Chapter 740: Something Stronger
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 740: Something Stronger
"It seems he’s been bled nearly dry."
Zagu surveyed his surroundings.
The area remained as clean as before, leaving no traces behind. All the Skinners who had gone to track the target were dead, their bodies completely vanished.
The scene was remarkably similar to the previous one, with one exception...
Zagu walked over to a patch of uneven pits, knelt down, and lightly brushed his fingers over them.
These pits didn't look like they were left over from a battle, nor did they look like natural depressions. These regular yet differently sized holes looked as if something had been forcibly scooped out.
It was like using a spoon to scoop out the juicy flesh of a watermelon, one bite at a time, on a sweltering summer day.
Combined with the splattered blood, Zagu could almost see his prey bleeding out in agony, weakened to the point where he could no longer even control his own abilities.
"Is Lord Zagu finally going to take action personally?" The maid of Grand Duke Divine Will appeared once again at an unknown moment, speaking respectfully. "I thought you would expend more Skinners first."
"Heh, in just a few short hours, over thirty Skinners have been killed. Even if they are just prey, I must offer those two humans a modicum of respect."
Zagu’s tone was calm. "But this is where it ends. As a show of that respect, I feel it is necessary to personally put an end to this hunt."
"I truly cannot understand your way of thinking, Lord Zagu. You were the one who employed these despicable and cruel hyena tactics in the first place," the maid remarked.
"Methods and respect are two different things." Zagu glanced at the maid out of the corner of his eye. "By the way, why have you returned?"
"Lord Divine Will is very anxious to hear news of Muen Campbell’s death. He sent me specifically to inquire again," the maid said.
"It’s rare to see Lord Divine Will so obsessed with such a trivial matter. Does he really hate this Muen Campbell that much?" Zagu asked in surprise.
"That is not for a mere maid like me to speculate. However, as it stands, if Lord Divine Will receives news of Muen Campbell’s death shortly, he will be very pleased."
The maid looked up, staring seriously at Zagu. "So, can it be done? Lord Zagu?"
"That question is perfectly timed." Zagu suddenly chuckled.
"Perfectly timed?"
"Because, look."
With a casual wave of his hand, Zagu caused the chain recording Muen Campbell’s soul information to float up, pointing in a specific direction.
"It seems Muen Campbell no longer even has the strength to run far."
This chain didn't just indicate a general direction; it pointed to Muen Campbell’s exact location with a margin of error of only a few dozen meters. Thus, guided by the chain, Zagu could clearly see that Muen Campbell had not fled far.
No, it was more likely that he was unable to flee any further.
Muen had fought Grand Duke Divine Will atop the High Tower using power far beyond his own realm. Although he had saved his life through teleportation, Zagu had given him no chance to recover, relentlessly sending Skinners to exhaust his strength at any cost.
Now, after consuming the lives of over thirty Skinners around the Fourth and Fifth-Tier, even if those two were some kind of monsters in human skin, they should be completely at the end of their rope.
"Come, follow me and see for yourself."
"Me?" The maid hesitated. "My realm is lowly; I might not be able to keep up with your pace, Lord Zagu."
"Don't worry, we don't need to move fast. We can take our time."
Zagu waved his hand dismissively. "Are you aware of the Modo Monitor Lizard that lives in the western swamps of the Abyss?"
"I’ve heard of them. A type of highly venomous lizard, right?"
"Exactly. Highly venomous. But even the venom of a Modo Monitor Lizard cannot kill a magical beast in a short time. Therefore, after a Modo Monitor Lizard bites its target in an ambush, it doesn't stay to fight. Instead, it follows the target from a distance."
"Waiting for the venom to take effect?"
"Not just that. Most magical beasts active in the Abyss have strong poison resistance. Even when the venom kicks in, they still possess significant combat strength."
Zagu paused, then continued, "The Modo Monitor Lizard waits for the target to collapse completely. It will tail the target for three days, or even longer, until the target is in such immense pain from the venom corroding its limbs and bones that it doesn't have a shred of strength left to struggle."
"I see..." The maid thought for a moment. "So we are advancing slowly, waiting for Muen Campbell to lose all power to resist?"
"Precisely."
"How despicable... and yet you just said you would personally put an end to this." The maid’s tone was strange, as if she couldn't decide whether to criticize or admire him.
"As I said, methods and respect are two different things."
Zagu shrugged. "I have no desire to come into direct contact with Muen Campbell’s strange black flames. You saw those Skinners—not even a speck of ash was left. I don't even know if their souls were devoured along with them."
"I see... Indeed, if the soul is devoured, nothing remains."
"Since you understand, stop talking about what is or isn't despicable. Let’s go."
Zagu lit a torch and headed into the depths of the cave.
His pace was indeed slow, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.
However, because this underground cave system was so complex, the two of them soon reached the first fork in the road.
Zagu used the chain to sense the path for a moment. "This way."
"Huh?" The maid suddenly made a sound of confusion. "But Lord Zagu, the blood and footprints on the ground clearly lead the other way."
On the ground, due to the dripping water in the cave, the path was slightly muddy. A row of scattered footprints, accompanied by occasional drops of blood, could be clearly seen entering the tunnel completely opposite to the one Zagu pointed to.
"That’s a decoy." Zagu merely glanced at it with a contemptuous sneer. "A petty trick."
"A... decoy?" The maid sounded astonished. "It looks so realistic; I didn't see any flaws at all."
"Do not underestimate these cunning humans. There were similar traces on the path before."
Zagu raised his hand, letting the chain float before him. It naturally flew into the tunnel that showed absolutely no traces of passage.
"See? This is the correct direction."
Sometimes, Zagu had to admire the persistence of these humans.
They clearly knew their location was locked, yet they stubbornly used these useless methods. Did they really think this would increase their chances of survival?
Or were they simply too overconfident?
Did they believe that their own cleverness could overcome external misfortune?
Truly laughable.
Zagu shook his head and didn't linger, continuing forward.
They walked in silence.
After strolling leisurely for about an hour, Zagu held his torch a bit higher and said in a mocking tone, "Look, we’ve found them."
The maid looked in the direction Zagu pointed. Sure enough, deep within this cave path that looked as if no one had ever set foot in it, a figure sat slumped against the wall.
The person’s head was bowed, seemingly oblivious to their arrival.
"A dead end?"
The maid blinked, recognizing the figure as Muen Campbell disguised as a woman. On his back, he carried another female.
Looking past the woman on his back, it was clear that the cave went no further. This was the end.
"No movement? Has he died of exhaustion?"
With a clink, Zagu drew his spear.
"Be careful, Lord Zagu. There might be a trap," the maid warned.
"Heh, do you think I would be outwitted by a dying man?"
Zagu was utterly dismissive.
Despite his words, he was extremely cautious as he approached Muen Campbell.
A man who could bleed his enemy dry by sacrificing so many elite demons, even knowing the enemy was no match for him and was heavily injured, was naturally not going to be reckless now.
With every step, Zagu’s senses were fully expanded. He moved with extreme care.
Until he stood directly in front of Muen Campbell.
"No traps."
Nothing happened. Even the Muen Campbell before him didn't stir.
The chain still floated in front of Zagu, pointing unequivocally at the Muen Campbell right before his eyes.
"It’s over." Zagu finally stopped suppressing the smirk on his face.
Just like prey bitten by a Modo Monitor Lizard, the already dying Muen Campbell had finally collapsed here after a rather impressive struggle.
It was exactly as he had predicted.
"It seems Lord Divine Will will be happy tonight."
The spear vibrated. With a flick of his wrist, Zagu thrust it without hesitation into Muen Campbell’s heart.
Regardless of whether Muen Campbell was already dead, he had to make sure—
"Huh?"
Zagu suddenly froze, then frowned, looking at his spear.
The sensation... something was wrong.
No, it wasn't just the sensation. Even though the spear had pierced Muen Campbell’s heart, not a single drop of blood had splattered.
"Could it be..."
Zagu violently swung his spear outward!
A sharp cold light flashed, and a massive gash appeared on the stone wall behind Muen Campbell. Countless clouds of dust filled the tunnel instantly.
However... Muen Campbell remained unharmed.
No, not exactly unharmed. In the moment the spear swept through, Zagu keenly caught Muen Campbell’s figure... flickering?
An illusion?
No.
The Dream Bell of Early Dreams should only be usable once. According to his intelligence, Muen Campbell didn't know any illusion-related magic. He was from the Campbell family of the Human Empire, the son of the Lion King—a meathead among meatheads. It was a miracle he could even cast a basic Illumination Spell...
Wait.
Illumination Spell?
Zagu’s pupils constricted. As those words surfaced in his mind, he suddenly realized that the "Muen Campbell" before him... seemed to be constructed from a mass of twisted light and shadow. It was just so realistic that he hadn't noticed it until now.
"No, that’s even more impossible..."
The veins on Zagu’s forehead throbbed. He thrust his spear again into "Muen Campbell’s" body—or rather, into the stone wall behind him.
"The scent, the aura, the distinction between mana and fighting spirit... none of those things could have fooled me. I even have the chain tracking his soul information! How could Muen Campbell possibly..."
How could he possibly fool me with a mere mass of light and shadow?
"Lord Zagu, look at that..." the maid suddenly pointed.
"What?"
Zagu calmed himself and looked where she was pointing.
There, in the fading light and shadow, within the flickering "body" of Muen Campbell...
He finally saw it. A scrap of paper that looked like a remnant page from a book.
"What is this?"
The scrap was only the size of a fingernail, yet it clearly and unmistakably emitted Muen Campbell’s scent, aura, mana, fighting spirit... and even his soul fluctuations.
At that moment, as if sensing Zagu’s gaze, the paper suddenly flipped over. On the previously blank surface, two clear red words appeared.
[IDIOT]
Immediately after, as if thousands of years had passed in an instant, the paper rapidly disintegrated before Zagu’s eyes, turning into dust and vanishing into nothingness.
It all happened so suddenly that Zagu stood there for a long time, unable to snap out of it.
So... he had been played by Muen Campbell using a strange piece of paper?
"Ah..."
The maid beside him couldn't help but cover her face and sigh. "It seems Lord Divine Will won't be happy tonight after all."
"..."
Zagu remained silent, standing as still as a stone statue.
But within his chest, a powerful rage was boiling like fire.
It was a familiar rage—the fury of being toyed with despite being incredibly cautious.
It felt like déjà vu.
Because not long ago, he had been toyed with in the exact same way by another human.
Twice in just two days.
Toyed with twice, and both times while he held the absolute advantage.
Suddenly, he began to understand the Grand Duke of Bewitchment.
His face... it really burned.
*
"Sigh..."
Deep within another part of the cave system, the culprit responsible for Zagu’s burning face was currently sighing incessantly.
"How tragic. This is just too tragic."
Muen endured his pain as he hurried forward, patting Ariel’s knee as he lamented.
"Look at other people’s cheats. They’re instakilling heavens, earth, and gods. When they pull them out, it’s a massacre. Even if they aren't majestic and overbearing, they’re at least an ultimate flex-tool. But mine..."
He had begged in his mind for ages, and all he got was a fingernail-sized scrap of paper used to "record" his information...
Couldn't it give him something actually badass?
Even another Evil God emblem like the one Wilted Guy had would have been fine to leech off of.
Dammit.
[...]
In his consciousness space, the Black Book’s "bear-like form" shuddered upon hearing this and promptly... flew deeper into the darkness.
"Sigh!"
After another long sigh, Muen turned to look back and muttered to himself, "Still, even if it’s just a scrap of paper recording information, combined with my Illumination Spell: Modified Fifth Form, Zagu should have fallen for it."
One could tell from Zagu’s series of composed maneuvers... that he was far too confident in himself.
The Eternal Cycle was powerful.
The chain that could lock onto soul information was also powerful.
But, Zagu-chan, you might not know that in this world... there are plenty of things far more powerful than those two.