Chapter 206: 142. Flesh Implant
“Xiatu!”
Fisher and Jasmine hurried through the corridor ahead, where they vaguely heard the sound of frantic hooves not far away, presumably in the direction of Xiatu.
However, the direction they came from was not quiet either; from the second floor of the treasury and behind, countless footsteps resonated chaotically, like a drumbeat, paired with the unconscious, humanoid roars and shrieks, resembling a genuine hellish waltz.
To precisely determine Xiatu’s location, Jasmine called out loudly while running,
“Xiatu, where are you?!”
“Uh ah ah! Hurry over! Help me!”
Xiatu clearly heard Jasmine’s call and responded; Fisher’s gaze shifted slightly, aiming toward the direction from which the voice came.
“Over there.”
Captain Blake’s treasury wasn’t a straight corridor leading to darkness; there were very complex link passages between corridors. Fisher didn’t know where these corridors led, but presumably, each room beside the corridors contained some treasure.
After Xiatu called out, Fisher abruptly raised his Fluid Sword, as he had already heard many Human-Worms making noise in the direction where Xiatu’s voice came from.
“Roar!”
In the next moment, a massive monster burst out from the side corridor. Unlike the Human-Worms Fisher had encountered before, the one in front of him was even more deformed, and it was not a combination of humans and other creatures; it was solely composed of two humans.
The monster before him, with human skin and flesh, was about three meters tall, with two drooping, bell-like heads hanging in the center of its grotesque body. Simultaneously, layers of complex Magical Circuits lit up unconsciously on this creature.
The structure of that Magical Circuit was on the verge of chaos and collapse, like two twisted, entangled lines, leaving those who saw it with a tingling sensation.
“Is this the same kind of monster we saw before?”
Jasmine kicked the monster back a few steps, then Fisher used his Fluid Sword to split it in half.
“No, it’s different from the Human-Worms we encountered before. At least, the technology used to create them is different.”
Fisher and Jasmine watched as the monster in the distance fell painfully into a pool of blood, but despite continuously writhing, its body kept reattaching itself; it was not the flesh and blood growing first, but Fisher, with a keen sense, suddenly saw illusory shadows continuously growing in the separated areas.
Were those souls?
“Forget it, let’s find Xiatu first!”
Fisher frowned slightly; time was of the essence. He didn’t care about the regenerating monster any longer and continued towards Xiatu’s direction.
There were many rooms around the corridor originally, but in this direction, they disappeared, leading to straight and deep corridors going into the unknown, with the sound of hooves and roars coming continuously from the depths.
After less than three minutes of running, a huge square appeared at the end of the corridor before Fisher and Jasmine. The square’s overall terrain rose in the middle and lowered around it, where a very peculiar relic was placed on the higher ground. The relic resembled a tall tree but had many drooping branches that hung down like tentacles.
Under the tree, there was an operating table typically used by doctors, alongside a small table filled with various medical tools, similar to pliers, needles, and threads.
The lower area nearby was covered with a thin layer of a strange mix of blood and water. In that pool of blood, a group of strange monsters that Fisher and Jasmine had just seen were chasing after Xiatu, who was running with her eyes closed.
It could be seen that the monster behind still had Xiatu’s arrows embedded in it; it seemed that Xiatu had tried to fight them before but found she couldn’t kill them, leading to the current “you chase me” game.
But Fisher did not see the figure of the traditionally dressed Anna; he had no idea where she had gone.
“Fisher! Jasmine! Help! These things can’t be killed!”
Seeing that Xiatu had started gasping for breath, it was clear she had been running for a while. Worried she would collapse from exhaustion, Fisher pulled out a piece of paper inscribed with magic from his pocket and shouted to her,
“Come towards me!”
Upon hearing Fisher’s words, Xiatu immediately turned and trampled through a pile of stinking blood and water towards him. Jasmine was about to move when she realized that the monster they had knocked down earlier was also chasing after them.
She froze in place, took a deep breath, and waited for the right moment to turn. Her fish tail whipped around like a fast-moving racket, sending that monster flying against the wall.
Fisher also wasted no time; the Thread Weaver recorded on his paper surged forth rapidly, and a large number of transparent threads quickly intertwined around the monsters chasing Xiatu.
Seeing that the Thread Weaver had bound those monsters, Fisher yanked violently; the Thread Weaver acted like a huge net, trapping them inside. The large monsters were squeezed together and hurled aside by Fisher.
“Roar!”
Seeing that these creatures couldn’t be killed for the time being, Fisher could only use magic to temporarily restrain them. Xiatu finally sighed in relief, tiredly stopping her frantic run.
“Thank goodness, you finally arrived.”
“Where’s Anna? She’s not with you?”
Xiatu stepped onto the higher platform and then looked toward the corridor ahead, said, “No, but I heard her voice while coming down. She seems to be deeper inside. I shouted for her while coming this way, but for some reason, I ended up here, chased by a horde of unkillable monsters.”
Xiatu’s expression was somewhat bitter, but Fisher, through her figure, gazed at the large tree-like relic in the back. If he guessed correctly, this thing was likely what Blake used to create the monsters?
“Hey, wait, I smell knowledge.”
Just as Fisher was about to approach the operating table, Sir Book, who had played dead due to the battle, suddenly flew out of his arms. He circled around Fisher and hurriedly rushed to the operating table, turning and shouting at Fisher, “Right here!”
Fisher eyed the towering tree above him warily, fearing it might suddenly attack, but it clearly showed no sign of hostility, merely standing quietly in place.
“Don’t worry; this thing has no offensive capability. Its only function is to sustain life. To be precise, it’s a healing artifact known as the ‘Tree of Babel’; I’ve seen quite a lot of it during my travels.”
“Healing artifact?”
Sir Book flew in front of the tree, gently patting its trunk, which produced a metallic clang.
“Yes, this thing can maximize the vitality of a living being and is very effective. To put it this way, placing a piece of meat in here ensures you won’t die!”
The more Fisher heard, the more ominous his premonitions became. Ignoring Sir Book, who was hovering nearby, he slowly approached the operating table, skipping over the surgical instruments lightly stained with blood, crouching down, and seeing what Sir Book referred to as the “smell of knowledge.”
It was just a simple piece of parchment. Fisher flipped it over and began to read.
It turned out this parchment was not some magical tome but rather a letter, a letter addressed to Blake, which read:
“Dear Mr. Blake, I have received your reply. Since you have made up your mind, please carefully read all the subsequent contents and strictly follow the attached steps to avoid unexpected incidents.
The characteristics of life are colorful and complex; each race and each individual has unique traits. If you wish to obtain characteristics from other lives, please consider this method: Flesh Implant.
The flesh implant technique can completely embed any part of any life into your own. The process of embedding is very complicated, but once successful, you will fully share another life’s entirety—its lifespan, abilities, and traits.
You need to prepare the following materials in advance: the relic ‘Tree of Babel’ and the ‘Soul Bell.’ The Soul Bell may be challenging to find, but it should not be an issue for Captain Blake. The former is used to ensure that the detached flesh retains its life and soul vitality, while the latter guarantees there will be no aftereffects post-operation, especially the latter; please ensure to keep it safe.
However, this technique is still in my experimental research phase. Even though I have already conducted a few experiments, the final results were not ideal, likely due to the lack of a relic like the ‘Soul Bell.’ If you are certain, you can reply to me and prepare an experimental subject that is not yourself for me to attempt.
Good luck, my friend.”
The more Fisher read, the more alarmed he became. At that moment, looking at the emotionless lines of text, he gradually understood everything.
Flesh implant!
He quickly crumpled the unsigned letter into a small ball and stuffed it into his pocket, grabbing Sir Book, who was still hovering nearby, and shoved him into his bag.
“What are you doing?! Let go of me!”
“Shut up, we’re going to find Blake.”
Upon hearing they were going to find Blake, Sir Book immediately shrank several sizes and found a comfortable spot to settle into in the bag.
This was Emhart choosing to hide of his own accord and not forced by Fisher Benavides; the difference between the two was immense.
“We need to find Anna quickly; I know where she is.”
Fisher looked outside the room, continuing through this direction, which was right behind the colorful glass of the hall, where it seemed Blake kept his relics.
Anna must be there.
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(End of Chapter)
