Silvy said, “You can still live until you are five or six hundred years old, why are you in such a hurry? Besides, all of the naga tribe listens to you. Is it really too hard to find a female snakeman?”
The Hydra’s heads tangled together. “I’m not in a hurry, didn’t I say that? But if I want a wife,I’ll need your help. The women in my naga tribe just won’t do.”
I asked curiously, “Why not? aren’t you of the same race? Do you need another Hydra as a wife?”
The Hydra smiled bitterly, “Where could I find one? We are passed down from firstborn to firstborn, don’t you know? For the Lernean Hydra race to reproduce, we need to find a female of a dragon race and mate, how could a normal snakeman possibly withstand my enormous energy?”
Gin was shocked, “You want a dragon as your wife? How would one follow you with your looks?”
The Hydra felt humiliated, “What about my looks? Am I not far handsomer than you? I’ll tell you, my mother is a dragon of the dragon clan.” He immediately covered his mouth after speaking.
Gin questioned closely, “What? Your mother is still alive?”
Hydra lowered his hand, and said with a dimmed expression, “Yes, mother is still alive. My father used his tyrannical power to capture my mom and brought her into that forest to forcefully do that… mother gave birth to me and returned to the Dragon Clan. Since a Dragon’s lifespan is much longer than ours, she is still alive.”
Silvy said with no reservations, “Ah, your father was a rapist?”
Oddly, the Hydra was not offended, and he sighed, “Father didn’t want to do it either. He once told me that the thing he regretted the most in his whole life was that he raped mother, and that the most nostalgic period of his life was also the the time he was with my mother.”
Gin said, “Then you can just follow in your father’s footsteps. After you reach the level of Zenith, it would be a piece of cake to capture one female dragon. It won’t be too late even in 200 years.”
The Hydra shook his head, “Before father died, he told me that he regretted nothing more than what he did to mother, and he hoped that this act to not happen ever again. He requested that I never force myself on a female dragon, and to only reproduce if I obtained the consent of the dragon. He was very insistent on this point, saying to even let the Lernean Hydra bloodline die out should I not find a suitable mate. Even at his deathbed he was calling out my mother’s name, I could tell that father loved mother deeply, so I promised father to not follow in his footsteps.”
I said, “Your father was really humane, since he requested this of you, you must obey. We’ll surely help you out, so don’t worry. Although a dragon may not fancy your looks, I believe that if you really want to, you can achieve anything. If you can move them with your sincerity, you will surely achieve your goal. I think what your father wished for the most was to spend his lifetime with your mother, and you will complete his final wishes for him. Everything will be built by your powerful true strength. After all, if you want to find a dragon and make her your wife, you must make an effort.”
The Lernean Hydra nodded hard, “Thank you for being so understanding and supporting of me. Don’t worry, I won’t be so lazy anymore, I will definitely try my best”
I smiled and said, “Then I’ll give you a name now, can I?”
The Hydra rejoiced and said, “Sure, sure, sure, please give a resonant name, not their tacky ones.”
Silvy twitched her mouth, “What’s so tacky about our names? Gold and Silver are precious minerals, who doesn’t wish for lots of gold coins?
[TL: Gin means Gold in Chinese, while Silvy is very similar to Silver]
Gin suddenly spoke to Hydra with a very solemn expression, “I thought of a very suitable name for you.”
Hydra and I asked at the same time, “What is it?”
Gin’s expression remained solemn, as he said with great emphasis, “Tiny Worm.” He immediately fled like lightning.
The Hydra was stunned at first but shortly afterwards became furious, “Don’t run you two bastards, I won’t let the two of you get away with this!” He hurriedly chased them.
I laughed while following Hydra, “Don’t be mad, they were just joking.”
“These two bastards are too loathsome, they made fun of me again! But you can rest assured, I am not offended, I’m just pissed to death by the two of them!” The hydra said hatefully as he chased Silvin.
While being with him for these two days, I noticed that the Hydra’s temperament was incredibly tolerant, which was truly rare within the naga tribe.
The Hydra’s speed was somewhat faster than Silvin’s, and he finally caught Silvin on a hill. Countless fire orbs, water shots, and wind blades covered the sky and flew towards Silvin.
Silvin had run out of options, so they helplessly laid out the barrier and Gin shouted at me, “Layson, come and help us! Are you just going to watch him beat us up?”
I chuckled and replied, “I’m not going to help you this time. This is your problem. Quickly apologize to Hydra. I think he will forgive the two of you.
The battle raged for an hour, as Silvin gradually lost ground under the Hydra’s continuous bombardment.
Silvy said, “Layson, you’re too cold! After finding a new friend, you let the rest die? Hurry and save us, we can’t hold out for much longer!”
Only then did I run to the Hydra’s and say, “Let it pass, they have already atoned for their mistakes. Besides, I’ve thought of a new name for you, would you like to hear it?”
Listening to my words, the Hydra’s attacks slowed down and he said with delight, “Quickly tell me.”
Gin shouted, “Hydra, stop fighting. I can’t beat you.”
Hydra threatened, “If you call me by that name just now once more…. Hmph! I’ll let you taste my meteor.”
Gin said, “Fine, fine, fine, we are scared of you, happy?”
Hydra was immensely pleased with himself and said, “Now you know my power. Lay, what name did you think of? Please don’t make fun of me again like the two of them.”
“I won’t, don’t worry. I’m thinking since you came from the spherical city, and with your skills, you can be counted as a first class master, so lets call you Panzen, alright?”
[TL: Panzen doesn’t mean anything, we just romanized Pan Zhong which means “spherical master”. It’s just for the sound of it.]
The Hydra murmured, “Panzen…Panzen…. Hm, not bad, fine. I’m calling myself Panzen from this day onwards. Thank you Layson, you are much better than those bastards over there.”
I shook my head and said, “We are friends, saying that will make them seem like outsiders. Alright, let’s be on our way.”
Gin was somewhat dissatisfied. “I’m so tired after getting beaten by him, what Panzen, might as well call him Frying Pan.”
Panzen struck a fighting pose.
Gin said, “Fine, I won’t say it. Let’s go.”
Afternoon of the second day.
We were near the border between the Sasi and Yuna territories but the ominous feeling in my heart grew stronger and stronger. Silvin and Panzen had recovered the majority of their power during the day’s travels.
Gin said, “Layson, why do you seem moody? Did Panzen provoke you? We can teach him a lesson together.”
Panzen said with eighteen glaring eyes, “Only a troublesome, stinky wolf like you would have provoked Layson.”
I looked at the sky, and the sun had gradually set off to the westside. “I don’t know why, but I have had a kind of stifling feeling all day. It feels like something bad is going to happen.”
Silvy said, “You are thinking too much. What do the three of us have to fear? Relax.”
I thought about it and agreed. I said, “Let’s hurry then. We must reunite with my brothers before sunset.”
After rushing the rest of the way to the border, I finally led Silvin and Panzen to the meeting place. The sun was falling in the western horizon, so only half of the hill was illuminated with the beautiful evening glow.
However, I was not even the least bit in the mood to enjoy the sunset, owing to the fact that my ominous premonition had come true.
The slope was deserted, nothing remained but the long-dried bloodstains that coated the ground.
I stood there and stared at the hill blankly, as a threatening bloodlust was emitted from all over my body. Who was it? Who dared attacked my men?
Silvin walked to my side, and Gin patted my shoulder and said, “Lay, don’t panic, they must have survived, let’s look for them.”
Panzen called from a place not far away, “Hurry, here, there’s some bloodstains over here too. And a corpse.”
“Corpse?”I activated my Mad God Arts and using my fastest speed, flew to Panzen’s side.
As I expected, one of my centaur escort lay there. His expression was filled with a combination of horror and anger. His chest was slit open by a sharp blade, his bowels were spread all over the ground and his eyes were wide and a deathly shade of grey.
I silently approached his side and crouched down, slowly closing his wide open eyes. My voice was dead without the slightest emotion, completely cold- like the freezing winter wind, “Brother, if you have a soul, then tell me who killed you? Who! Which son of a bitch killed you before you could close your eyes!” As I spoke I became more and more furious and roared at the sky.
These escorts had followed me for quite a long period of time, and although I couldn’t say we were deeply intimate, I’ve long since seen them as my own men. All of them…… were my brothers.
I abruptly raised my head, locking my eyes on Panzen and they filled with killing intent. “It’s you… It’s your underlings who did it, right? It was you!” I quickly took a big stride forward grabbed Panzen’s lapel tightly.
Panzen was stupefied at first, but he quickly angered. He shook his arms and pushed me a few steps back, raging, “What was me? What proof do you have that my underlings did this?”
Silvin hurriedly stopped me, as Gin said, “Lay, lets not be hasty, we have to clarify the facts before accusing others.”
While struggling in Silvin’s grasp, I roared mournfully, “What is there to investigate? This is the Naga Tribe’s domain, and although it is also close to Yuna, there is no way that your people could hold any hostility to my brothers. Only the Naga Tribesmen would slaughter my brothers in such a cruel manner. Besides have you forgotten that the Naga attacked us just a little while ago?
Silvin heavily punched my face without warning, and a tremendous force sent me flying away which resulted in me crushing into a large tree. I landed on the ground with a loud bang and stirred up a large cloud of dust.
Silvin glared and raged, “Lay, you bastard! Do you not trust us even a little? Then why did you make us follow you?”
“You jumped to conclusions without even looking for the truth. Even if the Naga tribe did the deed, you must prove it before trying to get your revenge on Panzen. What would you stand to gain if you continued on your current path?”
Listening to what Silvy had said, Panzen’s 9 nine heads revealed a grateful expression, but he did not speak.
Gin was trying his best to control his shared body, so as to not let Silvy beat me up, “Lay, wake up, although your underlings aren’t experts, do you think a bunch of nagas could harm all 12 of them?”
I covered my hurting cheek and slowly stood up. First, I looked at Silvin, then I looked at Panzen, and then revealed a distressed expression.
I flatly said, “Silvy, thank you for beating me back to my senses. The death of my brothers caused me to lose my mind for a brief moment.”
After apologizing to Silvin, I started walking over to Panzen. I bowed deeply, and then I looked straight into his eyes. “Sorry Panzen, I was too reckless just now. But if we learn that it was your subordinates who did this, I will not spare the Naga tribe.
Then, I turned around and walked over to the corpse of the centaur. After becoming sane once more, I realized that his body might have clues which could lead to the one who murdered him.
Panzen looked at Silvin and shook his head helplessly.
Gin said, “Layson, you continue to inspect the corpse here, we will look around to see if the killer left any more clues.”
I nodded and once again observed the centaur’s corpse. I discovered that his wounds had started rotting. They showed traces of corrosion, but it was too soon for the bodies to decompose, based on the bloodstains on the ground and the other parts of his body, he must have died less than three days ago.
The weather is turning cold so why are his wounds already rotting? This shouldn’t be happening.
“Lay, we found another corpse.” I heard Gin’s shout.
I headed over to a patch of shrubbery, dyed purple with blood. It was less than a hundred meters away from the dead centaur, Silvin had assembled four bodies; all of whom were my escorts. Their bodies were far worse off than the centaur’s. Half had lost their heads while the others had been cut into more than ten pieces.
I pushed my Demonic Arts to its limit, using its ice-cold airflow of Dark magic to suppress the grief and rage within my heart.
I raised my head and looked at Panzen, he thought I was looking for a fight again, he took a step back unconsciously while revealing a guarded expression
“Brother Panzen, sorry, I sincerely apologize for my behavior just now, I think the murderer of my subordinates was not of the Naga tribe.
Panzen stared blankly, “How can you conclude that it wasn’t my Naga tribe? No matter how I see it, there are just some dead bodies.”
I sighed deeply, “I personally trained all these beastmen, and I know exactly what they are capable of. While there are multiple corpses, none of them belong to the enemy. There clearly was a qualitative gap between them and their opponents, as they could kill my brothers without resistance. You are the only in the Naga Tribe who is capable of creating such destruction, but you have stayed in the palace until now. So it is impossible for the Naga Tribe to be implicated in this. The same is true of the werewolves. Our opponents may not even be beastmen, as my father is the only one among the beastmen would be the only who could kill my subordinates so easily. But there is no reason for him to come here and kill my brothers.”
Silvy was like Gin before. She embraced my shoulder, and said gently, “Lay you are finally awake. You analyzed it very thoroughly. So tell me, who do you think would devise such an evil scheme.”
Gin said surprised, “Wow Silvy, this is the first time I have seen you acting so feminine. Lay, I am really jealous.”
Silvy, took her hand from my shoulder, and punched Gin’s stomach, “How is this lady not feminine?”
I looked at them thankfully, I knew that Gin wanted to distract me; to ease my pain a little, but my battle companions, my brothers died for nothing, how could I not be sad.
I took a deep breath of the fresh grassy air, “I am afraid there are no survivors among my subordinates. Come let’s search for them and see if there are any traces left by the enemies. At the very least we need to find all their corpses.”
After an hour of searching, we found 18 corpses, every one of them died a horrible death, there was almost no corpse still in one piece, but there was still no traces of the enemy.
Only, Wolf, Mink and Black Dragon’s bodies were nowhere to be found.
I gathered all of their corpses, and looked at them with deep red eyes.
Gin said, “Lay, let’s continue the search, judging from the location of the corpses before, they ought to be escaping eastwards. There are still two bodies missing, perhaps they are still alive.”
I nodded seriously, and we continued eastwards. Silvin lead the way, relying on their fine noses to follow the scent of blood.
After walking about 5000 meter, Silvin suddenly stopped. Gin pointed to the left, “There”.
I followed his finger and saw a huge rock.
Silvy pointed at the rock, I asked her doubtfully, “Are you saying they are under it?”
Gin and Silvy both nodded.
I put strength into my arms and roared, “Open!” my Mad God Qi rushed out, I pushed the gigantic thousand kilo heavy stone rock easily.
Just when the giant rock was moved, a very familiar voice roared with a torn voice, “You bastards! I will fight you to the death!” A figure with two giant crescent moons in each hand rushed out from beneath the rock and suddenly struck at me .
When I identified the owner of the crescent moons, I exulted in my heart, avoided him and said loudly, “Mink, Stop. It is me!”
The mad figure stopped attacking after hearing my voice, clang, clang! the two axes fell on the ground, he fell down while muttering, “Young Master, why did you return this late?”
I quickly held and supported Mink, and felt his pulse.
Good, his wounds are light, his body was over exhausted, and on top of that, he hadn’t eaten for a long time so his body is weak.
Mink heavily gasped for air, “Young Master please save Wolf, he is on the verge of death.”
“What? Where is he?”
“He is in the cave.”
I left Mink to Panzen, and entered the strided into the cave.
The space was very small and it was only big enough for three adult beastmen to crouch.
Wolf had only one arm left, which was placed on his chest, blood dyed his warrior suit red. His legs were cut off just below the crotch, and his eyes already showed signs of death and, even though his bleeding was stopped, if I had came a bit later he would have passed away.
I quickly took out a turquoise gem, putting it on his chest. An absolutely pure Mad God chi was incited and flowed out. Wolf’s whole body was trembling and red blush suffused on his face.
But I wasn’t the least bit excited, his wounds were too serious, not only did he have heavy outer wounds, but also heavy inner wounds. It was a miracle he even survived up until now.
Silvin jumped to my side and Gin asked, “How is it? Can he be saved?”
I dimly shook my head, “His wounds are too severe, even though I a lot of lifeforce into him, many parts of his inner organs are already damaged, I do not dare to even treat him, right now we can only see if he will wake up again.”
Silvy put her hand on wolf’s hand, and sighed, “This guy is truly a tough guy, he suffered such severe injuries but he survived up until now, it really is a miracle.”
Hearing what she said, I knew that there was absolutely no hope.
Taking out a blood stone from my chest pocket, I continued to infuse him with energy.
Wolf trembled again, he spit out some fresh blood, and slowly woke up.
When he saw me, his eyes were filled with vigor and immediately his spirit became livelier, but my heart was steadily sinking. I knew very clearly that this was the last radiance of a setting sun.
The pale Wolf showed me a faint smile, and said with a weak voice, “Young……young master, ……you……are……finally……back.”
Tears dripped from my eyes without my control. I grabbed Wolf’s hand tightly and said with a choked voice, “Wolf, I am sorry, that I came back too late.”
Wolf weakly shook his head, “This……this is……not……your……fault. You……must ……have……had……something……important……to……do, I……know……that……you ……are always……worried……about……us. Where……where is……Mink? How……how……is……he?”
“He is up there. He is fine. I will call him over.”
Wolf’s voice became weaker and weaker, the red radiance from his face started vanishing. He struggled a little so I quickly helped him sit up.
He looked at me, “No……no need,……young……master. ……Young……master, …… do ……do you …… know, ……in……my……heart……. you’re……my……best fri…friend ……yes……my best……friend, I won’t…..fear…..if you…..blame……me, I’ve……always……seen you……as……a friend……even though……you’re……cold……on……the outside,……but……you’re……always……very……passionate……especially……towards us……brothers.……Although……they’re……all gone……now, but I……believe……that……they……never……regretted……having……fo……followed……you. Young……master……thank you……for your…… care…… for us.”
Intense sadness welled up in me, I cried bitterly, “Don’t talk, Wolf, my brother, you need to be strong, I will definitely heal you.”
Wolf’s expression was very tranquil, he smiled, “Young Master, ……I know……my……current……condition, ……I……will die……soon, ……but……before…… I die…can I……ask……two……favors……from……you?”
“Tell me. Even if you want the sun in the sky, I will find a way to bring it down to you”
Wolf’s voice was already very weak, and he already couldn’t fully open his eyes, I put my ear near his mouth, “Young…… master,…Mink……is……my……best……brother,……please……look…after……him……from……now……on”
I nodded, big tear drops landed on his hand back.
“Young……young master, please……don’t……be sad, no…… matter……what…….creature,……they……have……to die……some……day,……right?……let……alone……I’ll……see……the……other……brothers……very……soon,……I will……greet them……for……you. ……I……have……one last……wish……I……have……a sister……we were ……chased……away……together……when……we……were young……then……we……were…… separated……her……name……is ……Woma……there’s……half of……an ……unpolished……gem……in……my chest……pocket,……maybe……she should……still……has……the other……half. I……don’t……know……if……she is……still……alive,……please……help……me……find……her, ……OK?”
I nodded with all my might, and with a sobbing voice i said, “I will, I will! If she is alive I will find her and look after her like my own sister, you can be at ease.”
I suddenly feld the powerless sliding of Wolf’s hand, his head leaned onto my shoulder.
I shook my head and casted off my tears, then I looked down, Wolf’s eyes were closed as he peacefully leaned against my shoulder. A sparkling and translucent tear hung on his corner of his eyes which were still smiling.
My whole body trembled, I understood, that he passed away with tears in his eyes. I will never hear his resonant voice ever again.
I angrily roared towards the sky, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!” My Body transformed without any sign, In the blink of an eye I went fully berserk. My hair and eyes turned crimson, and my muscles swelled up, filled with explosive strength.
But I was still very clear-headed, the dark magic was controlling my feelings, I felt that this Berserk mode was different than the past ones, it brought me greater strength, and the endless supply of power had no sign of drying up.
Even before I roared in Rage, Mink had walked over here with Panzen’s help.
Although my appearance was very scary, but the death of Wolf made him forget everything. He was leaning on Wolf’s body, crying, “Wolf, my brother, how can you leave just like this, it was all my fault, you became like this in order to protect me, Wolf-”
Mink fainted due to emotional shock.
Frantic red Qi devastated my surroundings, this gigantic power tore my clothes to shreds, revealing muscles that only a demon god could have.
Silvin and Panzen took a fews steps backwards unconsciously after feeling the huge pressure from me.
I lifted my hand and red energy shaded towards Mink, Mink’s whole body trembled, and he slowly woke up.
My voice was very grim ,”Tell me, what happened here? Who attacked? I swear by the blood of the brothers, that no matter who they are, they will pay for this with their lives. My deceased brothers, your brave souls are not far. Bless me with your souls and use them to help me find the murderers!” A violent bright red light shot into the heavens from my body.
Under my deliberate control, Wolf’s corpse and Mink were covered with a defensive barrier, they were not harmed.
I stared at Mink furiously, “Speak.”
Mink stood up again, he hugged Wolf into his arms. Fear and bewilderment flashed past his eyes,
“About seven days after you left,five humans, one female and four men came, the woman was young, and incredibly pretty, and her figure was splendid, I have no words to describe it. She also seemed to be the leader. They also seemed very friendly. Because their looks were similar to yours, we didn’t pay to much attention to them.
Among them, a 40 year old male came to us and talked. One of the brothers told them that we were emissaries of the Beast God, specialized in helping the beastmen to solve their problems. A trace of splendor flashed from the man’s eyes, he turned around and told them, “It should be them”. When I heard this, I thought that something was off, but I didn’t ask. That girl walked over, and the brothers were all enchanted with her looks.
Suddenly she discovered Black Dragon and muttered in surprise, “Could it be him?” She grabbed one of the brothers and asked who was our leader. The brother who was grabbed quaked with force, he quaked her a few steps back and scolded her briefly. The expression of the girl suddenly turned very gloomy, she asked again, “Are you really refusing to say anything?”
Of course, we told her we wouldn’t. Then she said, “Very well, since you are so persistent, I will kill you, and that guy will come out himself. We heard that there have been suspicious movements within the Beastman Territory, so it was you guys who made up this Beast God Religion. Since you refused to say anything, you can die now”, she then yelled at her subordinates, “Do it.”
Our nightmare started with her sentence. Those five muttered some odd incantations, and they changed, their looks became completely different. Two big black wings grew from their back and their hair and eyes turned black. That girl did not act, she ordered the four men to attack us, while she dashed towards Black Dragon.”
I continued, “ Did their incantation start with the sentence ‘darkness condense in mine soul’?”
Mink thought a little and nodded, “I think so.”
Gin and Silvy exclaimed at the same time, “Fallen angels!”
-end-
Silvy said, “You can still live until you are five or six hundred years old, why are you in such a hurry? Besides, all of the naga tribe listens to you. Is it really too hard to find a female snakeman?”
The Hydra’s heads tangled together. “I’m not in a hurry, didn’t I say that? But if I want a wife,I’ll need your help. The women in my naga tribe just won’t do.”
I asked curiously, “Why not? aren’t you of the same race? Do you need another Hydra as a wife?”
The Hydra smiled bitterly, “Where could I find one? We are passed down from firstborn to firstborn, don’t you know? For the Lernean Hydra race to reproduce, we need to find a female of a dragon race and mate, how could a normal snakeman possibly withstand my enormous energy?”
Gin was shocked, “You want a dragon as your wife? How would one follow you with your looks?”
The Hydra felt humiliated, “What about my looks? Am I not far handsomer than you? I’ll tell you, my mother is a dragon of the dragon clan.” He immediately covered his mouth after speaking.
Gin questioned closely, “What? Your mother is still alive?”
Hydra lowered his hand, and said with a dimmed expression, “Yes, mother is still alive. My father used his tyrannical power to capture my mom and brought her into that forest to forcefully do that… mother gave birth to me and returned to the Dragon Clan. Since a Dragon’s lifespan is much longer than ours, she is still alive.”
Silvy said with no reservations, “Ah, your father was a rapist?”
Oddly, the Hydra was not offended, and he sighed, “Father didn’t want to do it either. He once told me that the thing he regretted the most in his whole life was that he raped mother, and that the most nostalgic period of his life was also the the time he was with my mother.”
Gin said, “Then you can just follow in your father’s footsteps. After you reach the level of Zenith, it would be a piece of cake to capture one female dragon. It won’t be too late even in 200 years.”
The Hydra shook his head, “Before father died, he told me that he regretted nothing more than what he did to mother, and he hoped that this act to not happen ever again. He requested that I never force myself on a female dragon, and to only reproduce if I obtained the consent of the dragon. He was very insistent on this point, saying to even let the Lernean Hydra bloodline die out should I not find a suitable mate. Even at his deathbed he was calling out my mother’s name, I could tell that father loved mother deeply, so I promised father to not follow in his footsteps.”
I said, “Your father was really humane, since he requested this of you, you must obey. We’ll surely help you out, so don’t worry. Although a dragon may not fancy your looks, I believe that if you really want to, you can achieve anything. If you can move them with your sincerity, you will surely achieve your goal. I think what your father wished for the most was to spend his lifetime with your mother, and you will complete his final wishes for him. Everything will be built by your powerful true strength. After all, if you want to find a dragon and make her your wife, you must make an effort.”
The Lernean Hydra nodded hard, “Thank you for being so understanding and supporting of me. Don’t worry, I won’t be so lazy anymore, I will definitely try my best”
I smiled and said, “Then I’ll give you a name now, can I?”
The Hydra rejoiced and said, “Sure, sure, sure, please give a resonant name, not their tacky ones.”
Silvy twitched her mouth, “What’s so tacky about our names? Gold and Silver are precious minerals, who doesn’t wish for lots of gold coins?
[TL: Gin means Gold in Chinese, while Silvy is very similar to Silver]
Gin suddenly spoke to Hydra with a very solemn expression, “I thought of a very suitable name for you.”
Hydra and I asked at the same time, “What is it?”
Gin’s expression remained solemn, as he said with great emphasis, “Tiny Worm.” He immediately fled like lightning.
The Hydra was stunned at first but shortly afterwards became furious, “Don’t run you two bastards, I won’t let the two of you get away with this!” He hurriedly chased them.
I laughed while following Hydra, “Don’t be mad, they were just joking.”
“These two bastards are too loathsome, they made fun of me again! But you can rest assured, I am not offended, I’m just pissed to death by the two of them!” The hydra said hatefully as he chased Silvin.
While being with him for these two days, I noticed that the Hydra’s temperament was incredibly tolerant, which was truly rare within the naga tribe.
The Hydra’s speed was somewhat faster than Silvin’s, and he finally caught Silvin on a hill. Countless fire orbs, water shots, and wind blades covered the sky and flew towards Silvin.
Silvin had run out of options, so they helplessly laid out the barrier and Gin shouted at me, “Layson, come and help us! Are you just going to watch him beat us up?”
I chuckled and replied, “I’m not going to help you this time. This is your problem. Quickly apologize to Hydra. I think he will forgive the two of you.
The battle raged for an hour, as Silvin gradually lost ground under the Hydra’s continuous bombardment.
Silvy said, “Layson, you’re too cold! After finding a new friend, you let the rest die? Hurry and save us, we can’t hold out for much longer!”
Only then did I run to the Hydra’s and say, “Let it pass, they have already atoned for their mistakes. Besides, I’ve thought of a new name for you, would you like to hear it?”
Listening to my words, the Hydra’s attacks slowed down and he said with delight, “Quickly tell me.”
Gin shouted, “Hydra, stop fighting. I can’t beat you.”
Hydra threatened, “If you call me by that name just now once more…. Hmph! I’ll let you taste my meteor.”
Gin said, “Fine, fine, fine, we are scared of you, happy?”
Hydra was immensely pleased with himself and said, “Now you know my power. Lay, what name did you think of? Please don’t make fun of me again like the two of them.”
“I won’t, don’t worry. I’m thinking since you came from the spherical city, and with your skills, you can be counted as a first class master, so lets call you Panzen, alright?”
[TL: Panzen doesn’t mean anything, we just romanized Pan Zhong which means “spherical master”. It’s just for the sound of it.]
The Hydra murmured, “Panzen…Panzen…. Hm, not bad, fine. I’m calling myself Panzen from this day onwards. Thank you Layson, you are much better than those bastards over there.”
I shook my head and said, “We are friends, saying that will make them seem like outsiders. Alright, let’s be on our way.”
Gin was somewhat dissatisfied. “I’m so tired after getting beaten by him, what Panzen, might as well call him Frying Pan.”
Panzen struck a fighting pose.
Gin said, “Fine, I won’t say it. Let’s go.”
Afternoon of the second day.
We were near the border between the Sasi and Yuna territories but the ominous feeling in my heart grew stronger and stronger. Silvin and Panzen had recovered the majority of their power during the day’s travels.
Gin said, “Layson, why do you seem moody? Did Panzen provoke you? We can teach him a lesson together.”
Panzen said with eighteen glaring eyes, “Only a troublesome, stinky wolf like you would have provoked Layson.”
I looked at the sky, and the sun had gradually set off to the westside. “I don’t know why, but I have had a kind of stifling feeling all day. It feels like something bad is going to happen.”
Silvy said, “You are thinking too much. What do the three of us have to fear? Relax.”
I thought about it and agreed. I said, “Let’s hurry then. We must reunite with my brothers before sunset.”
After rushing the rest of the way to the border, I finally led Silvin and Panzen to the meeting place. The sun was falling in the western horizon, so only half of the hill was illuminated with the beautiful evening glow.
However, I was not even the least bit in the mood to enjoy the sunset, owing to the fact that my ominous premonition had come true.
The slope was deserted, nothing remained but the long-dried bloodstains that coated the ground.
I stood there and stared at the hill blankly, as a threatening bloodlust was emitted from all over my body. Who was it? Who dared attacked my men?
Silvin walked to my side, and Gin patted my shoulder and said, “Lay, don’t panic, they must have survived, let’s look for them.”
Panzen called from a place not far away, “Hurry, here, there’s some bloodstains over here too. And a corpse.”
“Corpse?”I activated my Mad God Arts and using my fastest speed, flew to Panzen’s side.
As I expected, one of my centaur escort lay there. His expression was filled with a combination of horror and anger. His chest was slit open by a sharp blade, his bowels were spread all over the ground and his eyes were wide and a deathly shade of grey.
I silently approached his side and crouched down, slowly closing his wide open eyes. My voice was dead without the slightest emotion, completely cold- like the freezing winter wind, “Brother, if you have a soul, then tell me who killed you? Who! Which son of a bitch killed you before you could close your eyes!” As I spoke I became more and more furious and roared at the sky.
These escorts had followed me for quite a long period of time, and although I couldn’t say we were deeply intimate, I’ve long since seen them as my own men. All of them…… were my brothers.
I abruptly raised my head, locking my eyes on Panzen and they filled with killing intent. “It’s you… It’s your underlings who did it, right? It was you!” I quickly took a big stride forward grabbed Panzen’s lapel tightly.
Panzen was stupefied at first, but he quickly angered. He shook his arms and pushed me a few steps back, raging, “What was me? What proof do you have that my underlings did this?”
Silvin hurriedly stopped me, as Gin said, “Lay, lets not be hasty, we have to clarify the facts before accusing others.”
While struggling in Silvin’s grasp, I roared mournfully, “What is there to investigate? This is the Naga Tribe’s domain, and although it is also close to Yuna, there is no way that your people could hold any hostility to my brothers. Only the Naga Tribesmen would slaughter my brothers in such a cruel manner. Besides have you forgotten that the Naga attacked us just a little while ago?
Silvin heavily punched my face without warning, and a tremendous force sent me flying away which resulted in me crushing into a large tree. I landed on the ground with a loud bang and stirred up a large cloud of dust.
Silvin glared and raged, “Lay, you bastard! Do you not trust us even a little? Then why did you make us follow you?”
“You jumped to conclusions without even looking for the truth. Even if the Naga tribe did the deed, you must prove it before trying to get your revenge on Panzen. What would you stand to gain if you continued on your current path?”
Listening to what Silvy had said, Panzen’s 9 nine heads revealed a grateful expression, but he did not speak.
Gin was trying his best to control his shared body, so as to not let Silvy beat me up, “Lay, wake up, although your underlings aren’t experts, do you think a bunch of nagas could harm all 12 of them?”
I covered my hurting cheek and slowly stood up. First, I looked at Silvin, then I looked at Panzen, and then revealed a distressed expression.
I flatly said, “Silvy, thank you for beating me back to my senses. The death of my brothers caused me to lose my mind for a brief moment.”
After apologizing to Silvin, I started walking over to Panzen. I bowed deeply, and then I looked straight into his eyes. “Sorry Panzen, I was too reckless just now. But if we learn that it was your subordinates who did this, I will not spare the Naga tribe.
Then, I turned around and walked over to the corpse of the centaur. After becoming sane once more, I realized that his body might have clues which could lead to the one who murdered him.
Panzen looked at Silvin and shook his head helplessly.
Gin said, “Layson, you continue to inspect the corpse here, we will look around to see if the killer left any more clues.”
I nodded and once again observed the centaur’s corpse. I discovered that his wounds had started rotting. They showed traces of corrosion, but it was too soon for the bodies to decompose, based on the bloodstains on the ground and the other parts of his body, he must have died less than three days ago.
The weather is turning cold so why are his wounds already rotting? This shouldn’t be happening.
“Lay, we found another corpse.” I heard Gin’s shout.
I headed over to a patch of shrubbery, dyed purple with blood. It was less than a hundred meters away from the dead centaur, Silvin had assembled four bodies; all of whom were my escorts. Their bodies were far worse off than the centaur’s. Half had lost their heads while the others had been cut into more than ten pieces.
I pushed my Demonic Arts to its limit, using its ice-cold airflow of Dark magic to suppress the grief and rage within my heart.
I raised my head and looked at Panzen, he thought I was looking for a fight again, he took a step back unconsciously while revealing a guarded expression
“Brother Panzen, sorry, I sincerely apologize for my behavior just now, I think the murderer of my subordinates was not of the Naga tribe.
Panzen stared blankly, “How can you conclude that it wasn’t my Naga tribe? No matter how I see it, there are just some dead bodies.”
I sighed deeply, “I personally trained all these beastmen, and I know exactly what they are capable of. While there are multiple corpses, none of them belong to the enemy. There clearly was a qualitative gap between them and their opponents, as they could kill my brothers without resistance. You are the only in the Naga Tribe who is capable of creating such destruction, but you have stayed in the palace until now. So it is impossible for the Naga Tribe to be implicated in this. The same is true of the werewolves. Our opponents may not even be beastmen, as my father is the only one among the beastmen would be the only who could kill my subordinates so easily. But there is no reason for him to come here and kill my brothers.”
Silvy was like Gin before. She embraced my shoulder, and said gently, “Lay you are finally awake. You analyzed it very thoroughly. So tell me, who do you think would devise such an evil scheme.”
Gin said surprised, “Wow Silvy, this is the first time I have seen you acting so feminine. Lay, I am really jealous.”
Silvy, took her hand from my shoulder, and punched Gin’s stomach, “How is this lady not feminine?”
I looked at them thankfully, I knew that Gin wanted to distract me; to ease my pain a little, but my battle companions, my brothers died for nothing, how could I not be sad.
I took a deep breath of the fresh grassy air, “I am afraid there are no survivors among my subordinates. Come let’s search for them and see if there are any traces left by the enemies. At the very least we need to find all their corpses.”
After an hour of searching, we found 18 corpses, every one of them died a horrible death, there was almost no corpse still in one piece, but there was still no traces of the enemy.
Only, Wolf, Mink and Black Dragon’s bodies were nowhere to be found.
I gathered all of their corpses, and looked at them with deep red eyes.
Gin said, “Lay, let’s continue the search, judging from the location of the corpses before, they ought to be escaping eastwards. There are still two bodies missing, perhaps they are still alive.”
I nodded seriously, and we continued eastwards. Silvin lead the way, relying on their fine noses to follow the scent of blood.
After walking about 5000 meter, Silvin suddenly stopped. Gin pointed to the left, “There”.
I followed his finger and saw a huge rock.
Silvy pointed at the rock, I asked her doubtfully, “Are you saying they are under it?”
Gin and Silvy both nodded.
I put strength into my arms and roared, “Open!” my Mad God Qi rushed out, I pushed the gigantic thousand kilo heavy stone rock easily.
Just when the giant rock was moved, a very familiar voice roared with a torn voice, “You bastards! I will fight you to the death!” A figure with two giant crescent moons in each hand rushed out from beneath the rock and suddenly struck at me .
When I identified the owner of the crescent moons, I exulted in my heart, avoided him and said loudly, “Mink, Stop. It is me!”
The mad figure stopped attacking after hearing my voice, clang, clang! the two axes fell on the ground, he fell down while muttering, “Young Master, why did you return this late?”
I quickly held and supported Mink, and felt his pulse.
Good, his wounds are light, his body was over exhausted, and on top of that, he hadn’t eaten for a long time so his body is weak.
Mink heavily gasped for air, “Young Master please save Wolf, he is on the verge of death.”
“What? Where is he?”
“He is in the cave.”
I left Mink to Panzen, and entered the strided into the cave.
The space was very small and it was only big enough for three adult beastmen to crouch.
Wolf had only one arm left, which was placed on his chest, blood dyed his warrior suit red. His legs were cut off just below the crotch, and his eyes already showed signs of death and, even though his bleeding was stopped, if I had came a bit later he would have passed away.
I quickly took out a turquoise gem, putting it on his chest. An absolutely pure Mad God chi was incited and flowed out. Wolf’s whole body was trembling and red blush suffused on his face.
But I wasn’t the least bit excited, his wounds were too serious, not only did he have heavy outer wounds, but also heavy inner wounds. It was a miracle he even survived up until now.
Silvin jumped to my side and Gin asked, “How is it? Can he be saved?”
I dimly shook my head, “His wounds are too severe, even though I a lot of lifeforce into him, many parts of his inner organs are already damaged, I do not dare to even treat him, right now we can only see if he will wake up again.”
Silvy put her hand on wolf’s hand, and sighed, “This guy is truly a tough guy, he suffered such severe injuries but he survived up until now, it really is a miracle.”
Hearing what she said, I knew that there was absolutely no hope.
Taking out a blood stone from my chest pocket, I continued to infuse him with energy.
Wolf trembled again, he spit out some fresh blood, and slowly woke up.
When he saw me, his eyes were filled with vigor and immediately his spirit became livelier, but my heart was steadily sinking. I knew very clearly that this was the last radiance of a setting sun.
The pale Wolf showed me a faint smile, and said with a weak voice, “Young……young master, ……you……are……finally……back.”
Tears dripped from my eyes without my control. I grabbed Wolf’s hand tightly and said with a choked voice, “Wolf, I am sorry, that I came back too late.”
Wolf weakly shook his head, “This……this is……not……your……fault. You……must ……have……had……something……important……to……do, I……know……that……you ……are always……worried……about……us. Where……where is……Mink? How……how……is……he?”
“He is up there. He is fine. I will call him over.”
Wolf’s voice became weaker and weaker, the red radiance from his face started vanishing. He struggled a little so I quickly helped him sit up.
He looked at me, “No……no need,……young……master. ……Young……master, …… do ……do you …… know, ……in……my……heart……. you’re……my……best fri…friend ……yes……my best……friend, I won’t…..fear…..if you…..blame……me, I’ve……always……seen you……as……a friend……even though……you’re……cold……on……the outside,……but……you’re……always……very……passionate……especially……towards us……brothers.……Although……they’re……all gone……now, but I……believe……that……they……never……regretted……having……fo……followed……you. Young……master……thank you……for your…… care…… for us.”
Intense sadness welled up in me, I cried bitterly, “Don’t talk, Wolf, my brother, you need to be strong, I will definitely heal you.”
Wolf’s expression was very tranquil, he smiled, “Young Master, ……I know……my……current……condition, ……I……will die……soon, ……but……before…… I die…can I……ask……two……favors……from……you?”
“Tell me. Even if you want the sun in the sky, I will find a way to bring it down to you”
Wolf’s voice was already very weak, and he already couldn’t fully open his eyes, I put my ear near his mouth, “Young…… master,…Mink……is……my……best……brother,……please……look…after……him……from……now……on”
I nodded, big tear drops landed on his hand back.
“Young……young master, please……don’t……be sad, no…… matter……what…….creature,……they……have……to die……some……day,……right?……let……alone……I’ll……see……the……other……brothers……very……soon,……I will……greet them……for……you. ……I……have……one last……wish……I……have……a sister……we were ……chased……away……together……when……we……were young……then……we……were…… separated……her……name……is ……Woma……there’s……half of……an ……unpolished……gem……in……my chest……pocket,……maybe……she should……still……has……the other……half. I……don’t……know……if……she is……still……alive,……please……help……me……find……her, ……OK?”
I nodded with all my might, and with a sobbing voice i said, “I will, I will! If she is alive I will find her and look after her like my own sister, you can be at ease.”
I suddenly feld the powerless sliding of Wolf’s hand, his head leaned onto my shoulder.
I shook my head and casted off my tears, then I looked down, Wolf’s eyes were closed as he peacefully leaned against my shoulder. A sparkling and translucent tear hung on his corner of his eyes which were still smiling.
My whole body trembled, I understood, that he passed away with tears in his eyes. I will never hear his resonant voice ever again.
I angrily roared towards the sky, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!” My Body transformed without any sign, In the blink of an eye I went fully berserk. My hair and eyes turned crimson, and my muscles swelled up, filled with explosive strength.
But I was still very clear-headed, the dark magic was controlling my feelings, I felt that this Berserk mode was different than the past ones, it brought me greater strength, and the endless supply of power had no sign of drying up.
Even before I roared in Rage, Mink had walked over here with Panzen’s help.
Although my appearance was very scary, but the death of Wolf made him forget everything. He was leaning on Wolf’s body, crying, “Wolf, my brother, how can you leave just like this, it was all my fault, you became like this in order to protect me, Wolf-”
Mink fainted due to emotional shock.
Frantic red Qi devastated my surroundings, this gigantic power tore my clothes to shreds, revealing muscles that only a demon god could have.
Silvin and Panzen took a fews steps backwards unconsciously after feeling the huge pressure from me.
I lifted my hand and red energy shaded towards Mink, Mink’s whole body trembled, and he slowly woke up.
My voice was very grim ,”Tell me, what happened here? Who attacked? I swear by the blood of the brothers, that no matter who they are, they will pay for this with their lives. My deceased brothers, your brave souls are not far. Bless me with your souls and use them to help me find the murderers!” A violent bright red light shot into the heavens from my body.
Under my deliberate control, Wolf’s corpse and Mink were covered with a defensive barrier, they were not harmed.
I stared at Mink furiously, “Speak.”
Mink stood up again, he hugged Wolf into his arms. Fear and bewilderment flashed past his eyes,
“About seven days after you left,five humans, one female and four men came, the woman was young, and incredibly pretty, and her figure was splendid, I have no words to describe it. She also seemed to be the leader. They also seemed very friendly. Because their looks were similar to yours, we didn’t pay to much attention to them.
Among them, a 40 year old male came to us and talked. One of the brothers told them that we were emissaries of the Beast God, specialized in helping the beastmen to solve their problems. A trace of splendor flashed from the man’s eyes, he turned around and told them, “It should be them”. When I heard this, I thought that something was off, but I didn’t ask. That girl walked over, and the brothers were all enchanted with her looks.
Suddenly she discovered Black Dragon and muttered in surprise, “Could it be him?” She grabbed one of the brothers and asked who was our leader. The brother who was grabbed quaked with force, he quaked her a few steps back and scolded her briefly. The expression of the girl suddenly turned very gloomy, she asked again, “Are you really refusing to say anything?”
Of course, we told her we wouldn’t. Then she said, “Very well, since you are so persistent, I will kill you, and that guy will come out himself. We heard that there have been suspicious movements within the Beastman Territory, so it was you guys who made up this Beast God Religion. Since you refused to say anything, you can die now”, she then yelled at her subordinates, “Do it.”
Our nightmare started with her sentence. Those five muttered some odd incantations, and they changed, their looks became completely different. Two big black wings grew from their back and their hair and eyes turned black. That girl did not act, she ordered the four men to attack us, while she dashed towards Black Dragon.”
I continued, “ Did their incantation start with the sentence ‘darkness condense in mine soul’?”
Mink thought a little and nodded, “I think so.”
Gin and Silvy exclaimed at the same time, “Fallen angels!”
-end-
