ATAPOW Chapter 117

Chapter 117: If you kill someone, you should be prepared to get killed as well.

“…W-What are you saying… Why would I cherish-…?”

“You don’t need to refute it.” Ji Bai struggled to move his body close to Lil’ Sha’s side.

“Because I was also like this in the past.”

“You…” Even though his large hand was petting her forehead, Lil’ Sha surprisingly didn’t put up a struggle.

“You must’ve suffered these five years… It must’ve been very hard for you to survive as a small child, wasn’t it?”

The instant these words left his mouth, Lil’ Sha could only feel a tense bowstring snapping inside her heart. She could no longer contain her tears as they dyed her eyes moist.

These past few years, no one had tried to see things her way nor given her any comforting words.

Her numb heart slightly trembled.

“Obsce-… Ji Bai…”

“You’re better off calling me an obscene middle-aged man, it’s rather pleasing to the ear.”

“Pfft…” Lil’ Sha couldn’t help but cackle.

“Obscene middle-aged man? Are we considered friends now?” Lil’ Sha looked at his iron helmet.

“…We’ve always been.”

“You blockhead… Uhuhu, I have a feeling that I am being toyed with.”

“If that’s the case, then at the least allow me to do something for my friend… Break the gem! If you do it any later, the two of us will be done for. Hurry, don’t let a girl beg you~”

“Also, Ke’er is a nice child, so treat her well… The words I have said before were all just witty remarks; From the moment I saw you ready to give up your life to rescue her, I already knew that you’d definitely treat her well… In fact, I really do envy that child a bit. ”

“You still haven’t paid back the money you owed.” Spoke Ji Bai calmly.

“Huh? Do you have cataracts or something, obscene middle-aged man? Do you know how much this gem is worth?! If you’d casually sell it to the Sacred Martial Association in the human federation, you wouldn’t need to work for two lifetimes, alright? What’s more, this is actually something that my sister gave me! Even though it has such a high value attached to it, I’ve never once thought of parting with it…”

“I don’t want it.” Ji Bai shoved the purplish-gold gem back to Lil’ Sha once more.

“I still owe you a promise, don’t I?”

Before Lil’ Sha could think of how to respond, a wave of lethargicness assaulted her brain. The [Magic] in her body was on the verge of being completely drained.

“Sure enough, it really is a bluff?” Looking at the increasingly dull radiance of the lotus barrier not far from him, the third troll brother narrowed his eyes.

“Move away, move away! Everyone move out of my way!” With a wave of his spiked club, the third troll brother threw all of the goblins that stood around him off the stone bridge.

“Wuwuehji…” The remaining goblins felt indignant, yet they didn’t dare voice their displeasure as they successively retreated. Their small glistening yellow eyes innocently looked at the troll that had walked up towards them.

The radiance of the purplish-gold lotus barrier turned dimmer and dimmer as the [magic] contained within it speedily fell. Finally, after two flashes of sudden light and darkness, the barrier disappeared completely.

“Oh my! I really thought it was some amazing spell. Seems like its impressive appearance was just for show…” The troll third brother pouted in contempt.

After Ji Bai carefully laid down the unconscious Lil’ Sha, he held onto his fang-shaped sword and stood up with a limp.

“Oh, oh？The worm has already been beaten into a cripple, yet he still wants to continue fighting? He couldn’t be throwing his life away, just to carry out this so-called knight’s creed, or is he?” The corners of the troll’s lips were filled with ridicule.

“As a knight, it is my honor to die in battle… However, there is still a commitment that I need to honor.” Ji Bai turned around.

“I’ve promised that I’ll return you safely, and I most definitely will.”

“Huh, did I hear right? Is your brain caught in the door?? You’re still thinking of showing off even when you’re unable to fend for yourself?? Who gave you the courage, worm?” The troll third brother looked at Ji Bai before him with amusement. He suspected that his brain had been damaged by the beating he had given him.

Removing his severely damaged iron helmet, Ji Bai tossed it to the side as he calmly ran his eyes over the enemies before him.

He knew that his next actions would gradually push him towards the devil in his body.

Perhaps there would be a day when he would be faced with a difficult choice… But it would certainly not be today.

“Hehe, you’re still going to throw your weight around even when you’re at death’s doorstep?? Dismember this guy!” The third troll brother disdainfully waved his hand and signaled towards the goblins behind him.

“Gigiwaya!” A few impatient goblins cried out. They then rushed towards Ji Bai while brandishing their knives and forks.

They planned on crawling up this human’s body and puncturing his skull.

“Flutter, flutter, flutter…” Ji Bai’s body disappeared in an instant. In his place were countless small scarlet bats that flew outwards and pierced through the goblins’ bodies.

“Thud.” A few goblin corpses fell to the ground. A whole lump of body tissue from their chest to their lower abdomen had vanished, like a magic trick.

“What…?! What kind of smokescreen are you putting on??” The troll third brother looked at the few goblin corpses on the ground in surprise, then gazed towards the empty spot where Ji Bai originally had been. He was completely clueless as to what exactly had happened.

“Whoosh…” A white silhouette incapable of being spotted by the naked eye flashed past and a rotating silver bone scythe, which resembled a Grim Reaper reaping lives, spun around the pack of goblins.

Like shattered tofu, the heads and limbs of the goblins instantly splattered outwards. Before they could even let out a scream, the silver bone scythe had chopped off their heads in a clean cut.

In an instant, countless blue transparent souls floated out from the mutilated corpses and were all absorbed into the massive scythe one by one.

“Uwaaa!” Yelling and trying to flee in all directions, the goblins remaining finally realized that the weapon was coming after them. However, in the end, it was just a futile attempt, as none of them was capable of escaping the scythe’s judgment. Left with no room to retreat, their small yellow eyes gradually radiated despair…

Soon, the stone bridge was dyed red in blood.

“Guwa!” The last goblin was lifted into the air by a group of small bats.

“If you kill someone, you should be prepared to get killed as well.” Accompanied by a cold puerile voice filled with killing intent, it was torn into countless pieces of meat that rained down like the scattered blossom of the heavenly maid¹.

Feeling like something had fallen on his head, the third troll brother wiped his forehead and dazedly looked at a square-shaped piece of flesh that was cut with precision — That had been part of the goblin.

In a split second, the goblins which had been incessantly gibbering around him earlier were all silenced. Yet he hadn’t caught even one clear glimpse of the enemy’s movement.

“Nothing but hocus-pocus! Do you think killing a few maggots would be enough to frighten me, worm? Hmph…” Said the third troll brother disdainfully.

“Let me guess, this is your sacred ability, right? But from the looks of it, its might is only enough to kill goblins. Otherwise, there’s no reason for you to not make a move on me…”

“What’s wrong? Are you not planning to come out and meet me? To hide like this… are you even a man?” Ridiculed the third troll brother with disdain.

“I’ve been here all along.” A cold and delicate voice, one as refreshing as spring water and melodious as a silver bell, arrived from above. It was completely unreminiscent of a male’s voice.

The third troll brother froze slightly and slowly raised his eyes upwards.

Floating in midair, a tender and lovely silver-haired girl was coldly looking at him with her arms crossed. She wore a cute western-styled short skirt, and at her back, was a pair of massive demon wings that had fully unfolded. A crowd of scarlet small bats was congregating within the “absolute territory²” between her white laces and short skirt.

Her long eyelashes resembled a palm-leaf fan, while her scarlet eyes sparkled like a pair of exceptional gemstones. Her delicate and porcelain doll-like face that seemed as if it had been sculpted from ice and jade was shockingly pretty and resembled that of a fairy. Yet, at this moment, it was filled with nothing but coldness.

With an appearance both breathtakingly beautiful and ethereal, it was hard to imagine how freakishly pretty she would be when she grew up.

As for the third troll brother, he had forgotten how dangerous his current situation was. Sluggishness filled his eyes as they fixed themselves on the alluring siren³ in the air.

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This is based on the Chinese folklore of The Heavenly Maid Scatters Blossoms where the Buddha orders the heavenly maid to scatter blossoms in Vimalakirti Nirdesa’s room in order to test his faith.
Zettai ryōiki (Japanese: 絶対領域, lit. “absolute territory”) refers to the area of bare skin in the gap between over knee socks and a miniskirt (Credit to Wikipedia)
In the original version, the author used “aromatic poppy-flower” to symbolize a self-destructing temptation. For localization purposes, I choose to use siren instead, since they carry the same meaning as a poppy flower.