Ye Zhongming, dragging Jie Kui with him, crashed through the earthen wall, then attempted to break through the enlarged yet somewhat translucent mucous membraneâonly to be unexpectedly rebounded.
The two simply stopped running and came to a halt.
Even if they could find another way to break free, they wouldnât be able to shake off the pursuers closing in on them.
Since that was the case, they might as well stop and assess the situation. It would also give them a brief moment to rest before the life-or-death battle ahead.
These people had gone through "great pains" to hunt them downâthere was no chance of a peaceful resolution.
"Ye Zhongming, King of Cloud Peak."
A man stepped forward outside the mucous prison, staring at Ye Zhongming with a hate-filled sneer.
Hearing that voice, the Cloud Peak King immediately understood what was happening.
He had never seen this man before, but he recognized his voiceâit was the same one that had spoken when he killed that deranged, inhuman minor, Little Adam, during the battle for the Mountain King Crown.
Back then, in that mysterious space-time communication skill, this man had introduced himself as one of the Hawkins couple from Lake Superior. When making his vow, he had also referred to himself as the King of Naka.
Later, after returning to Cloud Peak, Ye Zhongming had specifically sent people to investigate. The unverified information he received suggested that there was indeed a place called the Naka Training Camp near Lake Superiorâthough whether Hawkins came from there remained unknown.
Ye Zhongmingâs gaze then shifted to a woman he couldnât possibly ignore, clad in beautiful purple armor, her eyes filled with such venom it could melt a person alive.
He recognized herâthis was undoubtedly the so-called Queen Aimusi, the mother of that rotten seed, Adam.
As for the whole "Hawkins couple" and "Queen Aimusi" situation, Ye Zhongming was momentarily confused. But he guessed that "Queen Aimusi" was likely her title or a name representing a special status.
Then, he noticed what she was holding in her arms.
That⊠could indeed only be called a thing.
A corpse. A corpse he was very familiar with. A corpse that⊠had gone from living to dead by his own hand.
Adam.
Though the little devil had already dehydrated, shriveled, and shrunk into a twisted lump, the faint traces of his former self could still be seen in the ghastly, bluish face.
Back then, when this vile creature had suddenly vanished from the Mountain King Crownâs space, Ye Zhongming had assumed some kind of resurrection ability was at play. But now, it seemed the most they could do was keep a memento.
To have the ability to retrieve something from a sealed high-level spaceâand to waste it on a corpse instead of something useful? What a shame.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Ye Zhongming grew even more certain: from this day onward, his feud with the Hawkins couple would be one of life and death.
Just look at how much effort theyâd expended, how many sacrifices they must have made, just to keep this corpse with them. Their love for Little Adam had reached a twisted, obsessive level. In the face of such warped psychology, there were only two possible outcomes: either they died, or Ye Zhongming did.
Sure enough, before Hawkins could say anything more, Queen Aimusi began shrieking at Ye Zhongming in a voice sharp enough to pierce eardrums.
"Didnât expect this, did you?! When you ignored our pleas, did you think you ruled over everything?!"
"When your blade severed the head of my only son, did you imagine retribution would come so quickly?!"
"After reaching level nine, did you believe no one could rival you? That you stood at the pinnacle of the world, beyond all danger and opposition?!"
"Are you proud? Proud that you made it here? Your name is Ye Zhongming, right? Are you ready to die?!"
By the end, her voice had grown so shrill it cracked, blood seeping from her throat and filling her mouth, staining her teeth crimson.
The sheer hatred in her words sent chills down even her companionsâ spines.
If there were anything in this universe capable of destroying everythingâaside from the Slave Raceâit would be hatred of this magnitude.
"Donât worry, Ye Zhongming. Youâll die in agonyâjust like how you killed my son!"
"Scared, arenât you? Well, it doesnât matter! Soon, youâll be drowning in torment! Did you think our earlier words were just threats? Noâthey were all true! Soon, youâll be trapped in the King of Nakaâs curse, drowning in fear, every second feeling like an eternity!"
"Thatâs rightâI wonât kill you today. Iâll capture you, take you with me, and torture you bit by bit. Only when Iâm satisfiedâwhen my son is satisfiedâwill I cut off that damned head of yours! Howâs that for terror?!"
"Oh, and one more thing. I heard your Cloud Peak is massiveâthe top faction in the Chinese region, right? Donât worry. If we ever get the chance to return to Earth, Iâll slaughter every last person there, every warbeast, burn every blade of grass to the groundâso they can join you in hell!"
"You filthyâ%ïż„#%@@â" Aimusiâs emotions spiraled completely out of control, her words devolving into incoherent curses.
"Terrified now, arenât you?! HAHAHAHA! Prepare to die, Ye Zhongming!"
When a woman descends into madness, thereâs nothing anyone can do. For over a minute, no one interrupted her tirade. Everyone knewâduring this moment, she had lost her mind. Stopping her would only make her curses even more vicious.
Finally, Aimusi yanked away the golden silk quilt covering Adamâs corpse, revealing the horrifically shriveled remains.
Her hand gently stroked Adamâs head as she muttered something under her breath. Then, her fingers trailed down to the stitched seam connecting his head to his body. She glanced at her husband.
Hawkins immediately bit off one of his own fingers, then used his remaining hand to slowly pull out a black, key-like object from the severed digit.
Dripping with blood, he brought it close to Adamâs neck, using it to cut the sutures one by one. As the neck reopened, blood seeped inâand black light began to spill out, gradually coalescing into a humanoid figure in the air.
It was a monstrous shadow, eerily similar to the corpse.
The next moment, the shadow let out a ghastly laughâthen shot straight through the mucous prison.
Despite Ye Zhongming dodging multiple times and employing several blocking methods, it plunged directly into his body!
The Cloud Peak Kingâs face instantly paled.
"This is the King of Nakaâs curse! Savor its taste!" Aimusi screamed, her voice brimming with excitement and satisfaction.
Ye Zhongming closed his eyes, steadying his breathingâthen suddenly raised two fingers toward Aimusi.
"Crazy bitch, two things for you."
"Firstâyou have ZERO fucking manners!"
"SecondâIâm scared of your MOM!"