Chapter 36 - 36: thirty-two went home
Chapter 36: thirty-two went home
Looking at the two knights who had died before him, Bai Wei clapped his hands with quite some satisfaction.
He had made the right decision earlier by instructing Ulu to also cut off Lu Ji’s right thumb. This move successfully confused the bunch of knights, who couldn’t figure out whether his real body was the middle finger of the left hand or the thumb of the right hand. Then, he caught these two knights off guard and prevented them from spreading the message, allowing him to continue his deception in the upcoming battles.
But to tell the truth, if possible, Bai Wei didn’t want to be so crafty. Wouldn’t it be better to just bulldoze through?
However, the rule sealed in Visas’s left middle finger was not a combat type, and Ulu’s body was just too weak. Without some brainwork, it really wasn’t easy to fight.
As for now…
Bai Wei looked at the corpse in front of him, then gently closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the expression in his eyes had shifted from calm to frantic, especially upon seeing the two dead knights, Priest Ulu, who had regained control of his body, was so frightened that he nearly toppled over.
“Can’t you show a little backbone?” Bai Wei asked slowly. “They’re already dead. What are you afraid of?”
Ulu swallowed hard, his face pale: “These knights are Kelsay’s subordinates… they… they already know?!”
“Ah, it seems so,” Bai Wei said nonchalantly. “But shouldn’t you have been prepared for this? The moment you gained my power, you were bound to become an enemy of the world sooner or later.”
But this is too soon!
Ulu had no idea what to do and was about to say something more when he suddenly heard the sound of armor friction at the end of the street corner.
Kelsay… is here!
“No, I can’t beat him; I’m definitely no match for him,” Ulu could only pin all his hopes on Visas, “Lord Visas, you…”
“Oh, sorry,” Bai Wei interrupted Ulu directly, and then with a smile, he said the words Ulu least wanted to hear, “Your Knight Master friend is quite powerful. With just one finger, I can’t beat him either.”
Ulu’s eyes widened.
Lord Visas… can’t beat him?! Then isn’t he doomed tonight?
He stood there dumbly, watching as the silhouettes of the knights slowly emerged from the darkness.
Then he heard Bai Wei’s voice, filled with frustration.
“What are you dawdling for?”
“Run.”
…
One minute later, Kelsay looked at the two knights dead before him, his face extremely grim.
Kelsay was very familiar with the strength of his subordinates. He couldn’t believe that Ulu, with his ability, could defeat any one of them, even with the aid of a Taboo. After all, neither Taboo Twenty-Nine nor Taboo Twenty-Four were combat-related rules. In the hands of the powerful, they were terrifying, but in the hands of Ulu, they shouldn’t pose much of a threat.
So how did he do it?
Kelsay’s anger grew.
That damn dog, how much more is he hiding? Or could it be that there’s more to Visas’s Corpse than what is recorded?
He couldn’t drag this out any longer; he had to find him tonight.
Kelsay beckoned with his finger, and two knights brought the previous servant forward. These fellows had claimed that Ulu stepped in on behalf of a little thief, which led Kelsay and his men to the child’s home, only to find Ulu had never been there, and the child had no idea who Ulu was until his death.
This had also delayed them too long. If Kelsay hadn’t arranged for a few knights to wait here in advance, he still might not know Ulu’s whereabouts by now.
Facing the three trembling servants, Kelsay wasted no words. He drew his sword and cut one down, immediately frightening the remaining two into collapse.
“You have one last chance,” Kelsay said indifferently, “Tell me, where will that guy go?”
The servants never imagined that Kelsay would lay hands on them. Watching their companion’s blood splash onto their bodies, they nearly fainted.
They had no idea where Ulu might be headed, but faced with Kelsay’s sword, they dared not admit their ignorance.
Fortunately, at that moment, a knight ran over and reported to Kelsay, “Knight Master, there’s another path leading out of the town. Judging from the footprints, Priest Wu Lu most likely ran that way.”
Kelsay narrowed his eyes, “A path?”
Upon hearing the knight’s report, the two servants leaped up as if clutching at straws, “Yes, yes, yes, there’s a path leading out of town.”
“There are about a dozen households outside the town, and beyond that is a dead end. That guy definitely can’t escape!”
Hearing this, Kelsay nodded and sheathed his sword.
Seeing this, the two servants were just about to breathe a sigh of relief when they heard Kelsay speak again.
“You two, come search with us. If we don’t find him, don’t bother coming back.”
…
Ulu was running wildly through the night.
He didn’t want to die, he truly didn’t.
Over the years, he was most afraid of two people, one was Lu Ji and the other was Kelsay, with the latter casting an even larger shadow over his psyche.
If Lu Ji was a psychologically twisted bastard, then Kelsay was a lunatic who would stop at nothing. Ulu couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen to him if he fell into Kelsay’s hands.
Previously, Lord Visas gave him some confidence, but now that Visas himself admitted he was no match for Kelsay, Ulu had no shred of courage to face Kelsay.
So all Ulu could do was run, run for his life.
He hadn’t been this wretched in a long time, for he could no longer return to the small chapel he’d striven at for twenty years. Now he had lost money, status, everything—his life was all that remained.
The efforts and struggles of twenty years had turned to naught, and chasing him was a demon out for his life.
He was truly terrified.
In this moment, he was like a very small child again, like the times he’d caused trouble in the town; he would run madly to a place, just like tonight.
What place was it?
He couldn’t remember.
But on this pitch-black path where his feet couldn’t even see what was beneath them, his steps were anything but hesitant, as if he had traversed this path countless times.
Why was this…?
He didn’t know, not until his legs gave out and he collapsed into a pile of ruins.
He struggled to rise and continue running but couldn’t move.
Because these ruins where he lay consisted of charred blocks of wood.
In this moment, he suddenly realized something.
He had come home.