Chapter 41: Assembly
Inside the insect tower in the white town.
Su Xiao adjusted the scales on several metal discs but did not activate the insect tower immediately. He had two things to do in the near future: first, complete the handover with the Kodo School, and second, find the Insect Lord Hash.
He had been in the Dark Star World for a few days, and according to his estimation, the space-time power trade should be starting soon.
Su Xiao decided to split into two groups. He and Bubu Wang would go to Gem Street to handle the handover with the Kodo School, while Baha, Moon Spirit, Divine Maiden Shataye, and the Old Knight would go to the Insect Kingdom to find the Insect Lord Hash.
Baha’s group had set off over ten minutes ago, which caused the resonant insects inside the insect tower to become sluggish. They needed some time to recover before the next long-distance teleportation.
About half an hour later, Su Xiao noticed that the resonant insects on the surrounding oval walls had regained their vitality.
Su Xiao activated the insect tower. All the resonant insects began to chirp, and the surroundings blurred. When the scene before him cleared, a medicinal smell wafted over.
“Welcome to Gem Street. This is the insect tower of the One-Legged Gang. One-way is 30 Lang crystal resin, round trip is 50 Lang crystal resin. Vomiting fine is 1 Lang crystal resin…”
A somewhat familiar voice came, then abruptly stopped.
Su Xiao turned his head to look. It was the Long-Braid Woman. She had returned to Gem Street, her body wrapped in many bandages. Her long braid, which had almost dragged on the ground, now only reached her waist.
“It’s you again.”
The Long-Braid Woman’s enthusiasm suddenly faded. She pretended not to see Su Xiao and Bubu Wang, sitting there with her head tilted down.
Leaving the insect tower on Gem Street, Su Xiao headed straight for the inn. That was his foothold in Gem Street, where Beini and Amu often went to rest.
Just as he reached the street in front of the inn, Su Xiao saw over a dozen people already waiting at the door. Among them, aside from Archbishop Noah, the others were dressed uniformly. They wore clothes made from a mix of black leather and metal armor plates, heavily worn from frequent battles.
Not only that, but each of them wore a dark red cloak with tattered hems, helmets with pointed tops, and carried a greatsword on their backs. The grips of these greatswords were also heavily worn, and the exposed blades showed a dark red hue—this was from constant bloodstains that could no longer be washed off.
These twelve people remained silent. They were the ‘Heresy Execution Squad’ of the Kodo School. Any one of them alone was a small boss at the eighth rank. When combined, their combat power was extremely strong, enough to go head-to-head with the combination of Divine Maiden Shataye and the Old Knight.
“White Night, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Archbishop Noah spoke, and it was clear he was in a good mood.
The group walked into the inn. The twelve members of the Heresy Execution Squad found seats at random and continued to sit in silence.
“This time, recalling the Heresy Execution Squad cost me a great deal.”
Archbishop Noah began to look troubled. It could be said that the Heresy Execution Squad was the Kodo School’s strongest combat force. These twelve were not the Kodo School’s lackeys; they had their own code of conduct and were the Kodo School’s final insurance.
When the Kodo School truly became a pawn of the Ancient Gods, the Heresy Execution Squad would fulfill their final duty: kill all the high-ranking members of the Kodo School. This was an iron rule set by the founder of the Kodo School.
This also meant that the Heresy Execution Squad was constantly out on missions. New members joined through independent initiation trials, operating as a separate system from the Kodo School.
This time, Archbishop Noah had used some method to summon the Heresy Execution Squad back.
“Just consider it my nosiness. Who exactly are you planning to deal with? Is a seal about to be broken? If so, this transaction is off. The Heresy Execution Squad will help you besiege the Ancient God for free.”
“No, it’s not that.”
“That’s best. At least I didn’t make this trip for nothing.”
As Archbishop Noah spoke, Su Xiao had already taken out a notebook. Seeing this notebook, a smile spread across Archbishop Noah’s face. He was about to take the notebook when—
Thump, thump, thump~
A knock came at the door. Hearing this sound, Archbishop Noah almost snatched the notebook, stuffing it into his chest.
The inn door was pushed open, and an old man in a dark white robe walked in.
“Noah, who gave you the guts to recall the Heresy Execution Squad?”
The newcomer walked over slowly. It was another bishop of the Kodo School, Archbishop Dulu.
Archbishop Noah and Archbishop Dulu belonged to different factions. Archbishop Noah advocated for establishing a sanctuary centered around ‘Danke City’ to prevent the Ancient Gods from breaking free one day, while Archbishop Dulu wanted to expand outward and strengthen the Kodo School’s sphere of influence.
Archbishop Noah was a conservative, while Archbishop Dulu was a radical.
Strangely, Archbishop Dulu had come alone. If he intended to call to account, he should have brought more Kodo School members or invited other bishops.
“Dulu Gefei.”
Archbishop Noah’s expression darkened. Both were old foxes; as soon as Archbishop Dulu appeared, he knew what the other meant.
“We’ve known each other for decades, and you still don’t treat me as a friend, Noah.”
Archbishop Dulu sat down. Seeing this, Archbishop Noah pulled the notebook from his chest and threw it onto the table.
“That’s more like it. Old age makes one forgetful. Perhaps after I return to headquarters, I won’t remember today’s events.”
Archbishop Dulu reached out and picked up the notebook from the table. As he raised his hand, the sleeve that had been covering his fingers slid down, revealing his hand. On his index finger was a bone ring.
…
Underground Kingdom, Middle-Level City: Anru.
A train rumbled down the street. Inside a small shop by the roadside, meat patties sizzled as they were fried. Behind a long table sat a gluttonous diner. It was humanoid in shape, entirely black, with a head covered in exoskeleton that formed a crown-like structure on top.
“Good… eat. Bring me, more.”
Insect Lord Hash devoured the meat patties on the plate in a few bites, then stuffed the sauce-stained plate into its mouth, chewing it like a biscuit.
“Hash.”
A call reached Hash’s ears. Its hand shot out, grabbing the bone spike leaning against the chair. This nearly three-meter-long bone spike was covered in bright yellow patterns—this was the power of corruption. Hash’s body was filled with corruptive force, and naturally, it could also control this power.
Insect Lord Hash had grown stronger. In fact, given time, it could become even stronger. The reason its body hadn’t collapsed was this: after killing other corrupted insects, it absorbed the dispersing corruptive force to prolong its life.
“Anru is my territory. If you dare harm insects here, I’ll kill you all.”
Insect Lord Hash stood up. After sensing who was coming, bright yellow patterns spread across its body, and its aura became savage and violent.
“The creator’s accomplice.”
Hash hunched its body, scanning its surroundings.
“Calm down. Haven’t you noticed what you’re missing?”
A drifting voice came from all around. A fist-sized pale skull appeared. Hash swung its hand, catching the pale skull.
In the center of Hash’s chest was a hole, exactly the same size as the pale skull. The skull could fit perfectly into it. In fact, this was something stripped from Hash’s body—a part of it.
“Hash, since you accepted the remnant vessel, you have to come with us. Help us kill a few people.”
“I refuse.”
Hash pressed the remnant vessel against its chest. Nothing happened. Everything was natural, after all, it was a part of him.
“Refuse? Are you sure? My boss doesn’t have much patience. Before I set out, he asked me to pass along a message,” Baha said from within the alternate space, then cleared his throat and mimicked Su Xiao’s tone: “Hash, I can create you, and I can destroy you.”
Hearing this, the exoskeleton on Hash’s face split open, and the fangs in its mouth ground together with a cracking sound.
“I, refuse!”
“Then you’re useless, Insect Lord Hash.”
As soon as Baha finished speaking, cracks spread across Insect Lord Hash’s entire body. The corruptive force inside it began to dissipate outward. At the brink of death, Insect Lord Hash suddenly thought of a little creature it had saved in the underground palace. That little creature had told it many things about the outside world, and because of that, it had wanted to keep living.
In that instant, Insect Lord Hash actually missed that little creature dearly.
“Dying like this? Don’t you regret it? Your birth is tied to the Wolf Spider Queen’s fall, the Ancient Gods, and the Alchemist. Just giving up like this—does it really not matter, Hash?”
Hearing Baha’s words, Insect Lord Hash remained silent. After a moment, it raised its head and asked, “Who do I kill?”
“That’s more like it. First, come with us to Gem Street. Someone’s already waiting there.”
“Fine.”
Insect Lord Hash, who had been kneeling, stood up. The cracks all over its body healed at a visible rate. Hash’s thought was simple: go see its creator, and then, find an opportunity to kill him.
Insect Lord Hash overlooked one issue. Setting aside whether it was a match for Su Xiao, by the time it arrived at Gem Street, others would also be there, such as Moon Spirit, Divine Maiden Shataye, and the Old Knight.
If that wasn’t enough, the Heresy Execution Squad could also show Hash that it wasn’t invincible.
The boss team was assembling. The assembly point: the Kodo School’s territory, Gem Street.