Several of the elite guards began to mutter unhappily.
“The Queen went missing for a few days. What’s going on with her?”
“Not even our boss Grizzly has been permitted to enter her private residence. Why the hell was the kid allowed inside?”
Grizzly barked, “Shut it!” The guards exchanged a few glances, all of them falling silent.
Why was the Bloodsoaked Queen’s rule over Blackflag Outpost such a stable one? Her overwhelming power was one reason, but another very important reason was that she had the unwavering support of the elite guards.
Grizzly was the leader of the elite guards. Why was it that he was so loyal to the Queen? It might be a mystery to others, but everyone in the elite guards knew the true reason. Alas, the Bloodsoaked Queen was cruel and proud; she viewed all wastelanders as ants for the crushing or wheat for the scything. She never viewed them as equals! All of the brothers of the elite guards felt bad for Grizzly; they felt it wasn’t worth it.
A complex look was in Grizzly’s eyes. When the Bloodsoaked Queen had first come to Blackflag Outpost, Grizzly had, completely by accident and happenstance, managed to see her true face. It could be said that he was the very first person in the entire outpost to see her true visage. Although he had only caught a glimpse, her beauty was something out of this world and was not something that the wastelands could produce… and it was burned into his mind like a searing hot iron.
Grizzly had no idea where the Bloodsoaked Queen came from. He didn’t know what she had experienced or what her goal was. He knew nothing about her at all… and none of that mattered. Ever since he had seen her true face, Grizzly had felt as though he’d found a pure, sacred oasis within the dark brutality of the world.
His feelings weren’t just the love and adoration the weak felt towards the strong; it was a type of faith, a type of conviction which every single person had.
Grizzly believed that he’d discovered the most beautiful thing in the world. She was the most flawless of jewels, the flame of faith that banished the darkness around him. From that day forth, he decided to completely dedicate everything he had to protecting her. He might be a crude, despicable man who wasn’t worthy of holding this divine treasure in his hands, but he absolutely would not allow anything or anyone else to violate it. Not even the slightest stain was acceptable!
“That kid…”
Grizzly’s large, iron-hard fists couldn’t help but clench. He felt nauseous, as though he had just been forced to swallow a few dozen maggots! That dirty, low-down scavenger… how the hell had he gotten himself the Queen’s favor? Why the hell was he allowed into the Queen’s residence?
“Grizzly, what say I grab a few of our brothers and…” One of the elite guards scanned the area before carefully making a chopping gesture with his hand.
Grizzly hesitated for a moment. “Be careful of the Tartarus mercenaries. Slyfox is extremely protective of his people.”
The elite guard chuckled. “Don’t worry, boss. We’ll kill him nice and clean. No one will suspect us at all.”
Grizzly couldn’t help but think of Wulf. If Wulf hadn’t died, the elite squad wouldn’t need to fear the Tartarus mercenaries at all. He had already lost his most loyal friend; there was no way he could allow the most sacred being in his world to be befouled and besmirched by a rat. She was the final thing keeping him alive in the dark world of the wastelands!
That poor bastard, Cloudhawk, would have never imagined in his wildest dreams that Grizzly was so completely infatuated with the Bloodsoaked Queen… and he definitely never would’ve expected that he had completely and thoroughly offended the entire elite guard squad of Blackflag Outpost because of this visit.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”
The Bloodsoaked Queen’s raven-black hair spilled across her shoulders as she walked towards him. She wasn’t dressed in her usual cape or leather armor, just a long robe. Her snowy white neck was long and graceful, making her look like a proud, noble swan. The slight hint of cleavage she showed was enough to drive almost any man mad with lust, and her long, slender pale legs were just barely visible. Her legs were like the most perfect work of art. They added to her cold, regal dignity and beauty.
The only unpleasant thing about her was that hideous demon mask.
Cloudhawk was still too young and ignorant to be dazzled by her beauty so his attention was drawn to something else. The bathroom had an entire tub of clean water that seemed to have been used, as it slowly disappeared into the pipes.
“Were you taking a bath just now?” Cloudhawk’s eyes were so round that they threatened to pop out of his head. “You used an entire tub’s worth of clean water, just to take a bath?”
36 Accounts Settled
Water was the most precious commodity in the wastelands. Six years ago, this outpost was nothing more than a lifeless sea of sand. A group of excavators came to this place to dig through the ruins, only to find a large amount of underground water. Ever since then, Blackflag Outpost quickly grew in population before ultimately reaching its current size.
Water had created Blackflag Outpost. In the wastelands, those who controlled the water controlled the land.
The amount of water the Queen used to bathe daily was enough to keep Cloudhawk alive for nearly a month. Such wasteful extravagance! But what really caused Cloudhawk’s heart to clench was the fact that this clean, pure water was used just for bathing… and after the Queen finished her bath, she let it all go down the drain! To Cloudhawk, it wasn’t water going down the pipes. It was blood. It was life itself!
Cloudhawk suddenly said something with the utmost of sincerity. “Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me all of your used bathwater?”
These words were meant sincerely and had no intention to offend at all. However, in the ears of the Bloodsoaked Queen, these words sounded insulting or perhaps mocking. Her gaze turned ice-cold. “Say that one more time.”
Cloudhawk had no idea how he had just enraged this fierce woman yet again, but he hurriedly changed the topic. He pulled out two jars of liquid from his pockets. “I brought you your medicine. There should be more than enough to treat your wounds here.”
The Bloodsoaked Queen’s gaze softened. She accepted them without a word of thanks and then turned and said coldly, “Follow me!”
The Queen’s residence was simply enormous. It had a kitchen, a dining room, a bedroom, a bath, a washroom, and more. One floor was just a single giant room that was completely empty, with no objects within it save a prayer mat. This area was where the Queen spent much of her time training, meditating, and praying each day.
“Watch carefully.” The Bloodsoaked Queen walked to the center of the giant training room and slowly closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and then her entire body went into motion as she began to perform a set of extremely strange movements. The entire set of movements contained a total of thirty-six different stances that linked together as fluidly as water. The movements seemed very simple, but in reality contained many profound mysteries.
The Queen moved extremely slowly. It took her a total of twenty minutes before she finally finished displaying the entire set of movements.
“Is that it?” Cloudhawk had been watching intently this entire time. Although he had a very strange feeling when watching, he couldn’t pinpoint its exact cause. “Don’t tell me that’s the only thing you are gonna teach me. Are you messing with me?”
The Bloodsoaked Queen let out a cold snort. “Try them out for yourself before you say anything!”
Cloudhawk muttered disdainfully, “What’s so hard about them?”
Guided by the Bloodsoaked Queen, he began to train in those movements as well. The strange thing was, as he performed the fourth movement, he began to feel extremely tired. By the time he finished the fifth movement, his forehead was already covered in sweat. Every single inch of his body was aching by the sixth movement, as though his arms and legs were weighed down with thousand-pound weights
.
Finally, by the seventh movement, Cloudhawk could no longer endure.
“Ow, ow, OW! That freaking hurts!” Cloudhawk felt as though every single muscle in his body were being ripped apart, with all the energy having been drained out of his cells. He felt such agonizing pain that he just plopped down onto the ground, moaning as he writhed in pain. The feeling was simply indescribable!
Those movements looked very ordinary and the Bloodsoaked Queen had managed to complete all of them without even working up a sweat. Cloudhawk, however, was in such pain by the exhausting seventh movement that he could no longer take it.
Cloudhawk moaned and groaned for quite a few minutes before slowly starting to recover. He felt certain that he had been tricked and glared at the Queen accusingly. “Don’t tell me you demon hunters spend all your time practicing those movements! Are you all masochists?”
The Bloodsoaked Queen said placidly, “This is a basic training exercise meant to temper the body. Only by training in it for extended periods of time can you unlock the potential within your body. It will stimulate every aspect of your body, accelerating your growth in every way as it helps you become more powerful by giving you metapower enhancements. This is nothing more than a basic training exercise for demon hunters.”
Just a basic training exercise?
The Bloodsoaked Queen seemed to know exactly what Cloudhawk was thinking. “Although this is a basic technique, if you can fully complete all thirty-six movements and then gain some practical combat experience, you won’t be weaker than any other person in this entire outpost.”
Was this technique really that incredible? In the wastelands, metapowers were generally only activated over the course of multiple life-and-death situations. Cloudhawk had never thought that it would be possible to use a systemized training regime to increase his own strength and enhance his metapowers. It seemed like demon hunters truly did have a few tricks up their sleeves. No wonder they were so strong!
Right now, Cloudhawk would rather die than attempt the complete set of exercises a second time. Still, he was able to separate those thirty-six movements and train in them separately, which was less taxing. He went through all thirty-six movements slowly but firmly, engraving all of them deep into his mind. By now, he had fully memorized all of them. At the very least, he had gained access to a technique that would help him grow stronger.
“Wait a second!” Cloudhawk was no fool. He wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily! After having spent a considerable amount of time silently memorizing the techniques, he suddenly seemed to wake up. He turned to the Queen and said in a loud, “righteous” voice, “I might be a kid, but I’m not an idiot. Don’t even think you can fool me that easily. You know full well that this isn’t what I want to learn! I want to learn real techniques that will let me have the same special powers as you!”
This set of training exercises could only be used to train, temper, and strengthen the body. What Cloudhawk really wanted to learn was how to use the same unfathomable, supernatural powers the demon hunters had access to. Did the Bloodsoaked Queen really think she’d be able to fob him off with a set of basic training movements? Screw that!
“Hmph. You really don’t know what’s good for you.” The Bloodsoaked Queen said coldly, “You haven’t been blessed by the gods and your mind has not been awoken to its psychic potential. Most importantly of all, you don’t even have a divine relic. Do you really think that learning our techniques will give you access to our power? How laughable!”
“I insist on learning them!” Cloudhawk shook his head stubbornly. “And what the heck are ‘divine relics’?”
What were divine relics? In truth, these “divine relics” were magical artifacts that the gods had bestowed upon mankind. The principal qualification needed to become a demon hunter was the ability to control and wield divine relics.
There were many different relics with many different attributes. Some held sway over fire, wind, ice, earth, and other elemental powers. The vast majority of demon hunters could only become psychically resonant with one type of relic… and that relic was the core of the true power which they were able to wield.
The Bloodsoaked Queen’s gloves and the cross hanging around her neck were both heaven-sent relics that the gods had bestowed upon their demon hunters. It was thanks to these mighty artifacts that the Bloodsoaked Queen possessed such inconceivable, supernatural power!
But of course, having access to relics alone did not a demon hunter make. Demon hunters not only needed powerful relics. They also needed powerful reservoirs of psychic energy. Psychic energy, in and of itself, possessed no offensive power. However, once it was perfectly fused with an attuned divine relic, it could create supernatural effects of unbelievable power.
The more psychic energy a demon hunter possessed, the more power the demon hunter would be able to unleash from his or her relics.
The Bloodsoaked Queen’s sacred crossblade of light was a divine relic. It normally hung around her neck in the form of an ordinary-looking cross, but when she filled it with her attuned psychic energy, its true form as a sacred crossblade would awaken, resulting in its transformation into a sword of light that could cut through all things!
If the sacred crossblade of light fell into wastelander hands or into the hands of a demon hunter with a different type of psychic energy, it would be of no use at all despite its tremendous power.
Demon hunters were partially honored for their power and partially for their incredible rarity. Even in the blessed lands loved by the gods, very few people had the talent needed to become a demon hunter. As for the wastelands and its foul heathens who were forsaken by the gods? They were born with tainted, corrupt blood in their veins. How could a place like this possibly give birth to someone with the talent needed to become a demon hunter?
Thunk! The Bloodsoaked Queen tossed a pitch-black staff to the ground. This staff was made of an unknown material. It looked very slick, but didn’t reflect any light at all. It was roughly three feet long and it was topped with an incredibly sharp tri-edged screw-blade. This weapon was one that could be used to stab or to hack, with both options creating huge, gaping wounds.
The “hilt” of this tri-bladed staff was round, metallic, and covered in squiggly lines that helped ensure the wielder was able to maintain a solid grip around it. At the very base of the staff was a mysterious rune that resembled the runes on the Queen’s gloves and cross.
A faint ripple of power emanated from the staff. Although the aura was very weak, there was no mistaking it. Completely surprised, Cloudhawk picked the staff up. “So this is a relic as well?”
Is this kid really able to hear a so-called “song” from divine relics? A puzzled look appeared on the Bloodsoaked Queen’s face. Still, she didn’t spend too much time considering this question before giving a fairly simple explanation. “Rookie demon hunters are unable to take control of powerful relics, so the Temple created a number of low-grade weapons and armaments for them to use. This weapon is known as an ‘exorcist rod’. Although it isn’t really a relic, it has the same properties as relics.”
“Are you giving this to me?” Cloudhawk felt shocked by this sudden display of favor. He lifted the metal staff, gave it a few experimental twirls, and used his knuckles to rap it. Even if it were nothing more than an ordinary weapon, it would still be quite the sturdy and powerful one; there was no way it would be as easily hacked through as an ordinary iron sword.
“It’s been a long time since low-grade relics like this were of any use to me.” No trace of emotion could be heard from the Bloodsoaked Queen’s hoarse voice. “Consider it my gift to you. Now, our accounts are settled. From this day forth, neither of us owe each other anything. You can leave now. Never come here again.”
Damn, she’s pretty heartless. Was it really necessary for her to draw such a clear line between the two of them? Wastelanders were human beings, same as her. Why were their lives supposedly worthless?
Cloudha
wk heaved a sigh. After having lived with each other for several days, he had thought that the Queen was beginning to view him a bit differently. Apparently, she felt just as disdainful towards him as she had from the start.
Cloudhawk silently put away the exorcist rod and solemnly said a single word: “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me.” The Queen turned and left the room, her hoarse and raspy voice ringing out behind her. “Sooner or later, Blackflag Outpost is going to be embroiled in a huge battle. If you want to stay alive, you need to leave this place immediately. This is my final warning to you. From this day forth, it’ll be as though we’d never met. You’re on your own.”
Cloudhawk slowly left the Queen’s private residence. He stood in front of the entrance for a few moments, a blank look on his face and a rather uncomfortable feeling in his heart.
The Bloodsoaked Queen was very young, but possessed incredible power. Even in the Elysian lands, she had to be an incredible figure, right? Cloudhawk was nothing more than a scavenger who struggled most of his life to stay alive in the ruins. The gulf between the two was as vast as the empyrean moat that separated the heavens and the earth. There was no way to bridge that gap.
For them to have met each other was nothing more than a complete accident, a twist of fate. Now, the threads of their destinies were about to untangle as they continued on their separate paths. In the end, it was guaranteed that they would never meet again.
Cloudhawk shook his head vigorously. What the hell was he even thinking about? It was nothing more than a brief, chance meeting. Cloudhawk had helped the Queen survive the most dangerous period of her life and the Queen had repaid him by giving him what he desired most. Now, their accounts were settled. Neither owed the other. This was an excellent ending… right?
The Wastelander Page 28
