Xuan was standing on where it would get bombed in the original plot. This was the turning point of the battle. The Uruk-hai couldn’t have broken into this fortress otherwise in a single night otherwise. Zheng discussed with Xuan beforehand and they came up with a solution. Once the wall was bombed, Zheng would use the Book of the Dead to alter the terrain of the area to block the Uruk-hai from entering the fortress.
How could Xuan have forgotten about the bomb? Yet, he was still standing at that section of the wall. Right as Zheng turned around, he saw the Uruk-hai with the torch charged toward sewer under the wall.
“No!” Zheng’s eyes were bloodshot. There wasn’t even the time for him to dismount. He jumped straight off the Nightmare’s back then jumped again midair with Instant Destruction into Geppo. He was flying to where Xuan was.
His speed was still too slow. The Uruk-hai was only four meters away from the wall. Its body impaled with numerous arrows but it made the jump into the sewer before the end of his life. Bang! A seven-meter wide section of the wall was blasted. The explosion was so strong that the shockwave blew Zheng back several meters. This wasn’t a primitive bomb made from gunpowder as depicted in the movie. The explosion was on par with their high-explosive bombs.
The instant Zheng landed, he charged toward the exploded area. The Uruk-hai were swarming toward the opening as they roared in frenzy. Then they met the even more frenzied Zheng. His eyes were bloody red and he was growling like a wild beast. The front most Uruk-hai that came near him instantly turned into numerous small pieces. No one could see clearly what he did. Zheng was charging right through the Uruk-hai, hoping to reach the opening first.
The Uruk-hai of course did not consent. They attacked the tiny human (in their eyes). Zheng’s hands moved ever so slightly but dozens of Uruk-hai near him were torn apart as if they were killed by a beast. Zheng left a trail of torn pieces of bodies as he ran. His hands each grabbed a Uruk-hai’s head. When he reached the broken wall, he slammed the heads into the wall. The two heads were smashed into tiny pieces.
“Xuan? Are you alright?” He yelled with craze as soon as he entered through the broken wall. A trail of broken bodies lay behind him. Not one Uruk-hai was able to delay him for even a second. The Uruk-hai in the distance hesitated as they witnessed his strength.
Under the broken wall, YinKong and ChengXiao were already there. YinKong carried Xuan out right after the explosion. ChengXiao was forcing medicine into Xuan’s mouth. Yet, his gloomy expression was nothing like his normal cheerful and confident self. The bad feeling deepened inside Zheng.
“How is him? I am fucking asking you how is him?” Zheng shouted before he even came close.
ChengXiao shouted back at him. “You just fucking stand there and hold off the Uruk-hai! Trust the doctor when you are wounded… I am the doctor here. Now, shut up!” He didn’t slow down as he talked. He took off Xuan’s clothes. Zheng saw blood pouring out from Xuan’s left chest, where the heart was located. It seemed just like…
“Ah! I will make you pay with your lives! The Uruk-hai! Saruman!” He shouted then charged back to the opening.
Legolas seemed to be hesitating. He wanted to say something but no words came to his mind when he saw the whirlwind of flesh and blood within the Uruk-hai army. He frowned and continued shooting. Back in the elven realm, Xuan once looked for him.
“Yes. I asked Legolas to take me to meet you, Lady of the Wood.“
Dawn had yet to come. The Fellowship was going to leave after the sun rose and Galadriel would give each of them a gift. Two after midnight, Xuan woke Legolas up to bring him to Galadriel.
Galadriel said with a sly smile. “Oh, emotionless human. What do you wish to see me for? To apologize for the ornament you broke?”
Xuan replied calmly. “No, to make a deal with you.”
Galadriel was surprised then she laughed. “Your friends have promised a deal with the elves. Are you looking to circumvent them and make a deal with us by yourself?”
“Not that type of trade.” Xuan shook his head. “I wish to obtain something to you. And in return, I will give you the One Ring dispelled of Sauron’s soul. Of course, that won’t be right now. The next time we come to this world…”
Galadriel frowned. She stared at Xuan with seriousness. “Enticing but don’t you think you’re talking about the impossible? If Sauron is so easily defeated, the many races of Middle Earth wouldn’t have given him the title of Dark Lord. It was a sign of our fear. What do you wish to obtain from me?”
Xuan gazed at Galadriel. “I need something that allows a person to revive after death, or to fake a death. It can be an item, or magic… There are dreadful enemies of our team in this world. I am uncertain of our ability to rival them. If we failed, then the One Ring and our deal with the elves will fall through. Tell me, do the elves have such item or magic?”
Legolas felt a sharp pain on his face. An arrow grazed past his cheek and pulled him back from the memory. Xuan also talked to him after speaking with Galadriel. He was told not to tell the rest of team China about the meeting. Legolas agreed and buried the secret in his heart.
(However, will everything proceed as you expected, Xuan? If Zheng forgot about that item, you will lose your life.) Legolas stared at Zheng. He wanted to yell but held himself back many times. When Zheng ran back out of the Uruk-hai, Legolas stopped shooting and fixed his eyes at Zheng.
Zheng was holding the leaf of Telperion in his hand. His whole body was dripping in blood and so was his hand. He stuck the leaf into Xuan’s mouth. The leaf turned into a green liquid in an instant then flowed down his throat.
Zheng let out a sigh of relief. He gazed at ChengXiao. “Hurry and look at his injury. Didn’t you save Boromir even when he had a hole in his chest? How could you not save your comrade?”
He was being extremely unreasonable. The injury was the deciding factor on whether the medic was able to save someone. ChengXiao ignored him. His needle moved between the skin on Xuan’s chest. The thread was sewing up the wound. YinKong kept a Freezing Pill in her hand in case Xuan entered critical condition.
Zheng stared as ChengXiao performed the treatment. He also ran out the broken wall again and tore nearly three thousand Uruk-hai to pieces before returning. The Uruk-hai stopped coming to this area. And so the archers on the wall managed to keep them from advancing.
ChengXiao’s hands moved faster and faster. A bit of redness returned to Xuan’s face. The blood coming out from his chest was lessening. However, just as ChengXiao was going to close up the wound, he cried with tears. “Fuck it! I am done with this… What do you want me to do when his heart was crushed. There wasn’t even time for me to treat the wound and no time to give him the Freezing Pill. What do you want me to do…”
Zheng’s expression changed abruptly. He lifted ChengXiao and shouted. “Didn’t you close up the wound? Aren’t blood returning to his face? Didn’t I feed him the leaf of Telperion? Why didn’t you give him the Freezing Pill? Why?”
YinKong immediately forced the pill into Xuan’s mouth. However, there was no sign of him being frozen because he could no longer swallow the pill. YinKong crushed the pill and tried to mouth feed him but it was no use. She felt his pulse on the neck then stood up. “… He’s dead.”
(Adam. Chu Xuan is confirmed dead.)
Zheng lost his strength. ChengXiao fell from his hands. His eyes were completely red and seemed lost. He turned around and walked toward the Uruk-hai army step by step. As he exited through the broken wall, an Explosive Shot flew right at his face. He lifted his hand and grabbed the arrow. Then he roared as he charged into the Uruk-hai army.
Genome. All members of the same species shared over 99.9 of their genome. People who were blood related had an extremely high similarity in their genome. The similarities among human genomes made up the characteristics of a human such as the body, the mind, intelligence, etc. The minute difference that were less than 0.1 percent made up the facial features, personalities, blood types, etc.
Of course, many of the genes in a human were never activated in a person’s life. These genes were remnants of evolution. Evolution of single-celled life, multicellular life, amphibians… and finally man. Many of the genes from the ancient eons were left in our genome. However, what natural selection did not choose to retain weren’t necessarily bad genes. Sometimes, the good genes were eliminated first.
If a person gained full control of his DNA, these hibernating genes would be awakened along with the strength hidden within, and similarly, the primitive instincts of killing.
Zheng couldn’t remember the time this sensation started. It felt as though the sensation arose when he was fighting one bloody battle after another in Starship Troopers. He kept entering the unlock mode, he kept simulating other people’s thinking process, he kept struggling on the brink of death. During that situation, a faint feeling arose. The real awakening took place in Resident Evil. He was filled with killing intent and anger against the researchers. And then when he fought a large number of evolved lickers, he lost consciousness…
By the time his consciousness returned, he saw the majority of the evolved lickers were cut into pieces. While he was unharmed. He realized he made the breakthrough… unlocking the fourth stage of the genetic constraint, control of DNA.
Based on the experience he obtained from that fight, the fourth stage had three phases, early, intermediate, and high. He was in the early phase. In this phase, he could train his body in the most optimized way. He could awaken hibernating genes left from evolution to adjust his body to the most suitable condition.
At this stage, his need for the higher-level vampire bloodlines from God weren’t as urgent anymore because he could optimize his DNA to bring out his full potential.
Zheng was now able to adjust his DNA based on how much energy he had so that his body was more suited for Explosion and Destruction usage and use them at full potential. No wonder it was said that only the fourth stage allowed one to use exchanged abilities in full.
The early phase awakened hibernating genes, optimized the body, and allowed the use of exchanged abilities at full potential. The intermediate phase allowed the evolution and modification of DNA. One could optimize the body to a degree beyond its current best state and allowed the creation of abilities using the information contained inside the genes. The high phase allowed one to control energy within the body at a genetic level. That was only one step away from the fifth stage.
Zheng moved his left shoulder slightly and dodged a pike coming from an Uruk-hai. He then tackled the pike with his shoulder, sending it flying. The pike slapped onto over ten Uruk-hai horizontally. Arms and legs were falling from these Uruk-hai as they came in contact with the pike. Just a tackle from his shoulder was already so powerful.
Zheng reached out his arm and grabbed the Uruk-hai that hit him with the pike. He moved his hands over it. The Uruk-hai was torn to pieces.
The people on the wall looked in shock with their mouths and eyes wide open. On the battlefield beneath them, a killing machine marched into the Uruk-hai army. He wasn’t moving extremely fast but any living being that came into five meters of him would get torn to pieces within the next second. Zheng dropped Tiger’s Soul. He was growling like a wild beast. All his kills were done by tearing with his bare hands. The Uruk-hai were actually pitiful at this point. The villagers on standing on the wall vomited at this bloody scene.
This was Zheng’s reason for hiding the fact he unlocked the fourth stage. He couldn’t control this immense power. The fourth stage was totally different from the third. It was only at this stage that he truly touched upon the source of life. The early stage awakened the remnants of the past but also the frenzy and lust for blood that the simple life forms had when survival was the only thing they wanted. It was a lust without reason. All Zheng wanted right now was to kill everything in sight, the Uruk-hai, the wizard, the humans on the wall, and even the members of team China. He didn’t fear anyone with the strength he possessed.
However, the Uruk-hai were nearest to him so he attacked them first. Multiple Uruk-hai were falling to pieces every second. Head, chest, abdomen, anywhere he attacked was cause of death. Zheng licked the blood that got on the corner of his mouth. He entered almost twenty meters into the Uruk-hai army after coming out of the broken wall. Uruk-hai that were charging without fear began to back. They weren’t scared but they couldn’t understand why wouldn’t this man fall. It was as though arrows shot at him avoided him. Pikes that seemingly hit him hit somewhere else. And anyone that came near him naturally fell to pieces. This terrifying scene made the Uruk-hai back.
“Aouh!!!” Zheng suddenly howled. He leaped at the backing Uruk-hai army. The leaped brought him up eight meters. He landed on several Uruk-hai and smashed them to a paste. His reaction speed right now surpassed what he used to have during Destruction. When his act was registered to the Uruk-hai, he had seized a Uruk-hai and torn it apart. Blood, flesh, and organs splashed over him.
Zheng bit a Uruk-hai in front of him on the head. The thought of biting open a head like an apple naturally occurred to him. He woke up from the fourth stage with a shock. A ground filled with broken bodies that couldn’t even make out a shape came into his eyes. In front of him were the defeated Uruk-hai army running away. He was over a hundred meters away from the fortress without realizing it. Perhaps he was subconsciously moving at the opposite direction from the fortress since if he stayed there during that state, he might wake up to a ground of broken bodies also.
Zheng turned around and quietly ran back to the fortress. Flesh, organs, blood, and dirt were hanging on his hair, face, clothes, and in his mouth. He seemed more terrifying than a monster. Some archers on the wall cried in fear as he approached. Half of them aimed their bow at him. His performance was like how the books depicted Sauron. Invincible.
Zheng ignored these archers. He entered the broken wall and saw YinKong and ChengXiao not far away. Xuan was in ChengXiao’s arms. The young man with an average look and glasses was as calm as always. There was no sign of pain on his face.
“Right. He couldn’t feel pain unless he reaches the fourth stage and obtains what a normal person should have. But…” Zheng walked over to them. He ignored the flesh and blood on him. “Is he really dead?”
ChengXiao nodded. “Yes. Sense his pulse. His heart shattered. Blood no longer flows. After two hours, his brain is also mostly dead. The only thing strange was the leaf of Telperion went down his throat. Did that leaf not account for whether a person was alive or dead?”
“Two hours?” Zheng turned around and looked at the battlefield beyond the broken wall. The broken bodies on the ground amounted to several thousands. It had been two hours since he entered the fourth stage. No wonder the Uruk-hai retreated.
“I can’t believe someone like you died like this. I thought you would only die from being erased for scheming God or drag God along with you to hell. You scumbag. How could you die without pain when you haven’t gotten your feelings yet?” Zheng sat on the ground with his head lowered. He murmured to himself. Something wet slid down his cheeks. Then he fell unconscious. The battle squeezed every last bit of his energy. He managed to walk back because he wanted to see his bro one last time. These were the last words in his heart before he lost consciousness.
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