strictlysupreme Chapter 153 The Underground Flesh and Blood Factory! The Modified Paladin!
Chapter 153 The Underground Flesh and Blood Factory! The Modified Paladin!
The withered old man in the corner of the cell stared intently at the sword light in Jiang Ming's hand, a strange smile, more like a grimace, squeezed out of his skull-like face.
Chen Qi shuddered and involuntarily raised the muzzle of his gun two inches higher: "Brother Jiang, this old guy looks even weirder than the monsters outside. Let's ignore him and just leave."
Marlowe peeked half his head out from beside Jiang Ming's legs, his shifty eyes scanning the old man up and down twice before he curled his lip and said, "A penniless wretch. That tattered robe of his doesn't even have a pocket; it definitely can't hide a single copper coin."
Jiang Ming didn't say anything.
He carried the burning [Hellfire Hell] to the rusty iron bars and, from a distance of half a meter, looked down at the old man chained to the wall.
The old man seemed not to hear Chen Qi and Ma Luo's whispers.
He struggled to climb two steps toward the fence, the thick iron chains rattling loudly as they were pulled.
"Young man, is that the Sword of Punishment in your hand?" The old man's chapped lips moved rapidly, his voice hoarse as if rubbing sandpaper. "I am a bishop of the Church of Radiance... Five years ago, when the plague broke out, I was locked up here by that mad abbot. If you help me cut these chains and get me out, I will give you the key to the monastery's underground vault."
Upon hearing the words "underground treasure vault," Marlowe's pointed ears perked up instantly, and he practically drooled. "Treasure vault? Boss, this old man seems somewhat useful! Should we let him out first?"
Jiang Ming slapped Marlow on the back of the head, making the greedy goblin spin halfway around.
"Use your pig brain to think," Jiang Ming sneered, his gaze fixed on the old man. "A normal person, locked in a basement full of flesh-and-blood monsters for five years, without food or water, how could they possibly survive until now?"
The moment the old man spoke, a notification automatically popped up on Jiang Ming's retina.
【Deeply Infected - Imposter (Lv.24)】
[Danger Level: High]
[Characteristics: Flesh parasitism, self-destruction and fission, camouflage.]
This was not a surviving bishop at all, but a parasitic monster whose flesh had long been emptied by the plague, leaving only a human skin.
The old man's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly regained his fanatical expression: "Young man, it is the protection of the Goddess of Light that has kept me alive until now. Don't you want the wealth the Church has accumulated over a hundred years? Just one sword strike, and these chains will be cleaved..."
As he spoke, he stretched out his withered hand, trying to reach through the iron fence to grab Jiang Ming's trouser leg.
"The church has accumulated wealth for a hundred years? I could kill you and still find it."
Jiang Ming's eyes narrowed, giving the old man no chance to continue his act.
With a sudden flick of his wrist, he didn't use the greatsword at all, but instead pulled out a pale white [Wraith Soul-Chasing Spear] directly from his storage card.
The arm muscles tensed instantly, and the terrifying power of 37 points was poured into the bone spear without reservation.
"Whoosh!"
The bone spear transformed into a white lightning bolt, shooting through the gaps in the iron fence and piercing the old man's incessantly chattering mouth with perfect accuracy.
The spearhead, with its extremely strong armor-piercing effect, pierced directly through the old man's skull, and with tremendous momentum, pinned him firmly to the rough stone wall of the cell.
"Pfft—"
Black, foul-smelling blood spurted down the wall.
The old man's body twitched violently against the wall twice.
His eyes, which had been strangely clear, suddenly became cloudy, and then his belly swelled up like a balloon.
"Sizzle!"
The shriveled flesh could no longer withstand the internal pressure and tore apart with a crash.
Countless thick, dark red tentacles covered in barbs erupted from the old man's chest and abdomen, writhing wildly in the narrow cell like a swarm of enraged venomous snakes.
The thick iron chains that had originally bound the old man's limbs were torn into straight lines by these tentacles.
"Holy crap! What is this disgusting thing?!"
Startled, Chen Qi took three steps back and opened fire on the cell with his rifle.
Armor-piercing bullets struck the tentacles, causing them to burst into clumps of viscous pus, but they did nothing to stop the monster's expanding size.
"roar--!"
The imposter let out a shrill, inhuman roar.
Its massive tentacle body suddenly shoved forward.
"Bang!"
The rusty iron fence, along with the surrounding stone bricks, was crushed. The monster, amidst a cloud of rubble and dust, lunged at Jiang Ming, who was standing right next to it.
"court death."
Jiang Ming stood still, not taking a single step back, and suddenly pressed down with his left hand.
"Gravity Spell!"
An invisible gravitational field instantly enveloped the space within a radius of ten meters.
The imposter, who had just pounced into the air, suddenly felt as if a mountain had been pressed down on his back. His massive body slumped down and crashed heavily onto the hard stone slabs of the corridor with a loud "boom," cracking the ground.
Dozens of tentacles struggled desperately under the pressure of five times gravity, smashing the floor tiles to pieces, but they couldn't get up no matter what.
Jiang Ming held the [Fire and Thunder Prison] upside down in one hand and strode forward.
The crystal core on the sword hilt burst forth with a blinding light, indicating that overload mode had been activated.
Violent lightning and flames clashed wildly on the blade.
He stomped on the monster's thickest tentacle, and his 37 points of strength caused the tentacle to burst.
Then, Jiang Ming gripped the sword with both hands, aimed it at the huge, wildly throbbing tumor in the monster's chest cavity, and stabbed it down hard.
"boom!"
The two-meter-long giant sword went all the way to the hilt. The power of lightning and fire erupted directly inside the monster along the blade.
A ghostly blue flame erupted from every wound and pore of the monster, instantly burning its internal parasitic tissue to ashes.
Before the imposter could even scream, his massive body convulsed violently a few times before turning into a pool of charred, mangled flesh.
[Defeated a Deep Infected Being (Lv.24) who is significantly stronger than you, gaining 22000 experience points.]
[Loot obtained: 1 Corrupted Holy Radiance Crystal Core, 1 Sturdy Black Iron Shackles, 2 High-Concentration Corruption Elixir.]
Jiang Ming drew his greatsword and shook off the black ash on it.
Marlow covered his nose and came closer, kicking the charred remains on the ground with his toe, his face full of disgust: "Pah, a bishop, huh? All that came out was scrap metal."
"Shut up, go stand guard over there." Jiang Ming was too lazy to listen to the goblin's nonsense.
He walked to a relatively clean stone table and took out the [Contaminated Holy Radiance Crystal Core] and [Sturdy Black Iron Shackles] that had just been obtained. Then he took out a [High-Rank Necromancer Crystal Core] from his storage card.
The properties of these materials are extremely compatible.
Jiang Ming clasped his hands together, and his synthesis talent was instantly activated.
[Contaminated Holy Radiance Crystal Core] + [Sturdy Black Iron Shackles] + [High-Rank Necromancer Crystal Core] = ?
A dazzling purple-blue light erupted from Jiang Ming's palm. Within the light, the crisp sound of chains clashing and the wails of vengeful spirits could be faintly heard.
A few seconds later, the light faded.
A thick chain, about five meters long, dark red in color, with dark blue runes flowing across its surface, appeared in Jiang Ming's hand.
The chain had a sharp barb and a heavy iron ball attached to each end.
【Binding Soul Black Iron Chains (Blue - Rare)】
[Attribute Preview: Unique Weapon/Tactical Item. Automatically locks onto and entangles the target upon throwing. Comes with two special effects: "Gravity Drag" (forcefully reduces the target's movement speed by 30%) and "Soul Drain" (deals fixed true damage per second and converts it into the user's stamina).]
"Good stuff." Jiang Ming weighed the chain in his hand and was extremely satisfied.
This thing is an absolute game-changer for controlling the battlefield against highly mobile or heavily armored monsters, a true game-changer.
He wrapped the chain around his left arm and continued walking forward, carrying the greatsword.
At the end of the corridor stood a heavy stone door, ten meters high.
The stone gate was carved with dense church runes, but now these runes were all filled with dark red blood, emitting a nauseating stench.
Behind the door, one could faintly hear heavy metallic clanging and the gurgling sound of some kind of liquid boiling.
"Get ready to work." Jiang Ming kicked the stone door.
With a burst of 37 points of power, the stone gate, weighing several tons, slid slowly to the sides with a dull thud.
Behind the stone gate lies a huge underground space, roughly the size of a football field.
The air here is extremely polluted, and the temperature is at least ten degrees higher than outside, making it so stuffy that it's hard to breathe.
By the light of the eerie green torches burning on the wall, Jiang Ming could see the scene inside.
This is not an underground treasure trove at all, but a horrifying flesh-and-blood processing plant.
In the center of the space is a huge circular pool with a diameter of over twenty meters.
The pool wasn't filled with water, but with a boiling, viscous, dark red fluid of flesh and blood.
Countless mutilated limbs and internal organs tumbled in the slurry, bubbling up huge, foul-smelling bubbles.
Above the pool, dozens of huge iron cages hung, filled with tortured and unrecognizable corpses, slowly moving along the rails towards the center of the pool before being mercilessly dumped inside.
Around the pool of flesh and blood, three extremely tall figures were patrolling back and forth.
They were three knights, each over two and a half meters tall, completely encased in heavy black plate armor.
They rode rotting bone horses, also heavily armored, and carried massive steel lances up to three meters long.
The strangest thing is that none of the three knights have heads.
Their necks were sealed with a flat iron plate, on which was engraved a scarlet eye.
The Fallen Paladin (Lv.27 Elite)
[Danger Level: Extremely High]
[Characteristics: Heavy Armor Defense, Death Charge, Pain Aura.]
"Holy crap... a cavalryman in a can?" Chen Qi gasped, instinctively touching the rifle in his hand. "Brother Jiang, this thing looks even harder than that iron one. Armor-piercing rounds probably won't work."
"Whether it's hard or not, we'll find out by cracking it open." Jiang Ming twisted his neck, and his bones cracked crisply.
Instead of sneaking away, he strode directly into the processing plant.
Instead of sneaking away, he strode directly into the processing plant.
The presence of a living person instantly alerted the three headless knights.
The crimson eyes on the iron plate in the neck cavity lit up simultaneously, bursting with a bloodthirsty light.
"Boom—!"
The three heavily armored horses simultaneously raised their front hooves and let out a silent neigh.
Immediately afterwards, the three knights formed a triangular charging formation, leveled their three-meter-long giant lances, and launched a deadly charge towards Jiang Ming.
The heavy hooves pounded on the stone slabs, causing the entire underground space to tremble violently.
The combined charge of these heavily armored cavalry was incredibly powerful; it could even pierce through an armored vehicle.
"Boss, watch out!" Marlowe was so startled that he immediately crawled behind the stone door.
Chen Qi raised his rifle, aimed at the joint of the horse of the knight charging at the front, and pulled the trigger.
"Jingle bells!"
The armor-piercing incendiary shells hit the bone horse's heavy armor, only sending up a series of sparks, not even stopping them for a second.
Jiang Ming stood still, watching the lance tip getting closer and closer, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"You want to test your strength?"
Just as the lance was about to pierce his chest, Jiang Ming's left arm suddenly jerked.
The Soul-Binding Black Iron Chains wrapped around his arm shot out like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, accompanied by a piercing whooshing sound.
The chains split into three afterimages in mid-air, precisely binding the two front legs of the skeletal horse charging at the front.
"Get down on your knees!"
Jiang Ming pulled his left hand back sharply, simultaneously activating the chain's built-in "gravity drag" effect.
An extremely brute pulling force suddenly erupted.
The heavily armored horse that was charging at high speed had its two front legs as if welded to the ground.
The immense inertia caused its massive body to flip 360 degrees in mid-air.
"boom!"
The headless knight on the warhorse was violently thrown out, crashing into the distant wall like a cannonball, creating a large crater in the stone.
The formation was thrown into chaos instantly.
The other two knights were forced to slow down, trying to avoid their fallen companion.
But Jiang Ming didn't give them a chance to adjust.
The stone slab beneath his feet shattered, and he transformed into a blur, crashing head-on into the knight on his left.
"clang!"
The terrifying power of 37 points was unleashed in full force.
Jiang Ming gripped the [Fire and Thunder Prison] with both hands and slashed fiercely upwards at the knight's thrusting lance.
Amidst the deafening clang of metal clashing, the steel lance, as thick as an arm, was cleaved in two!
The headless knight was jolted and swayed on his horse by the enormous recoil.
Taking advantage of the situation, Jiang Ming leaped high into the air and kicked the bone horse in the head.
"Snap!"
The horse's head, encased in iron armor, was kicked so hard that it caved in. The skeletal horse let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground.
Jiang Ming landed on the headless knight's chest, reversed the sword, and plunged it deep into the iron plate in the knight's neck.
The overload mode's lightning and fire sword energy raged wildly inside the thick plate armor, instantly burning the knight's internal organs to ashes.
[Defeated a Fallen Paladin (Lv.27 Elite) who was significantly stronger than you, gaining 28000 experience points.]
Two were rendered useless in the blink of an eye, and the last remaining knight finally reacted.
He discarded his spear, drew his heavy sword from his waist, and spurred his warhorse to strike down on Jiang Ming.
"Chen Qi, strike his joints!" Jiang Ming roared, raising his sword to parry.
"Bang bang bang!"
Chen Qi's marksmanship was extremely accurate; three armor-piercing bullets struck precisely the gaps in the shoulder armor on the knight's right arm as he swung his sword.
Although it failed to penetrate, the immense kinetic energy inevitably caused the rider's movements to stiffen for a moment.
That one moment is enough.
Jiang Ming flicked his wrist, and a bottle of [Netherworld Venom Bomb] smashed into the knight's chest.
A burst of purple poisonous mist instantly erupted, forcibly reducing armor by 50%.
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Ming unleashed a powerful sweeping attack, [Hellfire and Thunder Prison], carrying raging flames, which directly cleaved the plate armor, which was corroded and pitted by the poisonous mist, in half!
His upper body flew out, accompanied by black blood, and crashed heavily to the ground.
In less than two minutes, the three Lv.27 elite heavy cavalrymen were completely wiped out.