Chapter 418 - 363: An Unspeakable Scandal for the Bright Holy See
It stained the area a shocking crimson.
The eyes on the man they called Hand-Palm Head flew wide open.
Reflected in his pupils was his own mutilated body,
and the seemingly endless flow of blood.
Fear and despair intertwined into an invisible net, binding him tightly.
The ordeal was far from over.
As he tried to struggle up and escape the horrific scene,
a sudden feeling of emptiness where his leg should be made him lose his balance.
Like a puppet stripped of its supports, he fell backward uncontrollably,
and crashed heavily onto the cold ground.
In that moment, he discovered in horror that his right leg,
at some unknown point, had also silently detached from his body.
The cut was just as perfectly smooth, as if it had never been there at all.
Hand-Palm Head lay on the ground, his body curled up in agony, his eyes filled with disbelief and despair.
He tried to use his remaining left leg to push himself up,
only to find that it too had lost all its strength, lying limp at his side.
Clearly, it had suffered the same fate.
All around him, the pool of blood continued to spread.
The air was thick with the heavy stench of blood and despair.
Hand-Palm Head’s entire world plunged into endless darkness and terror.
At this moment, Hand-Palm Head finally realized he was facing an unprecedented crisis.
Chu He was a terrifying existence beyond the scope of human understanding,
who was irresistibly stripping him of everything.
And he could do nothing but lie there in despair, awaiting his unknown fate.
"No, don’t!"
Hand-Palm Head, this being who had been so arrogant and conceited just moments ago,
was now like an eagle with its wings torn off,
utterly stripped of his former might.
His voice was filled with an unprecedented level of fear and despair.
Every word was forced from the depths of his soul, laced with endless trembling and pleading.
The young men and women watched, utterly dumbfounded. If they hadn’t witnessed it with their own eyes, they never would have believed it.
This pathetic, bloated fatty had just been arrogantly provoking and taunting Chu He.
His body was now mangled, with only a single, solitary leg and his torso remaining.
Of his once strong and powerful limbs,
only that lone leg now remained, unable to support his teetering body. He looked exceptionally fragile and helpless.
Hand-Palm Head could only use his five remaining fingers
to struggle to prop himself up from the ground.
Every push seemed to exhaust all the strength in his body.
His fingers were rubbed raw and bloody from the prolonged friction,
and his knuckles CREAKED from the excessive strain,
as if they might snap at any moment.
But his eyes revealed a tenacious will to live—
a craving for life, a desperate desire to survive.
His torso leaned forward slightly, having lost its support,
his back bent into a heartbreaking arc, as if he were carrying a crushing weight.
Hand-Palm Head’s face was a mixture of sweat and dirt. The sweat traced paths down his cheeks,
dripping to the ground and merging with the dust to form winding trails.
His eyes were filled with terror and helplessness as he faced the most terrifying nightmare of his life.
Hand-Palm Head tried to beg for mercy in a weak voice,
but the sound was swallowed by the wind, dissipating into the air.
He could only stare wide-eyed and helpless at the strange and terrifying world around him,
his heart filled with despair and fear.
Every breath he took became exceptionally difficult,
as if even the air was conspiring against him, trying to wring out his last dregs of Life Force.
"It seems the Dark Holy See behind you has already abandoned you.
Otherwise, why haven’t they shown themselves yet?"
Chu He’s voice was icy and calm,
as if he were stating an irrelevant fact.
Before he could finish his sentence,
a hemp rope descended silently from the sky. Like a spirit snake lurking in the shadows,
it carried a bone-chilling coldness
and the call of the netherworld as it coiled toward Chu He’s neck with the speed of a thunderclap.
In that instant, Chu He’s gaze turned as sharp and cold as ice.
A disdainful sneer played on his lips, but his body remained motionless, as steady as a mountain.
His right hand shot out like lightning,
unerringly snatching the rope that reeked of death.
Then,
Chu He gave a sudden, powerful tug.
The force was so great that the hanged youth, who had been suspended in mid-air, plummeted like a kite with a severed string,
falling uncontrollably toward the ground.
The youth’s face was ashen, his eyes webbed with fine, thread-like veins.
His venomous gaze seemed to want to pierce Chu He’s soul and drag him into an endless, dark abyss.
But Chu He was unmoved, his eyes holding only indifference.
Just as the hanged youth was about to touch him, Chu He’s fingers splayed open.
From his palm, a golden flame, like an awakened deity,
instantly erupted—scorching and brilliant.
It was like a golden sun breaking through the clouds, illuminating the fear-shrouded space.
The flame contained an endless majesty and power, capable of incinerating all evil and darkness in the world.
Chu He struck out,
slamming his palm heavily against the hanged youth’s chest.
The moment they made contact,
golden sparks scattered like brilliant fireworks,
illuminating the youth’s pale, indifferent face.
When the flame touched the youth’s body,
it was like a ravenous wolf, swiftly invading his ice-cold form.
It began to burn fiercely from within, devouring all the sinister, malevolent energy.
The youth’s eyes remained fixed on Chu He with venom,
but that venom gradually dissipated as his body rapidly withered.
His body was like a flower drained of its Life Force,
swiftly wilting. His skin shriveled, his muscles atrophied, and his bones were laid bare.
Finally, he turned into wisps of black smoke,
which dissipated into the air as if he had never existed in this world at all.
Throughout the entire process, Chu He’s expression remained as calm as still water,
as if he were merely performing some trivial ritual.
Yet the power and methods he displayed inspired a deep-seated awe,
making him seem like the master of this world,
able to toy with life and death in the palm of his hand.
And the space that had been illuminated by the golden flames,
amidst the terrifying and bizarre atmosphere, gradually returned to calm.
"I still have value!"
Seeing how badly the situation had turned, Hand-Palm Head shouted hurriedly.
’He knew in his heart,’
’my companion, the hanged youth, was just instantly killed by Chu He.’
’It’s probably my turn next.’
’He knew that if he didn’t start begging for his life now, he might not get another chance.’
’After all, even though the Dark Holy See is powerful,’
’distant water can’t put out a nearby fire. Right now, only Chu He can spare my life.’
"The Dark Holy See is truly powerful. I’m not threatening you.
The Dark Holy See in the Great Xia Empire is only a branch.
Keep me alive, and at the very least, you’ll have a reliable source of intelligence on the Dark Holy See."
Perhaps afraid that Chu He would kill him before he could finish, Hand-Palm Head spoke at a rapid pace,
blurting the words out in a single breath,
terrified that the slightest pause would bring about his death.
"The Dark Holy See, the Bright Holy See... Is there some connection between you two?"
Just as Hand-Palm Head had hoped, Chu He didn’t make another move.
He slowly walked over to Hand-Palm Head,
looked down at him with a hint of inquiry and doubt in his eyes, and asked softly.
"The Dark Holy See itself originated in the West.
It was a splinter group from the Bright Holy See.
The Bright Holy See has always considered us mortal enemies, placing bounties on our heads and hunting us across the globe."
Hand-Palm Head hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his mind,
before deciding to tell him everything he knew.
After all, saving his own life was the most important thing right now.
"The Bright Holy See also conceals the existence of the Dark Holy See,
because for them, it’s an unspeakable scandal."