Chapter 31: Min Hong Starts a Massacre
Faced with the thirty-nine attacking bronze guards, Hong suddenly transformed into a shadow, one whose trajectory can't be predicted or determined, one which moved and went wherever it pleased.
When the bronze guards chopped and stabbed at him with their swords, sabers and spears, Hong effortlessly stepped past them, easily making his way past their combined attacks.
~Swish~
Ka! Pa! Ka! Ka! Pa!
Unleashing the 'one with world' level 'Chaotic Shadow Steps' and 'Willow Leaf Palm' technique, he made his way past the attacks of the thirty-nine bronze guards.
Alternating between slapping out with his palms and punching with fists, each strike landed precisely on the faces of the bronze guards. With each strike carrying over 100,000 pounds of force, the bronze guards were all sent flying in a very miserable manner.
Hu! His body came to an abrupt halt. All thirty-nine of the bronze guards had been knocked unconscious, with some necks crooked, and blood oozing from their eyes, noses, mouths and ears.
All of them knocked out!
"What!"
"Good heavens!"
"But…but…"
The bound prisoners and the rest of the bronze guards of the Zhou Family…even the Dan Formation spirit beast was stunned.
"You…you" The young master of the Zhou Family who was lying there on the ground was both pissed and nervous.
"Do you know who you're making an enemy out of? we are the Bronze Guard of the Zhou Family." The rest of the bronze guards all felt somehow stifled, as none of them dared to make a move.
Min Hong repeated his statement one again, "To serve as the fangs and claws of a Spirit beast to kill your Kind is a crime that warrants death." The Zhou Family and the Min Family were enemies to begin with, and they were even willing to serve as the fangs of an evil spirit beast.
Shweeeiinnn! A sharp sword appeared out of nowhere in his hands and immediately it began to ring with a very sharp tone.
His feet moved, and then sword light began to flash everywhere…in the blink of an eye, eleven bronze guards held their throats, gurgling a few times, before collapsing, blood oozing out of the slits in their necks.
In terms of footwork or swordplay, this youngster was so fast, it struck terror into the hearts of the bronze guards. Earlier, Hong's feat was already terrifying without even using a weapon, but now that he began to wield his sword…the guards had their guts squashed.
"Quick, flee!"
"Rhino Emperor, save us!" the bronze guards were extremely flustered. This youngster just slaughtered fifty of them within ten breaths and was looking like someone who was about to start a massacre.
The Rhino Emperor just sat there, laughing wildly. "All I asked, was that you bring me seven hundred humans, and I'd spare you. I never said I was going to save you from others. Kill! Kill! Kill!" the Rhino Emperor wasn't bothered at all. To him, this was just nothing more than internal warfare amongst humans.
Pfft! Sprrt! Pffst!
Blood was spraying and showering everywhere, as one bronze guard after another fell to the ground, lifeless. The bronze guards all scrambled chaotically in terror. They were witnessing nightmare at its best. No amount of sabre or swordplay was enough to withstand one blow from this youngster.
Whoosh…moving chaotically with extreme speed, multiple shadows of Hong appeared out of thin air. Every single bronze guard fell lifelessly wherever the shadows passed through. Some had their throats slit, others had theirs pierced as blood flowed atop the hill.
The bronze guards lay dead on the ground, scattered here and there all over the area. Their wounds were accurate and precise, an identical slice or stab to the throat, and in less than twenty breaths the rest of the bronze guards all lay lifelessly on the bloodstained ground.
"Unh?" the Rhino Emperor, who had been previously enjoying the show, suddenly stood up and his face changed. The last burst of attack Hong displayed had pushed his speed to its utmost limits, generating hundreds of shadow images. Min Hong broke through to the 'One with the World' level in the 'Shadow' aspect of the [Chaotic Shadow Steps] footwork technique.
This had truly shocked the Rhino Emperor. Before this, he had never considered this youngster as a potential opponent. But now, he began to feel a tinge of unease build up within his heart. It had an 8 percent bloodline purity, so it was very sensitive to the Dao.
"Too strong!"
"So powerful!"
"They deserve to die." The bound tribesmen all felt extremely ecstatic. They hadn't expected this youth to be as powerful; as this. But, could it be that this youngster was so powerful…that he could kill this terrifying spirit beast?
Swish! Swish! Swish! Sword lights flashed, as about twenty tribesmen found their binds cut through and freed.
"Young human!" the Rhino Emperor transformed into a grey blur, rampaging towards Hong, smashing his massive fist which was covered in a thick layer of ice at him. "They are my food."
Clang!
Hong stabbed with the 'Houtian Blade', his grandfather's sword which was very suitable with the [Song of the Wind Spirit] sword art, which he borrowed for this training expedition.
Bang! It was as though a mountain was blown apart. Hong flew back a few dozen meters, while the thick layer of ice covering the Rhino Emperor's fist disintegrated alongside half of its arm. The onlooking tribesmen revealed expressions of joy and eagerness on their faces. The spirit beast's arm had been destroyed!
"Fantastic." The Rhino Emperor remarked. "You're worthy of me battling you in my real form." In the blink of an eye, the Rhino Emperor transformed into a large cloud of watery mist, then the watery mist rapidly condensed to reveal a hill-sized, thirty meters tall massive beast.
It was a humongous aquatic rhinoceros, covered with thick grey hide, and was about seventy meters long. It was truly like a small mountain.
The energy bursting out from its nostrils caused the ground to be covered in a layer of thick ice, and the few unlucky tribesmen standing too close were frozen into ice statues. At this moment, Uncle Chen was busy freeing other members of his tribe.
"Quick, flee!" the distant Hong transformed into a stream of light striding across the water. In just a breadth, he had scurried over to the rest of the bound prisoners, and with a flash of sword light, the rope binding them were cut free.
Min Hong noticed something from his first clash with the Rhino Emperor, it had comprehended a law! It had not completely transformed into a law, but it was almost there and it was a Wind Law!
Since the Rhino was an aquatic beast by nature, it was only natural for it to comprehend the Law of water. Now, that it has gotten a hang of the Law of the Wind. It merged them together, creating the Ice Law.
"Fleeing? I'm going to freeze you and slowly enjoy eating you." The Rhino Emperor stared around him. Instantly, a deep frosty aura began to radiate forth, and the temperature of the surrounding area plummeted rapidly.
A layer of ice and frost began to burst forth and expanded at alarming speed. In the blink of an eye, some people were turned into ice statues. Only the quickest amongst the tribesmen, the likes of Uncle Chen, who had fled long ago, managed to survive.
"I am the Zhou Family's…" the young master of the Zhou Family yelled frantically, but halfway through his words, he turned into frozen meat.
Suddenly, an area of fifty meter diameter from the Rhino Emperor had turned into an ice graveyard. Only Hong and the Rhino Emperor was left staring at each other.
From far away, Uncle Chen and the lucky survivors still trembled in terror. "Uncle Chen, will that young fellow survive?"
"He must, he must." Uncle Chen said with his mouth whilst his heart was screaming something else. Would that youngster with astonishing strength be able to defeat that vicious and ferocious Demon beast?
"Why haven't you left yet?!" the far away Hong yelled in pure fury.
Once the battle began, the current five hundred meter distance between them and the Uncle Chen group, would be covered as easily as drinking water to the likes of the Rhino Emperor. He wouldn't be able to save them from whatever ensues afterwards.
"Let's go." Uncle Chen ground his teeth, as he fled with his tribesmen. As for those of other tribes, they were long gone. They had been utterly and deeply terrified. What they had witnessed today was one for the bedtime stories.
Freezing cold, ice covered the entire area. Frozen corpses littered the area, whether on the ground, lying down or standing up. There was no longer any trace of life in any of them.
These four hundred and eighty corpses, especially those of the three hundred innocent tribesmen, filled Hong's heart to the brim with a desire to kill.
"Young human." The Rhino Emperor's four legs were like massive pillars, pawing at the ice-covered ground as it stared at Hong. "you have really pissed me off today. Those were meant to be my food."
The ice-covered Hong, and there was even a layer of frost on his robes. But Hong's clothes rippled a little and subtly, instantly shedding off the frost layers. Still, a large amount of ice and frost continued to accumulate…all Min Hong could do was continually break them apart and send them flying.
"Your swordplay and footwork are both quite impressive, I can sense you have achieved the 'One with World' level of mastery in them, but you're still only at 9 Star Qi Creation stage. Though I can't figure out what level of body refining you have reached, I am still a 6 Star Dan Formation expert." The Rhino Emperor rumbled with a deep laugh.
"Since a few dozen humans have fled, you'll have to take their place. The flesh of a body refining cultivator, especially a powerful human youth is more of a tasty meal to me than those humans."
"I am yet to kill a Dan Formation beast." Covered in frost, Hong stared at the Rhino Emperor, his voice chilly. "Thus, I have an extremely strong urge to kill one today."