Chapter 423: When Did You Get Married?
Chapter 423: When Did You Get Married?
The monsters wore expressions of terror, as if fleeing from something dreadful.
Uka Qingxue frowned and said, “They’re not targeting us – this looks like refugees!”
Her voice still hung in the air when rumbling vibrations began shaking the ground. The thunderous stampede of a thousand monsters tore through the darkness.
Within moments, the panicked horde surged down the road toward their car. Towering beasts larger than elephants could easily crush the vehicle into fragments.
As the distance closed to under hundred meters, Fang Cheng remained motionless.
Assuming he wouldn’t bother intervening, Uka Qingxue pushed open the car door to take action herself.
Her heart sank when facing the monstrous tsunami. With mere Hazard Level B strength, how could she stop countless monsters matching her power? Even invoking Iron Fortress’s name would fail to calm this terrified mob.
The roaring wave of creatures closed within fifty meters, their collective mass resembling crashing tidal forces. Uka Qingxue raised trembling hands, cold energy gathering in her palms.
Suddenly the charging monsters swerved violently, parting around the car like water splitting round a boulder. Winds from their passing whipped Uka Qingxue’s hair and clothes as she stood bewildered.
Peering through the window, she saw Fang Cheng sitting expressionless in the passenger seat, folded hands resting in his lap. His gaze pierced the windshield like a sharp blade cleaving the monster tide.
Only when the last creature passed did Fang Cheng blink, rubbing his forehead with two fingers.
“Lord Cheng.”
Uka Qingxue’s heart burned with curiosity. “How?”
He glanced up. “A special ability. Call it…intimidating presence.”
Since reaching ace level, he’d discovered this nebulous power – projecting danger that weaker creatures instinctively fled. Kamikawa Takumi had explained it stemmed from enhanced mental powers influencing the environment, particularly affecting sensitive monsters. The big brother had taught techniques to focus this pressure on specific targets.
He’d simply shrouded the car in terrifying aura, making beasts veer away.
The monsters charging forward sensed deadly danger and hastily dodged to the sides.
Uka Qingxue began to understand. Madam had once told her the previous Ghost Lord could make monsters kneel through sheer presence alone – Lord Cheng’s aura must be similar.
She straightened up to find the monsters already fleeing into the distance, leaving only a small panting monster struggling behind. She froze its legs with a wave and approached.
“Don’t kill me!”
“Why are you running?”
Terror twisted the small monster’s face. “A giant monster’s hunting us! It’s slaughtered so many – too horrible!”
Uka Qingxue pressed further, but the ignorant creature kept repeating the same phrase. This confused her. Most powerful monsters in Hokkaido dwelled within Iron Fortress, each guarding their own territories despite bloodthirsty natures. Even a rampaging monster shouldn’t drive this entire horde to flee the same way.
Returning to the vehicle, she reported to Fang Cheng. Being no expert himself, he simply said, “Whoever it is, let’s avoid trouble. Take another route.”
She expected a detour, but Fang Cheng summoned a giant Blood Eagle from Blood Beast Nest instead. The crimson creature seized their car and soared skyward.
_Convenient ability,_ Uka Qingxue mused, peering through the window. Soon she called out: “Lord Cheng, look down.”
Below stretched forests veiled in pale pink mist, eerily beautiful under moonlight. Now they understood – the fleeing monsters had been escaping this encroaching haze.
On the forest road below, a three-meter-tall humanoid monster ambled after the retreating horde. Bare-chested with rag-covered legs, it bore pointed ears, tusks, a flat nose, and balding scalp like some hellspawned demon.
“What monster is that?” Fang Cheng asked.
Uka Qingxue studied it. “Resembles demon clan, but isn’t.” After searching her memories, she shook her head. “Unfamiliar.”
“You’ve still much to learn,” Fang Cheng teased.
She pressed her lips tight. Area 11’s countless legends spawned endless monster variants – not even Ghost Lord knew them all. Regardless, this creature concerned them not as mere passersby.
The monster suddenly sniffed the air. “Bride’s scent! Prime quality!” Snorting like a ruttish boar, it jerked its flat nose upward – and spotted the Blood Eagle.
“Found you!”
The monster suddenly raised its hand, forming the surrounding mist into a giant claw that shot toward the Blood Eagle in the air.
Fang Cheng felt exasperated. He’d flown so high and deliberately avoided the creature, yet it still attacked.
The Blood Eagle shrieked and spat Pure Demon Flames, burning through the incoming claw.
This served as a warning—if the monster retreated now, Fang Cheng wouldn’t bother pursuing a fight.
“Hm?”
The monster hesitated, sensing the Blood Eagle’s power, but the tantalizing scent in the air overwhelmed its caution.
“Can’t let this bird expose me,” it muttered, concocting an excuse. Thick chains of mist erupted from the forest, lashing at the eagle from all sides.
Though the Blood Eagle burned many chains with its flames, the sheer number overwhelmed it. Chains soon entangled its wings, dragging it downward.
Uka Qingxue steadied herself and glanced at Fang Cheng.
Noticing her look, he quipped, “I didn’t dig up this monster’s ancestors. Why’s it so fixated on us?”
As the Blood Eagle neared the ground, flames engulfed its body, severing the chains. It beat its wings to stabilize but chose to land instead of flying again, gently lowering the car.
Fang Cheng and Uka Qingxue pushed open the doors, standing barely two hundred meters from the monster.
The monster’s gaze hardened. Realizing the eagle was merely a pet, it focused on the pair—particularly Uka Qingxue.
Drool dripped from its chin as it lumbered forward, bellowing in Korean, “Bride! Such a fragrant bride! Let me see!”
Fang Cheng and Uka Qingxue, analyzing the pink mist’s toxicity, froze upon hearing the distinct “-seumnida” suffix.
Uka Qingxue finally understood—this monster hailed from South Korea. She couldn’t comprehend its words but felt its lecherous stare.
Thanks to his Tactical Master ability, Fang Cheng translated.
_Bride?_ He side-eyed Uka Qingxue. _Since when is this maid a bride?_
The monster halved the distance between them, then stomped. The road cratered beneath its feet.
_BOOM!_
The three-meter-tall brute exploded into a sprint, each step carving deep pits. It covered the remaining hundred meters in seconds, swinging a fist larger than Fang Cheng’s head downward.
Though confident in Fang Cheng’s strength, Uka Qingxue’s breath hitched as the blow descended.
Roar!
A sudden, deafening roar echoed through the forest, like the growl of an ancient beast. An invisible shockwave erupted from Fang Cheng’s body, slamming into the monster.
Accompanied by the dragon’s roar, the shockwave blasted the hulking monster away like a fired shell, creating visible ripples in the air. The monster finally crashed to the ground as the roar faded.
Between Fang Cheng and the impact site, the earth bore a trench over three hundred meters long and two meters wide.
Heavenly Dragon’s Wrath.
This new ability—combining Great Power Heavenly Dragon and War Trampled—had its combat debut. It could either clear entire battlefields or focus destructive power into a single shockwave.
Seeing the monster’s aggression, Fang Cheng dismissed negotiation. Killing it outright felt too merciful. A perfect test subject for his new skill.
Uka Qingxue lowered her hands from her ears, staring at the ravaged road and the monster flung hundreds of meters away. This marked her first time witnessing Fang Cheng’s battles since he advanced to ace rank. Anticipation stirred in her heart.
“Hurts like hell!” The monster roared, pushing up from the dirt. Blood stained its body, its chest cavity visibly dented.
It inhaled deeply. Wounds vanished instantly, the caved chest reinflating. Only bloodstains remained.
Uka Qingxue’s eyes widened. Recovering from such damage so effortlessly… This wasn’t just any monster—it ranked among the strongest.
Fang Cheng rubbed his chin, evaluating Heavenly Dragon’s Wrath. The first level at merely 8 Proficiency already showed such force. Imagine its potential when mastered.
The monster didn’t attack. Fang Cheng’s strike had shattered its bridal obsession. It glared between Fang Cheng and Uka Qingxue, torn between fleeing and lingering.
If these two exposed its existence, its previous extermination efforts would waste. Frustration mounted. The monster clawed at its balding scalp, howling repeatedly:
“Bride! Bride! BRIDE!”
Watching its frenzy, three keywords clicked in Fang Cheng’s mind—Korea, monster, bride. Memory surfaced: Love Flame Ghost.
Few traditional monsters hailed from Korea. Love Flame Ghosts fixated on brides and widows, especially virtuous ones. They pursued targets relentlessly. Victims bore stillborn abominations—neither human nor monster.
Fang Cheng recalled Kanzaki Rin’s stolen Countermeasures Department files detailing global monsters. Korea’s sparse entries had slipped his mind until now.
But when had Uka Qingxue become a bride?
He turned to her. “You married?”
A pause. “Yes.”
“Who?”
Her face stayed blank. “You.”
“…”
Fang Cheng blinked. Their fake marriage arrangement. Since when did sham weddings count? And how did the monster know?
“ENOUGH! GIVE BRIDE!”
The Love Flame Ghost’s shattering roar shook the air. Its body ballooned to four-and-a-half meters, muscles swelling like overinflated tires—a living meat mountain.
“BRIDE! NOW!”
It charged like a living battering ram. Each footfall cratered the road, tremors rippling through the ground. One monster’s charge outmatched the earlier thousand-strong horde.