Lord of Prayer

Chapter 119: Chapter 101: Crimson Scythe

“Mr. Lamp God… please save me… save me…”

Zhou Chen shot up in bed and focused, listening intently. The pleading voice was faint and ethereal, as if coming from a great distance—too unclear to tell if it was male or female.

’Right now, only Soron and Lin Ya know the Lamp God exists, so I don’t know who’s calling for help… I can’t rule out some “fairy tale enthusiast” getting desperate and trying anything, somehow managing to call on me. Of course, the probability of that is very, very small—practically negligible…’ As Zhou Chen’s thoughts raced, what surprised him more was that he could actually hear a prayer at all.

“I’m feeling more and more like an Evil God…”

Muttering, Zhou Chen closed his eyes. His consciousness floated upward, and he arrived in the Round Table Hall with its Obsidian Round Table.

Wish Bubbles of various sizes and brilliant colors floated around him. A clear cry for help emanated from one of them. As his consciousness reached out and touched the Wish Bubble, a blurry image instantly appeared before him.

In the pitch-black night, Lin Ya fled in terror along the riverbank, carrying a bag of supplies. A bloated and bizarre creature was in relentless pursuit.

The monster appeared to be pieced together from human corpses. Its body had seven rotting heads in total, seemingly from a single family. Numerous hands and feet of varying lengths protruded from its torso, giving it the appearance of a giant spider. It scrambled forward with a chaotic mix of hands and feet, moving with extreme speed while brandishing its other arms. It was a horrifying sight.

Terrified to the point of tears, Lin Ya screamed as she fled. In her mind, she prayed frantically, her thoughts choked with sobs, hoping for Mr. Lamp God’s help.

The scene in the Wish Bubble seemed to be playing out in real time, meaning Lin Ya was being hunted by the monster at this very moment.

’I remember Lin Ya is in Jinzhu… This is a stitched monster, mutated from contamination. That means there’s been another contamination event in Jinzhu… A contamination source like this would never get past the scanners. The Special Operations Team is probably on its way, but Lin Ya is about to be caught…’ Zhou Chen’s thoughts raced. He tried to extend his consciousness to communicate with Lin Ya and was surprised by how smoothly it went. An invisible connection formed between them almost instantly.

“Miss Lin Ya, do not forget that you are an Ascender.”

A familiar voice suddenly rang in the fleeing Lin Ya’s ears. It was like warm sunlight tearing through the gloom to illuminate her heart, instantly melting away most of her fear. In its place came a wave of unprecedented joy and surprise. ’Mr. Lamp God is really watching me! He responded to my plea immediately!’

However, the sound of the bizarre monster scrambling behind her made Lin Ya tense up again. “Mr. Lamp God, what should I do? That monster… it’s terrifying…”

“You must learn to fight.”

The Lamp God said in a gentle tone, “A team of Star Association Ascenders is on the way, but it’ll take them two minutes to get here. The monster will catch you in thirty seconds.

If you want to live, you have to learn to fight.”

Zhou Chen could see that this stitched monster wasn’t actually very strong. As an Ascender, she should be able to hold it off for a while even if she was empty-handed—long enough for the Special Operations Team Operators to arrive.

But if all she did was run without putting up any fight, she’d be no different from a lamb to the slaughter.

’Fight…’

’This is a test. A test from Mr. Lamp God. He wants to see my worth…’ She instantly understood the Lamp God’s intention. Wiping the tears from her eyes, her expression hardened with resolve.

She dropped the shopping bag and turned to face the bizarre creature scrambling toward her. Surprisingly, she no longer felt any fear.

In that moment, the fanatical faith in her heart washed away her fear of the monster. ’If I kill this beast, I’ll pass Mr. Lamp God’s test!’

A crimson light bloomed from Lin Ya’s hand. It rapidly stretched and morphed, growing inch by inch, until in an instant it solidified into a ferocious yet beautiful Crimson Scythe, which she gripped tightly.

As her Essence surged, a crimson glow pulsed from the scythe’s edge like a tide, illuminating pupils that burned with a fanatical fire.

The stitched monster lunged at her. Lin Ya dodged to the side with clumsy footwork and swung the long scythe. As if it were a hot knife through butter, the blade easily sliced off several of the creature’s arms.

Immediately after, she brought the scythe down in a vertical chop. It plunged deep into the stitched monster’s body like an ice pick. With a vicious downward pull, she sliced open the cold flesh. Gore splattered everywhere as a disgusting assortment of rotting organs spilled out. The sight made Lin Ya’s stomach churn, and she nearly threw up.

From within the gushing gore, an arm with sharp nails shot out from the wound. Lin Ya brought the scythe up to block just in time. A harsh screech of scraping metal rang out, and the immense force of the blow sent her stumbling back several steps.

“Why… Why did you run away…?” one of the female heads on the stitched monster spoke, its voice like the shriek of a malevolent spirit. “We only want you to experience ecstasy. We only want to set you free… Join us. You will experience a joy you’ve never known before…”

Lin Ya paid it no mind. She dodged a swipe from one of the monster’s arms. Her own arm, though trembling slightly, tightened its grip on the scythe. She put all her strength into a horizontal sweep. With a flash of crimson light and a spray of blood, several more arms fell to the ground. The attack also carved a grisly gash across the mutated monster’s body, from which fresh blood flowed freely.

She suddenly realized the monster wasn’t so terrifying after all. With just a few swings, she had severed its arms and sliced open its torso.