Chapter 178

Why did Zuo Jian sense a subtle sadness emanating from this body from time to time...? Was the white figure he saw earlier the owner of this body? Yet, all he sensed about the other person's "resurrection" was... unwillingness and sorrow.

Why?

Could it be that...

He turned his head slightly and glanced at the black-robed Sarkaz all around him.

"Chief... Her Highness... something seems wrong."

The leader, Sarkaz, waved his hand in response.

"Now that she is traveling with the Collective Souls, she can no longer be as willful as before... From this day forward, the Demon King will only be the Demon King of Sarkaz!"

Upon hearing this, the black-robed Sarkaz around him showed signs of agitation, but more than that, they were filled with a kind of fanatical emotion. Countless gazes were now cast toward the Zuo Jian of the altar, making the latter feel an indescribable... unease.

What did those guys mean by what they said? What did they mean by "being one with Collective Souls"?

Zuo Jian's doubts didn't last long before a flashback in his vision answered everything for him.

In a daze, Zuo Jian seemed to re-enter the consciousness space of this body, where he saw a bizarre scene.

Numerous dark figures coalesced into withered limbs, twisting and spreading throughout the cramped space. Among them, Zuo Jian finally spotted the woman he had glimpsed earlier.

However, the latter stood quietly in the center of the dark spirit's limbs, her head lowered, her eyes closed, and her wrists and ankles were bound with shackles that looked like they were made of black thorns.

The pure Sarkaz woman only slightly opened her eyes. She seemed to see Zuo Jian, and her red lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to convey her words, but in the end, she was suppressed by the black spirits around her and could not make a sound.

!!!!!

In an instant, Zuo Jian understood the general situation.

Were these madmen reviving the long-dead Sarkaz woman not for any other reason than to use her as a puppet?

... They won't even spare the dead?

Zuo Jian lowered his Zuo Jian slightly, his pale blue eyes growing increasingly cold.

At the same time, his hands began to clench into fists unconsciously.

However, the real-life leader of the Sarkaz in black robes seemed to have noticed this, but merely shook his head in disappointment.

"It seems the body has been lifeless for too long, Your Highness. There's no need to rush to move the body; we still have plenty of time..."

Before the other person could finish speaking, the sound of struggling footsteps suddenly came from the passage. Everyone turned around and looked at the darkness as several figures slowly emerged from it.

There were several enormous, grotesque monsters, each bearing features of various Sarkaz branches, yet they didn't seem to have grown naturally; rather, they appeared as if they had been forcibly stitched together by some means, creating an incongruous sight!

The leader looked up and saw two of the monsters: one carrying a blonde girl who had already fainted, and the other roughly grabbing a woman covered in blood who was still struggling, dressed in the same black robes as the Sarkaz around her.

Behind those monsters, another heavily wounded blue-haired Sarkaz woman humbly approached the leader and bowed her head, speaking.

"We've brought the person back... Chief."

You're injured.

The leader stepped forward, his golden mask concealing a pair of unreadable eyes that slowly scanned the empty sleeve on the other person's shoulder.

"I..."

"Don't blame yourself. You've done enough. In fact—if it weren't for that Bloodfiend Great Lord inexplicably demanding the withdrawal of the Sarkaz troops who had entered Londinium ahead of time, you might not have been captured by Salus with just an arm as the price. In a sense, the Bloodfiend Great Lord's seemingly irrational actions disrupted your escape plan. Am I right...?"

The leader looked at the black-robed woman before him, who was being controlled by Chimeras monster stitched with various Sarkaz features, and spoke.

"Sister, I want to know why you did this? Was it because the laboratory in Londinium didn't meet your needs? Or were you dissatisfied with the condition of the experimental subjects?"

"The experimental subject was already at a critical moment, yet you tried to take her away from our control. Why? Sister?"

The leader bent down slightly, looking at the subdued Sarkaz woman with a puzzled expression, and spoke.

"Don't call me that... you monster..."

The girl struggled to lift her head, staring intently at the black-robed leader with her angry eyes, while spitting out his name through gritted teeth.

"Kuisatushta!!!"

"I'm sorry, sister, you seem to have lost our original direction, but it's alright. Even so, we will still choose to accept you. Your willful actions ultimately couldn't save that girl. Rather, only by continuing the experiment can we truly redeem her—you see, on our shared path, even the departed Demon King will rise again to provide for us—"

The Sarkaz, known as Kuisatushta, turned to show his "sister" the "feat" they had just accomplished, but the next moment, he was met with a whooshing sound of wind breaking through the air!

Boom!!!!!!

A tremendous force, fueled by rage, erupted from his fist, striking Kuisatushta directly in the face as he turned his head!

The golden mask was shattered, and the person, caught completely off guard, was sent flying backward before crashing heavily to the ground!

"What?!"

The sudden change shocked everyone present. They stared, somewhat dumbfounded, at the "Demon King" standing on the altar, his fist retracted.

Her gentle face was now contorted with rage as she glared at everyone present.

"The cultists in this world have really impressed me; they handle both rituals and human experimentation with ease—"

"And... just like insects in the shadows, you can't kill them all no matter how hard you try."

Zuo Jian looked at the blonde girl, whose vital signs were extremely weak, who was being carried on the monster's shoulder. In an instant, he thought of those canine scum from the Church of the Deep once again.

Only...

He flexed the body's hands, looking at the numerous rings adorning them. In that brief burst of power, the rings on his hands had even functioned as brass knuckles, but...

I'm not used to it.

This body, unable to adjust its state at will, made him quite uncomfortable. Moreover, seemingly due to his resurrection, he could sense that it contained even greater power, yet he couldn't control or manipulate it. In other words... compared to his own body, this was really too awkward.

But... it doesn't matter.

His connection to his flesh and blood still exists, but he can't feel the part that belongs to Laurentina for the time being.

Raise your hand, clench your fist... Then, out of sight of them, on the ground, amidst Laurentina and the others who were bewildered by Zuo Jian's sudden collapse.

The fallen "corpse" on the Zuo Jian suddenly began to tremble.

It rose up, then, as if summoned by something, it rapidly dissolved into crimson blood clumps, rushing towards the cave hidden behind the sorcery not far away!!

"Zuo Jian!!!"

Laurentina suddenly froze on the spot, staring blankly at the blood clot that seemed to have been "stolen." Her eyes were instantly filled with overwhelming killing intent, and the mimicry clothing on her body completely lost its original color due to the boiling of her blood, turning into a thick, bloody hue.

"Hey! Laurentina, calm down! The situation isn't..."

The Doctor tried to stop her, but it was clear that his words couldn't reach Laurentina's mind, which had already lost its composure.

"Put the Zuo Jian..."

She bent over, and unparalleled explosive power began to spread through her body!

"Give it back to me!!!!!!!!!"

Boom!!!!!

The Doctor wanted to say something more, but the next moment he was met with pressure and a suffocating feeling from the other party, as if a cannonball had been fired.

By the time my brain reacted, my body had already been thrown into the air, accompanied by a ringing in my ears!

Where Laurentina had just stood, only a scene of utter devastation remained.

"Doctor!"

Just as she was covering her ears in discomfort, Skadi suddenly leaped into the air and grabbed her, then landed and plunged her greatsword into the ground, preventing them from being blown away by the aftershocks of Laurentina's outburst.

In that instant, she could even feel Skadi react quickly and rush in front of her to help her absorb most of the impact. However, even so, she still almost flew straight out like a kite with a broken string.

"What kind of crazy physical abilities is this..."

(Little Te... no, His Highness himself will have a scene soon, don't worry, don't worry.)

Chapter Thirteen, Who is the Blasphemer? (Another long chapter)

"Damn it."

The Doctor slowly rose behind Skadi, making sure to pull his hood back up after it had been flipped up.

While chatting with Laurentina on the land vehicle, he thought she was much calmer and more perceptive than he had predicted. In a sense, her prediction wasn't wrong, but that was all based on the Zuo Jian that Zuo Jian hadn't encountered a special situation like the one he was in now.

She sighed deeply. The initial plan was now half ruined, not to mention what Zuo Jian had encountered... Damn it, it would be strange if she weren't worried.

"Skadi! Are you hurt?"

Looking up, the Doctor glanced helplessly at the Orca still beside him. The baby orca shook its head, indicating that it was not injured in the incident.

"That's good... Can you keep up with Laurentina?"

"Hard to say, the Shark's speed just now... was a bit beyond expectations."

She drew her greatsword, straddled it, and answered in disbelief.

The Shark's burst of speed at that moment even seemed more exaggerated to her than the original second team captain.

"But if we set off now, we should be able to catch up within a few minutes after the Shark stops..."

"Let's go then! Damn it, what's with this feeling of having a well-thought-out plan that always seems to go wrong and ends up having to improvise?"

"Yes, Doctor, hold on tight."

Skadi nodded, then hoisted the former onto her back and followed.

Zuo Jian... you'll be alright, won't you?

The Doctor, enduring the jolting from Skadi's back as they ran, couldn't help but feel worried.

It's not really Laurentina's fault; everything happened too fast, and for a moment she even felt like she had stopped thinking...

Damn it, if I had reacted any faster, I might have been able to stop Laurentina! Who knows what dangers she might encounter if she just rushes in like that... after all, the enemy's ability is mental interference...

At this point, we can only take it one step at a time!

She gritted her teeth, enduring the jolt that felt like it was shaking her brain to its core, and patted Skadi to indicate that she could still bear it and that she should ignore her and just go full speed ahead.

Meanwhile, in the underground tomb on the other side...

Zuo Jian squinted at his right fist; the knuckles were even scraped raw by the force of the blow, and fine beads of blood were seeping out.

... This is, after all, someone else's body. The long-lost sensation of pain and the feeling of being bound to the outline of a human form are constantly reminding him that this is not his... or rather, Laurentina's body.

This resurrected body had its bodily functions restarted for some reason, but this also made it even weaker. Judging from the force of that punch just now, it only shattered the mask and sent the cult leader flying instead of killing him outright. The body's current condition could even be described as weak.

But...

I knew I couldn't tolerate this kind of thing.

Clatter

Zuo Jian stepped forward, his pale blue pupils gradually turning dark.

His eyes were blue, and it even seemed as if anger was burning within them.

She is dead.

This girl is still filled with this sense of sorrow even after her death, and you still won't let her go?

Clatter

With each step he took, the heavy thud of his footsteps struck the hearts of everyone present like a heavy hammer.

Zuo Jian could sense that this long-dead soul carried a gentle aura; in life, she must have undoubtedly been a kind woman, but...

"Is gentleness and kindness your excuse for blaspheming the dead?"

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the two Sarkaz girls who were being controlled by the Chimeras monsters.

Ah, he almost forgot, questioning them was completely pointless, after all...

They even use living people for experiments, which shows that they have no respect for life whatsoever.

"Make your move, Salus..."

Just then, the black-robed leader, or rather, Kuisatushta, who had just been punched away, struggled to his feet and spoke.

He coughed up blood, then shouted at all the black-robed Sarkaz around him.

"Deal with her! Princess Theresa hasn't returned! This being has defiled her soul and body!!!"

Cough cough...

Kuisatushta coughed up another mouthful of blood, then opened one eye and stared intently at the figure standing not far away. At this moment, he could see that the other person was surrounded by a large amount of emotion called "rage".