Chapter 00135: The Long Night · Part Four (Thanks to the Lord of the Hundred Eyes' Alliance)
# The Long Night · Part Four (Thanks to the Lord of the Hundred Eyes' Alliance)
Chapter 135
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 135: The Long Night · Part Four (Thanks to the Lord of the Hundred Eyes' Alliance)
On the third floor, on the wall outside the collapsed wing of the villa, heavy breathing echoed.
Xiao An, as if in defiance of gravity, trod along the wall on the villa’s backside.
He panted heavily, glancing upward toward a figure not far off, even though sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, stinging and blurring his vision.
There, upon the surface of the pond, stood a figure.
Scattered about were countless iron fragments—broken, bent, or perhaps held in the hands of that mysterious figure for careful inspection.
Wolf pot, dragon head, leaning pole, cross pot… all the techniques at Xiao An’s disposal had been tried, yet none wounded the enemy before him.
Instead, Xiao An found himself nearly exhausted from his efforts.
In a split second of distracted thought, an icy dread seized him.
He spun suddenly, and a blood-red crystalline arrow grazed his temple as it was fired, embedding deeply into the wall.
It passed through three layers before vanishing into the night sky.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Called Lu Xue, the White Deer’s Chosen, he sighed softly and ground the iron fragment into powder with his hand, filled with disappointment: “What a pity. I was so looking forward to meeting a White Deer Hunter, but it turns out you’re nothing more than an outcast… All that effort for nothing.”
Snap!
A sharp, bloody beam shot out from his fingertips like a torrential downpour, leaving deep, tangled marks along the wall.
It relentlessly chased after the youth’s figure like maggots on exposed bone.
In the darkness, the iron fragments and blood crystals clashed, etching countless intricate tracks before either vanishing together or leaving scratch marks along Xiao An’s cheeks and arms.
“Too boring, so boring.”
Furious, Lu Xue waved his hand, flicking his five fingers so that the youth was knocked to the ground. “Show me some real skill, White Deer Hunter! Hurry up, faster—if not, you’re as good as dead!”
Boom!
A muffled sound erupted from the air, and the blood-crystal shards scattered in all directions.
From the center, the youth was struck to pieces.
At that very moment, the youth’s voice finally rang out from afar.
He said, “Alright.”
In his rigid state, Lu Xue looked down to find a bloodstain in the center of his palm.
A thin ray of light burst forth from the youth’s hand, shattering his blood hunting power like a bamboo shoot splitting through, then continued inexhaustibly, piercing through Lu Xue’s palm.
So fast—so fast that his body had no time to react.
Only now did he realize that the tearing pain and spine-chilling fear, along with the long-lost thrill and frenzy, had all returned.
“This is…”
Lu Xue greedily licked his own blood, savoring the lingering aura of slaughter with intoxicated delight.
Not far away, at the edge of the pond, Xiao An looked down and carefully removed the auxiliary prosthetic from his leg.
Seeing the scratch marks on it, he frowned in displeasure.
With utmost care, he placed it upon a clean stone.
“Looks like Brother Ji Jue’s situation isn’t too serious,” he said softly after glancing back toward the villa shrouded in darkness, “For now, let’s just play along.”
With that, he stepped toward the pond.
Waves rose and spread.
Gentle ripples supported the youth’s figure, then came a second step, a third step.
After three steps, the delicate grace that had once surrounded the young man was gone, replaced instead by an overwhelming air of solemnity and ferocity that seeped from his very soul.
“Pay your respects to the White Deer, sir.”
He lifted his hand, the iron fragment at his fingertip scattering dust. “This is the claw and tooth bestowed by Supreme Goodness.”
Right there at his fingertips, along the edge of the iron shard, a streak of light flashed—a dazzling, brilliant, fleeting ray that left Lu Xue trembling with almost rapturous excitement.
“The Edge of the Flying Light.”
He stared wide-eyed, grinning in silent, wild laughter as he locked eyes with the youth standing on the water.
Both straightened their bodies in unison, pressed their chests, then slightly bowed in a gesture that was both solemn and earnest.
From their lips emerged heartfelt and devout prayers.
“—With this hunt, we offer tribute to the White Deer!”
May the contest between prey and hunter be presented to the heavens of the White Deer.
This is sacred hunting.
The two shall not rest until death takes one of them!
“Damn it, damn it, damn it! It’s ruined! Ruined! Ruined!”
In the ruined great hall, amid piles of corpses, a six-armed horde of mercenaries sweated profusely, faces splattered with blood: “Where’s our backup? Where have all the reinforcements gone?”
It had been over ten minutes since the fighting began!
In a wasteland, three White Deer, an Entropy, a Heart Pivot… he had already slaughtered six, yet his opponents seemed to multiply.
After hacking the living, the dead would arrive—and after the dead were cleared, bloody figures kept coming!
But where was the support?
Where the hell had the backup gone?!
Why had all his teammates suddenly dropped out, leaving him fighting solo against a boss with doubled health?! Is this really how the damn game is played?!
Or is it some kind of workplace cold violence, with him being excluded?
It can’t be that bad, can it?
They just eat, drink, and defecate excessively, while he does all the work!
In his swirling thoughts, tears nearly fell from anger, yet his six arms continued their furious assault as sword blades and knife edges sliced the opponent who had just crawled up from the ground into bits.
In the frenzied battle—a whirlwind of blood and hatred—the blessings from his six-armed group had each transformed twice on average.
Especially the Frenzied Blood; after its third transformation, it had enough power to push his own spiritual essence to the limit.
But now, death was at his doorstep.
Cold laughter rang out from both in front and behind him.
Two men, identical in appearance and seemingly ghostlike, drifted among dismembered limbs and blood, searching for his weakness and any gap in his defense.
Only moments earlier, when they had merely brushed past, a deep, visible cleft had appeared on the back of Old Tang.
“Damn it, you carrion brothers!”
Old Tang roared in anger. “Why is it always you two unlucky bastards? When will it end?”
“Hey now, Brother Jerry, long time no see. Looks like you haven’t done well at all.” The elder of the twins grinned sarcastically, “Fate really does tie people together across a thousand miles.”
“Huh? Isn’t his name Smith?” the younger mocked with a sneer.
The elder replied, “Last time he was called Wang Qiang…”
“And now? What do you call him? I heard on the broadcast they call you Old Tang. We’ve known each other for so long, but I’ve never heard you mention your real name.”
The younger laughed scornfully. “That wouldn’t be good, would it? Even if you die, we’d at least set up a memorial for you. You have too many names—I’m afraid there wouldn’t be enough room!”
“Don’t worry, no memorial needed.” The elder waved his hand warmly, “When the time comes, we’ll just eat him up. We’ll keep his name in our hearts.”
“Damn it, you two worthless bastards! I won’t die even if you all ride me down!”
Old Tang cursed furiously, though inside, tears kept streaming down uncontrollably.
Chen Xingzhou—this time, I must live up to your expectations!
I always knew that not a single coin you earned could ever be taken for granted… You dead fool, if you’re going to die, just die.
Why drag me into it as well?
A chill surged as murderous intent filled the air!
In an instant, the two figures disappeared as if like wandering ghosts.
Up close, the two brothers, with their short blades, attacked two different spots with uncanny coordination, moving at unbelievable speed.
Even compared to Old Tang’s furious six-handed assault, they matched him without any loss.
In the blink of an eye, one blade plunged into a heart and another into a throat.
Not yet fatal blows.
Then, Old Tang’s sword edge and another broken blade wedged into those drooling, dead faces.
Blood spurted everywhere, life and death hanging by a thread… It should have ended there, yet now in the pool of corpses, the ground was littered with their remains!
The Matrix · Myriad Shadows, inheriting the supreme legacy pointing toward the White Deer, bore the fearsome ability to multiply clones!
In the blink of an eye, two identical faces appeared before him—without a hint of change in their smiles.
Then they multiplied into four, six…
Amid endless jeers and eerie laughter, the corpses in the blood pool turned to ash one after another, while the clones appeared endless.
It was as if the deep sea itself was slowly swallowing him.
Until Old Tang, unable to bear the mental pollution any longer, suddenly cried out, “Fourth Uncle Ancestor, help!!!”
At that moment, an aged face emerged from atop his neck, with a long pale beard swaying in the wind and murky eyes opening wide.
“What’s the matter? Oh, just work,” said Fourth Uncle Ancestor, casually glancing at the surrounding scene without any emotion. “Where’s the money?”
Old Tang gritted his teeth and pulled a gold coin from his pocket, tossing it casually.
The coin fell and was caught by a wrinkled, age-speckled hand that had stretched from his back.
After a slight weighing, Fourth Uncle Ancestor sighed with disappointment, “A fake?”
“Eh, it’ll do, it’ll do.” Old Tang shouted in anger, “What era are we in? Modern people already use paper money. What about virtual currency, will you take that?!”
Old Deng was such a pain—every time he went out on a job he needed money, and he only accepted gold coins from the Eternal Empire!
Where in the market were there that many coins? Even if there were, they’d be outrageously expensive.
With no choice, he had to counterfeit them.
Now he was carving the emperor’s portrait so well that it was even more familiar than his own name.
Fourth Uncle Ancestor sighed and shook his head, “Every generation is worse than the last—they’re getting more unruly…”
“Truly, it’s getting out of hand.” Another face emerged from the other side of the neck, rudely interjecting.
“I think, these Tang family folks, they’re doomed sooner or later.”
A derisive smile spread from a scar on the side of the face, “Why not hire me instead, A Qian? Just pay in Federal coins. I’ll finish this job for a mere nine million.”
“Xiao Qi, shut your mouth and stop whining!” Fourth Uncle Ancestor glared, “How dare you try to steal my job?”
“Do what you can; if you can’t, then get lost!”
Old Tang — or rather Tang Qian — could no longer endure these so-called ancestors.
His opponents were nearly riding all over his face and they were still haggling over prices?!
“Fine, fine, fine. After I die, let’s see who will pay you. You all can look forward to some stupid kid burning newspapers for you!”
“Alright…”
Fourth Uncle Ancestor sighed helplessly one last time, “Just consider it a discount. This little money will buy you at most five minutes.”
With that, he opened his mouth and swallowed the fake Imperial gold coin whole.
Then the hair-raising sound of flesh and bone regrowth rose from Old Tang, and right next to his unshaven face, another head appeared on Tang Qian’s neck!
White hair, flowing beard, old and frail.
Yet when his murky eyes slowly raised, they shone with an eerie, chilling brilliance as he looked down upon the two astonished brothers before him.
“Same as always—you defend, I attack.”
“Alright.”
Tang Qian nodded without hesitation.
Among his six arms, the second hand promptly discarded the broken blade and splintered sword edge, quickly extending its withered, scarred arm into the void to grab—then clenching once more.
Immediately, a long spear of crimson mixed with darkness manifested from the raging wind.
With a single sweep, it stirred a heart-stopping, roaring tide in the air!
This was the calling forth of the Chosen by Supreme Goodness’s Great Horde!
—Matrix · Ashura!
On those two blood-bound faces, the expressions were equally solemn and cold.
“Die!”
A pallid tornado surged upward.
Storm and death raced forth!
In the earth-shaking tumult, the narrow safe house quaked violently.
Flickering lights were snuffed out by the corrosion of static electricity.
In the darkness, only the last faint glow from a cellphone camera remained, illuminating a tear-streaked face that could no longer stop weeping.
“I’m sorry, Brother… I’m sorry, Old Lin, I’m sorry, Old Ji…”
“Ayi, thank you, brother. If I die, don’t act rashly—run, your life is more important. There’s no need to sacrifice yourself over my trouble.”
“Tell Ji Jue it’s all my fault. In the future, ask him to take care of my cat. Even if I, Chen Yubai, die, in the next life I’ll return as a beauty to offer myself to him. Boo hoo hoo…”
“Second Brother.”
Ayi’s face turned ashen as he barely managed to speak.
“Ah? What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you dare say it anymore!!!”
Ayi was on the verge of tears; he could barely hold on.
Even though spiritual elixir supplements were constantly being force-fed into his mouth, the entire villa was on the brink of collapse.
Amid this earth-shattering chaos, maintaining the illusion was wearing him out.
Chen Yubai could not see the outside scene, yet he sensed it clearly.
So many murderous ghosts and fierce spirits were lurking around, searching for him.
It was only a matter of time before they breached the safe house; when that happened, there would be nowhere for the two of them to run!
Boom!!
In the midst of violent tremors, cracks reappeared on the villa.
Ayi’s face turned pale as the illusion vanished in an instant.
In his perception, countless remnant spirits swarmed in like a storm, all suddenly bursting through the walls!
Then… nothing happened next.
One, two, three, four, five, six… so many remnant spirits—at least a dozen—once they broke through the wall, mysteriously vanished!
What the hell?
He turned around in a daze and saw Chen Yubai with a bewildered expression, with two cats curled up in his arms.
Yet in the light of the cellphone’s camera, Chen Yubai’s shadow appeared so tiny.
But the shadows of the two cats were slowly expanding…
“Meow~”
The cats played about as usual, carefree and unaware of the sorrow.
Within the cats’ shadows, something stirred.
With a hint of impatience, it opened its eyes, cast a glance outward, and then… all the remnant spirits vanished without a trace.
Only a shadow, sharp as a wing’s edge, unfurled from the safe house, as if determined to fill every space.
What on earth was that?
“What’s wrong?” Chen Yubai asked blankly.
“Nothing.”
Ayi swallowed hard, managing a strained smile: “Nothing, nothing at all.”
Outside the safe house, a storm burst forth from the ground, earth-shaking and thunderous.
With roaring crashes, the villa trembled violently.
Unable to withstand repeated battering, it tottered on the brink of collapse.
Beneath falling debris from the collapsing ceiling, a rampaging centaur swelled in size once again—at that moment, he had transformed into a five-meter-tall skeletal giant, roaring in fury, completely unhinged as he trampled relentlessly.
“Damn it, just die! Die! Die! Die! Die!!!”
Amid the roaring earth, a little bull-horse ridden in thick smoke and flames charged forward.
One of its legs transformed into a wheel, swaying unpredictably as it rampaged, then suddenly it leapt upward.
With three hands, it gripped an enormous iron axe.
Boldly, it swung the axe down onto the centaur’s skull!
The giant axe shattered, and blood gushed like a fountain.
On the centaur’s strange, almost mask-like exoskeleton, cracks appeared.
Blood sprayed out continuously as though leaking air.
The centaur howled, reaching to pull away the shattered axe fragments from his face, but Ji Jue’s bullet had already been reloaded, aimed squarely at his face, and the trigger was pulled.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four gunshots rang out like thunder, leaving four large holes in the centaur’s face—the jaw, the cheekbones, the skull—all exploded into a bloody mess.
This time, he could no longer revive quickly as before.
Under the relentless assault from the little bull-horse, his recovery slowed dramatically.
Moreover, the overworked little bull-horse had already opened its mouth wide to devour—relentlessly sucking up every drop of vibrant, flowing blood.
Boiling dragon blood coursed through its mechanical structure, emitting a wailing, hissing cry.
The five light-bulb eyes on its face shone brightly, wildly excited beyond control.
After devouring a large quantity of remnant spirit and the centaur’s blood, the broken structure beneath its armor and bent bones entirely restored themselves.
Not only that, but with the overwhelming influx of spiritual essence and life, the fierce dragon blood further reactivated, corroding and transforming the mortal frame.
Guided by fluid alchemy, its form once again aligned with its true nature—
Bang!
Mechanical debris erupted, and on the now abstract, unrecognizable face of the little bull-horse, two horn-like, sharply curved structures grew symmetrically, leaving Ji Jue dumbfounded.
Damn, now it really looks like a bull-horse.
Wait, if we had named it Dragon Horse back then… wouldn’t it have grown wings by now?!
Before Ji Jue could even wallow in regret or marvel quietly, he heard the centaur’s final wail, as if at long last feeling true fear and despair.
With every ounce of strength, the centaur struggled fiercely and threw off the clinging little bull-horse.
Not even pausing to acknowledge Ji Jue’s imminent approach, the centaur turned and sprinted wildly toward the outside.
But it was too late.
The gun barrel rose once more—golden armor-piercing rounds sped forth!
Blood splattered as one severed leg shot into the sky.
Then came the second.
The centaur fell to the ground.
Still unwilling to admit defeat, he crawled on all fours, yet soon it was noticed that, from the corner of his eye, the little bull-horse had leapt up.
At Ji Jue’s command, brandishing the broken axe handle upside down, its razor-sharp stub transformed into a spear-like weapon and plunged into the centaur’s throat, pinning him firmly to the ground.
Bullets were reloaded once more, but without invoking the cursed bullet, aside from mere physical damage, its lethality was limited.
The penetrating wound quickly closed up, and the broken bones at his legs began to regrow.
In just a few seconds, the centaur had already started to recover…
The scene before Ji Jue made his eyes twitch uncontrollably with envy—as if spewing blood from sheer amazement.
Is this what the Chosen of the Vortex is like?
In those few minutes alone, the damage inflicted by Ji Jue and the little bull-horse was enough to kill seven or eight wastelands, a dozen or so Great Hordes, hundreds or even thousands of him.
Yet the guy still looked fresh and agile, his health bar longer than the screen…
So stubbornly alive—difficult to kill to an almost absurd extent!
Hesitating, he ultimately decided not to invoke the cursed bullet.
Once contaminated by the curse, aside from being used in bullets, it was of no other use—even the little bull-horse wouldn’t accept it.
Although the little bull-horse was itself a cursed creation and presumably wouldn’t care, cursed matter was best left for others rather than used on oneself.
Being a mutant already, if he were to pile on more mutations, wouldn’t it just delay his collapse even further?
But the Chosen of the Vortex…
He was a walking treasure chest.
Squinting slightly, he examined with admiration: if this vigorous life force could be completely extracted, it would surely elevate the awakening of dragon blood to an even higher level.
“What a true gem of talent and a beautiful jade.”
In the brief stillness of death, he softly sighed, suddenly recalling the joy that Lawrence once felt.
How strange—in spite of doing nothing at all, how could such fine material just grow from the ground beneath his eyes?
It was truly odd.
But so delightful.
So much to look forward to.
That piercing look left the raging centaur momentarily dumbfounded—a chill spread all over him for no apparent reason.
Especially when he sensed the pure and strange embers emanating from Ji Jue, he finally realized what sort of fate awaited him.
He began trembling and cursing.
“Damn it, bastard, fuck you!”
The centaur bellowed, struggling violently, “If you’ve got the guts, go ahead and kill me!”
The little bull-horse stepped on him, tearing him apart.
Liquid mixed with machine oil and blood dripped from its maw like slobber, nearly uncontrollable.
Boom!
An armor-piercing bullet shattered the centaur’s elbow joint, halting his struggling.
Then one reinforcement bar after another was pulled out by the little bull-horse, pinning the centaur’s limbs to the ground as if turning him into a specimen.
“Stop dreaming, you little bastard.”
Yet facing Ji Jue’s slowly approaching smile, the centaur, utterly desperate, cursed furiously and roared his final ferocity: “Let’s die together!!!”
From the shattered exhaust pipe, a final burst of scarlet emerged like raging flames.
The matrix spun, an endless surge of life erupted—even the blessings fractured in this violent cycle, no, one should say they were actively destroyed.
In exchange, a torrent of spiritual energy surged out like a tidal wave.
His body expanded rapidly, radiant light burst forth from blood vessels and internal organs.
An unstoppable fuse was ignited deep within his soul, transforming him into a terrifying bomb capable of sending the villa skyward.
But before that final moment, the last sound he heard by his ear was Ji Jue’s voice.
“Take it easy, my friend. Sit down first.”
He raised both hands in a gentle, soothing gesture, “Let’s talk—speak from the heart.”
Snap!
A stream of bloody spray burst forth like an open floodgate from his torn abdomen, staining that warm, peaceful smile as it meandered downward.
Ji Jue’s ten fingers, clenched like blades, stabbed forth!
They pierced into the centaur’s body.
Clutching his heart tightly!
Above his hand, spiritual energy swirled.
An intricate, non-aggression matrix shone brilliantly.
With ease, it froze the tidal flow of spiritual energy, extinguishing the imminent fuse.
Then a piercing, agonized scream erupted from the centaur’s throat.
In an instant, he was plunged into a living hell!
(End of Chapter)