Chapter Eighty-Four: Sloth

She confided her troubles and joys to it, diligently fulfilling her duties as a priestess, while it would occasionally rustle its branches and leaves to show it was listening. This became a small, unspoken understanding between the priestess and the god.

But in the end, it could not help but devour them.

Black roots twisted through the darkness of night, snaking into thousands of homes, ensuring that sweet dreams would never end. It hung the tender brains from its branches like fruits, connecting to their nerves, sharing their thoughts, and trembling with excitement at the ordinary surges of electricity in their minds.

It could even feel its evolutionary path, stalled for tens of thousands of years, begin to stir once more. Its will became an independent force, gradually repairing damaged genes and bringing it back to life.

The surviving priestess stared in terror at the walnut-shaped brains hanging from the tree, so afraid she forgot to breathe.

It scooped up the priestess, its massive body uprooting from the earth, revealing a mountain-like form slumbering beneath the ground, still growing ever larger.

It moved eastward, drawn by the promise of ever more delicious emotions.

The vision faded, and Adonsa fell into silence.

After a long slumber, the Emperor of Black Death chose a path completely opposite to Adonsa’s. Perhaps, as a plant, its taste was so mild it eventually swung to the other extreme, now ruled by a childlike curiosity and pleasure, indiscriminately devouring humans to acquire these so-called emotions.

At that moment, Adonsa suddenly stopped.

Up ahead, a hesitant light source approached, and only when its glow fell upon Adonsa did it suddenly realize the presence of this colossal being.

The cavern walls absorbed all kinds of energy, even light, which could not reach far. It seemed there was more than one person in the group, and they immediately prepared for battle.

At the forefront stood a heavily armored knight with sword and shield. Behind him was a samurai with a flaming katana sheathed at his side, the firelight illuminating a beautiful woman covered in tattoos.

“Adonsa, we mean you no harm, but please respect yourself as well!” On Su Jin’s body, lotus tattoos swayed as if alive, and from between the petals, a skull occasionally peeked out.

Adonsa’s compound eyes studied them curiously. “I see. As expected, you’re not from this world.”

The runes on the paladin, the samurai’s flaming blade, the youth’s iron wings, the woman’s lotus-skull motif, and even Qi Qiuchan’s dragon mace with its overwhelming aura, were all unheard of in this world.

Even if this world held many secrets, to encounter so many extraordinary powers from different systems at once was clearly unnatural.

Adonsa’s cold gaze made Kamp shudder, and he felt the parasite in his brain twitch. He shouted, “Take it out! Get it out now!”

“Oh?” Adonsa regarded Kamp. “To be able to suppress my spawn—who did it? Was it you? Or you? Or you?”

Adonsa’s gaze circled over Paladin Samuel, Samurai Oishi Amano, and Su Jin, before murmuring, “No, it doesn’t seem to be any of you.”

The answer seemed obvious, yet Adonsa did not speak it aloud.

Amano glanced back and snorted, “Mary Shelley has disappeared. She’s the one with the problem.”

Su Jin snapped, “Enough! Who here doesn’t have a problem? The point is how to borrow power.”

Suddenly, Samuel’s massive shield flashed, and a gigantic shield-shaped barrier appeared, blocking a tentacle from the darkness.

As the four grew even more tense, Adonsa said, “Interesting. A system of power—or perhaps rules—completely different from this world. Truly eye-opening.”

Su Jin’s lips twitched as she replied cautiously, “You flatter us.”

She had never encountered such a strange native before—so sensitive to details, possessed by an almost pathological curiosity, and regarding them with naked desire, as though observing rare beasts.

“I want to make a deal with you,” Adonsa said. “In exchange for some unique specimens. Are you interested?”

In such a tense situation, Su Jin could only force a response: “Then—let’s discuss it after we leave.”

Adonsa replied, “I’m afraid that won’t do. You’re too weak. I have no time to protect you.”

At that instant, the ground suddenly trembled violently. Adonsa immediately turned toward a nearby stone wall.

The next moment, the wall shattered, and a massive, fist-like object resembling a broken sphere crashed through with the force of a mountain, smashing the gigantic chimera’s body across to the opposite wall and into another tunnel.

It was a towering giant, as tall as it was broad, its head nearly brushing the cavern’s ceiling—fully three stories high.

Its entire body writhed with black fibers, from which viscous, oil-like liquid dripped. It growled with a sound like chewing.

“The Kirin Legion is here! Traitors, prepare to die!”

Not only that, but at the giant’s feet surged an army of human swine, clawing their way toward everyone like a tidal wave.

This was a vast Kirin Legion, a horde of human swine whose combat strength was leagues beyond the small squads encountered before.

The black giant let out a chilling roar that shook the whole cavern, its sea-anemone-like mouth gaping wide.

“I am General Yuan Meng of the Right Army. Intruders, die!”

———

Zhang Liaoyuan carried a massive crystal coffin through the stone cavern, his heavy steps intimidating every human swine lurking in the shadows.

Not far ahead appeared a figure bent in a humble bow, dressed in decaying finery and a broken tall crown, his jade-like face adorned with a gentle smile, eyes narrowed like crescent moons.

Zhang Liaoyuan stopped to regard him for a moment, then said, “Eunuch Chang Shengqin.”

The man in finery bowed. “I didn’t expect anyone to remember me. I thought it was just a few stray thieves, but among them is one like you—a martial master made manifest. Even a millennium ago, there were fewer than five such figures.”

Zhang Liaoyuan replied indifferently, “Even a martial master is but a puppet of the heavens. There’s no need for pointless pleasantries. I am here to see the Emperor of Black Death.”

Chang Shengqin covered his mouth and chuckled. “A pulse-bearer is still so disagreeable. Do you think you can do as you please here? This is the King’s place of slumber. Even after a thousand years, no one has dared to be insolent here!”

From the shadows, the human swine roared, morphing into dreadful shadows that closed in on Zhang Liaoyuan.

Zhang Liaoyuan said, “I have brought the Demon Consort Lushui.”

“Her Majesty?” Chang Shengqin’s expression froze, then turned to wild joy. “Is it truly Her Majesty? After a thousand years, her bloodline survives?”

The human swine cackled madly with Chang Shengqin’s delight, their grotesque shadows thrown by whale oil torches.

Trembling, Chang Shengqin reached out, black tentacles slithering from beneath his robe to serve as legs, seemingly eager to receive the crystal coffin.

Just as Chang Shengqin was about to touch the coffin, Zhang Liaoyuan said, “I must see the Emperor of Black Death.”

Chang Shengqin paused, sensing Zhang Liaoyuan’s unyielding resolve. He knew he could not guarantee the coffin’s safety in a conflict.

Regaining his gentle demeanor, Chang Shengqin bowed respectfully. “Honored pulse-bearer, allow me to lead the way.”

He straightened, his androgynous face glowing with a warm smile. “As for the other thieves, let me and the Imperial General take care of them.”

Zhang Liaoyuan said nothing more, hoisting the crystal coffin and striding forward, while Chang Shengqin followed with head bowed.

Suddenly, the entire cavern began to shake. The black giant and its terrifying legion slowly awakened.