Chapter 34 – The Leader

Volume 3

Wen Yu naturally knew nothing about what had happened to Wan Ping and Guan Tao. At that moment, he was leading Star and One-Eye down the mountain.

It did not take long for Wen Yu to leave the devastated battlefield behind.

At the foot of the mountain, Xiao Xue was waiting in the same place they had arrived from.

When she saw Wen Yu approaching, Xiao Xue looked him up and down. Only after confirming there were no obvious wounds on him did she speak.

"It's done?"

Wen Yu nodded.

"Then… are they all dead?"

"The leader got away. The rest are dead."

Xiao Xue fell silent for a long while, then nodded to Wen Yu.

"Thank you for avenging them."

Wen Yu looked at the grief on Xiao Xue's face but said nothing. He simply took the lead and headed back toward the city.

"Right."

Wen Yu, who had been walking in front, suddenly turned back and spoke to Xiao Xue.

"The organization that killed them is called the Demon Worship Cult. And this organization may have considerable power. At the very least, their research capabilities are extremely strong! I think your Military needs to take this organization seriously!"

What Wen Yu meant was that he wanted to borrow the Military's strength to properly investigate the Demon Worship Cult's background.

After all, when it came to gathering intelligence, Wen Yu could not hope to compare with the Military.

Xiao Xue naturally understood what Wen Yu was implying and nodded solemnly.

…

Somewhere in Huaxia, inside a somewhat dim room.

Only a single desk lamp glowed with orange-yellow light, illuminating a small patch at the center of the room.

An elderly man in casual clothes sat upright behind a massive office desk, carefully toying with the two smooth walnuts in his hand.

He handled them as carefully, seriously, and intently as if he were caressing a lover. As the walnuts spun faster and faster in his hand, the old man's expression grew more and more severe.

Crack!

Perhaps the old man had used too much force, because the pair of hand-polished walnuts in his hand gave a crisp snap. Two clear cracks instantly appeared across them.

The old man sighed and shook his head. He placed the cracked walnuts on the office desk and spoke in a slightly low voice.

"This was my last pair of walnuts, wasn't it?"

From the shadows to the side, a voice suddenly answered.

"Yes, my lord."

The old man nodded. He propped his head up with his right hand, while his left picked up the cracked walnuts from the desk. As he slowly exerted force, he said,

"I enjoy playing with walnuts. Do you know why?"

Before the person hidden in the shadows could say anything, the old man continued slowly and forcefully.

"I like the feeling of walnuts changing bit by bit in my hand, growing smoother and rounder, little by little. You're young, so you may not understand this sort of thing."

"A well-polished pair of walnuts and an untouched pair are worlds apart!"

"Whenever I spend several years polishing a decent pair of walnuts, I treasure them and store them away, because they are the result of my effort!"

"They represent what I have put in, and they are also my reward!"

"What a pity. They broke just like that. Such a pity!"

When the old man finished speaking, he slowly opened his clenched left fist.

In his palm, the walnuts that had merely been cracked before had already turned into a handful of wooden scraps.

"Walnuts truly are wonderful things! Because they never betray the effort you put into them!"

"But people are different! Especially humans after the Cataclysm began. Especially those Cannibals I personally raised!"

"Perhaps their power came too quickly! Too easily! They don't understand how to cherish that power at all!"

"Just like this time!"

The old man's voice grew louder and louder. By the end, he was gradually losing control of his emotions and roaring at the top of his lungs!

The furious voice echoed back and forth through the entire room, even producing a faint, almost imperceptible reverberation. From that alone, it was clear just how vast this room-whose full size had yet to be seen-really was.

The old man slowly calmed his agitated emotions. After pondering in silence for a long while, he finally spoke.

"Have you found out who took the Sacred Beast?"

The voice hidden in the darkness answered at once.

"According to internal Military information, it should be Sequence 2."

The moment Wen Yu formed a contract with Faceless, the Demon Worship Cult's method of controlling Faceless had failed, and the news had immediately reached the leader of the Demon Worship Cult-the old man sitting here.

At the words Sequence 2, the old man's brows knitted together. He tapped his index finger lightly against the tabletop a few times. Only after a while did he speak again.

"I originally had high hopes for that man named Wan Ping. His strength isn't bad. If he were brought in through Absorption, he'd be more than qualified to serve as your deputy. I just didn't expect his enemy to be Sequence 2."

After saying that, the old man shook his head helplessly.

"Then forget it. For the sake of a single Level 4 Class Holder, we've already lost the Sacred Beast. If we lose any more, it won't be worth the cost! In that case, we can't simply place all the blame on Du Yu for this incident…"

"What a pity, though. I spent a tremendous amount of Demon Qi to successfully create that one and only artificial life-form. And there was also the Skill, Perfect Replication!"

"When Du Yu returns, bring him to see me. I believe he is no longer suited to be the Apostle Leader. Go choose one of the Cannibals, then select ten Peak Level 3 Class Holders from the Military and raise his strength to Level 4!"

"The moment Du Yu comes back, I will extract his Skill."

The voice in the darkness rang out once more.

"Killing ten Peak Level 3 Class Holders all at once… I'm afraid that will be difficult to explain to Yanjing."

"Mm."

The old man thought for a moment before speaking.

"Then count Du Yu as well. Once he returns, kill him. His corpse, plus three Peak Level 3 Class Holders, should be enough to cultivate a Level 4 member of the Apostles."

After hearing the old man's words, the person hidden in the darkness gave a faint response, then turned and left the room.

Once no one else remained in the room, the old man finally sighed. Then he took a white handkerchief from the drawer of his desk.

He gently unbuttoned his jacket, revealing a pure Black Crystal embedded in his chest.

Looking at the Black Crystal on his chest, gleaming with Black Light, a complicated look flashed through the old man's eyes. Then he gently wiped the already spotless crystal twice.

After a long while, the old man set aside what he was doing, buttoned his clothes again, and slowly walked to the door, pressing the light switch in the room.

As the incandescent lights flared brightly, the full view of the entire room once again appeared before the old man's eyes.

The enormous room was furnished very simply, with only a few sofas and some basic potted plants.

The curtains over several windows were drawn tightly shut. Even with the lights on, the inside of the room still seemed somewhat gloomy.

The old man slowly walked behind the desk, took the green coat hanging on the clothes rack, and draped it over himself.

Knock, knock, knock…

A crisp knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

As soon as the old man's words fell, the door to the room was slowly pulled open.

A Woman in Military Uniform saluted the old man, then said,

"General Peng, Yanjing has delivered the supplies. The quantity has been checked and confirmed."

The old man nodded slowly.

"Inform the personnel who came from Yanjing this time. Tell them that we at the Modu Settlement thank Commander Lin."