Chapter 377: Fleshly beings
Herdmaster was stunned. "You gave your word to Vale? What does that even mean?! You are part of Hollow Grave and I have my mission. This is my final warning."
Vale was watching everything with amusement, waiting for what is about to happen now. He wasn’t really moved by Isolde’s words, after all she was just looking after her own interests....which is him!
Isolde hesitated and then a small bitter smile crossed her face. "It’s not like you can defeat him after all. Herdmaster! A Dark Order Knight that specializes in soul and flesh manipulation. He would gather the souls of Knights and then twist them, using a portion of their powers. Combining them will allow greater power. He has a lot of flesh soul creatures."
As she was saying this, she began to retreat, moving away from the middle of the battlefield.
Herdmaster trembled with anger. "You!"
It was clear to all that Isolde was directly selling him out, explaining his powers.
"You’re going too far Isolde. Don’t push things or I’ll be forced to take things seriously with you."
Isolde didn’t say anything more, it seems she is now content in keeping quiet and observing. It’s not like she feared Herdmaster but she was also walking on thin ice with her Master and Hollow Grave.
Herdmaster was still wary of her and so he did not let the two of them disappear from his vision. The goat he was sitting on slowly touched the ground and then he got down. His body seemed frail, as if he would fall at any time as he walked with the wooden rod.
Meeeeh
The goat bleated, eyes suddenly shining with malicious light. It turned toward Isolde and then sat down, looking at her. And with that out of the way, Herdmaster turned his full attention to Vale.
"Vale Athrimir, follow me at once."
Vale gave him a strange expression. "I refuse!"
"Then you’ll leave me no choice but to capture you. I’ll twist your flesh and mold your soul. Once we’re back I’ll straighten you up. But I know it’s a horrible thing to happen to anyone. Follow me now obediently."
Vale looked at the goat, and then at Herdmaster. "Do you say this to all of your...victims?"
Yellow teeth flashed. "Of course not. This is only a choice that can be given to one such as your status. One who has continuously felt the gaze of the Old One. You must not die....but everything else can be touched!"
Of course they don’t want to kill him. ’...will the Shard disappear and form in another place should I die?....’
Vale had always thought of that. He now held the complete Shard of Infernal Dominion but what will happen to it should he die?
"I will not follow you. Get on with it." Vale sighed.
There was no more need for words. Herdmaster took a step forward and a chilling aura warped around him like a shroud. A faint silver fog began to pour out of his mouth. The fog twisted and shuddered, screaming faces and laughing faces appeared in it, weeping and terrifying screams echoed from the fog as they floated around him.
Then his body, his stomach, began to enlarge. His stomach swelling, ripping his clothes and showing the taut stretched skin. Beneath the skin, movement showed as different sizes of hands pressed against it.
Herdmaster grunted and then his stomach exploded outward. Like a dam bursting, water, blood, fleshly beings and different types of things flopped to the ground, carrying a strong smell of rot.
Vale felt a chill down his spine as he saw this. The sheer horror of what he just witnessed made his eyes turn cold, his expression darkening at the sense of wrongness he felt.
One by one the beings on the ground began to move. They shuddered as they grew. At first they were like the size of a fist but rapidly they grew bigger and now to the size of humans.
They were different kinds but none of them were normal. Some had three heads, and some had abnormally long legs and short upper bodies. Some were goats with human heads. And there were a few that were like newborn babies but with the heads of normal humans.
But one thing that they all shared was that they had human heads, at least a semblance of it. And their faces were etched into different expressions of either joy or terror.
Without hesitation they began to stumble towards Vale, bringing an abnormal chill with them. A chill that didn’t freeze anything, can’t be felt on the skin and yet it’s freezing the very soul!
The first one to get to him was one of the babies. It loomed over Vale, its face smiling with absolute joy. Its mouth stretched wide and from its mouth a blasting wave of shockwave came out, it poured forth without sound.
Vale’s face was impassive. He looked at the thing in front of him and the attack and made his move. The air around him shimmered, dry heat caused haze and then fire began to pour from him.
As if a gate had been opened, black red fire suddenly raged around him. Vale didn’t hold anything back and he soon became the eye of the storm of fire. The ground beneath him groaned, cracked and then began to melt.
Woosh!
The baby being paused, its expression twisted briefly as the fire washed over it, burning it and its attack as if they weren’t there and melting them to ash.
The chill in the air lessened and the high temperature took its place. A blazing fire that leaped and jumped, ready to melt the soul and burn the body.
The expression on Herdmaster changed instantly and pure shock replaced it. An offended look crossed his face. "Soul attack? You can use soul attacks?"
When Vale heard that Herdmaster can use soul and flesh manipulation, he instantly infused the same manipulation into his fire. Already Hellfire is strong in that kind of attack, adding soul manipulation essence to it instantly boosted it to new heights. When he killed the baby thing earlier, it had tried to regenerate but couldn’t as two soul powers clashed and one overpowered the other.
Vale didn’t give a response. The fire around him flared and then leaped, crossing the distance between them in a form of explosion that created a melting ground as it shot forward.
Herdmaster’s face went pale instantly but he was already moving. He touched two of his creations and they devolved, their bodies turning to melting flesh that sped forward, turning into a wall in front of him.
Bam!
The fire slammed into the flesh wall and burned it away as if it was candle wax, then continued forward like a greedy kid, looking to devour.
Herdmaster’s face turned pale and he immediately spat out silver fog. The fog rushed forward and encircled the whole group. When the fire finally reached, it was unable to burn through.
When the fire finally burned itself out, everyone could see the melted straight line from where Vale was sitting to Herdmaster’s place.
The temperature was so high that if ordinary people were there they would have long fallen unconscious. Even Knight rank would find it difficult to breathe.
Isolde from her place was breathing hard, her face covered in sweat. Just from the one exchange she was sure of one thing. She would have actually died if Vale wanted to kill her! That time when they met she had not really realized that she was standing in the jaw of a beast. But the fighting from earlier now made the pressure more heavy.
Herdmaster was a very powerful Master Knight. More so because most people usually find his techniques difficult to deal with. Most of his techniques are targeted at the soul and powers like that are rare.
And yet Vale instantly shrugged it off and even counterattacked, forcing Herdmaster to defend himself.
Herdmaster took a deep breath, his face had long lost the playfulness and casual expression. Now he looked pensive and tense. He took a deep breath and then slapped his now restored stomach hard.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Instantly the stomach of all of his creations also sounded.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Herdmaster and all his creations shuddered as their stomach began to swell. Rapidly the stomach grew to bursting and then busted, spewing forth all kinds of fleshly beings.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The creations grew so fast that within seconds their own stomach began to sound and then swell. They also burst!
In a few seconds and minutes, the fleshly creations now numbered hundreds. Their expressions were the same as they looked at Vale. Either joy or terror.
Herdmaster stood among them like a proud father. "I’ve been saving those for a long time!"
Isolde shuddered. She felt nothing but disgust but she was also anxious as she looked at Vale. Would he be able to handle so many of them? Will she have to step in.