Chapter 155 Chapter 153 Guests from the Fire
“Children shouldn’t curse.”
“I’m already a one-and-a-half-month-old girl who can get on the auction stage.” The pain came quickly and left just as quickly. Ji Ma rubbed the back of her neck. “Also, I’m cursed, so I have the right to complain.”
George couldn’t see the effect of the curse. Although he was somewhat surprised by how comprehensive Ji Ma’s “inherited memories” were, he understood what type of curse it was as soon as it manifested, and he could tell she wasn’t lying, so he asked:
“What is the effect of the curse?”
Ji Ma was in a bad mood, feeling as though she were tied to an invisible dog leash. She leaned in close to George and whispered like a thief:
“It’s like at night, when a candle is stuck on my head. Even if I run far away, they can still find me. Oh, and don’t tell anyone else. Look, the people of Shalin City are all watching us.”
After saying this, Ji Ma, like a sly fox, with her golden eyes darting around, noticed that both the security zone and the “white-eyed wolves” on the bridge were watching the two of them. They strained their ears, wishing they had donkey ears themselves, but also didn’t dare to get too close out of fear.
Thus, everyone tacitly formed a human wall three meters away.
“Why?”
“I’ve been marked. They’re happy about it because it means you’ll likely have to deal with the Fear War Demon, which means they won’t be the ones getting hurt.” Ji Ma wore a look of “sadness” and said, “Just thinking about how others’ happiness is built on my suffering makes me heartbroken, sigh.”
George twitched the corner of his mouth and said:
“As long as you remain optimistic after seeing me, I’m reassured. Don’t worry about me; I have an ace up my sleeve.”
Seeing that the people of Shalin City nearby had all given up their act and were straining to listen in, Ji Ma said, “Let’s talk about it later.”
With that, she took a step back and coughed a few times, trying to get everyone’s attention. But apart from a few gazes admiring her beauty, most people were anxiously waiting for George to make an announcement.
Ji Ma raised her hands in front of George and shook them:
“We all understand your worries. The great, glorious, and correct hero George has decided to crusade against the Fear War Demon for the sake of mortals. It is well known that there is no free lunch in this world. To hunt monsters, hunters need children, mercenaries need gold coins, and paladins need to convert…”
Upon hearing this, many in the crowd relaxed, though some were hesitant; it was just hesitation, after all.
When George touched Ji Ma, he wanted her to stop lying. Considering how far they were, the church had no intention of preaching here.
Ji Ma then shifted her tone, “But our hero George is treating everyone to a free lunch today, and no conversion is necessary, as long as everyone pays attention to their personal safety.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd seemed unable to believe it.
From the back of the crowd, a celestial war horse called out, “Hey little White, it’s time to go hunt the big bad guy.”
“It’s not called little White.”
“Then… big White, come here, we’re going to chop some people.”
At that moment, someone in the crowd began to cheer. The crowd erupted in excitement, shouting their thanks loudly. A few people eagerly ran over and led the celestial war horse away, enthusiastically sending George off. Everyone was cheering, their faces full of gratitude, and those unaware might have thought there were no casualties in Shalin City.
As George led the horse away, people on both sides reached out to touch his armor, loudly shouting, “Thank you! Thank you! You!”
“The great paladin…”
George felt extremely embarrassed and used his barrel helmet to hide his stiff expression. He mounted the horse with Ji Ma and set off at a brisk pace.
As the hooves trod across the street littered with corpses and turned a corner, escaping the enthusiastic gazes of the Shalin City people, George finally asked:
“What happened to them? You didn’t use your abilities to control them, did you?”
“Hey, how can you slander people out of thin air? Although everyone is emotional tonight because of me, just now, I really didn’t use my extraordinary abilities.”
“What about just now?”
“They were afraid they wouldn’t express adequate gratitude while you were taking me away, so I hinted that you should thank them to see how enthusiastic they were.”
“But it wasn’t sincere; there were many lies.”
“Better false gratitude than no gratitude at all.” Ji Ma yawned. “George, I’m not doing this out of appreciation; I’m just genuinely unhappy.”
George curiously asked:
“What’s making you unhappy?”
“Just the thought that they smiled when they realized I was cursed and marked makes me want to vomit. Maybe in a few days, at the celebration feast for their not getting killed, they’ll say, ‘Good thing that big clumsy hero’s succubus maid got cursed, or I might not have survived the blade of the Fear War Demon.’ And they’d mock you for your silly sun breastplate and ridiculous barrel helmet. They won’t thank you.”
“Ji Ma, you think too selfishly of others.”
“George, you think too highly of others.” Ji Ma replied. “Anyway, I’m doing it for myself, so I’m just fooling those fools.”
“I just wanted to say you don’t have to feel indignant on my behalf.”
“Hero, although I’m a demon, I’m a rare demon with gratitude. One of the reasons I’m fooling them is out of anger at their moral coercion against you. There’s an old saying in the East: ‘Good people who gather firewood to keep everyone warm should not die in the snowstorm.’ I don’t mind others dying in the snow, but you can’t.”
George listened, feeling a touch of respect stirred in his heart. He didn’t know how to face this gratitude from a demon. He wanted to remain silent but didn’t want to alienate Ji Ma.
He said, “I don’t know how to put my current feelings into words… Anyway, thank you.”
As expected of the innocent paladin, his misconstrued heartfelt words moved him deeply. This way, he would fight with all his might against the Fear War Demon; I’m truly a genius.
Sitting behind George, Ji Ma, with her corners of her mouth lifted, said, “Don’t mention it; no need to thank me.”
As George rode, he said:
“When we see the Fear War Demon, you should use the teleportation scroll to leave immediately. Even if I’m defeated, he will be heavily injured and unable to pursue you. Remember, after you use the teleportation scroll, head straight to the church; no matter whether I win or lose, you can meet me there.”
This was exactly the phrase Ji Ma was waiting for.
She felt a secret joy in her heart, yet put on a righteous expression:
“How can I leave my master behind? We’ll fight together.”
“You’ll drag me down, lowering my chances of winning.”
Too straightforward, right!
Ji Ma said, “I won’t; I promise not to be a burden to you. If he wants to capture me alive, he’ll be restricted; at least I’ll be fine.”
After a few minutes of mutual argument, in the end, George was persuaded by Ji Ma and agreed to bring her along to fight. But he insisted that Ji Ma should be adaptable; if the situation turned bad, she was to use the teleportation scroll to escape immediately.
Ji Ma chose to fight side by side with George for a simple reason. She was not one to sit and wait for death; as long as she could raise their odds of victory even a little, she was willing to go all out, as there was also a way to retreat if the situation turned south.
If she used the teleportation scroll now, the Fear War Demon might not engage George directly and instead go after her. She wanted to flee, but she wanted to see George fight the Fear War Demon properly before escaping.
After careful consideration, she concluded that fleeing was, in any case, a last resort.
On the way, they didn’t encounter any rioting slaves or citizens; instead, they saw many bodies lying around. The celestial war horse jumped over a half-corpsed body and stepped onto the bridge, revealing the ruins of the collapsed bastion before them.
At the three-meter-high wall ruin’s opening, several headless corpses were wedged in, their hands tightly gripping onto the stones outside, trying to crawl out.
As the two approached the destroyed bastion, they dismounted, and a strong smell of blood wafted over.
Ji Ma wrinkled her little nose and looked inside the crack, seeing a bloody scene filled with headless corpses.
George asked, “Do you really want to go in together?”
“I won’t throw up.”
Ji Ma placed her hand on George’s arm.
George reined in the celestial war horse, bend down, and picked Ji Ma up, using his legs to vault over the four-meter-high rubble. A wave of nauseating char and blood scent enveloped Ji Ma.
She looked down and felt as though she was falling into the legendary hell.
“Bang.”
George spread his legs to avoid stepping on a head.
Ji Ma tried to jump out of George’s arms, but he tightened his grip, saying, “I’ll only put you down in the area with fewer corpses.”
Ji Ma looked down. Below, the bodies were stacked on top of each other. The closer they got to the exit, the more corpses there were. In front of the collapsed high wall, the bodies had already formed a small incline. In contrast, the corpses in front of the army camp on the street were noticeably sparser.
George took another big leap, landing in a spot with fewer bodies, and Ji Ma jumped down from his arms. The two looked together at the heap of bodies in front of the collapsed high wall.
“Oh, God of Dawn, this truly is a hell.”
George drew out the magnificent golden sword from Ji Ma’s hold, looking as if he wanted to chop at the Fear War Demon’s head on the spot.
Beside them, the flames from the burning houses illuminated the pile of corpses stacked against the collapsed high wall, reaching up to the wall.
Ji Ma pinched her nose and said, “It looks like most civilians crowded into the army camp’s safety zone died in front of the collapsed high wall.”
From under the barrel helmet, George let out several deep breaths, saying, “It must be the Fear War Demon piling up the bodies to provoke us intentionally.”
“No.” Ji Ma shook her head. “Many died standing up; he wouldn’t go through the trouble of stacking them upright. It’s more likely he was extracting fear, commonly known as ‘herding sheep.'”
“Herding sheep?”
“Yes, to gain more fear. I think he slowed down the killing pace, giving the living time to escape. He drove most people here because the bastion had collapsed; terrified, everyone wished to flee, with those behind stepping on the heads of those in front, trying to climb up, forming a heap of people that towered over the rubble of the high wall.”
Ji Ma couldn’t continue. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take it, but she could sense an ominous aura emanating from George. His gloved hands had clenched tight, making a sizzling sound.
George unclenched his fist and said, “But he didn’t let anyone escape. Once someone climbed to the wall top, he used your so-called ‘guillotine’ extraordinary ability to kill them all, right?”
“Correct.”
“Herding sheep… the demon race has always seen us humans as livestock.” George gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, the blade trembling.
Ji Ma worried she might be targeted for his anger and cautiously stepped back a few paces.
George turned his head to look at Ji Ma, and from under the helmet, deep breaths could be heard:
“Ah, Ji Ma, don’t worry; I was just angry and lost my head.”
“I know.”
Ji Ma said.
If you knew I was the demon king Ji Ma and presided over the “Fear Ascension Ritual,” what would your expression be?
Ji Ma thought to herself, glancing at the headless corpses sprawled on the ground.
It really was a primitive and inefficient method, not elegant at all.
She couldn’t help but reminisce about her own past actions. The memories were somewhat vague; she only recalled finding a commercially developed city, spending loads of gold coins, and hiring a bunch of bards… so smoothly that she had almost forgotten most of it.
George’s voice broke through her thoughts:
“I witnessed its crimes, I captured, I judged, I decreed, I executed…”
Ji Ma looked over and saw he was kneeling on one knee, the iron gauntlet on his right hand gradually turning red, the back of his hand revealing a balance scale.
The flickering fire from the partially lit house suddenly surged, and amidst the flames, a tall black figure appeared. A steel boot stepped out from the fire, crushing a burnt head.
A hoarse male voice came from the flames: “Hero’s succubus delivered right to your door; tsk tsk, you human kids are all so eager to send your lives.”
——————
Yesterday I rushed back home and owe an update; I apologize for that.
The internet is really bad; I should have time to catch up tomorrow. Also, I wish everyone a happy New Year.
