Chapter 49: Sun Warriors
Gray-white feathers fell as Ovia clutched her severed arm. The jagged wound resembled the fractured surface of coal, with no blood flowing from it.
"What is this?"
The Priest looked at the corpse on the ground.
"It's a Royal Maiden. It can move through steam, smoke, and the like. As long as you don't touch it, you'll be fine. In the Holy Land of Chiriad, it's one of the weakest dangerous objects."
Guild Leader Rogesh picked up a feather from the ground, snapped it in half, and sprinkled the powder inside onto the Royal Maiden. The Royal Maiden's body turned to ash.
"We need to dispose of their bodies quickly. After half a minute, their corpses will emit thick smoke, attracting more troublesome dangerous objects."
Hearing Guild Leader Rogesh's words, Ovia's gaze turned dangerous. She had provided the Sun Potion, yet the other party had deliberately withheld information.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Ovia didn't seem angry, though she had permanently lost an arm. Yes, she could feel it—this arm of hers would be very difficult to recover.
"You didn't ask."
Guild Leader Rogesh's reply left Ovia speechless.
"Alright, Rogesh, which way now?" The Priest patted the yellowish-brown particles off his clothes and continued, "Also, where did Hushiro go?"
"Not sure. He disappeared."
As Su Xiao spoke, he looked into the earthen hole from before. Hushiro had indeed vanished, just 2 seconds ago.
"Disappeared? How did he disappear?"
Ovia was now in a state of extreme tension. If anyone provoked her, she would immediately destroy all the Sun Potion and flee with the Red-Eyed Girl.
"He went 'poof' and disappeared. Sounded about as loud as a fart."
Baha spread his wings. He wasn't lying. Hushiro had vanished with a 'poof,' and faintly, one could hear shouts like 'Save me!', 'Someone grabbed my crotch!', 'Please, let go, it's about to burst!'
Judging from Hushiro's voice, he was in despair. Being grabbed by the crotch and pulled backward—imagine that experience. It was 'Critical Damage + Vital Point Damage + Mental Damage + True Damage.'
After hearing Baha's account, the Priest grew tentacles from his legs, focusing on reinforcing the defense of his crotch area.
"That's the dangerous object: the Bitter Resentful Wife. She grabs an enemy's vital point and drags them somewhere. Legend has it she was the sixth wife of King Ganglu. After being abandoned by him, she developed an extreme hatred for men. She's not a living thing."
Guild Leader Rogesh planted the 'Scepter of Judgment' on the ground. A miraculous scene unfolded—the shadow cast by the 'Scepter of Judgment' rotated like a clock hand before finally stopping.
After determining the direction of the shadow, Rogesh walked toward where it pointed.
Seeing this, Su Xiao took out the 'Ouroboros Stone Tablet.' This key should have other uses. Guild Leader Rogesh's 'Scepter of Judgment' could point the way, but the 'Ouroboros Stone Tablet's' function was still unknown.
Slap.
The Priest cracked the 'Whip of Penance.' Rustling sounds came from the surrounding air. Several small skulls clustered together, appearing beside the Priest, chattering something in his ear.
"They say there's no danger nearby anymore."
"You..."
Ovia's lips curled. She knew she had been set up.
"Ovia, Rogesh gave me the idea. I didn't know the 'Whip of Penance' had this function before."
The Priest followed Guild Leader Rogesh at a moderate distance. Ovia said nothing more. Black smoke formed her severed arm. She still hadn't taken out the Blazing Sun Disk she possessed, because she knew what it did—it might be the key to whether she could win.
Su Xiao walked at the rear. He realized a major weakness of his: the five keys each had their own functions within the Holy Land, and all were crucial. But his compatibility with the 'Ouroboros Stone Tablet' was too low; he couldn't use this item.
Not long after Su Xiao and the others left, the sun, like a massive fireball, mercilessly scorched the earth. The shadows of the earth mounds stretched long, and small black hands reached out from the shadows, each dragging an eyeball. The back ends of the eyeballs were still connected to neural tissue.
A blur shot over. A small lizard with gill slits bit down on several eyeballs in one go, chewing them in its mouth. Its nictitating membrane blinked, and within its golden vertical pupils was an image.
Zooming in on that image, one could see a woman in a strip-like long dress kneeling inside a ruined palace. Before her, Hushiro was hanging upside down, his body twitching occasionally, letting out groaning sounds.
This woman was the Bitter Resentful Wife, the sixth wife of King Ganglu. Her hand, with sharp nails, was dragging Hushiro's head.
"My King, do you not love me anymore?"
The Bitter Resentful Wife's voice was soft and timid, evoking pity. As for her appearance, it was hard to describe. Suffice it to say, she vaguely had a human form. In Baha's words, "This woman has the potential to be an Ancient God."
"Sis, please let me go. My balls hurt—burning hot pain."
"My King, why did you abandon me..."
The lizard blinked its nictitating membrane, and the scene in its pupils vanished.
Poor Hushiro. Ever since joining the Sun Gate Squad, he had been getting beaten the whole time. First, he was tricked, then shot full of holes like a hedgehog, and now his crotch was being grabbed.
What's worse, a vaguely humanoid monster with Ancient God potential was asking him if he loved her. If not, she'd keep grabbing his crotch until he did.
Putting aside Hushiro's miserable journey for now, the Sun Gate Squad had already traveled far.
"We've been walking for an hour, Rogesh. Are you sure the Scepter of Judgment works?"
Baha was now perched on Su Xiao's shoulder. Inside this Holy Land, he didn't dare fly easily.
"It probably works."
"Probably? You mean you're not sure the 'Scepter of Judgment' can point the way?"
"Yes."
"Then we need to be cautious..."
Before Baha could finish his sentence—
Bang!
An explosion sounded from afar. Baha's pupils constricted. A nearly three-meter-long all-metal arrow was already right in front of him, its sharp tip about to pierce his skull.
Clang! Sparks flew. After Su Xiao slashed out this strike, he took half a step back. The kinetic force of this arrow was immense, and its speed was so fast that even Baha, a space-type, couldn't react in time.
A figure walked over from a distance. He held a metal war spear in his hand, carried five more on his back, was covered in armor plates, had golden pupils, and a ring at the center of his chest. This was a Sun Warrior.
"Wei du ye (unknown language)."
The Sun Warrior pointed his war spear at the Priest.
"Suo wu se ka (unknown language)."
Guild Leader Rogesh spoke. Upon hearing his words, the Sun Warrior across from him paused for a moment, then knelt on one knee.
Seeing this, Su Xiao began to approach Rogesh and signaled Bubu Wang with his eyes to act on the fly.
Su Xiao had felt something was off about Rogesh before. The other party's eagerness to enter the Holy Land was too intense. Someone so steady shouldn't be this urgent. It seemed that once inside here, Rogesh was certain of victory.
"Du ye wu gu (unknown language)."
Guild Leader Rogesh made an upward lifting gesture. The Sun Warrior, kneeling on one knee with his head bowed, looked up and pressed one hand against the ring on his chest.
Clang!
A blade flash appeared. Soul energy surged, and Guild Leader Rogesh's long black hair flew wildly.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Thump! The domain of Time expanded. Su Xiao delivered a side kick, sending the Priest flying sideways, just out of the domain of Time.
As soon as the Priest landed, his hands pressed against the ground. The next moment, black tentacles burst forth from beneath Guild Leader Rogesh's feet, entangling his left leg.
Su Xiao and the Priest chose to act because Rogesh understood the language here. That was troublesome.
Su Xiao didn't know what Rogesh was saying, but he knew one thing: Rogesh would turn hostile soon, trying to kill him, the Priest, Ovia, the Red-Eyed Girl, and the missing Hushiro.
Thinking more cynically, the Royal Maiden and the Bitter Resentful Wife from before might have been deliberately lured by Guild Leader Rogesh.
The domain of Time enveloped Guild Leader Rogesh. Additionally, having been touched by the Priest's tentacles, half of Rogesh's body went numb.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Dragon-Slaying Flash tore through the air, slashing horizontally toward Rogesh's neck. Strands of black hair spread out like tree roots, deeply piercing into Su Xiao's right arm and chest.
Pfft.
The long blade cut through Rogesh's neck, trailing a wisp of blood in the air. Su Xiao was flung away. As soon as he landed, the ground beneath him caved in, and he lunged at Rogesh again.
Ding, ding, ding...
War spears embedded themselves in front of Su Xiao, halting his forward momentum.
"Bai Ye, retreat."
The Priest crashed down near Su Xiao. Over a dozen meters away, seven Sun Warriors holding war spears were covering each other, standing in two rows, front and back.
The Priest spat out a large mouthful of blood. Normally, penetrating wounds wouldn't cause spitting blood unless the esophagus or lungs were damaged. The Priest now had many of his internal organs shattered. Sun Warriors were already strong on their own, but once they formed a squad, it was a whole different concept.
The blood the Priest spat out ignited into flames as soon as it hit the ground.
Countless tentacles burst from the ground, covering an area of a hundred meters. When these tentacles melted away, Su Xiao, Baha, and the Priest had all vanished. Ovia and the Red-Eyed Girl were also nowhere to be seen.
Guild Leader Rogesh held his bleeding throat with one hand. Sun Warriors stood around him, protecting him. By conservative estimate, there were over 20 of them. Once the number exceeded 20, Sun Warriors became Eighth Rank elite-level combat power.
Guild Leader Rogesh's bloodstained black hair hung down. He seemed to smile, but he didn't notice that Bubu Wang, blending into the environment, was crouching nearby, watching him.