211: Chapter 211 Kill Me!! (Two Chapters Combined)

Inside the silent cave, the dull sound of bones colliding suddenly exploded.

Shanxiao's heavy fist, powerful enough to collapse a small hill, was locked tightly by the 'Spider King's' palm, which was covered in a deep blue exoskeleton.

As five slender fingers closed, the creaking sound of Shanxiao's knuckles being squeezed backward was clearly audible.

...

Shanxiao and Tiger Fiend exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with utter disbelief.

The Tongyuan Society's intelligence clearly stated that the only side effect of the [deep sequence] God-Creation Potion was that it would completely destroy the injector's human will, turning them into a bloodthirsty monster that only knew how to slaughter.

But the 'Spider King' before them...

Aside from the eight deep blue energy spider legs extending from his back and the half-chitin mask, the cold eyes on his exposed half-human face were clearly burning with...

The sobriety, restraint, and fury of a federal soldier.

“He retained his human will?”

Shanxiao was stunned for a moment, and then fanatical greed burst from his eyes.

This was simply... the most perfect living specimen in the world!

A living vessel that could host a perfect mental sequence while retaining human sanity and being capable of reverse-engineering!

Its value was more than ten times higher than expected!

“Ha! Heaven is truly smiling upon us!”

His shock turning to delight, Shanxiao's right arm muscles swelled once more. Violent Source Energy erupted from his pores, forcing his locked fist forward another half-inch.

Beside him, Tiger Fiend moved at the exact same moment.

He didn't have as many complex thoughts as Shanxiao.

Since the mission target had appeared, he would just take him down!

A silver-white afterimage flashed as Tiger Fiend circled behind the 'Spider King'. His tiger-striped beast claws gleamed with a cold light, letting out a space-tearing shriek as they went straight for the opponent's vital spot at the back of the neck.

A pincer attack from front and back—a fatal trap.

The 'Spider King' only watched them coldly.

Having just emerged from his cocoon, the Source Energy he had suppressed for five years had not yet fully fused with this new body. His aura fluctuated, far from reaching the Peak of the seventh rank.

Facing the joint strangulation of two top-tier sixth-rank Beast Seal Users, he chose not to clash head-on.

“Clang!”

The eight deep blue spider legs on his back suddenly swept forward, two of them thrusting out to precisely block Tiger Fiend's sharp claws.

The metallic clash was incredibly ear-piercing, sending sparks flying in all directions.

A terrifying shockwave of Source Energy exploded violently within the narrow cave.

“Boom...”

The entire cave shook violently. Web-like cracks were shaken into the hard stone walls, causing loose stones to rain down as dust filled the air.

The violent wind pressure from the impact swept toward the stone table nearby.

The diary, carefully sewn from spider skin, and the old, polished canteen were violently swept up by the gale, tumbling through the air toward the ground.

Seeing this, the 'Spider King's' eyes, which had been as calm as an ancient well, suddenly widened.

Panic.

Rage.

A panic and rage ten thousand times more intense than being disemboweled!

“Don't touch them!”

An extremely hoarse roar erupted from the depths of his throat.

Completely ignoring Tiger Fiend's other claw, which had already sliced through the Void Realm and was about to tear his ribs, he abandoned all defense, letting deep blue blood splatter.

He suddenly twisted his body, throwing himself recklessly toward the tottering stone table. Using his back and body, he desperately shielded those worn-out items beneath him.

“Pfft!”

Tiger Fiend's claw tore through his waist without hindrance, drawing a long trail of blood.

...

Tiger Fiend's claw hung in mid-air.

He was somewhat puzzled.

A seventh-rank being would rather take a blade to the back just to protect a few scraps of paper?

“Stupid human weakness! Is this why you've been a watchdog here for five years?!”

Shanxiao sneered disdainfully.

Swinging his giant, beastified fist once more, he smashed it toward the 'Spider King's' defenseless back with a violence capable of crushing anything.

In his eyes, getting distracted during a fight, especially for such a ridiculous reason, was simply suicidal.

The 'Spider King' felt the fatal wind pressure behind him.

In his dark purple slit pupils, killing intent surged.

He knew that fighting here would destroy everything.

This place, which he had guarded for five years and built up inch by inch, would completely collapse.

How hateful that in his current state, he couldn't use any spatial storage equipment!

In a flash, the 'Spider King' swept his hand back, using a spider leg to precisely sweep the most important diary and pocket watch...

...into the hidden compartment beneath the stone bed.

Then, he threw his head back and let out a hoarse roar he had suppressed for five years.

“Get... out... of... here!”

Boom!

Ignoring the backlash of tearing his Meridians, he forcibly activated the seventh-rank Origin in his body that had not yet fully fused!

The power of his eight deep blue energy spider legs skyrocketed, bursting with blinding radiance.

The violent shadow Source Energy turned into a tangible wave, distorting the very air around them.

Shanxiao and Tiger Fiend were simultaneously forced back three steps by this outburst!

Using this powerful recoil, the 'Spider King's' body shot backward, violently smashing through the stone wall on the other side of the cave.

He did not pause for even a second.

Dragging his heavily injured body, he rushed recklessly into the dark, deep canyon passage outside.

He wanted to drag the battlefield away from this place.

“Want to run?”

“Chase him!”

Shanxiao and Tiger Fiend exchanged a look, both seeing bloodthirsty excitement in each other's eyes.

Laughing wildly, they gave chase, their three figures instantly vanishing into the end of the dark corridor,

leaving behind only deafening rumbles that echoed further and further into the depths of the canyon.

The cave fell back into a deathly silence.

Only a complete mess on the ground and the lingering scent of blood remained.

...

A few minutes later.

“Cough... What kind of ghostly place is this? It's like a maze.”

A stream of grumbling came from the opening in the smashed stone wall.

Ye Xiao, covered in dirt, was the first to squeeze through, followed closely by Young Master Gu Lingfeng and Night Crow.

The three of them had taken a massive detour along the exploration passage before finally finding this hidden cave located at the deepest part of the sinkhole.

Ye Xiao stepped on some loose gravel and almost fell flat on his face. After stabilizing himself against the wall, his gaze swept across the furnishings in the cave...

A stone table, a stone bed, animal hide bedding, and a skewed military canteen.

“Holy crap.”

Ye Xiao's eyes widened.

“Who the Hell lives their life inside a spider's nest?”

No one answered him.

Night Crow had already stopped in front of the cave's side wall, completely motionless.

His gaze was nailed to the wall.

It was covered with densely carved tally marks.

Stroke by stroke, carved deep into the rock.

The first few rows were still very neat, like a roll-call register during military drills.

As they went on, they became increasingly messy, the strokes crooked, yet the force behind them grew heavier.

The last few dozen scratches didn't look like characters at all anymore.

They looked more like marks left behind by something clawing frantically at the stone with fingernails... or claws... before losing its sanity.

“Night Crow...” Young Master Gu Lingfeng walked up behind him, hesitating to speak.

Night Crow did not respond.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng bypassed the ruins of the shattered stone bed, squatted down, and found a cracked stone slab among the rubble.

The aftermath of the battle just now had shifted the stone bed by half a foot, revealing the contents of the hidden compartment.

Stuffed in the narrow gap beneath the slab was a diary with a spider-skin cover.

He pulled the diary out.

With just one glance at the cover, his entire body froze in place.

On it, four words were carved forcefully, stroke by stroke, with fingernails.

“My Son, Night Crow”

Young Master Gu Lingfeng's eyes instantly turned red.

He didn't even dare to open it. With trembling hands, he simply passed the diary to the person behind him, who had already gone completely stiff.

“You... take a look at this.”

Night Crow turned around mechanically.

He took the diary.

He flipped open the cover.

The first page was not a signature or a daily entry, but a photograph.

The photograph had already yellowed, its edges frayed from being rubbed repeatedly, but the image was still clear...

A young man in a federal military uniform, smiling brightly, was carrying a child of only seven or eight years old high on his shoulders.

The child was grinning from ear to ear, waving a spider-shaped toy in his hand.

The facial features of that little boy were identical to the youth standing in the cave right now.

“Drip.”

A tear splashed onto the photograph.

In this instant, Night Crow's eyes became bloodshot.

Five years of self-deception, five years of forcing himself to endure and persist, collapsed in an instant upon seeing this photograph.

So, he wasn't missing.

So, he really was here.

In the pitch-black underground, alone, he had lived for a full five years.

With trembling hands, Night Crow turned to the next page.

Written words.

[Federal Calendar Year 304, June 18th]

[Today, while executing a routine clearing mission on the outskirts of Black Spider Canyon, I accidentally found a strange potion with 'deep sequence' written on it. I searched all the military databases but couldn't find what it is. I can only keep it safe for now and hand it over to my superiors when I return.]

[June 28th]

[A beast tide riot broke out in the depths of Black Spider Canyon! Received urgent orders to cover the evacuation of the last batch of residents and team members. Xiao Mo, don't worry, wait for me to come back and celebrate your birthday!]

[July 1st]

[Trapped for the third day, completely lost contact with the outside world. My right leg was bitten by a sixth-rank Magic Spider during the retreat, and the infection is worsening. I must find water and medicine as soon as possible.]

Night Crow's movements in turning the pages grew slower and slower.

[July 14th]

[Out of ammunition and food, and the wound has begun to rot. To survive... I have no choice. Xiao Mo, Dad cannot die here. I injected that potion I found into my own veins.]

[July 20th]

[The potion has begun to backfire. My body hurts terribly, as if my bones are on fire. But... I seem to be able to hear their voices. Those spiders... they are afraid of me.]

[August 3rd]

[I... killed it. A fifth-rank Magic Spider. I ate its flesh.]

This line of words had been carved and crossed out, crossed out and carved again.

Ultimately, it remained.

Below it, a very small line of words was added: 'I didn't do it on purpose.'

[August 17th]

[Lost control for the second time. When I woke up, I didn't feel hungry anymore, but my mouth... was full of blood.]

By this point in the diary, the handwriting began to grow wild and messy.

Night Crow's breathing became faster and faster.

Through these distorted characters, he could almost see the protracted battle between his father's Soul and beastly nature at that time.

He continued to flip forward.

[September 10th]

[I seem to... have gained the power to command them. But in my mind, another bloodthirsty consciousness has grown. It is taking away control of my limbs bit by bit. It wants to rush out of here...]

Further into the diary, the handwriting became increasingly frenzied.

There were entire pages crossed out, the words 'Xiao Mo' repeatedly carved and erased, and incomprehensible lines and symbols... traces left behind by the constant tug-of-war between sanity and madness.

Ye Xiao had walked up to Night Crow's side at some point.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng leaned in from the other side.

The three of them stared at the shocking words together, not daring to make a sound.

[To prevent a massacre of the city after losing control, I must lock them tightly at the bottom of the pit. The symbiotic net is a cage, locking them in, and locking myself in as well.]

[Xiao Mo... Dad really wants... to look at you one more time.]

Those last few words had been scratched out frantically with fingernails, the hideous strokes cutting deep into the spider skin, filled with endless pain and struggle.

[My name is Deputy Commander Ye Canglan, Deputy Commander of the Western Border Branch of the Federal Shadow Legion, Serial Number E735. I have a son, and his name is Night Crow...]

Ye Xiao's eyes turned red, and he turned his head away.

Night Crow felt as if all his strength had been drained.

Trembling, he flipped to the final page of the diary.

On that page, there was no date.

There were only lines of shocking, frenzied large characters written in long-dried, dark red blood.

[If one day, a monster rushes out of Black Spider Canyon...]

[If you are fortunate enough to find this diary...]

[Please tell my son, Xiao Mo...]

[That is not his father.]

[Kill me!!]

Boom...!

The final string named 'sanity' snapped completely in Night Crow's mind.

“Dad...”

He closed the diary and pressed it against his chest.

This Genius, hailed as the sixth on the heavenly pride ranking in the Shadow Academy, cool and aloof, finally shed all his armor at this moment, kneeling on the ground and burying his head deep in his arms.

An extremely suppressed, heart-wrenching sob.

He wept uncontrollably.

Ye Xiao opened his mouth.

But nothing came out.

He remembered that Su Ming was also an orphan.

He remembered that although he was disliked by his family, he at least still had a home.

As for Night Crow, he had known five years ago that the 'father' communicating with him was an impostor.

For five years, he had pretended not to know, carrying everything on his own, just to personally find the answer one day.

The answer had been found.

His father had not abandoned him.

His father had endured alone in Hell for five years.

For a city that did not know his name.

For the son he might never see again.

Boom...!

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar echoed from the canyon's outer passage!

The violent energy aftermath penetrated layers of stone walls, causing the entire stone room to shake violently.

Debris fell from overhead, and the canteen was shaken to the ground, bouncing and rolling.

Night Crow suddenly raised his head.

He wiped away the tears on his face in one swift motion.

When he opened his eyes again, the depths of his pupils had completely transformed into a bone-chilling, icy intent to kill.

The shadow Origin that had been dormant in his body surged violently at this moment.

Black mist seeped from beneath his skin, swallowing the light beneath his feet, blending his entire being completely into the surrounding darkness.

“...Five years.”

Night Crow's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

He took one last look at the diary in his arms, storing it along with all the daily necessities in the room into his spatial wristband.

With a backhand motion, he drew the pitch-black dagger named [Daybreak] given to him by Instructor Ying Wuhen.

“No matter who is outside, today...”

“It's my turn to bring you home.”

Before his voice could fade,

Night Crow's figure had already transformed into an afterimage that tore through the darkness, rushing toward the dark, rumbling passage outside.

“Damn it! Wait for me!”

Young Master Gu Lingfeng's eyes were red.

“Damn it, I'll feel miserable all over if I don't get into a fight today!”

Lightning suddenly erupted all over Ye Xiao's body, and the two of them gave chase without a second thought.

When a brother is in trouble, how could they just stand by and watch?

At this moment, whether it was the Young Lord of the Hunter Association or the second generation of the Jiangcheng Ye family, all identities were thrown to the back of their minds.

They only knew that their brother was going to risk his life.

...