Chapter 45: Chapter 44: Feng Hua and Round Dance
In a luxurious conference hall at the Wolf Heaven Mercenary Corps headquarters in Blue Moon City.
"I hear you have something to report, Feng Hua?"
An elderly man in a purple Martial Artist Robe sat at the head of the table, asking calmly.
The old man had a kind face, full of wrinkles, and a head of snow-white hair. By all appearances, he was a gentle old man in his twilight years.
However, a faint scar on his neck seemed to tell the world that he had his own share of untold, blood-stirring tales from his youth.
Flanking the old man were two middle-aged men in golden Martial Artist Robes. Both men possessed an extraordinary presence, the kind of aura that belonged to those in power, suggesting they had long held high positions.
Further down the table sat more than a dozen other figures, all of them dressed in silver Martial Artist Robes.
Without a doubt, every Martial Artist in the room was a core member of the Wolf Heaven Mercenary Corps.
At this moment, they all wore solemn expressions. They watched the old man at the head of the table, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
"Yes. I just received a report from the Dark Department under my command. A Silver Robe Commander from the Dark Department was slain in the Wind Moon Forest, so I came to report to the Lord Emissary."
The Golden Robe Warrior named Feng Hua reported respectfully.
"Oh? Who would dare to kill a core member of our Dark Department? Do they have a death wish?" The old man in the Purple Robe still spoke in that same light tone. Although it was a question, he didn’t seem particularly concerned.
"Reportedly, it was a boy who looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old," Feng Hua said.
Before the man in the Purple Robe could speak, the other Golden Robe Warrior beside him sneered. "A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy managed to wipe out one of your squads, with only a single peripheral member escaping with his life? All I can say is that your men are utter trash if they can’t even handle a mere boy."
This Golden Robe Warrior was named Round Dance. He was the same Level as Feng Hua; both were Battle Kings and held the Golden Robe Level rank.
"You— What nonsense are you spouting!" Feng Hua retorted, displeased.
"Nonsense? Is it? From what I understand, that Dark Department team of yours had six members, including a Martial Artist at the Silver Robe Commander Level. Yet all of them were killed by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. Only a single peripheral member survived by playing dead. If that’s not pathetic, what is?" Round Dance retorted sharply.
"Oh? What exactly happened here?" the man in the Purple Robe asked, frowning after hearing the two of them speak.
"Lord Emissary, this is what happened. A Dark Department squad under my command was conducting a hunt in the Wind Moon Forest. As you know, this is one of the Wolf Heaven Mercenary Corps’ illicit sources of income, something we do regularly. This time, they had just managed to lure their prey to the designated location. But as they were about to close the net, they encountered a strange boy. According to the surviving peripheral member, this boy dared to wander the forest alone, late at night."
"Moreover, when our peripheral member saw the boy, he was surrounded by a large number of Demon Beast corpses and countless motes of flying ash. We speculate that the boy was responsible."
"Anticipating that the boy might possess considerable power, my squad didn’t provoke him. However, just as they were closing the net on their prey, the boy intervened."
"It’s said that a Battle Grandmaster couldn’t even last a single move against him. Even my subordinate, Captain Zhang—who was a Nine-star Battle Grandmaster and possessed an Earth-level Martial Technique—was killed in one strike by a powerful Martial Technique!"
"That is why the entire Dark Department squad was wiped out in the Wind Moon Forest. Only one peripheral member managed to escape by playing dead, which is how we received this information."
Feng Hua relayed the information he had received, holding nothing back.
"A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy who can kill a Battle Grandmaster in a single move? Interesting!" An inscrutable smile appeared on the Purple Robed Martial Artist’s aged face. He continued, "To possess such power at such a young age, his background must be extraordinary. However, anyone who dares to provoke our Wolf Heaven Mercenary Corps will disappear from this world. It doesn’t matter who they are, or what Clan they belong to."
As he spoke, he looked at Feng Hua and Round Dance, a wide smile on his face. "You two know what to do, don’t you?"
Feng Hua and Round Dance met the old man’s gaze. It seemed kind, yet it held an endless killing intent that struck fear into their hearts.
"We understand!" Feng Hua and Round Dance said in unison.
Although the two of them often bickered, they would always stand on the same side when the Mercenary Corps’ interests were at stake.
"Very good. For a boy his age to have power exceeding that of a Battle Grandmaster, the force behind him must be even more formidable. Feng Hua, Round Dance, you two will go together. Try to make it a clean job."
"With this, we need to send a message. In the Western Domain, it doesn’t matter who you are—if you cross our Wolf Heaven Mercenary Corps, there is only one way out: death. No exceptions!"
"If we don’t, people will think the Wolf Heaven Mercenary Corps is an easy target. This time they kill a Silver Robed Martial Artist; next time it will be a Golden Robe. If this continues, they’ll be coming for my head next. That is a situation I absolutely will not allow to happen!"
"Yes, we accept the order!" Feng Hua and Round Dance replied in unison.
They then led several dozen Silver Robed Martial Artists and quickly departed from the conference hall...
...
「Wind Moon Forest.」
"This...."
Tang Yi’s eyes widened. He stared blankly at the chaotic mess of Cat Demon corpses strewn across the ground, then looked down at the Shadow Remnant Sword clutched tightly in his hand. He was too stunned to speak.
’I was right! The Finishing Move, Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting Slash, really does require a weapon!’
’I never expected that using Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting Slash with a weapon would be this powerful. It’s more than twice as strong as when I used it bare-handed!’
A huge swath of Level 3 Bloodthirsty Cat Demons lay dead across the clearing!
Nearly all the Bloodthirsty Cat Demons that had been drawn over were dead!
This time, the area of effect for Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting Slash wasn’t just ten by ten meters, but had reached thirteen by thirteen meters.
Furthermore, the duration was longer, more magma spewed out and reached greater heights, and the flames were even hotter!
The moment the earth split apart and magma erupted, the vast majority of the Level 3 Bloodthirsty Cat Demons were incinerated into black cinders by the extreme heat!
As the flames erupted, the Cat Demons’ corpses were reduced to ash!
This just went to show how terrifying the flames of the Finishing Move, Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting Slash, truly were!
Now, basically all of the Cat Demons that had been drawn in were dead. Even those lucky enough to be outside the blast radius were mostly scorched by the intense heat, leaving them on the verge of death and without any Combat Power.
Even the Poisonous Cat King—a Level 4 Demon Beast and the big boss of the Bloodthirsty Cat Demons—was now drenched in blood. Its body trembled, and its gaze toward Tang Yi was filled with terror.
The human before it was terrifying.