Chapter 256: Let’s See What Happens

The two ran under strings of lanterns, gradually approaching the Maze Master.

As they ran, Feng Ling asked Ye Zheng, “How did you sleep last night?”

Ye Zheng shot her a glance and said nothing, but her foul expression said it all.

Feng Ling grinned. That made her feel better.

“The Daoist said the Maze Master might use spiritual power abilities. If things look bad after the blast, we retreat. The rendezvous point is where Little Skeleton and Xu Yiming are now.” Feng Ling glanced back quickly. “They’re about 200 meters away, so it should be safe.”

Ye Zheng said, “The strength of spiritual power is related to the caster’s body size. We need to find a way to reduce the mountain’s mass.”

“Another blast should do the trick,” Feng Ling said.

She recalled the black scales that were partially exposed after the last explosion. She subconsciously glanced around and added, “We should be able to see the red mist from this distance, but the fog’s color is normal right now. Looks like the part of the Maze Master we blasted open has been covered by the flesh again.”

“Let’s go check its Healing Ability.” Ye Zheng picked up her pace.

Once she sped up, Feng Ling started to fall behind.

She was just about to call for Ye Zheng to wait when Ye Zheng suddenly stopped and turned back. “There it is again—the music of the Wandering God.”

Feng Ling focused, listening intently. The sound was distant, separated from them by at least a few streets.

“Come on, let’s find a high spot to get a look.” Feng Ling tightened the straps of her heavy pack and ran into a nearby building.

The buildings near the central plaza were all rather short, the tallest being no more than four stories. So even from the rooftop, their field of view was limited.

Feng Ling and Ye Zheng moved across the rooftop, cautiously approaching the central plaza. Before long, they saw a procession carrying a palanquin ambling out of an intersection ahead.

The two instinctively held their breath and crouched low, their eyes fixed on the Divine Travel Team.

This was a team that had just returned. They stopped their drumming and music upon reaching the plaza. The Mouse Monsters in the procession threw themselves into the mountain of flesh like a pack of drunks. Even the largest among them, a Pseudo-God, toppled its massive head into the flesh.

Like a sponge, the mountain of flesh absorbed them with incredible speed. Then, the tattered areas on its surface, damaged by the explosion, began to show varying degrees of regeneration.

“Good thing we destroyed most of the tributes. Otherwise, all our previous work would’ve been for nothing,” Feng Ling whispered.

“Something’s odd,” Ye Zheng said, her brow furrowed. “This mountain can obviously produce these Pollution Bodies. So why didn’t it fight back at all when we blew it up? Does it lack intelligence?”

“Maybe genetic mutation just produced a brain-dead boss. In any case, we’ll find out what’s up once the fight starts,” Feng Ling said.

Ye Zheng shot her a look, clearly disapproving of her casual attitude.

Feng Ling paid her no mind. Grabbing the railing with one hand, she leaped down to an AC unit on the second floor, then landed neatly on the ground with a soft THUMP.

Ye Zheng followed right after.

By now, the last Mouse Monster had been completely absorbed. The entire mountain fell quiet, undulating slowly in place.

When the two were less than 20 meters away, the mountain seemed to notice them. A dozen or so of the nearest eyeballs swiveled in their direction.

Some of the eyeballs swiveled so forcefully that the blood-stained sinews attached to them were stretched taut.

Carrying the pack full of explosives, Feng Ling circled forward, maintaining a distance of about a dozen meters.

“Found it.” She stopped and pointed to a fleshy growth diagonally up the mountain’s side. “This is where we exposed the black scales last time,” she told Ye Zheng.

Ye Zheng nodded. “Since this spot is closest to the Maze Master, we’ll plant the explosives here.”

“We need to make an opening. These fleshy lumps are a pain.” Feng Ling pulled out a Universal Grenade, stepped back, pulled the pin, silently counted for a few seconds, and hurled it with all her might!

BOOM!!!

The fleshy growth was blown apart, leaving a bloody, shallow crater. The nearby eyeballs all bulged wide.

Ye Zheng said, “We don’t have much explosive left. We have to bury it deep to maximize the blast. Hold on to me—I’ll do it.”

Feng Ling took out the rope she had prepared and tied it around Ye Zheng’s waist.

Ye Zheng stared at the crater Feng Ling had created. She took a deep breath, crouched slightly, and leaped! Her wings beat behind her, the brief burst of lift propelling her even higher. Her sharp, slender legs landed on the mountain of flesh—

Before the grotesque mountain of flesh could absorb her, Ye Zheng swung her Tiger Claw, digging into the meat and viciously tearing away a layer!

When it came to digging, her Tiger Claw was far more efficient than Feng Ling’s Teeth and Claws or Bone Blade.

After two scrapes, she felt her body slowly sinking. Ye Zheng turned her head, held out a hand to Feng Ling below, and yelled, “Universal Grenade!”

“Catch!” Feng Ling tossed one up to her.

Ye Zheng caught the grenade in her left hand, bit the pin out with her teeth, and quickly shoved it into the hole she’d dug.

The sticky, pulling sensation from below grew stronger. She tried to turn and leave, but discovered that every one of her slender legs was mired in the flesh, unable to pull free.

They had anticipated this. Feng Ling gripped the rope and took off in a dead sprint in the opposite direction, yanking Ye Zheng free!

Simultaneously, the grenade exploded!

Flesh and blood flew. The two had finally created the deep crater they wanted in the side of the mountain.

“I have to go up again to plant the main charge.” Ye Zheng inspected herself, paying special attention to her long, slender spider-like legs. “…It’s not a big deal. Hold the rope and give me the explosives.”

“No need.” Feng Ling set down her pack, then hefted it with one hand. Taking aim at the crater, she swung her arm and hurled the entire pack through the air!

It was a direct hit.

Ye Zheng was stunned. Two seconds later, she looked at Feng Ling and let out a short, incredulous laugh. “I guess that works too.”

Feng Ling gestured to Ye Zheng. “Come on. Let’s find a good vantage point before we set it off.”

The two returned to the four-story building they were in before.

From their high vantage point, they could see the damaged mountain of flesh still undulating with its original rhythm. All was silent, and aside from the deep red blood dripping from the area wounded by the grenades, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

The mountain was so placid, it was as if it didn’t even know a bomb had been planted inside it.

Feng Ling took out the detonator.

With just a single press, the mountain would collapse further, disintegrate, and fall apart.

“After the last explosion, you could hear the sound of those desperate wishes once you got close enough,” Feng Ling said to Ye Zheng. “Should we plug our ears beforehand?”

Ye Zheng shook her head. “If it’s an auditory hallucination caused by spiritual power acting directly on the brain, what good would plugging our ears do?”

Feng Ling asked, “So you want to just wing it?”

Ye Zheng frowned in thought. “Let’s wait and see.”

Feng Ling seemed to have been waiting for just that. She teased, “And where’s the battle plan? Where are the precautionary measures?”

Ye Zheng glared at her. “If I made a plan right now, would you even be able to follow it to the letter?”

A smirk played on Feng Ling’s lips. “In that case, let’s just wait and see.”

With that, she pressed the detonator in her hand—