Chapter 35: The Slaughter

"Clatter, clatter—"

A howling gale roared, and a torrential downpour lashed the city. Mincemeat clogged the drainage systems, and blood flooded the base of the walls.

Amidst the wind and rain, warm corpses were tossed carelessly onto carriages, filling them one after another. Hundreds of wagons raced along the main road, their wheels occasionally grinding over round objects scattered on the path, splattering red and white gore in every direction.

Inside a house, a grandfather and his grandson huddled in a hidden corner, trembling. The boy, who had not yet reached the age for his Martial Soul awakening, tugged at his grandfather's sleeve and whimpered, "It smells, Grandpa. I'm scared."

The grandfather held the boy tightly, tears welling in his eyes as he choked out, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. The Sea God will defeat all the bad people. The Sea God will save us soon."

He was an old man, usually absent-minded and often struggling with failing eyesight. Yet, the scene of his son and daughter-in-law dying before him was burned into his mind with crystal clarity. A curved blade had pierced his son's chest; the boy had begged him to run while his daughter-in-law handed him the child, turning back to block those demons before being decapitated by a single stroke.

"Oh, Sea God, if you can truly hear me, please save my grandson! He is still small, he knows nothing, I beg of you!"

The grandfather pressed his palms together in prayer, pinning his hopes on the deity his family had worshipped for generations. But the god did not respond; what answered him was the crushing despair of falling into an abyss.

A figure in a black robe spotted them, emerging from the darkness with a curved blade in hand. He approached and raised the steel.

"Rumble!"

Lightning flashed outside the window, the sudden brilliance revealing the inhuman face beneath the black hood.

The grandfather’s lips trembled as he whispered, "Monster..."

With a sudden surge of strength, he shoved his grandson aside. He threw his frail, hunched body at the Shadow Soul Guard, shrieking, "Grandson, run!"

"Ah!"

The boy watched in terror as a head rolled to his feet. A flicker of life remained in the aged eyes, the mouth moving as if still whispering: "Run!"

A deafening roar echoed in the boy's mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and scrambled away blindly. The Shadow Soul Guard followed at a leisurely pace, as if savoring the pleasure of the hunt.

Soon, however, he grew bored of this game of cat and mouse. He lunged forward, pinning the small child to the ground, and raised his blade to strike.

"Clang!"

A sword suddenly appeared, striking the curved blade and sending it flying. The Golden Cavalry Douluo, clad in full armor, stood nearby. Upon seeing him, the Shadow Soul Guard beneath the black robe emitted a series of incomprehensible insect-like chirps.

The Golden Cavalry Douluo seemed to understand. A heavy voice resonated from within his golden helmet: "It is you who should not be doing unnecessary things. Finish the task the Emperor gave you, and stop wasting time."

With a burst of soul power, he sent the Shadow Soul Guard flying. The guard slammed into a wall, stood up in pain, and let out a few angry, chittering noises, but dared not do more and slunk away.

"Slap!"

A stone struck the Golden Cavalry Douluo directly. The child cried out in fury, "Bad man! I saw it all! You’re with them! You killed my mom and dad, my grandpa, and the uncles, aunts, and older brothers and sisters next door!"

"You villains! When my Martial Soul awakens, I will kill you all!"

Seeing the hatred in those red-rimmed eyes, the Golden Cavalry Douluo offered no excuse. He simply infused a trace of soul power into the boy and said, "Very well. But that is on the condition that you survive, or..."

"I am still alive."

With that, ignoring the child’s desperate questions, he vanished into the wind and rain.

"Step, step—"

Treading through mud mixed with flesh and blood, he surveyed the ruins. The once-bustling outer city had been destroyed by a single command. With the cooperation of the Shadow Soul Guards and the Dayfeather Golden Cavalry, tens of thousands had been slaughtered.

Even soul masters with extraordinary physiques could hardly endure such prolonged butchery, and countless blades had been worn down in the process.

All of this was to feed the Ginseng Fruit Tree. With the entire Douling Empire fallen and no fresh blood being transported from outside, the Douling Emperor had decisively issued a massacre order for the outer city.

Rivers of blood flowed, and mountains of corpses piled high.

The Dayfeather Golden Cavalry, which possessed individual wills, had not been without resistance to this command. But the price of resistance was to be killed by the Douling Emperor himself and fed to the Ginseng Fruit Tree, turning into a desiccated corpse that drifted away with the wind.

The imperial administration had completely paralyzed. All the ministers stayed behind locked doors, terrified that they would be the next to be dragged out.

The palace that housed the Ginseng Fruit Tree had been forcibly dismantled. Having finally glimpsed the vast world, the tree swayed excitedly in the storm. Its blood-red branches and leaves were strikingly vivid, and roots resembling veins writhed in agitation, gorging on the corpses brought by the carriages. Nutrients were visibly funneled into the tree's trunk.

The original beautiful, touching woman's face was gone, replaced by a hideous, wide-eyed, demonic visage. She opened her mouth wide, emitting shrill shrieks that accompanied the rustling of the leaves!

"Ahhhhhhh—"

"It's okay, it's okay, there, there. It will be over soon, everything will be fine!" the Douling Emperor consoled anxiously from the side.

The demonic face, however, cared nothing for him. A root coiled around his body, tightening until the Emperor’s blood flowed in reverse. The blood pooled in his upper body, causing his head to swell and turn a deep, bloated red.

The Golden Cavalry Douluo, having just returned, saw this and instantly drew his blade, severing the root. A spray of fresh, foul-smelling sap erupted, corroding deep pits into the floor.

Before the Golden Cavalry Douluo could ask if the Emperor was alright, the Emperor turned and slapped his armored helmet, indifferent to the fact that his own hand bones had snapped.

He roared, "How dare you treat my treasure like that! Golden Cavalry, you have disappointed me!"

"Oh, my treasure, don't be afraid. He didn't mean it. Forgive me, I was just too nervous."

He scurried over to the Ginseng Fruit Tree, caressing the demonic face with a look of pained affection.

The face was gruesome, yet it could express emotion. Its mouth opened and closed, as if whispering something.

The Douling Emperor understood. He immediately shouted, "Golden Cavalry! Where is the blood food? Bring me more blood food!"

"..."

Watching the deranged Emperor, the Golden Cavalry Douluo remained unusually silent, until the Emperor grew impatient and his eyes flashed with malice. Only then did the Douluo say, "Your Majesty, everyone slaughtered in the outer city is already here."

Tens of thousands had been consumed by the tree, yet it was still not enough to complete its eighth transformation.

"You say there is none left? How can there be none! No! There is more!" The Emperor’s expression grew savage. "There is the inner city! If the outer city is slaughtered, there is still the inner city. Their quality is higher; they will surely satisfy my treasure."

"No! There is something even better!"

A strange brilliance suddenly surfaced in the Emperor’s eyes, and his lips curled into a hideous grin.

"I have kept them for so long; it is time for them to contribute to my cause."