He and It Chapter 70: Dark Sky Sanctuary (5)

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Chapter 70: Dark Sky Sanctuary (5)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

“Oh.” Yu Mengzhou looked at the serpent’s corpse in disgust, but didn’t know how to comfort the warhorse. “Well, it sure is…Unusual.”

He wiped the sweat from his face with his arm, and noted that the large, sturdy bones were already showing signs of cracking under the heavy weight of the horse’s legs.

“Tell me about the tormentor?” Yu Mengzhou tried to distract the demonic horse, for next, he would have to attempt to pull out the five bronze wedges. His strength wasn’t yet fully restored, so it would be an uphill struggle, and it would surely be very painful. “What is he? A profession or a specific person?”

Bloody Butcher’s tail whipped around a bit, and he replied in a low voice, “That’s a category of appellation.”

His nose was twitching uncontrollably, and along with it, he lifted his lips and bared his bloodied, sharp teeth, but not to threaten, not at all.

Demon horses were creatures with a keen sense of smell, capable of smelling the scent of fear from prey that was dozens of miles away. At the moment, the scent of a human filled the air vividly, but it was unlike anything they’d ever encountered before. Of course there were sedentary humans in the Demon Realm. Timid, cowardly, and despicable enough to explode with a malice that would surprise a demon in order to survive, but they were just symbols of food.

However, the scent that emanated from this human was relaxing, warm, and soft…Bloody Butcher did his best to inhale the wonderful odor, as he tried to keep it in his lungs as long as possible, and he knew that his companions were doing the same.

Would this be the poison of hemlock to paralyze a greater evil? He didn’t know and he didn’t care. All he knew was the smell of fear and loathing, like burning lava, stinking sulfuric fire. This one was very different, and it made him willingly addicted to it, so that he didn’t want to wake up.

“…Of the name of a class of professions,” said Bloody Butcher, “those artisans of war, who use pain as an incentive to kill and ignite the fires of the dryads, who are experts in the molding of flesh and blood, inventors of torture. The most proficient tormentors are called masters, and they can take the arm of a scared little demon and plant it on a troll for a finger.”

“Pain is energy,” he said, “and the Demon Realm, as it were, is the capital of pain.”

Yu Mengzhou pondered that and then asked, “That is to say, the status of pain in your place is like fuel, and this Demon Realm is an engine that uses that fuel for everything, right?”

He made small talk as he used his hoof knife to slice off the long dead growth of keratin from the edges of the copper wedges, then carefully scraped it in to leave a loose gap.

Bloody Butcher acquiesced. The complete plucking from his hoof of the copperized snake was like extracting a maggot that had been coiling and sucking blood from a wound, and gave him a long overdue moment of relief. It was so cozy that it took great effort to resist the urge to snore.

However, soon something cold and heavy pressed against the soles of its hoof, and it collided with the brass wedge with an unpleasant muffled thud.

“What’s he going to do now?” The onlooking demon horses whispered in astonishment. “He’s touching the spell peg?”

“How can he touch the spell nail? He’s just a human. He’ll rot into a puddle of flesh instantly!”

“Humans don’t have the ability to kill copperized snakes either! I’ll never forget what a lowly filth that is.”

“But…”

“Quiet!” Falchion gazed intently at Yu Mengzhou’s figure and droned in a deep voice, “No interfering with the human’s mind!”

Yu Mengzhou was oblivious to the outside world as he soothed, “It might hurt a bit. Bear with it, it’ll pass soon.”

Bloody Butcher was slightly alarmed, it hurriedly turned around and asked, “Are you going to…”

Before he finished his question, Yu Mengzhou stepped on the bone, used his knee as the fulcrum of the lever, while his hoof scissors bit down on the top of the copper wedge, and pried it upward fiercely!

In an instant, Bloody Butcher roared loudly and screamed up to the sky. It was as if an explosive thunderclap had struck in situ, and even the depths of the Demon Realm’s mantle stirred up quivering ripples at that. 

“It’s already loose! Just hold on a little longer, it’ll be done soon!” Yu Mengzhou clenched his teeth, his gloves twisting and creaking. “Behave, don’t move!”

The bone bench under the padded leg was overburdened, with cracked and broken lines all over it. Yu Mengzhou pulled upward again, only to hear a loud sound. A spiral twisted copper wedge flew out like a bullet and suddenly bounced on the crimson ground, splashing countless gravel.

The horses jumped up in shock and long neighs. Bloody Butcher’s roar turned into a wail, because it couldn’t support itself. Both of its front legs collapsed and he fell to his knees. His body was like a small mountain that tumbled down with a bang, crushing the bone bench under his padded legs into a field of crumbs.

“It’s alright, it’s alright!” Yu Mengzhou was so scared that he hugged its neck. The Demon Horse was sweating profusely, and the bright red hot sweat even dyed his sleeves all red, “There are still four more. One has already been plucked out. The others will be quick!”

If what Bloody Butcher felt before was a hint of relief, what he felt right now was a soul-shaking shock. The deep shackles that had been put on since its birth were now partially shattered by an external force, and its essence, strength, and even vitality could not wait to spurt towards that crack, as if it were a prisoner who had been in jail since birth, frantically picking and pulling at the narrow dog hole in front of it.

“You’re not lying…” Bloody Butcher gasped wildly, as he looked at him with eyes brighter than fire. “You can do it! You’re telling the truth!”

“Of course I didn’t lie!” Yu Mengzhou cried. “It’s not like I have to lie to you guys…Can you still stand up? Those copper nails have loosened up. It’ll be much easier to pull them out this time.”

“I can,” Bloody Butcher huffed and puffed. “I…I’ll stand up…”

He reluctantly braced himself, and the closely-encircling demon horses rushed to drag over a brand new bone for him to rest his leg on.

After one copper wedge was pulled out, the other four were no longer able to maintain a tight fit. Yu Mengzhou tapped the tips loose with a hoof spade before he spun them out one by one. The copper wedges were engraved with complicated incantations, and each one of them made a loud sound like a falling stone, while the earth trembled uncontrollably.

When the hoof were cleaned of all the instruments of torture, it looked like an empty beehive full of holes. Only then did Yu Mengzhou begin his regular cleaning activities: first, he cleaned out two clean hoof forks with a loop knife, then he cut the hoof surface flat until the cuticle was dry and clean, and then he cut off the edge of the hoof nails.

It was all work he did with ease. Finally, he squeezed a layer of ointment into the wounds and applied a bandage to the hoof. This one was done.

“The other leg.” Yu Mengzhou let out a breath. He waved his hand wearily, and signaled the demon horses that had come over to observe with wide eyes to get out of the way and stop crowding around.

With the experience of the first one, he knew how to deal with the second one. Crush the parasitic metal snake, and shovel out the iron thorns and steel nails that were stuck together with the flesh and blood. The most troublesome thing was those five copper wedges. He didn’t know whether it was Yu Mengzhou’s illusion or not, but he always felt that it was like a sealing spell, but he couldn’t tell what exactly was sealed.

The demon horses on the sidelines were silent. Earlier there was the sound of discussion, now even the sound of their breathing couldn’t be any smaller. In the silence, one horse’s mane burned a little loudly, and it was immediately nibbled on the back by the horse next to it, as it bit off the strand of mane that had burned out of place.

When the second hoof’s brass wedges were on the ground, Bloody Butcher wasn’t on the verge of being unable to stand anymore. Quite the contrary, he couldn’t stop whinnying in amazement, for his front hooves floated like the breeze. He would have been perfectly capable of flying at the moment, all the way up to the sky, if it hadn’t been for the heavy lower half of his body pulling him down.

“Curl your hind hooves a little…Yes, that’s it. Yes.” Yu Mengzhou touched the horse’s spine and habitually complimented. “Good horse. So good.”

When they heard that, the horses stomped their hooves in unison, their ears swiveled back and forth, and they let out hissing spurts.

We’re not “good” or “nice,” we’re demonic warhorses that terrorize the living! Symbols of power and sin! Striker thought in a panic.

He blew out his lips as he darted his eyes to the left and right, in fear that his cold-hearted leader would spot the little bit of joy in his heart. However, he suddenly realized that the chieftain, as if having seen a petrifying snake demon, was standing still without a word, staring almost blankly at the human.

That was close. He sighed in relief. Looks like I haven’t been exposed yet…

The third and fourth hooves were also roughly repaired, and a total of twenty heavy copper wedges were spread out messily on the ground, the spells all over them flowed and shone under the flames, as they glowed with an unwilling light.

Yu Mengzhou dutifully applied a poultice and wrapped the bandages. Bloody Butcher still maintained the position of curling his legs. He didn’t dare to let go or move, he was just waiting for Yu Mengzhou’s instructions.

“…Well,” Yu Mengzhou slowly straightened his waist, sweat flowing over his temples and forehead, and wetting the shirt on his back. “This is the first time. According to your recovery ability, we can review it in a couple days. And then…”

He stood up straight, but his eyes went starry-eyed, as if his blood had reversed from his brain to the soles of his feet.Yu Mengzhou’s lips suddenly turned white, he muttered a few words indistinctly, and with a loud thud, he fell onto the scorching hot ground.

In the last second before he lost consciousness, he vaguely saw a number of rapidly approaching horse faces, as well as a dozen pairs of scarlet eyes like fire.

If I could do it all over again, he thought in a trance, I would rather spend the night in that dry toilet-like horse farm than rush back home.

.

In the drowsiness of unconsciousness, something cool dripped onto Yu Mengzhou’s lips.

He subconsciously stuck his tongue out and licked it. It was sweet and clear, with an intoxicating wine flavor…Wine? Was it wine? This was truly the best wine he had ever drank.Yu Mengzhou instantly came to his senses, and he endeavored to open his lips and let the precious agar moisten his throat.

“…Farrier is awake!” Yu Mengzhou heard a familiar voice. It was Striker. “I’m going out to tell everyone!”

Come back, you unlucky kid, what kind of person runs away halfway through feeding!

He gasped and opened his eyes immediately. In a daze, he felt a soft satin texture underneath him…Satin? He was still in the wilderness when he passed out. Where did the satin come from?

“You’re awake.”

Yu Mengzhou laboriously turned his head, and in the dim light of the cave, he saw a pitch-black colossal horse lying there like a mountain, as it quietly looked at him.

Falchion, the leader of the demonic warhorses.

“It’s…Where?” Yu Mengzhou asked.

Falchion replied, “After you fell to the ground, we found a safe place to hide. The wine and the fabrics that shelter you, we sought them out for you.”

Yu Mengzhou said numbly, “Thank you.”

Unlike the other fierce or cunning demon horses, Falchion looked as cold, silent and unfathomable as an abyss. Yu Mengzhou looked into his eyes and felt like he was looking into two tunnels that led to the unknown, unable to guess what he could see from inside.

“Where did you come from?” Falchion asked.

“How are Bloody Butcher’s hooves?” Yu Mengzhou asked.

One man and one horse spoke and shut up at the same time. Falchion twitched his ears and didn’t say anything, while Yu Mengzhou coughed awkwardly. He picked up the wine glass next to him and took a big gulp as he replied, “I fell from the pit.”

“The pit?” Falchion was a bit surprised. “Never heard of that method of coming to the Demon Realm.”

“A big pit on the road,” Yu Mengzhou gestured. “I was going to go around it, but the pit seemed to be alive. All of a sudden it opened up and swallowed me, and when I woke up again, I was here.”

Falchion pondered, “Perhaps it is the overflow of power from the Demon Realm’s increasing expansion over the years, affecting the human realm. Bloody Butcher is in good hands. In fact, a little too good. So much so that I need to teach him what moderation means.”

Yu Mengzhou was about to speak when a horse’s head suddenly squeezed into the mouth of the cave.

“See, I told you he was awake!”

Another one squeezed in.

“Oh, really awake!”

Then another.

“Let me see! Let me see!”

Yu Mengzhou, “…”

Falchion bared his fangs and hissed, “Get out!”

Without a word, the horse heads drew away in fear.

 

Author’s Note: Yu Mengzhou: serious hoof trimming, pulling off difficult brass nails one by one God, this is a tragedy…

Devil’s Warhorse: feels hoof trimming, about to float to the sky Oh yeah, now my horse life is going to turn into a comedy!

Or the devil’s war horse: runs thousands of miles to rob a winery just to show off

Or the Demon Warhorse: Squeezes into a cave to show off the wine he’s stolen, only to find that the chief has already gotten there first and is booing everyone evilly

Or the Demon Warhorse: unhappy, but happy again at the thought of a life of relief