Chapter 142 - 48: [Demon Insect Larva and Bell-Ringing Reaper]

Chapter 142: Chapter 48: [Demon Insect Larva and Bell-Ringing Reaper]

"Ah, leaving us to die, you sinner..." Twisted, deformed silhouettes loomed indistinctly in the thick, ethereal mist. "You’re the one who killed me."

RING...

Hissing laughter and snake-like shadows swam through the mist. Accompanied by the CLICK-CLACK of arthropod limbs, something crawled in the fog, bringing with it the faint clinking of colliding metal.

RING...

"My corpse." A hoarse, hollow voice drew closer through the mist.

"My... corpse..." the rotting Undead in the fog whimpered, echoing the words with an ethereal song.

RING! RING! RING! The piercing sound of bells rang out endlessly!

CLACK. Black Hand Armor gripped Samael’s shoulder tightly.

"Talia?" Samael instinctively turned his head.

Talia kept her head down, her body trembling slightly. The four larvae of the Earth-Devouring Demon Insect shivered along with her, huddling at her feet.

A grotesque chill permeated the surroundings, carrying the familiar scent of copper.

RING...

[Nether Copper Resonator activated.]

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The Nether Copper Sword Shield struck against each other, shattering the sound of the bells in the mist.

The Undead in the fog stopped in their tracks, standing stiffly at attention like machines that had just received a command.

RING RING RING RING! The bells exploded in a flurry of chimes, seemingly trying to overpower the clanging of the sword and shield. However, as the two sounds mixed, the Undead stood stiffly in place, utterly motionless.

[Nether Copper Resonance Signal - Command Conflict.]

[Please avoid operating multiple signal sources simultaneously.]

A certain figure in the mist paused. The Nether Copper Chain Armor draping his body was like a ragged robe, and the Nether Copper Lock Rings collided with one another, producing a faint RUSTLE.

Samael slowly raised his Kite Shield and, holding his Knight Sword, cautiously faced the shadow.

"Anshiba," the figure in the fog said. "You ran all the way here from the Gray Moss Far Field in the north just to destroy the Demon Insect corpse I had been hunting for so long and was about to collect."

Samael remained silent.

A wheezing sound, like the gasps of a dying animal, echoed in the mist—it sounded like breathless laughter.

"Ah, Anshiba’s instrument isn’t this. The sound of his war drums is much heavier," he whispered. "Who are you...?"

Amidst the ethereal mist, a figure slowly revealed itself.

It was a unique Corpse Demon—gaunt, withered, and hideous. He wore soft Nether Copper Chain Armor that draped like a ragged robe. Tiny Nether Copper Lock Rings linked together to form a texture similar to tattered, soft cloth, emitting a faint RUSTLE with his movements.

On his body, wrapped in the tattered robe of Nether Copper Lock Armor, were three grafted arms of rotting flesh. One hand gripped a hand-cranked Nether Copper Bell, while the other two dragged a massive, long-handled Nether Copper Scythe. The scythe radiated a freezing aura. Its gigantic curved blade was lined with dense serrations and barbs, stained with pitch-black blood—more than capable of cleaving a living person in two with a single strike.

In place of his head was an owl-like Collins-style Helmet forged from Nether Copper. The upper half of his face was framed by Nether Copper Armor Plates that formed pitch-black, hollow eye sockets. The lower half of his face was covered by a dangling veil of Nether Copper Lock Armor, barely concealing the terrifying visage of the Corpse Demon beneath.

This was the Spiritual Implant of another Ghost Knight—the helmet design of another Ghost Knight’s elite node Undead unit.

A bizarre, voyeuristic chill washed over Samael. The other party had activated a scanner on him.

"You," a hoarse and gloomy voice sounded from beneath the Nether Copper Lock Armor veil of the Collins-style Helmet. The hollow eye sockets stared at Samael, as well as Talia behind him.

"You are with a living person," he said. "Why haven’t you killed them?"

"Why should I?" Samael asked.

"Where is your hatred?" A hollow coldness echoed beneath the Collins-style Helmet’s Locking Armor Veil. "Your hatred for the world? Your hatred for life? Your hatred for everything?"

"Why should I hate?" Samael asked. "I don’t hate anyone."

The Chain Armor Corpse Demon with the owl-shaped helmet let out a series of wheezing sounds like a dying animal’s gasps—a grotesque laughter.

"New here?" he asked. "I haven’t seen you in the Heart of the Remains."

"How many Ghost Knights are there in the Hai Xin Plain?" Samael ignored his question.

"I don’t know, and who cares about such things? As long as we can kill all the living people in this world, isn’t that enough?" The Corpse Demon in the ragged Nether Copper Lock Armor chuckled softly. "Do you know Anshiba?"

"Antlers?" Samael asked.

"Deer Antler Frog Beak Helmet, heavy armor, towering height, shoulder plates wider than you are tall, carrying a Flame-shaped Greatsword," the Chain Armor Corpse Demon described. "Riding a Necro Earth-Devouring Demon Insect."

"Met him once," Samael replied. "He left not too long ago."

"Oh, so you two aren’t close? Do you want to come to my tomb?" the Corpse Demon asked.

"Do you mean your [Underground City]?" Samael asked. "Or rather, your [Extraterrestrial Underground Colony]?"

"No, no, no, what the hell is that? The underground colonies are one of the things we want to destroy." The Chain Armor Corpse Demon shook his head. "A tomb, a graveyard, call it whatever you want—a place with only the Undead, a place undisturbed by disgusting living humans. Roll with me, and I’ll cover you. We’ll stay away from the disgusting living, and once we gather enough corpses, we’ll crush them and their cities. How does that sound?"

"Isn’t your system the [Extraterrestrial Underground Colony Construction System]?" Samael asked softly.

The Nether Copper Lock Armor Corpse Demon froze for a moment before bursting into maniacal laughter.

"It’s the [Extermination System]," he answered. "Did you install the wrong system? Or is there a problem with your mission? Did something go wrong when you were deployed to the Heart of the Remains?"

"Do you... do you have memories of when you were alive?" Samael cautiously raised his shield, protecting Talia behind him.