Sunset Warrior Chant - Chapter 54 - Magical Beast Garden (Part 9)

The level 4 swordsman saw the giant octopus with half of its head above the water. He shouted loudly, unleashing a powerful Wind Chasing Slash as a golden arc of electricity whistled downwards.

Observing the formidable power of the Wind Chasing Slash, the octopus used a few of its front tentacles to pull on some tree branches, leaping forward quickly. Its massive head landed skillfully on a branch five meters away. Its movements were extremely swift, and as its more than ten-meter-wide body hung from the tree, everyone felt the ground beneath them sink.

Lu Xiner shouted, “Be careful not to get entangled by its tentacles. Don’t act alone.”

Xiao Gang, standing with Fu Qiruo, shook his Berserk Sword and said, “I don’t believe I can’t chop off your disgusting limbs.”

Fu Qiruo warned, “Be careful!”

Xiao Gang laughed, “I’m just teasing it,” when suddenly a green shadow flashed before his eyes, and in the next moment, his hand felt light-the Berserk Sword was gone. Shocked, Xiao Gang noticed the sword was now over ten meters away atop the octopus’s head, caught high in the air by one of its tentacles, as if the octopus was taunting him.

Fu Qiruo had just seen the tentacle reach out. Even though he saw it, it happened too quickly. His Spirit Sword was too late in slicing through it. The tentacle moved at an eerie angle, seemingly even more elusive than Maria’s Black Magic Whip. Of course, a whip is dead, while the tentacle was alive, something Fu Qiruo understood well.

Seeing that the ice blade had little effect on the giant octopus, Lu Xiner switched to using Light Feather Arrow from light magic. The mages launched a united attack with Fire Sword, Light Feather Arrow, wind blade, and Inferno Blade targeting the octopus. It either blocked with its tentacles or leaped left and right to dodge, evading strong attacks and blocking weaker ones, while gradually approaching the group.

Xiao Gang, worried that the octopus might accidentally drop the Berserk Sword into the water and lose it to the current, watched for a while and realized the octopus held the sword tightly. His worries proved unnecessary, and Xiao Gang finally calmed down, secretly considering how to reclaim the sword.

The tree shook violently with each leap of the octopus, causing the movements to be wide and intense. Standing higher up, Qi Nanshan felt the wind rustling past his face and the rumbling waves beneath his feet, as if he were in a vast ocean. He gripped the tree trunk tightly, with his five fingers digging into the wood without realizing it.

Seeing Qi Nanshan hanging high up and seemingly unfazed, Xiao Gang, eager to retrieve his Berserk Sword, shouted, “Come down quickly!” Qi Nanshan blankly watched the people below move, saying and doing nothing. After waiting a while longer, Xiao Gang called out again, “If you don’t come down, then throw your sword down for me to use.”

Qi Nanshan hesitated for a moment while looking at the giant octopus, then drew his large blade, staring at it absentmindedly. He murmured to himself, “Dad always taught me, ‘As long as the sword is in hand, you live; if the sword is lost, so are you.’ This sword of mine was snatched from me dozens of times every day by Dad. When have I ever held onto it firmly? When will I be able to firmly grasp my own life?”

Xiao Gang saw Qi Nanshan muttering to himself, seemingly not hearing him. Suddenly, Qi Nanshan leapt down and said, “You all saved my life, and today I’m willing to risk it.” As he spoke, there was an aura of intimidation about him, as if he had become a different person, appearing ten years older in the eyes of the onlookers.

Qi Nanshan stepped onto a horizontal branch as if walking on flat ground, his steel blade emanating battle energy, a golden glow over a foot long flickering erratically. He slowly approached the octopus. Two tentacles darted toward him with incredible speed, and as Qi Nanshan’s hand rose and his blade fell, Xiao Gang saw a flash of golden light as two long tentacles were severed, falling rapidly into the water. The octopus shuddered as the two cut tentacles retracted like lightning.

Everyone was astonished, not expecting Qi Nanshan’s blade to be so incredibly fast; it was simply unbelievable. Even during his previous battle with Tituo Yi, they hadn’t noticed him display such fierce moves.

The giant octopus stepped back, its long tentacles dancing, and then moved forward again. Qi Nanshan continued to advance, and several tentacles rapidly reached for his head and hands. Qi Nanshan swung his steel blade, golden light streaming everywhere, forming a curtain of light. The octopus’s tentacles, upon nearing, were repelled before they could reach him, making Qi Nanshan appear impenetrable. Xiao Gang, witnessing this, thought, “Qi Nanshan has actually broken through; when did he become a level 4 swordsman?”

The octopus, seeing Qi Nanshan’s formidable blade, was still unwilling to back down. A dozen tentacles reached toward him again. Qi Nanshan met them with his blade, and with the sound of “puff puff,” greenish blood splattered everywhere as he hacked several tentacles into mincemeat. The remaining tentacles retracted, but suddenly there was a snapping sound, and Qi Nanshan found himself losing support as the branch he was standing on suddenly broke.

The people behind Qi Nanshan saw clearly that when the octopus attacked with its dozen tentacles, two tentacles had quietly coiled around the thick branch under his feet. With a tight squeeze, the branch, over a foot thick, was instantly snapped by the octopus’s grip, and Qi Nanshan’s body plummeted toward the water.

As Qi Nanshan strode toward the giant octopus, everyone was astonished by his presence. Standing between them and the octopus, they hesitated to unleash their magical attacks. Observing him sever the octopus’s tentacles single-handedly, they thought he could handle it alone, and nearly everyone paused, watching the battle from the sidelines. But as Qi Nanshan suddenly lost his footing, they felt powerless and could only watch in shock as he fell toward the water.

Qi Nanshan was startled, letting out a shout as his body grew weightless. Xiao Gang felt a pang of regret, thinking that his casual comment about borrowing a sword might have driven Qi Nanshan to take on this risk alone. If Qi Nanshan fell into the water, there could be unknown dangers lurking, and at the very least, he’d be left floundering and swallowing a few mouthfuls of water.

Just as everyone was feeling anxious and helpless, Qi Nanshan suddenly felt a tightness around his waist. To his relief, he realized it wasn’t a tentacle but a vine wrapping around him. He looked up to see that the other end of the vine was held by Lu Xiner.

Lu Xiner exerted force with her arms, swinging Qi Nanshan through the air in a wide arc before he landed safely back on the tree. Feeling solid ground beneath his feet, his heart finally settled.

Lu Xiner teased, “Just because you’re a level 4 swordsman, you think you can show off?”

“I was perched up there and needed to lend my sword. What else am I supposed to do? I just…,” Qi Nanshan blushed, stumbling over his words.

Lu Xiner, however, leapt down, her hands flashing with white light as several Light Feather Arrows shot out, aiming for the giant octopus’s head. She called out, “Unleash your magic at the octopus, and don’t give it any room to dodge.”

The fire magic mage shouted, red energy waves surging around him as six red lights shot toward the octopus. The Blazing Eruption exploded near the octopus, a loud boom echoing, as greenish blood sprayed over a meter high from its head. Seizing the chaos, the mages launched a concentrated attack, and the octopus, overwhelmed, moved back rapidly, retreating over ten meters. Its eyes fixed on the fire magic mage, glaring fiercely.

During the chaos, as the octopus battled, Xiao Gang anxiously eyed his Berserk Sword swaying in the wind on one of the tentacles. It was a treasured sword from his master, unlike any ordinary weapon. Now unarmed, his level 2 magic posed no threat to the octopus. Seeing how Lu Xiner used the vine to rescue Qi Nanshan, an idea struck him. Pointing to the vine in Qi Nanshan’s hand, he shouted, “Bro, lend me that vine!”

Qi Nanshan tossed the vine to Xiao Gang. Holding one end, Xiao Gang let the other dangle as he thought to himself, “Come on, octopus, come up quickly!”

After a moment, their calls seemed to be answered-not one, but two octopuses emerged. Just moments ago, they had thought they had the upper hand. Now, facing more enemies, fear swept over them. How could they possibly handle more if they kept coming?

Fortunately, no third octopus appeared.

As the two octopuses advanced together, nobody dared to relax for a moment. Various magical moves were unleashed like a torrential downpour, indiscriminately targeting the octopuses. The newly arrived octopus became the primary “target” of their attacks. Xiao Gang stealthily moved closer to the first octopus, and with a swift flick of his arm, he hurled the vine toward it. The vine wrapped around a tentacle raised high, and on that tentacle hung Xiao Gang’s Berserk Sword.

“Help me get my sword back!” Xiao Gang shouted to everyone.

Seeing its tentacle tangled up, the octopus tightened its grip on the Berserk Sword, pulling hard against the vine. Xiao Gang had already looped his end of the vine around a thick branch. The octopus’s tug transferred most of the force to the branch, but even so, Xiao Gang felt a tightness in his arm. If he relaxed for even a moment, the vine would slip from his grasp.

Xiao Gang called out, and Lu Xiner and Fu Qiruo leapt into action, sending waves of wind blades and Light Feather Arrows at the octopus. They couldn’t afford to let up, knowing the danger Xiao Gang faced if the octopus pulled him closer.

The octopus twisted and turned, the vine tightening and slackening in the air. Suddenly, Qi Nanshan joined the fray, infused with battle energy. He unleashed a Wind Chasing Slash. The octopus, already heavily injured, couldn’t evade under the dual assault from Lu Xiner and Fu Qiruo. Forced to use its tentacle defensively, it shivered as several more tentacles were severed.

The octopus retreated rapidly, causing the thick branch beside Xiao Gang to creak ominously, as if it might snap at any moment.

With another Wind Chasing Slash from Qi Nanshan, the octopus shuddered violently, tearing off its taut tentacle by itself. Xiao Gang suddenly felt the tension ease, and the branch swung back as the vine, Berserk Sword, and half a tentacle flew toward him. Qi Nanshan stepped forward swiftly, catching the Berserk Sword easily and pulling off the remaining part of the tentacle. “Here’s your sword,” he said to Xiao Gang.

Xiao Gang grinned, “Trying to repay your debt to me so quickly?”

Just then, they felt the tree sway again. With a splash, the wounded octopus dove back into the water and disappeared.

Everyone joined forces to deal with the remaining octopus. Those wielding swords charged forward, including Fu Qiruo with his Spirit Sword. Having just watched Qi Nanshan’s battle with the octopus, they realized that the speed of its tentacles wasn’t as terrifying as they first imagined-perhaps even slower than a golden snake. The octopus merely had numerous tentacles and a strange appearance, which took some getting used to.

The four warriors brandished their blades with extraordinary bravery. The flash of swords and knives lit up the air with continuous sounds of slicing. The octopus hopped from tree to tree, while Qi Nanshan led the charge, relentlessly threatening the giant head of the creature. The octopus extended over a dozen tentacles, reaching for his head and feet at once, but with the flash of a blade, bits of octopus flesh were soon flying around him. One tentacle managed to entangle Qi Nanshan, but as a level 4 swordsman, he wasn’t the least bit intimidated. With a mighty pull, he tore the tentacle apart.

The four fighters struck relentlessly, sending tentacles flying one after another. Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the dozens of tentacles were dispatched. With one final blow, Qi Nanshan cleaved into the octopus’s head, which tilted to the side before plunging into the water with a splash. Whether or not it could swim away remained unknown.

Lu Xiner watched as green blood splattered, and suddenly, she started to vomit. With the immediate threat gone, everyone noticed a strange smell, making them feel nauseated; even Fu Qiruo couldn’t help but retch.

With one octopus dead and the other injured, none leaped up again. Fu Qiruo looked into the distance, seeing nothing but the towering walls of the Magical Beast Garden and the trees poking above the water, transformed into a watery world. Many stood in the trees, battling the giant octopuses with fervor.

Nearby, an enormous octopus uprooted a small tree, sending a group of people plunging into the water with cries of alarm. Soon, two or three heads emerged, shouting for help, but within moments, they disappeared beneath the water’s surface, never to be seen again.

Shaken, the group huddled by the large tree for two to three hours without incident. The sounds of battle faded within the Magical Beast Garden, as if the Sea Spirit Maiden had called off the octopuses. After waiting another one or two hours, they noticed the water level gradually receding, draining away to some unknown place. In half an hour, it had completely dried up.

The ground of the Magical Beast Garden was a muddy mess, scattered with red and green remnants-human limbs and octopus tentacles alike. Lu Xiner looked at the mess and vomited again.

They rested under the tree, waiting for new developments. They stayed until the sun began to set in the west, but nothing happened as darkness slowly enveloped the sky.