"That's it! Even if it kills me, I will place all the aura I have to make you suffer!" seethed Honghui.

Hoshi stared at the enraged demon as it let all of it's purple aura out. The ground started shaking and a few rubble from the surrounding mountains began falling. The tremors were so intense that the warriors fighting outside the lake felt them including Erashi and Tamura.

The demon's orbital glow proliferated as a dark lightning surrounded his body. The demon lowered its stance and acted like a bull ready to charge at Hoshi with full speed and strength.

"Try and dodge this! You little shit!" Honghui swiftly charged at Hoshi.

Dodging the attack was out of the question as the demon was way too quick and had a disastrous range to deliver massive damage. Knowing this, Hoshi transferred aura in his right hand to create a red heavy bow while a sharp arrow on his left. He then promptly drew and released the arrow while aiming at the demon's leg. He succeeded in his counterattack to cause his opponent to lose just enough speed to allow a perfect dodge just before he got hit.

The demon cursed and took a swift turn to charge back at Hoshi before he could land on the ground. It's target tried to generate another arrow on his left hand but failed as he couldn't channel enough aura through it. As a result, he got struck by the demon's horns midair and was thrown back into the rocky boundary.

Forcing himself up, he noticed his entire torso brimming with deep cracks that another hit would totally demolish it. He once again tried to transfer the cracks throughout his body but only managed to succeed after letting both his arms stay exposed.

Honghui ceased his overflowing aura to focus it on closing his fresh wounds. Hoshi didn't waste this opportunity despite the damage he just took and transferred a bit of aura towards his legs to hurl himself towards the demon and launch a kick without infusing any aura in it. The demon blocked the attack using his less damaged hand, not knowing it was just a bluff to allow Hoshi to generate a sword using his exposed hand. Upon impaling the weapon in the demon's hand, he transferred his entire remaining aura into his right leg. The said leg now had three black rings with red flame originating from them at the lateral sides of his thigh, knee and shin.

"Not this again! Damn it!"

The demon faltered as Hoshi retracted his sword and delivered a devastating kick right in the demon's other half of skull, shattering it as well.

The impact unfortunately backfired as it used up every last bit of Hoshi's strength and completely broke him free of his transformation, revealing his normal form again. He fell a few meters away from Honghui as he lost consciousness. The good thing was, all his injuries from before were completely healed. His clothes were burnt up on each of his limbs leaving only his torso and pelvic area but even those were severely ripped. His scarf was also sorely frayed but wasn't falling off yet. Black smoke emitted from his entire body but he wasn't burnt from any place.

The demon loudly roared in agony as it clutched its face while copious amounts of blood spilled from it.

"I'll kill you for this! No one can save you now!"

Honghui attempted to heal his face but faced difficulties to fully close the wound.

Something was heard and seen beating inside his face as he got up and ran towards his tent to wrap its fabric around the wound. He then spent some time charging up aura and healing it as much as he could. Once healed, Honghui enraged and leaped towards Hoshi only to raise his claws after infusing them with aura in order to kill him. The purple glow in the demon's orbits still retained even after the extra layer.

"Stop! He is not done yet!" Dorian interjected.

"What are you talking about? Not done yet? This little bitch almost killed me!" fumed Honghui.

"Did you forget who you are talking to!?" yelled Dorian.

"(Damn these brats..) forgive me, but why am I not allowed to kill him?" Honghui calmed down and asked.

"He needs more wrath as his fuel. Apparently mere words and past experiences weren't enough, we need something fresh to truly awaken his potential!" proposed Dorian.

"I don't understand why, he is the enemy of the Xandarian legion and yet you want me to help him keep getting stronger until he eventually kills me. That's not what you promised me when you lend me the Ijõna Koa," argued Honghui.

"All I asked you to fight him at his full potential so that I could see how much more I have to wait until I finally get to fight him. In return I offered you ultimate power and you got it. Now it's only fair you fulfill your end of the bargain," replied Dorian.

"Why don't test him yourself? Why did it have to be me?" inquired Honghui.

"It's simple. Right now, I might end up killing him in one blow without even realising it. That's why I needed someone weak to be his test subject," answered Dorian.

"(Weak!? Just you wait, I will get stronger and kill you before you can fight that other brat). What exactly do you want me to do now?" Honghui impatiently asked.

"I want you to bring him to the marketplace where you would unleash your demons that I ordered you to hide there before. Command their depredation to kill as many innocents in front of his eyes. That would truly awaken his anger!" Dorian tartly responded.

"If I do that nobody will accept me as their king anymore," Honghui pointed out.

"Look at you, you really think anyone would even if you didn't? You are our servant now and there is no place left for you except the Legion!" stated Dorian.

"Damn you! You know what? I've had enough of your shit! This is not what you all promised me! I am killing this little shit and then I am coming for you!" angered Honghui.

"You want to fight me? You? That's rich! I can't stop laughing!" Laughed Dorian.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"How dare you mock the King of Pandara! You...."

Honghui's anger was immediately countered as his whole body was pulled down by an immense force.

"Ahh! Shit! What are you...!?"

The entirety of his body now felt a pain so severe that he couldn't even move a single muscle.

"Say that one more time. You don't deserve that title, even a callous bastard like me knows that much," retorted Dorian.

"What is this!? How are you doing this!?" Honghui yelled in pain.

"Name one thing you have done that makes one a king! Every step you have taken, every life you have ended and every battle you have fought had your selfish intentions behind them! A true king thinks about their kingdom and not just themselves," enraged Dorian.

"Says... you! You are ready to take the lives of people just to test if that brat is worthy of fighting you! Don't you lecture me about this shit!" Honghui regained a little composure and roared.

"Don't talk like you know me! Someone like you will never understand my ambitions! Know your place and kneel!"

The pressure only intensified and this time the demon's bones started cracking as it fell back to its knees.

"I understand! Forgive me! Please! I will take him! I will do as you ask! I am your servant!"

Begged Honghui as the pain was too much for him to handle.

"Then say it. Who are you?"

"I am Honghui Zaruki...."

As he began, Dorain intervened and yelled,

"That's not your name!"

"Forgive me. I am Abatu and I am nothing but a servant to make sure Xander and his son's desires are fulfilled!" confessed Honghui.

"Very good. keep in mind that you forced my hand, I am a good master in reality. Now pick him up and proceed with the plan," ordered Dorian as he severed the communication between them.

Honghui obeyed his master's orders and carefully picked up Hoshi before advancing towards the one narrow exit. Upon reach, he noticed it was indeed too small for him to fit through.

"(Damn it! The humiliation I felt today is indescribable! I feel more like a slave than a king! But it's better to obey that brat for now otherwise he might not spare me next time)."

The demon charged up it's dark aura on it's legs and released it to allow him to jump above and over the mountains.

Some time earlier outside the lake and in the forest, the warriors were gradually being wiped out by an ominous force of savagery that was the demonic king guard. The three elite warriors were placing immense effort into reducing the number of casualties of their subordinates but it was only so much they could do. Erashi and Tamura were still engaged in a heated battle with one of them constantly losing stamina.

"What's wrong Erashi? I haven't even gotten serious yet and you are already sweating like some fat man's ball sack," jeered Tamura as he was still quite energetic.

"Shut your filthy mouth! I can do this all day!" smouldered Erashi.

"I don't think you can. You are human after all," remarked Tamura.

"Then what are you? A demon?" asked Erashi.

"You really think I will answer that?" Chuckled Tamura.

"Fine then, I will force the truth out of you!"

Erashi flared up as the speed and force of his attacks increased substantially forcing Tamura to raise his solemnity towards this fated clash.

Both of them were highly skilled in sword handling, predicting their opponents next moves, swing precision and mobility to have the most possible coverage without moving much in the area. Erashi used his free hand to align and balance his body while adjusting his posture to make sure each of his swings were of high affinity from his sword while using his legs to dodge and change the angle of his attacks. Tamura however, used both his katanas to overcome the tremendous strength of his adversary's attacks while leaving no open areas for opportunities. He was much more mobile as he even utilised somersaults to counter and put pressure on his opponent. So far, both of them didn't take any physical damage from one another's oppression but it was certain that Erashi's stamina was declining much faster than Tamura's.

The battlefield was now drenched with blood from both sides but bore the weight of the warriors corpses more as they were completely outmatched in resistance and barbarity. Hirishima and Subaru were responsible for taking out the majority of the demonic guards, resulting in their weapons to wear out as they had to completely annihilate their enemy's superhuman bodies to keep them from getting up.

"Damn it! These bastards are stubborn!" Hirishima grumbled after slaying a guard by slicing his head off with full force, taking a toll on his vitality.

"You tired already? We have to keep fighting otherwise all of the warriors will be wiped out," Subaru stressed while he panted himself.

"Look out!" Hirishima yelled at Subaru as a demonic guard leaped from his behind to grab him.

The elite warrior rushed to his friend's aid and slid on the bloody ground at an angle to reach the guard's legs only to slice them off. Hirishima's dual swords bent as they were in terrible condition before but the guard still fell back as blood spewed out of his leg's exposed compartments.

"Now Subaru! Kill him!" Hirishima yelled.

Subaru drew his last arrow and blew off the guard's skull, exposing a mutated brain with purple blood vessels.

"Shit. What even are these monsters?" Subaru sat down to take a quick breather while dropping his bow and quiver on the ground.

"Get up, grab our fallen comrades' weapons and get back to it," Hirishima solemnly said while dropping his bent swords.

"I refuse. If we take away the weapon they died holding, we will disrespect them as warriors," Subaru opined.

"We have no choice! Look around you! It is to help others from not sharing the same fate!" snapped Hirishima.

"Fine," sighed Subaru.

"you know shit got real when you get this serious. Just give me a second."

Kieri was also becoming a victim of fatigue as her attacks were not deadly enough to slay the guards. She constantly blamed her weakness for the deaths of her subordinates even though she only focused on saving as many lives as possible this entire time.

"(All these screams, all this chaos, all this blood.... I can't take this anymore! These were the young warriors I trained myself! They were like my family!)" grieved Kieri.

"Somebody! Help us!"

A warrior screeched behind Kieri, causing her to rush to his call.

The voice was of an injured warrior who was furiously punching a demonic guard while it was forcefully pulling out another's guts.

"Stop! That's my brother! You Monster! Leave him alone!" the warrior hysterically yelled.

Kieri silently approached the guard from behind and sliced his throat open before relentlessly stabbing it to put him down for good. Spots of thick blood now covered her face as she stood up.

"I am sorry your brother is-"

"No! He can't be! He can't die! Not before he... Please tell me! He is alive! Please!" Kieri was cut off by the weeping warrior.

"Not before what?" Kieri asked.

"Not before... Not before seeing his child's face. His wife was still pregnant when we left damn it! Seeing his child's smile was his only desire! He became a warrior to make sure he carved a future for that day to arrive! That's why he can't die!" the warrior screamed.

"Listen to me! He is gone! Crying will not bring him back! Fight now to ensure his child's birth in the future! I am sure he would've wanted the same!" Kieri shook the hysterical warrior.

"..Yes. I am sorry. I must avenge his death by slaughtering each and every one of these bastards!" the warrior picked up his brother's sword and rushed towards a nearby deminic guard only to miss his thrust and be brutally ripped apart by him. In a moment of seconds, the flesh on his body was forced off and chewed upon by the guard.

Kieri was astonished as tears escaped her eyes.

"You.... idiot...."

Xiang meanwhile was completely determined to avoid the demonic guards' attacks and keep distance between them without fighting back. His armor was scratched while the rest of his clothes were ripped at certain locations, revealing shallow cuts and wounds.

"Even the elites are finding killing these guards ardous, then how am I supposed to? Besides, what if these guards are made to do this against their will? I bet they are lamenting inside and begging to be saved. But I can't keep this up forever, I have already taken many injuries and soon I will bite the dust because of this. Looks like I really would die before finding my true love," mouthed Xiang as he finished with a rueful grin.

End of chapter sixteen.