Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Nishikyou, Ginza District.
On the topmost floor of a skyscraper, Taira no Masakado sat deep in thought with a glass of white wine in one hand, stroking his white beard with the other.
Suddenly, black fumes burst into the room before solidifying into an immaterial black skull in front of the bearded man. “Master, a strong one approaches from the west.”
Taira no Masakado opened his eyes and strode towards the window. Through the glass, he could see a huge swarm of ghouls blotting out the western horizon. He set down his wineglass and turned around to retrieve his jacket. Putting it on, he coldly said, “Black Demon, keep them busy.”
“As you command, Master.” Melting back into black fumes that filled the room, the gaseous monster pulled itself out of the building and hurtled across the sky. The sky went dark as its body blocked out the sun. Pedestrians on the street hurriedly looked for shelter beneath it.
“Sir, what’s happening? Do you need assistance?” A voice from the Nishikyou Police Department buzzed from the room’s voice communication system.
“No need. Just do your jobs down there and make sure the city doesn’t fall apart,” said Taira no Masakado flatly.
Two huge black wings stretched out from the fumes. It was as if a massive cloud giant was floating above the city at that moment. A third eye opened on the giant’s forehead. An ominous wind was blowing harshly. An aura of death radiated outward from its eye in the form of a gray circle of light that surrounded the cloud giant’s body.
Aaaoooh!! It let out a powerful roar that managed to disperse the clouds in the sky. The Dark Mist Giant swung its wings forward, whipping up a gale so strong that the buildings beneath it shook uncontrollably. A couple of windows were also shattered in the process. A piercing cry resounded across the city.
Breaking free from Gao Peng’s embrace, the Desolate Frost Lion leaped onto the Skeleton Dragon’s head, puffed up its chest, and began taking a deep breath through its nostrils.
Roar! An earth-shattering bellow exploded from its throat.
Crash! Crash! Crash! More windows were shattered to pieces.
The Dark Mist Giant suddenly slowed down. The lion’s roar resonated deep within its chest, stopping it momentarily in its advance.
The Desolate Frost Lion gazed disdainfully at its enemy. Then it swung its paw at it. A loud ripping sound rang out in the air.
Its Frozen Claw attack was able to freeze the air completely. At that moment, a 1,000-foot-long unevenly shaped ice claw appeared out of thin air, its sharp edges protruding outwards.
The Dark Mist Giant was cut into four irregular chunks by the lion’s attack. Dispersing itself, it began backing away from the lion in order to pull itself together. However, Desolion was able to freeze the black fumes with its icy breath before it could retreat any further.
Taira no Masakado had only just stepped out on the roof when he saw his familiar being frozen in the sky by its opponent. It lost? How is that possible?
The Desolate Frost Lion turned to look at Gao Peng questioningly as if to ask, “Should I put it out of its misery?”
Gao Peng stopped the lion.
Taira no Masakado was one of the few existing high-level monster trainers in the Nihon region. Ending him would be easy, but should that come to pass, the people in the Nihon region would be left defenseless against high-level monsters, and there were at least ten million people living there.
They were still humans. Gao Peng didn’t have the heart to desert so many people to their fates. He decided to let the old man off with a warning. After having its body dispersed, his familiar would need at least a month to return to peak condition.
In this new world where every second mattered, if you snoozed, you lost.
Boom! The earth shook violently beneath him.
Gao Peng turned around. The sound was coming from the area he had just passed. Though he couldn’t see it, Gao Peng was still able to feel a powerful aura emanating from afar. It was as if someone had set off an invisible nuclear explosion.
“What the…” said Gao Peng, frowning.
The sight of a huge cherry blossom tree surfaced in his mind’s eye. What the hell is it doing?
“It’s dead,” said Dumby, the flames in its sockets flickering slightly. It held out its right hand. It could feel a powerful aura of death surging towards the heavens.
At that moment, Dumby could see a pillar of gray smoke rising into the air behind them. In the midst of the smoke, the Cherry Sky Tree’s form began to distort and fade into the air.
Dead?! Gao Peng recalled that the Cherry Sky Tree was a Level 54 Epic-grade monster. Equipped with an above-average regeneration speed, it was also a defense specialist. Who or what could possibly have been powerful enough to kill it so quickly?
After thinking about it for a while, Gao Peng ordered the Skeleton Dragon to fly to the rooftop of Taira no Masakado’s building. The old man looked straight at Gao Peng without any sign of fear on his face.
Behind him stood a peculiar creature that had the upper torso of a chicken and the lower torso of a snake. Its tail was split into four sections, and its skin was orange. This strange creature was lying on the floor, its body emanating a faint green light.
[Monster Name]: Sokou
[Monster Level]: Level 47
[Monster Grade]: Epic
[Monster Ability]: Corrosive Fluid Level 3, Withering Poisonous Mist Level 3, Venom Mastery Level 3, Agility Level 2
[Monster Attribute]: Poison
[Monster Traits]: Infectious Venom (Its toxicity was increased via mutation, allowing it to cause even more Poison-type damage.
Passive Effect 1: The levels of its Poison-type abilities are all increased by one.
Active Effect 1: It can release a toxic mist into the air, inflicting a one-time destructive blow on its enemies. The damage taken by its victims is proportional to the concentration of its poison in their bodies.)
[Description]: A chimera formed through the fusion of a chicken spirit and a snake spirit, it prefers living inside volcanoes. Its poisonous mist can spread for miles, causing all life around it to wither and die. It’s an extremely poisonous creature and should be handled with care at all times. During hibernation, it can unconsciously release the poison in its body into the air and cause the volcano it is living in to erupt as a result.
“Mr. Taira no Masakado, I think we might have a bit of trouble on our hands,” said Gao Peng, whose words were transmitted to Taira no Masakado via Dumby’s Soul Waves.
Stunned for a moment, Taira no Masakado quickly composed himself and said, “My familiar was badly injured moments after it entered battle. I would certainly think that we have a bit of trouble on our hands.” He smiled coldly at Gao Peng, who let out a cough.
“Well now, did you not see me stop my familiar from striking your familiar down? If I hadn’t shown it restraint, do you think it would have come away with a mere injury?”
Taira no Masakado’s eye twitched. He could hear the threat in Gao Peng’s words.
“What do you want? Gao Peng.” Taira no Masakado’s mouth pronounced Gao Peng’s name with a slight accent.
Huh, he knows who I am. Well, doesn’t really matter. I already saw this coming.
“You speak the Huaxia tongue fluently,” said Gao Peng, trying to change the subject.
“I studied in Huaxia a long time ago,” replied Taira no Masakado.
“Truth be told, the reason I’m here in the Nihon region because an attempt was made on my life not too long ago. After interrogating my would-be assassins, I discovered that they were sent from the Nihon region. This is a video recording of their interrogation. I hope to receive a satisfactory answer from you,” said Gao Peng, handing a disc to the old man.
Taking the disc from Gao Peng, Taira no Masakado nodded. “I will give you a satisfactory answer.”
Incidentally, Taira no Masakado had a higher position here in the Nihon region than he had in the Huaxia region.
