Echoes of the Past

Chapter 31 The Deer, is Free

Exclamations, short chants, and the scraping of weapons as they were drawn rang out simultaneously from both sides of the smoke screen.

Complete chaos.

Its outline, difficult to describe accurately in words, slowly straightened up in the dust illuminated by the lighting crystal.

"vomit!"

The nearby Tears of Fire students looked as if they had been struck in the abdomen, their stomachs convulsing violently and their expressions contorted.

Even from several meters away, Nan'an could smell it.

It was kitchen waste that had been piling up for more than ten days, completely rotting under the sweltering summer heat, and then thoroughly mixing with the thickest sour smell at the bottom of the swill bucket... He no longer intended to look for a similar smell that could match it.

The physiological resistance made Suiyue's throat itch and her face turn red.

The humanoid figure behind the dust and fog was roughly made by mixing and kneading chunks of flesh from different creatures at different stages of decay, and then randomly piecing them together to form the shape of limbs and torso.

The grayish-white necrotic tissue and the yellowish-green pus flowed slowly at the seams between the fleshy parts.

The head was just a fleshy tumor covered with pits, with several holes of different sizes opening and closing regularly, making wet, sucking sounds.

Suiyue felt nauseous and somewhat shocked—this was very similar to the monster she had encountered during the previous attack on the nobles.

Without a roar or warning, the body made of minced flesh turned with unnatural speed, its target being several female trainees at the edge of the smoke screen who had not yet fully reacted.

Even faster was a streak of azure water.

"Get behind me!"

Corella's clear, crisp voice pierced through the noise.

She had somehow appeared in front of those classmates, her right hand pressing forward in a gesture.

The water vapor in the air responded to the call in an instant, gathering and condensing into a semi-transparent, rippled, arc-shaped water shield.

The "flesh and blood body" collided violently with the water shield, causing the surface of the water shield to ripple violently, and the impact point to be deeply dented inward.

The dark red viscous substance made a slight "sizzling" corrosion sound when it came into contact with the water on the shield, and a few wisps of white smoke with a fishy smell rose up.

The corrupted flesh and blood took advantage of the situation to infiltrate and pollute the elemental magic, instantly staining the clear water shield with a murky color.

"Stand up straight, with a firm and confident gaze, and keep a close eye on what's behind you. With me here, he won't dare to make a move!"

Through the summoning ritual maintained by both parties, Nan'an quickly left a message, and the person had already disappeared from the spot.

"【Element-Driven Dark】"

Nan'an's speed had exceeded the visual capture limit of the Tearsfire Academy members.

It's as if the movement process has been erased, and the result of the movement is presented directly.

Before the others could react and provide support, Koreira hastily withdrew her elemental shield, and Nan'an had already appeared beside the monster.

With fingers spread wide like iron clamps, it unhesitatingly gripped the disgusting tumor that kept opening and closing its holes.

It felt cool and slippery to the touch, with the soft, rotten texture characteristic of decaying tissue. When you squeezed and kneaded it, it made a sizzling sound that sent chills down your spine, and you could vaguely see dark, viscous liquid spurting out from the fine pores.

The flesh that came into contact with Nan'an's arm began to writhe as if it were a living thing with its own life.

They spread rapidly upwards along Nan'an's wrist and forearm, the dark red and yellowish-green colors beginning to erode his skin, leaving damp, sticky marks, as if trying to assimilate him into this bloated mass of decay.

Intense flames burst forth from his body without warning.

【Element-Driven Fire】

Nan'an loved this magic, a masterpiece that the bookworm had improved upon, using it as a stepping stone to the Imperial Academy and even the Mage Tower, perfectly suited to his combat habits.

Thinking of the heroic close combat and life-for-life battles of his past life, Nan'an couldn't help but grin maliciously.

Flames coiled around his body and soared into the sky, illuminating him as if he were a god emerging from a furnace.

The flesh that spread along the arm emitted a piercing, lifeless screech the moment it came into contact with the flames.

He gave the monster no chance to struggle.

The five fingers gripping the tumor tightened suddenly, finding the skull that filled the minced meat and served as the outline of the head. To everyone's astonishment, it was forcibly pulled out.

Clutching the burning skull, Nan'an turned back indifferently.

The trainees, filled with tears and fear, retreated to the sides, glancing occasionally at the rotting flesh that had been writhing and twisting just a dozen breaths ago but had now lost its vitality and turned into "campfires." They felt their throats go dry.

"Aren't you lot going to make a move?" Nan An toyed with the spoils in his hand, and said disdainfully, "Are you all so cowardly?"

Suiyue pulled out a Windgrass Crystal from her collar, and sure enough, it flashed with a dangerous warning light.

"Not speaking, and not leaving?" Nan An gripped his skull tightly with his other hand.

Clara stared intently at Nan'an, not daring to blink.

She had a premonition that Nan'an would suddenly lash out; just now, he had done just that, moving at a speed that left them speechless, almost like teleportation.

"Bang!"

With a flash before her eyes, Nan'an, who had remained in place, vanished like mist.

In the next instant, he appeared at the edge of the forest dozens of meters away, his terrifying explosive force kicking up clouds of dust and tearing apart countless branches and leaves.

A hurried conversation could be heard in the distance.

"Who exactly are you?"

"You talk too much nonsense, give me your head!"

"Damn it, the power of the Nightmare God isn't working on him!"

"Why... I clearly hit it, why is there no effect at all... Ugh!"

"Servants, wake up!"

"Why is the Living Eclipse using magic, especially necromancy? I hate you bunch of maggots! I'll take your head off first!"

The sounds echoed through the woods, followed by muffled thuds of flesh being torn apart and teeth-grinding "cracks" of bones dislocating and realigning.

Seeing Suiyue rush forward, everyone realized what was happening and followed suit.

Pushing aside the bushes to reach the battlefield, the sight before them took everyone's breath away.

Guided by magic, a dozen or so rotting zombies charged and pounced in inhuman, twisted forms.

Nan'an's movements were all precise and ruthless, each strike snapping necks, shattering skulls, and tearing torsos apart.

Those enhanced zombies that would give ordinary adventurers a hard time were like paper toys in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, the zombies that had been awakened by the Living Devourer and blocked Nan'an were all turned into pieces of flesh and bones on the ground.

Faced with the last annoying "toy", Nan'an grabbed its cervical vertebrae with one hand, pressed it to the ground, skillfully stepped on its lumbar vertebrae, and bent it upwards.

Everyone at Tears of Fire swore that this was the most brutal method of bone removal they had ever seen.

Nan'an directly removed the entire skull, cervical vertebrae, and spine of the walking corpse from its body.

The scene resembled a fish being eaten clean, leaving only the complete fish bones on the plate.

Even after the battle was over, Nan'an still didn't feel safe. He walked past the piles of corpses, burning bones and flesh one by one until there were bonfires everywhere in the forest, before he finally felt relieved.

He shook the ashes off his hands and turned to look at the Tearfire crew who had just arrived.

The flames around him slowly subsided and disappeared into his body.

"Erlu... is amazing."

"No wonder my father always said that these people are all violent... They seemed so refined just now."

"Hiss, then this minotaur who hasn't even made a move yet must be even more powerful?"

Suiyue approached Nan'an in a daze, looking him up and down.

"W-what are you doing?" Nan An didn't understand why she acted like a naive child. "The main character ran away, so I can only take my anger out on the zombies... Oh, it's not like I gained nothing."

Nan An kicked a severed arm on the ground: "Left behind by that necromancer."

"Nan'an..."

"Um?"

"I'm just too bad at it!"

Suiyue felt genuinely ashamed.

During the Black Mist event, she deeply felt that the machine's performance was too poor, which hindered Nan'an's performance.

As time went on, this sense of guilt deepened.

Several groups of living eclipses were almost torn apart by Nan'an; the veterans from the Gray Star era are too strong!

"Tears of fire."

"yes!"

As soon as Nan'an spoke, the students from the Tears of Fire Academy rushed forward in response.

"Here's the hand you've taken from the living eclipse; it should still have some research value."

The girls in the back row started whispering again.

"Just as Father said, as long as it's not related to the Living Devouring God Nightmare Black Mist, the people of Elu are very easy to talk to."

Why do I only hear terrifying rumors about how difficult they are to get along with?

"Most people who get approached by them will suffer; it's a stereotype."

As standard academic members, Tears of Fire were highly professional. Fearing that the corpses might not burn completely, everyone started piling up graves and burning them again.

Because of this incident, Nan'an did not immediately return to the Cavern of Kren, but instead dutifully escorted the Tearfire students to the governor's mansion in Pirion.

At this moment, Pirion is enjoying a rare moment of leisure during the day.

He changed into a loose, comfortable silk robe and set up a coffee table on his private balcony on the third floor of the castle.

The finest tea was brewed in an exquisite porcelain teapot, and a few freshly baked pastries were placed on a small plate beside it.

A gentle evening breeze blew as he sipped his tea, took a bite of pastry, and gazed at the lights of Keren City. He recalled his successful years in power, with their favorable weather and abundant harvests, and then thought about the Senate's recommendation letter that he might receive soon...

The beautiful fantasy was ruthlessly shattered by the butler's hurried footsteps and low report.

"Master, we just received news... The Potions School of the Tearsfire Magic Academy has been attacked outside the city."

"puff!!!!!"

Pirion sprayed his entire mouthful of tea onto the exquisitely carved railing.

His hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air, his large bathrobe billowing wildly in the night wind.

He suddenly felt like crying.

What's wrong with this world?

Are major events hitting the area around Kren City one after another?

Upon hearing that Nan'an Suiyue had decisively crushed Huoshi's attack, he felt a mix of emotions.

Are these two people incompatible or complementary to each other due to celestial influences?

How come they're always involved in every unfortunate event, and every misfortune is invariably related to the Living Devourer Nightmare?

Pirion sighed, and without even changing his clothes, hurried to the restaurant—the potion masters who came to Tearfire this time were all very young, and their fathers had paid the Blood Tax of Breaking Mist. They were very traditional and upright noble descendants, and had considerable influence in the City of Twin Crowns.

When Pirion arrived, the only sounds in the restaurant were the clinking of cutlery against plates.

Everyone was starving. Using knives and forks was the last vestige of restraint for those with manners. People like Suiyue, on the other hand, were just grabbing a roasted lamb and devouring it, their mouths dripping with oil.

He didn't disturb her eating, and their eyes met outside the door.

Nan'an quietly left the restaurant and went to the courtyard.

He knew what the non-stick pan wanted to know and explained the situation concisely.

Pirion frowned: "Minced meat...it's those same group of live worms again."

"Don't you know their motives either?" Nan'an asked. "Last time it was nobles from the Double Crown, and this time it's similar. I mean, isn't there a mole tipping them off? They seem to have a precise grasp of their movements."

"The situation is complicated... It seems that Raven didn't leave you any information about this, and you know nothing about it." Pirion sighed. "I'll give you a share later, take it back and take a look... Of course, I'm not showing you any personal stance, just sharing."

Nan An laughed in exasperation. It was as if the two of them were issuing a cosmic safety declaration to each other before posting the lewd pictures.

"It is said that they will be staying in Keren City for some time to come."

Pirion's eyes widened: "Why?"

Kren is not Rostarek. It is not particularly dangerous, but it is by no means a safe place. Although there have been no major incidents like the Nightmare Erosion in recent years, monsters and desperate bandits are still local specialties that one must try.

"The academy requires them to submit a certain amount of potion research data as proof of graduation, and the research direction of this group... requires a certain amount of corpses, preferably live ones."

Pirion's lips twitched: "I don't have any living corpses here. Even if I did, they would be passengers transported from the Rostarek front."

"Maybe I can kill them on the spot?"

Pirion opened his mouth slightly, took two deep breaths, and finally let out a frustrated "haha" sound from his throat.

"I am honored that you and Suiyue have protected the peace of the Keren region, saving us from the erosion of life and the nightmare of the gods."

"You didn't seem happy when you said that."

"So how should I respond?" Pirion's lips twitched with anger. "Should I laugh?"

"Wake up! With us here, we can even shift the blame for the Living Devouring Nightmare problem onto our poor handling of it. What's there to be upset about?"

"Do you know how difficult it was for me to cultivate and settle the land, bringing the population of the area around Keren to a scale of one million? This place is, strictly speaking, a dangerous zone!" Pirion laid his cards on the table. "Back then, I chose to come to Keren voluntarily in order to make my political achievements more outstanding. I spent nearly 10 years being cautious and meticulous... To be honest, I wanted to climb up the ranks. I wanted to become a member of the Senate so that my voice could be heard by more people. I think many people in the Senate are not as good as me."

"Why are you telling me these heartfelt things?"

Pirion took a deep breath: "I just think you should persuade them to go back. This is not a game, especially with the Living Devourer eyeing them covetously... They are talented people and should not become easy prey for wolves. Their fathers shed blood, and we should respect the value of the blood tax."

"They made their choice, and your words are an insult to that belief," Nan'an said. "I don't like being a mouthpiece. I don't listen to anyone except Suiyue's advice. If you want to speak, go ahead and do it yourself."

Nan'an emphasized, "The deer are very free, you know."