Douluo Continent: The Eye of Truth

Chapter 44 Corpse Explosion Technique, Sacrifices

After locating the hideout of the Death Hand bandits, the group spent some time changing into Shrek Academy's standard equipment.

Everyone was dressed in a dark green outfit. Shrek Academy couldn't be said to have made no progress at all in the past ten thousand years; at least they had slightly modified their garish green aesthetic.

However, the leather armor provided to the Shrek Academy's inspection team only possessed physical abilities roughly equivalent to a Soul Master, which was better than nothing.

Although the areas covered by this leather armor can provide some protection against physical attacks and soul power attacks.

However, clothing made solely based on the advantages of materials is far less defensive than a true soul-guided protective shield when facing tricky or all-pervasive soul skills because it is not a complete unit.

In addition to the tight-fitting leather armor and cloak, he was also equipped with a cape with the same defensive capabilities. However, in Huo Yuhao's opinion, the cape's effect on hindering movement far outweighed its defensive effect.

As for the mask on the face, it really doesn't serve any other purpose besides covering up the face. It might be better if it were a gas mask that could completely block out the outside world.

The operation officially began only after everyone was fully dressed. Changing clothes right in front of someone else's lair would have meant that if the enemy's scouts had been any better, the Shrek team would probably have been wiped out by now.

"This mission will primarily involve the main force. Dai Yueheng, you will command the frontal battles, while I will be responsible for commanding and protecting the reserve team."

"Okay, Teacher Wang." Dai Yueheng nodded, and the other members of the main team, except for Ma Xiaotao, quickly followed Dai Yueheng's lead.

The strongest member, Ma Xiaotao, was positioned in the center of the formation. Given Ma Xiaotao's strength and personality, she was just as self-centered even when she wasn't serving as captain.

She would never obey the orders of Dai Yueheng, who was weaker than her, because she had absolute confidence in her own abilities.

Everyone possessed their martial spirit, and with the aid of their soul power, they moved silently and swiftly toward their target location.

At this time, the night was fading and dawn was approaching. The sky was just beginning to lighten, which was the time when humans were most physiologically tired. Although their body structures were different, ordinary people in Douluo Continent also followed this pattern.

Using his Eye of Truth, Huo Yuhao pierced through layers of barriers and watched as the main team at the forefront wiped out all the guards and vigilant bandits.

At the same time, Huo Yuhao's mental erosion was also launched silently, subtly influencing and implying Dai Yueheng.

It did not directly control Dai Yueheng's actions, but rather subconsciously influenced Dai Yueheng's subsequent judgments and fighting style.

Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Xixi led the way, with Ma Xiaotao providing support in the middle. Gongyang Mo released his soul skill behind Ma Xiaotao to buff everyone, while Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan were at the back of the group.

In the reserve team, Xu Sanshi was at the very front, with Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan on either side. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Ning Tian, ​​and Xiao Xiao were in the center, while Wang Yan followed closely behind Huo Yuhao and the other three, covering the rear and protecting the four weakest members.

At the entrance of the cave, five or six bandits lay sprawled on the ground, their wounds charred black, but not burns; they must have been killed instantly by Xixi.

Meanwhile, the sounds of fierce fighting could be heard from inside the cave. Seeing this, Wang Yan said in a deep voice, "We've probably been discovered. Let's go in. Everyone, please be careful."

"So what was the point of all that tension, all that lurking and silence? Only one of the seven Soul Masters is an agility-based attacker, and a lightning-based one at that. If it were a Netherworld Cat, capable of stealth and concealment, why couldn't we just charge straight in?"

Huo Yuhao was speechless. "And with this kind of setup, it's only because the Grim Reaper is such a simpleton that he even showed his face and fought you. If he were a real schemer, wouldn't he have run away long ago? Why didn't he arrange for others to surround and guard against an escape?"

As the saying goes, "a dog chasing a mouse is meddling in other people's business," and this perfectly describes the Shrek Academy Inspection Team. The Shrek Academy students' martial soul configurations and soul skill combinations are all for direct combat, commonly known as arena fighting. As a result, they were sent out to suppress bandits in such complex terrain, so it's no wonder that they suffered heavy casualties.

If Huo Yuhao were the Grim Reaper himself, besides the Corpse Explosion Technique, if he also equipped himself with some sneaky traps, he could probably keep all of these people here without any casualties, and it would be impossible for him to confront the Shrek Supervision Group head-on.

In any case, for the members of the Death Hand bandit group, apart from the Death Messenger, everyone else is essentially a puppet controlled by him.

Even the other Soul Masters in the bandit group were the same; they didn't care if they all died. As long as the Grim Reaper was still around, they could easily pull out another batch.

After entering the cave, it was quite spacious inside. After walking a distance, there were scattered corpses on the ground. Judging from their clothing, they were obviously members of the bandit gang.

Besides these fresh corpses, there was a strong smell of blood, which came from the stone walls on both sides of the cave, where more than a dozen human skins were hanging.

However, in Huo Yuhao's true eyes, this human skin was just human skin. Unlike those corpses with alien soul power buried in their bodies, it was probably just some strange hobby of the Grim Reaper.

Besides the human skin, there were also fresh infant corpses pierced and hanging on the stalactites at the top of the cave, and the blood flowing from the corpses happened to drip onto Jiang Nannan's body.

Upon seeing this, everyone except Huo Yuhao changed their expressions, while Jiang Nannan let out a scream.

However, from Huo Yuhao's perspective of the Eye of Truth, corpses? Human skin? Blood? These were all directly dissected by his Eye of Truth. Who would have a physiological reaction to a graphic of a bunch of cells piled up together?

"This infant's corpse shows no fluctuations in soul power; everything seems normal. But for an evil soul master, isn't this a resource? Such a waste—no wonder you're only a Soul King."

In fact, the reserve team members and Wang Yan had seen quite a few corpses and blood. After all, battles between soul masters were bound to involve bloodshed, and they had seen even more corpses when hunting soul beasts.

At this point, the reaction is more of an instinctive response of feeling sorrow for the loss of one's own kind.

But for Soul Masters, what difference is there between what they do to Soul Beasts and what evil Soul Masters do to them? Hunting Soul Beasts to obtain their flesh and blood for nourishment, absorbing Soul Rings to break through their own cultivation levels—aren't these all the same as skinning and soul-refining?

However, as high-ranking Soul Masters and members of the vested interest group, they don't care. All they seek is an ideology that they agree with.

This is not wrong, or rather, this is the reality of Douluo Continent, a social structure that cannot be defined by the concepts of other worlds.

For the strong who grow from this world, the stronger they become, the more their egos inflate, even though they lack the necessary character.

The more they try to justify their own values, the more they believe that they can never be the one in the wrong, only others can be.

Soon, everyone calmed down, but their eyes were filled with anger. Whether this anger was truly from the heart or just for the sake of being angry, no one knew.

Wang Yan said, "Everyone, be alert! These people are all evil. Don't be soft-hearted. Killing one could save countless others."

As they ventured deeper into the battle, the signs and sounds of fighting intensified, making everyone increasingly tense. Wang Yan's words at this moment startled them, but also calmed their emotions, easing their tension.

Once they reached the open terrain ahead, they should have been close to the center of the cave. Soul rings and soul skills flashed alternately, illuminating the dim and narrow cave in a dazzling way.

At this time, the most ferocious killers were Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao.

Beside Ma Xiaotao, blazing golden-red flames erupted wildly, each eruption taking the lives of several, or even a dozen people.

How could these low-level Soul Masters or ordinary bandits in the Death Hand Bandit Gang be qualified to face off against the main team?

Dai Yueheng went the deepest, holding off dozens of bandits single-handedly. Under Dai Yueheng's command, the others stayed near the cave passage and did not go deep, only providing assistance.

Gongyang Mo's colorful light burst forth from his body and landed on Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao. Since he only needed to assist the two of them, it was quite easy for him.

Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan, together with Dai Yueheng, suppressed the bandits who rushed out, causing them to gather at the entrance of the passage and making it difficult for them to break through.

Xi Xi was positioned beside Gongyang Mo to provide support, but clearly, the current tactical situation didn't allow her, a speed-type Soul Master, any opportunity to intervene.

At this moment, Dai Yueheng alone blocked the passage through which the bandits rushed out, coordinating with Ma Xiaotao's long-range attacks to carry out a wanton massacre of the bandits.

Now, those ordinary bandits without soul power have been almost slaughtered, their corpses piled up around Dai Yueheng, blood flowing like a river. But in Huo Yuhao's eyes, these ordinary bandits actually possessed a dark and evil soul power hidden within them.

The other bandits all had bloodshot eyes, clearly stimulated by some kind of soul skill. Even though many of their companions had died, they still fought to the death.

Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao continued to observe from the sidelines while intensifying the mental erosion effect on Dai Yueheng.

Because Dai Yueheng blocked the way out for the bandits, although the bandit group had a large number of people, they could not break through Dai Yueheng's blockade, and the reserve team could not go forward.

After all, besides the weaker bandits, there were three Soul King level experts among them. Although they all had low-grade Soul Rings, with white rings as the base, yellow rings as the main ones, and purple rings as the secondary ones, there were no black rings.

For safety's sake, Wang Yan said to the reserve team, "Ranged support, don't disturb Dai Yueheng's arrangements. You guys stay here and get used to the real battlefield situation."

The reserve team members nodded. Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, who lacked ranged attack capabilities, were responsible for protecting Huo Yuhao and the other four weaker second-year students. Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron split into three parts, surrounding the group behind them, ready to respond at any time.

Ning Tian, ​​like Gongyang Mo, was assisting Dai Yueheng. Although the current situation was only slightly better than nothing, since Ma Xiaotao didn't need any strength or speed enhancements at the moment.

Bei Bei and Wang Dong followed Ma Xiaotao's example, using ranged soul skills to bombard the bandits blocked at the entrance of the passage. Both of them had quite good soul ring configurations, and their attacks were quite powerful.

However, when Huo Yuhao saw the restless soul power emanating from the corpses on either side of Dai Yueheng through his Eye of Truth, he knew that something big was about to happen.

After they stormed in, besides the corpses piled up on both sides of the passage, there were also a few scattered corpses in the cave where the Shrek group was located. However, the amount of soul power contained in these corpses was so small that even if it were to erupt, it would not have much of an effect on the group, who were in good condition.

As a large number of bandits were slaughtered, a bandit leader at the Soul King level also died at the hands of Dai Yueheng. A cold and sharp voice rang out from the depths of the cave.

"Damn it, who are you people? How dare you oppose me, the Grim Reaper!"

"You will all die! You will all become my corpse slaves!"

The other party's words at this moment clearly revealed that he was the very person the Shrek Inspection Team was searching for in this mission: the leader of the Death Hand Bandit Gang, the Death Messenger.

Upon hearing this voice, the remaining bandits began to tremble. The blood-red light in their eyes faded, and fear took over their minds and bodies after the effects of the berserk-type soul skill wore off.

Ignoring the Shrek Seven Devils' soul skills, the bandits hastily retreated into the passage, risking injury and enduring the attacks.

Beside Dai Yueheng, the corpses of bandits who had been killed and thrown aside because they were in the way were growing rapidly at an alarming rate.

"This is... I seem to have remembered something?" In Huo Yuhao's sea of ​​consciousness, the aged voice of Electrolux rang out, which also meant that Electrolux had at this moment recovered the most crucial part of his memory.

However, Huo Yuhao no longer had time to respond to Electrolux's will. He used his soul power to activate his fourth-tier soul tool, the Glazed Shield, and a spherical blue soul power shield completely enveloped the reserve team members behind him.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom..." As the corpse swelled, violent explosions rang out, mainly concentrated in the first half of the cave, near the entrance.

Beyond the direct power of the explosion, what was even more terrifying was the deep black blood mist that spread out after the corpses exploded, which contained an exceptionally terrifying corpse poison.

If someone is infected by this corpse poison after death, their corpse will become new material for casting the Corpse Explosion spell.

(End of this chapter)