“Haha—, do it fast, kill them all---, leave no survivors!”

“Die!!!”

“Circle them, leave them no escape!”

Just, as old Wan’s words resounded, the voices of dozens of men came from the south of the forest, as twenty of them jumped out from behind the trees and into the road.

Some to the right, some to the left, and some directly southwards, while they were emanating strong auras, which clearly was an indication that their power, was above even that of Rowens.

But just as they were coming out, old Wan in hand with a long sword, that was holding it horizontally, begin a long slash, that began from one side of the formation, and did not end until he was on the opposite side of the formation, cutting in half the dozen or so men, and even many more trees, as he made a long severing line that cut anything from the waist down, for a dozen or so meters.

But, even as he had prevented and resolved the first clash, that could have obliterated the defense that the guards, his face was still shaded with anger, as murderousness was plastered all over him, as well as anxiousness, because he immediately turned himself around, while killing the momentum, from the fast movement that had propelled him at a speed that no one had the time to react, as he had made the first kill.

“Get down!!!”

Whereas old Wan was anxious while having just shouted, Levis that could not see anything given his height, felt his skin crawl, while the threat of death, seemed to be looming over him, as he instinctively and reactively grasped Hubert by the collar, dragging him down to the ground, as immediately after, a red mist formed above the heads of the both of them, while an extremely strong current of wind manifested subsequently, blowing the mist.

Although, before that, in the instant, that old Wan had shouted. As the old man had changed his stance and the manner of holding the sword, he lunged, and threw the sword akin to a spear, at an even faster swiftness than the man itself.

However, just as the sword was reaching the point of the formation where Rowen was situated, from the south of the road, and beyond the debris of the trees, that old Wan had just cut, something equally fast came, rushing as it tore thru the trunks of the trees, the branches, and the many leaves, ripping them apart, as though frivolous action that meant nothing.

Nonetheless, the fast-moving object coming from beyond the cut trees, ultimately it collided with the thrown sword, as old Wan’s intention was to stop or to deflect the object.

But to his horror, neither the force nor the angle seemed to be good enough, as the said object seemed to have a will of its own, trying to reach his target at all cost, despite that, the target was still missed, as the collision between the sword and the object, had a small deviating effect, however, not in the most favorable direction, that the old man had desired.

As even with some of its momentum killed, the object tore thru the first guard that was holding a shield, puncturing the metal shield and directly blowing part of his chest, but that was not the end, as behind him were three more guards, till the center of the formation, and after that, Hubert, who at the very last moment, was brought down by Levis, being saved from having his chest destroyed.

Though just behind Hubert, stood one of the scouts, that had previously worked for Zuger, and then, having been captured by old Wan, after which Levis wanted him dead, just because he was part of the bandits. But all of that was irrelevant, as the scouts head was blown into mist, clearly seen by Levis, who was still dragging Hubert down, while at this moment, his senses were more active than ever, seemingly extending the time he was perceiving, as he could clearly take a look, at the dangerous thing that had nearly killed Hubert.

An elongated and pointy rock, that was spinning at a very high rate, which continued to tear apart the guards, that were on the north part of the formation, ending up killing another three at least and injuring some just by the debris being hurled at high speed.

“Young master!!!”

However, the old man immediately appeared to glance at the juncture where the slaughter had been done, only to see a stunned Rowen and Adrian, while Levis and Hubert were down on the ground, covered in the blood, of the ones that had their bodies torn, and left disfigured.

Regardless, he did not have much time to examine them, as the new danger that was coming from the south, was far greater than the first strike, as he was forced to extend and open his hands, as though trying to stop something.

“Tsk! You killed dozen of these pieces of shit, and all I did, was to kill some in return, this is not---, a fair--, fucking trade, old man!!!”

However, old Wan, was not the only one to feel the danger, as the large energy that was coming for them, made Levis’s skin crawl, as this time, he had no idea what would happen, as he was sure that this time around, everyone will die, if dozens of those rocks, were to come to fly in their direction.

Yet, just as the large energy was being released from the location where the first rock had come, at the same time, the light of the day and the sun above Levis and Huber died, as no rays of the sun could be sens or fell, in fact, from Levis’s perspective the outside world seemed to have been vanished.

Though, from the consequent tremors that rocked the ground under their feet, it was obvious the world still existed beneath them.

Even so, the darkness did not last longer, than a few moments, as the light reappeared again, to show the devastated terrain, while the dust was slowly going down, to display the surroundings, that had all the trees destroyed, while deep wide holes were everywhere, as though a shower of small meteorites had struck the surrounding area.

“What the fuck!!! How the fuck---, did you block my attack, you half-dying old man!!!”

Though, as most of the tree's south had been destroyed, the face of the man that was responsible for the attack was finely visible, as an average though sturdy build man, was smiling angrily and in a vicious way towards the old Wan, that had his face almost ashen and gloomy, from having to endure the prior attacked of the man.

Even so, the man himself did not seem to fair all that well, as he was taking big breaths of air to resupply his reserves of energy, from the almost mad like attack, that had depleted a large part of his reserves.

“Tsk! And I had thought, I would do you in, with just a move. Aha-aha—, old man you are not bad, but too bad you are going to die today.”

Just as his short phrase ended, he initiated a fast dash toward the old man.

Though, at the same time old Wan, had no choice but to get away from the large group, as a fight near them would be a far greater catastrophe than the previous attack.

Even so, the old Wan seemed to be doing far better than the man, as his speed and movement were far better than his opponent, just by its springing capability.

As once they arrived in close quarters with one another, the man begin to throw heavy kicks and punches, that were covered by a layer of stone, which was incredibly hard, evident from the fact that the dagger and the sword, in old Wan’s hands, did not cut thru but made sparks from the contact, as well as from dents on the blades, as the weapons evidently were inferior to the hardness of the rock like metal, that the man was using to protect himself.

“Fuck---, fuck--, this is way worst than I was expecting.”

But the incredibly rapid exchange did not last more than a hundred moves, as the man immediately backed up, with numerous scars that began to be visible on his exposed body parts, while the old man that he was fighting, was always closer and closer to delivering a strike, that could become dangerous for his life, in this fight.

“Aah—, this sure--, is a fucking challenge! No wonder you work from the east General, you have enough fighting experience, to put up a fight even against me.”

“Hmph!”

“Oy! How long are you going to stay hidden like a mouse, come and help me kill this old bastard.”

“You bolster like a king before, and now when you are going nowhere, you call to me for help? Let me show you what a King is truly like.”

But as the man clearly called for a third party, the eyes of old Wan sharpen, for the instant the second voice spoke, the heightened senses of the old man immediately sent dangerous signals to his mind, as he backed up to the group once again. But what was more shocking to him, was the fact that he had not sensed, the second man until he had finally spoken.

However, with the arrival of the voice, came a suffocating amount of energy and mental pressure, that wanted to bury the group, alongside everything else into the ground.

At the same time, the gathering of guards were experiencing the highest horror of their lives, as what was taking place before their eyes, was a battle between cultivators that were on a stage that most of them could only dream to arrive, not to mention the suffocating energy and intend that they were radiating was making them almost lose their footing and kneel down. However, at the arrival of the second voice of the new man, the world truly seemed to want for them to kneel down, as many of them fell onto their knees, as though waiting to be executed in front of the King that they had offended.

Even so, that did not apply to everybody, as Hubert had been on the ground, to begin with.

Nonetheless, Rowen and Adrian began to struggle against the force that was crashing onto them, with all they had, even as their knees and backs were beginning to bend slightly.

Though in Levis's case, he had begun to rise to his feet, since he had been given the possibility, to observe the fight by senior Wan and the unknown man. As he had been mesmerized, by their fast, strong, and heavy movements, as each time the man was delivering a move, the ground under him was pushed, while the earth was left with deep imprints, and each, and every move, was filled with enough power to take down a giant tree with ease. However, senior’s Wan fast movements, the quick work of his feet, and the fluid motions between the dagger and the sword left him speechless, to the point he had become unaware of the second man's voice, only until the heavy pressure tried to crush him into the ground.

However even as Levis, was in his own world for a moment, the omen of death that his body's instinct and mind gave him, brought him right back. The fear of death, which he had not felt in a long time, had come out once again, reawakening him, as his body seemed to prepare for a fight or flight situation.

But, what Levis, Rowen, and all the other guards, saw in the next moment, was a strong light, brought by a fire that seemed to be propagated, as though a flood, though this could be seen for just a second, as for the second time, darkness enveloped the group, obfuscating everyone's vision, but the hard tremor felt by the ground, could almost express what was going on outside of the dark world that they seemed to be in.

Though only after the sunlight of the sun, was perceptible again, they could see what had occurred outside, as they were covered by the strange darkness.

However, this was more than just seeing, as the blistering heat, that was radiating from the ground, and from the visible burning rocks, was a significant giveaway of what had occurred, as all the trees in a radius of nearly a hundred meters had been burned, to the point that even the ashes and cinders had been blasted apart. Giving the surrounding small location, an unrecognizable appearance, as though a hellish disaster had befallen it.

“Hooo—, I can understand you being able to block the incompetent’s attack, but mine too? Now you are picking up my interest, to a whole new level.”

“I told you, this one is no ordinary old man, but I am assured that a strong King like yourself can take care of him, as we need to move swiftly. This whole commotion will wake up old monsters from Rud city and surroundings, I fear we do not have much time, so I ask of you to end it quickly.”

“Do not worry, this is just a small pebble that needs to be removed.”

“What the fuck did you just say! Say that again!”

“A worthless little stone, but you do not count as this old man, so stay down if you still want to live.”

Though as the new man appeared, everything seemed to die down for a moment, as he looked at the old man that was still standing on his feet after taking one of his strongest attacks.

However, as he called the old man a small stone, the first man, was immediately irritated, while appearing ready to go fight him, but even as he was insulted and labeled as useless, he could do nothing but back down, for the difference between the two of them, was too great to even think to start a fight. Though the fact still remained, that the old man had withstood the fire explosion, just after his own shower of rocks, which told him that the old man was definitely a step higher than him, in terms of both energy and technique, which could only lead him to one conclusion, his own imminent death, were he to continue to fight the old man alone.

Nonetheless, with the words that were spoken by the woman who stood at the margin of the burn area, right on the green grass and flourishing trees that were not affected in any way, she pushed the new man to hurry and finish the old man, as quickly as possible, for fear of the repercussions that could arise if they were to expend to much time.

Yet, at the same time, old Wan was truly ashen-faced, as he was watching the man that had just appeared, and the woman who stood far away. While he was sure that the newly arrived man was a true Immortal King, while the stone man, was just like himself a rank 9 Immortal. Though, for the woman, he could discern the same or less rank as the stone man and himself. However, his instincts and experience told him, it was the woman that had most likely hidden their presence up to this point, making her existence, a priority that needed to be eliminated as fast as he could. Though that was an improbable thing, as of this moment he had two adversaries, that were not easy to be deal with, even in solo fights, now more than ever, as he was becoming rather tiered and depleted, from the fast rounds of offense and defense.

“So---, old man, what element do you have? From the looks of it, it is some kind of black water that has a high attribute for protection, given you can block my fire. Am I on the spot?”

Though, as the man threw a question to Old Wan, the old man did not say a single word, as he was examining the adversary that was several dozen of meters away from him. A man of bigger than average height and build, whose face did not show many changes, but the level of violence and brutality, could still be apprehended, from his whole demeanor and his eyes that had hidden intentions.

“You do not want to talk? That is alright, you do not need to speak. Either way, this will still be your grave. Stone! Go and kill the brat yourself. Since the helpers you have brought, have been of no actual help at all, as it seems. Since they had all died in one move."

“Tsk, you do not have to tell me, I know that as well, keep the old man away, while I kill the brat.”

“You wait here. I will end this fast, and we will leave this place immediately.”

“I will await you, to return successfully.”

With some words to the woman, the man received a reply that seemed to be alluring to him, though in truth there seemed to be an underling of mockery and fakeness, that were hard to discern, even for the most attentive individuals, as her face did not indicate any such hidden intents.

Although on the opposite side of the field, old Wan was preparing his whole being to fight and kill, otherwise he would be the one to die today. Reading the dagger and sword in hand, he began to walk slowly toward, the two men that were coming at him.

Similarly, from a slow walk to a fast dash, the men rushed toward the old man, only to separate as the stone-using man tried to take the long route around old Wan, in the most readable direction.

But as old Wan was about to change course, and get close to the stone man, the large man took a step, that brought him, face to face with the old man, reaching a speed that even the old Wan, had problems keeping up to.

Yet, it was not over, as the man took a low swing with his fist, in route to old Wan’s abdomen, while numerous sparks ignited on the man's arm, making it shining and incredibly hot, as old Wan could feel the heat that was radiating from the move.

However, to the man’s surprise the old man that had no way of evading, sucked his abdomen while making a quick spin on his feet, while he was still accelerating and marginally avoiding the blow, but it was useless, as the man slammed his foot on the ground, making it explode, with the explosion engulfing the both of them.

But as the explosion occurred, the stone-using man, was on the route towards the surviving Guards, while he appeared to be focussed on slaying all of them, though his gaze, was looked on a single person in particular, as he was the one with all the value, that from his death would give him the reward, from having taken this huge gamble, that had already jeopardized his life in the Kingdom.

Yet, while there were no more than a dozen meters for his role to be fulfilled, a cold shiver seized him, as danger flared from his back, forcing him to lay with his energy, a layer of stone on his back, as though a turtle in human form.

“Why—, are you here—!?”

But as he was doing his best to protect his back, a kick arrive at his lower left abdomen, sending him flying to the east part of the whole gathering of guards, while he rolled once on the ground, before getting his footing, meanwhile dealing with the pain that had to arise, from the broken ribs and internal shock to his organs.

“This sure is getting me, to fire up! Old man, are you sure that you are an Immortal, and not at the King stage?”

But at the same time, from the place where the explosion had taken place, the man became visible, as he appeared to be more and more fierce in nature, while sparks were beginning to arise all over around on his body.

“Now tell me—, how does my fire–, compare-, with the Fire King? Ehhh! Engulfing Rage!!!”

"Clap"

“Wait what are you—!”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Though just as the man clapt his hands in the direction of where old Wan stood, the sparks near him increased both in number, and as well in the intensity of the heat, as he became something akin to the sun.

Whilst the stone man who was trying to recover, felt the abnormal energy fluctuations coming from the man, as he became frantic about the location he was in, giving the power of the next attack, by his companion.

But it was far too late, as blinding lights begin to erupt, accompanied by a searing heat, that covered the whole area and burned everything for more than the already hundred meters of the open field.

“This is drying my skin! Hmmm—, a brute is truly good when is a brute, though this will most definitely draw attention now, time for me to start to move out---, eh! Tsk, if you howl so much, at least finish them. Tsk—, now go and end this already, I do not want to wait for these two.”

But as the fire was subsiding, the woman backed up, even farther away, giving the manner of attack, that had no actual target and just burned everything in all directions. Though to her unpleasant surprise, the old man and the group of guards were alive still, despite the attack that should have ended them.

“How? Why? How did you block this? Old man, what the fuck are you!? You are starting to get on my nerves, with how you are still alive!”

Though it was not just the woman who was unpleasantly surprised at their survival, as the man himself had his eyes turn bloodshot, for this was a blatant insult to his own power and status, given his stage and rank when compared to the old man, that seemed to be an unkillable bug no matter how many time one tried to crush him.

“You ask me how and why am I still alive? The answer is quite simple. How can I die, if I still have not killed any of you at all!”

“Kill us, I think you have gone senile from age, and do not understand the position you are in, or can you not see your face, you look like you are about to die at any moment.”

“Shut the fuck up and kill him already, this has already gone beyond the time limit we had expected.”

But, while old Wan was finely giving a spoken reply to the fire spark man, the stone man walked out of the forest, as his clothes had numerous burnt patches at their corners, whilst a layer of stone was falling from his body, obviously recently used to protect himself from the fire that had covered the whole battle site, even so, his anger was more than evident, as for the last attack, the fire spark man did not even count him as being a friend, and simply tried to burn and blast him alive, alongside the old man and the guards.

“You two have surely made a show, but this needs to stop right now, I do not want to be caught and fight the kings from Rud, or some other bastards from this area. So I will just simply kill the brat, and then the old man.”

As the sudden words resounded for all to hear, the faces of the two men began to grin viciously, while old Wan's pale face sank, as though the world was about to end, all too drastically.

As once he turned his head, his biggest fear manifested. From above the whole group, of scared and near terrified guards, a scrawny-looking man who seemed almost on the verge of sleeping, was holding a long sword in his hand, as he landed next to Rowen, and Adrian that could not even move from the pressure he was exerting on them, as they had already been fighting the pressure from the second man, but now with the appearance of the third man, that had appeared out of nowhere, right above their heads and now in front of them, they could not muster any move what so ever.

However, as the scene was taking place, old Wan turned himself towards Rowen, leaving his back open for any attack that might arrive.

“Not so fast, you still have to stay here.”

But as normal the fire spark man did not let him do as he pleased, and immediately began to concentrate his whole killing intent on old Wan, while preparing to lunch himself and delivered a killing punch to the old man, that had the courage of giving him his open back.

Regardless, the scrawny man that landed next to Rowen, did not do anything other than looking at the young man, while getting the hand and sword into a thrusting position, as he immediately initiated his action without delay or unnecessary thinking for any moment.

And yet, his eyes turned to his right, as he could perceive a small danger coming from beneath him, what he saw, was the figure of a small boy looking viciously at him, while pointing his finger in his direction, though what surprised him was the fact that he was the only one amongst the weaklings, that could still move despite the pressure from his dantian.

But nothing could take his attention from his task, as his sword finely touch the chest plate armor of the young man, and then the feeling that flesh had been touched, as a smile appeared on his face.

Under the sight of all that, old Wan’s facial anger had brought him to the point, where he could start to show his true age, as the repeated failures had driven him to the extremes of his patients, while rage was manifesting inside and outside of him, as the man behind him was almost onto him ready to kill him.

Nevertheless, as the sword had just penetrated Rowen's chest, a flash of red suddenly enveloped his entire body, as the sword melted from the point of contact, leaving only the tip of the sword embedded into Rowen's chest, while the sword continue to move forward liquefying, as though the snow entering in contact with boiling water.

Though as the flash occurred, lines akin to small snakes made of fire also arose from the young man, as they moved on the sword, melting all of it, and then entering into the hand of the scrawny man, making his face change drastically at the unexpected turn of events, though the worst part was the fact, that his hand, had begun to burn so quickly that his flesh was transforming into ash right before his eyes, but just as the whole hand was about to disappear, and the whole body to be affected, but with the quickest action he could muster, he used his left hand while holding a short dagger, he instantly cut it off, leaving just a small part of what it was his arm, as a sign that he had once owned the limb.

Even so, it was not over, as, from the hand that had become ash, the lines of fire continued their assault, scaring the man to no end, forcing him to immediately use his dagger as a shield, while pushing his feet to set himself off the ground and to escape the abnormal attack.

His actions however seemed to have the effect intended, as the line of fire lunged at the dagger, while he was out of the mass of people, and from the brat that had reduced him to the current state.

But just as he was about to use his left hand and kill them all, the lines of fire were reawakened like sharks to blood, moving from the dagger to the man, with an even more maddening speed. In return, the man used his energy in the most forceful way possible to defend himself, by creating a near-solid layer of wind between him and the strings of fire.

Though the protection he enabled did not stop the fire strings, as they hit his right eye, chest, and leg, causing him excruciating pain as he was burned to the point that his flesh and blood were sizzling. Nonetheless, the power of the attack seemed to have been decreased significantly, as once his right eye, part of his chest and his right leg had been left scarred in a most horrific way, the burning effect of the lines had seceded with no warning.

At the sight of all of that, the two men and the woman in the distance were horrified to see the state the man had been reduced in just a fraction of a moment. As from the moment, that he had plunged his sword to kill Rowen, till he was in mid-air nearly crippled, no one had the time, to even blink once.

Even with what had just occurred, the stone man was not pushed out of the idea of killing Rowen, as he knew that their situation had just become worst, with the scrawny man being reduced in his cured state, as any unforeseen event might actually become their end, which was why he moved even closer to deliver his finishing blow, while a spinning rock was forming above his hand.

“Devour and Kill!”

But just as he was about to launch his attack, everything darkened for a splint of a moment, as once he could see again, he found himself, face to face with the old man, that had his hand on his chest, right below his heart and directly above his dantian.

However, the face of the old man frightened him a lot, as the old man seemed to have no particular emotions in his eyes, as he looked at him, giving him a very bad feeling.

Yet, the old man did not hold his hand for long, as he turned away, leaving for the other two men, as though no longer caring for the man's presence.

“You are dead—! Huuu!!!”

Whereas this was an opportune moment to kill the old man and take action, the stone man found himself going limp, as all the strength in his body was leaving him at a rate that was unimaginable to him, while the rock above his hand fell, as he himself fell to his knees, only to observe in his stupefaction a hole in his abdomen, out of which blood was pouring incessantly, but as he was trying to use his energy to form a layer of rock to stop the bleeding, to his worst nightmare, he was brought to the reality that he could not use any of his own energy.

Though just as he was on the realization that he was about to die, a commotion ensued, as he saw the group of guards, the old man, and the two other men looking northward, but once he turned to look, at what all of them were seeing, rows of teeth and a large jaw with a forked tongue, was the last image before darkness befell his existence.

However, what everyone else witnessed, was a different scene, as dozens of large black snakes emerge from beyond the forest to the north, rampaging towards them all, as though driven mad with fury. As for the first victim to fall, was nonother than fallen the stone man, that had his life already decided by old Wan, who at the last moment, had moved with a speed that had frightened even the fire spark man, for the man, had truly started to believe that old Wan was at the king stage while trying to hiding his stage, so as to throw them off balance.

But, in the unpleasant situation, that had already developed to a point, in which everyone had the feeling that someone had thrown a boulder over them, in this already confusing and chaotic situation, the movement never stopped, as death seemed to run after them all.

“Rowen! Uses it already, what are you waiting for!”

As old Wan had his attention divided between Rowen, the two men that still needed to be killed, and the group of snakes, all he could say was to wake the young man, that was in shock, from everything that had occurred, at speed far too fast, for him too even respond in any good manner.

As with the voice of the old Wan waking him, Rowen finally moved his hand at his waist to grasp something from his pouch.

However, he was far too slow, as the beasts were already onto them, while old Wan was to preoccupied with obstructing the fire spark man, which was a far bigger problem than the beats that had suddenly appeared.

But despite Rowen's action, the strange commotion had finely brought the guards to their senses, as the panic that had not manifested all this while, truly manifested at the worst time, as the majority of the guards began to fall out of their position, and run away from the ensuing wave of snakes.

“No, wait fall back, come near me now!!!”

Yet, no matter how Rowen was shouting, he could not get many of the men to listen to him, even as some of them pushed him, while they were trying to run away.

Seeing he could do nothing about it, he continued to use the last resort he had, and to save as many as he could. As in his hand, was a disc with an oval sphere in the middle, that began to glow red as he poured some of his energy into it, triggering its activation.

“Come inside now!!”

In the end, an orange, see thru spherical shield formed, blocking the charging snakes that crashed into the defense, but when he looked outside of it, the image of the many guards being crushed, bitten, and chewed by the beasts, who appeared to take joy in the slaughter, made his face pale and bleak.

Yet as he looked, even more, he found himself alone with very few guards that had been covered in by the shield radius or those that had heard him, alongside Adrian, Zuger, and Square.

But while looking again and more attentively, he found no sign of Levis and Hubert ad they were missing, only now realizing that he had been moved alongside the guards, leaving the two behind several meters away from the radius of the shield, but as he examined the area for them, what he saw next, was the image of the two, running for the protective shield that was not too far from them, despite that, what made Rowen’s face gaunt, was a snake that was just opening its jaw, ready to eat one or the both of them.

Yet, the moment that the snake lunged at them, Levis moved behind Hubert, as with his small body, he pushed the three-times bigger and heavier Hubert towards the shield, while he himself used the backward momentum to avoid the snake’s attack, as Hubert successfully penetrated the protective shield.

However, Rowen could not be relieved from worrying for even a second, as once Levis evaded the snake, he saw him, arm himself with a dagger and a knife, as he lunged at the snake’s eye, plunging his weapon deep, making the snake transform into something akin to a ravaging bull. Even so, Levis seemed intent on not letting go, as he stabbed the other eye of the snake, sending the snake into an even bigger frenzy, as it begin to slither out of the burned field, towards the south part of the battleground.

“Hahaha—, what a fucking mess, do you not agree--, old man! Ahaha—!!!”

Meanwhile, the fire spark man was contending against old Wan, while also covering for the nearly crippled scrawny man, as his chuckles rang over the devastated area, meanwhile blowing up a snake that had tried to attack him. Though, as he looked at the scene of the boy riding the snake, he could not stop himself from laughing, at the strange situation that was currently happening. But even so, his anger grew from the continuous failures to end this easy-to-do job, making him lose his temper, as all he could think about was the moment he would kill the old man, and the brat that had barricaded himself like a turtle.

Although on the receiving end, old Wan was not in the mood to laugh, as the cries from the guards, and the sounds of the snakes that were killing them, were everywhere, echoing in his ears. As he was mentally cursing, at whoever had caused this other mess that had befallen onto them. Because, as of now, the situation had developed into a mess that he had not foreseen. While all he could hope, was for time to pass faster, and for someone to finally come, and help him, as he truly felt himself, nearing the limits that his old body, dantian, and the hidden injuries could take.

But as the two of them were locked in combat with one another, the scrawny man was eyeing Rowen inside the shield, from a distance, while his eyes were full of rage and murderous intent that was driving him mad, as he had lost his hand, while his body had become nearly crippled from the brief action he had taken.

Though at some distance from all of this, the woman looked at what was happening, while shaking her head, as she had the premonition that this was going to be the end. And she should leave as fast as she could, from this place that will be soon surrounded by the cultivators that had felt the ripples from the fight. But just as she was about to leave, the snake that had gone into a frenzy, that Levis had stabbed both his eyes, and was just about to enter into the forest to the south, as by reflex she extended her hand, to kill the snake and the boy before she would leave this failed endeavor, while releasing some of her stress. But just as she was about to act, a cold and dreadful sensation full of malice, flooded over her, as she was sure, that if she was to look at herself right now, she would give the appearance, as though a dead body from the current paleness of her own skin. Nonetheless said feeling, retracted instantly, only after she gave up the intent to act, and let the serpent and the boy enter the forest, as she felt the relief of being left alone, from the eye of a predator who was about to go after her life.

Returning some moments earlier, as the rampant stampeding snakes had first appeared, the pressure that had kept the large group of guards nearly immobilized vanished, resulting in the following commotion as they broke the formation out of the fear, from the incoming wave of beasts, that were arriving onto them.

“Fuck! Fuck!!”

“Move quickly, now!”

As a result, Rowen and Adrian were pushed and moved quite a distance, away from Levis, who was helping Hubert to get on his feet, as some other guard, had trampled over him and at the same time pushed Levis away, consequently remaining behind and out of the protective barrier of them

[Fuck! What the hell is going on, too many things are happening too fast, I can not react fast enough at all of this!?]

[Just run, faster, because you have one little snake behind you.]

[What?---Fuck, this is!!!] --- ”Hubert jump now!!!”

As one of the snakes was at their back, Levis turned his head only to see the largemouth that was about to eat the both of them. Though Levis slowed down for a moment, arriving behind Hubert as he pushed the man as hard as he could, lunching him directly to the protective shield that Rowen had enabled, successfully evading the attack, while Levis had made use of the force to push himself in the opposite direction.

[Now what? Fuuuck!!!]

[Fight, do not go back, as other snakes will try to eat you, this is not a fight you can win, but go for the soft places.]

“Arghhhaaaa!”

Alongside virtually all of his small determination, Levis drew his dagger and hunting knife, while losing no time in plunging his left hand holding the dagger, into the snake’s left eye, as it was eyeing him, which resulted in the snake going into a frenzy, but it was far from over, as Levis seemed to be stuck, with his hand into the eye of the snake.

With his head raised, and body moving erratically, the snake tried to find the boy with his remaining eyes but what he saw was the cold shat sight of a knife that had taken the second eye of the beast.

[Kid the barrier, jump off!]

[I can not, my hand will not come off!!!]

“Levis, come back!!”

"Kid, what are you doing!"

"Levis!!!"

But at the scene, Rowen and the rest of the ones under the spherical dome seemed to be driven crazy, as they saw Levis riding on the head of the large snake, while his hands had pierced both of the snake's eyes.

But they were not the only ones, as old Wan tried a few times to approach him, but every time he was attempting to save the boy, the fire spark man was always blocking his way, making it virtually impossible to help him, while the crippled man seemed to be preparing for an attack, that he needed to be ready, as all he could do in the end, was to look at the boy disappearing into the forest, atop of the snake's head.

As it was strong and fast, the snake did not take long to slither away from the ruined field, and enter into the forest, vanishing alongside the boy, while the faces of all the guards inside the protective shield, which were still alive, became paled with trepidation for Levis’s safety, but even more so, at their own fate. As the fight between old Wan and the fire spark man had arrived at the point, that just from being near them, the snakes were being killed, as though feeble dried-up branches that broke under one's foot.

But as the fight continued, the woman was nowhere to be seen. Though, the first one to observe the said fact, was old Wan that had kept an eye on her, and the cripple man that still had not recuperated well enough for any vindictive attack.

Still, as the fight and chaos continued to it is final moments, far away from the battlefield to the north, on a small hill that one could use to see the surrounding region of the forest, a certain old man that Levis knew quite well stood on his feet looking from behind of some thick bushes in the direction, where all the chaos and fights were currently taking place, with disbelieving eyes.

“Lad!? And the other one as well—, in what mess have you two got yourselves in?---What the fucking hell is the lad doing? What is this situation? A bloody fucking mess all over the place, who the hell are these idiots, and those idiots to the north that freed the maddened snakes.--- I run here for some quietness–, from the lad, only to see him again! In this even bigger mess, what the hell, am I cursed, am I fucking cursed or something, have the gods and ghosts really put a curse on me!? Hmmm—? What is that lass doing, coming here, and—, o shit, someone has come here so soon? From over there too-, fuck, fuck, time to stay low and move-------. Yet, to think that the prince will want to go after the third son of Adam now, regardless---, Wan Varon is not so easy to deal with, that fellow sure is tough to still be alive now, and be apt to fighting.”

The fight, between the fire spark man and old Wan, persisted, as explosions were brought by the man’s punches and leg strikes, which continued to assault the old man that was still fighting strongly against the fire that had already put him in a haggard state.

“Aaaa—, fucking died already---, old man!!!”

With their fight continuing, the snakes that had finished slaughtering the more than a dozen or so guards began to throw themselves at the duo, not fearing even their own deaths, as one after another, they were blown apart by the man’s erupting fire.

“I really want to know, which fucking basterds had brought this fucking pests here, they sure have great timing in spicing this fucking mess here! Say something, you old bastard!”

With shout after shout, the man continue to throw punch after punch and kick after kick, but to his extreme indignation no move of his was good enough to touch the old man, but the worst part was that even when he could get a direct hit, the old man could take it, and walk normally as though it had been nothing difficult.

Though as the exchanges between them continued, old Wan had to divert his attention to the crippled man that was about to finely make a move once again, as fluctuation of energy began to gather and make ripples, evident from an attack that would use most of his energy, for an extremely strong strike.

“Rip that barrier and kill the brat, we need to move fast, the old monsters will start to appear soon given the mess we made—!”

“I know that, you kill that bastard an—! Huuu!?”

But just as the two men were conversing, both of them, including the old man, had their eyes, seemingly reawakened as a massive wave of energy crashed and washed over them.

Despite that, before even ascertaining what was about to happen, the nearly cripple man tried to make his move and bring the battle to an end. Yet, to his absolute disbelief, a long metal-like spear embedded itself into his abdomen right at his heart, making him lose control of the energy as it release into the air flooding the place with his own energy.

“This is the real end---, devour!”

At the sight of that scene, the fire spark man’s face sank, while in contrast old Wan made a grin as his eyes changed like never before, as though an animal, finally being able to hunt freely.

But just as the old man had spoken, darkness enveloped the man for the second time, as he had the premonition that this would truly be the end of the battle. Although, just before the light of the sun was blocked, behind the old man, a blur seemed to manifest, for just a fraction of a moment, as the man and old Wan were locked inside the large dark sphere that everyone could see.

As for what it was that said blur, it was impossible to ask the crippled man, as all that he could see, was the battlefield in the distance, and his own headless body with a long but thick spear that seems to be made out of stone the same as the fool that had already died.

[Eh! Why am I?]

“You are dead. If you want to blame someone blame your own idiotic action, for this is the result of such action.”

But at the words that arrived at his ears, he was finely turned around, as to be able to see the man that had killed him. As the face of an average-looking man greeted him, with no major characteristics that would make him be remembered, while his face, was a mix of blandness and curiosity, as the image of the man slowly tunneled into darkness.

“As I thought, I do not know him. Now—, the boar is going after the child, I should help caretaker Wan—! Huuu, this one sure is making a show.”

As the bland man was about to move and help the old man locked inside the black sphere, the said semi-sphere exploded, as fire rose high in the sky, covering the burned field once again, as well as the orange protective shield that Rowen and the others were under, as the flames burned the bodies of the snakes and of the guards on the ground.

But as the flames were subsiding, the forms of the old man and the man were finely made perceptible.

Old Wan had his black clothes burned in several places, while his pale and sunken face did not bode a good tale for his current state, as he truly looked as though he had a foot in the grave already, despite not being visibly wounded.

However, on the other side, the man was giving old Wan a death glare, while trying to stay on his feet, as an eerie hole stood at his heart level, leaking blood as though a small stream of blood.

“How? What is your element? It is not water.”

“It is.”

“Then how?”

“Time.”

“What do you—!”

“Thud”

With his final sentence incomplete, the man fell face first, as the light in his eyes died out, clearly from the blood loss he had suffered, as blood had piled in a small puddle at his feet.

“So it is done? I have been made to rush as fast as I could, once I sensed the ripples from here. It seems that this is all, so I will return to the young miss, to ensure her safety. I do not sense any danger, so we will join you shortly, caretaker Wan.”

“You have my gratitude, Sir Baron .”

“Caretaker Wan. All I have seen was that this one here was trying to assault young master Rowen, as a result, I took the liberty to execute him at the earliest, so as to ensure the young master's safety. No need to thank me, though just seeing your black water again, is worth this trip. Then, see you—. Yes, the boar is after the child in the south, so do not wary, he should be safe. Now If you will excuse me, I will return to the young miss.”

“Once again I thank you.”

“Hm.”

With two consecutive bows from the old man, the man name Baron, who was flying above the ground at quite a distance, took off in the east, as the only one that knew of his arrival, was old Wan, as Rowen and all the other survivors were still in shock and confusion under the orange protective dome.

“Old Wan!!!”

“Stay inside, do not come out!!!”

But as the burned field cleared of the smoke and fire, Rowen who saw the state that the old man was in, tried to move out and help him, but he was stopped immediately, by the old man who rebuked him.

“It is still unsafe for you to come out. The woman is still unaccounted for.”

“But Levis!? Senior Wan!!!”

“Do not worry, someone had already gone to save young Levis. What you should do is to stay and wait until the cultivators of the region will arrive. Rowen, contact the guards of Rud and wait, I will take a break myself, but do not come out from the protective shield until it runs dry of energy.”

As instructed, Rowen took a communication stone, that in the midst of the fight, to his shame he had been unable, or better said overlook it, so as to use it.

Though outside of the protective field, old Wan seated himself on a piece of a snake whose scales had not burned completely. Looking exhausted and drained, clearly not in the situation of continuing a fight similar to the previous one.

Yet, as he looked at Rowen and those inside the orange shield, his eyes turned grim. As if he were to exclude Levis, the two former bandits, and his young master, there were a total of seventeen guards that had survived, meaning thirty-two guards and the two other bandit scouts had died during the fight, just as a consequence of being near them, as they had truly been akin to babies that could die at any moment.

“The woman escaped. She did nothing during the fight, other than most likely the fact, that she had been the culprit for hiding their presence from my senses. This is a real failure on my part. Capturing them alive is also useless, as it is most likely that they are just pawns of no value, anyway it is most obvious who is behind this. I am old and truly weak, my time is really nearing. Haaaa---, I am tired.”