nagpurpolice Chapter 148 Qin Kun's Gu Mother is Destroyed
Chapter 148 Qin Kun's Gu Mother is Destroyed
Su Ling'er grabbed a handful of Pure Yang Pills from her medicine chest, not even having time to count them, and threw them all into the mesh. Pure Yang Flames exploded inside the dome, white, intense, and pure, scorching the Gu worms trapped within the array. The Gu worms struggled frantically in the flames, emitting sharp, piercing squeaks, like countless rats being thrown into a fire simultaneously. The flames lasted for about ten breaths, and when they died down, all the Gu worms in the array had turned to ashes.
Most of the Gu worms inside the Gu Mother were drawn out, and its aura instantly weakened. The luster on its hard shell dimmed, its bristles drooped limply, and the venom it spewed out became much thinner. It stood there, like a giant beast whose strength had been drained, as if it might collapse at any moment.
Qin Kun sensed something was wrong, forced Chen Feng back, and turned to crawl into the Gu Mother's mouth. He wanted to return to the Gu Mother's body, to hide in that safe shell, to continue being a coward.
Leng Feng gave him no chance. He anticipated Qin Kun's retreat and blocked the Gu Mother's mouthpiece two steps ahead. His battle blade was held horizontally in front of him, tip pointing upwards, the dark red runes on the blade dazzlingly bright.
"Trying to run away?"
Qin Kun gritted his teeth, trying to flank him. Leng Feng swept his blade horizontally, severing both of his legs. The blade sliced through his calves, the sound of bones shattering dull and short, like stepping on a dry twig. Qin Kun screamed, his body tilting forward as he crashed heavily to the ground, face down, hitting the bluestone slab and knocking out two front teeth, blood gushing from his mouth.
Chen Feng stepped forward and thrust his longsword straight through Qin Kun's heart.
Qin Kun's body convulsed violently, then went limp. His eyes were still open, pupils dilated, his mouth opened and closed like a fish thrown ashore, gurgling sounds coming from his throat, it was unclear whether he was trying to speak or taking his last breath.
Lin Chen did not look at Qin Kun.
He rose from the Gu Mother's back. Beneath his feet, the Gu Mother's hard shell was cracked with countless lines, each seeping black liquid. Without hesitation, he channeled all his stellar energy into the Star Sword—the Star Martial Core within his dantian spun rapidly, and stellar energy surged from his twelve meridians, converging on the sword's blade. The sword erupted with a dazzling silver light, shining like a small sun, illuminating the entire block.
He leaped into the air, gripped his sword with both hands, pointed downwards, and thrust it into the deepest crack on the Gu Mother's head.
The sword pierced through the hard shell, flesh, and internal organs, emerging from the Gu Mother's jaw. Silvery-white star energy erupted within the Gu Mother's body, like a bomb exploding inside, simultaneously destroying all her internal organs, blood vessels, and nerves.
The Gu Mother let out a final shriek. The sound was longer, louder, and more mournful than any before. It lingered in the night sky for a long time, like a person being choked screaming desperately, then gradually fading away, fading away until it was inaudible, fading away like a sigh.
The massive body crashed to the ground, shaking the earth and raising a cloud of dust.
Qin Kun is dead. The Gu Mother is dead. The Gu worms are dead.
As dawn broke, the first rays of sunlight peeked over the eastern mountain ridge, falling upon the ravaged city walls. The walls, built of bluestone, were riddled with large pits from the corrosion of poison, cracked by the Gu Mother's attack, and charred black by fire, yet they stood firm. The sunlight illuminated the scars on the walls, and also the figures of people supporting each other at their base. Surviving civilians emerged from the ruins, crawled out of cellars, and peeked out from behind the broken walls. Their clothes were torn, their faces dirty, their eyes red, but they were alive. They walked to the sides of the street and bowed deeply to Lin Chen and his group of five; some bent over, some knelt, and some simply stood, tears streaming down their faces.
General Han, dragging his injured leg and leaning on his sword, limped towards the group. He stopped, straightened up, planted his sword in the ground before him, and solemnly saluted Lin Chen, Su Muyue, Leng Feng, Chu Fan, and Su Ling'er. His hands were covered in blood, the bandages haphazardly wrapped, some sections loose, revealing deep, bone-revealing wounds. But his salute was steady.
"Thank you all for saving us. Otherwise, Qing Shi Border City would have been destroyed today." His voice was hoarse and his eyes were red, but he did not cry.
Lin Chen helped him up. His hand rested on Han Shoujiang's arm, feeling the blood seeping from the wounds and the arm trembling slightly. He said nothing, simply straightening Han Shoujiang's posture before releasing his hand.
He turned and looked into the distance. The eastern sky had turned from a pale dawn to a light gold, and the sun peeked out from behind the mountain ridge, its light soft and gentle. The city wall cast a long shadow in the morning light, covering most of the block, as well as the still-burning ruins, the scattered shards of glass, and the deep craters carved by the venom. The shadow was long, but not long enough to cover all the scars. The sunlight shone on those scars, illuminating them clearly, like a painting torn apart and pieced back together; the cracks were still there, but the image remained.
Lin Chen's gaze went beyond the city wall, looking into the distance.
Qin Kun is dead, but the evil clan's conspiracy is not. The Gu Mother is dead, but the Gu plague continues to spread across the border regions. The evil clan's army is still gathering outside the border, and the remnants of the Qin family are still stirring in the shadows. Qing Shi Border City is just the first domino; they've managed to stop it, but many more dominoes are falling in the distance.
The wind blew in from outside the city, carrying the dampness of the morning dew, the scent of earth, and a faint, lingering smell of gunpowder from a distant battlefield.
Lin Chen withdrew his gaze. Su Muyue stood beside him, the array flags already put away, neatly folded and tucked into her backpack, only a corner of the silver-white fabric peeking out. Her face still bore the marks of fatigue, and there were dark circles under her eyes, but she stood very straight, her shoulders level.
Leng Feng was taking stock of the spoils. He found a storage ring, a notebook, and several tokens on Qin Kun's corpse. He handed these items to Chu Fan, who took them, registered them one by one, sealed them, and put them away safely. Su Ling'er squatted on the ground, picking up the scattered pills one by one from the ruins, blowing off the dust, and putting them back into the jade bottle. She wrapped the extra pills in cloth. She didn't speak, just kept her head down, picking them up one by one.
The city bells rang. Not alarm bells, but morning bells. The sound was deep and resonant, emanating from the clock tower in the city center, passing through the still-smoking ruins, through the streets corroded by poison, and through the crowds kneeling and weeping, carrying far, far away.
A new day began, but the old troubles were far from over. A bigger storm was brewing, and a tougher battle lay ahead. Lin Chen sheathed the Star Sword, turned, and headed towards the city. The remaining four followed behind him, their pace slow, but their direction aligned.