Asura in Arknights

In an instant, the crisp sound of hammering filled the entire courtyard. Sparks flew and heat rose, and the mercenary soldiers, which gradually turned crimson, seemed to be infused with a soul, exuding an aura of predators.

"All done. Looks like I'm still getting used to it."

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Nian had created a sculpture in less than half the time it would have taken to recreate Shuiyue's original form, a sculpture that looked as if it could come back to life at any moment.

He stepped forward, knocked on the lifelike sculpture, and heard a dull echo from within. Li Ang asked with some surprise, "This... is just a showpiece?"

"Of course, real mercenary soldiers, like Xi's Mo Liang, can move."

The year also answered the questions in other people's minds.

"Next... is my job."

Just as Ling walked to the sculpture and was about to start taking action, Shuiyue suddenly called out to them.

"Wait a minute!"

Is there anything else?

He stopped what he was doing and looked at Shuiyue with some confusion.

Ignoring the order, Shuiyue turned to Li Ang and said, "Don't forget our agreement. If I can't regain my self-awareness..."

“…Then I will help you end your life,” Li Ang said slowly, finishing the sentence that Shuiyue hadn’t finished.

Everyone was startled, but upon closer reflection, it seemed quite reasonable.

For Shuiyue, if he cannot maintain his individuality and completely becomes a sea creature... then death would be a better ending for him.

"It seems you haven't forgotten our agreement, which puts my mind at ease."

Shuiyue gave a slightly complicated smile, which seemed to be somewhat helpless, but more so relieved.

"Alright, I have nothing more to say. Please begin."

Nodding, Ling placed her hand on the soldier figurine and began her operation.

The lantern on the staff emitted a bright light, illuminating every part of the terracotta warrior.

Everyone only felt their vision distort for a moment, and when they came to their senses, everything they saw had changed dramatically.

Shuiyue's figure vanished without a trace, and the aura emanating from that soldier became increasingly murky.

Although they looked exactly the same, the disappearance of the metallic luster and the stench emanating from them told them that the monster that had been imprisoned in the world of the painting had been released, and they could even see the wounds that Li Ang had left on it.

Next, it's time to verify our guesses.

If Shuiyue is indeed the only possibility that the Great Clan deliberately preserved, then after returning to the real world, the God of the Sea should have relinquished control over Shuiyue and allowed him to regain consciousness.

Facing the motionless monster, everyone stood ready. If Shuiyue failed in the end, they would grant her final request and blast the dangerous monster to smithereens.

Time passed second by second, but the monster remained motionless in the same position it had been in at the beginning.

Just as everyone was wondering if Shuiyue had failed, they suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the other side.

"Snap—Snap—"

With a crisp cracking sound, visible cracks appeared on the monster's black carapace, which then quickly spread to its entire body.

The monster's body shattered with a crash, and a naked child fell from the flying debris, letting out a long sigh...

"It really felt like a nightmare..."

Chapter 139 Do you want to work me to death?

For Shuiyue, what happened in the past few months was indeed like a nightmare.

He accidentally stumbled into the territory of a giant beast, became so hungry that he lost his mind and went on a killing spree, almost starving to death in that place... If Shuiyue were given another chance, he would definitely control his damned curiosity and stay far away from that small mountain in the Eastern Kingdom.

Countless tiny tentacles surged across Shuiyue's skin, quickly forming a set of clothing similar to what he had worn before.

If you don't look closely, you can't really tell the difference between it and ordinary clothes.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Shuiyue had regained consciousness.

With Shuiyue on their side, their chances of successfully negotiating with Haisi will increase by at least half.

Sea creatures are such strange creatures. Although their logic is hard to understand, it is certain that they will never refuse the requests of their fellow creatures. However, under the leadership of a large group, the self-awareness of the sea creatures is also very weak. Apart from survival, no sea creature will take the initiative to make any other requests.

While Shuiyue may not be the only one, she is certainly one of the rarest.

"Looks like I guessed right. That God of the Sea really hasn't been controlling you anymore," Ling said smugly.

"...That's right. After my consciousness returned, I regained control of my body very smoothly."

Gradually, Shuiyue also accepted reality.

Even knowing that he was the one possibility that Daqun was deliberately keeping hidden, there was nothing he could do but accept it.

Life has to go on, so let's just pretend we don't know anything about it.

In any case, if you look into it closely, this is actually a good thing for him. At least Shuiyue doesn't have to worry about losing control of herself one day and being completely swallowed up by the horde.

"Very smoothly? Then why did it take so long?" Li Ang frowned and asked.

Shuiyue wasted a lot of time back then, and they all thought she had failed.

"Actually, I was rebuilding my body at that time."

Scratching her head, Shuiyue said somewhat embarrassedly, "Think about it, I look so scary, if I suddenly move, people will definitely be startled, right? It would be bad if there was a misunderstanding."

Although he was assimilated into Hai Si, Shui Yue's aesthetic sense was still the same as that of humans, and he did not want to become something strange.

Therefore, he was very clear about how terrifying his evolved appearance would be under the control of the God of the Sea. Although his combat power was indeed formidable, Shuiyue did not like that appearance at all.

"So I think it would be better to restore human form first."

After regaining control of the body, Shuiyue emptied its interior, leaving only an empty shell, and spent some time reshaping it into a human form.

"I see……"

Shuiyue's reason was indeed understandable to everyone: "It seems you have indeed returned to normal."

"I have a question."

At this moment, Jingzhe suddenly spoke up and asked, "What kind of state are you in right now? Can other sea creatures do the same thing as you?"

After asking the question, Jingzhe probably felt it was inappropriate, so she added, "Of course, if you feel that this question has offended you, I am very sorry, and you don't have to answer me."

“It’s alright,” Shuiyue waved her hand and replied nonchalantly, “I figured it out a long time ago and I don’t care about such trivial matters anymore. Since you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

After a brief encounter, Shuiyue roughly learned the identities of these people. Their statuses were all incredibly imposing. If he wanted to continue working in Yan and Dongguo, he basically couldn't afford to offend any of them.

That's the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review! He'd never seen such a high-ranking official in his entire life.

Compared to fighting and killing, Shuiyue prefers staying at home and playing games.

"I'm just using the characteristics of the Sea Siblings to simulate the appearance of a human. The internal structure of the body is actually a mess. If other Sea Siblings wanted to, they could do the same thing."

However, there's no need for it.

For example, would a human deliberately dress up as a pig-beast? Only a sea creature like Shuiyue, who was transformed from a human, would have such a strong attachment to this.

"If you're worried about other sea creatures infiltrating the city, I think there's really no need to worry."

“Hai Si wouldn’t do that. As for the Deep Sea Cultists… they can’t maintain their human form completely, so they’re easy to spot.”

Jingzhe's expression still showed some hesitation.

However, she eventually nodded and accepted Shuiyue's explanation.

Even if their next plan succeeds, it will take Hai Si a considerable amount of time before he can leave this planet.

Since Haisi doesn't care about their killing of the Terrorfish, and there is no direct conflict between the two races for the time being, Haisi stays in the deep sea while the Terrans haven't even figured out what's on land yet. By the time they have the ability to develop the deep sea, Haisi will probably have already evolved to the point where they can break through the atmosphere.

Jingzhe is already considering whether to extend an olive branch to Shuiyue; it's an option with both risks and rewards.

The problem with Shuiyue has been basically solved. All that's left is to go to the ruins inside Tianyue Mountain and negotiate the terms with Haisi there.

At this moment, Li Ang thought of something else.

“I have a question,” Li Ang asked.

"what?"

"Since you were able to remove Shuiyue's true form from the painting, what about the other people inside? Could you bring them out as well?"

"Putting aside whether we can even bring them out... are you trying to kill me with exhaustion?" Ling stared wide-eyed at Li Ang with disbelief. "That's hundreds of thousands of people!"

"Sorry, just pretend I didn't ask."

Li Ang also realized that his suggestion was somewhat outrageous.

However, after Ling brought out the true form of Shuiyue, the most unstable factor in Sagazaki City was eliminated, and the lifespan of the painting was extended countless times. Even if they die of old age, they may not be able to see the painting collapse.

In short, the crisis in Sagazaki City has been temporarily resolved. As long as Rui's whereabouts can be found, all that is needed now is to wait quietly, and the Great God will surely recover slowly.

Li Ang couldn't help but sigh. The power of each giant beast could completely subvert human cognition. Who would have thought that Ling's ability could take them back to the past, many years ago?

After gathering his thoughts, Li Ang slowly spoke.

"Now that everything is resolved, when are we going to find Hai Si there?"

Chapter 140 Taking its place

After some discussion, everyone unanimously decided to set off immediately to avoid any unforeseen complications.

However, not everyone will go together. Although they have Shuiyue as a powerful ally, they cannot guarantee that everything will go smoothly.

Moreover, besides the Sea Heir, there is also the Deep Sea Church there, which is a remnant of a pre-civilization and the site of the Year Beast resurrection ceremony. A certain famous prince even used it as a research institute and a tomb.

With so many messy factors combined, it's clear that this place is not a place for normal humans to go; even Jingzhe was forcibly kept there.

It's not that Jingzhe is weak, but that the others are too monstrous.

The strength of the beast incarnations is more and more heaven-defying than the last. Even Xi, who is least skilled in combat, can conquer a fortress by herself. Moreover, their bodies are not as fragile as ordinary humans. What would be fatal to an ordinary person is just a minor injury to them.

As for Shuiyue's survival, there's no need to worry. In terms of vitality alone, he is the strongest among those present.

Therefore, Jingzhe was left behind, and Xi, who was not good at direct combat, was also left behind.

In the end, only Li Ang, Nian, Ling, and Shuiyue decided to go to Tianyue Mountain... although in many ways, none of the four of them seemed to be human.

After the four of them made some preparations, they set off for Tianyue Mountain.

Before setting off, they had planned to release Yi's clone and ask him what he was planning to do, but Ling stopped them from doing this pointless thing.

In Ling's own words, "Ask him? What's the point of wasting your time? That guy is incredibly stubborn. Even if you kill this clone of his, you still won't get anything out of him."

"And there's no need to ask him. He invited me before, but I declined."

Ling bluntly revealed that Yi had once invited her, "Now, I have a rough idea of ​​the whole picture of his plan."

Ling was initially puzzled as to how Yi would achieve his goal, but after learning of Hai Si's existence, he immediately understood everything.

It can only be said that he truly deserves the title of Yi; only someone as uninhibited as him could come up with such an idea.

Aside from the fanatical followers of the Deep Sea Cult, perhaps only someone like him would dare to cooperate with Hai Si, and it's unknown what price he paid.

Ling also had to admit that spending so much time with Yi had influenced her to some extent. Just now, she had successfully led the rising star of Da Yan astray, shifting her focus from how to eradicate Hai Si to how to get rid of this plague god as soon as possible.

"Big sister, you still haven't told us what second brother is up to," Nian asked, frowning. "He can't possibly be as mentally unstable as Hui, can he?"

"They are all trying to revive the Year Beast." Ling first threw out a conclusion that was enough to ignite the entire audience.

Without giving everyone enough time to be shocked, Ling continued.

"For Hui, resurrecting the Sui Beast and unleashing his fury upon the entire Great Yan is his lifelong pursuit."

"But for Yi, reviving Sui is just one of the means to achieve his ultimate goal, not a necessary condition. Even if he fails, he has other means to achieve his goal, but they will be more troublesome."

"His ultimate goal is nothing more than to replace the Year Beast."

"What?!" Nian exclaimed in shock. "How is that possible?!"

They, the twelve brothers and sisters, were only a part of the Year Beast. All they thought about was how to prevent the Year Beast from being resurrected. Now, they never expected that someone would actually target the Year Beast's true form... It's simply insane.

"Why is it impossible?" Ling asked with a grin.

"because……"

Nian Gang wanted to refute, but she couldn't find any reason to do so.

Yes, why is it impossible?

“A complete Year Beast is definitely irreplaceable, but what if it’s just a broken one?” Li Ang suddenly said.

"I bet you don't even know how the Year Beast was resurrected, do you?"