[Nether God Sacrifice] Devoured

The Village Chief's voice trembled as he muttered, "How could... why would the Blind Fish come here?"

He grabbed a village woman beside him. "Who went aboard?"

The woman hurriedly pulled out a crumpled list. "Village Chief, they're all here..."

The Village Chief skimmed it, his bewilderment deepening.

There was nothing wrong with the list. Everyone aboard was a child who had yet to receive their eyes.

But why? The Blind Fish shouldn't have been able to sense these children! Why were they drawing closer and closer?

"Come back! Come back!" the Village Chief screamed himself hoarse.

But they were far too distant from the fishing boat. The sea wind shredded every warning, drowning them in the roar of the towering waves.

The children aboard couldn't hear their parents screaming themselves hoarse on the shore.

They stood on the fishing boat, holding hands and trembling in terror.

Even without sight, they could sense that something was wrong.

The fishy stench around them grew stronger. In the darkness, something seemed to be laughing.

An enormous splash erupted beside them, then the boat lurched heavily downward, sinking noticeably deeper into the water.

Something had leaped aboard their boat.

What was it?

They heard a fish tail slapping against the wooden boards. Had a giant fish jumped aboard? But fish... why would a fish laugh?

The children had no idea that everyone on shore had covered their mouths in horror.

They saw the fishing boat carrying their children surrounded by enormous white waves.

Those weren't waves, but one white Blind Fish after another. Their legs had turned into fish tails, their cheeks into gills, and their hair silver-white. Beneath two enormous, bulging, white calcified eyes, human features could still faintly be distinguished.

The Blind Fish leaped aboard one after another.

"Why... why!" a villager screamed in despair. "Why would Mother Ming let the Blind Fish attack these innocent children!"

A woman who had collapsed on the ground suddenly scrambled up and ran toward the sea. "My Nannan hasn't done anything! I'm the guilty one! Mother Ming, I'll give you back my eyes. Please, spare my Nannan!"

Several other villagers rushed forward to stop her. "You can't go! You'll die the moment you enter the sea!"

"Let me go! Nannan! I have to save my Nannan! She's innocent!" The woman struggled wildly until a villager beside her knocked her unconscious.

Aboard the boat, Xu Xiaohong heard the girl beside him begin to cry.

He remembered her, a little girl his own age nicknamed Nannan. Though young, she was very brave.

Earlier, when Xu Xiaohong had been afraid of the water, Nannan had encouraged him.

But now, Nannan was crying.

She held Xu Xiaohong's hand, trembling nonstop. "Are we going to die...?"

Those words made all the children burst into tears.

They couldn't see, but a powerful fishy stench filled the air, and harsh breathing and laughter surrounded them. It was as though they had fallen into hell, encircled by a hundred ghosts.

Xu Xiaohong wanted to cry too, but just as he was about to, he remembered how, before he boarded, Mr. Shao, the outsider, had stopped him and given him a piece of fruit candy.

As he handed him the candy, Mr. Shao had leaned close to his ear and said something.

"If you're in danger, don't move around," Mr. Shao had said. "You're a good child. The god knows that."

For some reason, surrounded by Blind Fish, Xu Xiaohong remembered those words and felt a sudden surge of strength.

I'm a good child... the god knows that.

"Listen to me! Nobody move around!" Xu Xiaohong shouted. "Sit down against the sides of the boat!"

The children didn't understand why, but in their panic, they needed someone to take charge. As soon as someone told them what to do, they instinctively obeyed.

All the children sat against the sides of the boat, hugging their legs and curling into little balls.

Xu Xiaohong buried his face between his knees. He felt many fish tails coated in slimy liquid slap past him.

An icy breath washed over his face.

If he could have seen, he would have discovered a Blind Fish's face, its features indistinguishable, just a few centimeters from his own.

None of them could see one another. They could only feel each other's breathing.

Xu Xiaohong held his breath.

A moment later, he felt the icy current of air in front of him disappear.

The Blind Fish had moved away from him.

Xu Jiawei stood on the shore. The wind swept her hair aside, revealing a beautiful, pale face.

She had a bad feeling, but couldn't explain exactly what it was.

The Blind Fish shouldn't have attacked the children aboard. What had caused such a drastic change in their behavior?

Wait... I was wrong! I got it wrong!

The Blind Fish had leaped onto the fishing boat carrying the children, but they hadn't attacked them!

Their target was someone else...

Xu Jiawei's eyes widened. Almost trembling, she looked toward the wooden bait barrel at the stern.

Xu Nan opened his eyes.

The back of his head hurt badly.

His last memory was of a vicious blow to the back of his neck as he left the Guesthouse.

He had fallen to the ground and seen Shao Lan's expressionless face.

It was as though Shao Lan had been waiting for him for a long time.

Shao Lan...

Xu Nan repeated the name inwardly through gritted teeth.

I absolutely can't let that brat leave this Instance alive.

But his immediate priority was getting out of here.

Where the hell is this? Where has Shao Lan locked me up?

It was terribly dark. The cramped space seemed to be made of nailed wooden boards, with only a tiny sliver of moonlight seeping through the narrow gaps.

Xu Nan squinted and peered outside-the gaps were too narrow. He couldn't see anything.

His head spun, and he had the strange impression that his entire body was swaying...

Xu Nan's eyes flew wide open!

It's not my imagination! I really am swaying!

Suddenly, an enormous white spot appeared in one of the gaps.

It was a calcified eye.

One after another, all the gaps turned white. Each held another calcified eye...

Fuck... fuck...

Xu Nan cried out in terror.

Goddammit! Shao Lan brought me out to sea!

"Xu Nan!!!"

On the shore, Xu Jiawei witnessed the most horrifying sight of her life.

Countless Blind Fish crowded around the bait barrel, pressing close one after another.

Then one Blind Fish lashed its tail hard against the barrel. It shattered instantly, exposing Xu Nan inside.

All the Blind Fish pounced.

They opened their sharp-toothed mouths and bit into Xu Nan, dragging him into the water. The sea instantly turned scarlet, countless scraps of flesh floating on its surface along with Xu Nan's agonized screams.

"Help! Help!!"

At first, Xu Nan kept screaming, but his voice gradually weakened.

The Blind Fish scattered, leaving a white skeleton behind. It slowly sank into the bloodstained water.

The laughter vanished, and so did the crying. The Blind Fish slowly dispersed, swimming together toward the deep sea.

The villagers on shore cried out in excitement. Their children were safe. Some burst into tears, calling their children's names and saying they would never let them go out to sea again.

The children's fishing boat slowly reached the shore. Their parents rushed forward to embrace them, throwing the shore into chaos.

Xu Jiawei's expression was icy. Beside her, Xu Jiaojiao and Xu Zijian were equally pale.

"Xu... Xu Nan..." Xu Zijian's lips trembled.

"He's dead." Xu Jiawei closed her eyes briefly, then suddenly snapped them open. "Damn it!"

She looked around. Sure enough, Shao Lan and Qin Ning were gone.

The sight of the Blind Fish devouring Xu Nan had been so horrifying that shock and terror had gripped all their hearts. None of them had any attention to spare for the people beside them.

Shao Lan had seized that opportunity to escape her sight with Qin Ning.

"It was Shao Lan." Xu Jiawei's face was livid.

Shao Lan had said he was going to help the children carry fishing gear.

That hadn't actually been a lie. While moving the fishing gear, he had also put the unconscious Xu Nan into the bait barrel.

"Shao Lan has already uncovered every secret of this Instance." Xu Jiawei bit her lip hard, blood seeping from its edge.

Xu Jiaojiao and Xu Zijian were deathly pale. "N-no way... maybe he just..."

"Don't cling to wishful thinking," Xu Jiawei said. "I've taken part in dozens of Instances. He's the most terrifying opponent I've ever seen."

"I'm going to find the Village Chief." Xu Jiawei turned and walked away. "Burn every boat immediately. Don't leave Shao Lan and Qin Ning any chance of survival!"