Chapter 265: Enemy [I]
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Early in the morning, none of the cultivators living within the territory of the demonic sect\'s barrier were asleep.
Boom, boom... crash!
Loud noises and a cacophony of sounds were so irritating that they could easily drive one mad. Moreover, there were continuous human screams.
The area where the battle was taking place was desolate. Apart from a few elevations, everything was flat, as if this place had been prepared in advance for today.
The heroes of this spectacle were righteous cultivators and devilish cultivators, fighting each other to the last breath. The clashing of swords and the sparks created by the sword strikes were like part of a grand light show.
However, the bloody spectacle, the severed flesh, the rotting internal organs, and the trampled corpses proved that this was not some joyful performance. It was a tragedy.
Although the righteous cultivators managed to gain the upper hand with their special techniques and artifacts, the devilish cultivators had the advantage of numbers, making the battle somewhat difficult.
The righteous side suffered enormous losses. The enemy was like an ant that, upon seeing it couldn\'t handle the situation alone, called the entire colony--thus creating a horrifying scene. There were only a hundred survivors out of the original ten thousand.
The average level was around Spiritual Ascension. This level was already quite impressive, but still not enough to put up a good fight.
"Hehe..."
From the enemy\'s ranks came a loud laugh, filled with contempt and obvious mockery. The devilish cultivators parted, clearing a direct line. Soon, a tall man emerged from the enemy crowd.
If Xie Qing were here, he would definitely recognize him. It was none other than Tang Xun--an elder of the main court of the Sect of Bone Circle, who once wanted to take a man as a disciple but instead got stabbed in the back.
The man had a smug smile on his face. It was clear that he was enjoying the desperate expressions of his enemies, who just days ago were full of confidence in their victory and strutted around like eagles, killing the disobedient and slaughtering the disciples of the devilish dao.
"D-Divine Transformation... we\'re doomed..." someone from the righteous dao cultivators said, helplessly falling to their knees.
The others also lost their fighting spirit. Many gritted their teeth, realizing that their situation was so dire that it simply couldn\'t get any worse.
After all, their opponent was a cultivator at the Divine Transformation stage, who had already formed a law, meaning he was so strong that he could easily kill a thousand Spiritual Ascension cultivators with a simple wave of his sleeve.
And the realization of this fact was enough for the righteous dao cultivators to lose their last hope. In any case, they didn\'t even think about escaping--where would they run when they were surrounded on all sides? Even the sky was filled with cultivators.
"Hahaha. What a pleasant sight. I never tire of watching the arrogant bastards of the righteous dao lose hope and become like pathetic worms, waiting to be crushed," Tang Xun said with a deep smirk, hinting at a grudge.
It was clear that he had his own disagreements with the Righteous Dao. Given his level of cultivation, the man must be quite old, which could have allowed him to witness the moment when they were driven out like cattle into a pen and locked up, as if to show--you have no hope!
And this was a common sentiment. And that\'s why Tang Xun\'s face became cruel.
"You, worms, from this second, will find yourselves in hell. You will suffer, even if your body is turned into pulp and even if your soul disappears, until the very last seconds, I will make sure to torment you. Slowly, mercilessly. So much so that even death will seem like an unattainable dream!" Tang Xun loudly proclaimed.
Behind his fiery speech, the encouraging cries of the devilish cultivators could be heard, along with their usual evil laughter.
The righteous cultivators turned pale with fear, like ghosts, and some even tried to beg.
"P-please, don\'t kill me. I can serve you, I will be useful..."
"N-no, don\'t listen to him! Master, I will serve you even after death! So, please, have mercy..."
A pitiful sight, where half of the righteous cultivators, kneeling and rubbing their foreheads against the dirty, dusty, and hard stony ground, begged for forgiveness, cried--wailed.
And the more people begged Tang Xun, the wider the smile on his face became, until it reached his ears--and this expression was not figurative, but literal.
"Hahaha..."
His malicious, somewhat foolish, but terrifying due to the situation, laughter sent shivers down the spines of the righteous cultivators.
Most of them were still kneeling, so they couldn\'t see his face, but those for whom honor was more important than life couldn\'t hide the expression of pure horror at the sight of this malicious, disgusting smile.
"Hahahaha... HAHAHAHA!"
Then, from a not-so-loud laugh, as if unable to hold back any longer, Tang Xun laughed so loudly that even the earth shook.
His laughter was distorted, and if one listened closely, one could even hear white noise. The terrifying combination of his wide smile, which had stretched so much that it tore his face, was horrifying and could easily become a nightmare even for an adult and mentally stable person.
In fact, it wouldn\'t be an exaggeration to say that even his own people feared Tang Xun. After all, even under all circumstances, if they were just madmen, then...
Tang Xun was a genuine bloodthirsty psychopath. His reputation had always been dark, and although he always smiled, his past would never allow him to be treated normally.
"Hahahaha! How fun! How damn fun! I missed this sight so much, to be honest. It reminds me of my youth," Tang Xun said with a smirk and stuck out his tongue, which was twice as long as normal: "Alright. I\'m in a good mood.
I can even give you a chance to survive."
"R-really?"
Despair. This emotion often clouds thoughts, makes one lose reason, and prevents one from thinking clearly. After all, in a normal situation, one should doubt...
Those in despair believed in any light. Their eyes would sparkle, their lips would widen in a relieved smile, and their pupils would dilate.
The hope of survival would cloud their eyes, preventing them from seeing the whole picture. Who cares about being cautious? Who needs to know that there\'s no such thing as a free lunch?
For them, the bright light blinds the eyes, and from the light, a hand appears. And when they reach for that hand, they might be able to survive.
However, all this would be in vain. Because...
"It\'s simple..."
Everyone who feels hope in a desperate situation...
"To survive..."
Everyone whose mind is clouded...
"You just need to..."
Very quickly forgets that...
"Kill each other."
Asking the devil for a blessing...
"And the survivor can leave."
An extremely foolish decision.
***
Hearing Tang Xun\'s words, the righteous cultivators exchanged glances, and their faces contorted with understanding. No one would simply pardon them. That was simply impossible.
On the contrary, the enemy wanted to enjoy every second, even making them kill each other. However, no matter how absurd it sounded...
People blinded by a glimmer of hope would act beyond reason.
"AAAAAA!"
"W-wait, Brother Xiao, I..."
"Die! Die!"
"Sister Lian, I... I\'m sorry!"
A massacre. A horrifying massacre. A scene where cultivators killed each other for survival could truly become something out of nightmares.
But for Tang Xun, it was an extremely beautiful sight. A deep smirk appeared on his face again, reaching his ears.
"How pleasant. How good!" he thought, hugging himself.
It had been so long...
"How long has it been since I enjoyed this? Seeing them kill each other... mmm... I could watch this forever!"
Sadism. Pure sadism. Tang Xun was a psychopath who enjoyed killings. His reputation was so bad that even his own people disliked him. The only reason he could coexist in the Sect of Bone Circle was his good acting, as if "he had reformed."
However, one should not be deceived. A leopard does not change its spots.
And the situation here was the same.
And then, when only forty people were left alive... suddenly, a pressure descended on the battlefield.
And then a cold voice sounded.
"And you, son of a bitch, are having a lot of fun, aren\'t you?"
Tang Xun frowned and looked up at the sky. Then his face became distorted, like a devil\'s.
Because there was his enemy. The one who had brought him shame.
"Bastard!"
The man who had deceived him and destroyed the altar.
"Cheng! E!"