Asura in Arknights

Xi had stayed behind specifically to mock Nian, and it was already quite an achievement that she had been able to endure listening to the mulberry's story. Now, the two of them were actually about to start chatting, and Xi, unable to bear it any longer, finally spoke up and interrupted them.

"...I'll tell you later, it's just a few minor spells anyway."

Mulberry nodded.

"Alright, I've kept you waiting, my dear sister." Nian revealed a somewhat mischievous smile.

"It's alright, but you'd better not disappoint me next time." Xi glared back defiantly. "But with your taste, I'm afraid that's unlikely."

Before the story even began, the two were already at loggerheads. However, Xi knew it wasn't time for mockery yet, so she simply said something and then fell silent.

Nian didn't rush to start telling the story, but instead kept quiet and waited.

After the atmosphere had built up a bit, Nian lowered his voice and said in a sinister tone, "What I'm going to tell you this time is the story of a scientific expedition team."

"Through a series of coincidences, seven people who were originally strangers formed a scientific expedition team..."

Seven people?

This unusual number quickly caught Xi's attention.

Although Xi is not a writer, her artistic talent still led her to think of several possibilities.

So Xi's lips curled up slightly, and she said, "Oh? Based on our current situation? As the beginning of a cliché story, I must say it has a bit of originality."

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P.S. I originally wanted to write some ghost stories, but I realized that if I did, this part of the story would drag on a bit. So, although the title is "Ghost Stories," the content of these three chapters doesn't seem to have much to do with ghost stories. Sad...

Chapter Seventy-Four: Unexpected Situation

Seeing the two people locked in a fierce confrontation, the onlookers felt somewhat ashamed.

If Nian can tell this story smoothly, then it is indeed a good story. The story is adapted from their current real situation, and if the narrative skills are appropriate, it is not as bad as Xi said.

Unfortunately, there's always someone nitpicking, so no matter how exciting the story prepared for the year is, the atmosphere here has long been ruined.

However, Nian didn't seem too frustrated; on the contrary, she seemed to be enjoying it. For her, bickering with Xi was probably the greatest pastime.

In short, the story is a modified version of their experiences during that period. A scientific expedition team that came together by a series of coincidences was trapped on a desolate mountain by a sudden rainstorm while searching for an ancient tomb lost in history.

"Just as they were preparing to rest, a sudden scream rang out..."

As the story unfolded, a truly agonizing scream came from outside the cave, sounding like the wail of a dying person.

The barrier set up by Xuan Cheng simply filtered out the sound of wind and rain; it did not block out all the sounds from the outside. Otherwise, if the situation outside changed, wouldn't they, hiding in the cave, be completely unaware?

The scream alerted everyone. It was a fact that they were the only ones on the mountain, and the roads down the mountain had been cut off by flash floods. Under such circumstances, it should have been impossible for anyone to have come here.

"What is this? You made this?" Xi frowned and subconsciously looked at Nian.

This is also a common trick used to scare people. In addition, the story told that year was an allusion to their current situation. So, doing this unexpectedly can indeed scare a lot of people.

So Xi immediately thought of Nian, who was telling a story.

The story Nian told was really just something she made up on the spot. Xi was right to say that the story was clichéd. Similar stories have been everywhere for a long time. If you buy any horror magazine, you can probably find several similar stories. So if you want to improve the performance, you can only work on other aspects.

However, Nian looked bewildered.

What's going on? What happened? I didn't plan this kind of plot!

"Huh? I didn't prepare anything like that?" Nian said, looking completely bewildered.

This was originally an idea that came to her on a whim, without any time to prepare. How could she have had time to arrange such a scary trick?

Although a minor accident occurred, they were not too nervous. They hadn't even ventured deep into the Tianyue Mountains yet, so they weren't going to be unable to handle even this small crisis.

"Um...would you like to go out and take a look?"

After a brief silence, Adele spoke softly.

“No need, people are already coming this way,” Li Ang replied.

In that brief moment, Li Ang's senses detected two life signs, but with that scream, one of them abruptly vanished.

The remaining one stumbled and ran towards the cave where they were.

One can imagine how dazzling the tiny light emanating from their cave would be in the pitch-black, rainy night.

Upon hearing Li Ang's words, Xuan Cheng immediately pulled Jingzhe's wheelchair from the cave entrance into the cave. In any case, Jingzhe was not in a good condition to fight right now, and if she stayed in that position, she would be the first to suffer.

After about ten meters, the barrier that Xuan Cheng had set up at the entrance of the cave was shattered with a crack, and a man covered in mud and dressed in tattered clothes crashed in from outside and fell to the ground with a thud.

The barrier only served as a warning system and had little defensive capability, which is why it shattered so easily when bumped into, allowing the rainwater to pour in.

The man collapsed to the ground in a disheveled state, his chest heaving rapidly. His limbs seemed to be out of his control, and he struggled for a long time without being able to get up.

Therefore, the man had no way of answering their question... Who exactly is this guy?

Was he a victim?

"How could that be? Who would be so foolish as to come here?"

This guess was immediately rejected; if it were just tourism, there would be no need to go to such a remote location.

Although they had only walked for a day, they were traveling light and were used to moving around in the mountains and forests, so they were actually very fast. This was a location that would be life-threatening for ordinary people.

Moreover... to survive a flash flood and escape to the mountain where Li Ang and the others were, this man must be no ordinary person.

Hmm... the Lupo race, a very common race, with relatively average qualities in all aspects, perhaps with a slight advantage in explosive power. This man's muscles all over his body showed signs of long-term training, and they were not just for show like bodybuilders. Moreover, the calluses on his hands also showed some signs of training.

Unfortunately, the man's clothes were all tattered, and he didn't have many personal belongings, so it was impossible to determine his identity from these details.

They were also struggling with how to deal with this person.

After all, their motives for going deep into the Tianyue Mountains were not pure, and they couldn't let this suspicious guy sneak in. But if they left him alone, he would definitely die.

"...Anyway, let's see what injuries he suffered first, and we don't know what danger he encountered. There should have been two people outside, but he was the only one who escaped here."

Li Ang's statement was unanimously agreed upon, and everyone prepared to check on the man's condition first.

Xuan Cheng was naturally in charge of going up to check; this kind of thing... well, it's not really suitable for a child like Sang Shen to do.

However, just as Xuan Cheng was about to go up and check, an accident occurred.

The man lying on the ground suddenly curled up, his whole body convulsing violently. His eyes bulged out as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, and his face was filled with fear.

"save……"

He only managed to utter one word before his body deflated rapidly, like a punctured balloon.

"!!!"

...Dead?

What just happened? Under the gaze of more than a dozen eyes, this man covered in mud died like that?

He looked as if all the blood in his body had been drained, and in the blink of an eye he became skin and bones, and even the muscles in his body atrophied.

"Blood Demon? No... everyone be careful, there seems to be something else here!"

Chapter Seventy-Five: Evil Spirits

Generally speaking, a corpse that has lost all its blood would be associated with a blood demon.

Blood Demons... are a branch of the Sarkaz race. They do indeed feed on human blood, just as the legends say, and are a notorious race that often appears in stories to frighten disobedient children.

The 'food' they killed would indeed appear in this state, but the problem is... where are the Blood Demons? There were more than a dozen eyes watching just now, but not a single Blood Demon was clinging to that man's carotid artery, sucking it dry.

So... what exactly killed that man?

Is it a person? Some kind of creature? Or some kind of natural phenomenon existing within the Tianyue Mountains?

Just a moment ago, Li Ang's senses seemed to have caught something, yet also seemed to have discovered nothing at all; it was a very peculiar feeling.

"Is it something that doesn't exist in a physical form again..." Li Ang said in a low voice.

This is quite a troublesome situation... Regardless of the enemy's true nature, such an opponent without a physical form is a very troublesome existence.

Li Ang constantly adjusted his senses, trying to capture the enemy who had no physical form, while at the same time he drew the short sword that Nian had forged for him.

Because he had been told the design of the previous short sword in advance, the newly forged weapon, although made of slightly different materials, felt almost identical to the previous sword.

The sharp blade swept through the air, producing a series of crisp hums. Under the light of the fireplace, the dark blue blade reflected a dangerous gleam.

It was forged from some unknown metal, and it's unclear what materials were added over the years. However, the conductivity of this short sword to Originium energy far exceeded that of D32 steel, and even approached that of pure Originium.

However, its metallic properties make this short sword less fragile than pure Originium. While it may not be able to cut through iron like mud, it can certainly cut other things without any problem. I don't know how Nian managed to do that.

There's no need to delve too deeply into this kind of question. Modern science can't even explain many Originium Arts, let alone the even more mysterious powers.

For Li Ang now, all he needs is a weapon that works well.

Just as everyone began to be on guard, Nian produced a very strangely shaped shield from somewhere. The strange hollow design shouldn't have appeared on the shield in the first place. After all... with such a large hollow area on the shield, it was a big question mark how effective this thing could be.

However... given Nian's ability to disregard reason, this is actually not a problem. In Nian's hands, the symbolic meaning of this shield may far outweigh its practical function.

Suddenly, a beam of light emanated from the strange shield in Nian's hand, sweeping across everyone in the cave in the blink of an eye.

Everyone felt a warm sensation all over their bodies, and it seemed... as if they had become more at ease, and this was clearly not their imagination.

Is this... some kind of defensive capability?

That's a really rare ability... Originium Arts that can enhance or shield oneself are not uncommon, and Leon himself can do it, but it's rare to see one that can be used on others like Nian. This is the first time Leon has ever seen one.

Holding up that largely useless shield, Nian gave Xi a wink.

"Xi, send your little darlings out to scout out the situation."

This time, Xi finally didn't argue with Nian. She also took out her weapon, a bright red longsword dripping with ink.

However, just as Xi was about to draw those 'Ink Spirits,' the special creatures she had created through her powers, she suddenly heard a strange thud behind her.

"Ok?"

Subconsciously turning around, Xi Cai discovered that Zhao Youcai had appeared out of nowhere, staring in horror at the strange corpse on the ground, muttering things like, "May the snake god protect me, may the snake god protect me..."

It seems he has seen something like a corpse before.

Xi only glanced at him before losing interest and turned back to focus on her own task—using her sword as a brush, she drew two ink marks on the ground. One looked like some kind of canine, while the other looked rather strange, resembling a penguin in shape.

The next moment, the two ink marks stood up from the ground and transformed into a lifelike creature.

"Ayao, Xiaozao, go check the situation outside." Xi pointed to the outside of the cave and commanded without any politeness.

Although the two strange creatures, known as Ah Yao and Xiao Zao, looked somewhat clumsy, they were not slow at all. In a flash, they transformed into black shadows and disappeared into the dark rain.

Meanwhile, Li Ang became interested in Zhao Youcai's reaction.

The outside environment was terrible, with torrential rain and raging flash floods. Even if it wasn't a natural disaster, this environment still affected Li Ang's perception.

Finding something that comes and goes without a trace in this environment is extremely difficult. Apart from a slight discovery at the moment the man died, Li Ang did not find any trace outside.

It's not the theft itself that's scary, but the thief's eye on it. Knowing that such a thing existed, Li Ang couldn't feel at ease until he found it.

In this situation, Zhao Youcai became the only breakthrough point; he seemed to know something.

So Li Ang moved a little closer to Zhao Youcai and asked, "Brother Zhao, do you... know what killed that person just now?"

"It's the mountain spirit! The mountain spirit is here! Lord Snake God, please..."

Zhao Youcai's subsequent prayer to the snake god was ignored by Li Ang, but the mountain spirit he mentioned provided Li Ang with a clue.

Mountain Spirit...? That seems to be the title of some not-so-famous 'deity'. Li Ang had seen it twice in the Ministry of Rites' files before, but Zhao Youcai was definitely not referring to that deity.

So, literally, what Zhao Youcai meant was the ghost in the mountains? Adding to this Zhao Youcai's constant refrain about the snake god, Li Ang suddenly remembered what Xuan Cheng had just told him: the 'evil ghost' that existed as background in the legends of the snake god.

Soul-devouring demons? These things actually exist? Didn't Xuan Cheng say they were all fabricated hoaxes to deceive people? Or did Zhao Youcai mistake something else for a demon?

That's a possibility, but... Li Ang's intuition tells him that in the Tianyue Mountains, it's better to think of the worst-case scenario.

Meanwhile, Xi's investigation also yielded results.

"Ah Yao and Xiao Zao... they've disappeared..."

Chapter Seventy-Six: Freedom

"Disappeared? Killed? Has any news come back? What kind of thing did it?" A hint of surprise flashed in Nian's eyes.

Although he and Xi didn't get along very well, Nian was very familiar with his sister's abilities. Although she wasn't very good at direct combat, Xi had advantages in other aspects that her other siblings couldn't match.

For example... 'creation'.

Perhaps due to the power of the Year Beast, these incarnations all possess some abilities related to 'creation'.

Nian herself goes without saying. Just as she said she was the second most skilled craftsman in the world, no one would dare to claim the first. Their eldest sister also has the ability to transform some historical objects into 'artifacts', but these are all different from Xi's abilities.

No one could create so many intelligent beings as easily as she could.