Chapter 220: To bring one’s secrets to light
=Are you almost done adding those decals yet?=
=Finally, now we just have to-.=
=…don’t you mean the right moment?=
<...yes.>
=…=
<...>
=…if we weren’t incorporeal, I would either choke you or smack you upside the head right now.=
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After Harold had sent both Orgo and Zhen Shi flying out of the room via throwing them through a wall, the aforementioned room was torn to shreds. While Harold had a lot of power, he clearly lacked restraint.
[Bah! Fucking shockwaves!,] Frosttusk complained while he popped out of the remains of the broken brazier he was hanging out in, still in his little toy form. He was tempted to turn back to his bigger size, but didn’t because not only was it easier to retain heat like this, but Jacob Wolfe was still in the room.
The man was injured and passed out on the ground at this point, but Frosttusk still didn’t want risk alerting him, and probably alerting Harold Wolfe to his presence. He was learning how to be sneaky.
[Great. Now I’m definitely on a timer,] Frosttusk observed now that his source of constant heat was gone, [I need to get back minn jarl, now.]
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Grandfather!,” Zhen Liu called out as he moved to help his grandfather get up to his feet, only to be stopped when Zhen Shi held up a palm.
“Xiao Liu, get out of here now! It’s too dangerous for you to-”
*BOOM!*
Proving this point, Harold Wolfe arrived shortly after in order to make sure Zhen Shi and Orgo were dead. Fully equipped in golden aether armor and wielding an impossibly large sword, the aura around him was savage and heavy, like a mad beast who desired to consume or kill all that was before him.
In a literal second, an incredibly heavy core that made him want to eat everyone’s eyeballs appeared in his hand, but was quickly absorbed into his palm at the same rate. It was for a brief moment, but he sword it was covered in a weird spiky texture like a chestnut made of razorblades. Now was not the time to deal with whatever shitty quirkiness came with a core like that.
‘Well that’s…convenient I guess, and just after I lost that hunger core. Granted the speed to which this core formed is probably not a good sign,’ Zhen Liu mused. With the death of Leech, he could finally confirm, cores were only usable if the source was still alive. ‘Wait, what if they turn into undead though?’
“Awww, what a pleasant sight to behold. The worried descendant trying to help their elders,” Harold observed with a condescending tone, “how…precious.”
The words Harold were saying sounded nice, but the tone and the fact that he was staring at Zhen Liu like he was going to fillet him alive made it clear that the [Unusual Core] was well warranted. The Grand Elder of the Wolfe Family began to walk forward, aether circulating in the sadistic greatsword on his shoulder.
Hurricroak and Zhen Liu were about to try and die fighting and standing on their own feet, but Zhen Shi beat them to the punch, literally.
[Grand Carp Knuckle!]
Before Harold could get closer, Zhen Shi flew forward and swung a fist at Harold’s head, the watery image of a giant ancient carp fish overlaying his fist.
*CRACK!*
The fist landed true, but the target reacted as if nothing happened.
“I was looking forward to killing yet another family member of yours while you were unable to do anything, but I guess I’ll send you on your way first,” Harold taunted.
“What?”
The way that Harold worded that sentence, caused Zhen Shi to become confused.
“Oh? Did I not say it earlier?,” Harold said in a deliberately slow manner as he reached up and grabbed Zhen Shi by the wrist. He yanked the Zhen Clan patriarch closer to himself in order to stare into his eyes as he dropped the equivalent of a nuke upon his psyche.
“Consider this a parting gift then, your wife didn’t die of an unknown disease while you were on your training expeditions. She overdosed on the medicine that would have saved her, and I was the one who orchestrated it. Or in other words, I’m the one who killed her,” Harold explained to Zhen Shi.
Zhen Shi’s eyes went wide as the implication of Harold’s words began to unfold in his mind. Rage, hate, regret, revenge and all manner of emotions caused his heart to become agitated as he fully digested Harold’s words. His aether armor began to wobble and shake too as a result of hearing these words.
“You-”
“That felt good to share, but you know what? I think I changed my mind. You can live a little longer,” Harold said with sadistic glee, “just so that I can make you watch as I repeat history, but with more a personal tou…wait… what’s this feeling?”
Harold was so focused on taunting Zhen Shi more, break the man spirits just before taking his life, but the feeling of an unknown energy rising in the area took him by surprise. When he looked pass Zhen Shi, he soon discovered that the source of the feeling was none other than a certain hateful puppet master.
In Zhen Liu’s hands however was something that looked a distorted crossbow that for reasons beyond Harold’s understanding, made him feel…dread, the fact that the sound of trumpets was coming out of it didn’t help either. He wasn’t sure why, but Harold felt that whatever this crossbow fired, he would need to block it no matter what. Luckily for him, he had a human shield.
Harold quickly readjusted his position so that Zhen Shi was now being held by the throat and used to block most of his body from whatever Zhen Liu was about to launch at him. Now that he felt comfortable about being protected, he began to taunt Zhen Liu.
“Now I don’t know what you’re holding there, but I suggest you put it down before-”
*BANG!*
With exactly zero hesitation, Zhen Liu fired off a strange ball of energy directly at Zhen Shi’s heart, catching both of the old men by surprise.
“Thanks for lining up the shot for me,” Zhen Liu said, “I’ve never been much of a sharpshooter”.
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Literally seconds before this moment, around the time Harold grabbed Zhen Shi’s wrist.
‘Oh fuck, oh shit, oh fuck what the hell do I-?’
‘Oh thank the heavens! Summon now!’
Zhen Liu’s [Chaos] began to flare up and condense once this announcement was made, forming into…a toy gun with a card slot of all things.
He was about to complain about it’s look again, but decided to hold back.
<[Possession: Bestow] is now ready for use, please select the kaijin and fire at your chosen target.>
Zhen Liu turned towards his only active kaijin at the moment, unaware of the little mammoth currently running towards him.
‘Hurricroak, you still got anything left or-?’
[Nope! My turn!,] Frosttusk interjected before leaping from out of nowhere, turning himself into a card and loading himself into the gun.
Once he was locked in, the gun began to talk while playing a rather heart thumping trumpet.
{Possession set! Freezing Titan: Ready!}
‘Alright, fuck it.’
With everything ready, all Zhen Liu had to do now was pull the trigger.
