Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Demigod Realm really was on another level!

Watching the flesh—already blown to a bloody mush—still writhing and struggling to reform, Fu Qian marveled silently.

This was the first time he had seen a transcendent of this tier die right in front of him.

Fu Qian began to understand why places like the Restricted Zone existed.

Leaving such twisted entities loose in the outside world was simply too dangerous.

However, the scene before him finally verified his theory.

Even though Henrik had been blown to pieces, there was still no sign of anything resembling the Blood of Thorns.

Holding back from dealing the killing blow earlier had been the right call.

Poker Face and the others were clearly well-trained; they immediately directed their people forward to secure Henrik’s mangled corpse.

Yuan Shan looked toward the direction Henrik had charged, remaining silent for a long time. Her expression was darker than ever.The Chen brothers, Mingda and Mingfei, happened to be standing in that exact spot.

Following her gaze, Fu Qian noticed Chen Mingda’s eyes darting nervously between him and Yuan Shan. The man wore a very peculiar expression.

”Chief Yuan, if there are no further issues, I’ll take my people and head back.”

Chen Xing stepped forward, offering a light cough. His face carried the relief of someone who had just avenged a great wrong.

Yuan Shan ignored him, keeping her cold gaze locked on the Chen brothers.

’You think it’s suspicious too? Henrik’s final outburst was indeed strange.’

”Brother Mingda, are you alright?”

Fu Qian walked right up to Chen Mingda and greeted him.

”Brother Fang, I didn’t expect you to rush over here as well.”

Chen Mingda forced a smile.

”As soon as we received the message, Chief Yuan and I rushed right over.”

Fu Qian purposely phrased his words to sound misleading.

”I’m very glad to see you here.”

”What do you mean?”

Chen Mingda furrowed his brows, staring at Fu Qian in confusion.

His only answer was a long whip snapping right at his face.

”What are you doing!”

Chen Mingda paled in shock. Unable to dodge, he took the strike directly to the face, leaving a long, red welt.

”Nothing.”

Fu Qian took another step forward and lashed out with the whip once more.

”You dare!”

Witnessing this, Chen Xing roared in fury.

He was just about to intervene when two crossed black ribbons blocked his path.

”Chief Yuan, what is the meaning of this? Who is this guy?”

Shocked that Yuan Shan would physically block him, Chen Xing demanded harshly.

He watched Chen Mingda retreat step by step, completely defenseless against Fu Qian.

”Even if he is a Night Watcher, he cannot assault a member of the Chen Clan without cause!”

But before he could finish his sentence, a violent, raging roar echoed out.

Chen Mingda stopped backpedaling. His arms swelled to several times their normal size, easily catching Fu Qian’s next lash.

The horrifying sight made Chen Mingfei cry out in alarm.

”So annoying!”

Chen Mingda raised his head, revealing bloodshot eyes.

Amidst that brutal roar, half of Chen Mingfei’s head was instantly sheared off, exposing a twitching tongue in his ruined mouth.

”Mingda, you... why?”

Staring at Chen Mingfei’s mutilated corpse, Chen Xing’s eyes were splitting with rage.

”Why?”

Chen Mingda looked down at his own body and let out a raspy, manic laugh.

The bizarre mutation was no longer confined to his arms. His entire body had grotesquely inflated.

Countless blood-red veins surfaced across his skin, knotting together among a dense cluster of bulging lumps.

”I worked harder than anyone else, yet I could never cross that threshold.”

”Even this idiot dared to mock me as he pleased.”

Chen Mingda shook Chen Mingfei’s severed head in his grip.

”How could this useless sack of straw ever compare to me? Yet he dared to act arrogant in front of me every single day, even claiming to be the next heir.”

’Chen Mingda really was compromised after all!’

By now, Fu Qian had already pulled back his whip and retreated to the side.

’My guess was right. He repressed his resentment for so long that he turned into a complete psychopath!’

’Looking at it now, he really is connected to that rabbit.’

’When he visited Wen Li back then, he was taking the opportunity to probe me.’

’Henrik seemed to have briefly regained his senses just now; his desperate, suicidal charge was aimed straight at him.’

’Unfortunately, Yuan Shan is a Chief of the Night Watchers. Even if she had her suspicions, she couldn’t strike without proof.’

’But I don’t have those reservations.’

’I deliberately phrased my words to make him think Yuan Shan and I had a prior understanding, hinting that we came here specifically for him.’

’If he truly had skeletons in his closet, his first instinct would be that his secret was exposed.’

’The reason I lashed him with a whip was because, judging from his previous behavior, Chen Mingda was quite calculating. His mental fortitude might actually be decent.’

’In that case, it was best to apply a little physical pressure to chip away at his reason.’

’Only then would he be likely to expose a flaw.’

’Besides, a whip was relatively mild. If I had been wrong, I could have just brushed it off as an impromptu sparring session.’

’The results proved incredibly effective.’

’After a few consecutive lashes, Chen Mingda directly blew his own cover.’

’Tyrant’s Fist is an absolute godsend for interrogations, as long as the target’s realm isn’t too high.’ Fu Qian glanced at the Ring on his finger.

”I tried hard for far too long. Just as I was on the brink of despair, I was given an opportunity. In the end, I accepted the deal.”

Chen Mingda stared at Chen Xing.

”As long as it could help me cross that threshold, I didn’t care what price I had to pay. If I got caught, I’d just accept my fate.”

”I have seen far too many fools make deals with them.”

Yuan Shan watched him coldly.

”Everything comes with a price. Look at yourself now... You don’t even realize what you’ve turned into.”

”How laughable. Do you think you’re still yourself right now?”

”Why wouldn’t I be? I feel better than I ever have before. I’ve waited too long for this moment...”

Before Chen Mingda could finish, he suddenly let out a wretched scream.

His already swollen head bulged even further before exploding into a mass of mangled flesh and blood.

Bizarrely, his body remained standing.

”Chief Yuan, your assessment of us is rather biased.”

A strange voice echoed out from the mangled bloody mess.

”Although our philosophies differ, the Origin Council are not swindlers.”

”If possible, I had hoped to see this transaction through.”

”What a pity. His mind was just too fragile!”

”Also—”

The shattered remains of his head turned toward Fu Qian.

”That thing in your hand is quite interesting.”

”Is that so?”

Yuan Shan waved her hand, and a flurry of ribbons completely sealed off the surroundings.

”Destroying me is meaningless. This is nothing more than a scrap of flesh carrying my consciousness.”

”Even if it’s ground into dust, you can’t cause me any actual harm.”

”I have already taken the item. Leaving it in your hands would be recklessly wasting heaven’s gifts. You simply don’t understand its true value.”

”What makes it so valuable?”

Fu Qian suddenly interrupted.

”You’re interested?”

”I can be.”

Hahaha!

The voice paused for a second before bursting into a bout of manic laughter.

However, the laughter came to an abrupt halt as the deformed head was smashed to pieces by a fist, splattering into a shower of bloody water.

Having thrown that punch, Chen Xing seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.