Dark Moon Era - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Black Robe
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

If he was not discovered, there would still be hope, would there not? That was the only thought left in Tang Ling’s mind when he was less than 10 meters from the thick tropical forest ahead. The zombies had mercilessly flung themselves over. It was their habitual movement as their last jump onto their prey.
Racing over, Tang Ling was on the verge of going mad, yet this was the only gamble he had.
However, at that very moment, he was suddenly held back. An unbelievable strength exploded from a familiar hand. It was Grandmother! 2
The rain had stopped. Further away, four to five pairs of brutal gray-white eyes appeared. With the Purple Moon shedding its light down, they looked extra bewitching.
It was a despairing situation as the zombies in the area started to amass!
Tang Ling finally realized he was about to fall into utter hopelessness. The calm that he maintained was no longer useful.
His sister remained quiet, but his grandmother shook Tang Ling strongly.
At the very next moment, tremendous sorrow drowned Tang Ling. He saw his grandmother charge towards the jumping zombie with inconceivable speed.
Her tremendous force knocked the jumping zombie down instantaneously, and before the zombie could make its way up, she pounced on it.
“Why aren’t you running?” Grandmother did not turn around while the words that she spoke sounded unusually calm. 1
The vortex at Tang Ling’s chest exploded as the boiling blood that slowly seeped through his body burned him, urging him to shout frenziedly. It drove him mad. It made him feel like he was in hell.
Nonetheless, Tang Ling ran. With strength he never knew he had, he hugged his sister tightly and ran towards the thick forest without looking back. 2
Little Sister still has to live on, and so do I. She still has to grow up!
Tears boiled hot as if they were burning his skin while Tang Ling’s body trembled fiercely.
He struggled and fought to this extent, yet he failed to protect his grandmother. He felt like a laughable ant. All he did might be nothing but a big, fat joke to those people on top, right?
The wind blew his tears dry. Tang Ling’s courage was completely drained because he could not bear turning around for a glimpse of his grandmother. He was afraid that once he saw the scene of the zombies tearing his grandmother to pieces, he would disregard the consequences and run backward.
A stinging sensation came from his shoulder. His little sister had somehow bit his shoulder, yet she was unable to vent the instant despairing hatred she had for what seemed like his indifference to his grandmother.
“Ling, the old civilization really existed. It was beautiful… Survive, and there is ho-”
Grandmother’s voice came from behind him, followed by the zombies’ excited roars drowning her very last word. The merciless bone-tearing crackled softly, yet it sounded deafening in Tang Ling’s ears.
“Hope,” Tang Ling spoke softly, filling in the last word for his grandmother, but the moment he opened his mouth, tears gushed out fiercely.
“Grandma…” His sister let go of his shoulder, choking on her sobs as the words came out. Her voice sounded faint and light, and she seemed to have lost the ability to speak a complete sentence.
Nevertheless, as long as she could survive and grow up…
The forest was right before his eyes.
“Interesting.” A slight breeze carried over an abrupt voice. It was hard to tell whether it was a male or female.
Without any signs and seeing nothing within his range, Tang Ling stopped, panting heavily. He bent over and hugged his sister tight like a dangerous cornered beast.
Less than ten meters away from him, he then saw a figure wrapped in a black robe appear before his eyes as the voice subsided.
It was the black-robed man that he saw through the periscope!
Tang Ling’s pupils shrunk. Even though the black-robed man was facing Tang Ling under the light of the Purple Moon, Tang Ling could not catch a glimpse of the face under the hood. He was still able to see locks of long silver hair, reflecting a bewitching glare as it streamed out from the tight black robe.
“It was you who did all this.” The words were squeezed out the seams of Tang Ling’s clenched teeth. The conspiracy had seemingly been uncovered.
Even though it was so complicated that one could not simply understand the meaning of it, was it not obvious enough?
The black robe man did not answer Tang Ling’s question. Behind him, seven to eight zombies wandered around but did not attack, further proving Tang Ling’s speculation.
Rage caused the vortex at Tang Ling’s chest to explode. The blood that it sucked in before this was flowing towards every single part of his body rapidly, burning and expanding while driving Tang Ling’s consciousness towards madness.
Tang Ling forcefully restrained it, yet he could not control the intense goosebumps that popped up all over his body. The feeling of danger was infinite. Neither the colossal snake nor the zombie horde was comparable to this.
He had felt the same way the moment he landed his first glance on the black-robed man through the periscope.
“The Calamity Genetic Chain. So, it’s real?” The black-robed man uttered strange words to himself, completely neglecting Tang Ling’s alarmed state.
Tang Ling’s body tightened when he heard him. He could not understand the words even though every word that he uttered was in a language that he was familiar with.
Another gust blew, and Tang Ling’s eyes blurred slightly. More strange words echoed under the spacious night. “Very good. What a huge surprise.”
Then, Tang Ling felt an emptiness in his arms. His sister was gone.
Gigantic despair rose from the bottom of his heart instantly. Tang Ling lifted his head up swiftly and saw the man holding his sister in his hand.
Was even his Precise Instinct useless? Otherwise, why could he not feel anything the moment the black-robed man snatched his sister away?
Despair was like the sharpest of blades, cutting away the last bit of restraint in Tang Ling. He instantly curled his fists and dashed towards the black-robed man without hesitation.
How scary is death in this kind of timing? At least, I’m fighting for my sister, am I not?
“Ha!” The man grabbed the little sister single-handedly and sized her up carefully without even sparing a glance at Tang Ling. A chuckle with disdain clearly stated his attitude.
Rage, sorrow, anxiety… The negative emotions that consumed his sanity drove Tang Ling into complete madness. His eyes had turned into a bloody red color while every inch of his muscle and every piece of his bones were jumping in the same frequency as his pulse.
That irritating burning sensation swept over him again and was stronger than before. It carried the feeling of expansion as though it was going to break out from his skin.
Tang Ling frenziedly roared as he raised his arm and launched a punch fiercely at the black-robed man.
The man did not care. He simply raised one of his hands as if he was going to stop Tang Ling’s punch with his ludicrous movement.
However, his movement was indeed exceptionally effective. Tang Ling was frozen all of a sudden. He felt like he had rammed into a sturdy wall or plunged deep into quicksand.
What an unusual power!
Should he care?
Tang Ling’s mind could not think at the moment. The veins around his neck were expanding while the muscles on his arm tightened to their limit and his heel sunk deep into the mud. All he wanted was to break through. He wanted to land his punch on the black-robed man’s nose powerfully.
This was vexing as well. Tang Ling’s eyes were so red that it was frightening. The bloody scene before his eyes grew heavier.
The black-robed man softly exclaimed. He wanted to turn around in surprise, yet he heard some rhythmic vibrations coming out from his black robe.