a few scattered buildings and gradually grew larger before her.
Dilapidated tall buildings, desolate steel and concrete, old, dark slogans.
—This was a small city, mostly buried in grey sand.
The plaque on the city gate was teetering:
[Divine Descent Federal Republic G893 Survivor Base]
He was carrying her and kicked open the glass window of a building. Amidst the sound of shattering glass, he carried her in and then threw her onto a dusty long table.
He rolled over and pinned down her struggling legs. He raised his hand and took off the ornament on her ear.
He held it in his hand with great interest.
“Hello—is this the Apocalypse Cult? Your cult leader’s wife, oh, no,” his strange mask was aimed at her. The saintess’s half-sad, half-happy expression was vivid, as if it were mocking her naivety.
He said:
“Your esteemed sacrifice, Madam, I’ll be taking her.”
With that, he ruthlessly crushed the carrier of eleven.
The earring fell to the ground with a barely audible sound.
“Let me see—”
He was straddling her, and he raised the instrument in his hand. A red light flashed, and it began to beep.
“There’s a little thing hidden here.”
He muttered to himself. He pressed her head with one hand, and with the other, a cold light flashed. A sharp blade emerged from his mechanical fingertip. He swiftly cut her nape and, with a brutal force, took out a small thing that was attached to her flesh.
She was in so much pain she almost fainted. She looked at the thing in his hand with blurry eyes.
It was a small, purple-glowing chip, in the shape of a crawling insect. It was stained with flesh and blood and looked disgusting and terrifying.
He once again held the small chip, which was either for listening, locating, or controlling, up to his mouth.
“The Divine Moon Moth, right? I’m so sorry. The spy you planted in the cult has been captured by me.”
He let out a soft laugh and said leisurely:
“You know what I want.”
With that, he did the same thing and crushed the small chip.
After all this was done, he looked at her, his gaze behind the mask filled with a sarcastic coldness.
“Madam.”
He leaned down, his body already tall and strong, like a small mountain. At this moment, he was extremely oppressive.
Ignoring her resistance, his cold, mechanical hand went around the side of her neck and pressed against her bleeding nape, making her shiver.
“Madam, what’s so good about the world within the earth? What’s so good about the Divine Kingdom? What’s so good about the Church? What’s so good about the Divine Moon Moth?”
He leaned down and said by her ear.
“These despicable guys are all just treating you as a substitute.”
His cold, hard, mechanical fingers ground her torn wound, entangling her never-before-exposed, delicate flesh, almost sinking deep into her skin, as if it wanted to burrow into her brain or her heart.
Pain. The pain of tearing, the pain of burning.
But because of the pain, she craved that sliver of coolness even more.
“Come—”
The voice, distorted by the voice changer, was like the roar of the abyss, thick and trembling, seductive.
“—Join me, and let’s take revenge on them.”