Chapter 157: This power that I cannot control
Chu Hengkong touched his "wound," still trembling with fear as he felt the tentacles detach from his body and fall to the ground. But a second later, he could no longer recall the feeling of being cut. Another half second later, and even the miraculous swordsmanship was about to disappear.
When he looked up, the memory of being beheaded had almost disappeared, leaving only a faint impression of having been beheaded.
"How does this work?"
"Didn't I tell you, Man in the Mist?" Chongming laughed. "I, and most of the members of the institute, are people who have participated in the war. Just like the Battle of Heavenly Prison, we are people whose existence cannot be proven."
"Many of us are long dead, having awakened with the resurrection of the evil god. Those who are lucky enough to still be alive are merely projections of our past selves," Frog-face added with a grin. "How can a fog that both exists and doesn't exist affect real people?"
"The attack caused will be erased..." Mohawk flexed his biceps.
"The knowledge conveyed will be forgotten..." the hooded woman added grimly.
They stood behind Chongming, their heads held high and their chests puffed out as they said, "The only thing we can do is to cheer you up!"
"Then it's completely useless!" Vander couldn't help but say.
"Young man, don't be so blunt..." "We also fought bravely on the battlefield back then..." "Although we never encountered Vansalar until our death..."
The researchers squatted in a corner, muttering negatively. Chongming kicked them out of the room and picked up his knife.
"That's exactly what's going on! We can't rely on the veterans anymore. Whether we can defeat the evil god depends entirely on you newbies." He tossed over a bunch of keys. "Go straight to the guest room and turn left. I'll tell you about the next arrangements tomorrow morning. Enjoy your sleep while you still have time."
Chu Hengkong was still standing there, stroking his tentacles in a daze. He suddenly turned around and stared at Chongming who was about to leave.
“The core is the time to exert force.”
"Oh?" Chongming turned his head.
"Your strike was too fast, but the force you used was minimal. With that fast blade speed, if you had used even a little bit of force, it wouldn't just be my left arm that would be severed." Chu Hengkong said intently, "So you were powerless when you struck... The only time you exerted force was when you 'drew the sword,' and that strike was your sword-drawing technique. Because the force you injected into it was minimal, you could only swing it in a split second to kill, and that's why you closed the distance between us face to face. If the distance between you and the sword had been even an inch longer, the instantaneous force would have vanished, and the lethal sword would have become a powerless swing in vain."
Chongming squinted at him. Chu Hengkong racked his brains, trying to dig out the erased memories. "But simply controlling the timing isn't enough... You also need a point of force that only lasts for a moment... Is it the fingertips?"
"Wrong." Chongming said lazily, "——"
I didn't hear it, and I wasn't aware of the content of the conversation, but I could understand its existence. The man in sunglasses tapped the scabbard, a hint of helplessness in his smile.
"I've already explained the key points of this knife. Do you understand?" Chongming shrugged. "There's nothing I can do."
"Kill me again!" Chu Hengkong said anxiously, "If you do it again—"
"It'll be the same a few more times. Don't be so arrogant as to challenge the rules of the world." Chongming tapped his shoulder with his scabbard. "Think about yourself before delving into technology. You're in such a bad state that it makes me laugh."
"You're right. Your life is in your own hands. If you don't want to die too early, don't overestimate your abilities."
Chongming walked out of the reception room, carrying his sword, and ignored the newlyweds. Chu Hengkong stood still, still trying to imitate his previous strike. He stubbornly tried dozens of times before regretfully letting go.
"After following you for so long, I finally see you suffer a major defeat, buddy." Vander said, "You lost miserably in terms of technique."
"His knife skills are terrifying." The killer smiled bitterly, "That is the most terrifying knife I have ever seen in my life."
Ji Huaisu was confused: "His attitude is quite good..."
"It's not personality, it's swordsmanship." Chu Hengkong shook his head. "Think about it, with such extreme swordsmanship, what would happen if the sword missed once?"
"It's just ordinary and has no effect." Ji Huaisu thought for a moment, "Because the force used up when drawing the sword, it will become a sword that poses no threat at all."
"To swing a useless sword on the battlefield means death. He draws his sword with the premise that every strike must be successful. Every strike is decisive, either the enemy dies or we die," Chu Hengkong said. "When fighting with this kind of swordsmanship, every minute and every second is like the final moment in our life-or-death struggle with a powerful enemy. It's terrifying, I really don't know a better word to use."
The final moments of a life-or-death struggle... like the final sword fight between her and Olek, like the decisive blow between Chu Hengkong and Shax. If every move in every battle were carried out with such intensity, if one were to constantly maintain that incredible state, then it would be like constantly struggling on the brink of death...
The more Ji Huaisu thought about it, the colder he felt: "Wow, are the remnants of war so full of martial virtue?"
"After all, they are the Zanxin school, which is more cruel to themselves than to their enemies. They are the only one in the Shendong world." Fander said listlessly, "Go to sleep, brothers. Tomorrow's suffering will have to wait until tomorrow. I really need to rest today."
Finder huddled in his coat pocket. He hadn't been very energetic since arriving in the Despair Wilderness, always looking like he was about to fall asleep. The other two were equally exhausted. The sleep they'd experienced during the journey hadn't brought much healing, but had instead made them even more drowsy.
Following Chongming's instructions, they found the guest room, which was actually just a small room with a few quilts spread out in a haphazard manner on the floor. Sweat and blood seeped into them, making it emit a stench that was somewhere between damp and rotten.
"Do you mind sleeping on a water bed?" Ji Huaisu said.
"As you please."
Ji Huaisu pushed the dirty bedding aside and made two beds out of sand. She shaped the warm water into a blue jelly-like mattress and quilt.
"You are now a living elemental mage."
"If I wasn't worried about causing trouble, I would have decorated this place with bright lights long ago." Ji Huaisu made a face. "Can you still hold on?"
"I'll keep watch for half the night, you go to sleep first."
Ji Huaisu slid into the water quilt, closed her eyes, and fell asleep. In the space of a few words, Fan De had already fallen asleep. Chu Hengkong stuffed it into the small sleeping bag and sat on the water bed himself. Ji Huaisu's elemental skills were indeed excellent. She wrapped the water flow in a colloidal "shell", and lying in it was as warm as a hot water bottle. But Chu Hengkong sat alone on the bed, exhausted both physically and mentally, but unable to sleep at all.
His heart was restless, a heavy feeling of oppression like a huge rock pressing down on his chest, indescribable, and the awful surroundings only exacerbated the feeling. This place was permeated with a chill, an all-pervasive chill that seeped from the air into the very core of the earth, making every step feel like a world of ice and snow. More than bedding, they needed light and fire to dispel the chill. But in this despairing wilderness, those who ignited the light would inevitably face trials. He couldn't gamble his safety with a mere night's warmth.
I don't know where the other guys who came to the Despair Wilderness have gone. When we meet again, some of them may have been dead...
The situation was currently murky. Chongming had said that if they wanted to leave, they had to defeat Fansalar, but it wasn't clear there weren't other ways out. Chu Hengkong knew full well that his ultimate goal was to return to Huilong City, not to play the hero on the ancient battlefield. There was no point in confronting the evil god if he could just run. After all, this unexpected journey was his fault, and he had to bring Ji Huaisu back unharmed...
The killer chuckled silently at this thought. Subconsciously, he'd once again placed his partner in a position of needing protection, but Ji Huaisu was now far more formidable than he was. The problem that had plagued his partner for years had been resolved, but his own predicament remained unresolved. He still couldn't control the Immortal Machine, and the risk of it going berserk remained.
Silently, the Steelworm appeared in his field of vision, instilling a chilling murderous intent in him. After his previous rampage, the influence of the Immortal Machine had become even more intense. His previous provocation of Chongming was not simply driven by an impulse to challenge a powerful opponent, but also because his murderous intent was almost uncontrollable.
It was only a matter of time before the next rampage came, and by then no passing Centaur girl would be kind enough to save him.
“…”
Chu Hengkong put away his inexplicable thoughts and prepared to spend the first half of his vigil mastering his swordsmanship. But then, a shudder trembled throughout his body, and his right hand involuntarily clutched his chest. The tightness in his chest suddenly intensified, and an inexplicable vibration emanated from deep within his body, like a raging fire igniting his blood and bones. His heart began to beat wildly, with such force that it threatened to burst through his chest!
It was that blood! The blood Qingxia had used to save him! The blood of the outsider dominated his heart, raging as if he were battling a powerful enemy. The fighting spirit from afar was carried into his body by an invisible thread, and Chu Hengkong instinctively guessed what was happening. At this moment, Qingxia was fighting someone, and her blood was like an invisible thread, synchronizing the fighting spirit of the original body.
His vision trembled violently, his heartbeat pounded like thunder, and blood pooled in his head, casting a dark shadow over the world he saw. He wanted to roar, but couldn't. He wanted to fight, but couldn't. The conflicting wills clashed within his mind, and Chu Hengkong felt as if he were being torn in two.
He leaned against the metal wall, trying to calm himself. But then the knight's golden hair came into view, and his inexplicable urge surged several times over. Kill her. Eat her. Possess her. Humiliate her. Unexplained hostility, inexplicable malice, and a perverse desire multiplied. The woman's shrill laughter clamored like the fluttering wings of a swarm of insects.
Chu Hengkong reached forward involuntarily. He wrapped his remaining tentacles tightly around her wrist. He bit down on her arm, teeth piercing the flesh and tearing the blood-red thread. But his body wouldn't obey. When he came to, he was standing by her bed. His hand reached out. He couldn't control it. He was about to—
"—It's okay, Sora."
Suddenly, he was engulfed in a soft embrace. The blonde girl hugged him without hesitation. A thin layer of ice formed on his back, a spell to exorcise evil spirits etched on it, transforming into a chill that rushed into his heart.
"I……"
He struggled to move, but no words came out. The sound that came out of his mouth was like the roar of a wild animal. Ji Huaisu was unmoved, but just hugged him tighter and huddled up in the quilt with him.
"You won't be cold if we sleep together." The girl said softly.
His heartbeat gradually calmed, and his consciousness faded. His memories sank into darkness, and he slowly closed his eyes, falling asleep in a soft, gentle embrace.
(End of this chapter)
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