Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 87 The Hanged Man: Are you being polite?

"I see."

Reaching the halfway point of the mountain, Yu Jin looked up at the summit and murmured softly.

He was finally able to make out the outline of the building on the mountaintop.

It was a temple.

The blood-red mucus did not cover the entire mountain peak, but only spread to the mountainside before stopping abruptly.

At the foot of the mountain lies an endless, blood-red hell of fungal carpets, which continue to spread toward the summit.

However, on the mountainside, the fungal carpet is no longer sticky.

Instead, it has countless tiny black and red blood vessels extending from the fungal carpet, spreading towards the mountaintop like ivy.

Initially, the blood vessels are layered, even finer than a spider web.

The sensation of stepping on it and breaking blood vessels is nauseating.

But the higher you go, the thinner the layers of blood vessels become.

Dark red veins extended outwards along several surging, thick blood vessels, like withered poplars baring their fangs.

However, this poplar tree is composed of blood vessels.

When the embers reached two-thirds of the way up the mountainside, the layered veins finally disappeared.

Everywhere you look is a lush, verdant green.

On a clearing halfway up the mountain, there is a village.

From a distance, you can still see wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys.

But upon closer inspection, they found only a large number of vacant houses, with no one around.

Ember entered one of the empty rooms, where a few pieces of dark bread and a thin broth were laid out on the dining table.

The broth contained absolutely no meat, only a layer of fat that couldn't even cover the surface.

Reaching out to touch the bowl filled with broth, I found it was still somewhat warm.

It seems there were people there not long ago.

"So, where are they?"

Yu Jin looked down at the foot of the mountain, then gently shook his head.

The entire world of painting has been shrouded in corruption.

Currently, only this high mountain is suitable for survival, and at its foot lies a putrefactive fungal carpet covering the entire world.

There are also countless bloodthirsty flies.

Yu Jin didn't think the people here could leave this mountain alive.

Moreover, even if they were to leave alive, they would have nowhere to go.

Since these people didn't come down the mountain, they must be on the mountaintop.

Continuing towards the summit, Ember discovered more and more houses along the way.

The sheer number of these houses alone could accommodate at least several thousand people.

But there wasn't a single living person in any of the buildings.

Finally, only the tall and magnificent temple atop the mountain remained.

Standing atop the mountain and gazing into the distance, everything in this world is covered by a carpet of fungi, revealing a deep crimson hue.

This made Yu Jin frown.

Because this world of painting was simply the worst experience he had ever had.

Because it is simply too empty and monotonous.

The entire world was so empty that, apart from this mountain peak, it was all endless plains!

So monotonous that even the embers don't need to take a detour to reach the top of the mountain!

Although the painting worlds he had entered in the past were all different, they were all ingeniously designed and rich in detail.

The design of the mechanisms and shortcuts is just right.

It's a bit disgusting.

But right now, the world only feels empty and monotonous to Ember.

Apart from the vast plains, there was only this mountain in front of us.

Even if this world were free of corruption, it would still be far too dull compared to the world of painting.

This is a basic mistake that a "world painter" should absolutely not make.

Because the simpler the world of painting, the faster it decays.

Conversely, the more complex and detailed a world is depicted, the slower it will corrupt.

The pigments used to create paintings are extremely rare and precious.

Using those precious pigments to create a monotonous and dull world of painting is simply a despicable waste!

At least in Ember's memory.

Any artist will try their best to make the world they create more realistic.

The monotony of this world can only be explained by two possibilities.

Either the original 'complexity' of this world has been completely destroyed, leaving only monotony and emptiness.

Either the "World Painter" created this world simply to get by, or it was just a perfunctory effort.

If it's the former.

The clues to that world have probably already been destroyed.

But if it is the latter...

That would be even worse, because the "World Painter" might not have intended to leave any clues in this world at all.

I painted this picture just to appease someone.

In either case, it illustrates one point—

Yu Jin's trip was a complete waste.

"Bang!"

As they moved, the gaps in the black knight's armor collided with each other, producing a crisp metallic clang.

Ember turned around and turned his gaze to the temple in front of him.

Let's cast aside that boundless plain of corruption.

The only place in this world that has not yet been explored is this temple.

"Snapped!"

The heavy footsteps of those clad in full armor echoed through the empty temple hall.

The temple was enormous, clearly intended for some enormous creature.

Just like Anor Londo before it, it was a divine capital prepared for a race of gods far superior to humans.

Ordinary people, when placed in such an environment, will only feel their own insignificance.

And the temple before us is no different.

The temple is flanked by numerous statues, all of which are enlarged human figures, each at least ten meters tall.

only.

These "people" have grayish-blue skin and each has only one large, vertical eye on its forehead.

"giant?"

As Yu Jin observed the statues, a word came to mind.

no doubt.

This temple is the temple of the giants.

If we were to describe it using the knowledge that Ember once possessed, it would be more like Valhalla.

The dead giants return to Valhalla and are immortalized there.

The further you go in, the larger the statues of the giants become.

The outermost giants were only a dozen meters tall, but once inside the temple...

The statues of those giants grew ever larger, reaching heights of tens of meters.

It appears that these statues are replicas of the original forms of those giants.

"Snapped!"

Ember stopped at the end of the temple.

Before him stood a colossal statue, entirely different from the giant statues that stood side by side on either side.

The huge statue is located directly in front of him.

Clearly, He is the true master of this "Hall of Heroes".

They were also the gods worshipped by those giants.

Yu Jin slowly raised his head.

What comes into view is a huge inverted cross that fills the entire temple, which is hundreds of meters high!

On the cross, a naked man covered in blood was hung upside down and firmly bound to it with countless huge black iron nails and chains.

"The Hanged Man, the true Creator!"

Two different words immediately came to mind when Yu Jin thought about it.

The former is his first impression, the latter is his interpretation of that image.

It points to the very deity worshipped by the Aurora Club, the 'True Creator'!

Suddenly.

The upside-down giant opened his eyes from behind the veil of shadow and stared intently at the embers, still hanging upside down.

"Time to fight the boss!"

Ember also stared intently at the enormous, upside-down giant.

He gripped the Black Knight Greatsword tightly in both hands, feeling inexplicably excited.

Although the first Lord of Cinder he faced was not the Black Emperor.

but.

Who cares?

Just like when he linked the fire, he didn't care whether the first Lord of Cinder was an Undead Legion member or one of the Twin Princes.

In the end, they're all going to be killed anyway.

Suddenly.

An unparalleled, terrifying power erupted from the Hanging Giant, sweeping across the embers like a whirlwind.

"Bang!"

Ember quickly raised his left arm, which was covered by a small round shield.

"Gwen is unaffected."

Upon seeing this, the upside-down giant seemed to have been stimulated by something.

His eyes gleamed with a chilling crimson light.

Inside the main hall, he recalled a series of incomprehensible murmurs.

"#@%@#￥%...#￥!￥! O! U! T!"

Yu Jin couldn't understand what he was saying.

But he could clearly sense that the other party was very angry.

"Is this the start of Phase Two?"

Yu Jin looked suspicious. He hadn't even made a move yet, so how come you'd already used your ultimate move?

I was just about to take action.

The next moment, a huge and magnificent shadow suddenly covered the embers completely.

And in his ear, he heard a voice that sounded like someone who was furious.

Although it was accompanied by incomprehensible babbling, this time, Ember heard it very clearly.

The babbling was mixed with a trace of unclear Chinese speech, with obvious trilled consonants.

"%@#￥#@R!N!M! Get out! #@%#@￥!"

(End of this chapter)