Chapter 53: 53 The Toad and the Goat

53 The Toad and the Goat

"Kid, this time you're really done for…"

Gazing at the resplendent, enormous soul in the center of the plaza, Heishanyang couldn't help but heave a deep sigh, and said to Li Ang with a look full of regret:

"That damned toad is a sacred spirit worshipped by a secretive cult called the Chengjin Sect. Its master is a true god whose power rivals that of the Lord of the Starry Skies, and this toad is one of three pets that true god favors most.

Although compared to how I used to be, this toad is nothing but a fart, because it's been touched by that true god's aura, its own standing is extremely high, and its abilities are a real pain to deal with. I really have no way to save you… sigh, what a waste of a fine seedling…"

"…"

Wait a second? You know the origins of that toad?

Hearing Heishanyang's words, Li Ang's expression couldn't help but stiffen slightly, and he immediately raised his hand to open his badge panel.

He was thrilled to discover that the red 【Materialist Soul】 had already begun to glow faintly, though the conditions still didn't seem quite sufficient, leaving the light unusually dim and not yet at the level needed for activation.

Feeling he had already found a way to escape his predicament, Li Ang couldn't help but raise his hand and give the goat's head a hard slap.

"Quick! Say some more!"

"Huh?"

Heishanyang was momentarily stunned by the words, then instinctively said:

"Uh… then I'll say a bit more… although you kid are a bit of a cheapskate, not even willing to fork over the fare for a boat ticket, at least you're willing to buy me cigarettes, which is way better than that red-haired woman. After you die, I'll definitely miss you a few extra times…"

"I'm not asking you to keep mourning me! I'm asking you to tell me what you know about that toad!"

Looking at the entry under 【Materialist Soul (Crimson)】's equipped effects — "When encountering an anomaly, reduce the influence from it based on your own level of understanding" — Li Ang couldn't help but say excitedly:

"Tell me everything you know about that toad! As much as you can! The more detailed the better!"

"Huh? You're about to die of old age, why are you asking about this stuff?"

"Never mind that! Hurry up and give me the intel! If you keep dawdling, I'll throw you over there to feed the toad!"

"Tch… it's only because I find you pleasing to the eye…"

After grumbling discontentedly for a moment, Heishanyang recalled the intel on the golden toad, then began to ramble on at length:

"The Chengjin Sect people love wealth, so the three pets that true god keeps are all somewhat related to money — a cat that attracts wealth, a snake that devours wealth, and a toad that spits out wealth. Their abilities are, respectively, obtaining money, consuming money to obtain something, and swallowing something to spit out money.

The strongest of them is this damned toad. It can spit out a massive amount of money and forcibly purchase almost anything. As long as you can't be completely immune to the magic of money, you can't be exempted from its 'forced purchase.' It can even… huh? How come you can move now?"

【Through the absent-minded narration of "Demon Horns," you have obtained a large amount of intel on the "Wealth-Swapping Golden Toad." The anomalous badge "Materialist Soul (Crimson)" has been activated.

Because you now understand the rules governing the "Wealth-Swapping Golden Toad's" ability, your resistance to this anomaly has greatly increased, and you are already able to block effects of a general level.】

"Don't stop! Keep going!"

Trying to move his legs, which were still held by the toad's hands, and finding that although there was still a faint sluggishness, he could already move freely, the corners of Li Ang's mouth couldn't help but curl up in delight, and he realized he had apparently underestimated Heishanyang's usefulness.

Regarding this 【Demon Horns】 intel, the name given by 【Materialist Soul】 was followed by three affixes: 【Fallen】, 【Erudition】, and 【Whisper】.

Among them, 【Fallen】 refers to Heishanyang's identity as a demon, 【Whisper】 should be the ability to bewitch hearts and provoke fury, and as for the final 【Erudition】, it corresponds to its broad knowledge as a great demon,

and the vast amount of occult knowledge it ought to possess.

And this knowledge and learning, falling into someone else's hands, might just be a piece of intel that might come in handy someday, without much real significance.

But falling into his own hands, Heishanyang's erudition, paired with the 【Materialist Soul】 badge's "the more you understand, the more you can resist" effect, directly became a reliably triggerable resistance to "anomalies" — and it seemed the effect could be even stronger…

Hm? Why has it gone quiet?

Having waited a long time without hearing Heishanyang continue to provide intel, and staring intently at the brightness of 【Materialist Soul】, feeling there was still room for it to grow, Li Ang couldn't help but urge:

"Are you done describing its abilities? What about its weaknesses? Its characteristics? And the name of that true god? Hurry up and keep talking!"

'…'

Hearing Li Ang's urging, Heishanyang couldn't help but open his mouth, not knowing how to answer for a moment, and finally had to remind him with a helpless look:

'Kid, do you want to look up first?'

Look up? Could it be that…

Hearing Heishanyang's words, Li Ang's expression couldn't help but stiffen slightly.

When he looked around and found that the aging of the people around him had stopped at some unknown point, Li Ang's face couldn't help but stiffen as he raised his head and looked toward the center of the shopping plaza.

Sure enough, those two enormous compound eyes that should never have grown in a toad's eye sockets had already, across a distance of six or seven hundred meters, locked firmly onto him, and within those hundreds of densely packed strange eyes swirled a very human-like, thick astonishment.

"…"

No way, right?

After exchanging a glance with those two terrifyingly huge compound eyes, Li Ang couldn't help but groan inwardly.

Because he was worried about being noticed for anything abnormal, after regaining his freedom just now, he had only shifted a tiny distance — not even 5 centimeters — and right now, tens of thousands of people in this plaza were struggling. How could you possibly spot me at a single glance?

…

Strange… this should be a person, right?

After glancing at the human drenched in demonic aura, the corners of the golden toad's mouth couldn't help but curl slightly upward, revealing a strange, intrigued smile.

After responding to his believers' prayers and descending upon this plaza full of greed and money, he had originally only planned to kill a few people at random, half-heartedly fulfilling the request before leaving — who would have thought there'd be an unexpected surprise.

If he wasn't mistaken, that shrinking, timid fellow beside him should be the one who had rashly descended earlier and ended up being torn into seven pieces.

After the enormous compound eyes rotated slightly, focusing their gaze on the shopping bag in Li Ang's hand, the corners of the golden toad's mouth couldn't help but curl wider and wider.

Magnificent!

Truly worthy of a great demon whose standing once neared godhood — even fallen to such a state, he still has the spare strength to help others resist my control!

After casting an admiring glance at Heishanyang, the golden toad raised its sticky right foreleg, scooped up a huge pile of gold wheels, and then suddenly clenched hard. The gold wheels, enough to bury an adult, instantly shattered completely and vanished without a trace.

And at the same time, Li Ang, far away some six or seven hundred meters, felt the world before his eyes blur slightly, and he, along with a few paving stones beneath his feet, vanished along with the crushed gold wheels.

When Li Ang's figure reappeared, he had already been teleported, bricks and all, right in front of the golden toad — a mere step away from that slightly open, enormous toad maw!

"Chosen vassal of a demon, I ask you."

Looking at Li Ang, whose expression was unusually stiff, whose eyes held an indelible fear, yet who still gripped a broom tightly and refused to let go, the enormous golden toad smiled and playfully opened its mouth a little wider.

"Why resist? Don't you want to sell your life to me?"