"Oh, no! Squad Leader Tao, we have to hurry on out of here! It's a horde of Desert Lards!" The man said in a voice filled with panic.
"What? How many?" Squad Leader Tao asked in alarm.
The man gulped before he replied while trembling, "I-It's over a few hundred!"
"Not good! Everyone hurry! Don't let them catch up to us!" Squad Leader Tao said as he urged his Desert Prowler.
"Right!" The other escorts said as they urged their rides, the merchants that were idly chatting previously grew confused as they felt that their carriage had sped up drastically.
They were about to complain about the lack of a comfortable ride, but they soon saw a strange scene in the sky. By now, the Desert Lards had neared enough of a distance to be clearly made out, shocked by the sight of them, the merchants called out in terror.
"Good heavens, how can there be so many?"
"Eek! I-I don't want to die! Hurry and get us to safety!"
"You better do your best to protect us from this mess, you hear me!"
Squad Leader Tao frowned at this, he wanted to lash out, but as the situation was dangerous, he couldn't focus on other affairs.
"Faster! We must move faster!" Squad Leader Tao urged the group who drilled their Desert Prowlers, causing them to bolt across the dunes at speeds far from ordinary, leaving behind a trail of dust clouds no different from a sandstorm.
However, despite their attempts at fleeing, the airborne Desert Lards were much faster as by now they could hear the furious roars that resounded across the sky.
"Oh crap, they've already caught up, we'll have to fight them directly!" Squad Leader Tao said as he glowed in white light as the rings around his arms unfurled in a series of threads.
The other escorts also drew their weapons as their blades shimmered in cold rays when they turned their heads around to face the sight of monsters. However, as this happened, everyone's eyes widened in shock as they noticed an incredible scene.
At the summits of the sky, a startling battle had occurred between the hundreds of Desert Lards against an unknown party.
The rumbling sounds of thunder sounded as clusters of destructive blue lightning flickered across the sky, following this, the shadows of a white wolf paraded about as one could hear its savage roar in the distance.
The sky lit up in a myriad of colors as menacing crimson sword beams danced about with a multitude of other chaotic energies, they crashed into the ravaged corpses of the Desert Lards which fell from the sky in bulks of dozens.
"This... such power, who the hell is fighting against that army?" Squad Leader Tao said in alarm as his mouth opened wide.
Not only himself and his squad, but he also looked at this in horror as no one dared to shout too loudly or made random movements. Instead, they obediently stayed in one location and watched as the myriad of corpses rained down with each passing breath.
At this time, the battle between Feng Yu's party against these monsters had entered a new peak as everyone did their best to cut their numbers down in the shortest time.
"Kreeeh!" A savage shout resounded as a few of the Desert Lards charged towards him from all angles.
As they approached within range, a few of them swung their arms with sharp nails towards Feng Yu, while others whirled their tails towards him.
"Oh, quite savage aren’t they," Feng Yu said as he battled against a few other Desert Lards atop of his Desert Prowler.
With a flash of his red pupils, the area around his body turned crimson. Instantly, a Killing Extreme's Intent Domain formed for roughly 200 meters as two sharp scarlet sword rays swirled around his body.
As if affected by it, the Desert Lards caught within its range started to stagger a few of them trembled due to the rich murderous intention, a few flapped their wings in an attempt to fly away. Yet, it was too late.
Feng Yu's floating crimson swords moved on their own, transforming into beams of sword light that cut apart the bodies of each of the Desert Lards in a flash. In mere seconds, chunks of meat fell from the sky as more than a few dozens were annihilated in a single movement of the floating swords.
Looking at his figure from afar, one would notice that he didn't even need to use his hands as he stood with his arms crossed behind his back on the Desert Prowler that glided with the wind.
As they caught sight of Feng Yu's power, Dai Lin and the others couldn't help but show competitive looks.
'The young master sure has learned quite a few tricks, that should have been a method usable by those with a deeper comprehension of Sword Intent. It’s strong, but my current Lightning Path comprehension should be even higher.'
Dai Lin thought as his body erupted bolts of lightning that blasted apart any Desert Prowler that came in his direction. His left arm even whipped his golden chains towards a few others, each of which was stronger than a typical High Tier True Foundation realm practitioner. The whiplash from the golden chains left sparks of golden electricity on their bodies, which soon transformed them into crisps of meat.
Besides Dai Lin, Lang Kuang was also busy with his own group; he struck out his fists, sending the illusory shades of a howling white wolf across the air that mauled any beasts apart with its teeth, creating a gruesome scene.
"Haha, this is so enjoyable! I should’ve taken a more dangerous route to the south," Lang Kuang said with a tinge of blood lust in his eyes as his marking on his forehead flickered slightly as if drawing the blood from the creatures he killed.
A few stronger Desert Lards noticed this, they roared, prepared to charge over, but as if something else was faster, a towering illusory broad sword fell from the heavens as it chopped a dozen of them into pieces at the same time.
Following this, Toram, who rode atop his Desert Prowler, had a savage look as he held onto his glowing broad sword and licked his lips.
"Gah Gah! I haven't had a slaughter fest like this since that great war," Toram said.
"Hehe, indeed, honey, let's enjoy ourselves some more," Tira said with a smile as her orange hair fluttered with the winds.
At this time, those who survived tried to retaliate against Toram. But before they could even react, the roar of a brutal tiger sounded across the heavens as an orange ray flashed from Toram's side towards their direction in an instant of time.
In moments, this orange-ray formed into Tira, who danced around these monsters, bouncing on top of their bodies before she fired off to a different area. Her claw-like nails stained with blood as her face had a tinge of delight.
Moments later, the scene revealed after was one of carnage as each of these Desert Lards seemed as if they were slashed apart by the claws of a giant beast.
"So charming," Toram said with a wide grin, admiring the brutality of his wife, he was about to attack another group, but suddenly, his mane-like hair rose as if he sensed a more significant danger was approaching.
"Grrrr.... so, the true danger comes," Toram said with a low growl as he glanced towards the farthest end of the horde of monsters.
Not only Toram, but everyone had also sensed the change, even Leon, Myria, and Miren Fei that stood and by Tiana and Tuzi Baoli, noticed it.
"Heh, looks like that Monster Duo has gotten impatient, what do you say? Shall we work together this time and right off that issue of ours?" Leon said while he stared at Myria.
"..." Myria hesitated for a bit before she glared at him and pointed her tiny fingers as she spoke, "Fine, but you better not do it again!"
Leon snorted at this as he wanted to curse that she was doing the same thing, but as he knew this wasn't the time to bring it up, he calmed down and replied, "Whatever."
Miren Fei ignored their squabble, as by now, she was long since used to their arguments caused by pride and jealousy. She stared at the direction of the danger while thinking, 'They only at the levels of early Warrior realm, so I don't need to use that...'
By this time, Feng Yu had flown over to their side in a casual manner. He stood on the back of his Desert Prowler wi
th his mask and flowing red hair, giving a presence akin to a crimson devil overlooking the battlefield.
"Young Master," Miren Fei greeted as Feng Yu arrived.
Leon and Myria also glanced at him and saluted, "Chosen Yu."
Feng Yu stared at them and nodded before he gazed at the incoming threats from afar, one that pushed away all of the Desert Lards like they were nothing more than nuisances.
He smirked while speaking, "So, can you guys deal with it, or shall I go?"
Leon and Myria thought for a bit before answered with sharp eyes, "Ha, for such little monsters, we'll take care of it."
Following those words, the scene here grew even tenser as the battle between the Desert Lards was only once pace from entering its final clash.
Chapter 292
Battling the Desert Lard Kings
Far away from the clash in the skies, Squad Leader Tao and his company stared at the battle above in awe; they didn't think that they would encounter such strong warriors capable of fighting against that dreadful horde. One that was fabled as a calamity that could wipe out most towns and villages of these desert lands.
After inspecting the scene for a little while, Squad Leader Tao soon recovered as he remembered his duty. He stared at his crew and spoke, "Men, let's get moving, all of those Desert Lards should be fully focused on their guys."
"As the Squad Leader commands."
The men replied in unison as they took up their positions once more; the coachman also urged the carriage, which under the lead of Squad Leader Tao, slowly began to slip away from the conflict. The merchants that stood within their company started to heave sighs of relief as they chattered a bit more in ease.
"Whew! That was close, if those guys hadn't shown up, we'd be done for, we should be paying them to escort us than these useless fellows."
"Hmph! Right, I've decided to never travel this route again, I'd rather pass through those bandit territories and pay tax."
The merchants made no attempt to hide their ridicule, as those on the outside had dark looks in their eyes when they heard their words.
'Ungrateful pieces of shit,' Squad Leader Tao said inwardly as he frowned, but he soon took his attention from them once again as he sensed something ominous.
'Such a dreadful power, could it be...?' Squad Leader Tao thought in shock, as he shifted his eyes towards the sky once again, only to see a scary scene.
Suddenly, three resonant roars resounded across the open sky; the horde of Desert Lards seemed to have been influenced by these roars as many of them parted before circling to the side.
Following this, three massive Desert Lards had appeared from behind the others, each having a size of a few hundred meters. Their bodies emanated a dense earthen colored power that scattered across the entire area.
Observing them closely, one would notice that the two at the front had a dark brown color compared to the one at the back, which gave off an intimidating air as its scaly black colored flesh had various scars. The two at the front were Second Star Tier Four essence beasts, while the final creature was a Third Star Tier Four beast, each having the combat power of Initial Middle Stage Warrior Realm and Peak Initial Stage Warrior realm, respectively.
"My goodness, these are Tier Four Desert Lard Kings, this isn't good!" Squad Leader Tao exclaimed in horror as he could feel the devastating energies rippling across the sky.
In fact, even the Desert Prowlers had come to a standstill, and no matter how hard their riders tried to urge them in panic, they couldn't move due to the fear.
Another wild commotion formed between escorts and bandits, but another scene occurred for the parties directly facing these creatures.
The moment these beasts appeared, Feng Yu, Dai Lin, Lang Kuang, and the others observed with interest as they stood atop their Desert Prowlers that slowly made their way down towards the dunes.
Unlike them, however, Leon and Myria remained above, as if ready to face these creatures by themselves; Leon stood on his Desert Prowler with his fists positioned in a combat stance while Mira flapped her tiny cicada-like wings as she levitated nearby. Their hairs and clothing made flapping noises as they swayed with the harsh winds.
As if the Lard Kings noticed them, their reptilian eyes shrinking as they zoned in on the enemies that dared to face them in the head-on conflict. Not even wasting a second, the monster trio swooshed towards Leon and Myria. Their charge caused the wind to scatter about as if a storm was passing over.
"Hmph! You lesser creatures truly know no fear."
As Leon said this, his eyes had a cold glint as his body started to emanate his true foundation auras, carrying his energy all the way to the peak of the third level. He then raised his arms to the sides and straightened his palms, seeming like he was about to use two swords to chop.
"Dwarfin Divine Arts - Chiseling Palms Assault!"
Leon shouted as his body lunged from the top of the Desert Prowler, pressing through the turbulence of wind incoming. His palms then chopped about in a flurry, creating a myriad of bright arcs of lights that soared towards each of the massive Desert Lard Kings.
Upon sensing the danger behind the attacks, the two deep brown scaled Desert Lard Kings revealed looks of panic while the black scaled Desert Lard King showed a grim expression before it roared.
As if they understood its intent, the deep brown scaled Desert Lard Kings showed looks of hesitation, but after feeling the sinister and ruthless aura from the leader, they didn't dare to resist.
Roar! Roar!
With two roars, their bodies began to glow in bright earthen colored lights. Instantly, a series of rocky earth-like armor formed over their bodies, which then kept off the many different bright arcs of sharp-looking lights that soared towards them.
Bang! As the rays of light collided with them, the rocks exploded into bits of rubble, but as if they couldn't hold back the force behind the rays, they merely broke to pieces as they arcs sunk deeply into their flesh.
With two pitiful wails, these two creatures were split into multiple pieces of meat that fell from the sky, leaving behind the black scaled Desert Lard King that looked at Leon with cold, indifferent eyes. Suddenly, it roared before rapidly revolving its body at a rapid rate, swinging its scaly black tail at the remnant arcs of light.
With a series of metallic collision noises, the arcs of lights flew about the dunes in a disorderly manner before crashing into the earth. Once that happened, a series of chaotic booms erupted, leaving behind wide, deep gashes into the dunes for a few dozens upon a hundred meters. The sands then started to sink below the fissures due to their depths.
Squad Leader Tao looked at this along with his crew and the merchants in shock; he trembled while thinking to himself, 'What incredible power, even against such monsters among monsters, they could show such strength. Who are they? Why haven’t I heard of their fame?'
He pondered hard upon seeing their forms, but none of the familiar famous warriors from the southern lands came into his mind. Nevertheless, while Squad Leader Tao and his company watched in awe, the battle had entered a new phase.
The instant Leon's attacks were repelled, the black scaled Desert Lard King had a cruel red glow in its eyes as it glared at Leon and opened its mouth before making a deep suction.
Swoosh! As if the world was converging in its mouth, currents of sand from all dunes hundreds of meters away began to collect towards it. It didn't take long for a bright earthen-colored light to form at the core of its mouth, releasing a few strands of dreadful energies.
Leon frowned as he looked at this beast, he thought to himself, 'It's more capable than it looks, seems like I'll really need to take this a bit more seriously.'
While Leon was in his thoughts, Myria looked at him with a sheepish look as she teased, "What's wrong? Can't handle it?"
Leon adopted a new stance, calling out the bright hammer which he twirled and held firmly at his side before he clicked his teeth and snapped back, "Why don't you hurry up and help
out? We don't have time to waste on these creatures!"
Myria snorted in discontent as she wanted to hear him beg for aid, but even if annoyed, her actions that followed were in agreement. Her body started to glow with bright watery lights as she held onto her magical, cyan-colored wand.
Feng Yu, who watched this from afar, narrowed his eyes when he saw the change around the black scaled Desert Lard King. He contemplated, 'The Path of Sand, a rare branch of the Martial Path of Earth, normal essence beasts aren't intelligent enough to comprehend such things, it's likely that this is an inherent talent-based skill.'
As Feng Yu wrapped up his thoughts, Dai Lin's Desert Prowler soon appeared at his side. He looked at him and spoke, "Young Master, this beast is a bit stronger than anticipated, should we aid them?"
Feng Yu shook his head and replied, "No, they'll be able to deal with it, besides, if they can't, we wouldn't be able to do anything either, those previous two were nothing, but this one is beyond our current range. Still, now that they are getting serious, this battle should be over."
Dai Lin thought for a moment before he gave Leon and Myria a more in-depth look; seeing their preparedness, he no longer said anything as he observed with flashing thunderbolts in his eyes.
Currently, both Myria and Leon were ready. Their bodies had already gathered a terrifying amount of true foundation energies that caused two pillars of lights to blast towards the sky, giving them a threatening air.
Yet, despite this fact, the black scaled Desert Lard King leader only looked at them with menacing eyes as it prepared to unleash its ultimate technique.
Chapter 293
A Crushing End, Overwhelming Power
The world seemed as if it was undergoing a terrible storm as clusters of earthen power gathered towards the mouth of the vicious Black Scaled Desert Lard King, it's eyes emanating a ruthless intent as a ball of earthen energy collected at an alarming rate.
Dual Sword God: Book 7: The Crimson Devil of the Redlands Page 6
