Chapter 29: The Ferocious "Indigenous Tribe"
Meredith, drenched in sweat, climbed to her feet, looking completely drained. Just moments ago, a certain sentence she had spoken had violated a taboo. She encountered the same situation as Isa—an unknown energy surged into her body, intent on reducing her to ashes.
Su Xiao used Azure Steel Shadow energy to dispel that eerie force. He waited, anticipating a second wave of that energy. If someone was truly controlling it, they would surely strike Meredith again.
But after waiting over ten minutes, Meredith showed no further abnormalities.
"Take off your clothes."
"Huh?" Meredith stared at Su Xiao in shock, crossing her arms over her chest. "Even if you just saved my life, don't think you can—hey, help!!"
A minute later, Meredith lay face-down on the bed in the carriage compartment, her upper body bare, tears glistening in her eyes. Su Xiao sat on her back, a blue glow flickering in his hand.
"Are you done yet? It hurts like hell."
Meredith, her back exposed, grimaced in pain.
"Shut up."
The Azure Steel Shadow energy at Su Xiao's fingertips formed a sharp cone. After a thorough examination, he discovered a circular emblem on Meredith's lower back. The emblem was gray, depicting an Ouroboros—a serpent eating its own tail—with every scale clearly visible.
Meredith had been exposed in front of Su Xiao once before, but he hadn't seen this emblem then. Meredith herself was unaware of its existence on her back. From this, it could be inferred that the emblem appeared only after Meredith violated the 'taboo.'
Su Xiao had seen this emblem four times. The first time was on the self-touching witch named Aisea, on her inner thigh, but that one was black, not gray.
The second time was during his battle with Isa, when Isa manifested a Flame Demon avatar, and the Ouroboros emblem was on the avatar's forehead.
The third time was on the fourth-stage witch Mira. During the few seconds she was advancing to the fifth stage, she attempted to transform her avatar into a spear, and a similar pattern appeared on the spear's handle, though it was too blurry.
The fourth time was on Meredith. This pattern was the clearest, allowing Su Xiao to identify it as an Ouroboros.
The Ouroboros, also known as the self-devourer or the immortal being, is interpreted in Alchemy as representing infinity and endless cycles. Most self-circulating arrays are inspired by the Ouroboros.
"I can't take it anymore! It hurts like hell, dammit!"
Meredith shouted, and Su Xiao struck the back of her neck with a knife-hand chop. He continued using Azure Steel Shadow energy to peel away the Ouroboros pattern. Before long, Meredith was jolted awake by the pain again.
"Ugh~ I'm so damn unlucky. I'll refund your money, just pretend we never met. You're a good person, so get off my back already. My butt is numb from you sitting on it. As a gentleman, how can you sit cross-legged on a lady's waist, especially when she's a kind White Witch..."
Meredith was delirious from the pain. At that moment, Su Xiao successfully peeled away the Ouroboros pattern.
"Shut up."
"Okay."
Meredith immediately fell silent. Su Xiao watched the slowly dissipating Ouroboros pattern at his fingertip. If one or two witches having this pattern was a coincidence, then four witches having it was beyond mere chance.
The reason Meredith had suffered so much was that she had revealed a crucial piece of information to Su Xiao: the 'Mo' character he was investigating did not refer to Morisha of Westport. The 'Mo' in Witch Isa's words had a different meaning, and Meredith's near-death experience confirmed this.
Thus, Su Xiao's original plan remained unchanged. His identity as a Red-Level Witch Hunter was still important. Only a Red-Level Hunter could access classified documents in the library of the Holy Healing Church's headquarters.
Westport was far from the Central Region. Fortunately, Su Xiao's route for hunting witches had initially been heading in that direction. The witches he killed along the way were just convenient targets. As for those in remote areas, he had no time to deal with them.
...
Eastern Dark Crow Continent, within a primeval forest.
Several ghostly figures moved through the forest. Their skin was deathly pale, and upon closer inspection, it was clear this was from some kind of white dye or paint.
Harsh panting came from ahead. It was a witch wearing a witch's hat, her clothes tattered. Her right arm had been bitten off by some creature, the wound jagged and uneven.
After running frantically for about ten minutes, this fourth-stage Elemental Witch stopped, bent over, and gasped for air. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode. Recalling the events that had transpired, the fourth-stage witch let out a bitter laugh.
The seven of them had come here to find something. After some investigation, they learned that the item was in a native tribe called the 'Fangbone Tribe.'
For these uncivilized natives, the witches held nothing but contempt. In their eyes, humans were weak, but they were still intelligent beings. While they wouldn't hesitate to kill them, they would grant them a certain degree of respect. But for these eastern natives, they felt complete disdain.
Yesterday at noon, the seven witches launched a surprise attack on the Fangbone Tribe. Initially, the natives suffered heavy casualties. But after a few minutes of fighting, the witches realized these natives were far stronger than they had imagined. Not to mention their combat skills, their sheer physical prowess left the witches stunned.
The Fangbone Tribe was a large tribe, with over a thousand members, most of whom were young and strong warriors. The tribe had a tradition: once a person reached the age of 35, their soul would go to serve the Fangbone God, while their body was left for their descendants to consume, symbolizing eternal unity with their lineage.
Clearly, these witches knew nothing about the Fangbone Tribe. The Holy Healing Church had once sent an army to subjugate this tribe for crossing borders.
However, after marching into the East, the Church's army was thoroughly outmaneuvered. Half of the 20,000 soldiers and a hundred Witch Hunters died in the East, becoming food for the Fangbone Tribe.
Despite their heavy losses, the Fangbone Tribe didn't fare much better. They didn't care about the ordinary soldiers, who became their rations. But the Witch Hunters showed them the power of humanity, and the tribe held great respect for warriors. Thus, they buried those Witch Hunters.
Two years later, the Fangbone Tribe's shaman and the Pope of the Holy Healing Church signed a non-aggression pact. The Fangbone Tribe was forbidden from entering the Central Region, and the Church would not attack them again.
It was this fierce and insane tribe that was attacked by seven witches. Although they included one fourth-stage Elemental Witch, three third-stage Curse Witches, and three third-stage Elemental Witches, only one managed to escape the tribe, and she was being hunted to the point of questioning her existence.
For outsiders, the Fangbone Tribe had only one solution: fight to the death.
With a *whoosh*, a figure covered in white paint darted through the forest. He held a long spear, its tip a gleaming black spike. This wasn't metal, but a sharpened piece of metallic ore.
A mournful whistling sound came from behind. The fourth-stage witch, leaning against a tree to catch her breath, widened her eyes and instinctively bent over.
With a *thud*, a long arrow embedded itself in the tree trunk above her head. Most of the arrow was buried in the wood, and the exposed tail end vibrated rapidly.