[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies":3,"chapter-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-233":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Notes on Kraft Anomalous Studies",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2283711,4467,"Chapter 233: Abnormal Activity","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-233",233,"\u003Cp>The scene could not be explained by anything the priests knew, so at first they thought it was a visual afterimage caused by lightning, or an imagined scenario born of mental fatigue, some hallucination existing only in their own eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Few people were more familiar with the power of sharp weapons than they were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A skilled swordsman could easily slice open an opponent’s flesh, even pierce clean through—but cleaving an uneven object reinforced by bone and tough tissue was an entirely different matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To accomplish this smoothly required far more than strength; it demanded a blade so sharp as to be unimaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention when the target wore beneath his cloak a one-piece forged breastplate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rain seeped down his collar into his lining, cold dampness crawling up his spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pale light hidden within the lightning vanished, lasting only an instant too subtle to notice; the tall grass continued its wild thrashing, making it impossible to tell if anything had passed through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Over there… something to the right front!” Kraft tried to point out his discovery to the others, but lacking reference points, he couldn’t describe the location precisely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he realized the danger of his action and immediately dropped low, pressing himself against his horse’s back. Something whistled past nearby with a quiet, piercing sound, vanishing into the endless night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the rain, the sudden deaths and the rolling thunder that followed drowned out these hidden threats, drawing no proper attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There!” Another cultivator spotted something first, calling out to his companion, then fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strange light and accompanying sound drew the cultivators’ attention to that direction; they extinguished their horse lanterns, and the chaotic splashing of footsteps drew near. Everyone was groping blindly in the white-dark chaos, the situation in disarray.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the lightning faded, the vision after the flash became even darker. Gao Chao felt only a slight hesitation beneath his hand, sticky fluid flung forward, the rain washing away what clung to the blade’s spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So far, only dense metallic clashing had been heard, indicating a large-scale close-quarters engagement had just begun. The lantern lights of the cultivators moved slowly, flickering in and out, tracing shimmering dashed lines through the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cultivators at the rear quickly closed in around Kraft, shielding him in the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I think the Xiang family should accept repayment in installments.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wet wind howled, carrying raindrops; the ground was muddy and slick, minimally enhancing the trail of man and horse. Only the rustle of bent and twisted grass blades could be heard, indistinguishable from the surrounding chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way the light radiated resembled the twitching limbs of a dissected frog, its spinal cord severed and cleanly stripped, reacting to electrical stimulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rider made his final course correction, drew his sword level to one side, and accelerated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nearest lantern light suddenly dropped, sinking into the waves of tall grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was hair, bone, or iron armor capable of resisting crossbow bolts, to it made no difference—all were merely drawings on paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The light flashed once and vanished, dimmer than before. A costly but precise guide. Kraft seized the opportunity it offered and chased after the target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, contrary to expectations, a more hidden presence was detected. The neat surface of the paper had been forcibly torn open by some force, a narrow slit cleaving things apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He met slight resistance. With accumulated momentum, the blade struggled through that resistance, unstoppable as it drove forward, striking something hard, carving a deep gash before slightly veering off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a distance close enough to hear breath, he suddenly surged forward with a feint, then halted within two steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A whip-like strike swept past him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the resistance vanished. Something thicker than rainwater erupted and splashed, pouring precisely into the airways, mixing with it to produce thick, sticky foam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staggering upright, leaning on his sword in the muddy water, his clothes soaked and caked, Kraft felt he must look like he’d just been fished out of a curry pot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft instinctively tried to rein in his horse, then immediately realized it was useless—his galloping mount could not stop instantly; the previous two examples still burned fresh in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thing was no blade, arrow, or flying projectile; it defied logic, had no trajectory or origin. Maintaining light sources only served to make targets of themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another flash of lightning offered a brief glimpse: the opponent should have worn a mask, but it was now fully soaked, slipped down to his chin, revealing a pale, vacant face as if it had never seen sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hurled his lantern toward the spot where the light had vanished. “Over here! Watch out—they have arrows!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether this light and the smooth slicing were related or not, he had no intention of fighting someone whose nature he didn’t know while being targeted. Arrows from the dark might be safer than obvious anomalies that drew attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scratches and cuts burned exposed skin; the impact vibrated through his chest and abdomen, ligaments tugging violently at his organs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, the pale, hazy light flared again behind him. This time Kraft saw how it appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rift cleaving reality had not yet fully closed when Kraft distinctly felt a new, unchanging thread of awareness bloom behind him, accompanied by an unbearable cry of delight—as if the wound torn in the canvas had first struck the one who made it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when the sound of hooves shattering puddles entered his awareness did they realize a four-legged, light-footed creature was approaching—whether to evade or complete the half-drawn bowstring, they could not decide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grabbed the swinging arm by instinct, then recoiled as if shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Extinguish the lights!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relying on his marginally better night vision, he could barely discern the correct direction of retreat—something moved within the undulating waves of grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not seek to protect the target or demand protection for himself; instead, he spurred his horse into the tall grass, circling toward the direction from which the arrows had come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The horse’s scream pierced the rain; a body tumbled from the saddle into the grass, emitting a muffled, gurgling groan like mud bubbling—hopefully not with broken leg bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The delayed deceleration gave Kraft room to dodge; he leaned low, slipped past the invisible blade, lunged in, drove his elbow hard into the opponent’s lower abdomen, then seized the wrist and wrenched it violently beyond its natural angle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps the direction of the sound was too obvious; this time, the sense of danger closed in too swiftly, leaving no escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rider pulled away, turned his horse, and without hesitation accelerated again, holding his sword level—recalling the repeated charges practiced in the castle courtyard, the horse and rider and blade sweeping past the same point once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cultivators had not yet reacted; they veered away from the possible threat behind the road, splitting off toward the direction where the lantern had been wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This might have been his first true encounter with a “person”; he was unnerved beyond reason, even unable to fully grasp the reality of it, his gaze constantly snapping back to the main battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His curled body left the saddle; the grass cushion absorbed some of the impact, and the roll prolonged the force dissipation—but the remaining force left no part of his body untouched by pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A horse’s unbalanced fall echoed nearby; warm liquid sprayed into the rain, pumped into the air by the low pressure of a severed artery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he moved, two more objects flew past—but not toward him; they flew toward the still-lit lanterns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy wasn’t amateurish; as Kraft closed in, he heard faint, ragged gasps—and not just one person’s movements; they were pressed close together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Someone really ought to teach them that combat isn’t brawling.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a bright, nearly luminous stone-like object, peeled from some shattered geometric form, now passively activated, briefly “igniting” a light that illuminated another layer of the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He released the reins and executed a textbook violation—rolling sideways off the horse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “electrode” connected to it was a withered, bony hand, its long, pale fingers half a joint longer than normal, dark veins crawling beneath the skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet his mind, still protected, commanded his body to regain control as quickly as possible; he tore off the light, sodden cloak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His guess was correct—there was more than one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed they were still searching for the killer of their companion, but the rain-soaked tall grass was no place to find anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, he sensed movement unlike any jointed bone—unnameable flexibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought he caught a faint tremor, muffled by the rain curtain—the faint vibration of a bowstring after releasing its stored energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the sluggish sound of mud and water, thick sludge dragged up from the ground and flung outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft rushed toward it. He saw the light again—the same dense, pale light. As if a fragment had been plucked from some celestial body and grafted onto a place it did not belong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two warnings finally drew attention—that was not a bad thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After charging forward a distance, Kraft only then realized what he’d done: he’d simply repeated the same two charges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could still discern the final direction of the light; he gripped his sword tighter and leaned low, closing in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, metallic clashing still rang out—the attackers were not few.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If possible, capture this bastard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was too late; the blade pressed diagonally upward, thin, light touches falling like scattered raindrops—these were the severed tips of grass blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest were merely backup measures, filled in where gaps existed; the true threat, the one that nearly destroyed the entire squad, remained unseen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adjusting direction once more, the steady horse obeyed its rider’s command, galloping toward the unseen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The concealment of the rainy night worked both ways: extinguishing the lanterns temporarily erased Kraft’s movement from the enemy’s sight, and the seventh shot made the archer’s position more certain in perception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a wound torn open in a living body, it lasted long enough for an entire squad to pass through, then gradually healed, erased, and vanished, obscuring the other layer behind it—similar, yet not entirely overlapping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enemy’s pain tolerance proved remarkable; even under such conditions, he attempted a counterattack with his remaining hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No more sounds would come. There would be no more sounds.\u003C\u002Fp>",1736,"2026-06-20T02:15:56.940Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d644d38704c35fab4ea6735564744c5f04f19165d321fe10b70282d620e5c9f5","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-234","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-232",406,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-cover.jpg"]