139 Swallowing the Moon (1/2)
The widespread uproar caused even more people to appear. No one understood what was going on, but all the ninth layer Sky Warriors banded together to take down Ke Fang, the guard who had seemingly lost his mind.
Xue Wei was still hiding. He was not close, but he was not far away either. He was hiding on the rooftop of a nearby house, cloaked in the dark of the night where no one could see him and a smirk was spread on his lips.
This Ke Fang had been gloating earlier that day when he saw Xue Wei and Hei Gou strolling through the village, yet now he was under the control of the people he had looked down upon.
It took time for the other experts to take down Ke Fang. Although he was one against many, he had been fighting with reckless abandon and was desperately trying to take down as many experts as possible.
Eventually after an hour, when he had caused severe injuries, there was no more Qi left in his body, and he was fighting solely based on his physical strength.
”Now the big question is whether or not he will be killed, or if I have to end it,” Xue Wei wondered to himself as he looked at the scene that was playing out in front of him.
The ninth layer Sky Warriors were all angry beyond belief. They could not understand what was going on, and no matter how much they tried, they saw no reason for Ke Fang's sudden mental collapse.
”Don't kill him!” someone yelled out. ”We need to investigate what is causing him to behave like this!”
Hearing this, Xue Wei shook his head. As if he would ever give them the chance to question the man he was controlling. Using Mind Infestation, he completely eradicated the guard's soul.
Finally, Ke Fang's eyes turned dim, and his movements stopped. He no longer struggled but instead collapsed on the ground.
It was impossible to live without a soul, so when Xue Wei extinguished the soul of the expert, his life also vanished together with it.
Xue Wei turned around and rushed back to the temple without being noticed. He knew that they would start searching the surrounding areas after realizing the man had died to see if they could find the cause for his sudden revolt.
Xue Wei had a sinister smile on his lips as he rushed back to the temple. On the way, he ran into the priestess, who was smiling slightly at the sight of him, but he just nodded his head and vanished into the room he had been given.
”How was it?” Hei Gou asked right away when he saw Xue Wei entering the room. The latter grinned, nodding his head. ”According to plan,” Xue Wei announced.
They then sat down and discussed the next part of the plan. During the following day, Xue Wei and Hei Gou left the temple and walked through the village, only to find that a somber and depressed atmosphere covered it.
A funeral was underway, and a large pyre was evident in the middle of the town, where the corpse of last night's crisis were being burnt on their platforms, after which their ashes would be gathered and handed over to their families.
No one paid attention to Xue Wei or Hei Gou. The two of them were being treated as if they were air. The villagers were unhappy with what had happened, and shocked, unable to fully comprehend it, but they did not connect the sudden change in Ke Fang's behavior to these two strangers.
If anything, the blame was being put on the sword Tianyi. Maybe it had gained so much strength that it was capable of invading the minds of the experts in the village? No one knew, but this was the theory that Xue Wei heard the villagers mutter to one another. A snicker escaped him for a second before he steeled his expression and straightened out the look on his face.
The two friends did not stay in the village for long before returning to the temple. And when they did, they ran into the priestess on the way.
The priestess looked at them with a contemplating gaze, but she asked nothing and said nothing either. She just let them pass her and enter the temple. As to whether or not she had guessed the truth, Xue Wei did not doubt that she knew, but she had long since steeled herself for the fact that to gain freedom she had to be willing to sacrifice the other villagers.
Xue Wei could only feel praise for her. She had grown up together with the villagers, and although they all secretly hated her, they were the reason she had been alive for so long. They had looked after her and provided her with anything she might need, but now she was still able to sacrifice them for her own future.
The following night, Xue Wei once more snuck out of the temple and went down to the gate. Once more, he controlled another guard, who went on to slaughter everyone that came close to him
He failed to take out the entire village this time as well, but the other ninth layered Sky Warriors were starting to feel the toll after fighting two desperate experts two nights in a row.
This continued on the third night, but this time one of the sane Ninth layer Sky Warriors made a mistake and died.
The day after that, the villagers stopped guarding the gates out of fear for the same thing happening again. The experts opted instead to patrol the village.
This time, the weaker experts started committing suicide. One after another, they would brandish their swords and slice their throats. When they did, their eyes were completely blank and filled with nothingness, each one of them not even pausing for a moment to consider what they were doing.