The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 277 - 272 Don’t Go Back to the Bloody Restaurant, Come Hang Out with Me

Chapter 277: Chapter 272 Don’t Go Back to the Bloody Restaurant, Come Hang Out with Me

"It is indeed presumptuous, but I genuinely hope you would join us."

Beethoven said earnestly.

"Forget it, I don’t want to get involved with the Church."

Liu Zheng shook his head.

If he wanted to join the Church, why wouldn’t he join the Church of Suffering? They even wanted to make him Pope.

Although the congregation comprised merely two members, and even the Saint’s remains had been stolen.

"Young man, you might have some misconceptions about the Church. In fact, the Church has been striving to cure the diseases and Beastification Disease of Yate residents. Great Archbishop Amelia is also a kind and noble leader."

Beethoven tried to change Liu Zheng’s impression of the Church.

"Talking is useless, let’s finish our fight first. If you can’t even defeat me, there’s no point in discussing discipleship."

Liu Zheng shook his head.

"It’s good for a young man to be confident."

Beethoven couldn’t help but laugh.

"However, don’t underestimate us old folks, eh."

He raised the Great Sword again, his right hand grasped the lower part of the hilt, while his left hand crossed over to the end of the hilt.

The blade was held upward at an angle, its tip pointing at Liu Zheng’s throat.

This was the standard starting position of Moonlight Swordsmanship, a style refined by Beethoven based on his family’s swordsmanship and what he learned from other Hunters, honed through countless killings.

The name of this stance was "Crescendo."

"Come on, young man, attack me with all your might."

Beethoven said with an easy smile.

"My full strength?"

Liu Zheng raised an eyebrow.

If he were to use his full strength, it would be questionable whether Yate would still exist.

After all, if pushed to the limit, he could summon the Gospel.

Even without summoning the Gospel, Liu Zheng had a bunch of bizarre, wonderful artifacts at his disposal.

Although he could use them, there was no need to.

However, there were some things that could still be used.

With a tap of his right hoof, he charged forward once again in a mad dash.

At the same time, a bone wand appeared on the tentacle on his left.

The Human Bone Wand was probably the first item Liu Zheng obtained and a key reason for his successful completion of his first mission.

Even though he had almost never used it again due to his bold style and skyrocketing strength, it didn’t mean the item was impractical.

A percentage-boosting piece of equipment would never be outdated.

Under the 10% speed boost of the wand, Liu Zheng’s charge was even faster.

Almost the instant he swung his blade, the Slaughter Knife was already in front of Beethoven.

No technique, no moves, just a simple swing of the blade, as primitive and violent as a caveman picking up a branch and swinging it at a beast.

In a daze, Beethoven seemed to see his former companions.

Wielding a variety of weapons, shouting a variety of slogans, and launching fearless attacks on strange and grotesque monsters.

Some of them had been soldiers, some had been businessmen, others had been blacksmiths.

The same was true for all of them, sharing humanity’s most precious thing.

Courage.

"How nostalgic."

Beethoven let out a sigh, then raised the Great Sword.

The silvery blade reflected the pale moonlight, its sky-pointing tip stung the eyes of the onlookers.

Beethoven tilted the blade, directing a focused beam of moonlight into Liu Zheng’s eyes.

He squinted reflexively.

The next second, a roar like thunder erupted.

"Hei!"

Beethoven’s sword swung faster than his shout.

His raised hands fell like two pillars of heaven, and the Great Sword he was chopping down resembled the tumbling sky.

Liu Zheng’s pupils dilated as he seemed to once again face the heavy hooves raised by Niu Ma,

despite knowing it was a hallucination, that the person before him couldn’t possibly compare to Bloody Restaurant’s thrice-awarded excellent employee.

But for Beethoven to remind him of Niu Ma was proof enough of Beethoven’s strength.

"As expected of the head coach of the eight hundred thousand Hunters."

While thinking this, Liu Zheng then swung his knife.

Tentacles, although not as flexible as fingers, possessed an unrivaled softness compared to human hands.

His tentacles twisted like braided strands, instantly shifting from a vertical slice to a horizontal cut.

When the blade met the edge of the sword, the two explosive forces clashed, releasing the night’s most powerful note.

It wasn’t just the "Holy Sword" Hunters on both sides who showed discomfort, but even the Beastified residents in the distance looked terrified and scattered in all directions.

Transforming into a Beast did not mean losing primal instincts; on the contrary, their sense of danger became even sharper.

The tentacle clasping the knife handle burst with several wounds, blood spurting on the ground in dots.

But Beethoven’s Great Sword also deviated from its heavy impact and swept past Liu Zheng’s side.

Beethoven smiled faintly, his wrist twisting, propelling the Great Sword in a half circle to soar skywards.

Indeed, Liu Zheng’s Slaughter Knife came chopping down once more, colliding squarely with the Great Sword.

Another thunderous boom sounded as the two stepped back in unison, as if by agreement.

Beethoven examined his tiger’s mouth, where the skin had slightly split open from the repeated heavy impacts.

"It really has been a long time since I’ve encountered someone who could match me in strength, and you haven’t even undergone Blood Healing,"

he remarked, looking more and more fondly at Liu Zheng.

A youngster who could fight him to a standstill just with physical fitness and combative instincts—he dared not imagine how strong the other would become after his careful training.

He would probably surpass him, surpass Maria, surpass those Hunters of his own era.

And perhaps even the First Hunter, Germain.

"Young man, can you tell me how you obtained such formidable strength?"

Beethoven couldn’t help but ask.

"...Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Liu Zheng said with a strange expression on his face.

"Of course, as long as you’re willing to tell,"

Beethoven replied, his voice gentle, like a kind elder.

"First, you have to eat a bucket of raw Black Mountain Goat Cub eyeballs."

"Second, you have to jump into the esophagus of a giant snake longer than this street, then detonate a bomb."

"After that, you have to eat a lot of excrement in the sewer."

"And then..."

"There’s a lot more I’m not sure I can mention."

As Liu Zheng recounted his experiences after entering the instance, he couldn’t help distorting his features.

He hadn’t felt it while struggling to survive in the Metropolis, but now that he was out, he realized just how absurd the things he had done were.

Xia Kai, listening on the side, opened his mouth wide; he had originally thought his experiences in prison were dire enough, but compared to Liu Zheng’s, they seemed like a vacation.

Being eaten alive, one’s intestines consumed—who wouldn’t go insane with such an ordeal?

As expected of a boss, no wonder he was so powerful before even leaving the novice instance.

If it were Xia Kai entering that instance, he wouldn’t have confidence he’d survive the first day.

"The outside world is also quite terrifying."

Upon hearing the tale, Beethoven remarked sincerely.

He had believed the Yate residents already had their hands full dealing with the Beastification Disease; he had not anticipated that those on the outside were living in even more dire straits.

"In that case, don’t go back to that Bloody Restaurant. Stay in Yate and join the Church,"

"rest assured, as long as I’m here, nobody can take you away,"

Beethoven said, looking at Liu Zheng with pity.