Lord of Rot

The Giant Crab that Leech had flipped over supported itself on its two pairs of great claws, struggling to right itself.

Leech wasn’t about to give it the chance. He’d been startled by the Giant Crab’s sudden charge and forced to reveal himself. Now, with the crab on its back, its legs flailing toward him, he’d be less of a man if he didn’t do something about it.

He snatched a war hammer from a nearby Soldier’s belt, rushed forward, and raised his right arm high.

The power of the three medicines stored in his body activated, and his muscles and blood vessels ached as power surged through them.

If not for the dark of Night, everyone present would have seen their lord’s arm swell by a full circle, becoming as thick as a thigh.

He smashed the hammer down on the Giant Crab’s belly.

SPLAT!

Its juices flew everywhere.

After a few final twitches of its legs, the Giant Crab fell completely still.

Wiping the crab innards from his face, Leech tossed the warped hammer to the ground. ”Keep moving forward! If you encounter any enemies, open fire immediately!”

Since the gunshots had already given them away, there was no longer any need to be stealthy.

As for the mangled corpse on the ground, it was barely recognizable as human.

’It was probably a Transcendent. What a waste.’

There was no value in salvaging it. For the money it would cost to patch up the body, he could just brute-force a whole new batch of Extraordinary individuals.

...

「Deep within the island.」

A group of people holding torches was exploring ahead.

The ground beneath their feet was covered in loose rocks, forcing them to tread carefully.

The firelight hid half of Dreden’s face in shadow. He whispered a command, ”There’s something strange about this island. Everyone be careful.”

A moment ago, while they were walking, one of his men had sat down on a large boulder to rest, only for the boulder to suddenly move.

Only then did they realize it wasn’t a boulder at all, but a terrifying Giant Crab as tall as a man.

Fortunately, the Transcendents present reacted quickly, but one man was still crushed to death in the Giant Crab’s claws.

Dreden Bill turned to look at the Soldiers following him.

He had brought three Transcendents with him on this expedition. Two were from the Bill family. After his illegitimate son, Guy, became a Transcendent last year, the value of such individuals had become apparent.

Anyone who wasn’t a fool could understand the immense impact the emergence of Transcendents would have on the world order.

Though they despised Guy for his ability to charm women, the Bills were also actively searching for other Transcendents to bolster their own strength.

The one who had given chase earlier was the son of a noble from Shanzhang Castle. He had a tendency to abuse women. Due to his low status and strange habits, he had no friends in the noble circles and a terrible reputation.

But after becoming a Transcendent, his fingernails became indestructible—even a Knight’s plate armor couldn’t withstand his grasp. As a result, Dreden valued him highly and kept him close.

Of the other two, one was as fast as the wind and incredibly agile.

The other was powerfully built and had four arms.

The four-armed one was a Mercenary Dreden had hired. Setting aside all else, the simple fact that he could wield four weapons while others could only hold two gave him a natural advantage in a fight.

Another part of his force consisted of seafarers—pirates, to be exact.

They followed Dreden because it was a chance to shed their pirate identities and one day rise above their station. Besides, Dreden paid well.

The rest were Dreden’s trusted Soldiers from Shanzhang Castle. They were few in number but were all well-equipped, elite troops.

A woman at his side brought a thick parchment book to Dreden. The firelight illuminated its contents: a very crude stick-figure drawing.

Dreden glanced at it and said, ”It should be just ahead.”

After ducking through a low, natural passageway, they found a cavern that descended downward.

Dreden took a torch and tossed it down.

It wasn’t too deep.

He gave a look, and the swift Transcendent jumped down first.

The man gestured back.

No danger.

The four-armed Transcendent Mercenary jumped down as well.

The others began to climb down one by one.

”What is that!”

WHUMP! WHUMP!

It sounded like someone forcefully waving a large fan.

A strong gust of wind surged out from the cavern, and the men who had just descended cried out in alarm.

”It’s a huge moth!”

’A moth?’

Dreden, who had yet to descend, froze. Then he saw a white moth the size of a calf flap its wings and charge into the group of men.

The men fell into chaos. The one who was struck fell to the ground, struggling and screaming in pain.

The giant moth’s proboscis landed on the man’s head.

Before their eyes, the man’s head deformed and shriveled.

The four-armed Transcendent Mercenary moved swiftly. Grasping four spears in his four hands, he leaped onto the moth’s back.

SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

All four spears plunged deep!

They not only pierced through the moth’s body but also skewered the not-quite-dead man pinned beneath it.

The two bodies were pinned to the ground.

”Don’t worry,” the Transcendent Mercenary said as he hopped off the corpses. ”It’s just a bit big.”

”Was that the only one?”

”Let’s keep looking deeper inside.”

Only one person had died in the commotion. From the fight, they learned that although the moths were large, they were slow. As long as they reacted quickly, they could spear them first.

They were just a bit tougher, that’s all.

As they proceeded, they killed several more giant moths. Only two men were injured, and no one died.

The injured men had gotten hurt by rolling away too fast and hitting a wall.

The farther they went, the wider the path became.

In the vast, open cavern ahead, there was a faint light.

A Soldier bent down and picked something up. ”This conch shell glows?”

The light wasn’t as bright as a candle, but it was enough to keep the dark space from being completely pitch-black.

Of course, they still needed torches for proper illumination.

Someone looked up and gasped in shock.

”Are those moth cocoons?” Massive cocoons hung from the ceiling above, densely packed. There were at least a hundred of them.

Walking through the spacious underground world and gazing up at the giant cocoons, the stark difference in size inspired a deep fear.

If moths emerged from all hundred of those cocoons, they would surely all die.

”It must be just ahead!”

Dreden was thrilled. Although the journal hadn’t mentioned giant moths in the island’s caves, nor any other dangers, he was certain the treasure he sought was just ahead!

The map was correct. Every step they had taken so far was correct.

He quickened his pace and, sure enough, discovered a pile of treasure up ahead.

The men behind him gasped. ”So many Silver Moons!”

Indeed, there were many Silver Moons—several thousand by the looks of it, piled into a small mound.

Beside it was a pile of copper stars several times taller than the mound of Silver Moons, likely numbering over ten thousand.

But converted to Jinri, it was only a few dozen coins. It could hardly be called a treasure.

The two Transcendents were dismissive. Even if the four-armed one used all his hands to grab money, how much could he carry? It wasn’t worth the effort.

Dreden commanded, ”Spread it out and look for the crown... Actually, I’ll look for it myself!”

He was genuinely afraid one of his men would find the crown before he did. After all, according to legend, whoever obtained the crown would gain the right to become a King.

The others stood guard with their torches while Dreden bent over, rummaging through the mounds of silver and copper.

The only sound was the CLATTER of the treasure being shifted.

”Haha, I found it!”

Suddenly, a series of loud noises from outside shattered Dreden’s joy.

”What’s happening?”

”Someone else is on the island!”

Dreden was jolted from his elation.

”Go check it out!”

Four or five Soldiers received the order. Though they desperately wanted to grab a handful from the silver mound, they dared not disobey. They drew the Longswords from their waists and went out.

「A short while later.」

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!

The tremendous sounds echoed back, and then everything fell silent.

That sound proved the others had also entered the underground cavern.

”What was that?” Dreden’s scalp tingled with fear. ’What in the world just happened? Where are my men? My Transcendent? And what in the world was that terrifying, rapid series of booms?’