Chapter 36: Heartworm Poison
Chu Hengkong shed his coat and leaped into the forest like a nimble black falcon. The noise of the crowd behind him faded, and even the wind turned the same emerald green as the trees at the breakneck speed. He gently grasped the perception pendant and felt a deep, malicious gaze emanating from the faces of the torch corpses, like a vulture pecking at a corpse.
The leaves in the forest flew all over the place, the pile of corpses waved their fists, and the mud on its body exploded like a bomb. Countless relics and weapons flew up due to the momentum and turned into a rain of blades.
Chu Hengkong's footsteps never stopped. He rushed through the flashing swords and sabers, like a sharp arrow piercing a torrential rain of weapons! His arms swung as he ran, drawing graceful paths. Long weapons were deflected by the lashing blows of his tentacles, and short weapons were blown away by the gusts of wind from his fists. Silently, an invisible circle appeared, formless and intangible, yet insurmountable. No weapon could penetrate more than three inches around Chu Hengkong.
Longxiang Fist: Wind Hand. A self-defense technique born from continuous strikes, it shields against stray arrows and swords like a whirlwind. Chu Hengkong waited for the onslaught to slow, raising his hand and grabbing a long black staff amidst the hail of weapons. He swung the staff to clear the path ahead, accelerating out of the rain and plunging into the forest.
The downed weapons sank into the swamp, their tips still stained with light mud, causing spots of light to float behind Chu Hengkong like duckweed. Forty seconds passed, and the distance between the two sides closed to a hundred meters. The pile of torch corpses seemed to realize the futility of long-range tactics. From its enormous mouth, it let out an eerie whistling sound, heavy yet penetrating, like striking a rusty bronze bell.
A glowing, dry hand suddenly rose from the mud and grabbed Chu Hengkong's ankle!
The shiny club's head crashed into the palm of his hand, its withered hand annihilated by the brutal thrust. The force of the blow was so astonishing that it ripped the glowing corpse from its hiding place underground. Chu Hengkong swung his club and brought it down, striking the corpse unconscious with precise force. A brilliant light shone behind him. He took a step forward to avoid the blow as he swung the club, then pulled back with one arm, bringing the club's handle straight back. The club's handle struck the glowing corpse like a battering ram, sending the second attacker flying backwards and landing like a rag on the treetops.
Chu Hengkong sheathed his staff to protect himself, creating ripples in the mud. The glowing corpses lurking beneath the mud leaped up one after another, launching suicidal attacks with the will to destroy them all. However, all of these attacks missed Chu Hengkong. He swung his long staff, creating an arc brighter than even the Wind Hand. Even if the glowing corpses came close, they would be blown down by the strong wind, let alone break into it.
Chu Hengkong easily broke through the encirclement, his nimble figure heading straight for the pile of corpses. Adari could observe the battlefield and control numerous glowing corpses. Given that relics have a limited range of action, he was likely hiding within the pile. This person was a "cornerstone" who relied on relics to combat the environment. The longer the fight went on, the more likely they would fall into traps. Now was the time to use the strong against the weak, uncover his true form, and defeat him in one fell swoop!
Seeing their encirclement tactics were futile, the pile of torch corpses raised its giant hand and slammed down hard. Chu Hengkong tapped the mud with the tip of his staff to gain momentum and leaped upwards. He dodged the giant hand's blow and landed on the back of the corpses' hand. He raced up the giant's arm, his tentacles contracting as he ran, gathering strength, and thrust a silver spear at the ugly giant's face!
The silver spear struck from the side, its concentrated force at the tip exploding, creating a massive hole through the pile of corpses. The blow nearly cleaved the torch-like pile in two, sending clouds of mud engulfing the light spots flying. However, at the same moment, a deep purple shadow darted past the silver light. Its speed was so extreme that it seemed like a fleeting illusion. In an instant, it reached Chu Hengkong and stabbed him straight in the heart!
It was a hand knife formed by five fingers joined together, its deep purple flesh possessing a sharpness many times greater than that of metal. It arrived with the swiftness of the wind, barely scraping his clothes. Chu Hengkong simultaneously fell backward, dodging with a single-handed back bridge. His body pivoted ninety degrees, his toes raised dangerously like a scorpion's tail... stabbing the purple shadow's back! A perfect fusion of evasion and counterattack—the very kicking technique from the Three Thousand Forms: the Tail Needle Kick!
Ziying raised his forearm in defense, and when the kick struck, his arm clanged with a sound like metal clashing. Chu Hengkong felt a subtle pain in his leg. The enemy's flesh was incredibly strong, comparable to the armor of a tank from the feel. A strong attack was unwise.
After one strike, Chu Hengkong made his judgment. In a flash, his tentacles retracted. Chu Hengkong spun to strike with his tentacles, while Ziying countered with a skilled upper kick. His leg joints curved like an insect's, giving him immense explosive power. The blows were evenly matched, and the aftermath sent the surrounding mud flying.
After a round of fighting, both men retreated, their gazes fixed on each other with utter concentration. Ziying's demeanor was as calm as a swamp lord. "You've managed to evade my clutches—you're incredibly lucky." Chu Hengkong aimed his club at the alien foe's forehead. "As expected," he narrowed his eyes.
The purple shadow's true form was a gloomy, hairless man wearing a white robe resembling a cassock, but with deformed lower limbs and dark purple skin. This strange, demonic creature was none other than the great wizard Adari!
"You're not surprised at all." Adari sneered, "It seems the Scourge Knight has noticed my abilities."
In fact, she always thought you were a weakling. Chu Hengkong swallowed the truth that was about to come out of his mouth. After all, there was no point in talking nonsense at this time.
In reality, it was just a simple judgment based on experience. In a place like the swamp, where demons and monsters roamed everywhere, a loser who could only manipulate others had no chance of becoming the leader of a faction. Even if Adari relied on external resources, he would not be an easy opponent. To deal with a sophisticated cult leader, he would have to be fully prepared.
"Hah!" Chu Hengkong suddenly exhaled and shouted, smashing his club at Adari's head. The relic club smashed into pieces on the bald head. His flesh was harder than steel. Adari's palm stretched out from the debris, and he once again used his knife-like penetrating hand. Chu Hengkong used the force of the blow to jump high, kicking Adari's door with both feet. Adari responded with a series of punches, and the two seemed evenly matched, but Chu Hengkong still had a tentacle.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the tentacles lashed out, wrapping around Adari's neck like a rope. Chu Hengkong landed with a Thousand Jin Drop, and in a flash, he was behind Adari. He discarded the broken stick, tensed his tentacle muscles, and struck Adari's head with his right palm, delivering a lethal strangulation blow with the tentacle.
Tentacles are naturally as tough as ropes, yet possess an inescapable stickiness, making them the perfect medium for strangulation. Direct attacks won't be immediately effective against an enemy as strong as steel, so change your strategy and use softness to overcome hardness. Even the strongest enemy won't survive a head twist.
Adari also realized the danger. He took a deep breath, braced his chest, and counterattacked with a hammer-like elbow strike. Once, twice, three times. After three consecutive elbow strikes, even a skilled hand would have been spewing blood from broken bones, but Chu Hengkong remained motionless. The mud beneath his feet formed a vortex-like outline, and the secret technique of the vortex transfers most of the force into the mud.
Chu Hengkong tightened his grip, and Adari's throat gurgled. A few more breaths and he'd suffocate to death... But he suddenly released the tentacles and retreated with an acrobatic backhandflip. Almost at the same time, Adari unleashed a vicious heel kick! He was just a split second away from being seriously injured.
"What's wrong, killer?" Adari made a retching sound. "We were almost there, weren't we? Why are you backing down at this moment?"
"Or..." He smiled sinisterly, "Finally even you, a fool, have noticed it?"
A subtle pain emanated from the tentacles. It came and went, irregularly, like an irritating mosquito bite. Chu Hengkong immediately pulled back when the sensation occurred, because he had felt a similar pain the last time he touched the other person's body, when he had kicked them in the first place.
This time, he was very close to the enemy, and he discovered the true nature of the sting. A black protrusion protruded from under the skin of Adari's neck. It was an insect's pincer!
Adari let out a hideous laugh. Underneath his flesh, stretched to its limit by the tentacles' strangulation, countless tiny, wriggling outlines emerged. Like ants building a nest in gravel, like earthworms traversing moist mud, countless venomous insects slithered through his flesh. This man was a veritable madman, treating his body like a nest of venomous insects. Any enemy who dared to touch him would be met with a venomous counterattack.
The stinging sensation in his tentacles and toes intensified, and Chu Hengkong's vision suddenly blurred. He immediately swallowed the antidote he'd prepared before the mission. The pill dissolved in his mouth, tasteless like water. "Much better," he told himself repeatedly. "Much better." But Adari's speed strangely increased. He stepped forward with the force of thunder, striking Chu Hengkong in the heart with the bottom of his palm.
A vicious force erupted in a fraction of a second, sending Chu Hengkong flying nearly ten meters. He barely managed to keep his footing in the mud, but his throat suddenly felt hot and he spat out a mouthful of purple blood. The wound he had been struck by was agonizingly painful, like being stung by a thousand bees.
A poisonous insect's stinger suddenly emerged from Adari's palm. He was using the poison in his body to attack. But why could he see it so clearly? Hadn't he been sent flying several meters away? It was because Adari was already in front of him. Chu Hengkong raised his arm to defend himself. Another sharp pain.
The enemy shouldn't be this fast. He's the one who's slowed down...!
"What color is the light in your eyes?" He heard the great wizard's sinister laugh.
The light was green. Emerald green, like leaves. But the leaves were a brilliant yellow, twisted like maggots in a fire. The swamp swirled slowly, and the great wizard seemed to walk sideways on the world. His vision was blurry but terrifyingly bright, and within his consciousness, his limbs melted and twisted, as if ice were flowing through his veins.
His senses were dulling, his strength rapidly draining away. A vile toxin had been injected into his bloodstream; he had been poisoned by Adari!
·
"Oh my god! Something's wrong!" Jie An stood up anxiously. "There's no reason why Chu Hengkong should be so bad in a fight... He's poisoned! Get reinforcements!"
Jie An couldn't help but be anxious. He was familiar with every medicinal herb and every creature in the swamp, and because of this, he understood the terrifying diseases and poisons lurking in the mud and dense forest. The most severe of these could reduce a ferocious beast to a maggot nest in minutes, making even the most skilled of hands unable to resist. He pounded the chair hard, signaling Ji Huaisu to attack, but she didn't move, glancing around as if she hadn't heard him.
"Don't worry about plans and face, just go quickly, girl. It will be fatal if you are late!" Jie An was almost going crazy.
"I know." Ji Huaisu said, "I'll leave it to you!"
She suddenly kicked Jie An out of the car. Before the shock in Jie An's eyes faded, they were enveloped by a searing azure glow. It was a pillar of fire erupting from the ground, like azure lava. The engulfed vehicle was completely carbonized before it could even explode. Even from five meters away, Jie An felt like he was about to be scorched by the flames.
He reached out his hand dully and felt a glowing "wall." It was Ji Huaisu's light shield. At the last moment, she threw away the shield to save her life, and placed herself in the flames.
"Ji Huaisu!!" he shouted madly.
A dark streak emerged from the blazing flames, and Jie An held his breath. He watched as a heavy, murderous giant sword slashed through the pillar of fire, and the knight holding the sword stood amidst the ashes.
Ji Huaisu looked back and saw the panic and helplessness in the man's eyes. He was clearly in his 30s, but he still looked like a powerless child. It was so pathetic. There was no way around it. Jie An was a man without fighting ability. He had no talent for combat. Being able to make food and medicine was his greatest help. But Ji Huaisu still looked at him deeply, looking at a warrior, not a cook.
"Jie An, you're also a mutator, right?" she said. "Then stand up and run forward! To your battlefield!"
Two team members rushed over and pulled Jie An up from the ground. Jie An was completely stunned, his mouth open but no words came out. Ji Huaisu shouldered the greatsword and rushed out, no longer paying attention to anyone or anything behind her. She couldn't afford to be distracted any longer. Even a moment of delay would mean everyone's death.
In the distance, a dark blue fireball flew towards the dense forest, about to fall in the direction where Chu Hengkong was fighting. She threw her giant sword to kill it and continued to advance, not giving her opponent more opportunities to attack.
Ji Huaisu's trajectory was a straight line, knocking away all obstacles in her path, even breaking through walls as she encountered houses. After a few breaths, Ji Huaisu reached the edge of the Deep Roots settlement, where countless tree roots intertwined to form a brown "basin." She wielded her greatsword like an iron fan, the wind blowing through a white top hat.
"What a shame," the man said nonchalantly, "it almost worked."
He grabbed his hat and put it back on, his pure white tuxedo like a gentleman attending a funeral. Ji Huaisu steadied her greatsword and took a stance, eyeing the man before her warily. She had never seen this man before, just as she had never seen a tuxedo as white as paper. This very fact was incredible, considering she was the person most familiar with the criminals in Huilong City.
"Who are you."
"I'm a businessman, here to provide some after-sales service." The man raised a finger. "My customer really likes this product... Could you please leave him alone?"
A tiny green flame ignited at his fingertips, then transformed into eagle-like claws that clawed at Ji Huaisu's face. Ji Huaisu slashed the flaming claws with a single blow. The man in the top hat waved his hand gracefully, and fireballs the size of his head flew toward him. Behind him, a towering column of fire erupted, igniting from the roots of a giant tree and burning toward the settlement nearby.
In the depths of the flames that no one can see, those who control the elements begin a fight!
In an instant, the fire surged, nearly transforming the southern part of the Deep Root settlement into a sea of inferno. Even Chu Hengkong, trapped by the poison, could feel the heat in the air. The situation had changed. No support would arrive. I had to find a solution on my own. The pile of torch corpses was recovering from the previous damage. I had to kill Adari before the poison killed me, otherwise I would die.
Chu Hengkong barely parried the next powerful punch, the shock jarring his wound, bringing a piercing pain. But he didn't collapse yet, a defiant smile plastered across his pale face. Adari slashed his blade-like palm downward, but Chu Hengkong retreated with the slightest step. They barely managed to put some distance between them, and the killer continued to smile.
A tough kid. Adari frowned. The technique he employed was the "Worthless Poison Hand," inherited from Shura Island, further enhanced by the poisonous insects within his body, making it effective even in inter-particle combat. A minute had passed since he was poisoned. Based on experience, even the strongest and most skilled hands would have died from the poison. Yet, this killer still had the strength to fight...
Is it a secret medicine? No, after the death of Master Jingzang, the mediocre members of the Resurrection Corps had no way to detoxify. That meant a method other than medicinal herbs...
Martial arts?
Chu Hengkong strained his breathing, controlling his heartbeat in a self-torturing manner, contracting specific muscles to slow blood flow and the spread of the toxin. The Turtle Breathing Technique, one of the three thousand techniques, suppressed vital activity to a minimum, a secret method for survival from death.
But simply trying to survive is useless. The spread of the poison means the countdown of life. To defeat the enemy before death comes, you must find a way to turn defeat into victory...
Adari, in his vision, was as thin and slender as a noodle. His vision was unreliable, and he had to rely on his instincts. A heavy punch came at him, but he couldn't judge its speed, so he crossed his arms in a clumsy defense. He barely managed to avoid being knocked down, and used his tentacles to hook the opponent's arm. He forced himself forward, and with reckless momentum, he threw a punch towards the heart.
Chu Hengkong's punch landed, but he failed to inflict damage. At Adari's chest, the skin churned like mud. Black claws emerged from beneath his skin, biting Chu Hengkong's fist like a centipede lurking in flesh! Chu Hengkong only managed to hit the claws, and his desperate counterattack only poisoned himself again. Aguda seized the opportunity and delivered a downward-strike blow. A poisonous bee's sting emerged from his palm!
The palm strike and the poison needle struck simultaneously, shaking Chu Hengkong's vision violently. However, he spun in midair, seizing the opportunity to counterattack with a kick. Adari was knocked back a step, and Chu Hengkong continued to punch after landing, unleashing the unpredictable attacks of a drunkard. Fragments of his movements flashed through his chaotic mind, still trying to figure out the flaws in his enemy's fighting style. The killer could still fight; all chances of victory were not yet lost.
But his next blow was blocked by slippery flesh: a glowing corpse, separated from the pile of torch corpses. The glowing corpse inserted itself between the two men like a referee taking sides, announcing the end of the "battle" in the most ironic manner.
Yes, not a fight. The sinister great wizard had no intention of engaging the killer. Adari only sneered in response, a smile as emotionless as a sculpture. He took the staff from another glowing hand. After the pile of torch corpses disintegrated, dozens of glowing corpses surrounded Chu Hengkong.
The warriors' tenacity was overwhelmed by the violence of numbers. No matter how strong their willpower was, they had no chance of winning in such a situation where they were outnumbered.
"Don't dare to fight with the patient?" Chu Heng laughed weakly. He couldn't stop spitting blood. "What a weak man."
"Don't be so arrogant, boy," Adari said contemptuously. "Your worthless life is not worthy of my attack. The enemy worthy of you is this filthy and ignorant corpse."
The great wizard raised his staff high, swung the bell on the end, and a clear ringing sound rang out. Chu Hengkong felt another sharp pain in his brain, the mental attack instantly halting his movements. Meanwhile, the mud glow corpses quickly approached Chu Hengkong, the light within their bodies growing brighter and brighter...
"Corpse explosion." Adari sneered.
Then, the fluorescent corpses close to Chu Hengkong all swelled and exploded, stirring up a mushroom cloud-like golden light in the dense forest!
(End of this chapter)
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