National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

This gargantuan lizard’s disgusting, ugly, and ferocious appearance was enough to make anyone who saw it recoil in fear, or even retch.

Its body was covered in patches of rotting flesh, constantly oozing a yellow-green pus that released a suffocating stench upon contact with the air.

Gleaming white bones were faintly visible between the patches of rotting flesh, the exposed sections shining with a ghastly light that only added to its terrifying presence.

As the monster moved, its massive body scraped against the ground, producing a sickening, viscous squelch that made one’s hair stand on end.

Its slime-covered skin acted like a natural acid; wherever it passed, not even the solid ground was spared.

It left a trail of pitted, corroded ground in its wake, from which wisps of acrid white smoke rose—a clear sign of its corrosive effect.

Even more terrifying were the lizard’s eyes, like two blazing wildfires, glittering with a crazed and cruel light.

They betrayed not only an indifference to life but also a deep-seated loathing for all worldly things and a ravenous desire to kill.

After landing, the monster seemed unaffected by gravity, instead launching its attack with even greater speed.

Its limbs were strong and powerful, and every step was accompanied by a tremor in the ground.

The people who had not yet managed to escape instantly became its prey.

It opened its cavernous, bloody maw, and its razor-sharp fangs instantly pierced through flesh, tearing the helpless people to shreds.

Piercing screams rose and fell one after another as the air filled with the thick stench of blood and the aura of despair.

Some people were swallowed whole, leaving behind nothing but pools of fresh red blood.

Others were unfortunate enough to lose their limbs. Their mangled bodies writhed on the ground, letting out heart-rending wails filled with both the terror of pain and the despair of impending death.

The entire scene was a living hell, so horrific it was unbearable to watch.

”Everyone, it is our turn to act.”

”The cultivation of the Buddhist Sect requires the Power of Faith,”

”And now is the perfect time to have the people of this White Elephant Empire offer us their faith.”

Abbot Tonghua strode forward resolutely.

At that moment, many people were fleeing in a panic.

When they saw Abbot Tonghua’s actions, they showed expressions of surprise.

However, in such a critical moment, no one paid much attention to Abbot Tonghua.

The crowd continued to scramble for safer ground further away.

Many people were being mauled by the giant lizard, which bought Abbot Tonghua and his followers some time.

Abbot Tonghua’s unusual actions naturally drew the giant lizard’s attention.

The lizard spat out the half-eaten torso in its mouth, which landed on the ground with a dull thud. Then, it began walking step by step toward Abbot Tonghua.

At that moment, Abbot Tonghua stood his ground. He pressed his palms together and began to chant, ”The Buddha said: ’Well done, Ānanda. You all should know that all sentient beings, since time immemorial, have been trapped in the cycle of life and death. This is all because they fail to recognize their own eternally abiding true mind—its nature pure and luminous. They indulge in delusions, and as these thoughts are untrue, the cycle of rebirth continues.’”

As the deep, melodious Sanskrit chant slowly flowed from between Abbot Tonghua’s lips,

the sound was like heavenly music, piercing through the surrounding chaos and bloodshed,

bringing a sliver of tranquility and solemnity to this land of despair.

In the abbot’s eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through all worldly things, a faint light of compassion flickered.

Then, an incredible power began to gather between his hands.

A golden disc,

like a rising sun, gradually took shape between his palms,

blooming with a dazzling light that bathed everything around it in a magnificent golden glow.

This golden disc, made of neither gold nor jade, contained an unparalleled power.

It spun slowly between the abbot’s hands, each rotation stirring up layers of sharp ripples.

These ripples seemed to contain the power to slice through anything,

yet they vanished into nothingness in an instant, leaving only faint fluctuations in the air that inspired awe.

As the abbot slowly pulled his clasped hands apart, the golden disc leaped lightly from his palms. With a gentle push,

it transformed into a streak of golden light, tearing through the sky as it shot toward the enormous, terrifying lizard.

In that instant, time seemed to freeze. All eyes were fixed on the golden disc, waiting for a miracle.

The golden disc expanded at an astonishing speed, its diameter quickly growing to several meters.

Although it still seemed tiny compared to the lizard’s massive body, the sharp, decisive power radiating from it was impossible to ignore.

The moment the disc made contact with the lizard’s rotting body, the entire city trembled.

The disc, with incredible precision and power, sliced straight down from the top of the lizard’s head,

splitting its enormous body in two. The cut was as smooth as a mirror, revealing a supernatural sharpness and finality.

As the lizard’s body collapsed with a deafening crash,

the two halves fell to the left and right like a pair of toppling mountains. The ground shook violently once more. Dust billowed up like a surging tide, and the very earth seemed to tremble at the horrific sight.

The foul, viscous fluid inside the lizard gushed out like a black tide, spreading quickly and tainting the surrounding air with its acrid, suffocating stench.

Amid this nauseating scene, Abbot Tonghua’s figure appeared exceptionally pure and transcendent.

He stood there quietly, palms pressed together, chanting sutras with his eyes closed, like a sacred, inviolable statue of the Buddha.

”Where did this monk come from?”

”Watch your words! That’s an eminent monk! The eminent monk who just saved all of us.”

”He couldn’t be from the Great Xia Empire, could he?”

”Of course not! Use your head. If he were from the Great Xia Empire, why would he save us? They probably wish everyone in our White Elephant Empire would just drop dead.”

”You’re right. When that bastard Chu He left, he even abandoned the Shy One in our White Elephant Empire’s territory. Now the Shy One is still tirelessly slaughtering people. I really don’t know when it’ll ever end.”

The people of the White Elephant Empire who had fled to a safe distance, as well as those peering from the windows of other buildings, all watched the scene unfold. They mustered their courage and began to whisper their thoughts to one another.

Their gazes were all fixed tightly on the eminent monk in the kasaya robe.

But then, the two halves of the corpse on the ground began to slowly squirm. They moved back together, constantly coalescing and fusing, until the creature stood up once more.

This time, the giant lizard’s aura was even more violent and cruel as it charged directly at the monk.

All the onlookers cried out in alarm, then quickly covered their mouths,

afraid that the giant lizard would notice their presence and change its target to them.

At the same time, they silently prayed, hoping the eminent monk could perform another miracle

and finish off this giant lizard that had been split in two, yet had miraculously reassembled itself.

”Hm?”

This time, even Abbot Tonghua was quite surprised.

He hadn’t expected the giant lizard he had seemingly killed in one blow to revive.

However, he quickly understood. ”It seems this is a being that’s difficult to kill, similar in nature to the Shy One,” he said.