hotmtlnovel Chapter 38: Extending one's own feelings to others is benevolence; practicing the Way in one
Chapter 38: Extending one's own feelings to others is benevolence; practicing the Way in one
In fact, during the middle of the battle—or even earlier—Sun Qian had already guessed the identity of this demon.
After all, while possession is a basic skill for many demons, being able to perfectly take over the body of a living saint and even impersonate her to preach is a skill that no lowly henchman can achieve.
Especially considering his connections with Qi Le, Sindman, and the missing chronicler Oriton, Sun Qian had long been wary of this demon.
Samus, the Demon Prince of Destruction Storms, is a demon born from the concepts of betrayal and slaughter, end and death.
He is a demon who is particularly skilled at possession and taking over bodies. Unlike other demons who often exhibit mutated characteristics when possessed, he can maintain the original appearance of the possessed person for a long time and even simulate their actions and tone.
Moreover, unlike other possessing demons, the death of the host does not necessarily signify the demon's failure.
Meanwhile, Samus may be the earliest demon the Empire has a clear record of encountering. During the 63-19 campaign, a unit of the Shadowmoon Wolves encountered this demon in the Whispering Mountains. Due to their lack of understanding of Chaos and demons, Astartes suffered heavy casualties before they were able to banish it.
The survivors of that battle included Loken, Qile, Sinderman, and Oriton.
This is no coincidence.
But in any case, Sun Qian intends to resolve this matter completely here.
"What have you done to me! What have you done to my power...!"
The demon Qile, or rather Samus, roared in anger.
Sun Qian, on the other hand, calmly approached step by step.
"My first question is, is it possible that this isn't your power, but my power?"
The effect of
However, the more severe the backlash becomes after the effect ends.
The Emperor-class Titan Judgment Day is the best example.
What if we reverse the way we think?
After all, none of them have different colored health bars above their heads.
The concept of "friendly forces" is ultimately up to Sun Qian himself.
"Tsk, is it the kind of... special ability that Noctua mentioned?"
It seems that Grell has been boasting about his experience of seizing the ship from Sun Qian, while Samus has been able to obtain all sorts of intelligence from his followers.
"But this kind of petty trick... uh?! Ahhh!!"
Samus suddenly clutched his chest in pain, then opened his mouth and let out a piercing scream.
The side effects of "provocative tactics" only last for a short time, but it is enough to weaken the target temporarily.
"The second question you should be concerned about is not what I did to you—but what I did to 'her'."
"'Her'? Uh...impossible...how could a mortal..."
"That's your biggest mistake, Sams. You just said that Qile was 'a woman with a false reputation' and that you believed she was gone... In that case, I'm certain she's still alive."
At this moment, Sun Qian had already walked up to Samus, but he had no intention of attacking him at all.
"Powerful demons transcend time, existing simultaneously in the past, present, and future. You are the best example of this, Samus."
Samus was supposed to be born at the end of the Horus Rebellion because Loken was murdered by Erebas, but the Warp does not have a strict concept of time, so even if this event had not happened—or had not happened at all—the demons would still exist there.
"So I guess a living saint is probably something similar, isn't he?"
Sun Qian didn't know if Samus could still hear him, because the latter was kneeling on the ground with his head raised, and it seemed as if every blood vessel inside his body was glowing.
Even from a distance of about a meter, Sun Qian could feel the scorching heat emanating from it.
"Perhaps you can take advantage of her weakness and seize her mortal body... but her soul is already similar to yours, so it won't be so easily destroyed."
Sun Qian looked at his system panel, where the card [Standard Version - Liu Bei] was currently selected.
"In that case, all I need to do is..."
But the one he just activated wasn't the one he usually used, the one he called "provocative tactics".
It was another skill, one he had previously considered useless.
"Observe their benevolence and virtue, and stay away from their wickedness!"
Skill: Benevolence - LV1
Effect: Allows you to designate a nearby friendly target and transfer up to two units of Soul Shards (LV1) to them. This significantly increases the target's Soul Strength and Abnormal Resistance for a short period. When the second Soul Shard is transferred each day, a certain amount of physical damage is restored. (Soul Shards restore two units per day, current maximum 4 units)
To be honest, unlike the straightforward description of the ability "Provocation," the effect of this "Benevolence" skill initially left Sun Qian completely baffled.
After all, enhancing the power of one's companions can have an immediate effect, but what are the specific benefits of soul enhancement?
Moreover, the cost of this ability made Sun Qian somewhat apprehensive, since no one knew whether consuming the soul fragment would have any negative effects on him.
There was a Wizarding King who kept losing his soul fragments, and as a result, he became a red-skinned Oglin. We must learn from his example.
However, on the Judgment Day, when Sun Qian learned from Loken that Liu Bei used a special ability to soothe the warriors of the War Dog Legion who were troubled by the Butcher's Nails, he immediately realized that in this chaotic 30K universe,
What is benevolence? Extending one's own feelings to others is benevolence.
What is virtue? Virtue is practicing the Way in one's heart.
While he was being choked, Sun Qian had already transferred a fragment of his soul to another soul inside this body.
And when the skill notification indicates successful activation and stamina recovery...
Sun Qian knew that the demon's fate was already sealed.
A dazzling light emanated from Qi Le's face and seven orifices, along with billowing black smoke.
Sun Qian could vaguely hear angry, resentful, and painful roars coming from within, but soon everything calmed down.
The light emanating from Qi Le dimmed, revealing that her once golden hair had turned completely white, and her already slender body had become even thinner, almost skin and bones.
Even so, her chest still rose and fell slightly but steadily.
"Welcome back, or should I say nice to meet you, Euphrates Chyl?"
"If...if I can't beat him...what will you do?"
Her voice was no longer melodious; it sounded very hoarse and had even lost its ethereal and otherworldly quality.
"If I confirm that you are beyond saving, I will kill you while he is weakened. Although this will be a major blow to the Empire and our entire ship, no sacrifice is unacceptable."
Sun Qian spoke frankly and without any attempt to conceal his true feelings.
"I see... The Emperor's angels are truly cruel."
Qi Le muttered to herself in a self-deprecating tone, a stark contrast to Samus's previous disguise as an emotionless creature.
Perhaps because of the fragments of her soul, Sun Qian even discovered that he could perceive her inner emotions to some extent.
Confusion, pain, bewilderment, fear.
But that's right.
A living saint must first and foremost be a human being.
Especially now that even the gods themselves haven't abandoned humanity.
"Secondly, I never expected you to beat him—and you haven't beaten him yet...you haven't beaten me either."
Hearing Sun Qian's voice gradually deepen, Qi Le raised her head in confusion, but her eyes widened in horror.
Sun Qian's skin had turned pale at some point, and his eyes were now bloodshot, making him look ferocious and terrifying.
"I am all around you, I am the one next to you, I mean end and death, I am..."
Sun Qian reached out his hand to Qi Le, who was about to scream—
boom! ! !
A heavy explosive grenade struck Sun Qian's already damaged arm armor, blowing his arm off completely.
The demon turned his head, and what appeared in his field of vision were three fully armed Astartes warriors.
The leader was no stranger to the demon, for he was his nemesis, his prey, his origin...
"Finally caught you!"
Just as Qi Le was about to remind the three warriors, she discovered that Loken seemed completely unsurprised that Sun Qian had been possessed.
At the same time, Qi Le suddenly felt a faint sensation in her heart. For some reason, the words Sun Qian had just said to her echoed in her mind.
No sacrifice is too great to be acceptable.
Could it be that he did it on purpose...?
"Your days of committing evil have come to an end! This is your end and your death, Samus!"