Chương 106: Thunder from the Carriage

The battle continued without mercy. The monster was no longer merely a madman, but something far worse: a true demonic entity. He pressed us relentlessly, but the longer we fought, the more we began to decipher his open weakness. The blood ritual empowered him at the absolute cost of his own sanity, even if that only made him more dangerous and unpredictable in his attacks. Red threads pulsed across his demonic form like living veins, acting in the direct service of the evil being.

Every single strike carried the unnatural fury he emitted. He laughed through the pain he received, completely abandoning his defenses as he started to ignore blocking entirely.

"HAHAHAHA! You think a dent or scratch will ever stop me? The Graveyard Road drinks your fear! Accept it and become part of it!" His voice was a guttural snarl that sent a deep chill straight down my spine. Xhife and Xihua tried to pin him down once more by combining their forces. Xhife's Wind Demon Monkey Vestuto allowed him to generate a powerful whirlwind from his staff. Using a series of agile flips to charge up the mid-range attack, he unleashed the gale straight at the monster.

"Die!" he snarled. His emerald, tornado-like gush of wind clashed violently against the blood threads, severing several of them. However, they reformed instantly, showcasing a regenerative power that was completely off the charts. Simultaneously, Xihua's Phantasmal Incense filled the air with thick, suffocating smoke.

"You will not touch anyone else!" she growled through her intense pain. She released a new technique, a whip forged entirely of her own smoke in a solid form. It did not just lash out; it used thorny tendrils to bind the monster's spear arm, successfully holding him at bay for a few precious seconds. Together, they bought Zhuofing the exact moment he needed to regain his footing and accumulate more hits. That was currently our only win condition. His breathing was ragged, and he had clearly been beaten up badly.

One of his gauntlets was dangerously cracked from the earlier exchange, but it still held at forty percent power. His eyes burned with an unyielding resolve to land a decisive blow. He charged to fifty-five percent, then surged up to seventy-two percent. I understood my role now, just as everyone else did. Every single time Zhuofing accumulated a charge, the rest of us had to jump into the fray to soak up the damage from the inevitable counterattack.

With that dark realization, I lunged in from the sideline to strike.

"Keep him occupied!" Zhuofing roared. My Cor Flamma flames roared along my Elsa di Fuoco as I fire aura slashed at the monster's exposed flank. The others joined the onslaught. Qixian's Darkness Wings allowed for rapid, hit-and-run twin-rod strikes that delivered powerful blows to his demonic thighs. Woushi's water rings spun furiously; he combined them both into one massive ring and struck at the creature's feet, but he was ultimately repelled by a sudden shield of red threads.

The remnants of our alliance poured everything they had left into the assault to completely occupy his mind. The graveyard road became a chaotic battlefield of fire, wind, smoke, darkness, water, and light, while the impaled bodies around us seemed to watch in silent judgment. But he violently broke us off. With a demonic blood roar that violently shook the broken carriages, he shrieked in an insane tone, "Blood Stunning Appeal!"

It was a horrific technique that weaponized the sound wave to affect our very blood cells. Everyone weaker than him was instantly paralyzed as their own blood cells seized up, completely freezing their movements. Even my Heart Flame pumped slower, and the light in my veins dimmed out entirely. The demon turned fully toward Zhuofing, who now stood at an absolute one hundred percent power. He was the one who had made the monster feel the most pain.

"You… I will crush you first! You will join my graveyard first!" he bellowed. His spear whipped forward in a flurry of thrusts, the blood threads extending its reach into a deadly, piercing lance. Zhuofing countered, unleashing the full release of his accumulative gauntlets. He had no other choice. He met the deadly thrust completely head-on. The collision sent catastrophic shockwaves ripping through the air, echoing all the way to the heavens. Both warriors took massive damage to their arms.

Zhuofing's arm was completely broken, and his blood flew all the way to the dirt. Deep cracks spiderwebbed across his protective earth armor, and a thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as well. Yet, he stood firm, keeping his eyes locked onto his target. He was ultimately more hurt than the monster, whose demonic armor plates now showed deep, smoking fissures.

The monster staggered backward under the immense weight of the blow, but his red threads instantly formed and started to close the fresh wounds. He laughed madly even as blood poured down his chest.

"Good… good! More pain means more strength!" Before he could press his attack against us again, new carriage lights appeared on the far side of the road. Bright lanterns swayed atop a convoy of sturdy wagons; a larger mercantile force transporting goods was about to arrive. Merchants, heavily armed guards, and regular travelers moved in a tight, defensive column, instantly noticing the exact same horrific scenery we had seen when entering the territory.

Their sudden presence cut through the deep darkness like a beacon of civilization in this cursed stretch of land. The madman immediately understood that he had to retreat. He felt a remarkably strong presence within the incoming group, and his own animalistic instincts warned him that he needed to run now, or there would be no more graveyard left for him to create and fill up. His extra pairs of eyes narrowed with bitter frustration.

"Not today. But I will find you all again! The road remembers, and so do I!" With that final threat, he turned to flee. The sight of the convoy brought a surge of real hope that cut through our frustration regarding the demonic blood madman. After hours of isolation and death on this graveyard road, seeing living people organized, armed, and moving with purpose reminded us that good still existed beyond the bad. It proved that not every path led only to blood, spears, and agonizing death.

I felt my chest loosen just a fraction as the paralysis faded, meaning I would soon be able to move again, though I feared it would not be soon enough. The others straightened slightly in their stunned positions. Even in our state of utter exhaustion, the simple fact that help had arrived lifted our battered spirits. To ensure the monster could not escape cleanly, I sacrificed what remained of my strength and activated my Soul Attribute Vestuto.

Once a person masters their own Vestuto, they uncover its true name imprinted deep inside their very soul and mind. Now, I finally knew my own soul Vestuto name: Animurens Bellator Vestuto. Once again, I overloaded my brain and transformed into my shadow-greyed armor, the heavy exhaust pipes on my back venting violently. My helmet was a tall, fully enclosed, pointed helm of black, scale-thorn metal that rose to a sharp crest.

The face was a sealed visor with two burning yellow-orange eyes set within a glowing, red, V-shaped mask, looking like a savage snarl cut directly into the steel. No skin or mouth showed; there was only that glowing slit and the jagged, organic plates wrapping tightly around my head.

"I am afraid I can't let you leave just yet!" I roared. Thick, heavy smoke erupted from my exhaust pipes as I accelerated with blinding speed. I reached the fleeing beast mid-air and grabbed his arms, pinning them tightly together like a spear. Holding him completely helpless in my grip, our combined momentum drove us down at high velocity, plunging both of us straight into the solid ground. Woushi was the only one who ran toward the incoming carriage alone.

He had forced his way free of the paralysis by cutting his own wrists, letting the blood drip down to break the supernatural hold. However, the sudden blood loss was heavy. It left him dizzy and staggering as dark spots blurred his vision, but his sheer willpower kept him locked onto his mission. His face was streaked with dirt, sweat, and crimson streams. His eyes were wide with a desperate hope mixed with the raw terror of watching his friends fall one by one.

"Help! We are under attack! Please!" he screamed toward the approaching force. His voice cracked with raw emotion, the desperation in it palpable as he waved his arms frantically. He stumbled blindly over broken wood and mangled bodies, the blood-soaked field making every single step treacherous. He nearly fell twice, his breathing incredibly ragged as tears of exhaustion and fear glistened in his eyes.

"Many have died here and We're the next ones dying here! The Demonic madman is slaughtering us!" The approaching vehicles were sturdy merchant wagons, heavily reinforced with iron bands and covered in thick canvas. Lanterns hung from poles, casting warm golden light that felt almost surreal against the horror around us. Guards in practical leather armor rode alongside. Some on horseback. Others walking in formation with spears and shields ready. Merchants peeked from the windows.

Their faces shifted from curiosity to shock as they took in the massacre. One older merchant woman clutched a young boy close. Her eyes were wide with horror at the impaled bodies lining the road. Even in my strongest form, holding the man at bay was hard. His attacks hurt badly. The blood threads lashed out, cutting through my shadowy armor. Each strike of his sent blood spikes through my body. He mocked me relentlessly even while trapped inside my choking hold.

"A greyed knight pretending to be strong? Pathetic! I will drink your essence!" I sneered back at him.

"Then come drink it! I am not afraid of monsters like you!" I knew that the longer I could keep him frustrated, the higher our chances were of anchoring him to this spot and killing him for good. My taunt blinded him with rage. He focused entirely on me, finally giving the others some vital breathing room. An amber-hued man in blue robes with a fine, thin sword stepped down from the carriage.

He moved with a calm authority, his weapon heavily loaded with electricity as crackling blue and yellow lightning arcs danced along the blade's edge. He joined the fight without hesitation, having received the urgent information from our Woushi, who had just fallen into an unconscious state. Woushi had run toward them and given them everything he could before passing out from the heavy blood loss.

The battle between the newcomer, whose name was Chaophi, and the monster exploded into a display of raw power that left us all stunned. As he struck the beast with a simple, calculated cut, I got a taste of the man's immense electric force. The sheer power of the blast broke the hold, forcing the beast and me apart. Now thoroughly annoyed by everything, the monster allowed the red threads to sink directly back into his own body, forcing an even stronger pump.

He mutated further, growing by an additional four centimeters before standing across from us. Chaophi's sword moved like living lightning. Blue and yellow electricity arced wildly across the blade as he closed the distance in a blur.

"You have spilled enough blood on this road," he said calmly. The first strike was a precise thrust. The electrified blade pierced through several vital areas, which hissed and evaporated in showers of bright sparks. The monster roared and countered with a wide spear sweep, the red stripe extending its reach dramatically. Chaophi sidestepped the incoming blow with effortless grace, his blue robes barely fluttering in the wind.

He retaliated instantly with a horizontal slash, sending electricity surging forward in a crackling wave that slammed directly into the monster's demonic chest plate. The impact lit up the entire graveyard road in a brilliant blue light. The monster staggered back a few steps, one of his extra eyes flickering wildly while dark smoke rose from the cracked plate.

"You dare interrupt my hunt?!" the blood demon shen bellowed, his voice heavily distorted with rage. Blood spit exploded outward from his open mouth like a chaotic storm of toxic goo, lashing at Chaophi from every single angle. On contact, the vile fluid was designed to force a debilitating stun upon its victim. Chaophi spun his sword in a rapid circle, forcing his electricity to form a protective barrier around his body.

The ruby goo and stray blood threads struck the barrier, exploding in violent showers of red, yellow, and blue sparks. Refusing to back down, he pushed forward, closing the gap between them once again.

"Hunt? You are nothing but a mad butcher," he replied. His tone was steady, but it carried quiet contempt. He thrust his weapon forward again. The blade sank deep into the monster's shoulder, searing fiercely into the mutated flesh. Electricity coursed violently through the freshly opened wound, causing the madman to scream as his entire body convulsed. One of the demonic horns on his back cracked under the electrical strain and fell away onto the dirt. The monster retaliated with pure, unbridled fury.

He grew even larger for a short moment, his muscles bulging as the fluid inside fed him more power. He was using his own remaining blood as a desperate sacrifice, causing the red color on his skin to grow noticeability thinner. His now blood made spears whipped around in an active frenzy, each strike landing faster and heavier than the last. The red stripe allowed him to change his angles mid-swing, keeping the choreography completely unpredictable. Chaophi managed to dodge some of the incoming blows.

However, one brutal thrust caught his side, tearing a deep hole into his flesh. His skin was left ragged on the spear's tip, leaving his side fully exposed as a massive gush of blood welled from the wound. He grunted under the heavy wound, but did not slow his own tempo. This man was battle-hardened to the brim.

"Your kind always overreaches with just a battle wound," he muttered. He channeled more power into his sword as he Vestutoed into the Thunder Mast Vestuto. His armor formed into scales of dark-blue wavy skin, and his helmet featured four short, backward-going zigzagging edges. Then the blade glowed brighter as its unloading power grew bigger. He unleashed a devastating overhead strike, burning with intense electric force. The electrified edge met the monster's spear shaft.

The collision created a massive shockwave that knocked broken carriage pieces aside and threw the rest of us back roughly fifty meters. The monster's weapon cracked from its own blood, turning instantly from solid to fluid. His small amount of remaining blood threads tried to repair it, but the electricity left behind burned them away faster than they could reform. Chaophi pressed the advantage. His sword became a storm of lightning strikes.

He targeted the joints, the extra eyes, and the pulsing core of blood threads at the monster's chest. Each hit landed with absolute precision and overwhelming force, burning deep into the madman's skin. The monster's demonic form began to falter. Plates shattered and the extra eyes dimmed, but he roared in defiance. Sacrificing his own arms in a final, desperate burst, he ripped them off himself to create a blood-cell stun, using nearly the last of his own blood to force the technique.

Blood sprayed everywhere as he tore the limbs free, using the explosive gush to fuel one last wave of paralysis. Chaophi tried to stop the onslaught with an electrical barrier, but some of the fluid reached him anyway. It did not stun him fully, but it slowed him down enough that the madman could leap into the trees above the hill. His body deformed as the power faded, leaving him an armless, naked man running away in pure anger.

He screamed one last time before disappearing fully into the forest:"This is not the end! I will return more vicious than before! A bigger graveyard will be made! I solemnly promise you!" Chaophi wanted to pursue the monster even in his staggered position, but he had to look around and accept the state of our group. We could no longer catch him; we had missed our opportunity. And for the first time on this harsh path, someone got away that I truly wanted to kill myself, in a brutal, final way.

But at least, among the exhausted survivors, we did not have many losses. Only three had died. Chaophi stopped for our sake, helping us up with steady hands to get us back on our feet.

"My name is Chaophi. Thirty-three years old," he said with calm tone. On his face you could see a small royal beard in a neatly trimmed style, accented by short and wild black hair.

"A Thunder Attribute user from the Mighty Force Sect. I was helping out a friend's agency because they needed a hand. You fought well against that monster. Rest now. The road is safer with fewer such threats." We were truly thankful for the man's help. I deactivated my Soul Attribute, and the grey soul-made armor faded away, leaving me completely drained and trembling.

"Thank you… we would not have survived without you," I said, my voice hoarse and thick with emotion. Relief mixed heavily with the lingering fear of the madman's promise. Chaophi smiled faintly.

"The world is wide and not just only filled with cruel people. There will be someone out there who will act upon his own revenge and kill him one day for sure. Helping those who fight back is the least I can do right now. Travel safely. We need to move on. I will tell someone from another city to properly clean this road and help cremate the unfortunate ones. The Mighty Force Sect stands against such madness." With those words, we continued our journey.

Our hearts were heavier from the loss, but our spirits were lifted by the kindness of a stranger and the simple sight of normal life returning to the road. The graveyard road slowly faded behind us, but its brutal lessons remained permanently burned into our souls.