Chapter 40: Beautiful Nightmare

  Progress is not smooth.

  If the evil spirits on the first floor were just low-level monsters, then the undead on the second floor were even more difficult to deal with. Although they had already died, they still possessed an instinctive understanding of combat skills. Their rotting flesh was quite fragile, but it was still sufficient to resist Lijie's half-baked positive energy attacks. As a result, Rod and Lijie soon found themselves surrounded by the undead and were forced to adjust their formation back to its most orthodox form. Rod and Lie Huo Sha in the front resisted the monsters, while the girl following behind returned to her original position, beginning to apply shields and detoxify for Rod, no longer considering taking on an output role.

  It's almost here.

  He glanced at the decorations on the wall and compared them with his memories, then Rod swung his long sword again, tearing through the defensive line of the dead. Blades of light flew out from above, swirling and dancing, mercilessly piercing the corpses that had long since rotted and should have returned to dust but continued to move under the influence of magic. A massive shockwave erupted, sweeping up limbs and fragments and carrying them to the other end of the dark corridor.

  The more she advanced, the more enraged Lijie's heart became.

  The dead blocking their way were not just mercenaries, but also some who looked like servants, and even children. They were all originally victims who had disappeared in this mansion. However, under the manipulation of evil magic, they were forced to wake up from their deserved sleep and become accomplices of evil.

  "What kind of evil could bring such great harm?"

  Lijie clenched her fists tightly and muttered to herself.

  "What kind of evil will bring harm."

  Rode swung his long sword while directing the revived Flame Slayers to spew flames at the undead in front of him, answering casually.

  "But this is going too far!"

  "Strengths vary from person to person."

  Wearing tattered servant's long skirt, the undead could vaguely see her face open her big mouth and wail as she pounced on them. However, before she could grab Luo De's clothes, Xing Hen's light had already pierced through her forehead.

  "The outcome is never altered by its motivation."

  He drew his long sword and with a swift motion beheaded another corpse that tried to get close to him, Rod raised an eyebrow.

  "So once you've made a decision, you have to face the consequences that come with it."

  "Huh?"

  When she heard this, Lijie was stunned for a moment. She didn't know why Rode would suddenly say such things, but before she could ask any questions, she felt a chill on her back, and then a heavy object fell from the sky, tightly grasping her body.

  "Ah!!"

  The intense pain caused the girl to involuntarily scream out loud, she subconsciously turned her head around, but immediately became stiff all over.

  At this moment, behind her, a child who looked only two or three years old was crawling there, with dark purple skin, empty and dark eye sockets, and only rotten and shriveled flesh in his small mouth. His two small hands were tightly grasping the girl's shoulders like iron pliers. When Lijie turned around, he suddenly pounced forward, throwing himself at the girl's neck. Just then, a white light flashed by, and Rode's sword blade mercilessly chopped off that large head. Next, the small hands that had been tightly grasping the girl's body also came apart, and the headless body fell to the ground, turning into dust and disappearing into the gap between the floorboards.

  “—————”

  Lijie stared blankly at the ground, and it was a long time before she came to herself, until Luo De's voice sounded in her ear.

  "Be careful."

  "Ah, yes!"

  Until then, Lige felt the piercing pain in her shoulders. She gritted her teeth and cast a detoxification spell on herself, then recast her shield once more, feeling much better afterwards. It was only then that the girl noticed something amiss. She looked up in surprise to find that there were no longer any obstacles ahead. The undead that had been attacking them earlier now mostly lay on the ground, slowly turning into tiny specks of dust with the gentle breeze.

  "This is..."

  "It seems like the other side knows we can't catch them, so they're thinking of a new trick."

  Roder put down the long sword in his hand, then turned around and looked at Lisha's shoulder, frowning.

  "How's your injury?"

  "It's okay, it's fine, didn't hurt too deeply."

  Getting up, Lijie replied in a low voice. The previous scene was so shocking that the girl still couldn't recover until now.

  "Let me see."

  The surroundings were clear of enemies, so Rude signaled to the Flame Mercenaries to take up watch. He then walked over to Lise and squatted down beside her, saying...

  "It's nothing, it's okay."

  Upon hearing this sentence, Lijie immediately became somewhat flustered, subconsciously pressing down on her shoulders and shaking her head.

  "Let me see."

  Looking at Liche's expression on her face, Rode didn't change anything, just calmly repeating it.

  “…………”

  Lijie remained silent for a moment before finally putting down her hand.

  All that could be seen was that on the spotless white robe, ten bloodstained small holes shocked the eyes, fresh blood slowly seeping out from inside, dyeing a patch red.

  Roth crouched down and grabbed Lijie's long gown, then tore it with force.

  On her snow-white shoulders, flesh and blood were blurred.

  "Have you expelled the toxin?"

  "Yes, there shouldn't be a problem."

  "That's good."

  Rod nodded and didn't say anything else, then he reached for the water bottle at his waist and started cleaning the wound.

  “———！！！”

  A sharp pain shot through, Lijie sucked in a cold breath, she raised her head and gazed at Rode who was intently cleaning and dressing the explosion wound for her, but her heart was unusually complicated.

  "Mr. Luo De..."

  "Huh?"

  "This... I'm really sorry about just now, I spaced out..."

  "Don't apologize to me, I'm not the one who's hurt."

  "Uh..."

  Lijie was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then she burst out laughing with a "heh".

  "Right, sorry, I..."

  "I said it's fine, no need to apologize to me."

  "Ah, okay, got it..."

  Lijie herself finally realized the problem, she also smiled and didn't say much. She just quietly looked at the man in front of her.

  What kind of person is he after all?

  Lijie wondered how she couldn't find the answer to this question. Before becoming a mercenary, she had seen many people, and after becoming one, she saw even more men. But she had never met anyone like Rode before. He was only a few years older than her, yet he was calmer and more composed than many who had spent their lives on the battlefield. And he was full of absolute confidence, never doubting his own words, sometimes even being overbearing. So why did she trust him so much? Of course, this man wasn't perfect either - normally he wouldn't even crack a smile, which made things very dull...

  "Alright."

  Rode's words brought Liche back to her senses, and she only then realized that her wound had been bandaged at some point.

  "Move it a bit, is there a problem?"

  "No big deal, unless it's intense action..."

  As a spirit master, Lijie naturally knew how to control her physical state. If it weren't for the awkward location of the wound, she wouldn't have let Rode help herself.

  "Alright."

  Rod nodded and stood up.

  "Let's get ready and move on, no more time to waste."

  After that crazy battle, the undead creatures seemed to have sensed Rod's strength and stopped appearing. The road was quiet again. But both of them knew that a storm was brewing. Rod relied on his experience from missions, while Lige relied on her angelic instincts. Soon, they arrived in front of a large door. This was the only place in the entire mansion that was intact, clean, and tidy. It looked even more eerie due to the surrounding dust, garbage, and cobwebs. Only Rod knew that this was where Seriel's artistic master had created his masterpiece, and where everything had begun.

  "It's inside."

  Lijie subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling that her shoulders seemed to be slightly numb again. The evil that seeped out from the gap in the door almost suffocated her. For the first time since birth, the girl realized that the word "evil" could also be materialized.

  Luo De pushed open the door.

  The scene inside made both of them involuntarily hold their breath.

  If I had to describe it in one word, how would I describe the scene before me?

  Wicked? Filthy? Dirty?

  Neither is.

  The first impression this room gives people is one of holiness.

  The entire room was filled with pure white, magnificent stone pillars supporting the dome, and the moon's radiance poured down from a circular opening in the center of the ceiling, bringing an ethereal beauty. And at the center of that radiant light stood a statue, quietly upright.

  That is a woman.

  Her whole body was naked, with her hands clasped together and her long hair hanging down to her shoulders. Her delicate face, exquisite features, and that beautiful smile mixed with a hint of playfulness, all made people infatuated. Anyone who saw her at first glance would undoubtedly think that she was the most beautiful work of art in this world, without exception.

  "So beautiful......"

  Even Lijie couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration. In this instant, all the evil aura and strange undead creatures seemed to have been thrown behind her mind. She unconsciously walked forward, wanting to take a closer look at the statue, but Rode's quick hands pressed down on her shoulder.

  "Ah."

  The moment she was pulled, Lijie was still a little dazed, but she quickly shivered and woke up. At the same time, Rode let out a whistle and pointed straight ahead. The Flame Killer, who had received the command, did not hesitate at all, roaring into the room, stretching out its sharp teeth and claws towards that almost perfect sculpture.

  But the black hound did not achieve its goal.

  "Whoosh!!"

  Several long and thin arms suddenly appeared from the walls and floor, tightly grasping the body and limbs of Leng Yan Sha.

  "Ahhhroo!!"

  The black hound struggled violently in mid-air, trying to turn its head and bite the arms that bound its body. But before it could make a move, the numerous arms holding the black hound swiftly retracted, tearing it into pieces. At the same time as the Black Hound was torn apart, the Self-Destruct property was triggered once again!

  BOOM!!!

  A raging flame suddenly spread throughout the room, and at the same time, a shrill cry rose from the ground!