Lord of Rot

A swarm of bees descended upon them.

In an instant, all four were completely covered, enveloped in a buzzing mass.

Jonney raised a hand and slapped his own body, SPLAT, killing a swath of the Extraordinary bees.

But the stingers of the Extraordinary bees were themselves remarkable. Like living aphids, they burrowed relentlessly into flesh and blood through skin pores. Even when some of the bees were slapped dead, it did nothing to stop the assault of their stingers.

Jonney tensed every muscle in his body, trapping the stingers just beneath the surface and preventing them from penetrating any deeper.

Though the Extraordinary bees were strong, their stings were not much more powerful than a musket ball. As long as he kept his eyes, nose, and mouth shut, he wouldn’t be seriously injured.

He took a step forward.

”Fall back!”

Luca said nervously. The moment he opened his mouth, a blast of intense heat erupted, forcing back the surrounding swarm of Extraordinary bees.

”Shut up,” Arkke said, her eyes fixed on Jonney.

The other three attackers fared worse. One had been stung in the eye, while the other two were being invaded through their nostrils and ears and were writhing in agony. Only Jonney strode toward Arkke and the others. He ignored all the bees attacking his body, determined to kill Arkke first. He knew that without its master, the swarm would surely disperse.

...

Leech returned to Iron Stone City.

”Rocket!”

”KRAAW!”

The Horse-headed Eagle Rocket, whom Leech hadn’t seen in a long time, had grown even stronger. Its frame hadn’t gotten any larger, but it was still bulking up.

”Looks like it’s not time for you to take a mate yet.”

Leech patted Rocket’s shoulder, in no hurry to have it breed Little Horse-headed Eagles. His plan for a Horse-headed Eagle Knight Team was still just a concept, and there was no rush.

Rocket docilely nuzzled its head against his cheek.

Lin Nuo, the female Barbarian from the Northern Territory following Leech, and Vendra, who was holding the golden Holy Grail, stared at Rocket in astonishment. Although they had heard the legends of Baron Porcupine, seeing the eagle-headed flying horse with their own eyes left them utterly astounded.

Suddenly, they saw their Lord’s expression change slightly.

Leech gripped the reins and looked down at them. ”You all rest in Iron Stone City. Wait for my return!”

”Yes!” They had no reason to refuse.

”Let’s go!”

With a shake of the reins, Rocket understood Leech’s intent. After a quick, two-step takeoff, it spread its wings and soared into the sky.

The clouds fell away beneath its wings. From this height, even the overlapping mountain ranges could no longer obstruct his view.

The wind whipped across Leech’s gaunt face, but his eyes were sharp and full of life.

”To the island!”

”SCREEE—!”

The Horse-headed Eagle was even faster than before. Even Leech, as an Extraordinary, couldn’t withstand the immense wind pressure that felt like a sledgehammer to the face. He flattened himself as much as possible, hugging the saddle.

It felt as if he were truly riding a rocket into the heavens.

The wind made the rims of his ears ache. The airflow tugged at his short hair, yanking it back so hard it felt like a giant, invisible hand was trying to rip it out by the roots.

This was the price for a speed that surpassed all limits.

Leech squinted down from high in the sky. Villages the size of his palm slowly receded below, and a castle the size of his finger faintly appeared. He had reached Porcupine Territory.

’Maybe one day I’ll really get the chance to travel the world on Rocket.’

”SCREEE—!”

Rocket let out a long cry, announcing its return to Porcupine Territory.

The soldiers on watch looked up but could only see a small, blurry black dot, unable to make out what it was. Only the eagle’s cry carried for an immense distance.

A journey that would take a full day and night by boat was crossed in a mere instant.

After circling once in the air, Rocket slowly descended to the island.

In all of Porcupine Territory, only one person could ride a Horse-headed Eagle. Thus, as soon as it landed, a group of people rushed over.

”My Lord!” Lacy Sith approached. ”The ones who landed on the island to raid us have all been captured.”

”What are the casualties?”

”Of the invaders, one is dead and four are wounded,” Lacy said. ”Luca killed one, and Arkke captured the other four.”

”As for our people… including Luca and Arkke, only three survived.”

He knew his Lord had always valued Arkke, but he never expected her to be able to subdue four Extraordinaries by herself. ’And from the sounds of it, Luca was also being suppressed by one of them. If Arkke hadn’t intervened in time, Luca would have been the one who died.’

Upon receiving the raven’s message, Lacy knew something was wrong and immediately set out with his men by boat.

”Dispose of all the bodies properly,” Leech said. ”Send the fallen Soldiers to the Heroic Spirit Hall, and make sure their families are fully compensated.”

”Yes, my Lord!” Lacy nodded.

”And the identities of the attackers?”

”They only claim to be sea raiders.”

”Sea raiders? And their ship?”

”The ship was already gone by the time we arrived.”

Beneath Leech’s outwardly calm demeanor, a volcano of fury was about to erupt.

’I just want to develop my territory in peace, yet someone insists on causing trouble for me.’

”They’ll talk,” he said. He could easily make a corpse speak, and corpses only told the truth.

Leech looked toward two figures approaching in the distance.

”My Lord!” Arkke ran the last few steps, rushing up to Leech, only to stop short as she drew near, hesitating slightly.

Leech raised his arm and pulled Arkke into his embrace, saying softly, ”You did well.”

Her cheeks flushed red as she said quietly, ”I subdued them with some poisonous bees I cultivated using a Magic Potion.”

Perhaps sensing Luca’s equally fervent gaze upon their Lord, Arkke had been eager to prove herself. Now, held in her Lord’s embrace, she felt happy and satisfied, feeling that all her work cultivating those special bees had been worthwhile.

Though Arkke appeared unscathed, all the Extraordinary bees she had recently cultivated were now dead. She would likely have to start over from scratch.

Luca was in much worse shape. He had suffered multiple fractures and a dislocated jaw. If not for the robust constitution of a dragon-descended Extraordinary, he would have been crippled for life. Now, all he needed were some poultices and a good rest.

...

Jonney had ignored the assault of the Extraordinary bees, closing in on Arkke step by step.

Hundreds, even thousands, of Extraordinary bees sacrificed their lives just to drive their stingers into his body. ’It’s just a few bee stings,’ Jonney had thought, paying them no mind.

But after a few more steps, he felt something was wrong. A numbness spread through his body.

A few steps more, and he lost control of his body completely.

He finally collapsed to the ground.

When Jonney awoke, he found himself in a dungeon.

It was dim and damp.

It felt as though the place hadn’t seen daylight in years.

Only patches of moss gave off a faint, phosphorescent glow.

The cell door wasn’t sturdy; Jonney felt he could break out with one hand. Yet he sat cautiously on the cot, trying to first restore his body to its peak condition.

RUMBLE!

His stomach roared. His stamina was completely drained, and his strength had diminished significantly.

Light footsteps echoed from outside. Jonney immediately looked toward the sound. By the faint light of the glowing moss, he could just barely make out the visitor’s appearance.

”It seems you recognize me.”

”Baron Porcupine!”

”I won’t bother asking who you are. I’m not interested in self-introductions, and your title probably isn’t as long as mine, anyway.” He chuckled, recalling the way lords pompously announced their full titles whenever they met.

Jonney watched, an eerie feeling growing in his gut, as Baron Leech laid out several items one by one. The Baron hadn’t asked who he was or who had sent him; he just kept placing objects on the ground.

A huge snakeskin was covered in etched Runes.

It felt as though souls were imprisoned within them; he could sense a palpable anguish emanating from the Runes.

Jonney’s mouth went dry. The Baron hadn’t laid a hand on him, yet a profound fear began to take root.

He started to recall the rumors about Baron Porcupine. Legend had it that the Baron’s enemies left no corpses behind. The Monkey Clan of Shanzhang Castle had once dispatched 200 elite soldiers to Longship Castle, but those 200 men had simply vanished without a trace.

Then there was the siege of Longship Castle. The Monkey Clan had thrown everything they had into the fight and were ultimately defeated. After the battle, Baron Porcupine had specifically collected the bodies of the fallen Extraordinaries. No one knew why, and those bodies were never seen again.

Legends were inevitably prone to exaggeration, but now that Jonney found himself in a similar predicament, his imagination ran wild, and his fear swelled to infinite proportions.

”You… you don’t want to know who sent me?”

As Jonney spoke, he was secretly gathering his strength, waiting for the right moment to unleash an explosive punch. He was confident that Baron Porcupine’s frail-looking body could never withstand a blow from his powerful physique.

”I’d advise against that,” Leech said. ”We both gained our strength from Griffin Grass, after all.”

”What!” Jonney’s heart skipped a beat. ’This means Baron Porcupine really does know who sent me! Did the others already confess?’

’To hell with it!’

”RAAAGH!” Jonney roared. The cell door burst open as if made of paper. He charged at Leech, his fist cutting through the air as he aimed a crushing blow at the Baron’s head.

He had once used such a punch to effortlessly shatter a palm-thick iron gate.

The plate armor of a Knight was nothing before this fist.

His fist was caught effortlessly in an open palm, unable to advance another inch.

Leech’s hand closed around Jonney’s fist. With a slight squeeze of his fingers, Jonney cried out in pain.

With a forward twist of his wrist, Leech forced Jonney to his knees. Jonney’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

”I forgot to tell you,” Leech said. ”I used four doses of Porcupine Grass.”

”Impossible!” Jonney shook his head. He had barely been able to stand the unbearable pain of applying a single dose of the ointment. Never mind enduring the agony of four doses; his body simply wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.

’But if he hadn’t used four doses, how could he have caught my punch so effortlessly?’

Before him, Leech had finally finished laying out all the items.

”What are you planning to do?”

”Did you know that being an Extraordinary is just the lowest tier?” Leech took out the extract from the four-headed hydra. ”This thing I have can allow you to ascend beyond the Extraordinary and reach the next level!”

He had only settled on this idea after examining Jonney’s physique.

Jonney just might be able to withstand a power beyond the Extraordinary.

’If he can’t, well, I’ll just extract his Extraordinary power.’

”I’ll probably die if this fails,” Jonney said, looking up to stare at Leech. ”But if I don’t, I will kill you!”

”Don’t act like I owe you something,” Leech said. ”I never provoked you Tunas from Monkey Island. You’re the ones who launched a sneak attack on my island. But you’re right about one thing: the strong live, and the weak die.”

When it comes to one’s interests, there are no friends, only enemies. It doesn’t matter if they are near or far, kin or stranger; all that matters is who is strong and who is weak.

”Let’s begin,” Leech said, holding out the Extraordinary extract and looking at Jonney.

Jonney glared at Leech and accepted his fate.

He believed he still had a fighting chance, but he was unaware that Leech had already ordered a Water Nymph to lie in ambush. The moment Jonney succeeded, Leech planned to kill him instantly.

After leaving a reanimated corpse in the dungeon to watch over Jonney, Leech departed.

The ones behind this raid on the island were indeed the Tuna family, the Monkey Island Knights. Leech had once crossed paths with their Ostrich Eagle Knight, a minor character he hadn’t paid any mind to.

Their urgency to strike at Porcupine Territory’s island stemmed from the fact that they had already reaped the benefits of an Extraordinary Magic Potion.

After Leech had turned the other four Extraordinaries into reanimated corpses, he not only gained four mindless undead servants, but also learned a great secret of the Tuna family.

One day, an injured Griffin had fallen from the sky and begun rampaging through their territory, preying on humans and horses alike.

The Tuna family had used nearly every means at their disposal to finally kill the Griffin, which had already been at the end of its strength. It would be more accurate to say they had worn it to death.

Wherever the Griffin’s blood had dripped, medicinal herbs sprouted.

The Tuna family had exhausted all their resources investigating and, in the end, just like Leech, they found a hand-copied version of the *Ker Scholar’s Experimental Log* and successfully created a batch of Extraordinaries.

Unlike Leech’s creations, this batch of Extraordinaries couldn’t properly control their muscles. They were all like lesser giants, with powerful but clumsy bodies. Furthermore, some had died, unable to withstand the potion’s potency.

Unfortunately, not every drop of blood could grow into an Extraordinary Magic Potion. In the end, the Tuna family only managed to create 12 Extraordinaries.

That’s right—it was the very same Griffin that Leech himself had driven away.