GDK 845: Rock Paper Scissors
It happened in less than the split of a second. Before Han Shuo could react, Metal Elite Zombie had been pulled to the bottom of the swamp. The giant arm vanished with Han Jin, leaving just a few bubbles on the surface.
Han Shuo was alarmed and he immediately flew towards the swamp. The seventeen flying swords whooshed out and shot into the mud.
Metal Elite Zombie and Han Shuo had connected minds and they could sense each other’s positions. Following Han Shuo’s thoughts, the seventeen flying swords shot into the swamp in a flash. An earth-shaking rumble sounded from its depth while the mud-splattered high into the sky.
“Show yourself!” shouted Han Shuo coldly as he wrecked the swamp with his flying swords.
Some of the seventeen flying swords were pinching on the humanoid creature covered with mud and they carried the creature out from the swamp. Several of the flying swords were still bombarding its body, making loud metallic clangs and sparks.
Metal Elite Zombie was not on the creature. He re-emerged from the swamp behind the creature and shouted, “What monster!”
Toxic sludges overflowed from the humanoid creature’s mouth as he spoke in a hoarse voice, “Rose? Why are you here?”
The sludges slowly fell off his body. Soon, his body that had a metallic sheen was laid bare. Although he bore the form of a human, his flesh and skin seemed to be made of steel and rock. His eyes were glittering with a greyish light that looked inexplicably bizarre.
The seventeen flying swords that carried intense corrosive power had been making loud metallic noises and sparks when they stuck the person. However, he doesn’t seem to be vulnerable to the power of the flying swords. Not only that his body wasn’t corroding, but he also doesn’t seem to be affected by the chilling aura.
“Romon? Is that you?” asked Rose.
“Yes, I am!” replied the strange person. He looked up and down at Han Shuo and his party with greyish eyes and asked, “Why are you here? Who are they?”
“They are my friends. We are looking for you,” replied Rose. She hesitated for a bit before she asked, “Romon, how did you turn into this?”
“Father, the surface of his body is filled with rare metals and his organs contain all kinds of toxins. He is not afraid of your flying swords,” shouted Han Jin after he left the swamp. Golden Cudgel, the Supreme Treasure of the Metal Attribute Energy, suddenly grew to the size of a large tree and came whacking at Romon.
This alien called Romon seemed unruffled against Han Shuo’s seventeen flying swords as though they had been nothing but tickles. But when he saw Metal Elite Zombie’s Golden Cudgel, he put on a frightened face. He even forgot to answer Rose and frantically tried to flee from the Cudgel.
“Hehe, dumbass, your body is filled with metal. How are you gonna run from me?” said Han Jin in a smirk. The Golden Cudgel then flew off his hand and went after Romon like a guided missile.
No matter where Romon ran or how he tried to dodge, the Golden Cudgel would always manage to smack him. It made a loud bang and painful cries which each hit. In just a short few moments, Han Jin’s Golden Cudgel had managed to make five good whackings on Romon’s shiny buttocks.
The Golden Cudgel, being an extraordinary weapon of the metal energy, possessed an exceptional power at sensing and manipulating all metals. As most of Ramon’s body was made of metals, there was no way that he could run from the Golden Cudgel’s attacks.
Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beat paper. This was the situation. As Romon was made of rare metals and all sorts of toxins, even Han Shuo would have a hard time trying to defeat him. Metal Elite Zombie, however, although less powerful than Han Shuo, could give him a painful beating. Romon was immune to Han Shuo’s deadly seventeen flying swords but he was helpless against Han Jin’s Golden Cudgel. He had tried deploying every kind of defense he knew of but none of them worked.
“Asshole, this is for trying to assault me!” cursed Han Jin as he whacked Romon. “Hehe, if it was any other highgod, I might not be able to win. But when it comes to you, well, it cannot be easier!”
After a while, the dizzy-headed Romon gave up on trying to dodge the Golden Cudgel. He hastily pleaded to Rose, “I didn’t know that it’s you and your friends! Please stop him. We had fought alongside each other and I had even helped you escape from Buzz and Bertha. How could you just stand and watch?”
“Please spare him,” Rose pleaded while looking at Han Shuo, “I owe Romon a favor. if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have managed to escape from the Fringe. He has learned his lesson. Can you please ask him to stop?”
Han Shuo did not travel so far to kill a potential follower. Seeing that Romon has been amply punished, Han Shuo smilingly said to Han Jin, “Oi! You little vengeful brat, isn’t that’s quite more than enough?”
Han Jin put on a big mischievous smile. He raised an open palm and the Golden Cudgel that had been striking Romon immediately started flying back to him while rapidly shrinking. By the time it landed in his hand, the Golden Cudgel had turned to the size of a needle.
“Father, this guy has a very unique body composition that even an average highgod won’t be able to harm him. But his greatest strength is also his weakness. Unfortunately for him, hehe, I’m his kryptonite. I can toy him like a puppet!” said Han Jin proudly as though he had accomplished something.
After the Golden Cudgel was kept away, Romon who had been seeing stars gradually recovered. He put on a grimace and said to Rose, “It’s been quite a while. Is this how you greet your old friends?”
Although every surface of Romon’s body was made of rare metals, not all of them were as hard as a rock. Some of them were extremely pliable. The metal of Romon’s face was especially so. It was as flexible as normal skin and it doesn’t lessen the rich expressions on his face.
“You have been hiding under the swamp and immediately attacked us without warning. How would I know that it’s you?” replied Rose in an annoyed manner. But shortly after, she put on a puzzled face and asked, “Romon, how did you turn into this? You didn’t look like this when we last met.”
Not just Rose, but Han Shuo was also very curious. They wondered how in the world did that guy turn into this form.
It was obvious to them that Romon was not born with such a body. He must have acquired it through some sort of fortuitous encounter.
Han Shuo had been observing the surrounding and he frequently found skeletons laying around. There must be plenty of gods who died in this region. And if Han Shuo’s guess was correct, all of them were killed by Romon. This indicated that Romon’s strength must be quite extraordinary!
“Soon after you left, I was gang up by a group of people and suffered serious injuries. I did all I could to escape from them and I ran to this place out of desperation. The myriad of toxins all around here started attacking my body and it was slowly rotting away. At that time, I had lost all hope, so I dived to the bottom of the swamp to bury myself and wait for my death. The metals and toxins underneath the swamp started adhering to my rotten body. I thought that it would just kill me faster. I kept waiting and waiting but after hundreds of years, not only that I did not die, my body had transformed. That’s how I got this shiny new look,” explained Romon.
“Here? Under this swamp?” Rose was astounded and she did not expect Romon to experience something so miraculous.
Romon nodded and continued, “Yes, right under here. I don’t even know what I have become. It’s not just my body, but even my divine soul has transformed. There are even times that I felt as though I’m a rock, like I have been dead for eons… “
Romon has a hazy look in his eyes. He seemed vacant and detached, as though he was there, but his mind was not present.
“I have noticed a lot of skeletons lying around the swamp. Were they killed by you?” asked Han Shuo smilingly.
“Yes. Many years ago, I killed a group of people who entered this place. One of them escaped and he started spreading lies, saying that there is a treasure inside my body. Since then, I’ve been hunted by a constant stream of greedy and foolish Fringedwellers. I would have been gutted if it wasn’t for the transformation that happened to me.
“For all these years, I would spontaneously attack and kill everyone who stepped inside my swamp to scare those Fringedwellers away. I attacked you because I thought that you were one of them,” explained Romon.
Han Shuo nodded at Rose smilingly and said, “Good, very good! To have killed so many Fringedwellers, he must be quite capable! Alright, tell him what I’m here for.”
Following Han Shuo’s command, Rose turned to Romon and said, “Romon, my master would like to recruit you. Buzz and Bertha have been killed. You wouldn’t want to live under a swamp forever, do you?”
“What?! Buzz and Bertha killed?” Romon was astounded. He looked at Han Shuo doubtfully and asked, “You killed them?”
“Yep, you could say so,” Han Shuo put on a smile and said to Romon, “I doubt that it had been fun living under a swamp. Besides, you will slowly lose yourself if you keep living here. So join me, I will enhance your body and make you stronger!”
Romon’s body was a wonderful material that could be refined. If Han Shuo puts his mind onto it, he could rebuild Romon’s body and raise his power.
“You can run from others, but not from me. If you don’t agree to it, I will whack you to death!” said Han Jin in a mischievous and evil smirk. The Golden Cudgel was yet again visible in his hand and he brandished it threateningly at Romon.
Persuaded by Rose, enticed by Han Shuo, and threatened by Han Jin, Romon put on a bitter smile while scratching his head. He soon realized that he did not have much of a choice. After a moment of hesitation, he helplessly, yet feeling somewhat thrilled, nodded.