A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 643: Kalingoot’s Origins P1

All of the suicidal squid Sentient Fiends were laced with Aksai’s high-quality Second Order talismans.

These talismans were among Aksai’s failed talisman-creation experiments, but he had put them to use anyway.

They were based on Heretic Dao principles, making them highly volatile and destructive in nature. Once activated, they had to be detonated within a day—otherwise, they would explode on their own without a trigger.

No sane Spirit Cultivator would ever use such talismans, as they could just as easily harm the user as the enemy. That was why only Aksai’s suicidal puppets could make proper use of them.

Before Heebyuk could fully rise, the other three Fiends descended on him.

He cut another one in half, but it exploded again, ripping apart his defenses. The last two pinned him down, their vines tightening around his limbs before detonating together.

Shuan walked toward the billowing smoke, calm and unfazed.

When the dust finally cleared, Heebyuk lay broken on the ground, barely alive and gasping weakly. Shuan stepped on his chest, keeping him pinned in place.

“Hehehe. How did you like the arrangements we made for you, bald guy?” Shuan smirked and asked as he looked down at the severely injured Heebyuk.

Heebyuk spat to the side, a thin line of blood trailing from his lips. His chest rose and fell in rough, uneven breaths. He glared up at Shuan, eyes burning with anger despite his broken state.

“You… you cowards,” he muttered, coughing again as more blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. “You set us up. That was a false intel you fed us by sacrificing your own man. Don’t you have any semblance of warrior pride?”

Shuan let out a short laugh at first, then broke into a louder one as he stepped closer. The sound echoed across the quiet clearing.

“Hahaha… that’s funny coming from you,” Shuan said, stopping right over Heebyuk. He looked down with a mocking smile. “Weren’t you the one who tried to sneak into our territory first? Weren’t you the one slipping through the island with your little covert tricks, trying to get the most benefit while keeping your losses low?

“And let’s not talk about the fact that you abandoned your own warriors and tried to escape on your own when things got too difficult for you.”

He pressed his foot harder onto Heebyuk’s chest. Bones shifted, and Heebyuk winced, biting back another cry.

“If you do it, it’s being smart,” Shuan went on, his voice cold. “But if we do it, it’s cowardice? Hahaha.”

He bent down slightly, his shadow falling over the wounded man.

“I don’t even blame you guys for sneaking in. Everyone wants to avoid damage to the island’s resources. But at least keep your own hypocrisy in check.”

He pushed down harder, and Heebyuk gasped as the weight crushed into him, leaving him unable to speak, only able to stare up with bloodshot eyes filled with rage and helplessness.

Then all of a sudden, something within Heebyuk changed. A twisted smile slowly formed on his blood-stained lips. Then he began laughing—low at first, then louder, mocking, broken by coughs.

“You… cough… cough… You think you won the battle just because you killed us?” he said, laughing again. “Hahaha… cough cough… Look… look at the sea around your island.”

Shuan frowned but didn’t turn around. Heebyuk kept laughing.

“The Kalingoot army has already surrounded you. Soon… very soon… the frontal attack will begin,” Heebyuk said, his voice weak but filled with pride. “My death… my men’s death… won’t change anything for you. In fact, it will be worse.”

He coughed again, blood running down his chin.

“If we can’t get the resources of Emerald Cove through smart methods… then we will burn everything and start fresh.

“The real value of this island is not the resources it houses. It is the land itself. It can keep producing these rare resources again and again. Even if we destroy everything you made, the land will remain.”

His smile widened.

“It may take some time for us to rebuild from scratch… but Kalingoot has the power to do that. And now… because of your actions… we have no reason to hold back. You took away the better option. So you should hide, or run… or better yet, join us.”

He looked up with a smug face.

“If you join us… when the frontal attack begins… I can speak for you. I can stop you from dying a useless death. Or worse… from being tortured by the Kalingoot’s punisher force.”

Shuan stood still, silent, face unreadable. After a long moment, he slowly nodded.

“You… you are right,” Shuan whispered. “We… we didn’t think about the main force of Kalingoot. We didn’t think about the bigger picture. I… I might as well join you and—”

Heebyuk’s eyes lit up. A greedy smile crept across his face.

’Hehehe… he just ate that up so easily. This… this fool is easy to control,’ he thought. ’I can use him to finish the infiltration. Then send the signal to the main army. I will escape, recover within an hour, and when the time is right, I can kill him before he reaches Kalingoot’s side. Haha… everything is still—’

His thoughts broke suddenly when smack! Shuan’s hand struck his face so hard his head snapped to the side.

Heebyuk froze, stunned.

Shuan burst into laughter.

“You bald monkey,” Shuan said, looking down on him. “Did you really think I would join your side because you gave me such a cheap invitation?”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Do you think the cultivators of Emerald Cove are stupid and easy to trick? We already knew about Kalingoot’s plans. We sent our own spies into your camps. Don’t think that spying and sneaking belong only to Kalingoot.”

Shuan leaned down with a smirk.

“In fact, we did it better than you.”

Just as he said this, a deep boom sounded in the distance.

Then another.

And another.

Boom. Boom. Boom.