A Flaw in His Character

Dax's hands trembled, and blood kept streaming from his nose, but he still managed to fire the arrow.

The arrow flew through the net and struck the crows. A delighted grin spread across Dax's face. So what if they were Negary's followers? So what if they carried disease? I still outsmarted them.

Ever since their companion died, and then two more of them succumbed to the plague, he had vaguely sensed that the crows were following them. That was when he gradually came up with this plan. It didn't matter if they died. As long as they killed these monsters and made sure they couldn't carry the plague back to the village, that was enough.

One of his companions' eyes suddenly burst. A force pierced through the slit of his eyelid, and black blood sprayed out. He fell to the ground and died with a crazed smile on his face.

Wang Yuan did not stop. He ordered the wounded crows that were close to death to block the uninjured ones, while rushing toward another man. Interference Force surged out and killed him.

"Komoro, kill those crows." Black blood spilled from Dax's mouth. He could no longer pull the bowstring, and fell to the ground, his life nearing its end.

Komoro held his bow and arrow with trembling hands. Earlier, he had been able to shoot alongside the others, but now, with some of them dead and the rest close to death, he had become their only attacker. Instead, he no longer dared to shoot. After all, they were Negary's messengers.

"Don't be afraid, Komoro!" Dax shouted with the last of his strength, giving Komoro the courage he needed. He nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring.

Wang Yuan didn't even have time to regret leaving Komoro uninfected. His mind raced as he searched for a way to turn the situation around.

Only six crows remained, three of them badly wounded by arrows. It was uncertain whether they would even survive. But the biggest problem was that unless he dealt with Komoro, all the crows would die!

"The White Qi around him is still strong. It'll take me at least a few minutes to cancel it out, and in that time, he can kill the remaining crows." Wang Yuan charged at Komoro, but the White Qi around him made it impossible even to speak to him.

"There has to be a way." Wang Yuan forced himself to calm down. Seeing the blood left behind by the crows, he thought of a plan that might work. "I just don't have enough Interference Force."

Wang Yuan turned to look at the dying Dax. He stopped thinking and killed him without hesitation, absorbing all the White Qi and the cool energy that emerged from his body.

Dax's emotions were different from those of the other dead. They were filled with madness, determination, and satisfaction. His emotions and memories troubled Wang Yuan, but he sensed another crow's consciousness vanish.

Wang Yuan's Interference Force surged out, gathering some crow blood from the ground. He used all of it to splash the blood onto Komoro's face.

Drenched in foul-smelling blood, Komoro froze for a moment, then immediately cried out in terror. The arrow he fired went wide.

Even though medicine was underdeveloped here—one could even say they were ignorant and backward—they knew that the plague was contagious, especially the blood of the infected. Anyone who came into contact with it would also be targeted by Negary.

"Was it you who killed my messenger?" A strange, strangely familiar voice suddenly rang out. Komoro was startled and hurriedly searched for its source.

But when he found where the voice was coming from, his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground. "The... dead are coming back to life!"

The speaker was Dax, who had already died. He lay on the ground, his eyes dull, but his mouth opened and closed like a fish struggling to breathe on land.

The voice was incredibly strange, with an imperfect accent. Unless one listened carefully, it was impossible to make out what he was saying.

"Was it you who killed my messengers, human?" This time, the words were much clearer. There were still plenty of problems with the pronunciation, but at least Komoro understood what he was saying.

"You, you're Negary!" Komoro cried out in terror.

"You killed so many of my messengers. I curse you to die in agony from disease. Your skin will rot, your blood will turn black, and your bones will decay."

"No! Please, I didn't mean to! Dax forced me to do it. Spare me, great and revered Negary! Please lift your curse and give me a chance to atone." Komoro fell to his knees, begging in terror.

"Is that so?" Dax's dead body spoke in a strange, garbled voice. "If you wish to atone, there may be a way."

"P-please tell me, great Negary." Komoro trembled all over. His voice was filled with too many emotions: elation, fear, resentment, regret, and shame.

"Heh heh heh!" Dax's corpse let out a grinding laugh. "Since you killed my messengers, you will naturally raise more for me."

The two surviving crows finally struggled free from the net. As for the wounded ones, they had already succumbed to their injuries. Dax and the others had smeared the arrows with the poisonous sap of a plant. Of Wang Yuan's thirteen Mutated Crows, only these two remained.

"These two messengers of mine will follow you and help suppress the plague within you. You must spread word of my greatness and get more people to raise messengers for me. Otherwise, not only you but your entire village will suffer my curse and perish in the plague!"

"Yes, yes, great Negary. I'll obey your instructions," Komoro replied hurriedly.

"Human, judging by your foolishness, accomplishing anything will be extremely difficult for you. But in light of your piety, I grant you the right to summon me. Whenever you face trouble, you may seek my help."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Negary." Komoro thanked him profusely, then cautiously asked, "How do I summon you?"

"Just offer me whatever you're using to speak with me now!" Dax's corpse said, then closed its mouth.

Komoro waited cautiously for a while before he was sure that the great Negary had left. The two pitch-black crows, however, were still watching Dax with their dark eyes.

Wang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. The problem was finally solved, at least for now. Aside from losing eleven crows, everything had gone more or less according to plan.

There were many reasons things had turned out this way, but the most important was that he was too weak. This weakness wasn't limited to strength; it extended to all sorts of other things as well.

At first, he had been an ordinary person, a weakling. Even after becoming a fragmentary soul, undergoing a change in personality, and gaining supernatural powers, he was still weak. His character had many flaws: he was prone to getting carried away and letting his guard down. If he didn't change, problems like this would happen again.

Wang Yuan's thoughts raced. He needed to become stronger—not just in power, but in character as well!