Chapter 512 The Rules of Murder 1

Before our eyes, a monster that looked as if it had turned a human body inside out, covered in steaming entrails, giving off a bloody and terrifying impression, stepped out of the darkness and appeared in the distance.

This isn't the first time I've encountered this strange phenomenon. First, it happened deep inside an abandoned amusement park, then when I met up with the cartographer, and later on the way to the safe house with the cartographer and Sandalwood. This is the fourth time, and I never expected it to be able to revive and return again.

Looking at this blood-soaked alien monster, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart. Time and time again, the post-apocalyptic oddities really do bring me surprises.

Compared to me and Sandalwood, who was completely unaware of this strange mechanism, the wandering spirit reacted much more intensely. He immediately shouted, "You two... don't look at it, and don't think about it!"

Sandalwood had witnessed me kill this strange creature before, and since he probably thought it posed no threat, he asked, "Uh...why?"

"Because this anomaly determines whether it possesses greater power based on whether the first eyewitness finds it terrifying," I said. "Don't worry, it's coming for me; I don't find it terrifying."

The wandering spirit immediately understood my implication. "Wait... you mean you've seen it before and even destroyed it once? That's why it's chasing after you?"

"But... this anomaly should randomly attack its target several to a dozen times a day, and I've never seen it among the anomalies that attacked before..."

It seems the wandering spirit is quite familiar with this strange mechanism.

“I know this monster has an unusually powerful immortality. I tried to kill it using the same methods I use to deal with other immortal monsters, but it seems my methods have had little effect.”

As I spoke, I fired a fire bullet, breaking the leg of the monster opposite me. Then I continued to ask the ghost, "You seem to know a lot about this monster. So what are your thoughts on how to kill it?"

"...Although I don't know exactly what method you used to defeat it last time, as long as the main goal is 'killing,' it's impossible to be effective against this monster."

The wandering spirit seemed to gather its thoughts slightly before answering me: "Because this anomaly isn't really a life form... Essentially, it's one of the countless 'murderous rules' that emerged on the land after the apocalypse, and the bloodied monster that appears before us is a derivative of those rules, something akin to a natural phenomenon."

"Rules?" Sandalwood was shocked. "You mean... this thing is essentially the same as heat not spontaneously transferring from a low temperature area to a high temperature area, and the principle that action and reaction forces are equal... it's something on the same level as those physical laws?"

Upon hearing this, Youhun seemed to think for a moment. Just when I thought Youhun was about to point out the difference between the two, he unexpectedly nodded very seriously and said, "That's right."

Sandalwood stared in disbelief, muttering to itself, "Is...is this reasonable?"

No wonder I couldn't kill that monster with my murderous attack last time; it's impossible for me to kill an object that doesn't even have the concept of "life and death."

However, strictly speaking, my last attack may not have been entirely ineffective.

Absolute power can overwhelm everything, even distorting the principles of the world, including the laws of physics. Because the other party is not a living being, but rather a physical law and phenomenon, it cannot be killed—this seemingly obvious common sense cannot be fully applied to the realm of impermanence.

Of course, just as there are no absolute rules in this world, there are no absolute forces either. Even the power of the Great Impermanence is insufficient to be called "absolute." Therefore, even if a Great Impermanence were to violently intervene in the physical laws related to "wind," it would be impossible to make all the winds in the world disappear forever.

At most, it can only temporarily halt certain physical laws within a certain radius centered on itself, making that area calm and still. Because in the apocalyptic era, the Great Impermanence (a powerful force) has extremely difficulty perceiving abstract realms, the effects it can achieve are even more limited.

The effect I achieved last time was essentially the same. The murderous attack landed on this monster, and although it didn't completely eradicate it, it significantly delayed the time it would reappear in my area.

"This thing that's so easy to take down... is it really that powerful?" Sandalwood still seemed unable to accept it.

"It has nothing to do with whether it is powerful or not; it's a matter of structure."

The wandering spirit first responded to the sandalwood incense, then turned to me and said, "It's good that you're not afraid of this strange creature. Let's not waste any more energy on it."

"Your fire power is indeed remarkable, but there are limits to what pure power can do. Even gods and humans have their limitations, let alone us mortals."

At this point, Sandalwood seemed to have lost the strength to refute, and simply looked at the strange creature whose lower limbs had been shot off and which was struggling on the ground with a skeptical gaze.

But hearing what the wandering spirit said only fueled my desire to challenge, making me focus all my attention on the root of the problem.

To be able to enter a level equal to the laws of physics, and even to transform oneself into a rule of killing, is something even the Great Impermanence cannot do.

I don't believe the other side is more powerful than the Great Impermanence. As the wandering spirit said, it's a matter of design. To give an example, even the most advanced submersibles built by humans can only dive to the ultra-deep abyss at depths of tens of thousands of meters, withstanding pressures exceeding a thousand atmospheres. And even in such a deep-sea hell, traces of invertebrate deep-sea creatures can still be found.

In terms of physical strength alone, any ordinary person could easily kill a swarm of these animals, yet they can continue to descend to depths that even the most advanced human technology struggles to reach. This apocalyptic anomaly exhibits a similar characteristic: it was born in a realm that humans cannot reach even with their utmost efforts.

but……

“You say that neither humans nor gods can destroy it, but I doubt it,” I said.

The wandering spirit paused slightly, then said, "Indeed, I have never seen a god personally take action, and I don't know the extent to which a god can achieve... But what does this have to do with you? What do you intend to do?"

"Of course, we must eliminate this monster."

I had already figured out the specific steps, and then I moved one of the fireballs that was hovering around us providing illumination. While holding this fireball, I began to continuously pour my spiritual energy into it.

As fuel was added, the orange-red fireball burned ever brighter, but I forcibly confined it within a frame the size of a soccer ball. Meanwhile, the fireball's magical energy fluctuations steadily increased, significantly impacting the wandering spirit's state.

Excessively powerful magical fluctuations can cause discomfort to nearby demon hunters. When Chenlong first appeared, his storm-like magical fluctuations caused Mazao, who was still suffering from severe soul injuries at the time, to become dizzy and unable to even walk normally. If Mazao, who was essentially at the Great Perfection level, experienced this, it would only be more uncomfortable for demon hunters of lower levels.

In extreme cases, a master-level demon hunter can even render a lower-level demon hunter unconscious simply by using mana fluctuations without lifting a finger. While I myself do not emit mana fluctuations, the flames I summon do. Therefore, if I am not careful when using my power, I might cause characters below the master level to suffer both physical and spiritual suffocation. Over time, this could easily lead to their soul decay and death.

At this moment, I was able to loosen my grip a little. The wandering soul clearly sensed the magical fluctuations emanating from the fireball, and its face immediately turned deathly pale. Cold sweat broke out all over its body, its legs went weak, and it involuntarily collapsed to the ground.

He opened his mouth wide, as if trying to breathe, but like a deep-sea fish thrown onto land, he was about to suffocate. Meanwhile, Tanxiang, an ordinary person unable to sense any magical fluctuations, looked utterly astonished, as if unaware of what had happened.

To be honest, it's hard for me to say I didn't have a mischievous thought at all. Because the Ghost underestimated my strength, I couldn't help but want to show off my childishness. Also, his previous statement about me staying away from Kobo probably reflected many people's past opinions of Asahi, so this was also a small act of revenge for myself and Asahi. I can be quite petty sometimes.

However, I didn't really intend to harm the wandering spirit. After the mana fluctuations reached a certain level, I quickly poured more fuel into it. Then, the mana fluctuations seemed to break through a certain limit, and the wandering spirit seemed to feel lighter all over, able to breathe normally again, as if it had become like sandalwood, suddenly unable to sense the mana fluctuations of the fireball.

The wandering spirit gasped for breath, then looked at me in shock, as if realizing something: "This...this phenomenon is..."

The grotesque, blood-red creature opposite me twisted and struggled, crawling forward on the ground towards me. I took a deep breath, silently preparing myself, and then, as if casually tossing a volleyball, threw the fireball in my hand, which radiated magical energy from another dimension, at it.

After tracing an arc, the fireball struck the strange creature squarely in the back.

Then, as if falling into a pool of gasoline, the fireball exploded and ignited on the mangled, alien monster. Before it could even struggle, the creature was reduced to ashes in an instant, like cotton touching a flame.

(End of this chapter)