The Eldritch Files

The Four Heavenly Kings had once been on the same team. Although they had been apart for four years, their teamwork was still impeccable. Seeing Li Moxi’s fury, Zhang Chiguo, Zhao Fantian, and King Buddha—who were in blocking positions—simultaneously activated their Spiritual Activity. Each generated a barrier, forming a massive triangle.

Wisps of a strange power rose from their bodies, resonating with the Crimson power on Li Moxi.

For other teams, a blocking position was just that—a position meant only to prevent a trapped person or object from escaping.

But the Four Heavenly Kings’ powers came from the same source and were identical in nature. So when they acted together, the ones in blocking positions would resonate with the attacker’s power, causing his Spiritual Power to surge. The power he could command reached more than three times his normal level.

RRRIP!

Following the sound of the ground being torn apart, the space they occupied seemed to transform into a spiritual sea.

Song Chushi was right in the center of this sea, surrounded by the shimmering, watery reflections of red light and the pervasive stench of blood.

Tainted by this red, everything gained a terrifyingly sharp edge.

The very ground beneath his feet would sprout hands to grab at his legs and bite at his tendons.

The surrounding air would compress a person’s body, as if trying to forcibly extract their blood through their pores.

Even the light from the streetlamps seemed to turn into steel needles, capable of slicing right through a person’s skin.

With just a flick of his wrist, Li Moxi had turned the entire environment into Song Chushi’s enemy. His own objective had also become remarkably simple:

He simply surrounded Song Chushi with this all-encompassing killing intent, not seeking to instantly crush him or completely strip him of his ability to resist. All he wanted was to make him bleed, even if it was just the faintest of wounds.

When facing the power of Crimson, there was one cardinal rule: one must not get injured.

Once a person was injured, the blood that left their body would be corrupted by the Crimson power and gradually turn against them.

This was the advantage of the Crimson Sequence. It held the upper hand in any direct confrontation. All it took was injuring an opponent for the scales of battle to tip rapidly in its favor. Most importantly, Song Chushi had been a clerk before, and his physical skills were not outstanding.

No matter how much mysterious knowledge he had Mastered, it was useless within this trap.

...

...

Facing this world of crisis and the surging red sea, Song Chushi’s figure Flashed between several locations, like a scene with dropped frames.

As he whispered under his breath, his skin began to scab over, turning black.

It was as if his body was wrapped in a thick, stone-like shell.

The endless sharp attacks assailing him from all sides only managed to break off a piece of dry stone chips and flying ash, rather than drawing blood.

"The Black Gobi Rock Cave Lizard?"

King Buddha stood in his blocking position, yet he was even busier than Li Moxi inside the trap. He shouted excitedly:

"It’s afraid of water..."

A type of rock cave lizard-man that evolved in the forbidden gobi of the Eastern Continent’s west during the Radiation Era. The exceptionally cruel, dry environment and the most intense, powerful radiation gave birth to a Mutant Species there that lived in symbiosis with rock and earth.

Half-man, half-lizard. Not only was its body’s surface covered in a thick layer of stone chips and crushed rock, but its insides had evolved to the point where almost all blood and bodily fluids had vanished.

This was a standard Clan Level species, destined to never leave that gobi.

But it just so happened to be miraculously effective against the power of Crimson.

However, this type of mutant was also within King Buddha’s scope of knowledge, and he spotted its weakness at a glance.

"..."

SHLICK...

Before King Buddha could even finish his sentence, Li Moxi had already raised his hand, drawn a knife, and sliced open his own palm.

Fresh blood immediately flowed from his palm, mingling with the red sea and seemingly forming surging waves of blood.

Water was hard to come by, but blood could serve as a substitute.

The fresh fluid merged into the surrounding red sea, instantly transforming into a downpour that rained down upon Song Chushi.

SWOOSH!

Not waiting for the rain of blood to touch him, Song Chushi’s form instantly reverted to normal as he flashed to the side.

Seeing that Song Chushi had dispelled the power of the Rock Cave Lizard, the rain of blood instantly transformed from droplets into sharp blades that rained down on him—an overwhelming and terrifying sight.

But unexpectedly, though Song Chushi had been still before, once he started moving, he was agile and nimble, almost as fast as lightning. The entire shower of blood blades clattered against the ground, failing to even touch the corner of his clothes.

’This guy...’

Seeing this, Zhao Fantian couldn’t help but exchange a look with King Buddha.

Song Chushi had never received professional military training before, so his combat skills were average. When he had betrayed Qinggang, although he killed many people, he had relied on traps and forbidden powers. Those who hunted him never had the chance to get close enough for hand-to-hand combat.

But now they had trapped him from the very beginning, thinking they could exploit his greatest weakness and crush him in one fell swoop.

Unexpectedly, he was completely different from before.

Who knew what he had experienced in these four years, wandering far and wide, to have honed such excellent skills.

"Hmph!"

Upon seeing this, Li Moxi didn’t wait for the rain of blood to land. He suddenly clapped his hands three times.

With each clap, the surrounding air grew thinner. After the third clap, the red sea around them stagnated slightly, as if it were in a vacuum.

This was no longer an effect of the Crimson power, but a clever use of Spiritual Activity.

By forcing Song Chushi to move and push his bodily functions to their limit, his blood flow would accelerate. At the same time, by lowering the density of the surrounding air, Li Moxi could forcibly extract the blood from his opponent’s body through his pores.

This was a special move that could only be used in the environment created by their blocking positions.

Li Moxi had always been the most efficient one, capable of finding an effective strategy in the shortest amount of time.

In that brief exchanged glance, Zhao Fantian and King Buddha had understood each other’s intentions. While maintaining their blocking positions, they lightly stomped their feet. Suddenly, red spikes grew from the ground, intertwining menacingly as they shot upwards.

RRRIP!

Song Chushi, who was continuously jumping back, finally seemed unable to dodge in time, and several wounds appeared on his body.

Under the strain of his intense movement and the abnormal environment, blood immediately began to seep out.

"It worked!"

The hearts of everyone present sank slightly. Looking up, they saw that Song Chushi’s blood had already been corrupted by Crimson. It was as if the blood had a life of its own, eagerly trying to burrow back into Song Chushi’s wounds to tear them even wider.

If the corruption were more severe, it would even form chains to bind him. If it got worse still, it would burrow back into his blood vessels, rush into his heart, and tear it apart.

Finally injuring Song Chushi meant that this ambush was over.

Li Moxi abruptly raised his hand, his hand signs changing rapidly. He was using the control granted by the blood to seize Song Chushi.

But to everyone’s surprise, the moment he was injured, Song Chushi’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He suddenly placed his briefcase on the ground. The worn-out case opened automatically, and Song Chushi reached inside, abruptly pulling out a red cloak and draping it over himself.

As the cloak settled on his shoulders, a thick, bloody stench emanated from him. His face also became demonic and deathly pale.

The next moment, not only was he completely unrestrained, but he was even faster. Using the blood swirling around him, he appeared before Li Moxi like a phantom.

What looked like him failing to dodge and getting wounded was actually a trap he had laid for Li Moxi by intentionally letting himself bleed.

"Watch out!"

The sudden turn of events caught everyone completely by surprise.

Only King Buddha let out a great cry, his voice cracking. "He even has a fucking Blood Ghost Cloak?"

At that moment, he was both lamenting the missed opportunity and marveling at the abilities Song Chushi had displayed.

The Blood Race Cloak came from the Blood Ghost, one of the five great noble species of the Western Region.

This was a Clan Level anomalous creature that had evolved to live solely on fresh blood and could transmit all sorts of mysterious powers through it.

The Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Continents each had their own Ancient Nobles.

It was just that the nobles of the Eastern Continent had hidden themselves among the common people, unknown to the public, and only wielded immense power and status from the shadows. The Ancient Nobles of the Western Continent, however, were semi-public, and this noble species that fed on blood was one of them.

Because this creature also possessed a Superpower to control blood, it could actually create a stalemate with the properties of Crimson.

After all, although the power of the Four Heavenly Kings was beyond the level of common Understanding, the four of them were merely infected.

In other words, they were all on the level of slaves to Crimson. At best, their ability could be called "Stealing," but they were far from achieving "Mastery."

And because of this, their control over the power of Crimson was far from sufficient. In fact, it was less refined than the Blood Race’s own mastery over blood.

’The Blood Ghost Cloak is a status symbol of the Western Continent’s nobility. How did this guy get one?’

’Did he kill a Count?’

Among them, King Buddha was the most agitated. He was the most familiar with the Hidden School and had the greatest understanding of the Mysterious Circle. Any one of the powers Song Chushi had displayed would be enough to cause a tempest in the Hidden School.

’I wonder if there will ever be a moment when Qinggang regrets forcing such an outstanding talent like Song Chushi to defect over a kidnapping case.’

’Anyway, I regret it now.’

...

...

CRACKLE... SIZZLE...

Song Chushi flashed and lunged in front of Li Moxi, sharp fangs sprouting in his mouth as he went to take a bite.

But Li Moxi’s face was grim. He drew a short blade with a backhand motion and stabbed straight for Song Chushi’s heart, not retreating a single step.

He didn’t know much about the nobles of the Western Continent, but he knew the heart was their weakness.

But at that very moment, the sound of space shattering suddenly rang out. The commotion was immense, and the fluctuations of Spiritual Power it emitted were staggering.

The attention of all five people on the scene was inevitably diverted. They whipped their heads around to see a massive hole appear in the air of the Mirror World, like a waterspout. Its landing point was right over the abandoned D7 laboratory area.

A look of anxiety flashed across Song Chushi’s face. "He’s been taken by the Abyssal Laboratory?"