57. The Monster Known Only by Name

The roar of the monk-robed monster forced everyone to cover their ears.

In the next instant, the creature snapped the wires trailing behind it and climbed the high walls of the temple with the aid of its forty limbs, stirring up a powerful gust. The lotus lanterns on the walls were extinguished by the wind, plunging the whole temple into darkness.

Chujian Lai raised his longsword, his blood-red eyes scanning the gloom in search of their foe. Chidai Asougi shut her eyes, holding her blade across her chest, trying to pinpoint the enemy’s location by sound alone.

"Stop searching. It's over there," said Chen Shang.

He then lifted his firearm and fired two shots at Black Calis, who was cowering in the corner.

"Ah! Ah!" Black Calis shrieked, rolling quickly to the side.

A mechanical tentacle suddenly dropped from above, landing where she had just been and was struck by Chen Shang's energy rounds.

A sizzling sound echoed as the tentacle was severed, writhing briefly on the floor before lying still.

"Hey! Are you trying to get me killed?" Black Calis cursed, her voice trembling. "Couldn't you warn me first?"

Chen Shang shrugged. "Once the monk enters combat mode, he prioritizes attacking the weakest close-combatant. So all we need to do is keep an eye on the hacker."

Chujian Lai and Chidai nodded in agreement. Black Calis stared in disbelief. "So that's why you wanted me to come with you? You’re using me as bait?"

"It’s just a temporary body. If it breaks, it breaks," Chen Shang replied with a carefree laugh.

"But I don’t want to be killed by such a disgusting thing!" Black Calis seemed genuinely afraid of the mechanical monster.

As they conversed, several more mechanical tentacles descended from above, aiming for Black Calis.

Chujian Lai stepped forward decisively, slashing the tentacles apart with swift strokes. Chidai leapt off the wall, swinging her blade in midair toward the darkness above.

A metallic crash sounded as Chidai’s blade struck something hard, and a severed mechanical leg fell from above, landing near Black Calis’s feet.

"Ah! Ah! A corpse, ah!" Black Calis screamed uncontrollably.

"You’re unfazed by murder, but scared of these mechanical things?" Chen Shang sighed.

"Because I’m a cyborg now, too! Don't you know what empathy is, you bastard?" Black Calis retreated into the corner, fuming. "When we escape, I’ll mail a bomb to your house!"

Ignoring her complaints, Chen Shang raised his crossbow, staying vigilant.

At some point, the temple doors had been locked, making escape impossible. Besides, if they fled in panic, their plan would fail.

Thinking of this, Chen Shang aimed his crossbow upward, switching the ammunition to incendiary rounds.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three fiery energy bolts shot upward, striking something metallic and ringing out with a harsh sound. As the brief flash illuminated the scene, everyone glimpsed the hideous monk-robed monster—now directly above Chen Shang.

"Hey! It's not targeting me anymore?" Black Calis asked, puzzled.

"If it fails to defeat the weakest twice, it shifts its focus to the second weakest," Chen Shang recited as though quoting a guide.

Having located the enemy’s rough position, Chujian Lai and Chidai turned and attacked, their weapons ringing against metal as they hacked off two more chunks of the monster’s body, which fell to the floor.

But with only superficial damage, it would take an eternity to truly dismember the monk-robed creature.

"Does anyone have a flashlight?" Chidai asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

She had wondered why Chen Shang preferred fighting the monster in the dark rather than using light to locate its position. Even if he hadn’t prepared lighting equipment, a phone flashlight would suffice.

Hearing this, Black Calis pressed a button on her body, and a brilliant beam shot from her palm.

"Let me find its position—huh?" She aimed the light at the ceiling but suddenly froze.

Despite the brightness of her flashlight, it could not penetrate the darkness, nor could it reveal the enemy’s location.

Seeing this, Chen Shang urgently shouted, "Turn off the light!"

But his warning came too late. As a strange grinding echoed, the monk-robed monster descended like a crushing mountain, landing directly atop Black Calis.

Chen Shang slapped his forehead and sighed. "This temple is special—the light’s penetration is severely diminished. Using a flashlight not only fails to reveal the monk's position, but actually makes you an easy target."

"Is that even possible?" Chidai was perplexed.

Chen Shang shook his head. "It's designed that way. Otherwise, even a fool would just shine a light on the boss."

"Tch, go save her!" Chidai snorted, rushing forward with her blade.

Black Calis was engulfed by the monster, its mechanical limbs grabbing her arms and legs, smothering her completely.

"Help! Don’t—don’t touch me there!" Her desperate cries issued from within the monster. "I’m dying! My leg’s been ripped off!"

Chujian Lai rushed forward, striking the beast with several sword blows, but its mechanical body seemed to regenerate endlessly; no matter how many limbs were severed, new ones replaced them.

"It’s useless… hehehe," a severed mechanical head sneered. "This girl is now part of me… Next, it’s your turn!"

Chen Shang strode up to the head and crushed it underfoot, then shouted, "Hacker, do it!"

The cries from within the monster ceased, replaced by a low, eerie laughter from Black Calis.

"How…" The monk-robed monster had no time to react before feeling its chest swell, as though something was about to burst out.

Boom!

With a painful explosion, a massive hole was blasted in the monster’s chest. Its cobbled-together limbs were blown apart, revealing a spinning energy core.

Black Calis’s head flew from the opening and was caught by Chen Shang, who cradled it in his arms.

"Swordsmen, attack its core!" Chen Shang commanded.

In fact, before entering the temple, Chen Shang had secretly coordinated with Black Calis via earpiece, arranging a tactic to defeat the monk.

The key was to have Black Calis swallowed by the monster and then detonate a large explosive concealed within her body.

To keep their real plan hidden, even their other teammates needed to be deceived.

Even if the plan failed, Chen Shang had other strategies in mind, but this one carried the least risk.

Taking advantage of the exposed core, Chujian Lai leapt forward, stabbing his sword toward the opening.

"You think you can destroy my core? You’ll never succeed!" The monster’s many heads laughed, swinging its giant mechanical arm at him.

"Get out of the way!" Chidai jumped to the same height as the arm and pressed the button on her mechanical blade.

A blue crescent arc flashed, flames spraying from her blade as she cleaved at the arm, unleashing a violent shockwave.

The explosive force pushed the arm back, also sending Chidai flying.

"So tough… even at full power it can’t be severed?" Chidai groaned, rolling twice on the ground and kneeling in pain.

Her hands were bleeding from the force of the blast, despite the attack being her strongest output.

Though the arm remained intact, Chidai’s strike bought Chujian Lai precious time to enter the monster’s body.

Once inside the chest cavity, broken limbs rapidly crawled toward the opening, trying to encase him.

Standing within the monster, Chujian Lai heard the monk's mocking voice: "You think there’s only one core inside me? You’ve been fooled!"

At that moment, Chen Shang’s voice came through his earpiece.

"I see…" Chujian Lai realized, smirking coldly. "You think I’m here to destroy your energy core?"

He reached into his chest and forcibly pulled out the Heart of the Earth.

"Is that… the Heart of the Earth?" The monster was stunned.

"Yes, you all fought bitterly over it years ago…" Chujian Lai sneered, his skin visibly aging. "If you want it, here it is!"

With his last strength, he pressed the Heart of the Earth engine against the monster’s core.

A sharp whirring erupted as the once-quiet Heart of the Earth suddenly revved, laughing like a child with a new toy.

Tiny mechanical tentacles sprouted from it, latching onto the energy core inside the monster.

"Stop! This thing is draining my energy! Stop!" The monk’s many heads shouted in fury.

A faint electric current ran along the tentacles, and the monster's core dimmed.

Its patched-together body began to fall apart, the mechanical horror shrinking like a centipede stripped of its segments.

When the limbs finally scattered, all that remained was a panting mechanical monk on the ground, and Chujian Lai, restoring the engine to his chest.

"This thing recognizes only its master. Only I can control it," Chujian Lai said, blood returning to his face as he stared coldly at the monk. "Manwu Abbot, it's time to repay the sins of ten years ago."

"Heh heh… cough…" The mechanical abbot’s lights flickered, energy nearly depleted. "Am I… at the end already? Just one step away… Where will I go? Avici Hell?"

"Hell?" Chujian Lai sneered. "If going to hell could repay these sins, then it would be far too easy."

He gripped the abbot’s mechanical head and lifted it forcefully.

"If possible, I’d send you somewhere far worse than hell."

Crack—

Chujian Lai crushed the abbot’s head like an eggshell.

…

"Where… am I?" Manwu Abbot climbed to his feet, finding himself in a small town.

The sky was blood red, the streets crowded with people, yet eerily silent.

"Grandpa, could you help me pick up my eyeballs?"

A little girl tugged at his robe, her voice sweet.

"Of course, I’ll help you… pick up what?" Manwu Abbot's expression froze.

"My eyeballs!" The girl giggled, pointing to her hollow eyes, blood streaming down her face. "Grandpa hit me so hard that day, my eyes popped out!"

Manwu Abbot stared at her in horror, tongue-tied.

More people rushed toward him—some with twisted heads, others drenched in blood, some with broken bones crawling inch by inch.

"Abbot, can you help me find…"

"Buddhists pride themselves on kindness and compassion. Surely the abbot won’t refuse to help?"

The crowd pressed around him, frenziedly begging for his aid.

"Amitabha… If you see all forms as non-forms… you see… the transformation of the Tathagata…" Manwu Abbot retreated, trembling as he chanted. "Buddha protect me… evil be gone… evil be gone…"

Finally, he tripped over a severed arm on the ground. The crowd swarmed him, tearing him apart like vultures.

…

Back in the temple, Chujian Lai released the crushed remains of the mechanical monk, letting out a sigh.

"How does it feel to have avenged your greatest grudge?" Chen Shang said, holding Black Calis’s head and feigning a relaxed smile.

Despite the stabilizing hormones, the recent battle had his heart pounding.

Chujian Lai stood silently, unwilling to speak.

"Let’s wait outside. Contact us when you’re ready," Chen Shang waved, leaving the temple with Chidai.