Read Novel Full Chapter 393: Blood Rope [2]
Chapter 393: Blood Rope [2]
That guard swallowed nervously, saliva passing noisily through his throat. He looked behind him, perhaps hoping he was not the one Henry was referring to.
But his colleagues all simultaneously distanced themselves from him as though he reeked of something terrible. He spared Henry a bitter look.
"M my lord..." the man stammered, eyes locked on the blood rope. "What if it’s—"
Before he could finish, Henry snatched a rifle from another soldier beside him. Without hesitation, he raised it and fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets tore into the guard’s chest, throwing him backward as blood sprayed across the ground. His body hit the earth with a dull thud, lifeless eyes staring at the sky.
The entire eastern wing went dead silent.
Smoke drifted from the barrel of the rifle as Henry lowered it slowly. Everyone present was too stunned to react, IceQueen’s mouth opening and closing as she stared at his ruthlessness.
Unlike players, the one he had shot was an NPC. One of his very own subordinates. His death was permanent. There was no respawning after that.
’Reminds me of him,’ she thought quietly to herself. ’However, he is the ugly and despicable version.’
The atmosphere was filled with suffocating tension. Every soldier present felt it. They knew any one of them could be next at any moment. To Henry, they were nothing but despicable pawns. Their lives were no different from that of ants, a painful truth many of them had already come to understand.
When Henry turned his gaze to the next person in line, that soldier did not need to be told anything. His face went pale, lips trembling, but he swallowed hard and began to step forward.
It was better to risk it than get shot like the first man.
Slowly, he stepped forward. All eyes were focused on him, and the unfortunate soldier’s heart beat fiercely with every step he took.
He prayed to any god that cared enough to listen.
His boots crunched softly against the dirt as he moved closer to the blood rope, each sound echoing far louder in his own ears than it should have. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, stinging his eyes, but he did not dare wipe it away.
Every step felt heavy, like his legs were sinking into mud.
Behind him, no one spoke. No one even breathed too loudly.
The soldiers watched with stiff bodies and hollow eyes, some clenching their fists, others lowering their heads as if already preparing themselves for what might come next.
The man’s mind was in chaos.
’Please... please don’t let this be my end.’
He had joined the eastern camp for protection, for food, for a chance to survive in this broken world. He never imagined he would be standing in front of a glowing rope soaked in blood, forced forward by the barrel of his own lord’s gun.
Henry’s gaze bored into his back like a blade.
"Touch it," Henry growled. "Slowly."
The soldier stopped just inches away from the rope.
Up close, it felt worse.
The blood rope radiated heat. Not warmth, but a sharp and unsettling sensation that made his skin crawl. The glow pulsed faintly, almost like a heartbeat, and with every pulse his chest tightened.
He stretched his hand forward, fingers shaking violently.
His lips moved in silent prayer, calling on gods he had not spoken to in years, promising anything as long as he lived through this.
IceQueen watched closely, eyes narrowed.
She could tell this was no normal trap.
The air around the rope felt distorted and heavy, in a way that made even her instincts scream caution. Yet Henry stood there with his jaw clenched, impatience written all over his face.
"Hurry up!" he barked. "Or I’ll end it myself."
The soldier flinched.
Gritting his teeth, he reached out the final inch and touched the blood rope with the tip of his finger.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Some of the soldiers let out shaky breaths, hope flashing in their eyes.
Then the rope reacted.
The glow intensified sharply, red light flaring like a sudden flame, and the soldier screamed as the blood rope coiled around his finger on its own, moving like a living thing.
"AHHH!" he shouted, panic flooding his voice as he tried to pull back.
But it was too late.
The rope tightened instantly, wrapping around his arm in a blink, and with a violent tug, it dragged him forward, slamming him face first into the ground.
The earth cracked beneath the impact.
Blood sprayed as the rope constricted further, veins bulging on the man’s neck as his screams turned hoarse and broken.
The soldiers stumbled backward in terror.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"Pull him back!"
"Don’t touch it!"
Henry’s eyes widened despite himself, his grip on the rifle tightening.
IceQueen’s expression darkened.
"That’s not just a trap," she muttered under her breath. "That’s a warning."
The blood rope pulsed once more, then snapped tight.
With a sickening sound, the soldier’s body went limp.
The rope released him immediately after, letting his corpse drop lifelessly beside the first guard, before slowly settling back into place as if nothing had happened.
Silence swallowed the eastern wing once again.
No one dared move.
No one dared speak.
All eyes slowly shifted toward the glowing blood rope, fear sinking deep into their bones as a single thought echoed through every mind.
Had the enemy already trapped them?
Meanwhile, back at the eastern entrance.
"How long can you keep the rope active?" Gabriel asked softly.
Beside him, Seraphina’s eyes were shut tight, sweat glistening on her face.
"Just a few minutes more," she replied in a slightly strained voice. "My mana is dropping fast."
The blood rope was extremely powerful and consumed a massive amount of mana points. Due to the distance and range, maintaining it for long periods was impossible.
A few seconds later, Seraphina’s eyes snapped open as she let out a breath she had been holding the entire time.
At the same moment, the blood rope snapped.