Six-Armed Serpent Demon

Page 108

A while ago, Tusu found a piece of wood in the ruins that hadn't been burned by the dragon's breath. He used it to carve a canoe, and every day he and the little boy fished near the dock.

He has always been quite good at spearfishing with a short spear.

However, this good time only lasted for two days before they were stopped because they were not qualified to go out to sea to fish, and even their canoes were destroyed by the dock inspection team.

Tusu did not resist.

In his eyes, the dock inspectors were neither vigilant nor combat-ready. He could easily kill them all and then escape back to the southern jungle.

But he's not living alone now. He can see that although the child depends on him, the child doesn't belong to his world.

More importantly, he often heard inexplicable murmurs that encouraged him to kill and seduce him into anger.

As a totem demon-slaying warrior, Tusu knew very well that it was a demon corrupting his soul. He could not possibly follow the demon's instructions.

The place where they dug up the cassava was so far from the dock that it was almost dawn when they walked back to the vicinity of the refugee camp.

Tusu looked at the dark water.

Most of the dock was destroyed by the breath of the two-headed evil dragon. Although the shipping business has now recovered, the debris on the water caused by the last disaster has not been completely cleaned up, and a large number of ship wrecks and broken pieces of wood still float half-submerged in the water.

"wait for me."

As Tusu spoke, he patted the boy's head. He placed the bundle of cassava on his back at the boy's feet, and with the boy's expectant gaze, he walked to the water's edge and plunged into the water.

Tusu entered the water and swam easily. He swam around twice among the logs in the water, then chose a piece of wood that was neither too thick nor too thin, and covered with holes. He dragged it and swam towards the shore.

He laboriously dragged the log ashore, then took out a machete from his waist and chopped at the log. Then came the second, the third. After several more chops, he split the log open.

Tusu casually placed the knife at his feet, gripped the crack in the wood with both hands, and pried it open with force.

With a "crack" sound, the wood was broken in two. Inside, you could see that the wood was full of cavities, with many worm-like, slippery and soft things in the middle.

These are shipworms, a type of marine creature that feeds exclusively on wood.

To prevent ship maggots from gnawing on and damaging the wooden hulls, ship maintenance workers would typically coat the hulls with tung oil, heat them over a fire, or cover them with metal. Clearly, no one bothered to dispose of the wreckage, so it became a breeding ground for ship maggots.

Tusu didn't know that this thing, despite its name "maggot," was actually a type of shellfish, but he did know that it was not only edible but also quite delicious.

Ever since the canoe was destroyed by the city guards, he and the boys have been eating cassava and boat maggots every day.

"We're having seafood again today."

Tusu said with a smile. Although he knew the boy wouldn't understand a word of his native language, just as he couldn't understand the boy's common language, as time went on, they gradually came to understand each other. Even though they couldn't speak the same language, they could still guess what the other wanted to do and say.

He half-squatted on the ground and began to pull the boat maggots out of the holes in the wood one by one.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.

Tusu stopped what he was doing, slowly turned around, and saw the boy standing there, trembling. Behind the boy stood Patrick, covered in blood and missing an arm.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Patrick smiled at Tusu with half his face and said gently in the indigenous language, "It really saddened me that you left the cabin without saying goodbye."

His palm gently rested on the boy's shoulder.

Patrick said, "I'm used to betrayal, it's nothing. I like betrayal. But shouldn't you give me a reason for betraying you?"

Tusu stared at him for several seconds.

"Let him go."

Hearing Tusu's words, Patrick's smile widened. He moved his hand from the boy's shoulder to his slender neck and gently squeezed it.

The boy's expression was one of extreme terror, and urine streamed down his thin legs.

"You've actually learned to order me around... Are you always this brave now?"

Patrick was a little surprised. "It seems I need to help you recall how you clung to my leg, begging and pleading. You kept kissing my boots to devour more jewels... that expression, tsk tsk."

Upon hearing this, Tusu showed an expression of extreme pain.

"I once took the wrong path."

He said in a deep voice, “I follow you because you said you would hunt down a demon, not to follow another demon. I am a totem demon slayer… I will not serve demons, much less be a puppet of any demon.”

Patrick's eyes widened.

"…ha?"

He was stunned for a full second before he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Patrick's laughter abruptly stopped, and he roared fiercely, "Totem Demon Slayer Warrior, even this professional legacy was given to you by me! Your power, your life, were all given to you by me!"

Tusu looked at the boy whose neck was being gripped by Patrick.

The two exchanged a brief glance, and the boy immediately closed his eyes tightly.

Patrick instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

“What are you saying to him?” he asked warily. “What do you want to say to him?! If you dare to do anything, I’ll strangle him!”

Tusu glanced at Patrick's severed arm.

“What do you want?” he said. “I have nothing left, nothing worth your attention. If it’s to hide from the people who hurt you, we won’t tell anyone we’ve seen you. Please leave.”

Patrick's face contorted into a smile.

“How can you say you have nothing? You still have your life... I want you to first cut your wrist, then leave your machete and the wood behind, and slowly walk over here.”

Tusu stared at Patrick.

Patrick smiled in response.

Tusu picked up the machete and slashed his wrist. Blood gushed into the ground, making a crackling sound.

The boy couldn't understand their conversation, and with his eyes closed, he couldn't see Tusu's actions.

But he began to cry quietly.

Patrick watched with satisfaction as Tusu stood up empty-handed, spun around in place, and gestured to him that he was completely naked. Indeed, apart from the genital-protecting gourd worn by the natives, Tusu was almost entirely naked.

“Just walk over here slowly,” Patrick said casually. “Good, very good. Alright, stand still. Once you’re incapacitated, I’ll leave and let him go. Otherwise, I’ll kill him.”

He watched with satisfaction as Tusu stood not far in front of him, unarmed, with blood gushing from his wrists.

—The rest is much simpler. Wait a few more minutes, let the native who cut his wrist bleed to death, then I can calmly absorb the power of the orb…

Patrick kept a close eye on Tusu, not daring to relax for a moment.

He only had one hand left, which made casting spells inconvenient. He was no match for the natives in a direct fight, so he could only use hostages to cause trouble, and he didn't dare to actually kill the hostages.

However, if you control a hostage with one hand like this, you can't do anything else...

Time ticked by, and Tusu's face grew paler and paler, his body beginning to sway slightly. A pool of blood formed around his body.

The indigenous people's blood is about to run dry.

Patrick breathed a slight sigh of relief.

—It'll be soon, very soon. Once I've recovered the power of the natives' precious pearl, I'll be able to restore almost all of my life force…

With victory in sight, and thinking about the future, he finally became slightly distracted.

In the blink of an eye, Tusu ripped off the vaginal protector gourd and threw it at Patrick's head!

Patrick quickly turned his head to avoid it.

At the same time, a violent flash of light erupted in his field of vision. It stung his eyelids, causing them to swell and his eyes to ache terribly. He couldn't help but close his eyes and scream.

That's the second-tier divine spell of the Totem Demon Slayer Warrior, "Flash Dust"!

Patrick immediately tightened his grip, trying to snap the boy's tender neck, but then felt a native's hand grab his wrist.

Tusu gripped Patrick's wrist tightly, preventing him from exerting force, while simultaneously using his other hand to pound Patrick's severed arm.

In excruciating pain, Patrick immediately let out a long howl like a wolf.

In this situation, unable to hold onto the boy, he simply let go, twisting his wrist with all his might to compete with Tusu, while simultaneously turning sideways and bumping into Tusu with his shoulder.

Having lost a lot of blood, Tusu's counterattack was the last bit of strength he had left. Bumped by Patrick, he fell backward, but still clung tightly to Patrick's wrist.

The two of them rolled down into a pool of blood.

Patrick pressed down on Tusu, instinctively pulling his severed arm back to avoid being hit by Tusu, but unintentionally sticking his head in front of Tusu.

Tusu bit his nose.

Patrick screamed and thrashed about in the pool of blood.

But his single hand managed to break free from the dying and powerless Tusu, push Tusu's head aside, support his body, and straddle Tusu.

Patrick, panting, reached out and grabbed Tusu by the neck.

He felt it.

As Tusu's life force was about to die out, the power of the precious pearl was being transmitted from his palm, bit by bit.

"What a shame, buddy."

Patrick, now without a nose, said his eyes were growing brighter, his life force gradually returning. "I didn't want to kill you, but—"

At this point, Tusu was nearing his death and could no longer hear his words.

Suddenly, hot liquid was poured over his head and body; it was... blood?

Tusu managed to focus his gaze and looked upwards.

Patrick stared at him blankly, his right eye wide open.

A machete slashed into Patrick's neck, but the blade got stuck in the gap between his cervical vertebrae and failed to sever his head.

Tusu realized that it was his own machete.

Patrick moved his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

The cleaver made a scraping sound as it was pulled from his neck.

Blood poured down on his face.

Then came the second knife.

After taking the knife, Patrick's head tilted at an odd angle, yet it still hung from his neck.

His facial muscles twitched, but he was still alive.

The person who picked up the machete had no experience in killing people. The machete landed in a different spot than the first strike, but once again only severed half of the cervical spine.

"It's you! Your voice!"

It was that boy crying out, "It's you!"

—That demon who bewitched my brother into brewing medicine, leading to the death of his entire family!

Patrick could no longer afford to absorb the power of Tusu's jewel.

He reached out and pushed the boy, sending him tumbling. The boy then stood up unsteadily, supporting the wound on his neck with his single hand, and turned to walk unsteadily in another direction.

Run, run quickly!

—Live on, I don't want to die.

—I must live.

He gritted his teeth and bulged his right eye.

Patrick felt his magic surging. Yes, the spellcaster's life force had recovered considerably.

—Damn it, if I had another hand, I could cast spells while pressing on the wound…

—Damn it…

—Damn it…

The double fracture of his cervical vertebrae finally gave way, unable to support the weight of his head. Before losing consciousness, Patrick saw his headless body collapse to the ground.

His life was forever frozen at that moment.

Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for the irregular updates these past few days, plus some family matters. I'll make up for it with a chapter on Monday night.

Chapter 127 Life and Death

Ivy Beatrice had been lurking nearby since the beginning. She followed the magical fluctuations of the teleportation to this place and quietly watched the show come to an end.

She wouldn't interfere with Patrick's life or death; she was just slightly curious about how things were unfolding.

She didn't know if she could deal with Demogorgon's corruption on her own, so she didn't stop Patrick's dissipating soul, letting him vanish in the wind and return to his master.