Drums of War

by Tinalynge

  Within one of his hands, a blue flame appeared while a small black dagger appeared in the other. The commander almost laughed when he saw the dagger. Daggers were good weapons for sparring matches, or duels as they were great at leaving superficial wounds, yet no dagger had the reach of a sword nor the ability to do much damage. To see an expert who used a dagger, the commander could not help but feel lucky.

  Suddenly his eyes froze as he watched the odd blue flame. “I guess the dagger is nothing more than a diversion,” He mumbled to himself as he narrowed his eyes. In a moment of giddiness the commander only looked at his weapon completely forgetting about the flame in his other hand; however, on closer inspection he felt the blood in his veins turn to ice. Blue flames were dangerous. Having a flame in a color other than red meant that this flame was nothing ordinary. It should be a flame capable of incinerating him in moments. He needed to pay it considerable attention to it. His dagger, on the other hand, was not something he cared about. He doubted this young man had much skill with the dagger since he had such a deadly flame.

  ‘Well then, let’s do this!’ The commander thought excitedly as he rushed to meet the descending human. His tactic was simple. Stay so close to the young man that if the flame were used it would burn both of them. In this way, it would not allow for the young man to use his flame unless he wished to burn himself in the process.

  Just as the commander jumped closer, his eyes widened in surprise and shock before they rolled upwards. His dead body was now resting against Hui Yue. The white-haired young man pushed away the commander to reveal a deep puncture wound on his chest. A wound that went straight through his ribs puncturing his heart instantly. The kill had been swift and painless.

  Without as much as a glance at the dead commander, Hui Yue wiped the dagger on his clothes while turning towards the many humans who surrounded him. None of them said anything as his overpowering killing intent paralyzed them all. Dazed by the sudden loss of their commander, and before they managed to take any protective measures, Hui Yue stabbed one of the humans in front of him just as he had stabbed their leader. Before he released his blue flame on two other experts.

  Hearing the agonizing screams of their friends being burned alive caused the humans to finally come to their senses. Their eyes filled with fear but also stubborn determination. Two humans shot arrows at him, but as soon as they came close, Hui Yue shrouded himself in golden energy. Just as they saw the golden energy exit, they noticed a blood-red mist appear. A mist similar to the mist energy of beasts. For a human to control both Wu Wei and mist energy, this was something the guards had never heard of before, and they instantly assumed that the red mist was a diversion. They decided to ignore the red mist and kept slashing Hui Yue’s Wu Wei barrier with their swords.

  Taking advantage of the humans wasting their energy by using their swords to break through his barrier, Hui Yue slowly transformed into a massive red wolf. Fully transformed a sinister smirk appeared on his face as he shot one arm out of the protective layer around him grabbing the head of an unknowing expert and slowly crushing it within his strong paw. Seeing this, the face of the remaining human turned green as he turned and instantly tried to flee.

  The wolf-man did nothing to try and capture the human, instead he looked around and saw that he no longer had an audience. Everyone around him was busy battling beasts. Their focus was not on the young man. Without rushing, Hui Yue moved into a large group of humans and beasts where he slowly began to stab one person after another and release one small flame after another; everywhere he went a large trail of dead people were left in his wake.

  Without paying any attention to the humans he killed, Hui Yue suddenly felt imminent danger and just as he moved to the side, the location where he had been before collapsed. A massive warhammer had it’s head buried deep within the stone that made up the city wall. Hui Yue rose an eyebrow in surprise as he wondered who would want to kill him so much that they did not even care about damaging the wall.

  “You!” Following the massive warhammer’s decent, a figure landed on the ground. He was a tall expert clearly someone whose cultivation was far above Hui Yue’s because the young man had not sensed him. Had he not been looking at the warhammer then he would not be able to detect this person. Looking at this tall person, Hui Yue’s eyes narrowed, and Lan Feng was swearing in his lower dantian.

  ‘I’ll lend you all the power I’ve spent months to cultivate, but don’t you ever dare die!’ The phoenix swore as he lifted the barrier between their souls. Although Lan Feng was refining Wu Wei much like Hui Yue, his Wu Wei was that of a Saint. Its strength far outmatched the Wu Wei Hui Yue had refined. Alongside this Wu Wei, Hui Yue also had the beast core of a God ranked wolf. His red mist billowed forward with small golden spots that he had gotten from Lan Feng, the divine beast within his dantian. Hui Yue sent yet another prayer of gratitude that Lan Feng was a divine beast and not a normal magical beast as he could use the energy of the blue phoenix.

  “Oh,” The opponent was surprised as he saw the two types of energy leaving the expert in front of him. “I picked you because of your white hair,” The expert said with a grin on his face. “I was told that the Grand Marshall of the opposing side was a young brat with white hair. I did not think it would be you,” He continued as though they were having a friendly conversation, “I never thought that a King could be the Grand Marshall, but feeling the energy leaving you, you are not really a King, are you, little freak?” He asked while grinning.

  Hui Yue looked at the expert in front of him, and his eyes narrowed as his heart started beating rapidly. He knew instantly that this man was a Saint. He was one of the ones who had fought the previous day, and he had been strong enough to push back two lords. This alone proved that he was incredibly strong, but even so, Hui Yue was determined not to allow the Saint to do as he pleased.

  “I hope you will forgive me for not answering,” Hui Yue said, his voice steady as if he was not intimidated in the slightest by the Saint in front of him. His cold eyes alongside his strangulating killing intent caused the tall Saint to be completely stunned for a moment. It did not take long before he started laughing out loud, “I see, I see.” He grinned, “Well no worries, I will just take your head with me, your actual rank means nothing.”

  “Well, why don’t we see if you have the ability to do so,” Hui Yue said as he summoned his golden Wu Wei wings. He flew into the sky and allowed for the red mist to billow outwards causing small wolf heads to appear. The red mist created them, their eyes shining like rubies, and their teeth as sharp as razor blades. The many wolf heads howled loudly as they rushed towards the expert who was still standing on the wall. His face was full of disbelief as he saw the wolf flying in the sky something which should be impossible. It seemed as though he was a mixture of more than one beast, yet this was something he had never heard of before.

  Unfortunately, this expert was not so easily pushed around, and he quickly regained his composure as he used Wu Wei to block the wolf heads. His eyes were again astonished when he saw that although he used a barrier, one of the wolves still managed to gnaw its way through biting his leg and drawing a significant amount of blood.

  Seeing this, Hui Yue understood he was being underestimated, and his eyes turned as cold as the coldest winter. His lips curled up in a sneer, and his entire body started to burn with a blue flame. He was waiting for the opportune moment to fry the Saint to a crisp. Although there was a major difference between the two in power, Hui Yue could not help but feel that he had the upper hand as long as he was being looked down upon.

  Chapter 84 – Difference in Strength

  Seeing the blue flames appearing on Hui Yue’s body, the Saint was somewhat shocked. He was a Saint, and he knew that blue flames were incredibly rare. They were something which required a lot of energy to create, and these flames were far more dangerous than the red ordinary flames most experts controlled.

  A smile slipped onto the Saint’s face as he looked at
the young wolf-man who was completely covered in blue flames. His hand heavily gripped the handle of the warhammer, and his eyes glistened with interest as he looked at the younger man in front of him. “It seems as though you have many secrets,” The Saint said as he licked his lip in excitement. “It makes sense that you are the Grand Marshall since you have so many secrets. Not to mention, this type of power. How could you have become so much stronger than you were just moments ago?” He asked acting as though they were acquaintances meeting for the first time with a polite interest in one another not as two experts meeting in the middle of a battlefield.

  Being asked all these questions, Hui Yue remained silent. Although his opponent seemed relatively relaxed and chatty, he had the strength to behave that way. Hui Yue, on the other hand, was running on Lan Feng’s strength, something which had a limit.

  Seeing that Hui Yue had no intention of answering, the tall Saint sighed deeply as if someone had taken away his greatest pleasure. His previously cheerful expression turned slightly sour as he started to twirl the warhammer in a circle as though it was light as a feather. His face now no longer showed happiness, instead, he was filled with annoyance.

  “I truly hope that you have something hidden up your sleeve,” The Saint said, his voice now low and threatening, his entire demeanor completely different from what it had been moments before. “I don’t know what it means to take it easy. I will be going at you with everything I have,” He said as he observed the hammer in his hand something which made Hui Yue feel slightly worried. Although he was in beast form and he had a power that he did not have before, he was currently standing in front of a Saint. A Saint, who was far stronger than him, not even mentioning the massive Warhammer. One hit from that hammer was likely to completely smash his body.

  Hui Yue’s eyes were on the man in front of him. He was already worried about the battle, but he had no option other than to go all out. Listening to his surroundings, he heard loud clashes mixed with shockwaves that sent shivers through his body and made him sway where he stood. Feeling the shockwaves, Hui Yue guessed that the other Saints were already fighting. It was highly likely that the other Saints had all joined the battle, meaning that none of them were capable of helping out their Grand Marshall leaving him alone to battle a saint much stronger than what many of them were fighting.

  While Hui Yue was thinking, he instantly felt danger appear in front of him and with his swiftest speed, he retreated away from the Saint. “Oh, well done!” The Saint praised as his warhammer hit where Hui Yue stood less than a second ago and without waiting for even a moment, the warhammer spun in the air shifting towards his new position.

  Having felt the danger, Hui Yue had activated Velocity Flow to its limits to keep avoiding the warhammer which came at him from every angle. This caused him to feel more and more danger the further back he was pressured. Although Hui Yue wished to advance, it was literally impossible for him as the warhammer constantly spun around attacking him unceasingly.

  Gritting his teeth, Hui Yue observed the pattern with which the tall man swung his warhammer around. At first, it looked completely random where he was swinging his hammer, yet after having avoided around twenty blows, he finally found a pattern. Seeing this, the Saint’s eyes gleamed with astonishment, and his lips curled into a smile. An expression of childish joy appeared on his face, something which made Hui Yue even more worried than he had been before.

  Taking the warhammer in one hand, he touched a storage stone on his belt, and another warhammer appeared. Suddenly two hammers were raining down upon him making it even harder to avoid being hit. Retreating further and further back, Hui Yue felt cold sweat appear on his body as he looked at the expert in front of him. Managing to advance rather than retreat, he would need to take a blow from the hammers, and one blow alone was enough to wound him severely. Still, he could not keep retreating. With determination in his eyes, Hui Yue focused on Velocity Flow while watching the hammers. He breathed slowly in and out. Everything seemed to slow down as he slowly took a step forwards instead of backwards. The step was followed by another step, a twist of his body, and a turn of his waist. Slowly he managed to avoid the blow as he slowly slipped past the first hammer, his eyes then focusing on the second one.

  His body was already twisted to its limits, and it was impossible for him to fully avoid the hammer that was coming down upon him. Realizing that he would be hit no matter caused Hui Yue to turn his body as much as he could, ensuring that the hammer only hit his one arm.

  A thudding sound was heard before the sound of bones breaking reached Hui Yue’s ears followed by the most painful thing he had ever experienced as his entire arm went numb. Although Hui Yue wished to look at his arm, he knew that this was his only chance to attack and the dagger in his hand punctured the chest of the Saint in front of him. Unfortunately, it did not go deep enough to kill the Saint, but blood flooded out from the wound, and the Saint instantly backed backwards. His eyes filled with astonishment as the two warriors stared at one another.

  Now that they had finally retreated, both beast and human, Hui Yue finally had the chance to look at his arm, and he felt himself grow dizzy as he saw what was there, or more accurately, what wasn’t there. The only thing left was a bloody stump, bone sticking out. Looking around, he quickly found that on the ground was a battered arm lying; his arm, or what was left of it.

  ‘You idiot, what are we going to do without that arm?!’ Lan Feng was in shock; his eyes filled with disbelief, and his voice high pitched. He was filled with both fear, worry, and regret. Hui Yue had managed to stab the Saint, yet the stab, although painful, had not been enough to kill the Saint in front of them; instead, they had left behind their entire arm. Blood was gushing out from the wound, and Hui Yue had to use his Wu Wei to stop the bleeding, or he would die within an hour from bloodloss.

  Looking at the arm on the ground, Hui Yue clenched his teeth so hard that his cheeks started to hurt. Unfortunately, he knew nothing of healing himself, and the pearl within his dantian cave was the moodiest person that he had ever known. As for why the green pearl refused to assist him unlike the blue cloud and red mist, Hui Yue truly did not know, but right now what he needed was some way to reattach his arm.

  ‘I will help you for now,’ A gentle female voice sounded from his lower dantian. ‘I will heal you, and I will keep healing you for the next hour, but after an hour do not expect any help from me for the rest of the war. I will not assist you.’

  Hearing the voice, Hui Yue was completely astonished. He had never heard this voice before, but he quickly understood that the green pearl, which he had been swearing at moments before, had decided to assist him. Although it was only once, it was indeed a great help, and Hui Yue nodded his head, his eyes determined.

  The expert who was standing on the other side had spent the time healing himself while he kept an eye on Hui Yue. He was surprised when this young man did not attack him, even more so when he noticed that the young man had closed his eyes for a moment.

  Hui Yue opened his eyes, and his eyes which had previously been blue were now filled with green light. A light which slowly started to shine from his entire body. Using Velocity Flow, Hui Yue instantly appeared next to his shattered arm and picked it up with his good arm. After which he placed it next to the gaping wound on his shoulder. Looking, fully astonished, the tall expert saw how the tissue connected itself with a speed he had never seen before.

  He was considered a decent healer, yet he had never seen anyone whose body could heal itself so easily, but he now understood one thing. This man in front of him was, without a doubt, more dangerous than what he had expected. The Grand Marshall of the beasts was dangerous. He possessed strength that the Saint had never seen, nor heard about. It was his task to no longer play with this person. It was now time for him to fully attack the man in front of him; it was time to be serious.

  Hui Yue seemed to agree to this. His eyes focused, his body once more covered in blue flames. His eyes st
ill shining green as he launched himself towards the Saint in front of him. He no longer bothered to avoid the hammer, and a sudden intense pain appeared as one of his legs shattered only to have green energy instantly heal it once more.

  Continuing forward, Hui Yue managed to touch the Saint before he withdrew. He delivered some of his blue flame to the Saint while feeding it Lan Feng’s elemental affinity causing it to soar to the sky. It took root on the Saint and start to burn him ruthlessly causing a burnt scent to waft through the air. A smile appeared on Hui Yue as he saw that the Saint was using his own Wu Wei to douse the flames. Rushing forward once more, Hui Yue, this time, aimed his dagger at the Saint’s throat. His eyes were locked onto the target while his hand was feeling stable as he closed in on the Saint, who seemed like a living torch.

  Slashing through the flame, Hui Yue only scraped his neck drawing a little blood, but although the Saint had been focused solely on dousing the flames, his instincts were incredible. His body automatically moved away from the danger that was coming at him. Retreating a good bit, Hui Yue looked at the Saint who stared right back at him. A hand slowly traced the thin cut on his neck, his eyes filled with disbelief.

  Although he had retreated, he was still sliced a little by the knife. It seemed as though he finally understood that this young man in front of him was truly a threat. A man who managed to heal every time he was wounded, and someone who had class defying strength. Someone who could forcefully increase his rank from a King to a Saint, use Wu Wei and mist energy, and, at the same time, had heaven defying skills with a dagger. He was indeed a great threat to the human race. Even without his knowledge about warfare, his strength alone was enough to be considered a great threat which meant he had to die at any cost.