One-Eyed Monster

”These must be the Alchemy Workshop’s Exchange Beasts!” exclaimed Baharo. His two flying swords were still battling with two Walking Corpses.

Strangely enough, these lifeless puppets seemed to gain strength with each battle, as if each split of the host’s body could grant these parasites more energy.

However, the sudden appearance of those birds and beasts did not inflict a major shock on the formation of the Walking Corpses. Indeed, the gnawing of the rats, the trampling of the rabbits, the flying disruption of the sparrows... When they first appeared, their numbers were impressive, and they indeed brought down three or four Walking Corpses. However, as the other side adapted, the Walking Corpses seemed to regain control of the battle.

After several Walking Corpses fell, they significantly strengthened their defense against these flying beasts. While the rats were indeed numerous, they were still far from causing chaos among a dozen or so people. The Walking Corpses merely adjusted their formation slightly, effectively undermining the initial advantage of the rats’ dense numbers. The Walking Corpses simply tightened their loose circular formation, dispersing the rats. A rat that had climbed onto one target suddenly found its perch growing wider and taller. The rodents then surged towards uncovered areas, giving the Walking Corpses an opportunity to counterattack.

Despite being animals, the rats and rabbits were vulnerable against these mindless humans. Had these flying beasts not been the Alchemy Workshop’s Exchange Beasts, they might have scattered by now. The Walking Corpses—after all, mere shells of humans—were more than capable of dealing with animals like rats.

Although these flying beasts couldn’t defeat the swarm of Walking Corpses, they successfully delayed their advance, breaking their formation a little.

Kadi, who was typically quiet, began to sense something amiss, and the feeling intensified. He felt as if the entire mountain was trembling. The previously gloomy Dawn Peak had suddenly sprung to life, now filled with an intense smell of blood, so thick he could barely breathe...

Kadi seemed to see himself navigating a pile of mangled remains—arms, thighs, heads, and internal organs densely packed at his feet. He climbed out from the bloody pile of corpses and headed towards the deep mountains. But with every step he took, one or two Living Beings would die before him, adding to the bloody stench in the already dense pile of bodies.

Kadi crawled and crawled, his hands and feet soaked with blood, yet he still couldn’t escape this Hell filled with mangled remains. He felt helpless, heartbroken, and filled with fear...

But he couldn’t cry out. Everything was unfamiliar in this place—the trees, the roads, the stones, everything... He could only move deeper into the mountains, as he had no other choice; the sheer number of mangled remains told him that if he lingered, he too would be reduced to bones.

Forget myself, forget everything, hide everything. Surviving is the most important thing...

In that moment, Kadi seemed to have entered another world. In that world, he was alone, trembling, and persevering...

”This is not the time to daydream!” Igor’s roar woke Kadi. The clash between the Walking Corpses and flying beasts had reached a stalemate. The number of flying beasts increased, while the movements of the Walking Corpses quickened. Stan Sol and Baharo stopped chopping the corpses, as they just multiplied—chopping off a leg could result in a new ”companion.” Both Stan Sol and Baharo were wise enough to understand this, so they immediately put away their weapons, focusing on defense instead.

The attack of the Alchemy Workshop’s flying beasts provided a chance for Stan Sol and the others to escape. Naturally, they wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. They took advantage of the tightening of the Walking Corpses’ formation and quickly burst out. Stan Sol was also carrying Hustace, who had passed out from fear.

The escape of Stan Sol and Baharo disrupted the tacit standoff between the Walking Corpses and the flying beasts. Both sides detached a group to chase the escapees, leaving only a small number to engage each other and, incidentally, to deal with Igor and Kadi.

”Sure enough, their target is still your friend.” Kadi, having snapped out of his daydream, wagged his tail and brushed off a blood-soaked hand that had been grasping him.

”You mean Hustace?” Igor attempted to flee down the mountain, but a flying head blocked his way. If he chose to force his way through, the head’s enlarged mouth would undoubtedly bite his face...

The small patch of ground in front of Igor was filled with various flying beasts and mangled remains—the result of the standoff between the flying beasts and the Walking Corpses.

Defeated flying beasts lay on the ground, emitting puffs of white mist, while the mangled remains were blood-soaked. The scattered remains lying on the ground looked truly terrifying.

”This really is a catastrophe, death and injury everywhere. Wire Puppets are really vile.” Igor gritted his teeth, but he couldn’t summon his Scale of Faith because his sadness outweighed his anger at that moment.

”What’s even more despicable is the one controlling the Wire Puppets. Wire Puppets do not possess high intelligence, yet the batch before us was laying out formations. There must be an Alchemist behind this.” Kadi once again dodged an arm’s attack. By then, he had already used his tail to clear a path for escape. The strange circle formed by Walking Corpses was getting smaller as the flying beasts continued to attack, and many fragmented corpses on the ground could no longer rise and run.

”How do you know all these things?” Igor followed Kadi into the gap he had cleared, without uttering another word.

”I read all the books about these monsters when I was very young. I was hoping to find others like me, but to no avail,” Kadi answered while running down the hill. The gap he had created was large enough for them to pass through the perimeter of Walking Corpses.

”You can actually read?”

”Old Kevin taught me. It’s no big deal. Keep up with me.”

As Igor and Kadi ran, dodging the pursuing fragmented corpses, sparrows would occasionally fly up next to them, adding to the confusion.

「While Igor and Kadi were running, at the bottom of Guru Mountain, the Golden Seats at the Alchemy Workshop in Lubin Tavern were bustling with activity.」

”Hector, focus on harassment. Don’t let them realize our true intention. Joela, feint!” Kuyi Tulan, based on the Shared Perspective, was issuing commands.

”Chief, we found Dastan’s trail!” Milo reported, clearly excited.

”Don’t alert him for now. He is a cautious one. I suspect the failure of the Heaven and Earth Bind previously was his sabotage.”

”Chief, Rostov’s son is surrounded by flames by that Hunter. That flame is an Exotic Fire; I can’t get close,” Carmello reported.

”Just follow him for now. We only need to ensure that Rostov’s son is not in any life-threatening danger.”

”The other side is using an Annihilation Array, or the forbidden Wire Puppet. It must be Dark Alchemy. So many people have been arbitrarily stripped of their lives; it’s utterly atrocious!” exclaimed Pedro, overwhelmed by the atrocity.

”Now is not the time to sympathize. Everything comes at a cost; it’s just that their choice differs from ours,” Kuyi Tulan waved his hand, instructing his subordinates not to lose control of their emotions over this. ”Our mission is still to set the bait and catch the big fish. Don’t be distracted by what’s in front of you.”

”Yes! I will keep a close eye on that Alien Species.” Pedro closed his eyes, pouring Spirit Power into one corner of the Hexagram.

”Brad!”

”Here!”

”Break their Annihilation Array for me. It’s time to set the bait.”

”Yes!” The usually silent Brad had a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. His favorite task was finally here.

”Like repels like, opposites attract, collide and annihilate, BREAK!”

BOOM! A loud noise came from inside the Lubin Tavern, but nothing seemed to have happened inside. Through the window, one could see a few Alchemists sitting together drinking, appearing tranquil and harmonious.