He and It Chapter 75: Dark Sky Sanctuary (10)

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Chapter 75: Dark Sky Sanctuary (10)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

The killing intent literally spilled out of Bloody Butcher’s gaze.

He slowly rubbed his fangs together. His venomous saliva splattered on the ground, and the shadows rose like wildly dancing snakes all the way to the top of the cave.

The onlookers spontaneously split into two groups, one picking a spot to watch the fight and wait for the fire to start, the other ready to rush up and grab Yu Mengzhou when the time came to keep him safe behind them – and of course, compete with their like-minded companions.

Satisfied, Ether pressed his nose against the human’s collarbone, with his tail slowly moving through the air. He was ready for a fight. The atmosphere in the cave was tense. Falchion watched coldly for a long time, then finally spoke in a dark voice, “Enough.”

His command contained an absolute majesty that would not be challenged by a member of the herd. Bloody Butcher was stunned for a moment. The shadows gradually shrunk back to the soles of his feet, and Ether pulled his nose away in a sarcastic manner, but at the same time, he didn’t forget to use the bridge of his nose to rub against Yu Mengzhou’s chest.

Yu Mengzhou realized that Bloody Butcher was angry, but he wasn’t really sure why he was angry.

Was it because he had comforted Ether before him and he felt that he didn’t care about him? Now Yu Mengzhou was in a dilemma.

Horses had very good memories, and if someone treated them well, they would remember that person for the rest of their lives. In the past, when Yu Mengzhou was at the farm, he was naturally a “hot favorite” among the horses, and some of them would compete for his attention by bullying their companions when the keepers weren’t looking. Doing things such as nibbling on each other’s backs, hitting the ground with their front hooves, and urging Yu Mengzhou to hurry up and come see them! …The list went on and on. Usually, Yu Mengzhou could take out some snacks from his pocket and share them equally, so that no one would be left out.

However, when it came to the demon horses, he couldn’t pull out a few pieces of candy from his pocket and share one piece with each horse to show that he wasn’t showing favoritism to anyone, could he?

“Don’t think too much, it’s not your problem.” As he turned to Yu Mengzhou again, Falchion’s voice softened, “Take a break and walk with me, okay?”

Yu Mengzhou looked at Ether, then at Bloody Butcher, who didn’t say anything, while Ether gently arched his head at him, signaling for him to first go with the chief.

“Problems are meant to be solved in time,” Yu Mengzhou said. “You’ve been together for so long, you should all be family…If you have something to say, say it properly.”

Falchion lowered his head, and the reins that were like two living cords wrapped around Yu Mengzhou’s waist and gently put him in the saddle.

“Hey!” Yu Mengzhou was furious, yet he couldn’t do anything about the herd’s leader. He could only grab the reins firmly and be led by him outside of the cave.

Falchion walked very steadily as Yu Mengzhou sat sideways on him. It was like driving on a straight highway, not bumpy at all. He asked helplessly, “You’re the chief, and you’re just going to leave them there?”

“It’s not that I’m leaving them behind,” Falchion replied calmly. “It’s that I can’t let you stay there.”

“Me?” Yu Mengzhou was surprised. “Are you saying that after I, the trigger, leave, there will be less fighting between them?”

Falchion flicked his ears and seemed to be grinning. “I meant, after you leave, they’ll be able to have a good fight.”

As soon as the words fell, the two demon horses were like heavenly fire meteors, as they roared through the cave’s blockade and crashing towards the far side, and in mid-air they began to tangle and tear each other apart, as they let out majestic howls that was like dragons roaring.

From the collapsed cave entrance, a messy rebuke came, ” Scram! You’d better fix this place for us when you come back!”

Yu Mengzhou, “…”

“It’s not your problem,” Falchion said. “In the past, strife within the herd was common. When we had nowhere to vent the hostility in our bodies and couldn’t find a new object to dump our grievances on, we would expend some of our energy on each other. That’s what Angola encourages and supports.”

As he listened to his account, Yu Mengzhou couldn’t help but reach out and rub the end of his mane. Falchion stifled a shuddering purr and continued, “He feared the power of the assemblage lest we would unite against him, which, in fact, we nearly did. Many times, our differences were great enough to divide us from one another. Too much, and too deep a pain is enough to warp the mind and leave no place for wisdom anymore. In those days, each of the demon horses carried a steel heart of hate and tyranny, and vowed to bring destruction to themselves and the world. To bring such a group of ignited powder kegs back together is a difficult task indeed.”

Yu Mengzhou asked, “What about you?”

“Me?” Falchion asked back. “Me what?”

It was already completely dark. The darkness of the Demon Realm was even more dangerous than the daytime. Accidents with bloodshed and death occurred on a large scale every moment, and were more natural than eating and drinking, but Yu Mengzhou didn’t have to worry about that at all. He was sitting in the safest position possible, on the spine of the Demon Horse’s leader, and surrounded by his protective fiery flames.

“Don’t you have any hate in your heart?” Yu Mengzhou asked. “That Demon Prince…He waited to take advantage of the situation and secretly attacked you all, right? And then enslaved you and utilized your power, so it seems he’s no different from a parasite.”

Falchion murmured, “Of course I have hatred. The realm of magic knows no bounds, and even if poisonous hate were codified on every speck of dust in this world, it would not equal a millionth of my hatred for Angola – but unlike my younger kin, I can control myself, and know that stoic hibernation can do more good than violent catharsis. Angola can capitalize on our pain, so why can’t I capitalize on my hatred?”

He breathed deeply, and when he had calmed down, Falchion’s words changed and he added to Yu Mengzhou, “But you are different.”

“To want something, to conquer it, to replace it with the military honor of blood, to seize it with strong force, it is not only us, this is the creed of every demon. But you came…We are at a loss for words because of this.” Falchion carried him, pacing up and down the hillside without a hitch. “Because you are real, and quite possibly the best thing we could ever get in our lives, I think the dilemma of how to properly get next to you is by far the most confusing dilemma for the herd.”

Yu Mengzhou opened his mouth and just didn’t know what to say, “…Really?”

“Yes,” Falchion said. “Competition is inevitable, and more importantly, you’ve softened us up and given us something more precious than hate. So let those two fight. In any case, a dispute over you is at least a few hundred times more harmless than a war started by Angola.”

Yu Mengzhou coughed. He didn’t want to blush, but…but Falchion was just too honest! This kind of attitude of saying whatever he had to say was just too overwhelming…

“Did I say something wrong?” Falchion asked. “You seem uncomfortable.”

“No!” Yu Mengzhou raised his voice. “I am indeed a bit embarrassed, but…Thank you for saying that.”

Just as they were talking, Ether and Bloody Butcher finished their fight, and the two stallions, one after the other, stormed into the cave in a fit of pique, then were thrown out by a couple of horses teaming up to fix the collapsed hole before they could say anything else.

“Bloody Butcher won,” Falchion said. “We can go back.”

Yu Mengzhou laughed a little, “Where’s Ether?”

Demon Horse carried Yu Mengzhou back and whispered, “You can comfort Ether, but it’s best not to. Demons are the best at disguise. They like you, they definitely won’t show the slightest bit of horse’s foot in front of you. They can disguise themselves with whatever appearance attracts your attention the most. This is the nature of demons that can’t be changed.”

After a pause, he continued, “If there is any conflict that needs to be judged, they are afraid of my severity. They may not dare to come to me, so you may be the best choice. When the time comes, I hope that you will not judge right and wrong according to your usual impressions.”

As he listened to that, he thought about what just happened. Could it be that Ether started it?

Yu Mengzhou was in a difficult position, “But I’m an outsider after all…And when I look at a horse, it’s just a matter of hand to hand…”

“Well,” Falchion said easily. “Just come to me. I’ll give you ideas, don’t worry.”

Yu Mengzhou smiled as he stroked Falchion’s mane again, “Okay, I’ll visit you often.”

Falchion twitched his ears in satisfaction. His purpose accomplished, he carried Yu Mengzhou on his back, and leisurely slipped to the rebuilt cave, where the belated Gao’er was standing in the dark shadows, waiting for the Chief of the Demon Horses.

As Falchion dropped the human on his back and ran inside, Gao’er seized the opportunity to rub Yu Mengzhou’s cheek.

“How was it?” Falchion asked.

Gao’er turned to the chief, and restrained the happy gleam in his eyes as he answered in a low voice, “Cleared twice. They live far enough away from the Palace and the Gathering of the Archdemons to be handled easily.”

“Let’s hope we can stall them a bit,” Falchion said. “Bloody Butcher made a scene. Angola should have gotten word of the anomaly on our side…”

“The Frightened Gremlin found out about the humans?” Gao’er asked.

“Well, they dared to get their mouths on it, but luckily, as soon as they got hit with a tool held by the human, they were knocked into an annihilated state,” Falchion said. “Angola’s ego is immense. He may not believe that his spell spikes can be removed by an outside force, but he’ll be sure to send forces to poke around where we were last seen.”

Gao’er spat out a long, blood-colored tongue, “Shall I go…”

“Bear with me.” Falchion said. “Press on. Endure your murderous lust for vengeance like you would endure pain, understand?”

Gao’er lowered his head and stopped talking.

“When you went to clean up the Frightened Lesser Demons, did you identify any good targets?” Falchion asked again, “The human needs medicine and bandages, and his diet can’t be sloppy.”

Speaking of that, Gao’er perked up. “Of course! I found a dungeon of wanton wizards who have recently picked up a large number of slaves, and I discovered their whereabouts.”

Falchion puffed out a breath as he suddenly remembered something and turned back to instruct, “You’ll go with Striker tomorrow, and leave their cook behind this time.”

“Oh,” Gao’er plowed a hoof through the dirt. “Alright then. I’ll watch Striker and keep him from going too crazy.”

–

Dark clouds pressed heavily against the skeleton and gold-adorned city, a beautifully dangling cluster of palaces, living entities materialized from the minds of many mad artists. The architecture of human beings could never achieve such a contradiction – horror and fascination coexist, beauty and withering coexist. A beam of pale and cold moonlight broke through the thick clouds and shone on the highest spire, coating it with a strange sense of purity.

The supreme capital of the Demon Realm, where Angola, the Demon Prince, resided.

“They are bloodily washing the palace of my ministry!” The Bishop of the Unbridled Pleasure Sect screamed shrilly at the thick curtain. “Your Majesty, the demonic warhorses are the plague you released, so how can you stand by and do nothing?!”

From the curtain, a low voice resounded, “As the humans of the earth say, the vassals of my vassals are not my vassals, so how can the property of your ministry be claimed as my property?”

Angola faked a few coughs, then smooth as silk he snapped, “Still, there is one thing that concerns me greatly. Is it true, as your deserters say, that they saw with their own eyes a demon horse as fast as lightning, with its hooves intact and without any wounds. Is this true?”