Scourge Messenger

Chapter 232 A tragic victory
Yan Qing knelt on the ground, exhaling a thick, hot breath. His right hand was supporting himself on the extinguished Bingzi pepper grove, and his left hand was supporting himself on a broken Seven Star Sword.

His shoulder armor was ripped open, revealing a deep wound that exposed bone; blood and sweat soaked through his shirt underneath.

This was probably the most serious injury he had ever suffered since birth, but it wouldn't be the last. Unexpectedly, Yan Qing wasn't very afraid, and didn't even feel much pain. The powerful blood and energy of the third-level messenger had completely transformed him into a fierce warrior... Unconsciously, he had adapted to this world and had a place in it.

Although Yan Qing tried his best to avoid it, he was also aware that he would eventually encounter dangerous battles and be forced into desperate situations where he had to fight to the death. However, as a newbie's first tutorial battle, the level of enemies he encountered was far too high: a third-rank silver-medal constable and three second-rank bronze-medal constables.

If these four demons from the Divine Marquis's Mansion were in a secret realm, it would probably require a third-rank messenger leading an elite team to take them down, but he was alone and time was of the essence.

Yan Qing took out a blood-replenishing pill, and without even looking at how many there were, stuffed them directly into the mask and swallowed them.

"Yellow Dog, are you done?" the pharmacist called out from the other side, his voice panting and weak.

"Not yet, I'm searching for treasures hidden among these corpses," Yan Qing replied irritably. "Otherwise, do you think I'd be waiting for you?"

Before Yan Qing lay the corpses of the constables from the Divine Marquis's Mansion.

Apart from the bronze-badged constable who died early, the other three constables died almost simultaneously within a short period of time, so their bodies were piled together.

After discovering that the constables of the Divine Marquis's Mansion possessed the bond characteristic of becoming stronger the more companions they lost, Yan Qing quickly devised the correct strategy: kill them all at once!
There's a significant time gap, roughly five seconds, between the death of the first bronze-badge constable and the subsequent enhancements to the others. In other words, if Yan Qing wants to prevent them from entering their enhanced state by shouting things like "I will uphold my comrades' will," he must kill all the constables from the Divine Marquis's Mansion within those five seconds, denying them time for their last words, flashbacks, or slogans.

In games, it's not difficult to implement; controlling the monster's health and then killing it together is a common mechanism. However, in reality, there is a huge technical challenge: he cannot see the monster's health bar.

How can I control my health if I can't see the health bar?

This problem might be difficult for others, but unfortunately, Yan Qing is a single-player Brahman, and one of his favorite games is a game where you can't see the monster's health bar... Monster Hunter! Although the demons of the Divine Marquis's Mansion are not monsters, the principle is the same. Yan Qing already has experience killing a Bronze Badge Constable, and the constables have clear wounds on their bodies. Yan Qing can vaguely judge their approximate health from the constables' wounds!
However, plans are plans, and practice is practice. Controlling blood meant that Yan Qing had to be constantly attacked by three enemies, and even if he could kill the Bronze-Stamped Constable, he couldn't make a move. However, the Silver-Stamped Constable's health exceeded Yan Qing's expectations. Even after the Bingzi Pepper Forest Overturning Heaven event had passed, he still hadn't brought the Silver-Stamped Constable to the brink of death, and had to take out the Seven Star Sword to increase his output efficiency.

Whether it was intentional or accidental, when Yan Qing attacked the Silver Badge Constable, a Bronze Badge Constable suddenly ran into him and was killed by Yan Qing.

He immediately knew he was in trouble, and sure enough, the dead Copper Badge Constable began to say his last words. After the last words were finished, he would have to face two super-enhanced enemies.

He now has two choices.

One of them killed another half-dead Bronze Badge Constable, then escaped and waited to join forces with the Pharmacist.

The other was to fight off the attacks of two constables and kill the Silver Badge Constable with all his might.

Choosing the former means he will inevitably face a Silver Badge Constable, who is at the level of a third-tier demon king, but there is only one enemy, and he has a way to deal with and delay him; choosing the latter means that, regardless of whether he can kill the Silver Badge Constable within five seconds, he must withstand the attacks of the Divine Marquis's constables during those five seconds, which is a life-or-death struggle.

Looking back now, Yan Qing herself finds it unbelievable.

He actually chose the perilous path without hesitation. Even when the Mountain Heart Mirror was shattered, he didn't run away. Even when his shoulder was cut off, he showed no fear. With red eyes, he first depleted the Silver Badge Constable's health, and then finished off the Bronze Badge Constable with a single strike.

If Constable Yin Zhang had shed a little more blood, or if Yan Qing had hesitated a little longer, there would now be two troublesome demons, and he himself would have been severely injured, drooling even after healed... But in the end, Yan Qing won, a lucky but barely won.

Perhaps it's resentment? You've clearly found the right strategy, you've done your best, you were almost able to win perfectly. It's like playing a Souls-like game where you accidentally have only a sliver of health left, but the boss doesn't have much health either. Would anyone just give up and start over instead of gambling that they won't make a single mistake and will win the game?
In fact, this symptom often occurs when Yan Qing plays games. To put it nicely, it's called "flow," and to put it bluntly, it's called "getting carried away." Its characteristic is that he focuses on winning at all costs.

Yan Qing was surprised that this could actually be triggered in real combat. He secretly reflected that since Yao Shi Yuan would get carried away in battle, he should keep her in front of him in future battles. In the game, Yao Shi Yuan seemed like a tank class suited for enduring hardship, so he should let her suffer more.

On the other side, the pharmacist also caught his breath.

She looked up at Chu Luoyan, who was pinned to the wall by a spear. This high-ranking official, whose resume was even longer and more extensive than her father's, did not receive a funeral befitting his status. Instead, he died in the dungeon as a white-haired prisoner... like a punished sinner.

Even though the two sides were sworn enemies, Yaoshi Yuan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. She wasn't a good person; like father, like son. Under Yaoshi Moke's tutelage, Yaoshi Yuan perfectly inherited her father's virtues: protectiveness, selfishness, greed, and treating people as resources. Her dissatisfaction with her father stemmed from his wasting population on meaningless things. If it were her, she would certainly have been able to allocate population more strategically and efficiently for conquering secret realms.

But even a bad person can have compassion. In Yaoshiyuan's view, Chu Luoyan could die in political struggles, could die from assassination, could die by his own hand, but he should never have met this end, being imprisoned because of a single sentence from a Foundation Establishment True Person.

It's ridiculous, so ridiculous that Chu Luoyan's entire life of over sixty years has become a joke.

But that's just how the world is; there's no logic to it. Logic is only in the hands of those who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and what they say is the only truth.

The pharmacist let out a long breath, her eyes hardening. Just as she was about to stand up, she suddenly stumbled and nearly fell to her knees. There was a large, bleeding wound on her right calf; although the bone wasn't broken, the bleeding couldn't be stopped immediately.

If we disregard the fake Foundation Establishment opponent encountered in Shudao Mountain, then Chu Luoyan is the strongest enemy she has ever faced, even surpassing the 'Hunter King' Helan Que. By integrating the Heavenly Gang power into his own combat system, Chu Luoyan represents the true limit of mortals, with no further advancement possible.

Ten days ago, the pharmacist would have had no chance of defeating such an opponent, but the Heavenly Gang Shifting Stars and Changing Constellations Disc that her sister gave her could just make up for her biggest weakness.

The Pharmacist's "Tank and Counterattack" playstyle has one unavoidable fatal flaw: what if the enemy's attack exceeds the damage absorption limit? They might be severely damaged before she can even counterattack.

Although she could parry and dodge, Yaoshi Yuan used a long spear and couldn't be equipped with a large shield. Furthermore, she wore heavy armor to increase her defense, making dodging extremely difficult. In fact, once she took too much damage, Yaoshi Yuan was truly helpless; for example, she was directly knocked away by Banruo at Shudao Mountain.

The Star-Shifting Disc gave her another option: absorb!
According to her sister, she can absorb damage every thirty breaths and add it to her next attack! However, based on Yaoshi Yuan's actual experience, she seems to be able to control the activation time of Star Shift, and it doesn't automatically trigger when the time is up, as her sister said.

With the addition of the Earthly Fiend Immobilization Stone, the Pharmacist could often immobilize Chu Luoyan with a single shot, thus reversing the situation.

However, that wasn't enough. What truly tipped the scales of victory was her newly upgraded, third-tier rare item, the Bright King Armor. The Bright King Armor didn't grant any new powers; its damage mitigation limit simply nearly doubled!
If the Heavenly Fiends and Earthly Fiends merely gave Yaoshiyuan the ability to contend with Chu Luoyan, then the Bright King Armor completely secured victory. Once the Bright King Armor had accumulated its damage to its maximum, Chu Luoyan would be certain death unless Yaoshiyuan missed. However, accumulating damage to its maximum also meant that Yaoshiyuan's defensive barrier was weakened to its lowest point. If Chu Luoyan could seize this opportunity, he could also deliver a fatal blow. Yaoshiyuan absorbing more of the Earthly Fiends' advantages could not erase the gap between her and Chu Luoyan.

But she won.

Although Chu Luoyan seized the last opportunity, the Pharmacist was faster and more accurate, breaking Chu Luoyan's spear, piercing his heart, and pinning him to the rock wall. Even with such an injury, a third-level messenger could theoretically hold on for a while longer, but Chu Luoyan seemed to have exhausted all his energy and spirit, and before he could even utter a last word, he closed his eyes and passed away peacefully.

Perhaps this is for the best. What is there to say? To die on the front lines rather than succumb to exhaustion in a prison cell—there is no more fitting end for these old pillars of the state.

The pharmacist managed to stand up and collected all her spears, leaving no physical evidence. She turned her head and saw Yan Qing still squatting in front of the corpse of the constable from the Divine Marquis's Mansion. She asked in confusion, "What are you doing? The demon's weapon isn't a token. Taking it is useless."

“Hmm…” Yan Qing frowned and stood up.

Yan Qing's previous statement wasn't a complaint; he genuinely was searching for treasure. The constables of the Divine Marquis's Mansion were demons, and demons were known to drop loot, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find the spoils that should have been there.

At this moment, Yan Qing finally remembered the shame of being a three-dimensional being. It turned out that he was no different from the locals like Yaoshi Yuanshang Xinlei; they were all Muggles who couldn't see miracles.

(End of this chapter)