Tsukumogami

The Lili with its four severed limbs was still sliding on the ground, and in the darkness, there were flickering lights.

The next second.

Whoosh whoosh!

One Small Missile after another flew over, hitting Lili and exploding into dozens of fireballs.

This Lili surprisingly fragile; when the missiles hit it, its body shattered completely, and burning fragments flew in all directions.

There were many strange people with deformed bodies in there.

They howled in the flames as they slowly died.

The energy Spectrum Signal of the Lili disappeared.

Luo Yan then heard a series of low footsteps approaching.

A moment later.

A mech emerged from behind the building to the left of ' White Dragon '.

This mecha has a slender design, like a woman.

The main paint scheme is vermilion with white patterns, and there are two armor plates on the back that resemble insect wings; their purpose is unknown.

After the red mech took two steps forward, a window popped up on Luo Yan's command console.

'The Mech Red Moth invites you to join a communication group. Do you accept?'

After Luo Yan passed through, an image appeared in the window, showing the pilot of the mecha ' Red Moth ' on the screen.

It turned out to be Luo Yan's classmate, Lin Wei.

Luo Yan was somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here? Your name isn't on the combat roster."

Lin Wei said calmly, "I am participating in this operation as a scholar, so I am not on the combat roster."

scholar...

Luo Yan recalled that Lin Wei had done considerable research on the pictographs of "Guixu".

I even left the Academy for a while not long ago.

We went to the city to participate in deciphering some inscriptions discovered in the 'Guixu'.

"Try not to get close to the giant beasts here," Lin Wei added.

Luo Yan gave him an inquiring look.

Lin Wei sent over a picture.

Luo Yan received the message, and another screen appeared next to the window.

On the screen were the very 'people' that Luo Yan had previously discovered—people who resembled humans but whose bodies were dehydrated and whose limbs were deformed.

"Tsukumogami).

"You can think of them as the 'cells' inside the ' Sangmen Sha '."

"These things parasitize the giant beasts that have been preyed upon by the ' Sangmen Sha ' but haven't been fully digested."

"Then control the behemoth to attack the intruders."

"If we rashly attack the behemoth and get too close, there's a chance we'll be Tsukumogami."

"Therefore, the safest method is to deal with the behemoth using ranged attacks."

Lin Wei seemed to know a great deal about the ' Sangmen Sha Sangmen Sha ', even if she wasn't an expert, she knew more about it than Luo Yan.

Luo Yan asked curiously, "How do you know so much?"

After a moment of silence, Lin Wei said, "The person who deciphered the ' Book of Three Ills ' is Dr. Jia Miao."

"She was my mentor in the study of Guixu script, and I assisted her in deciphering the <Book of Three Ills>."

Luo Yan then understood.

Looking around, Luo Yan asked again, "So now, we're inside the ' Sangmen Sha '?"

"What exactly is it? Is it a living thing?"

Lin Wei said solemnly, "It's not entirely a living being; we can only say that it possesses some characteristics of a living being."

"Our understanding of ' Esha ' is limited to the <Book of Three Ills>. According to the descriptions there, ' Esha ' are things that arise from the underlying rules of the ' Jambu Realm Space '."

"They possess some characteristics of living beings, but they are different from giant beasts."

In the "Book of Three Ills," "Esha" and some other things are referred to as "monsters."

"Strange?" Luo Yan said softly, "Who came up with that definition?"

Who wrote the "Book of Three Ills" and even the many inscriptions and classics in Guixu?

Lin Wei did not respond, but said, "The most important thing now is to destroy the ' Sangmen Sha ' and prevent it from growing."

"According to the original plan, we would blast open the placenta, enter the body of the ' Sangmen Sha ', find the ' Life Gate ' and destroy it, which would cause the ' Sangmen Sha ' to disintegrate on its own."

"Unexpectedly, the explosion of the placenta stimulated the ' Sangmen Sha,' which then captured all targets marked as 'threats' into its body."

"That's the importance of 'experience'."

Luo Yan asked, "What is the Life Gate '?"

"It's a place where malevolent energy gathers; it's mentioned in the ' Book of Three Ills '."

Lin Wei stated frankly, "The three evil spirits—the Mourning Gate, the Pima, and the Hanging Guest—each have their own Life Gate."

"When the Life Gate is broken, the evil influence will naturally dissipate."

"I think it must be something like the Giant Beast Core."

Luo Yan pressed further, "Then how do we find the ' Life Gate '?"

Lin Wei replied, "Although the Three Fiends are 'strange,' they all appear in human form."

"The ' Life Gate ' is right behind them, located between the spinous processes of the second and third lumbar vertebrae."

"It's easier to locate if it's outside."

"But now we're inside it..."

At that moment, a rustling sound came from outside the mecha.

Luo Yan looked out the panoramic window and saw the buildings on both sides covered in flesh and blood.

One by Tsukumogami crawled out.

These things were completely devoid of moisture, their limbs were deformed, and their faces had only one hole-like organ.

However, their appearances include both male and female, young and old.

Their clothing also varied.

They swarmed out in an instant, densely packed, like an ant colony or Insect Tide.

Luo Yan got goosebumps from watching.

"Hurry up!"

"There are too many Tsukumogami, and they will regenerate soon after being killed."

"There's no point in fighting."

Beside the ' White Dragon ', the mech ' Red Moth ' had already turned and started running.

This mech looks much lighter than the ' White Dragon ', but when you step on it, the soft ground still trembles.

Luo Yan dared not act rashly, so he controlled the ' White Dragon ' and followed behind the ' Red Moth '.

Not long after.

A ' Xing Xing ' rushed out of the darkness ahead.

This giant beast looks like a gorilla.

Just like the previous Lili.

The body was dilapidated and showed signs of decay.

In some places, even bones are exposed.

Their bodies were also covered with herpes-like things, inside which were Tsukumogami).

Based on previous experience...

This time, without Lin Wei's prompting, Luo Yan raised his Divine Might Rifle and fired at the giant beast's head.

Bang bang bang bang!

A powerful gunshot rang out in the air.

The bullets, rubbing against the air and glowing red, Xing Xing streaks of fire inside the ' Sangmen Sha ' before striking its head.

Because these behemoths had already been corrupted by the ' Sangmen Sha ' once, their bodies were fragile, and even the Divine Might Rifle could easily penetrate them.

The giant beast charged halfway before its head was riddled with bullets, eventually exploding and crashing to the ground.

The two mechs, ' White Dragon ' and ' Red Moth ', bypassed the beast corpse and sped away.

A moment later.

Countless Tsukumogami surged forth like a tide, passing over the giant beast's corpse like army ants.

After the Tsukumogami left, only a skeleton remained of the giant beast.