Chương 73: The Hollow Taste of Victory

The sun had begun its slow descent by the time the last clashes died down inside Moyonshi. Smoke still rose from dozens of burning buildings like mourning banners drifting into the evening sky. The streets were littered with bodies from both sides, some still twitching in their final moments, others already cold and stiff. The air tasted of blood, ash, and scorched metal, a bitter metallic tang that clung to the back of my throat and refused to leave.

We had won the city, but the victory felt heavy, almost hollow, as if the cost had been far greater than any prize could justify. My name is Erumes Flamma, and on this day I stood among the survivors, my body aching from a hundred small wounds and deep burns, my mind still ringing with the screams of the dying. The adrenaline that had kept me moving through the long hours of battle was finally fading, leaving only exhaustion and a deep, bone-weary emptiness in its wake.

And now our army had collapsed after barely one kilometer of pursuit. Zixuan-Dao had tried to push us forward with everything he had left, his broken body trembling with pure willpower, his voice cracking as he shouted for vengeance. But even he could not go further. He collapsed right in front of us, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his breathing ragged and shallow. The soldiers behind him fared no better.

Men dropped where they stood, some crying silently, some staring blankly at the sky, too exhausted to even speak. We had no choice but to stop. Whether we liked it or not, the army needed much needed rest. I found a broken section of wall and sat down, leaning my back against the cool stone. My Cor Flamma Vestuto had long since faded back to my heart.

The burns on my shoulder from Daizou-Moyonge's final attack still throbbed with every heartbeat but the worst form of pain had to be the beatings Doyin-Moyonge gave me. I closed my eyes for a moment and saw flashes of the fighting such as the ladders under fire, the cauldrons of boiling oil turning men into living torches, the grey sludge monster that had almost taken my life. So much death in one day, the most in a day i have ever witnessed. Behind me, the healthy soldiers worked with grim determination.

They carried the surrounding wounded outside the city toward General Xhinpe-Dao, who had miraculously survived his duel. He had taken on the grim role of executioner. There would be no Moyonge war-capable man left alive in his Vicinity. Their warrior line would end here. Other soldiers carried the dead on makeshift stretchers toward a huge hole dug outside the walls. They lowered the bodies with quiet respect, layer after layer, whispering prayers to Wujiren-Dao as they covered them with earth.

The sight was both solemn and heartbreaking. The smell of food eventually pulled me from my dark thoughts. One of the surviving chefs had set up a massive pot near the central square. He was making a great soup from radishes, hot red peppers, ginger, and garlic. The aroma hit me like a wave. My stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I had not eaten since before the battle. I rose and rushed toward the big pot with hundreds of other soldiers. The chef, a sturdy man with a soot-covered face, smiled when he saw me.

"Even the Suren hero needs to eat," he said warmly. I smiled back, my mouth watering at the rich, spicy smell. I took a large bowl and drank it down greedily, the heat spreading through my body and chasing away some of the exhaustion. After eating, I walked toward a large tent. Inside, I saw Zixuan-Dao shadow training even in pure exhaustion. Onlookers gathered around him. He wanted to show the spirit of his people, the Dao Sect, was still alive.

He moved slowly at first, then intensified his shadow dance sparring, stretching every muscle despite the pain. After thirty minutes he ended it and vanished into the tent. I returned to the wall, which was getting somewhat lukewarm as the temperature dropped to thirteen degrees. The day ended in quiet recovery. The next day, long before we could wake up at three in the morning, a thick mist rolled in, covering the northern ridges like a shroud of death. Three figures stood within it, barely visible.

The older one was Professor Samuele, a white man wearing golden goggles and a white vest, carrying his tattoo ink brush like a weapon. Beside him stood two assistants: one was Hyun Mugan, a honey-glazed man from Gongreyo in yellow gi clothes with red inner sleeves, a guitar strapped to his back and long black hair tied in a ponytail; the other was another amber hued assistant that we did not see much, only that he had a booklet on him and was writing things down. They grinned at each other with cold excitement.

"It is time, Professor," Hyun Mugan said.

"Release the 'New Human' we worked so hard upon." Professor Samuele nodded, adjusting his golden goggles.

"The last one who offered himself freely was very encouraging. Now it is time. Unfortunately only one could be infused with this amalgamation of ten thousand souls. His body could carry it. The rest… well…" He looked back at the base with a satisfied smile.

"They could not hold the vessel. But this one here, our mighty baby, made big strides. So release it and let us see how far it can go. Our work is far from being done. This is the good part about this nation... heh... there is much life to take and work upon."

"True, Professor. Your aide concurs," Hyun Mugan replied with a dark chuckle. They took out big far-seeing goggles and watched as the amalgamation ran through the mist toward our camp. Everyone who felt the strong, oppressive presence woke up instantly. We prepared the defensive line as the monster burst through the heavy mist like a nightmare given flesh. Zixuan-Dao looked at the hideous creature and asked in disbelief, "Is this not Washu-Moyonge?" It looked grotesque...

like a twisted Quasi-modo, with a huge ugly back, walking on all fours using his arms to jump forward in powerful steps. His skin was now grey, legs super thin and compressed with muscle, arms super long and inflated. He looked like an ugly monster. His nose was thin, his eyes wide and long. His armor was long gone, leaving only a naked beast that could only speak gibberish as he attacked with such powerful force on the standing army. The combat line was strong and chaotic.

I walked onto the field, ready to fight, and jumped in when the time was right, activating my Vestuto. The monster grabbed my sword-axe, shaking me off it and throwing it behind him, then hurled me toward a tent. He then created thunder from his legs, shocking the ground and stunning many. But that was not all. He opened his mouth and spewed toxin in the form of shadow ability hallucination. Weaker soldiers started attacking each other. All who were strong and able attacked the monster.

I returned to my feet, retrieved my sword-axe, while crouching with my eyes fixated on the beast and took small tiny steps not getting its attention and attacked its exposed heavy back, hurting it deeply. The battle with the monster was long, brutal, and cinematic. The creature moved like a nightmare given form as it hunched, elongated arms dragging across the ground, legs coiled with unnatural muscle, grey skin stretched tight over bulging veins.

Its face was a twisted parody of Washu-Moyonge, eyes too wide, mouth stretched in a permanent silent scream, teeth jagged and broken. Every leap sent cracks through the earth. Every punch created small shockwaves. I fought with everything I had, using Elsa di Fuoco repeatedly while i was on the back. The flame aura cuts burned deep wounds that regenerated slower each time. The monster roared and charged with insane strength, slamming into our lines and sending men flying knocking me down.

I dodged his thunder strikes and countered with my swinging arc cuts. The fight lasted for what felt like an eternity. I was pushed to my limit, blood flowing from multiple wounds as they opened again. Finally the form deactivated with Feng-Dao and Zixuan-Dao and other General whom had constantly attacked his feet cutting deep wounds. The man returned to himself, but he could barely speak. The moment he tried to say something, his mouth ripped open and the soul core reached outside its vessel.

It was huge, three point four meters in length, with so many faces like it had ten thousand souls screaming, crying, begging. You could not make out what abomination this was and it came from a mans mouth. The Sect Leader, with all his remaining might and his last bit of strength, created a powerful comet and crushed the ten thousand souls into ash before it could form itself in a new form. Then he fell into a break from his Vestuto conserving his energy, knowing the two at the back were the true culprits.

They had watched it all unfold. Professor Samuele sighed.

"It seems the vessel could only carry forty-nine minutes with the totality of ten thousand souls, what a disappointment."

"Yes, you are right," Hyun Mugan replied.

"But on one thousand souls the last one could only carry it for twenty-one minutes… You know it truly correlates on how much one Animo carries. But we will usher the new Human and get approval of the most brilliant mind of all Orbis Terrarum! Surely we will. So let us go to a new Sect and start from zero, master. Next time I want to try earth with fire attribute."

"Yes, we shall my aides." And so they disappeared into the mist. After one more day of much-needed rest, we marched toward the hidden base the scouts had reported to have found. The journey was slow and painful. Many soldiers still limped, their bodies broken from the previous battle. When we finally reached the forested ridges and entered the hidden base, what we found was truly disgusting... worse than anything I had seen in Hespericum. The underground chambers were a nightmare of flesh and suffering.

Open stomachs of over thirty thousand humans lay scattered across the floors, their bodies twisted in eternal agony. Black crystal balls of compressed souls floated inside grotesque structures, pulsing with dark energy. A compressor device hummed ominously in the center, sucking in life force. Barrels of black tar smelling foul like acid mixed with blood stood in rows, the stench so strong it made many of us gag. The sight was hideous with faces frozen in screams, souls trapped and experimented on like livestock.

The Neo Humans had turned living people into nothing but fuel for their abominations. Some bodies were still warm, their eyes open in horror and moving around us. I felt pure rage boiling inside me like never before waited until everyone left and was the sole soul in this Michaelanius forsaken place. Without hesitation, I activated my ultimate technique. I superheated both hands to extreme temperatures and swung Elsa di Fuoco with all my strength.

The heat on my Hilt erupted in a roaring inferno that engulfed the entire hidden base in seconds. Flames consumed the grotesque structures, the black crystal balls of compressed souls shattered with high-pitched screams, and the barrels of foul tar exploded in black fire. The underground chambers filled with blinding light and searing heat. I left nothing behind but ash and silence. The abomination facility was erased from existence....

i hoped but fully knowing that and contend with the NH got away, as i came out of the facility Feng-Dao was happy for what i did and wanted to do it himself. We returned to the city to finally celebrate the conquest of the nations capital. The streets were being cleared of debris, banners of the Dao Sect flew high once more, and the people sang songs of victory mixed with mourning for the fallen. During the celebration the Leader, who had now fully lost his disdain for me, wanted to speak with me.

I was training my sword-axe in the woods when he approached. I swung it again and again, trying to push myself harder. I still saw myself as behind. I still wanted to battle Feng-Dao that being now the reason I had even stayed this long. The Sect Leader called me to the open celebration. He wanted to speak about the future and how thankful he was for me on helping getting the nation's vengeance and now the old Nation would most likely be absorbed back into the Dao-Sect under his leadership in about 1 years time.

The conversation was long and meaningful. He thanked me for my deeds and offered me a place among them. I accepted, knowing my path was still tied to this land and the fire inside me was burning to fight Feng-Dao as this was my condition for me to stay. I wanted to fight Feng-Dao again in one week's time. The Leader came with a brilliant idea. He suggested creating a big show in the Capital with himself as referee for this match. The entire city would watch and give the people great entertainment and boost morale.

Feng-Dao's eyes glared with his own quiet fire when he heard the news. I looked at him with a smirk of total victory in mind as he did the same. As the celebration continued into the night, I slipped away again to the woods. The city lights flickered behind me, but my mind was focused on one thing only... getting stronger for the one battle ahead. I still felt behind. Feng-Dao had beaten me when I first landed here, and I had not yet had the chance to challenge him properly.

I wanted to test myself against him again and see how much i have improved in this little over him. After the celebrations died down Feng-Dao came to the training session of mine and told me i will regret challenging him and he will put me down again like he did not so long ago laughing and disappearing into the woods not even allowing me to rebuttal him... that night i went harder in training.

Now couple days having returned with the most of the army back to Dao lands and made home later the same day we stood facing each other in the central square during the announcement, the crowd watching in anticipation. Feng-Dao spoke first, his voice deep and steady like rumbling earth.

"Erumes Flamma. When you first arrived you were wild fire, uncontrolled and reckless. I defeated you then. Today I see a different flame. You have grown stronger... still reckless. But growth means nothing if it cannot withstand the mountain, that i am. Come. Show me how far the fire has truly come, since your defeat to me." I spun my weapon once and answered with a confident grin.

"Feng-Dao. You are indeed the mountain that stood in my way when I landed here. I stayed because I wanted this rematch. You are steady and heavy, but even the oldest stone cracks under enough heat. Today I will show you that the flame can burn through anything. Let's give these people a battle they will remember for generations and the story how a suren conquered one of their elites." The crowd erupted in cheers. The hype was electric. Feng-Dao's eyes burned brighter, a fierce smile appearing on his face.

I smirked wider, already feeling the fire inside me roaring in anticipation. Zixuan-Dao raised his hand for silence.

"In one week's time, in this very square, these two warriors will fight it out for our entertainment for the People of Dao! Let this duel show the strength and spirit of the Dao Sect, dont lose Feng-Dao!" The announcement sent waves of excitement through the capital. The war with the remaining Moyonge forces and the mysterious Neo Humans was still ahead, but on this day, under the clouds an epic battle will commence.