Chapter 755
Ancient Man (2 in 1 Chapter)
On the stone table, the person in the coffin sat up and twisted his neck, making cracking sounds. The dried hard skin on his neck made the corpse’s movements stiff and unnatural. Like a rusty machinery, the corpse began to move with stiff rigid movements.
A water moon stone illuminated the secret underground room. The corpse turned his neck and looked toward the water moon stone in the corner. His eyelids moved slowly and opened up little by little, like a stuck sliding window rolling up.
He was like a fierce beast that had been asleep for too long. When his eyes opened, a pungent stench of blood and evil poured out from within. His bloodshot eyeballs stared straight ahead.
The pterosaur shrank in a corner of the room and did not dare to say a word. It tried to stay as invisible as it could and desperately wished to leave this place. However, besides the small ventilation holes in the room, there was no other way out, and it obviously couldn’t fit through those small ventilation holes.
The corpse turned toward the water moon stone’s direction and rolled his bloodshot eyeballs. After twisting his rigid neck, he looked around him expressionlessly. No emotions could be noticed through his dried skin, and if anyone was present, they would definitely feel unnerved.
Crack, crack, crack.
The corpse twisted his body, making strange cracking sounds, and got off the stone table. He seemed a little uncomfortable at first, as if not used to standing on the ground when he stood on both his feet. His movements were very slow, and he even hesitated a while after firmly planting his feet on the ground.
He observed his own body and looked around the room. His eyes scanned and stopped on some objects in the room, including water bottles, metal tools, and the pterosaur’s cage. Finally, he looked down on what he was wearing, and his hands held onto an ornament-like object on his body.
The beast bones and stones had lost their former glory. A lot had changed. Some parts of the necklace were no longer there and some had cracks in them. His stiff fingers pinched an irregularly shaped ornament on the necklace and his fingers pressed hard. Poof. With a gentle clicking sound, the stone ornament was crushed to debris, and the crumbs fell to the ground.
The person looked at the debris in his hands. No one knew what he was thinking. He appeared somewhat dazed. After a while, he lifted his head to scan his surroundings once again.
The soldier outside had no clue what was happening inside the secret room.
He did not feel or sense anything wrong. He only felt a cold shiver down his spine a moment ago, but ignored it.
The strange figure could see much clearer after standing up. It saw every corner of the room clearly, and after a brief scan, his eyes finally fixed on the pterosaur that was hiding in the corner.
The pupils of his bloodshot eyes dilated as he focused on the pterosaur.
The pterosaur was trembling uncontrollably. It knew that danger was about to befall it, and it wanted to escape too, but when those eyes looked at it, it felt like a giant mountain suddenly pressed down on it, and it could not move its body at all. It was even hard for it to move its wings.
As this monster approached, this invisible pressure increased, and the pterosaur felt like the pressure that was pressing down and stopping its movements also grew. A while ago, it could still move its wings, but as this corpse approached, the pterosaur was frozen like ice, and could only tremble helplessly as it awaited its fate.
The corpse stopped in front of the pterosaur and bent down. His hands extended and reached for the creature.
No matter how hard the pterosaur trembled, it could not move away from these dead hands. The giant hands clasped onto it and the small creature was lifted off the ground.
It tried to struggle, but there was no use. The grip from those hands were so tight the pterosaur could not loosen it one bit. The corpse’s shrivelled fingers had dried skin clung onto it. The pterosaur was being squeezed so tightly that all of the food it just ate almost came out through vomit. Suddenly, it felt the threat of death in those hands.
In a desperate fight for survival, the pterosaur struggled and tried to break free from the pressure. It decided to fight back. Immediately, it bit down on the corpse’s hands.
The pterosaur could shred the piranhas in the Flaming River with its sharp fangs effortlessly, but there was not a slight mark on this corpse where it bit down. There was a slight change in the hard skin of the corpse’s hands, but it was barely noticeable. Normal people would have been injured severely by this bite, but there were no scars and no blood on the corpse, only tooth marks. It was as if the pterosaur didn’t bite down on a human hand, but a piece of unusually solid hardwood.
The pterosaur was frantic. The skin of this corpse was too hard. Even though it could bite down, it felt as if it was biting on a strong metal weapon. It could not bite in.
As death approached, the pterosaur hurriedly took a few more bites. Suddenly, a loud noise came from within the secret room. It was the noise of its fangs scratching against the bones of the corpse’s hands.
The corpse seemed to have not felt anything at all. He brought the pterosaur up to his eye level and was ready to deliver it into his mouth.
The pterosaur knew that it was about to be eaten, so it finally screeched.
It was very loud.
The corpse’s eyebrows squeezed together. If it was a normal human, this expression would appear as a deep frown.
He lifted his other hand and prepared to first twist the neck of the creature in front of him.
Creak-
The stone door of the secret room slammed open.
The monster stopped moving when it heard sounds coming from the door. His mouth did not bite down on the pterosaur and he looked toward the door.
Shao Xuan was standing at the door. Behind him was Zheng Luo and another soldier that was guarding there.
Shao Xuan was discussing with Gongjia Ren when he sensed that something was wrong inside the secret room. Immediately, he left and rushed back. Zheng Luo also followed behind after figuring that something must’ve happened to the corpse.
As the door to the secret room opened, Zheng Luo inhaled deeply at the sight.
They thought the corpse had been dead for very long, but he was standing there now, ready to devour the pterosaur, and judging by the stare in the corpse’s eyes, those bloodshot eyes reminded Zheng Luo of the fiercest beasts in the forest. It was as if the air all around them was tainted with the scent of blood and death.
The Flaming Horn warrior who was guarding at the door swallowed his saliva. He was about to open the stone door to take a look when he heard the commotion. Luckily the Grand Elder came, or else he had to face such a difficult opponent alone. This……was a human, right?
Zheng Luo wanted to ask Shao Xuan whether this was the same monster they saw in the desert, but very soon, he realised that this one was slightly different from those. Even though he had never seen those monsters in the desert, he had heard about them from those who were present. Those monsters did not have any consciousness and were completely under the control of others. However, the one in front of them clearly had his own consciousness and could still function and move without anyone’s control. He could even hunt for food!
The pterosaur’s eyes lit up with hope as it saw Shao Xuan. Its screams became louder and wilder as it called out for help.
Shao Xuan took a glance at the pterosaur and then observed the monster with green-grey dried skin.
This monster had no breath or heartbeat, but it was moving just like any normal human. Shao Xuan could feel a strong energy within the monster’s body, and this energy was exactly the same energy Shao Xuan seeped into the monster’s bones when he tried to enslave him.
He had followed the same procedures as before, using the same steps in the enslavement, but the only difference was that he used a different type of energy. However, the results were strikingly different, and the reason behind this probably lied within the monster’s body.
Something was weird about this person.
Zheng Luo took a step forward, and the monster became more alert and murderous. The redness in his eyes grew even darker as if the monster was about to kill in the next moment.
Zheng Luo asked Shao Xuan with his eyes whether he should make a move, and Shao Xuan shook his head in reply. He gesticulated with his fists and motioned for him to test the situation.
Shao Xuan could not control the monster like he could the pterosaur. They were still uncertain of this monster’s strength and temper, so no one knew what would happen if they made a wrong move and provoked it. What if the monster decided to squeeze even tighter on the pterosaur’s neck? Shao Xuan still needed that creature.
“Let it go,” Shao Xuan said.
When the monster saw Shao Xuan, he became calmer and less alert, even though he seemed to not have understood what Shao Xuan meant. From his eyes, they could tell that he was doubtful. If it wasn’t for the dried skin on his face, he would have such rich expressions.
Shao Xuan glanced at the pterosaur and his eyes looked up and met with the corpse’s. He lifted his hands and gestured for the corpse to loosen his grip and let the creature go. He tried his best not to look offensive at all. He could no longer treat this monster the same way he treated the other puppets. He had to communicate with him like he would with other tribesmen. If politely negotiating could not work, he could only resort to force. Uncontrollable threats should not be allowed to exist within their tribe.
The monster understood what Shao Xuan meant, and slowly loosened his grip on the pterosaur.
As soon as it broke free, the pterosaur immediately rolled and crawled weakly towards Shao Xuan. It was so nervous that it could not fly at all. After it hid behind Shao Xuan, it observed the monster with a watchful gaze.
“Ka……Ha……”
Some weird sounds came from the monster’s mouth. No one knew whether it was due to the damage in his vocal cords that his voice was just unfathomable. These sounds seemed like meaningless tunes to them.
They did not sense any murderous intent in this person’s eyes. On the contrary, he looked slightly eager when he saw Shao Xuan. When he looked at Zheng Luo and the other warrior, his eyes were still full of vigilance and oppressiveness.
“Is he hungry?” Zheng Luo asked.
When Shao Xuan pulled the stone door open, the monster was just about to bring the pterosaur to his mouth. Plus, they knew that if beasts had not eaten for a long time, the first thing they would do after waking up was feed.
That was what Shao Xuan thought too. Back then, when the pterosaur first woke up, it also ate a lot. Now, even though they could not determine if this monster was dead or alive, they were sure that he could eat other beast meat since he was ready to eat the pterosaur.
Shao Xuan turned his head to the side and spoke to the warrior beside him. Hearing the orders, the warrior left hurriedly with a nod.
The monster was still trying his best to speak to Shao Xuan, with sounds like “Ka Ka Ah Ah”, and Shao Xuan had no clue what he was trying to say. It seemed very difficult for him to speak. The more he tried to speak, the harder it was. He took a few steps towards the door, and as he did so, Zheng Luo tensed up and his hands reached for the blade at his waist.
Shao Xuan was also ready to defend himself, although he didn’t sense any murderous energy from the other party. That was the only reason he didn’t attack. The corpse probably had such stiff movements because it had been lying down for too long.
The warrior who had left came back very quickly. In his arms, there was a freshly cut beast limb. Blood was still flowing from the cut, and when he carried it over, the blood dripped across the halls. Besides this beast limb, the warrior also brought some freshly roasted meat.
Duo Kang brought this beast limb back from the forest. This was a beast he had hunted in the forest recently, and it was a giant beast. When the warrior brought the beast limb over, the beast limb almost got stuck in the entrance of the stairway. He had no other choice. When he arrived at the butchery, this was the first thing he saw, and since he had no time to think about what to pick, he carried it over immediately. The Grand Elder asked for it, so why not just carry a large one over?
When Shao Xuan saw the giant beast limb, he noticed that his message wasn’t clear enough. There was no need for such a huge beast limb, but since he had already carried it here, there was nothing to be said.
Shao Xuan looked the warrior in the eye as he grabbed the two things from him. The warrior nodded, and Shao Xuan knew that the warrior had already done what he told him to do.
Bringing these things here were just one of the things he assigned him. He also told him to tell Duo Kang about the situation underground and made sure Duo Kang and some others were guarding upstairs. They were told not to come down immediately. If they did, it would only make the situation worse and provoke the monster. They guarded the stairway and were ready to help if anything happened. They were also ready to kill.
However, it didn’t seem like the monster was planning to escape, but when he saw the fearsome beast meat, his eyes became affixed on it. Not on the roasted meat, but on the fresh meat with dripping blood.
Shao Xuan handed the plate of roasted meat back to that warrior, and walked toward the monster with the beast limb on one arm. His other arm was at his waist, near the handle of his blade.
The monster did not notice any of Shao Xuan’s movements. His eyes were completely focused on the beast limb in Shao Xuan’s arms. He walked over slowly and stretched out his hand to take the limb from Shao Xuan. His facial muscles moved as he looked at Shao Xuan, and his expression was somewhat similar to a smile, although it was very scary. The skin on his face was so stiff that when he moved these muscles, cracks formed on his dry skin.
When this monster held onto the beast limb, all of their hearts skipped a beat.
The monster had alarming strength. The meat and bones of this beast limb was much heavier than normal wild beasts, and the Flaming Horns were usually the only ones who could carry the beast limb so effortlessly. However, the monster was carrying the beast limb without much effort and his arms were stable and relaxed. His body was not at all shaking from weakness. Instead, it was as if the monster was studying the beast, turning it up and down in his hands as it observed it.
After thoroughly investigating the meat, the monster opened his mouth and took a huge bite. He was just like a fierce beast in the forest. When he bit down, the meat was effortlessly torn off the bones and blood spilled to the ground. The monster didn’t care. He continued to eat brutally and after several bites, he swallowed the limb whole.
The Flaming Horns would also eat raw meat if they were in the forest or if it was inconvenient for them to burn fires, but this person was different. He was a lot wilder and more savage.
Suddenly, the room was so quiet that only the sound of the monster chewing the meat was audible. The monster would take a few glances at Zheng Luo and the other Flaming Horn warrior from time to time, and from the look in his eyes, they could tell that it was the same look beasts would have in the forest when they were worried of other beasts stealing their food. If Zheng Luo took a single step forward right now, he would be welcoming an immediate battle.
Blood streamed down the monster’s dried face, and Zheng Luo’s hairs stood on end as he observed the monster’s face.
Ka…Ba….Ka…Ba…
The strange noise sounded once again, and now, it seemed as if this sound was coming from the monster’s entire body.
Like it was physically absorbing fluid, The flesh under the monster’s skin and flesh began to swell. His chewing motions slowly became more natural and smoother.
Suddenly, the monster stopped biting on the beast limb. One of his hands continued to grasp tightly onto the beast limb, while his other hand moved to his belly, as if he felt something weird.
Just as the three of them began to wonder what was going on, the monster lowered his head and vomited.
What surprised them was that the monster vomited out white dried beast meat. It was pale, and it looked as if most of the fluid and blood in the meat had been sucked out, and these were the remains of the food that couldn’t be absorbed. The fresh and bloody meat entered the monster’s system and came out as dried white meat.
The swelling on the monster’s body had alleviated, but judging by the volume of the vomit, it seemed as if the monster had spit out everything else besides the blood and nutrients.
Shao Xuan wondered how long this strange person had been in this mummified state. It seemed as if his organs had changed but were still usable. They were just different from a normal human’s. His heart was still there within his body, and it was very possibly still being used, but it was just not beating.
How strange.
Shao Xuan had never heard of such a tribe. Where did the people from Rock Hill City find them?
After vomiting, the monster stood there and continued to stare blankly at his vomit. No one knew what he was thinking. After a while, he began to chew on the meat again.
Just like that, the monster ate and vomited. Two-thirds, one-half, one-third….. Very soon, only bones remained on the beast limb.
The three humans were speechless.
Damn, this was the first time they saw someone with a stronger appetite than the Flaming Horns!
The monster looked at the bones left in his hands, and then tightly grasped onto both sides of the beast limb. The bones were so thick that his hands couldn’t grip around it entirely, but even so, he still held it with a strong grip.
With a crack, the thick fearsome beast bone was snapped in half. It broke.
Shao Xuan’s eyelids jerked. This man broke the beast bone like it was sugar cane!
The bones of this fearsome beast were not hard compared to the bones of many other beasts, but it was already much harder than the bones of most ordinary beasts. Although the Flaming Horns could also break bones, they could not do it as effortlessly as this monster.
Zheng Luo and the other soldier were not much calmer than Shao Xuan. Their eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets.
What……
Other tribes called them barbaric and rude, but this monster was way more barbaric than they could ever be!
After he broke the beast bones, the monster began to suck on the bone marrow. If there was a crack he wasn’t satisfied with, he would break it once more or knock two segments of the beast bone together to make them even.
The series of movements the monster used to break the bones and knock them on each other seemed so instinctive that it felt like the monster was already experienced at the task.
Shao Xuan had his guesses when he observed the monster’s initial appearance and the accessories on his body. This was an ancient man who lived very long ago.
