Chương 17: Wooden Corpse (Part III)

Some minutes had already passed since the moment Liu Tian fled until now, as Lucian dragged a bleeding man through the dirt while being chased by the wooden puppet. Because the fight had become almost mechanical for him, and because he no longer needed to chase anyone else, Lucian had a moment to contemplate the situation even as he dodged and parried the puppet's attacks. Communicating through intent has its advantages and disadvantages, he thought with regret. I wanted to speak with him, not scare him away.

Well, at least I learned a lot. Lucian glanced at the wooden puppet. The creature's battered robe and hollow eyes gave it a terrifying appearance in the darkness, yet Lucian could not help but smile. Such an interesting construct, he thought as his eyes glinted. There is no Qi within me, so how is it tracking me? Why did it not attack Wang Chen or the bandits? Does it follow commands? If so, how? And what energy empowers it? Is it Qi?

With so many questions, Lucian almost felt tempted to spend the entire night letting the puppet chase him while he studied its behavior. A pity, he lamented inwardly. Without Blood Essence, my body will not endure the entire night. I fear my stamina will fail before this creature does. He sighed and released the bandit he had been dragging, the man already on the verge of death, before turning to strike the puppet. This time, Lucian aimed for the joints.

He never stopped moving, leaping from side to side while the wooden puppet crawled toward him again and again, attempting to land a blow. At first, nothing changed beyond the sound of metal striking wood and the scattering of leaves. Then Lucian adjusted his grip on the sword and thrust instead of striking, aiming at the puppet's shoulder. With a sharp cracking sound, the wooden sphere connecting the puppet's arm to its torso snapped and detached. The tip of Lucian's sword chipped in the process.

Neither Lucian nor the puppet altered their rhythm. Lucian struck again, now aiming for the other arm, while the puppet, slightly slower now, continued lunging toward him. After some time, the fight ended in a strangely anticlimactic way. The wooden puppet lay on the ground without its arms or legs. Lucian stood above it with a faint frown. Sweat covered his face and back, and his breathing had grown heavy, but he paid no attention to it. Instead, he addressed the puppet.

"Roll. Crawl like a snake," he said, tossing the dented sword beside the construct.

"This Lord commands you to move." The puppet remained motionless. Lucian shook his head and walked away, searching for the dying man he had discarded earlier. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. So many flaws, he thought. Why design a puppet that depends entirely on its limbs to move? The structure is crude and amateurish. I will open it later, but I suspect there are runes inside, empowering it with Qi. This, like its movements, is boring and predictable. He suddenly stopped.

Below him lay the wheezing bandit. The armored man had regained consciousness despite the agony of his broken bones and missing leg. When he saw Lucian emerge from the darkness, he tried to beg for mercy. But no words came out. Lucian's eyes glowed faintly red, and the bandit felt nothing but terror. He crouched, seized the bandit by the collar of his armor, and bit into his neck. Within four seconds, the man's body shriveled into a dried husk.

Rising to his feet as Blood Essence flowed through his body, Lucian thought, It is time to learn more about this cursed land. Afterward, he grabbed the wooden puppet by its robes and walked back toward the camp. It took several minutes, and by the time he arrived, he frowned. Dropping the wooden puppet beside the sealed silver box, he walked to the center of the camp, where the torches illuminated Wang Chen, Bai Xiaomeng, and three captives.

Their wounds had been wrapped with torn cloth, and their armor pieces had been removed. Lucian could also smell a floral scent coming from the green paste applied to their injuries. What truly caught his attention, however, was the corpse lying nearby. As if sensing his displeasure, Wang Chen and Bai Xiaomeng hurriedly stood. They exchanged a glance before Wang Chen stepped forward.

"Benefactor, that one could not survive the wounds—""What a waste," Lucian interrupted as he walked past him. He stared coldly at the three remaining captives, who were gagged and trembling in fear. Lucian sighed in irritation. Four were already too few. Three… Shaking his head, he picked up the single dead bandit by the neck. I should conserve Blood Essence. With that thought, he bit into the corpse. The three bandits recoiled in horror, thrashing against the ground.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaomeng blanched, and Wang Chen's eyes widened as he instinctively stepped in front of her. Within seconds, they watched the corpse shrivel into a dry husk before Lucian tossed it aside. Silence filled the camp. Then the captives began struggling again, tears streaming down their faces.

"Do not worry, mortals," Lucian said calmly, his voice making them tremble even more.

"Your corpses will not become like this." With those words, Lucian activated another rune, consuming half of the Blood Essence he had just gathered. His fangs elongated slightly, and upon his tongue, a crimson rune shaped like two additional fangs appeared, surrounded by strange sigils. Devilish Arts: Boon of Gluttony – Waste No More Lucian seized another captive and bit into his neck. The remaining two prisoners attempted to move away, rolling across the ground in desperate terror.

Wang Chen and Bai Xiaomeng both stepped back, staring in stunned silence, expecting the bandit to turn into a dry corpse. This time, however, the result was different. The man did not die immediately. Instead, his expression turned vacant, as if trapped in a trance, while Lucian slowly drained his blood. A few minutes passed before the true horror began. Starting from the tips of the man's toes, his body began to dissolve, and his flesh crumbled into ash.

Boots, armor, and clothing fell to the ground as the bandit ceased to exist, becoming nothing. Meanwhile, Lucian stood motionless, as there wasn't a single trace of the armored beggar. From where Wang Chen stood, he thought he saw something moving beneath Lucian's skin and felt chills. Next, Lucian turned toward the remaining captives.

"This one was as healthy as a cripple could be and possessed no Qi," he said.

"Very good. Let's continue." Wang Chen frowned slightly, something in Lucian's words catching his attention. Then he heard Bai Xiaomeng whisper beside him.

"Why is the Grand Cultivator speaking in the common language now?"