Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Mechanical Demon Beast—Gou Serpent

"Why are you so protective of the Mechanical Buddha? Are you his illegitimate son or something?"

"Ah, look at him, he's getting worked up—see, that means I struck a nerve!"

Under the barrage of Liang Zhi’s taunts, Monk Jin Yue was nearly driven to madness, throwing caution to the wind as he lunged forward.

Liang Zhi shot a glance, and Qiu Shilu tightened her grip on her hammer, ready to strike at any moment.

This time, Jin Yue had all but lost his mind; even Qiu Shilu was no longer afraid of him.

Suddenly, a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling crackled to life: "You idiot, Jin Yue, you bald donkey—retreat now!"

It was Fan Jiu's order, but Jin Yue remained unmoved. His greatest flaw was that, once he lost his temper, he never listened to commands.

"Die! Die! Die!"

As Jin Yue charged in, Qiu Shilu gripped her sledgehammer with both hands and swung it horizontally at him.

"Buddha’s Light protects me—no blade nor spear can harm me!"

Jin Yue couldn’t dodge. A pale golden sheen formed over his skin, gathering to shield him. When hammer met skin, his flesh vibrated rapidly, the ground beneath his feet shattering.

He had actually managed to disperse the tremendous force of Qiu Shilu’s hammer through the trembling of his skin!

A "Shadow Skinner" had absolute control over their skin—using it to absorb impacts was well within their abilities.

Of course, even so, this blow was far from easy to take. Blood seeped from countless cracks in his skin; it was hard to imagine how much pain he must have felt. Yet, he endured.

It was the first time Qiu Shilu had seen someone block her attack head-on; she was momentarily thrown off balance.

Monk Jin Yue’s skin first wrinkled up like a Shar Pei, then suddenly spread wide, stretching out like a giant sheet, aiming to envelop Qiu Shilu.

A Shadow Skinner’s skin was incredibly tough and highly elastic; once she was fully wrapped, no matter how strong Qiu Shilu was, she would be utterly powerless to resist.

Then, with a dagger to her throat, this brute-force fighter would be finished.

Such was the gap between a battle-hardened ability user and a novice: even in a rage, Jin Yue could rely on willpower and experience to find a way to win.

But his maneuver never succeeded. Suddenly, his movements slowed—as if, without him noticing, his body had become entangled in masses of fine white threads!

These threads were as delicate as cotton, yet Jin Yue found himself unable to break free! His skin writhed ceaselessly, trying to shake them off, only to discover the more he struggled, the tighter they bound him—they were adhesive!

"What is this?!" Jin Yue cried out in horror.

"A blend of spider silk and silkworm thread!"

Liang Zhi was half-kneeling on the ground, his battle flag’s shaft already more than half gone—the missing portion was now wrapped around Jin Yue’s body!

This battle flag was more than just an emblem; even its pole was something special.

During his time as a thief, Liang Zhi had deliberately collected a great deal of spiderweb.

Spider silk is a superb natural material—at equal thickness, its strength surpasses that of steel wire fivefold. But it’s extremely fine: after days of collecting, Liang Zhi only amassed a tiny ball, so he supplemented it with a good amount of silkworm thread, fusing it all together into the staff.

Earlier, he’d used it to rig the trap that took out the hunting falcon.

Now, with her senses returning, Qiu Shilu swung her sledgehammer down on Monk Jin Yue.

The first blow split the ground, Jin Yue once more dispersing the force with his skin, though deep cracks appeared.

The second blow left him bleeding from countless wounds, his bones nearly all shattered.

Before the third could land, chaos erupted anew!

The battered iron door Liang Zhi had stripped for “wool” suddenly moved, accompanied by a heavy, bestial breathing behind them.

Liang Zhi turned, only to see a monstrous snake—its bloodshot eyes glaring, its girth twice that of a water barrel!

Compared to this, the previous red-scaled python was as thin as a noodle—and this beast was half machine, half flesh!

"Mother of—what on earth is that?!"

Qiu Shilu’s pupils dilated. "That’s... a mechanical demon beast—a Hook Serpent!"

The metallic snake head, as large as a compact car, slammed down like a hammer. Qiu Shilu met it head-on with her sledgehammer.

Bang!

After a deafening clang of metal, the Hook Serpent’s head bounced four or five meters into the air, a clear hammer mark imprinted on its skull, while Qiu Shilu’s hammer had bent.

The Hook Serpent shook its head and lunged at them again.

Qiu Shilu was itching for a fight—this was the first time something hadn’t feared her strength.

But Liang Zhi quickly retracted the spider-silk staff, grabbed her by the hand, and dragged her at breakneck speed toward another iron door.

"This thing’s massive—and looks like it recognizes no kin. There’s no need to fight it head-on."

Swish—swish!

The giant snake lashed its body, two enormous tails whipping in front of them. Each tail was tipped with massive barbed hooks, their bluish hue betraying a lethal poison.

The barbs swept past, gouging deep ruts into the floor beside them.

"That’s how the Hook Serpent hunts," snapped Lord Crow. "Its body was in the tunnel just now, so its first strike missed, but now that it’s emerged, its aim will be deadly accurate."

"Then we just need to split its attention—that’s easy," Liang Zhi shouted, "The Mechanical Buddha is a big—!"

"Death to those who insult the Buddha!"

Jin Yue, who had been hammered into unconsciousness, somehow dredged up enough willpower to leap up on the spot, bellowing furiously!

The Hook Serpent, readying to attack again, was instantly distracted by the bald monk before it—this was the first time it had seen such an audacious human.

"Uh..."

Jin Yue stared up at the massive snake head, and at last, he sobered.

"It’s over..."

The gaping maw snapped down.

...

Jin Yue was crushed beneath the serpent. Ling Ji covered her mouth, laughing softly, while Fan Jiu’s expression turned grim. He spoke into the microphone:

"I didn’t expect Jin Yue would die at your hands. He may have been disobedient, but apart from Qing Feng, he was my most capable subordinate. So... you’re all dead!

Mechanical beasts are the enemies of all life—anything living, they will not spare!"

Ling Ji, curious, asked, "You’re actually keeping mechanical beasts in the tunnels?"

Fan Jiu switched off the microphone. "These aren’t ours—they were already imprisoned here. I just put them to use, guarding the stronghold."

Them... so there’s more than one of those things?

Ling Ji blinked. "But you can’t control the mechanical beasts, can you? Aren’t you worried one might break through that door and ruin your base?"

Fan Jiu smiled smugly.

"Of course we’ve considered that. But as long as the mechanical beasts don’t feed on a lot of flesh, their activity is limited. After rampaging for an hour or two, they’ll go back to sleep. And that iron door—the beast could never break through it in such a short time."

On the screen, Qiu Shilu smashed her hammer against the iron door, but it didn’t budge an inch.

Fan Jiu turned the mic back on. "Give up. That door is a meter thick. Whether it’s your strength or that boy’s matter-warping ability, you won’t get out any time soon. You’re finished!"

As soon as he finished, Liang Zhi placed his palm on the door. After less than ten seconds, he withdrew his hand.

Qiu Shilu wedged her hands into the crack, shouted, and with a mighty heave, pulled the meter-thick iron door open!

Liang Zhi yelled at the loudspeaker:

"Are you stupid? Why would we have to break down the door with powers? Just unlock it! I’m the King of Thieves from East City, after all!"