Chapter 1274: Mad Sheep
"Crack!"
A massive sound echoed through the plaza. Aunt Tong gazed toward the center, where Old Deng and the remaining "Ultimate Path" members had joined forces to shatter the "Door" into pieces.
The fragments reflected a familiar yet strange blackish-red hue. The other side had once led to the "Land of Finality," but now, none of the fragments were large enough for even a single person to pass through. Even if the Celestial Ox hadn't died in the chaos, none of the "Ants" could ever reach the "Land of Finality" now.
The Black Sheep walked to the center of the plaza and picked up a fragment of the "Door," holding it firmly in his hand.
Then, following the bloodstains on the ground, he moved through the crowd of "Ants" as if they weren't even there. Although these "Ants" could slowly torture the Celestial Ox to death, he was in a hurry.
A few "Ants" blocked the Black Sheep's path, and he roughly shoved them aside. He didn't even seem to have the energy to go around.
"Celestial Ox... come out. I'll give you a quick death," the Black Sheep said through gritted teeth. "What's the point of dragging this out any longer?"
"Earth Sheep... can we talk?" The Celestial Ox's voice drifted from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint her location. She seemed to be moving quickly to avoid being hit by the "Echoes."
"No talking," the Black Sheep said. "I'm in a hurry. I want you dead."
"You..."
Hearing his words, the Celestial Ox's "Conviction" wavered again, and she briefly materialized for a second.
She hovered in midair, seemingly still unable to comprehend how things had come to this. She had only been doing her job as usual, yet someone had devised an elaborate plan to kill her.
Even more absurd was that she had been stalling for so long, yet no one had discovered that the "Cargo Hold" had been breached. No reinforcements had arrived.
The Black Sheep seized that one-second window and hurled the iron door fragment at the Celestial Ox. It struck her thigh, and like a bird shot mid-flight, she crashed heavily to the ground.
Only then did everyone realize that the Celestial Ox's injuries were far worse than they appeared. Her entire body had been torn open by the "Ants," and the sheer amount of blood made it impossible to tell where the wounds were.
Yan Zhichun signaled to Old Sun, who mustered the last of his energy to summon a massive boulder, which landed with a heavy thud.
All the "Ants" stopped moving as they felt the ground shake. They didn't immediately rush to kill the Celestial Ox on the ground. After all, "Ants" had no vision, and since there was only one enemy, a chaotic melee could easily lead to friendly fire.
The Black Sheep slowly walked up to the Celestial Ox, pulled the fragment out of her thigh, and then reversed his grip on it.
"Wait..." the Celestial Ox wailed, clutching her thigh. "I won't fight anymore... I surrender. After all, I'm also under the Blue Dragon's control. If you want to take the 'Ants,' you can do it now..."
Before she could finish, the Black Sheep raised the fragment and thrust it downward, aiming for her face. The Celestial Ox quickly turned her head to dodge, but the Black Sheep still struck her ear.
A strange, crisp sound followed as the Celestial Ox's ear was pinned to the ground and torn from her face. Blood splattered everywhere.
"AHHHHHH!!" The Celestial Ox screamed in agony, clutching her ear as she writhed on the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you?! I said I surrender!"
"Sorry..." the Black Sheep said. "I'm a sheep. I often can't understand human speech."
"You madman...!"
The Black Sheep yanked the metal fragment out of the ground, flicked the ear off to the side, and thrust again at her face. The Celestial Ox couldn't dodge and raised her hand to block, only to have it pierced clean through.
"AHHH!! You son of a bitch..." The Celestial Ox realized that each of the Black Sheep's attacks was viciously forceful, with no hint of hesitation. "I'm a 'Heavenly Grade'! Don't you have any conditions to negotiate with me? I can even side with you! I can be your spy! I'll join you!! There's no need for you to..."
The Black Sheep's expression was cold as he pressed down on the fragment with all his weight. "You're not lying, but negotiating takes too much time... If you'd said this three minutes earlier, I might have considered it."
The fragment pressed deeper, piercing through the Celestial Ox's hand and inching toward her throat.
"W-Wait..." the Celestial Ox forced out through clenched teeth. "Why... why do you have to kill me? We serve different masters. What grudge do you have against me?"
The Black Sheep twisted the fragment forty-five degrees, and the searing pain made the Celestial Ox shriek.
"Look," the Black Sheep said coldly. "What color is this fragment? Tell me... why is the other side covered in blood?"
"Madman... madman... The Celestial Dragon and Blue Dragon did this. What does it have to do with me...?"
The Black Sheep paid no attention to her pleas or screams. He used every ounce of his strength to drive the fragment into her throat.
The Celestial Ox coughed violently on the ground, blood spurting from her mouth like toothpaste.
The brutality of the killing left the surviving "Ultimate Path" members momentarily stunned. But when they snapped out of it, they realized the battle was already won.
The Black Sheep stood frozen over the body for a long time before dragging his exhausted form upright.
Though the Celestial Ox had stopped moving, the Black Sheep didn't look much better.
"I'm in a hurry..." the Black Sheep said, staring at the Celestial Ox's corpse. "If you have any regrets, feel free to come find me in hell for revenge."
He bent down, pulled out the sharp fragment again, and turned to head toward the stairs, bumping into more "Ants" along the way.
"Black Sheep!" Yan Zhichun quickly rushed over to check on him, but since his fur was all dark, she couldn't tell how badly he was injured.
"The rest is up to you..." the Black Sheep said with a wave of his hand. "I have something to deal with."
He limped up the stairs step by step, leaving a worried Yan Zhichun behind.
Jiang Ruoxue stood beside her. "Is that grumpy 'Zodiac' really okay?"
"We can't help him," Yan Zhichun said. "Right now, we need to arrange the 'Ants'' movements... This massive army is in our hands. It's time to put an end to the war."
"Tch," Zhou Mo said, confused. "Do we even need to arrange their movements? Just open the door and let them charge out."
"Most people might do that..." Yan Zhichun looked down in thought. "But Brother Sheep won't. He'll make sure the plan is foolproof. After all, 'Ants' have no vision. Inside the 'Cargo Hold,' they communicate through ground vibrations, but once they're outside, each one will be completely isolated."
Just then, the "Ant King" from earlier stood up and waved in Zhou Mo's direction amidst the swarm of "Ants."
Zhou Mo felt that he wanted to say something, so he walked over and began a "telepathic link."