This damned foxkin is extremely unreasonable! Even after telling her everything she wants to know, she refuses to let me go. These ropes inhibit my qi, and she even wrapped me in a layer of something that I can’t escape from. The biggest movement I can make is a wiggle, and there’s no way I’ll be able to wiggle my way off a phoenix’s back. I suppose it’s safe on a phoenix’s back, but how am I supposed to compete like this? I’m Treasure Finder, the greatest tomb hunter of this generation! Failing the first trial of a tomb is a disgrace.

“It’s starting!” the foxkin said. I don’t even know her name…. Everyone around her calls her boss as if she’s the leader of a gang.

The sky turned red, and black dots appeared amongst the clouds. “Those are the slaughter fish.” There were a few images of them included in the Tomb Hunter’s Almanac, and as expected, the fish didn’t differ at all. Except, maybe, the fish were bigger than portrayed?

“The first trial begins now. Capture the slaughter fish and eat them to obtain their essence. Only those who capture ten fish may proceed to the next trial. You have one hour.” The rules came from a mechanical voice that echoed through the trial ground.

“Quick, if you’re not going to start slaughtering, hurry to those bushes to gather the slaughter berries.” This damned foxkin was so eager to be the first one in, but why is she standing around so stupidly now? She’s just staring up at the sky with a dumb expression on her face. Is it her tail? It’s stiff and puffy. I know there are some animals that try to appear larger while threatened, are foxes one of them? “Hey! What are you standing around for!?”

“You said the slaughter fish are attracted to bad people with heavy auras of slaughter, right?” the foxkin asked me without taking her gaze off the sky.

“I didn’t say those exact words, but yes, that’s essentially the case.” Just what was so interesting about the sky? Oh. The slaughter fish were gathering in the cloud that happened to be directly above me. Was that supposed to happen? The Tomb Hunter’s Almanac said the fish would spread out towards different sources of slaughter.

“I, I think you’re wrong,” the foxkin said and swallowed. “They don’t chase after bad people. They chase after innocent people like me!” In a flash, the foxkin disappeared from view. My vision twisted as the phoenix I was on rapidly spun around and charged forward, chasing after the foxkin that was getting smaller and smaller the further she got.

Before I could figure out what was going on, a shrill screech assaulted my ears, ringing in my head. My vision went white, then black, then back to normal—almost. I was seeing double, but even if I was, I could clearly see what was happening. All the slaughter fish that were previously in that cloud were now diving towards the horizon. Like an arrow flying towards a fleeing animal, the slaughter fish swam through the air in a neat conical formation aiming at the foxkin.

“W-what the hell is going on?” There was nothing like this recorded in the Tomb Hunter’s Almanac! The slaughter fish chased after anything with hints of slaughter. “Just how many people has that foxkin massacred!?” I, I’ve involved myself with a very dangerous person. But I wouldn’t have suspected it from her stupid-looking face and her airheaded attitude. This is a disaster. There’s no way she’s going to let me live at the end of this. I have to escape.

“Yeowch! Don’t fucking bite my tail!” The slaughter fish had caught up to the foxkin. In her hands, there was a massive hammer that was the size of a small house. She swung it, and in an instant, a dozen slaughter fish that couldn’t dodge out of the way were turned into a red mist that coated the surface of her hammer’s head. “You stupid fishy bastards! I’ll kill all of you!”

“Stop! Stop! You’re supposed to eat them! How are you going to eat them if you turn them into a bloody mist!?” What was this foxkin thinking!? Was she even thinking? I honestly don’t know the answer to that.

“Catch them!”

“Look at that hammer! It must be a rare treasure filled with slaughter aura!”

“Who cares about the hammer? There’s so many fish surrounding her! No, all of the fish are surrounding her!”

Of course, with this giant cloud of slaughter fish circling the foxkin, it’s impossible for anyone to have not noticed. There must’ve been ten thousand of them. It seems like the first trial only intended to let a thousand people through. And with every swing of the foxkin’s hammer, another person’s chances of passing vanished into thin air. “Why are you still swinging your hammer!?”

“Because they’re trying to eat me! Ow! You little fucker! I said don’t bite my tail!” Like a shark surrounded by a school of fish, there was a layer of empty space between the foxkin and the slaughter fish. A few fish would approach, the foxkin would swing, and the fish behind her would take advantage of that moment to bite her tail. Was, was she that appealing? “That’s it! Unrelenting Path of Slaughter: Tides of Blood!”

Out of the foxkin’s tail, a dark-red qi—so dark that it was almost black—gushed out and enveloped the slaughter fish. It was extremely similar to the liquid from the slaughter formation that she had activated earlier. But, didn’t she realize…? “Why are you using slaughter-filled qi to attack slaughter fish!?”

“Gah! These fuckers! They’re biting even faster now!” The foxkin waved her hammer around like a lunatic, smashing and bashing the fish surrounding her. With every swing, clumps of dark-red qi flew out and splashed into the crowd of cultivators surrounding her, trying to catch fish. The people the qi touched screamed as their flesh was eaten away within seconds, leaving behind puddles of red goop and white bones. “Die! Die! Die! You stupid fucking fish! Just die already!”