Chapter 73: The heroic spirit of standing firm

"You said you were just a fish, why did the little kid react so strongly?" Fan De was puzzled.

"I guess he has never been in the kitchen in his life, so he screamed when he saw a little blood." Chu Hengkong said.

"Tsk tsk tsk, the Lord of God is very clean!" Vander said sarcastically, grabbed a large piece of grilled eel with his tentacles, and sucked on it, it smelled so delicious.

The eel was so large that a single one would have been enough for the two of them to eat for three days. It was cut into several sections and stored in the church's basement, with the two of them roasting the fattest belly over a fire. Chu Hengkong carved tableware from rocks by the sea to make do with his meal, while Fander used the eel's short tentacles.

This guy didn't have a mouth on his body. The grilled eel meat was wrapped by several short tentacles and then disappeared. I don't know how it was "eaten" in some wonderful way.

Monk Bernfar sat at the table with them, not eating but silently flipping through an old canon. Fander waved his greasy tentacles and invited them, "Priest, would you like to eat fish?"

"No need." Bernfa shook his head. "I'm just like the townspeople here. I don't need to eat."

"Then you're living quite comfortably." Fander said in a gloomy tone, "Monk, have you also ended up in this damn place?"

"I came here on my own initiative," Bernfar said. "My teachings teach that servants of God should journey to places of suffering and contribute their modest efforts to save lives. Even if it's merely self-serving, being able to help a few brings me comfort."

Chu Hengkong put down his chopsticks: "Then you came to the Kingdom of God to preach."

"Preaching... that term doesn't seem quite right." Brother Bernfa clasped his hands together as if in prayer and spoke slowly. "Mr. Chu, born in the Dragon God's city, must have a thorough understanding of gods and faith. In your opinion, can a strong belief in something, or even praying for help from a distant deity, change anything in the present?"

"cannot."

"Indeed. Faith and prayer are shortcuts to soothing the soul, but to be frank, such actions are meaningless. Therefore, I have no intention of proclaiming my God to others. I simply wish to wait in peaceful silence. When those seeking help come, I will do my best to offer my help. That is all I should do and only do."

Father Bernfa left his seat and nodded to the two men.

"It's getting late. I'm going to rest first. There are no restricted areas in this church. You two can sleep wherever you like. Besides..."

He thought for a moment, then gently reminded, "I think you two should know that night is always more dangerous than day. Please do not leave town after sunset."

Father Bernfa left. In the deserted stone church, the candlelight flickered. Chu Hengkong continued to devour his fish. Fander suddenly lost his appetite. He couldn't see through the monk at all. The townspeople at least had a rough idea of ​​him—Qi Su and Xiang Fuzi were likely Transformers, and the rest were mostly ordinary residents—but Bernfa was different. He was clearly sitting there, speaking in a normal way, yet he felt nothing, as if he had never existed.

"What do you think?" Vander couldn't help but ask.

"I can't tell his background, he's an expert." Chu Hengkong said, "Let's go out of town and take a look."

Fander nearly choked on his eel meat. "Are you listening to the experts?! The experts told you it's dangerous outside the town!"

"Is it safe in the town?" Chu Hengkong asked, "Can we trust everything Bernfa says? What about Qi Su's words?"

Fander was speechless; he understood the other party's concerns. Bernfa, Qisu, and the others didn't betray any ill will, but that didn't mean they were completely exposed either. There were many stories of knights being entertained by their fellow villagers for their bravery, but there were also many stories of them being robbed of their belongings by unscrupulous people after staying overnight...

Chu Hengkong used his tentacles to roll up a piece of raw eel and thought, "I have to see it with my own eyes and try it before I can make a judgment."

He had an idea, and began to carefully peel the eel's skin with his sword. Vander thought this made sense, but out of conscience, he still tried to persuade him: "Brother, I advise you to take it easy. You're only a particle. What if there's something really weird out there that you can't handle?"

Chu Hengkong put down his sword and looked into the eyeball sincerely.

"Vander, I was just about to tell you something," he said. "You're one hundred percent responsible for me ending up in this situation. Shouldn't you make amends and help me out?"

Fan De slapped his head and said proudly: "Of course! I, Fan De, will definitely help you!"

·

"You bastard Chu Hengkong!" Fander burst into tears. "You fucking bastard! Even if I become a demon, I won't let you go!!"

"If you are in danger, I will rescue you."

"Just look at how long the rope you've twisted is!" Vander screamed, "Still trying to pull me out! I'd be dead by the time you pull me back!"

Going out on a solo expedition outside the town was too risky, so Chu Hengkong devised a compromise. He carefully peeled the skin of a large eel, cut it into long strips, and braided it into a long leather rope. The eel was 20 meters long, and its skin was very resilient. If used carefully, the entire skin could be made into a very long rope. One end of the rope was tied to Chu Hengkong's tentacle, and the other end...

It tied a knot around Vander.

To the north of the town lay a mountain wall, and to the southeast lay the sea. Chu Hengkong headed west until he reached the stone wall the townspeople used as a border. The wall was dotted with yellow lights. Beyond the wall lay a plain covered with tall grass, and in the distance, the high slopes leading to the mountains could be vaguely seen. He gazed for a moment, determined his bearing, and picked up the Vander Ball with one hand.

"What are you going to do, little bastard, what do you want to do."

"Fander, get ready." Chu Hengkong grabbed the end of the rope and spun it around and around like a lasso. "Let's go!"

Chu Hengkong threw the ball with all his might, causing Fan De to fly into the dark field like a baseball!

"I&*%￥#——"

Vander drew a long trail in the air, its screams growing farther and farther away, until they were almost inaudible. When it landed, it slammed down three times. The first thing it did when it got up was to throw its head back and spit out a series of different curses for a full half minute.

After cursing, it cautiously tugged at the rope, and soon felt a faint pull from behind. Vander felt a little relieved, confirming that the bastard could at least feel it, and then he gave up and looked around.

In the dark night, the long grass swayed in the wind, like tall, thin ghostly figures. Finder shuddered. This place was eerily quiet; no small animals, insects, or birds chirped. He used his tentacles to dig up the dirt beneath the grass, but found no insect remains or anything resembling excrement. He couldn't even smell a foul odor. This place felt like a silent, dead place.

"What a hell of a place..."

Finder grew even more uneasy. He first looked up at the night sky. There was no dark moon in the sky, which was the best news, indicating that this place was not under the shadow of the First Abyss. But there was almost no starlight. Only a mischievous meteor streaked around in the far east, and another star in the far west, hidden in the deep darkness, occasionally and irregularly emitted a dazzling light.

Misty and Residual Heart. The stars representing the two "masters of destiny" are not only present but also bright, indicating that this place has a difficult fate and an unpredictable future.

Damn it, Vander thought. It was even more confused because it didn't see the other star it should have seen. But now was not the time to worry about the sky. If it explored a little more, it would ask the killer to take it back. Vander lowered his head. A dark shadow like an iron tower stood in the night.

…

Weird. Was that thing there before?

Finder felt himself dazed and rubbed his eyes. This time he could see more clearly. It was a tall and burly iron figure, like a giant bronze statue specially made for a celebration. The statue was tall, but not as tall as the centipede from before.

…

It was clearer now. It was about 20 meters tall, with legs like goalposts and iron arms crossed in front of its chest. It had no head, but a face embedded in its chest. The expression on that face was...

…

It was a crying face. Silver tears flowed from the corners of the eyes and rolled down the face. Finder saw clearly that the face was not far away...???

Fander's body went cold. It had only taken a single glance! A single glance shouldn't have allowed for this kind of gradual observation! But the Iron Giant was becoming increasingly clear, as the distance between them was shrinking...

…

Shortened. From thousands of meters to hundreds of meters... no, tens of meters!

Only then did Vander realize that the rope around his waist was shaking constantly, and the friction marks on the Iron Giant's hands were clearly visible. The Iron Giant's huge hand was grabbing him!

Fander desperately pulled the rope and ran away. He didn't dare to look back and waste even a little time, but if he turned back...

…

Only after turning back did it realize the horror of that thing. Its presence cast a dark shadow as dark as night, and that shadow covered the entire area in front without any warning, pressing down from above like a mountain.

They were almost face to face, and Finder could feel the presence of the giant iron hand behind him! He desperately lunged forward, and at the same time, the iron giant's huge palm pressed down!

The Iron Giant raised his palm, unaware of the strange creature. He "looked" at the stone town in the distance.

At the last moment, an incredible pulling force was felt on the leather rope, and Chu Hengkong pulled Fander back as fast as he could. They immediately returned to the town, and Fander trembled for nearly a minute.

"What... have you been doing so far..."

"You were in a daze for about twenty seconds," Chu Hengkong said. "I thought you were trying to show off your skills, but then I realized you were the one who got tricked."

Fander said nothing. Chu Hengkong tugged at him and asked, "Are you still breathing?"

"I gained a lot." Vander's eyes were pale. "I don't want to use it again next time."

Chu Hengkong laughed. He looked out over the wall and saw the giant still standing in the night. Its weeping face looked at the town, as if hesitating whether to move forward.

At that moment, a short staff pointed toward the stone wall. A yellow light flickered from its tip, forming the abstract Chinese character "日." The Chinese character merged with the wall, and the lights on the stone wall suddenly grew brighter, as luminous as sunlight. The giant, as if in fear, turned away and gradually retreated into the night.

Qi Su retracted his short staff, put one hand on his waist, and poked the limp Fander with the tip of the staff: "Don't you squids understand what I'm saying? I told you it's dangerous at night, so don't go out!"

"My lady, please understand. It was this barbarian who harmed me." Fan De said sadly.

Qi Su stood on tiptoe, wanting to hit Chu Hengkong on the head with his cane, but because he wasn't tall enough, he could only hit him on the shoulder in frustration: "You too! Learn this lesson, I won't care next time!"

"Okay." Chu Hengkong followed the angry Qi Su back to the town.

The first day after the summoning accident ended with another setback.

(End of this chapter)