Cthulhu Gonfalon

Translator: Sigma Editor: Sigma

The Nargacuga that the man in black was riding was a sub-dragon. Although there was a big difference real giant dragons and sub-dragons, they were still an astounding creature to ride. The hunters rode nothing but ordinary steeds, which weren't even worth mentioning compared to sub-dragons.

Although the so-called sub-dragon was essentially only a beast, it was a beast transformed by giant dragons using their own blood as a catalyst. Thus it had nearly reached the peak capacity of a beast because its blood had been optimized from years of repeated experiments. As long as it had sufficient food and time, every one of them could eventually become a devil monster.

Nargacuga were specifically transformed for riding. They were taller than usual warhorses, and its oval body was somewhat similar to a bird. It had a pair of strong and powerful feet that allowed it to run as if it were flying. It had a pair of claws that were sharp enough to tear apart tigers and leopards. Its long tail was covered with bone shell, and its mouth was covered with sharp, daunting teeth. The shell on its back, similar to a cushion, could minimize the bumpy ride that a knight may have otherwise suffered from. Riders would feel no pain even after riding for a few hours at a time, not to mention the so-called danger of "pain in your testicles".

The man in black rode a Nargacuga much larger than usual. There was a single short horn on its forehead, and when it ran, an electric spark lingered around the horn. Obviously, the sub-dragon's body had already developed a magic circuit; it wasn't far from becoming a real devil monster.

A man who was able to tame such a fierce beast must have extraordinary strength. This man's approach was also very sensible: he didn't chase the enemy too hard; instead he chased them by keeping a slight distance between them, so that the enemy could keep running away but was unable to take a rest. He himself was sitting comfortably on the back shell of the Nargacuga that had become his personal cushion. He also paused from time to time to eat and let his Nargacuga eat something, as well as to drink and give his Nargacuga some water. It seemed that he was as relaxed as if he were hiking

"It's funny! The hunters have been turned into the hunted. It's worth watching!" Sui Xiong suddenly became interested. He leisurely followed these people, wanting to see what would happen.

The escape and chase lasted for a few days, and the two sides gradually went to the depths of the great Gobi desert. Perhaps the fugitives were too worried, and the chaser was capable and bold. The surrounding scenery gradually turned from grey-black to grey-yellow, which meant they had reached a very dangerous area. It was unclear whether the fugitives were exhausted or encouraged by their extreme situation, but they roared loudly under the rallying cry of their leader and turned their horses around, in order to launch a desperate fight against their pursuer.

The fight was over quickly. The man in black was a skilled rider, swordsman, and shooter, and he used a long spear and a long sword at the same time to dispatch his enemies. He was also assisted by his unicorn Nargacuga, which helped to kill these hunters who hunted humans but were clearly vulnerable when facing him. Their attempt at a counterattack was like trying to use a weak stream of water to break down a solid dike: they collapsed instantly, leaving only blood on the ground.

After mercilessly beheading his enemies, the man in black jumped off the Nargacuga and began looking for something from the fugitives.

After looking for a period of time, he finally found the target. It was a golden crystal about half the length of his palm. It was shaped just like the column of a crystal, while inside the transparent crystal there was a constant flow of golden gas that moved and mutated ceaselesly. It was the light from the gas that made the colorless and transparent crystal appear golden.

Upon finding the crystal, the silent man in black flashed a smile and laughed. He gripped the crystal column firmly in his hand, looked at it, smiled and laughed, and even kissed it several times while paying no mind to the stains of blood. He was very excited.

Sui Xiong also couldn't help but be astonished: inside that column, the golden gas was churning and evolving into all kinds of shapes and objects. It was clearly a ray of supernatural power!

This supernatural power was a wonderful power. It could only be bound by immense magic power, and making it required an understanding of the "source of power" that was refined from magic, or transformed from a large amount of power derived from belief. Even Sui himself had only truly mastered the means of making and using supernatural power, and this had garnered him a status equivalent to that of divinity after devouring and resolving the envoy of the God of Conspiracy, a four-faced monster.

What was the origin of this crystal column? How was it able to bind the power of divinity in it?! And that ray of golden supernatural power, what exactly was its origin?

Indulging his profound curiosity, Sui Xiong suddenly descended straight from the sky onto the man in black at an alarming rate, taking the dominating form of the jellyfish. He was acting reckless, blinded by greed.

Although the man in black was caught up in ecstasy, his reaction was still fast. Hearing an unsettling wind in the sky, he didn't hesitate to stash the crystal on a corpse on the ground and roll sideways, stabbing at Sui Xiong with his sword.

Using the crystal column to attract the attention of the enemy while he launched a counterattack with his sword, the man in black showed excellent judgment. His advanced knowledge of martial arts and rich fighting experience were revealed by the fact that he stabbed at the target only once without looking!

However, the gap in strength between the two combatants had reached a point where martial arts and experience could not make up the deficit. He felt as if he were stabbing only some tough skins: the sharp sword with enchantment could not pierce the enemy's body but simply glanced off him. The tip of the sword slipped to the ground, and his heart sank.

Regardless of whether the enemy was sophisticated or had powerful equipment, it was the embodiment of true strength when an enemy could make his sword miss the target. At the least, if he were Sui Xiong, he would not have been confident enough to deploy this attack.

However, the man in black was strong in character, and he did not betray a trace of despondence. Instead, he stood up and held a vigilant posture with his sword, prepared for the hard-fought battle to come.

But he saw a weird jellyfish-like monster, which was holding up the golden crystal column with its tentacles.

"This… what's this monster?" he muttered to himself. Then he heard the monster's words.

"My name is Oscar, or you can call me 'Void Mask'. It is very interesting and fantastic: I can't even feel the supernatural power inside it even though we are very close to each other!"

The man in black suddenly went cold. He was well-informed, so by listening to his tone, he knew at least that Sui Xiong was often in contact with supernatural power. He might even chat cheerfully with certain gods from time to time, which explained why Sui was so impolite to this supernatural power.

Strong people at that level should almost be defined by their existence. He himself was only an adventurer who had not come close to the threshold of legendary power and was completely vulnerable to this massive jellyfish.

Once the supernatural power fell into its hands, his only chance would be gone.

To find this supernatural power, he'd spent countless hours, more than half a year, on disguising himself and ambushing its prior owners. In order to deal with the church of the Brutal Hunter (the nickname of the God of Hunting and Holocaust), he had spent all of his family's fortune and cheated a large number of ruthless people who were desperate to make money by way of theft. To this end, for all the favors he had asked of others over the years, he now owed a lot of favors in return, which brought him a large number of enemies. In the end, he'd penetrated deep into the dangerous Gobi desert to chase and kill the devout followers of Brutal Hunter, covering thousands of kilometers and deeply offending the cruel god.

According to his plans, it was best to run to the southeast of the mainland after finishing this job, and he even considered moving to some faraway land to live…but in his opinion, it was all worth it. As long as his plan could be successfully implemented, or if he could only have that chance, it was worth it!

However, all efforts had now turned into bubbles! If not for his tenacity and ultra-strong self-discipline, he may have desperately rushed forward, wanting to fight with that bizarre jellyfish and snatch back the supernatural power—of course, in fact, just to die in vain.

He did not want to die, so he had no choice but to endure.

Sui Xiong carefully studied the column of crystal, but could not see exactly how to extract the supernatural power inside. He also could not see what the origin of the supernatural power was. He finally had to ask the only person that had survived.

"This is the supernatural power of the Goddess of Life," answered the man in black.

"Goddess of Life? I thought she met her demise long ago…" Sui Xiong casually said. Suddenly his body trembled as he understood this man's plan.

He wanted to use this supernatural power to understand and grasp the origin of "life" and become a clergyman of "life", thus becoming a god!

"Wow! You aren't so powerful, but you really have great ambition!" Sui Xiong could not help but be amazed. "How can you dare try to be a clergyman of 'life' with such a humble ability? Have you ever thought, when you are apotheosized, that all the gods of death will come to attack you?

"Maybe, but I could be assigned by some godly system to become a sub-god," the man in black answered.

"Why would they want to shelter you? Is it not simpler to kill you and deprive the position as a clergy?" Sui also asked. "Almost every system of gods has a clergy that can be linked to 'life'. Why should we use you, an outsider, when we can make a loyal and powerful god by giving the position to someone else?"

The man in black kept silent for a while, and whispered, "I had to try."

"I had to try": this was his ambition and his dedication.

Sui Xiong sighed. "Let's drop this and talk about another problem. I have checked that this crystal column is exceptionally solid. Even I cannot ensure that I can break it without damaging one of the supernatural powers. Do you have a solution?

"No, but I want to try."

"So everything is just an attempt to you'?"

"That's right, that's all."

"Just for the chance to try, you dared to fight against the God of Hunting and Holocaust?"

"Why not?" The eyes of the man in black flashed like a flame in the night. "I am a robber, and I never know which day I'll die on the roadside while my soul goes to hell to accept my punishment. In contrast, the Brutal Hunter isn't that terrible, is he? Could he be even more horrible than hell? "

This time, Sui Xiong was silent, and after a while, he sighed, "I have seen many adventurers, but this is the first time I have seen one as persistent as you."

"The world is so big, and there are always weird people and things," the man in black said faintly. "So what are you going to do now? Kill me?"

"Killing the enemy isn't my style. In fact, I'm more curious about you," Sui Xiong smiled. "Anyway, you probably need to escape now, and it will be better to go with me to the South. If I break the secret of this crystal column en route, then maybe you will also benefit; even after we arrive at our destination, I'll still have nothing to do with this crystal column, so at the least I can protect you so that you can successfully escape."

The man in black sighed and bowed deeply. "This transaction is reasonable, and I have no objection."

"Now, will you tell me your name?"

"Ray. This is my name. I also have a nickname, 'Family Exterminator'."