Between the Cracks
In a corner of the rebel fortress, a campfire struggled like a drowning man in the wind and snow.
Zhang Jue Jiao, his back hunched, ladled boiling water into a broken bowl. The talisman paper on his fingertips spontaneously combusted without fire, the ashes disappearing into the water. He held the bowl of talismanic water and handed it to a shivering Yaga wrapped in tattered burlap in front of him.
"Drink this talisman water, and you will be cured."
In the wind and snow, Zhang Jue's hair was disheveled as he watched Yaga drink the talisman water, leaving a considerable amount of the beast's jaws intact.
"Thanks, with this I shouldn't wake up freezing tonight."
"Hmm? Is the house drafty? That won't do. Sleeping in a freezing place could make you never wake up." Zhang Jue Jiao adopted the demeanor of a kind old man, but the man named Yaga shook his head and said:
"The accommodations were changed today; I was moved to a shed on the outskirts. It's drafty and poorly maintained. My companion and I will just have to squeeze in. Thank you, you're a kind person."
Upon hearing Yaga's words, Zhang Jue's smile vanished. The accommodation adjustment Yaga mentioned was because the Chaldea people had occupied the upper-floor rooms, so those on the lower floors would naturally be moved down in order.
After all, there was only one fortress here, but many Yaga who couldn't survive or didn't want to abandon their children joined them. If they went outside the city, they would be attacked by the Murderous Hunters, so everyone had to squeeze into this place.
"No, this old man will still go. It won't be a problem, it won't be a problem."
Zhang Jue waved his hand and led Yaga to the shed outside the castle, but this wooden shed had somehow become a solid stone fortress, complete with a fireplace and chimney for heating.
Zhang Jue saw Bai Mo walk out from inside. He gave the Yaga a few instructions on ventilation safety, and then their eyes met.
"Heh, I thought someone as strong as you wouldn't care about these people's lives."
"It's just something I did. Since I'm here, I might as well lend a hand. That way, at least no one will freeze to death for a while."
Bai Mo and Zhang Jue walked in the snow, leaving a footprint, which was quickly covered by the wind and snow.
"Has that woman left?"
"Let her go. If she stayed here, every face here would hate ' Anastasia,' it would be mutual torture. Anyway, she can become a spirit, so she shouldn't run into any trouble. I even gave her some money before she left, let her have her fun."
"We can't just call her over to torture her, can we? Let's just make her revisit this place."
Anastasia has already left. Rather than letting her stay with the rebels and wear a grumpy expression all day, it's better to let her go back and see the familiar streets.
Although you might only be familiar with the streets.
Upon hearing Bai Mo's arrangement, Zhang Jue Jiao chuckled:
"I see. You're quite strange as a Master. So-called Servant are just tools that drain the Master's magical energy. Since she's useless and you're not interested in her looks, why not just get rid of this burden?"
Hearing Zhang Jue's words, Bai Mo chuckled softly.
"Ah, beyond this Storm barrier lies the East. If you return to that land, is there nowhere you'd like to see?"
Upon hearing Bai Mo's words, Zhang Jue was momentarily speechless, then burst into laughter:
"Sigh, I'm getting old, I can't argue with young people anymore. Alright, anyway, she's your Servant. Let's continue cooperating. These weapons are quite powerful, I won't be completely useless, I definitely have to go to the battlefield."
However, I plan to focus most of my energy on reorganizing the army from now on. That should put your mind at ease, right?
Having learned about the rebels' situation, Bai Mo genuinely hoped for an outstanding leader to quell the chaos. But Zhang Jue...
Are you sure you can do this? Your Yellow Turban Army back then wasn't exactly known for its strict discipline, was it?
After being choked by Bai Mo, Zhang Jue smiled bitterly:
"There was no other way in that situation. I originally thought I should win first, but who knew... But I still prepared some methods. At least this time they will be called soldiers instead of thieves."
Moreover, I have already won over the army's hearts. I still need to prepare some talisman water and some items for my Master.
Upon hearing this, Bai Mo raised an eyebrow and asked:
"Can that talismanic water really cure diseases?"
"You're absolutely right, it definitely can."
"But you died of illness, didn't you? I thought it was something like painkillers."
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately adopted a dejected expression, waved his hands repeatedly at Bai Mo, and quickly left, muttering something under his breath.
Speechless... You young man, really... I'll say things like, "Be careful you won't be able to find a wife later."
Zhang Jue Jiao withdrew, and just as Bai Mo was about to return to cultivate, a faint scent of blood wafted from a hundred miles away. It wasn't a smell, but rather the unique consciousness of killing. Bai Mo's figure vanished instantly.
Three hundred and twenty miles away from the rebel fortress, in a dense forest, a fierce battle was unfolding.
Trees were torn apart, and countless Murderous Hunters fought silently. On the broken tree stumps, the lower half of Murderous Hunters was imprinted like a piece of chewing gum.
Besides these, there were countless broken corpses, as if they had been gored by a rhinoceros, with a faint black mist emanating from the gaps.
These Murderous Hunters were merely familiars, but with the Magnetic Field Power acquired by the Terrible Emperor, their forms underwent a qualitative change. Although their bodies remained fragile, the weapons in their hands contained the Terrible Emperor's lightning.
The guillotine, crackling with lightning, fell heavily onto the long, silver-white hair, but the blow barely chopped off a few strands. In an instant, the Murderous Hunters's chest was ripped open like a roasted chicken.
The Murderous Hunters felt no pain; the tainted magic gathered in his hands, and then, with a hoarse roar—
"You who have abandoned your faith, accept your punishment!"
With a bang, the hunter exploded into a shower of blood, the foul-smelling drops falling onto the Servant like water droplets in a hot oil pan.
The Servant was dressed very scantily, an outfit that looked quite eerie against the snowy backdrop. A huge boar's head was perched on her right shoulder, its mouth seemingly chewing on prey, with purple liquid oozing from it.
The blood of the Murderous Hunters fell onto her milky skin, staining it a deep purple, giving her a unique, sinister allure.
"Annoying things, when did these guys develop such methods?"
She frowned as she touched the blood on her lower abdomen.
Countless crossbow bolts, crackling with lightning, shot towards her, but her body, radiating Magnetic Field Power, easily shattered them. Although the Terrible Emperor possessed a strength of 930,000 horsepower, it merely provided these familiars with an almost limitless source of energy.
However, at least in terms of quantity, there is plenty available.
Countless Murderous Hunters appeared, wielding sharp weapons, and fearlessly slaughtered their way out.
This battle didn't resemble a carnage; rather, it was more like a hunt, with a group of people surrounding and hunting an extremely dangerous wild boar.
A strong sense of dizziness washed over me, and I seemed to hear the low growl of a wild boar. The boar's head on my shoulder seemed to come alive, panting heavily, as if it had just woken up from hibernation and was starving.
I'm hungry...
"Those Yaga should have run away; let's get out of here quickly."
These prey, with no meat, you know where to go: to a place with warm flesh and grain to fill your stomach. Tear open their fur, and the warm blood is sweeter than a mother's milk.
The whispers in her ear made her brain feel agitated. Like a wild beast, she ran on all fours, using her claws and even teeth to bite through the enemy's skull, but the result was that more blood rained down on her.
This can't go on.
Her last shred of reason screamed, and she prepared to rush headlong in a certain direction without looking back—not towards the rebels, because going there now... she couldn't imagine what would happen.