Chapter 124: Two Arachnids (Part 2/2)
Translator: Strivon
Zheng Xiao ultimately had a clear head. A relevant and explicit thought soon emerged in his mind. "You released Number 3!"
Originally, he did not have the energy to converse with An Weng, but his mind underwent a surge of stimulation when he saw what was going on. He had actually squeezed out the last bit of his energy.
An Weng did not respond, likely because he could not afford the time to. For at this moment, the sound of an explosion could be heard and half of Building A's roof suddenly collapsed. The glaring light that shone through was like a miniature sun. It came soaring up from below.
Fairchild strode out from within the pulsing waves of light. He advanced quickly toward the burning An Weng behind the spell formation.
Twenty meters away, Ouyang Chen was gently shaking his head.
Such a subtle action did not escape Fairchild. He turned to look, his gray eyes staring fixedly at this Extraordinary, who could already be considered a spectator. Fairchild’s deep voice seemed to be able to shake the entire air atop the roof.
"Do you still believe we're in a laboratory?"
"In a certain sense, yes," Ouyang Chen calmly admitted. "This Logic World is my laboratory."
"Well that's quite unfortunate! You put a fellow even crazier than you in here. Your experiment is doomed to be a gigantic mess."
Fairchild's footsteps did not stop. In the time he took to talk, he rammed his way into the automatic defensive circle of the Evolution Field. The dark flames burned around his body but not a single spark was able to penetrate the white light that surrounded him.
The priests and knights could have stopped him but they were people submerged in terror and fear. It was impossible for them to muster up enough courage to step forth.
Fairchild arrived at the perimeter of the spell formation unimpeded. His movements remained efficient and swift. He reached out his hand and crushed the cocoon structure of light like smashing an egg. Fragments of light filled the sky.
Like this, one of the three pillars of the Evolution Field—the most important one of all—was crushed.
In response, the two First Oblatums atop buildings B and C shrieked practically simultaneously. It was as if a power surge was running through their bodies, electrocuting them. The structure of light around their bodies distorted and collapsed.
Zheng Xiao faired slightly better than the others. He had noticed Fairchild charging through the roof in time and had mentally prepared himself. Though the whiplash was agonizing, it ultimately was not fatal.
But on the other rooftop, An Chengli—who was no longer aware of his body—was not as fortunate. He already bore heavy pressure from being forced into the deep regions of the mental plane and the force of the whiplash from the collapse of a pillar of the Evolution Field beat down instantly into his fleshly body.
Before his blood could even spray from his body, his body transformed into a burning torch. The tearing of his flesh and the pain of being burned incinerated An Chengli's willpower to ashes. He fell to his knees and then collapsed to the ground. A howl of agony boiled from him, growing weaker and weaker with time.
And atop Building A, the dark flames around An Weng's body exploded out to cover half a meter. The intensity of the burning had increased by who knows how many times. His clothes and his withered body all ignited with flames. The light of the flame glowed through his body and through the flamelight one could even see the emptiness behind him.
But An Weng just stood there calmly. He maintained the triangular seal-art that was linked with the Evolution Field. He just lifted his head slightly. His eyes which were still turbid within the flame locked with Fairchild's gray eyes.
His mouth opened slightly the instant they crossed gazes. He uttered with a weak voice that came from his scorched throat, "Those who yearn for the truth will find themselves on the two sides of the scales."
"But not at the mercy of chaos."
Fairchild made another step, his fist striking directly at An Weng's head. Under the force of the fist and the flames burning within the body, the old man's skull was instantly turned into a splatter of fire.
One blow, one kill. Fairchild's expression did not even change a hair for he knew that there was not too much significance behind his actions.
His fist twisted a bit before he pulled it back and an invisible shock wave was set off on the material plane. The wave collided with the mental plane and penetrated it deeply. However, the wave was still slowed and a certain formless shadow leaped out from An Weng's burning husk to hide into the depths of the void.
Fairchild lifted his head and his gaze faced the center of the triangle formed from the three buildings, the void right above Frost River Reality. There, the manifestation of the Scales of Truth's projection was erected within rippling waves of light.
The Evolution Field could completely collapse at any time, having lost a pillar. But the projection of the Evolution Field appeared to be as stable as before. This was not merely a marvel of this holy entity; a new power was supporting it.
Zheng Xiao could no longer keep himself standing atop Building C. He collapsed, sitting on the ground with the body he could barely control. He stared blankly at the projection.
Such a malevolent image could only turn uglier within the warping waves of the Evolution Field. The insect limbs, which had only occasionally streaked by, appeared before his eyes under this serious warping. Of course, it was no longer an insect. It was a wraith distinct to the eyes.
The fine limbs slashed within the rippling light and this monster's body, a fusion of man and arachnid, climbed the base of the Scales of Truth. Its six demonic eyes flickered and gleamed. And no one knew just who it had its attention on.
"Number 3," Zheng Xiao murmured.
Number 3 was a Human-Faced Arachnid.
The Order of Justice was one of the first to identify the Human-Faced Arachnid, to capture and utilize the Human-Faced Arachnid's power. With accurate information, they relied on the first mover's advantage to capture a total of five Human-Faced Arachnid clones within the past dozens of days. They named them numbers one through five in order. They performed research and testing on the Human-Faced Arachnids. Four of the Human-Faced Arachnid clones consumed each other. One specimen was sent to the Archoblatum. In the end, all that was left was Number 3, always kept by An Weng's side. No one knew that An Weng's plans for it would be like this.
Number 3, who had hidden itself until now, actually appeared due to Fairchild smashing An Weng's skull. Moreover, a step earlier, it threw itself into the Evolution Field that was on the verge of collapse.
Right in the moment of Zheng Xiao's dazed state, his thoughts that led the Evolution Field linked up with a mass of restless and chaotic energy.
Human-Faced Arachnid, Number 3!
Zheng Xiao instinctively wanted to use techniques to control the Human-Faced Arachnid and ensure authoritative control but past the mass of chaotic energy he touched a facet that was crystal clear. The conscious information was like light rippling waves and its frequency was so very familiar.
Zheng Xiao's blood ran cold.
"...An Weng?"
Number 3 did not respond but Zheng Xiao could see its six demonic eyes and its ugly head turn toward a different direction.
The rooftop of Building B. An Chengli was located over there.
In the next moment, the facet which he could feel from Number 3 suddenly disappeared.
Before Zheng Xiao could rely on his mental perception—which he had yet to completely withdraw from the mental plane—to lock onto the location of this facet, Number 3 had rammed its way into the depths of the mental plane. Its target was clear. It instantly made its way over the rooftop of Building B and its sharp limbs pierced down.
Before the attack could land on its target, a different wraith soared from An Chengli's destroyed body, which had nearly burned to nothing by now. The wraith leaped into the void.
Zheng Xiao saw it clearly; it was another Human-Faced Arachnid!
"A secret stash from the spoils of war."
A consciousness suddenly appeared and it was extremely clear. Though Zheng Xiao had some mental preparations, he was still so shocked that he nearly blurted.
"An Weng!"
During this flash of consciousness, two monster heads collided in the depths of the mental plane. It seemed that victory and defeat were instantly decided.
Number 3, who could be called An Weng, used the mouth pincers of an arachnid from nightmares to mangle half the body of ‘the spoil of war’. He then took a vicious bite, engulfing his food all the way down his throat.
The last thing to be chewed was the head of the Human-Faced Arachnid, which looked no different to any other Human-Faced Arachnid. The two heads were connected together, then one of them ate the other.
This vicious scene of cannibalism performed by the Human-Faced Arachnid was never as nauseating as it was now.
At the very least, Zheng Xiao could not believe it. "Is that really An Weng?"