The stretcher formed by the Smoke Soldiers was anything but comfortable, its hard surface digging into him.
Bai Zhu lay on it, staring up at the gray sky and the wisps of black smoke that refused to disperse. Gunfire and agonized screams drifted over from the distance now and then.
He tried moving his fingers. They were weak and sore, as if he had just finished a marathon.
[Current Available Reiatsu: 3]
The number on the system panel ticked up sluggishly, then went still again. At least it was no longer dropping to zero instantly. It seemed the debt had finally been paid off.
Still, wasn't this recovery speed far too slow compared to his current physical condition?
It seemed that forcibly using Zanka no Tachi had cost him more than he had expected. His body felt as though it had been torn apart and haphazardly reassembled, every muscle protesting.
But he had no mind to think about that right now, because his thoughts were entirely occupied by the Slender Hound he had split in two.
Something was wrong. The more he thought about it, the more wrong it seemed.
The pressure that thing had given him when they first met completely failed to match what it had shown now. And its current performance did not justify Zhang Ye sealing it away so solemnly, either. After losing its underground core, it had degraded into a Husk capable only of devouring and imitating, relying on sheer numbers to sow chaos throughout the city. If that was all it could do, it was far too weak.
Bai Zhu closed his eyes, replaying the scene of that monster appearing before Unma.
What it had said then was—"You're afraid."
Unma had gone completely rigid in that instant.
That had not been a