1857 Killing the Raven
Inside the broken egg, there was a featherless Raven. A deep wound crossed its body, oozing purple smoke.
The Raven’s eyes were partly open, but little more than slits. It looked furious, but it appeared to be suffering inside the lava-like juice. And while it seemed to be unable to stand, it lurched forward with the speed of lightning. Quickly, it came toward Han Sen, seeking to bite him with a mouth wreathed in fire.
Ghost Teeth Knife looked so angry in return, with its purple mist. Han Sen did not have to activate it himself, as the blade moved for him. It was like a hungry demon, and it wanted nothing more than to kill.
The Raven had not fully developed yet. There were no feathers on its body, and it was grievously injured. There was blood caking most of its skin. The knife came at the Raven and cut it, leaving a lesion across its flesh.
The full-power of a King cla.s.s Ghost Teeth Knife only left a scratch across it, though.
Han Sen kept moving, swinging his blade at the Raven as he went. It was still small, and its eyes were only partially open. Its body was still naked, and its skin wasn’t as firm and developed as it could be. But even so, the Raven was not afraid of the a.s.sault. After the attack, it looked at Han Sen with even anger.
King Jun had not said anything. He coldly looked at Han Sen with an expression of pure hatred and murder. It was scary to witness.
Eventually, the blood rain, thunder, and fire began to fade. The palace had been reduced to little more than a ruin.
Han Sen slashed the bird again, delivering more and more wounds upon it. Gold-blood spilled out of it, and it was clear Han Sen would soon end up killing the Raven.
“Han Sen, if you kill it, you will never be rid of me.” King Jun sounded calm when he spoke; so calm it was chilling. Katcha!
Without hesitation, Ghost Teeth Knife delivered a clean cut across the Raven’s neck. The head was lopped right off.
King Jun did not say anything. He merely looked at Han Sen. Then, he disappeared. But the look he had given Han Sen was remarkable.
“Deified creature hunted: Baby Sun Raven. Sun Raven beast soul obtained. Deified Gene obtained.”
When Han Sen heard the announcement, he was thrilled with delight. When the Sun Raven was killed, the marks on the foreheads of the others began to disappear, too. They became gold, and then melted into their flesh with the rippling mirage of a fire.
Gu Qingcheng sat down on the ground and used her Qi Gong to absorb the flame.
Xie Qing King’s body, meanwhile, was glowing with silver light. Little Silver’s eyes flickered with lightning.
The Barons at the base used their skills to absorb the mark, but the women and children were unable to. The gold blended into their skin and changed their bodies instead.
Boom!
The mountain continued to shake. It came from the purple-bronze hall. It seemed to have erupted, and the palace came flying at them through the air.
“Han Sen? I will be back! Soon… soon…” King Jun’s voice echoed through the underbelly of the mountain until the palace disappeared.
Captain Wood wanted to get up, but he had been badly burned. His flesh and even his bones had been charred. It didn’t seem likely that he’d live.
“Sir, take my body back to Planet Green, if it is of no trouble for you. That is where I was born, and if I am buried there,
I know it will make for a fine resting place,” Wood said.
“Wood, you raised me up. You have helped me a lot. Without you, I would have been killed by those gold fires. I cannot let you die,” Black Steel said as he tried to pick up Captain Wood. “Han Sen, I am going to take him home to heal. I am going now.”
But Han Sen stopped him and said, “With the condition he is in, he won’t even reach the base. He won’t reach another planet.”
“There is nothing else I can do. I have to do this!” Black Steel said.
Han Sen thought for a moment, and then said, “Wait. There is a better chance of him surviving right here.”
“Young Master, it is fine. I know what will happen to me. I will be happy enough if you can take my lifeless body to Planet Green.” Wood was surprisingly calm.
Black Steel asked Han Sen, “What are you suggesting?”
“His body was burned by fire, and his body is suffering from fire poisoning. That is bad. He can’t make it to camp. But these lotuses have a cold element within them. If they can suppress the Raven mark, it will help the fire and perhaps eliminate the fire poisoning,” Han Sen said.
“The lotuses might be able to clear the fire poisoning, but the wounds…” Black Steel shook his head.
“That’s why we’ll need him,” Han Sen said, then whistled to the sky.
Not long after, something silver emerged from the ruins. Little Silver swiftly came before Han Sen.
Little Silver, bite the lotus and put it on his wounds.” Han Sen gave Little Silver the lotus.
Little Silver took the plant and chewed it up. Then, he moved over and spat it out over Wood’s wounds. The burned skin began to smoke, and it made Wood scream in agony.
Little Silver chewed up a lot of the lotuses and placed them atop all the wounds. And whenever the wounds came into contact with the lotuses, it was like a ladle of water being poured over smoldering charcoal.
The white lotuses turned black.
“Black Steel, feed him some lotus,” Han Sen told Black Steel.
Black Steel crushed up some of the lotuses and fed Captain Wood. He already seemed a little better after eating what he had been given. His wounds were still really bad, though. It would be difficult for him to be healed, but the mere fact that he was alive was enough for now. He would survive long enough for his body to recuperate.
“Thank you.” Captain Wood gave Han Sen a complicated look.
“Don’t thank me. This is because of Black Steel. Otherwise, I wouldn’t care whether you lived or died,” Han Sen said coldly.
“No matter what the reason is, you saved me. And that means I owe you.” Captain Wood shook his head.
Han Sen did not say anything in response. He really didn’t like Wood, and the less he had to do with him, the better.
Xie Qing King and Gu Qingcheng soon appeared there. The marks on their foreheads had indeed disappeared.
Black Steel picked up Captain Wood, and Han Sen lifted the Sun Raven’s body. The entire carca.s.s of the bird emanated a strange power. It was not a xenogeneic, either. Han Sen was keen to research what the thing really was.