Chapter 175: When Kurome Flexed Her Desert Eagle

“Sh-Sh-Shit… L-Leader, s-should we… sh-should we retreat? R-Report to Boss?”

The man’s teeth were chattering. His voice cracked, fingers twitching by his sides.

If the leader hadn’t dragged him back –

He would’ve disappeared too.

Like the others.

The leader’s face twisted.

“No fucking way.”

His eyes didn’t leave the cat.

But his voice dropped, laced with cold dread.

“You think boss is gonna believe three of our crew just vanished chasing an injured brat and half-dead girl?”

He glanced sideways, jaw clenched.

“There’s no way he won’t think we took the cluster for ourselves.”

Everyone knew how boss handled traitors.

Slow.

Messy.

Loud.

“Go back, and we don’t die quick like them.” he muttered.

“We die screaming.”

The other man swallowed hard.

He’d seen what happened to the last guy who failed.

Skinned alive. Doused in Soulbrand Oil. Took three days before he stopped begging to die.

And that was just for losing a bet.

Not for losing three men and a brat who knew about the spirit cluster.

Even the air around them felt heavier now.

On the side, Kurome raised her paw daintily to her mouth as she gave it a thoughtful lick.

Should I have kept them alive?

Maybe.

But they were noisy.

And two tried to punt her.

On top of that, they absolutely reeked of trouble.

They weren’t going to bring anything good to the store.

She gave a small sniff, unbothered.

To her, it was only natural.

Spiritual beasts didn’t play by human rules.

Survive. Eliminate threats. Simple as that.

But now… she glanced down at the little black uniform vest wrapped snugly around her.

Her ears twitched.

She wasn’t just a beast anymore.

She was a proud member of store guardian unit.

Maybe I should’ve just clawed their legs off or something.

Too late now.

Kurome stretched, and gave a big yawn.

Suddenly, the leader gave a sharp nod to the wiry cultivator at his side. The man, called Flinter for his quick, restless energy, pulled three tightly rolled strips of rough, fire-tanned paper from his belt and threw them toward Kurome.

The strips unrolled midair, revealing crude red symbols drawn in mineral ink.

Flinter summoned his qi. The explosive tags were simple but deadly – made from Fibrous Ashleaf Pulp, Sticky Resin mixed with fire qi, and a Spark Glyph that could be triggered by a breath of qi or a single flame.

Once ignited, they would erupt into a fiery blast wide enough to catch Kurome, showering the air with scalding ash pellets and filling the area with choking smoke.

Ash sneered, voice dripping with mockery but shaking underneath. “Rot and burn, you damn beast.”

There was no going back now. They either found the boy, or their ruthless boss would hunt them to the ends of the Molten Ashlands.

Kurome’s light blue eyes snapped directly toward the scrolls. No matter how calm she appeared, her attention had never wavered from those two.

“Flinter, detonate it now!” the leader growled.

Just as Flinter flicked his fingers, sending the scrolls to spark their fiery curse, shadows shifted on the ground beneath them.

From the scrolls’ own shadow, two massive arms of dark shadow rose, towering like ancient stone golems come to life.

They moved swiftly, closing in from either side, palms facing each other as if to clap, but instead of striking, they enclosed the talismans in a crushing grip of shadow.

The fiery blasts were swallowed whole, smothered before they could even erupt.

Ash pellets sizzled harmlessly against the shadowy embrace as the smoke never had a chance to rise.

A low rumble echoed as the shadow arms withdrew back into the darkness, leaving silence and a lingering hint of burnt ozone.

The leader’s eyes flashed with frustration but only for a heartbeat.

Pressing ahead in a burst of speed, he vanished as a gust of wind, already knowing the plan was doomed to fail.

His hands began to shift and ripple, covered in jagged, rocky formations that crawled up his forearms as living armor.

His entire upper body transformed into a rugged stone fortress.

Using a cultivation movement technique known as “Lava Surge.” he propelled himself forward with bursts of molten qi beneath his feet.

Flames flickered at his heels as he closed the distance between himself and Kurome in just seconds.

Suddenly, Kurome’s Baton of a Thousand Forms coiled at her belt, slithering with the movement of a living serpent.

It slid into her paw and shifted, snapping and twisting until it morphed into something wildly unexpected: a clunky, wonky-looking Desert Eagle pistol.

“It shoots little metal beans really fast.” Hao had said, tapping the side of his nose with exaggerated wisdom.

Kurome’s lips twitched into a faint smile.

Her master Hao had once shown her a crude sketch of this strange weapon, a relic from the old world, a rare forbidden tool in battle.

He’d mentioned it only once, barely explaining how it worked.

Still, Kurome had been fascinated, asking endless questions about how such a thing could function without spiritual energy.

Though Hao’s drawing was laughably bad – a crooked outline with shaky lines – she’d managed to piece it together in her mind.

Now, with her shadow qi stretching and binding to the gun’s frame, Kurome pressed the trigger.

Click.

From the barrel, bullets formed, not ordinary metal but shards of pure shadow shaped into deadly slugs, dark as the void, hissing through the air.

Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!

Krakk! Krrsh! Thud!

The projectiles struck the leader with precise brutality, shattering stone armor and breaking bone with each hit.

This time, Kurome didn’t go for a kill.

Her shots avoided vital organs and the head, instead focusing on legs and arms with surgical precision.

A strange itch tugged at her paw, the urge to keep firing just a little more – maybe one extra shot, or two.

But she held back with a sigh, knowing full well that if she gave in, the human might actually die.

He crumpled to the ground, stunned and crippled, barely understanding what had happened before his body betrayed him.

‘It appears the tool surpasses even my expectations.’

‘My master’s knowledge really runs deep. Using this tool is… quite satisfying.’

‘Shall I test the other one next?’

‘What was it again… ah, right. A-AK-47?’