Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian always held deep respect for opponents who did not fear death. For instance, he would leave them an intact corpse.

And the black-clad swordsman in front of him, Yun, seemed to be treating this deadly contest as a trial.

”I have spent years bitterly seeking the path of the demigod, to no avail.”

Yun turned as he spoke, drawing his blade and dropping into a stance.

”Chess Sword, Swordless, Killing Sword... none allowed me to take that final step.”

”For me, the only path left untrodden is death.”

”Therefore, the moment I stepped in here, my body was already dead. All enemies who come before me are nothing but illusions.”

”I will cut through these illusions to see my true heart, finding life through death.”

This single step toward the Demigod Realm truly drove people mad!

Listening to the swordsman recount his life, Fu Qian shook his head and sighed.In terms of pure strength, he was likely the strongest of all the prisoners they had encountered so far.

Considering he had been stuck at the threshold of the Demigod Realm for years, possessing such power was not entirely surprising.

Judging from his words, the man had clearly gone a little mad and might have even entered this place voluntarily.

Sure enough, everyone in here had something seriously wrong with their heads.

”Are you really going to fight him?”

Elena whispered from beside him, her expression complicated.

”Is that a problem?”

Fu Qian glanced at her.

”Yun... I know of him.”

Elena took a deep breath and spoke quickly.

”Peak Tier 4, a cultivator of the sword path. He arrived in the Shattered Land not long ago, immediately slaughtered an entire exploration team by himself, and was later caught by William.”

”I initially thought that despite his strength, he wasn’t as big a threat as Patrick.”

”But looking at him now, he is even crazier than the Butcher. He is treating this death match as actual cultivation!”

”Before, I wondered what grudge he had against that exploration team. Now it seems he just did it for the sake of killing.”

”When William caught him, he probably didn’t even resist.”

That made sense!

Fu Qian nodded.

Patrick the Butcher appeared crazed and bloodthirsty, but he actually weighed the risks and rewards of his actions extremely well. Back in the hall, for example, he had ultimately held back and refrained from attacking.

This man was entirely different. To him, this was a trial of death.

The others did not even count as opponents; they were merely illusions interfering with his enlightenment. His strategy was simply to kill whatever crossed his path.

The incredibly dense Fire of Sin clinging to his body, and even the faint glimmers of light seeping from his blade, proved exactly that.

”He was already at Peak Tier 4, and now with the enhancement of the Fire of Sin, his strength has probably broken past its limits.”

”Unless you possess Demigod Realm strength, it will be very difficult to face him head-on.”

Elena swallowed hard, clearly not wanting to clash with the man.

Seeing that Fu Qian remained completely unmoved, she added another point.

”You should also know that once you kill an opponent, the Fire of Sin on their body will transfer to you.”

There was a rule like that?

This was the first time Fu Qian had heard of it.

Didn’t that mean if someone was strong enough, they could just find a place to take a nap, wait for everyone else to do the hard work of killing each other, and then swoop in to harvest everything in one go?

Commonly known as fattening the pig before the slaughter—it saved both time and effort.

Of course, the prerequisite for pulling that off was being strong enough.

If the pig was fattened too much, and they could no longer defeat it under the enhancement of the Sin Fire, they would really be shooting themselves in the foot.

”That is a problem. Getting covered in fire would be quite troublesome.”

Fu Qian’s expression immediately turned serious.

”But you seem to be misunderstanding something. It’s not that I insist on killing him, but rather that even if we wanted to leave, he might not let us go.”

That was indeed true.

Elena did not argue. The man in front of them was already a madman obsessed with cultivation; now, with the Sin Fire burning his mind, he was completely beyond saving.

The situation was truly tricky. If she had known, she wouldn’t have rushed down here.

”How about this, then.”

Fu Qian suddenly changed his tune.

”I will beat him half to death later, and you take the head? You’re already soaked anyway.”

...

Was this really about being soaked or not?! Did you never stop to think whether you could actually beat him?!

Elena was so thoroughly stunned by Fu Qian’s idea that she almost screamed.

”Alright, relax. It seems we won’t need to lift a finger after all.”

Ignoring her, Fu Qian cast his gaze into the distance.

We won’t need to lift a finger...

Confused, Elena subconsciously followed Fu Qian’s gaze, and her expression instantly changed.

A rhythmic clanking of metal echoed from the darkness, drawing closer.

A few seconds later, a tall figure rounded the corner of The Corridor in the distance.

Gripping a sword with both hands, its entire body was sealed within a thick suit of Armor. Its head was covered by a helmet molded to resemble human facial features.

A cold gleam flashed across the surface of the snow-bright Armor, leaving trails of white frost in its wake as it walked.

”The Sin Seeker.”

Seeing this, Elena breathed an almost instant sigh of relief.

The Sin Seeker had appeared, which meant someone had already found the Goddess Statue.

It was much faster than expected, but given their current situation, it was undoubtedly a good thing.

After all, there was no doubt it had come specifically for Swordsman Yun.

Moreover...

Elena subtly cast a glance at Fu Qian.

This guy’s strength was truly formidable. She had been keeping a close eye on their surroundings this whole time, yet she completely failed to notice the Sin Seeker approaching.

For a moment, she couldn’t help but feel incredibly glad that she had chosen to step in and save him earlier rather than kicking him while he was down.

’This thing is a bit bizarre!’

Fu Qian naturally recognized it as well; this was the exact image of the Sin Seeker that William had manifested earlier.

But there was a difference between an image and the real thing.

Seeing it up close gave off an entirely different feeling.

First of all, the face molded onto the heavy helmet was not only deeply hideous, but completely seamless. It was hard to believe anyone could actually wear this thing into combat.

Secondly, it seemed to actively block out all perception. Even from such a close distance, he couldn’t tell if there was actually a person inside.

’Could it just be the Armor moving on its own?’

Naturally, Yun also noticed the Sin Seeker. From his perspective, he was undoubtedly caught in a pincer attack.

Under normal circumstances, any sane person would retreat first and look for a chance to defeat their enemies one by one.

However, this swordsman whose body was wreathed in the Sin Fire clearly had his mind burned to the point of irrationality.

Changing targets without hesitation, he immediately shifted his stance toward the Sin Seeker.

The Sin Seeker, who had been marching forward with steady steps, came to a halt a dozen meters away. It seemed to be staring directly at Yun through its sealed helmet.

Even from this distance, they could feel the biting frost radiating from its body.

This silent standoff lasted only a few seconds before the Sin Seeker made its move.

It dropped its weight, bent its knees, and launched its massive, heavy frame high into the air.

Enveloped in a flurry of frost, it crossed the dozen meters in an instant, thrusting its silver-plated Greatsword straight at Yun’s face.

”Excellent swordsmanship!”

Faced with the sudden attack, Yun let out a fierce roar and instantly drew his blade.

The next moment, two arcs of dark red flame crossed into an X mid-air, crashing directly into the Sin Seeker’s body.