Chapter 6: A Father's Worry.
A deep sigh left his mouth, he raised his hand to throw it away when a thought suddenly came to mind, or to be specific, a certain vision.
In that instant, the battlefield from his vision flashed through his mind. Those corpses, twisted and broken, glowing with an eerie red when the dark red wave hit them, before something devilish emerged from them.
His fingers trembled as he brought the fish back Infront of his face, scrutinizing it with his gaze.
"Should I give it a try?"
He thought, but when he recalled his exhaustion from earlier, he paused. The last time he used the wave, it drained him almost instantly, only recovering after a few minutes.
Moreover, This was just a fish. He couldn't help but wonder whether it was worth it to go through that fatigue again for just one summon he wasn't even sure would be useful.
"No...it doesn't matter, right now I don't have the leisure to be picky."
"Besides....if those frenzied creatures could grow stronger by killing those divine level beings from my vision, then there's still hope to increase its strength even if it turns out weak."
He gripped the cold remains of the fish tighter, and was about to urge the dark red vortex in his Dantain when.
'Wait there's another...'
his eyes caught another motionless fish a few feet away. " No, not just that one." He said, turning his head to spot a large crustacean laying nearby, unlike the fish that died shortly after the disappearance of the lake, it was still alive.
A slow realization dawned Yao Zi when he spotted some other crustacean's, dead fishes and even some shell fish not to far away.
"Hahahaha! I can't believe I didn't think about this!"
"Why should I waste my strength on one when I can turn several all at once!"
His excited face calmed down the next moment as he pondered. If that figure could control an army in the same way, doesn't that mean that he could do so as well?
He had been an idiot. All this time, he thought he'd need to unleash multiple waves. But that wasn't necessary. if he gathered enough corpse's in one place, one wave would be enough.
His gaze flickered to the movement ahead, a crab, scuttling sideways across the cracked ground, its chitinous shell glistening dully in the light. Without hesitation, Yao Zi ran towards it.
His eyes flashed with no remorse. The instant he reached it, his foot slammed down with a sharp crunch. The crab's shell splintered beneath his weight, but a sharp sting lanced through his foot.
He hissed in pain, lifting his foot to reveal one of the crab's pincers stubbornly clamped onto the side of his feet, its jagged edges biting into his skin even in death.
Yao Zi's face twisted in irritation as he reached down, prying the pincer free with forceful jerks before tossing it aside. Holding the lifeless crustacean by one of its legs, he studied its shattered remains, clicking his tongue.
" Using my feet won't do."
His eyes darted around, searching for another tool. A smooth, oval stone caught his attention, half-buried in the dirt. He crouched, picking it up and weighing it in his hand. It felt Solid and Heavy enough. A slight smirk curled his lips.
Spinning on his heel, Yao Zi locked onto another crab scurrying across the dried lakebed, its beady black eyes reflecting a dim intelligence—almost as if it understood the fate that awaited it.
'Too slow!'
With a sharp inhale, Yao Zi dashed forward, the wind rushing past his ears. He squatted low when he reached the startled crab, arm tensing, before swinging the stone downward in a brutal arc.
Crack!
The crab's shell exploded under the force of the impact, its twitching legs going limp as its innards leaked onto the parched earth.
Rising, Yao Zi wiped a fleck of crab guts from his sleeve before grabbing the second lifeless body. Now, one in each hand.
He exhaled sharply. "This is going to be a lot of work."
His eyes flickered to the scattered remnants of the lake's lost life, more crabs skittering mindlessly, fish corpses shriveling under the sun, and twisted shellfish and mollusks half-buried in the dirt.
If he was going to test the crimson wave again, he needed more than just two targets.
With a renewed sense of determination, Yao Zi tightened his grip on the stone and stepped forward, his shadow stretching long across the dead lakebed like a grim reaper stepping into the living world.
Yao Zi worked tirelessly under the merciless afternoon sun, his body a blur of movement as he crushed, gathered, and piled the corpses of every aquatic creature he could find. His stone, now slick with blood and briny remains, became an extension of his will as he shattered the shells of crabs, lobsters, and crayfish. Shrimp skittered away in vain, only to be snatched up in his relentless grasp. Even the mollusks—snails and clams half-buried in the cracked earth—were pried free and tossed onto the growing mound of death.
The fish were easier because they were Motionless, rotting, and bloated by the heat, they couldn't resist. He hauled their stiff bodies one by one, adding them to the grotesque heap. By the time evening approached, his body ached from the constant exertion. His breaths came in ragged gulps, and beads of sweat traced rivulets down his face, stinging his eyes. He wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist, smearing grime and fish blood across his skin.
Before him stood his gruesome achievement. a massive pile of seafood corpses. The stench was unbearable, thick and putrid, coating his throat with a foul bitterness.
Among the heap were five Giant Yangtze sturgeons, their long, armored bodies stacked like fallen warriors, and eight Yellow-cheek carps, their golden scales dulled by death. Yao Zi swallowed hard, his stomach twisting at the revolting sight.
"This better prove useful..."
Suppressing his nausea, he began arranging the carcasses, dragging them into a tight barricade around himself. The bodies squelched under his tough handling as he tried to fit them within a 1 meter radius around his body.