Chapter 458: Let You Appreciate the True Light!

Chapter 458: Let You Appreciate the True Light!

Lango smiled because he knew the opponent before him was excellent, and engaging with such an adversary—only to ultimately drive a blade into their heart—made the outcome secondary; the process itself was deeply enjoyable.

Neo smiled too, but he felt the process mattered little; the outcome was everything.

For his heart had long since been moved to a different position, and out of concern that tossing it back and forth between left and right would cause him insomnia, he simply never moved it back.

Thus, the spot where Lango’s blade plunged was entirely hollow.

Not long ago, Neo had sustained an injury, and this area was currently recovering, much like a house undergoing repairs where the furniture and other belongings are inevitably moved out first.

So, Lango’s stab served no other purpose than to drain a little blood from Neo.

Particularly, when Lango caught sight of the ink-black blood seeping from the wound, his pupils shrank violently, and his mind instantly recalled the earlier image of Neo shaking dust from his body while spitting a mouthful of "bright red" blood onto the ground.

His body was no ordinary one!

But this realization seemed to come a little too late.

Neo lunged straight forward, moving along the direction of the scimitar, then hoisted his arms and extended them forward, a bloody gleam swirling in his pupils, two fangs bared in his mouth, while the nails on his ten fingers grew and extended at that moment, radiating a daunting, chilling aura.

Neo had said he disliked using weapons; of course, there was an unavoidable, objective reason for this, which was... poverty;

There was also a fundamental reason: his body was his best weapon, and he had no need to carry extra burdens.

Lango had no time to dodge; his chest was pierced by Neo’s ten fingernails, and then ripped open with a loud tear.

Neo opened his mouth and bit directly down upon Lango’s neck.

Puff!

The two fangs pierced into Lango’s skin with absolute smoothness, and a touch of intoxication appeared on Neo’s face.

In truth, the craving for fresh blood always existed, but just like Karen, he resisted that sensation which could cause one to sink and lose oneself; they did not fear indulgence, they merely resisted becoming slaves to a certain "emotion."

However, sometimes when external circumstances demanded that you do so, it was fine; one could cast aside all psychological, moral, and self-cognitive burdens, enjoying this thrill and beauty without any misgivings.

Victory and defeat had, in fact, already been decided;

Even life and death were about to reach a conclusion.

Yet at that moment, a sliver of a smile appeared at the corner of Lango’s mouth.

"Seal... released."

Neo, who was drinking Lango’s blood, felt only a terrifying soul power blast out directly, nearly crushing his self-awareness in that instant.

It was like a person standing before a volcano just as magma erupted, the scorching temperature and haze about to cover you immediately.

Neo was forced to choose retreat, but just as his fangs left Lango’s neck, he perceived a horrific force striking his body.

Bang!

Neo was sent flying backward, rubbing, crashing, and rolling frantically along the ground, continuing for nearly a hundred meters before coming to a halt.

Standing up, Neo looked down at himself and found that besides the wound that had just been pierced, a large portion of his chest exhibited symptoms of rot.

This was a curse, and an extremely dreadful one at that, its negative attributes capable of directly piercing through his Bloodthirsty Demon bloodline.

One must know that the Bloodthirsty Demon bloodline could inherently be considered a type of "demon constitution," a constitution already contaminated, and now, even it was infected.

Meanwhile, Lango, who stood opposite him, had gray matter filling the wounds on his chest and the holes made by the fangs on his neck.

"You are very good, actually forcing me to undo a layer of my self-seal."

Lango also looked down at his own chest, shaking his head with some helplessness, and continued:

"Using soul power to mend the body is like using

Neo cracked his neck, a crisp volley of pops echoing out, before his right hand coalesced into a sword of light, while his left, tipped with elongated nails, swirled with a dense, bloodthirsty aura.

"Rango, to possess two entirely different elemental powers within one body, and to manifest them simultaneously... could he be the legendary Body of Light from the archives?"

"I do not know, Rango. Light possesses the capacity to transmute other elements, yet inherently, it remains the foundation of all things. By all logic, even a Body of Light should not exhibit such a state.

But of this I am certain, Rango: his vessel is profoundly mysterious, meaning that once it is mine, I shall bypass the vast majority of rejection. It is truly an exquisite crucible.

Secure it for me, please, Rango."

"I shall, Rion. We are bound by a covenant, but more than that, we are friends."

"Here I come."

Neo uttered a low shout, hurling the sword of light directly at Rango suspended in mid-air, and in the very next instant, fled outward at the absolute limit of his speed!

He was clearly outmatched; to not run would be the mark of a fool!

This sudden turn left Rango briefly stunned. He had not anticipated that after such a grand prelude, the opponent would strike a posture only to spin on his heel and bolt.

He felt he suddenly understood a bit of the prior meaning behind the ice water and coffee, heh.

Rango extended his hand, pointing forward, and in a flash, along the perimeter of the mountaintop, the silhouettes of doors materialized, seamlessly locking together to form an absolute cage.

"You cannot escape." Rango's form began to move, and the phantom silhouette draped over him shifted in tandem, its colossal hand reaching out.

With his retreat severed, Neo was forced to a halt, and as the giant hand clawed toward him, the space entirely sealed around him, fundamentally erasing any room to maneuver.

Rango had indeed made good on his previous words; this time, there were no alternative schemes or clever ploys, only the sheer weight of absolute power crushing down.

Every movement he made now was a drain, using his own soul strength as a disposable asset, a deliberate act of burning his own life force.

Under the immense, suffocating pressure, Neo was left with no room for a counterattack.

Of course, he had no need to counter, for Rango was already in a state of self-inflicted ruin; even if Neo stood perfectly still, the opponent was actively wounding himself.

His unsealing was akin to placing a massive block of ice into a pool; the pool was neither deep nor vast, but because it held solid ice, there was no risk of overflowing.

Undoing the seal meant the ice was melting, and the excess water would inevitably spill away; if left unused, it was wasted, though using it was a waste all the same.

Hence, until this moment, Rango had been reluctant to break this layer of containment, but Neo’s near-fatal reversal had left him with no choice.

The giant hand seized Neo, hoisting him into the air, a perfect inversion of the prior dynamic.

As the colossal hand tightened its grip, both the power of light and the bloodthirsty demonic aura within Neo were forcibly suppressed; he hung there now like a captive suspended by the wrists, his limbs bound, his very soul subdued.

Yet even pushed to such a precipice, Neo merely urged:

"Hurry it up, I do not care for this posture."

Rango nodded and said, "As you wish. Go, Rion, this is the vessel of your dreams."

"Hahaha, I am coming!"

A bead floated out from the space between Rango's brows, casting a radiant beam onto his own chest, whereupon a middle-aged man clad in white robes emerged from within Rango, exuding an exceptionally dense power of light.

It resembled a thick, white waterfall, so rich it seemed to carry a fragrant breath, cascading all the way to Neo's front.

Rion smiled and said, "I adore your body; it is a mesmerizing crystalline manifestation of light."

Unable to offer any resistance, Neo spoke with a touch of helplessness:

"I regret now why my past self paid such strict attention to physical health; had I known, I should have left you with a few more chronic illnesses."

"Are you ready? I am entering."

"Disgusting, hurry up!"

...

"Let's banish Bart; Bart voted for the fake Seer in the first round, while Miss Puer has consistently stood with the good side, so I have no choice but to direct the votes to you, Bart."

"Woof~ oh!" (The exile vote begins)

The voting concluded, and Kevin pointed toward Bart, lowering his paw to signal Bart’s elimination.

"Woof woof woof woof woof woof~" (Announcing the final game results now)

Sitting on the ground, Kevin raised both front legs and crossed them downward.

"Woof!" (Werewolf victory)

"Haha-meow, I won, I won!" Puer raised her paws, her tail wagging incessantly, "I pulled the Werewolf card this round, but I played entirely with a good-aligned mindset. I didn't even open my eyes during the first few nights, I had no idea who my wolf teammates were, hahaha."

The surrounding crowd could only sigh.

Alfred smiled and said, "You played that deep-cover wolf exceptionally well."

Memphis stood up, slipping away to sit beside Cullen in the distance while the others were busy reviewing the nuances of the last round—the losers deflecting blame, the winners flaunting their triumph.

Cullen was fishing, using a specially crafted long basket; the fish he caught were tossed inside, and the lower half of the basket remained submerged in the water to prevent the catch from dying and losing its freshness.

"Captain."

"Hmm?"

"There is something I have been worrying about. Both you and that Mota believe the Samsara will launch an assault on the Meepos Archipelago, then..."

"Are you worried about Richard?"

"Yes. Perhaps I ought to have stayed there to accompany him. I am not a proper father, leaving instead of staying to look after my own son when he was injured."

"So, do you regret this choice now?"

Memphis shook his head and said, "No."

"There is no need to worry. Richard is with Neo, and Neo will take good care of him," Cullen stated with absolute certainty. "Though Neo enjoys seeking amusement and will deliberately do reckless things for excitement, he will ensure Richard is settled before he goes mad."

"I trust Neo's capabilities." Memphis nodded.

"Try not to dwell on it; to fret over gains and losses before the outcome is known is a poor bargain." Cullen raised his rod, and a fish was lifted from the water.

Memphis stood, taking the net to help Cullen secure the fish, then removed the hook and dropped it into the basket.

"Would you like sashimi tonight?" Cullen inquired.

"That sounds fine, very fresh," Memphis replied, "though I can sense, Captain, that you do not particularly care for sashimi."

"No matter, I can just use the fish head to make a soup."

"Memphis, come quickly, a new round is starting, hurry, hurry-meow!"

Aisley spoke up, "If I draw the Seer this round, I shall verify Miss Puer first. I fear she might deceive me once more."

...

The white waterfall was pouring into Neo's body.

From afar, Neo appeared to be enduring a fiercely violent impact, yet in reality, his posture remained perfectly stable; all the turbulence grew docile the moment it reached him.

Neo's expression betrayed no agony; on the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying it.

Before long, Rango noticed something amiss, and he demanded, "Rion, why is your soulful consciousness not entering?"

Rion replied, "I truly adore this body, you see, and so, I do not wish to soil it or leave it in disarray."

"Rion, do you mean to give him your Spirit of Light for absolutely nothing?"

"Yes, precisely."

"Do you know the consequences of defying my will?"

"Of course I do. You hold the power over my existence and my dissipation."

With his back turned to Neo, Ryan allowed his spirit of light to continue pouring into Neo's body, while he himself locked eyes with Rango.

Rango spoke, "I will annihilate you."

"Heh, but even if you annihilate me, Rango, you cannot stop this process. I have already marked and gifted everything I own to him. And because of the soul covenant between you and me, if you annihilate me now, it will automatically break your final seal.

If that final seal is undone, after some time, you will remain Rango forever, heh.

Oh, of course, once this gifting is complete, you can erase me at your leisure. Because I betrayed you, this is my deserved punishment and the end I accept."

"Why do this, Ryan? I treated you as a friend."

"Rango, I treated you as a friend too, truly."

"Then why?"

"Precisely because I treated you as a friend, and because we are both those who emerged from the Gate of Reincarnation, both having once harbored fantasies, expectations, yearnings, and longings for the real world outside the gate.

Look at the deeds of your Reincarnation Cult on this island, listen to those hideous laughs and the weeping of the dead.

Since the reincarnation you see, Rango, is a false one,

Then as your friend,

To comfort and encourage you,

I invite you to behold,

What truly is... the real light!"

------ Author's Note ------

Recommending a historical political intrigue and hegemony novel with martial arts elements, similar in theme to My Heroic Husband but different in writing style, titled The Young Prince.