Headless Immortal

Chapter 21 Big Monster

Flames rise high on the river, and people drown in a noisy commotion.

In the fog, large ships are interspersed to form flat islands, which were once intended to facilitate fighting, but now become obstacles to escape.

Cries, wails... the painful sobs blended into the receding smoke of battle.

Chen Sheng died, and government troops arrived.

The overall situation is decided!

County Commandant Lei Ji easily rounded up the bandits.

With the bandit leader Chen Sheng dead, the water stronghold will soon fall without a fight.

He wasn't in a hurry to take over the water fortress.

First, there are still many resistance forces in the water village, and he cannot afford to lose any of his men, as this is not only his core group but also the foundation of Meilan County.

Secondly, it was not advisable to claim all the credit alone. It was better to wait for the county magistrate to inform the prefect of Jiujiang, and then join forces with the two counties that had been robbed to send troops together. This would reduce the risk.

In this way, the other two counties will not be held accountable by their superiors, and the prefect can rely on his powerful connections in the capital to make a greater contribution.

Zhou Liang, as the brother-in-law of Magistrate Lü, was not entirely useless; he was quite brave in battle.

Before leaving, he asked his brother-in-law if he wanted to trip up Zhao Jia.

The answer was 'no'.

Magistrate Lü was very greedy; he wanted everything.

He was unwilling to ruin his general because of his brother-in-law's jealousy.

……

Zhao Jia was panting like a broken bellows, leaning on his broadsword as he looked back at the remaining soldiers.

There were thirty when they arrived, and now there are only about ten left. Some are injured, some fell off the boat, and some are too badly injured to be saved. The most worrying ones are the big guy and the little guy who fell into the water.

His gaze finally settled on Big Mouth's face.

Big Mouth gazes out at the wide river, seemingly searching for something.

'Three-legged? Tiger? Toad... black cat.' Zhao Jia felt a vague sense of unease.

Lei Ji boarded the ship to check on Zhao Jia: "How is he?"

Zhao Jia immediately came to his senses, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Fortunately, the Third Master led reinforcements to help us."

"Just stay alive."

Lei Ji did not linger and went to command the troops to escort and salvage the river bandits.

……

Lu Xun used a toad to empty the water from the two men's stomachs before jumping back into the river.

He was also hoping to find a useful person to take advantage of.

Upon entering the water, he found several more constables who had fallen in. Several of them were too badly injured and had already lost their breath. Before he could retrieve them, the government soldiers' sailors had already come down.

It wasn't that they cared so much about friendship; they simply couldn't afford to lose the armor they wore, as losing even one piece would be a capital offense.

Armor is a valuable item, and the difference in combat power between those with and without armor is too great. Without armor, the government troops have no advantage.

Lu Xun immediately moved far away from the government troops and sailors.

His big toad looks unusual.

Approaching the emaciated corpse of a bandit, Lu Xun extended his webbed forelimbs, grabbed the head, and with a twist and a pluck, removed the head from the body. Lu Xun was somewhat surprised; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and his usually effective method of decapitation had failed.

If he can't take off his head, he can't put it on.

Lu Xun's stomach pounded, but instead of stubbornly pondering the matter, he turned around and caught up with another corpse.

With a gentle pluck.

The Skull of Zhang Chao

Type: 蠃 (氓—人)

Quality: Normal

Trick: Floating

Commentary: Therefore, it is as swift as the wind, as slow as the forest, as fierce as fire, as immovable as a mountain, as unpredictable as darkness, and as powerful as thunder.

[Robbing money, robbing food, robbing women!]

"That's straightforward enough."

"Crush!"

【Crush the heads of five common-quality insects to obtain ashes: one qian】

Upon receiving the ashes, Lu Xun's strange space seemed to split in two, with one half storing his head and the other half storing his ashes.

When you concentrate, you can even see the number of ashes.

Cremated remains: one qian (approximately 3 grams)

"Strengthen the head."

The expected thing did not happen.

Lu Xun was not disappointed.

The three-legged old cat completely devoured a sentient raccoon's head before turning the trick into magic.

After touching several more heads, only one could be removed. It was the same head as the previous one, but instead of "robbing money, food, or women," it was for "eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring."

Now Lu Xun roughly understands that every head that can be removed must have some purpose, or perhaps it can be called an 'obsession'.

He only has a chance to return to the modern world after fulfilling his obsession with the head.

He also noticed a characteristic among the many heads.

The stronger one's obsession during life, the heavier the burden.

This strength is manifested in many ways.

"Crush!"

[Receive cremated remains: 1 coin]

"How much ashes would I get if I crushed a toad?"

[Did you shatter the skull of the Five-Power God 'The Bald Monk'?] "No, no!"

Lu Xun just had a sudden inspiration; it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

The toad, at least, has a brain that is born with magic. It made great contributions when hunting down the rampant tiger and is also a good means of escape. It can form a 'combined attack technique' with the three-legged old cat.

Frog jump and cat walk, one to increase initial speed and the other to change direction in mid-air, is already a small combo. He couldn't possibly crush the toad's head without obtaining other spell-type heads.

"That chieftain is quite a character, his head..."

……

Gululu.

The toad kicked its legs and floated on the water, its two bright yellow eyes bobbing on the surface.

As dusk fell, the government troops had already set up camp on the riverbank, and the light of the campfires was reflected on the river surface.

Ripples spread across the water as the toad slowly approached the shore.
When landing, the head of a three-legged old cat is replaced.

"Ugh, ugh..."

After climbing ashore, Lu Xun felt dizzy, weak, and had acid reflux all over the ground.

Normally, changing my hairstyle two or three times is already a good thing, but today I have an extra "Crazy Tiger" hairstyle, which makes the burden even heavier and I can't take it anymore.

As soon as the tension eased and the pressure was released, he vomited again. Fortunately, Lu Xun was slowly getting used to it, so this was a negligible side effect.

……

"You're saying it was Three-Legged who rescued us?!"

The weak little guy stared wide-eyed.

Zhuangzi, who was eating heartily, was taken aback by these words.

As he was about to faint, he seemed to see a huge, striped tiger head.

However, he didn't care. It was just an old cat turning into a tiger; that shouldn't be too difficult for a spirit.

I simply filled another bowl and continued eating.

Old Cheng was tending to the knife wound in his chest, the embers of his pipe glowing intermittently in the darkness.

"No one should tell anyone about what happened today."

Zhao Jia added two bundles of firewood to the fire for cooking the soup and gave instructions.

"Meow."

The group all looked toward the direction from which the sound came.

A nearly four-foot-tall black cat suddenly appeared from nowhere, licking its lips and meowing.

"It's because I'm hungry."

"Quickly, serve a bowl."

"Hehehe, I was ready a long time ago."

Big Mouth took out a porcelain bowl containing meat porridge and a plump dried field mouse: "Eat up, my hero!"

Unable to contain his curiosity, the little guy lowered his voice and asked expectantly, "Really? It can turn into a tiger?"

Zhao Jia remained silent for a moment, and Da Zui was about to describe...

Suddenly.

Lu Xun, who was eating, suddenly looked up.

fog.

Thick and powerful, it came from the horizon and covered the river.

Instantly.

A thick fog blankets the river, obscuring it like clouds; a gust of wind extinguishes the flickering flame.

The camp that the government troops had set up on the shore was plunged into darkness.

The silence was terrifying.

It felt like being in a boundless ocean.

The camp of over a thousand people, five hundred government troops, and hundreds of river bandits—what a horrific scene it would be if the camp were to erupt and the fighting continued until dawn. But the expected roars and screams did not come; everything was so quiet.

Only the sound of drums, like the beating of war drums, slowly rolled in from the horizon.

A chill ran through my soul, like cold water seeping into my body.

The war drums drew ever closer.

A colossal creature stood before the camp.

The dark clouds wisely dispersed.

The moonlight shone on the frosty earth, casting a white glow.

The moon is exceptionally bright tonight, and those who were in darkness have finally returned to the light.

By the light, I saw the enormous creature, a rabbit about 1.5 feet long, walking upright, its bright red eyes like the red lanterns in front of a grand mansion.

"Gah."

"quack!"

A crow soaring in the sky circled above for a while before slowly descending.

The old black crow landed on an raised arm.

It shook its head to preen its wings.

The owner of the arm was seven feet tall, shaped like an ape, with silver-gray fur and fangs protruding from the mouth of the Thunder God.

He was shirtless, with a tattered blue armor around his waist.

The golden beast's eyes swept over the crowd, and whether they were government soldiers or escorted river bandits, they all lowered their heads, not daring to meet its gaze.

Zhao Jia gripped his waist knife, his hand trembling slightly.

Lu Xun, the black cat, stared intently at the monster.

(End of this chapter)