Chapter One Hundred and Six: Like a Gorilla
Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
The men remained standing for several seconds, staring at the wreckage…
Nothing happened.
Only silence ruled the place, broken by nothing but the sound of the wind.
Then, suddenly—
the arrow that had struck Scarlet King shot back out, piercing through the chests of three men standing behind one another, leaving huge holes where it passed.
Scarlet King emerged from the rubble, staggering slightly, with a large hole in his head.
One of the men stared in terror as he watched the hole seal shut. Scarlet King's pale white skin appeared beneath the hat before it finished reforming, and his appearance returned to normal.
"This… this is a devil! Run for your lives!"
Before anyone could move, their shadows twisted horribly. White smiles appeared across them, and a dark body began rising from beneath the ground through those shadows.
It appeared behind them and drew out its giant scythe, three times its own size.
It spun the scythe through the air, turning it in its hand, then smiled with its merciless white grin.
With one swing, it split six of them in half, separating the upper halves of their bodies from the lower halves.
The other men retreated before the scythe could reach them.
But—
Scarlet King appeared behind them, drew the twin daggers Ming Hao, and stabbed the men through their necks before cutting them open.
Blood scattered everywhere, and the gang's hideout became a sea of corpses and splattered blood.
Suddenly, an arrow shot out from between the trees, flying at devastating speed toward Scarlet King.
But Scarlet King noticed it immediately and caught the arrow when it was only a hair's breadth away from his eye.
He did not move the arrow.
He only looked toward the place it had come from, then glanced at the shadow.
"Deal with them. I will handle the archer."
The shadow looked at Scarlet King.
It said nothing.
Only its eternal white smile remained on its face.
But Scarlet King understood.
"You may eat the corpses. I am not interested."
Scarlet King leapt up and landed atop one of the trees, then shot toward the direction the arrow had come from.
He began jumping between the trees, avoiding the arrows launched at him.
And from afar—
a woman with green hair, red eyes, and a slender body stood on one of the branches. In her hand was a bow, and a small dagger rested in the side pocket of her clothes.
She thought:
(Damn it… he is strong. He is dodging my attacks too quickly.)
The woman raised her bow and pulled back an arrow to fire at Scarlet King.
But…
Scarlet King was no longer in front of her.
Suddenly, she heard a voice beside her:
"What are you looking at? There is no one there."
"Oh… you are looking for me."
Before the woman could turn, she felt a powerful pressure around her neck.
Scarlet King was gripping her throat, lifting her into the air.
He tightened his hand around her neck. Saliva began spilling from her mouth as she choked, while she tried to push his hand away, kicked him in the chest, and pleaded:
"Please… spare my life… and I will be… useful to you."
Scarlet King looked at her and raised an eyebrow, loosening his grip slightly.
"Useful?"
"Very well… tell me what that useful thing is."
The woman struggled to speak:
"You… are Gu Yue, right? We were told that you took the mission to deal with us. I will tell you who informed us."
Scarlet King loosened his grip a little more, as though thinking.
Then came his dead reply:
"Hmm… useful information."
"But thank you. I do not need it."
He tightened his grip again, nearly breaking her neck.
But the woman spoke while on the verge of death, tears filling her eyes:
"Please!! Mercy… I will tell you who our leader is!"
Scarlet King stopped squeezing her neck, and his smile widened.
"Good… that is more useful."
Then his smile disappeared.
"Speak."
The woman fell to the ground and sat there, breathing with savage desperation.
"Alright… alright, I will talk."
She placed a hand over her heart, panting like an exhausted dog.
"My name is Lin Yue—"
Scarlet King interrupted her, placing one hand behind his back.
"I care less about your identity than I care about the value of the information you possess."
Lin Yue went silent for a moment.
Her pupils widened in shock before she spoke again:
"As you command… my lord."
Lin Yue began speaking calmly, though her voice carried a faint tremble:
"Our leader's name is Man Hu."
"He is a savage barbarian, extremely strong… like a gorilla."
"And he is at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation Realm."
"Some members of the gang already went to inform him of your arrival."
Scarlet King thought calmly:
(Hah… six full levels above me…)
(But… I can deal with him.)