Chapter 978 - Infiltrating the Fire Worship Cult
Han Wu reluctantly accepted Cage’s explanation. They had assumed the darkness had corrupted him, so they attacked to suppress him—an idea Han Wu could only scoff at.
Darkness couldn’t control him. He controlled the darkness. Considering he had suffered no real harm and had gained a powerful Seventh Form for free, Han Wu forgave their rash actions.
Cage rested briefly, then shared what he knew about the Great Fire Dragon’s mother.
A visitor from the Fire Worship Cult had once mentioned that they had captured a Great Fire Dragon. It seemed the cult was preparing for their once-a-decade Fire Worship Ceremony and had specifically sought a Great Fire Dragon to sacrifice to the ancient god they worshipped.
Han Wu grew anxious after hearing this. That was a Great Dragon! Killing it would be a terrible waste. Couldn’t they learn from his example and go for a more sustainable approach?
Forcing himself to stay calm, he listened carefully to the details that Cage shared before setting off. The ceremony was in two days. Han Wu could only hope they weren’t the impatient type.
With the Desolation Manifestation pinpointing the Fire Worship Cult’s headquarters. Han Wu climbed onto Esquiem and flew straight there. Knowing its mother’s life was at stake, Esquiem pushed itself to the limit. They flew without rest and arrived in a day and a half.
The Fire Worship Cult’s headquarters was packed with followers. Esquiem recognized their distinctive robes from when its mother was captured.
“Don’t get agitated. I’ll help you get revenge, but we need to find your mother first,” Han Wu said, calming the furious Esquiem before storing it in his summoning space.
He infiltrated the headquarters on his own. Everyone inside wore the Fire Worship Cult’s robes. Han Wu didn’t have one, but he acted quickly, activating Demon Shadow and snatching a lone follower at blinding speed. He then stripped their robes off, killed the man, and converted the corpse into an undead skeleton to hide the evidence. The sequence involved switching between two Forms in rapid succession.
Appropriately dressed, Han Wu blended into the crowd of followers and eavesdropped on their conversations to gather intelligence.
“Did you hear? The leader got his hands on a powerful secret technique. He’s going to use it on all the followers tonight. He’ll kill the captured Great Fire Dragon, mix its blood into the technique, and give it to every member. Apparently, once you apply that stuff, you become immune to fire-type attacks.”
“Is that even real? That sounds terrifying.”
“Imagine running into fire-type enemies after that. We’d crush them.”
This confirmed one critical fact for Han Wu: Esquiem’s mother was still alive.
“Thank goodness,” Han Wu murmured.
At that moment, a man in a lavish fire-trimmed gold robe stepped out of a building. “Don’t you all have jobs to do? Get to work!”
The followers began to scatter.
“Wait,” the man called out again. “I need a few hands. You, you, you, and you. Follow me.”
Han Wu was among the four selected, but he figured going in would reveal more information, so he followed the Fire Worship Cult officer into the building.
Massive torture devices filled the space inside. Some still had fresh blood on them. Han Wu’s sharp nose picked up the scent of a Great Dragon from the blood. Great Dragons were rare enough that he was almost certain it belonged to Esquiem’s mother.
She was alive, but she had suffered terribly.
“Carry these devices outside and wash them. Don’t dump the bloody water. Save every drop. Understood?” the officer ordered, glancing toward a room further inside.
The other three followers started hauling devices. Han Wu, meanwhile, had the Desolation Manifestation probe deeper into the building. His lack of movement caught the officer’s attention.
“I told you to work! Are you deaf?” the officer snarled, stepping forward to grab Han Wu by the hair and slap him.
Han Wu’s eyes shifted, and his Demon Shadow activated. Four Shadow Blades shot silently from the shadows at his feet, piercing the three followers and the officer through the heart.
The three followers died instantly. The officer survived the lethal blow by activating his Seventh Form, converting his body into a pure fire elemental to avoid the fatal damage.
Han Wu hastily shifted from Demon Shadow to his Third Form, Swordwind. Four arms gripped four massive swords and unleashed a devastating wind slash. The gales extinguished the officer’s flames, and the blades hacked his exposed body apart before he could utter a single word.
Just to be safe, Han Wu switched to Crystal Lich King, converted all four corpses into skeleton dust, and stored them away.
Silently killing a Seventh Form opponent of equal level in a brief window took more than just the element of surprise. It demanded explosive power and experience. Luckily, Han Wu had both.
The Desolation Manifestation then informed him about a hidden chamber deep inside the building. A special energy field that blocked the Desolation Manifestation’s scan shielded its exterior, so Han Wu would have to go in personally to investigate.
Han Wu had planned to do so even without the Desolation Manifestation’s prompting. After all, he needed to confirm whether Esquiem’s mother was imprisoned there.
Shifting back to Demon Shadow, he slipped inside as a living shadow, which was harder to detect than any physical form. He encountered no one along the way. It was as if no other soul occupied this part of the building.
Finally, Han Wu reached the boundary that the Desolation Manifestation had identified. Two crimson doors stood before him. Flattening into a shadow, he squeezed through the narrow gap between the doors without touching them.
A wave of blistering heat hit him the moment he entered. He had arrived in a world of fire.