Chapter 339: Welcome to Sky Mist City!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The guard was not the only one caught off guard by Su Ming's arrival, the Shaman had found it hard to notice him too. Yet that Shaman was clearly someone who was used to fighting. Without a hint of hesitation, he laughed viciously and swung the axe towards Su Ming instead. In the blink of an eye, that axe was already less than one foot away its target!
Su Ming stood there calmly. The small virescent sword in his right hand shone brilliantly, and the moment the Shaman's axe swung down on his head, Su Ming thrust the sword towards the center of the man's brows. To the eyes of those watching, it was clear that these two were fighting to see who was more vicious!
As if the one who was more vicious would come out of this duel alive!
If the man was the first to be afraid and dodged the attack, then while it would be troublesome that he wouldn't have managed to kill this person with his attack, it would still be better than dying.
Yet if Su Ming became afraid and chose to avoid the attack, then he would immediately lose the initiative and the Shaman would definitely attack him with a force that would be difficult for him to block.
However, if the both of them did not move away, then they would surely die together!
The guard behind Su Ming was momentarily stunned. He was already prepared to self-destruct, so he did not expect that the person he had just prevented to join the battle would suddenly appear right before him.
With just one glance, the man even recognized the armor on Su Ming's body. It… was the Divine General Armor!!
He hadn't managed to say anything before madness appeared in the Shaman's eyes. He was completely unbothered by the small virescent sword charging to the center of his brows. With a bang, the axe fell on Su Ming's body.
Booooom!
As the bang reverberated through the air, Su Ming flinched and staggered a few steps backwards. Blood trickled out of his mouth, but there was not a hint of injury on his body. His shoulder armor was cut by the axe, but there was only a crack on it, and even that was closing up rapidly.
As for the Shaman, he did not have a chance to see this. Madness still lingering on his face, a hole could be seen at the center of his brows. Blood poured out from that hole, but it wasn't what killed him. It was a knife that had suddenly come from behind him the instant he swung his axe down. The knife cut through his neck swiftly, causing his head to be severed by the person behind just as the center of his brows was pierced through.
The small virescent sword pierced through the Shaman's head and brushed past the person who had suddenly appeared behind him. A fine line of blood was left behind on his face.
Su Ming knew the person who had appeared behind the Shaman before. He was the other of the two guards who had previously prevented him from joining the battle.
The middle-aged man's gaze was cold and his expression aloof. He was completely unbothered by the gash on his face. Instead, he cast Su Ming a glance and a smile appeared on his lips. That smile held a hint of ferociousness, but there was no ill-will contained within.
"Welcome to Sky Mist City!" As he spoke, he threw the head in his hand towards Su Ming. Once Su Ming caught it, that person turned around, and with a flash, he charged towards another Shaman.
"Keep their heads. That's an important proof for us when we're recording your war achievements!" The voice of the guard Su Ming had just saved came from his side. The man looked rather touched as he smiled heartily.
"Thank goodness I didn't have you leave the place yet, or else I'd have died here. My name is Zhang Tian Ta. Welcome to Sky Mist City!" The man let out a boisterous laugh and lifted his right hand. Su Ming too lifted his right hand, and once they gave each other a high five, they parted ways and charged into two different locations on the battlefield.
With that high five, Su Ming felt a wave of tremors belonging to a life force traveling up his hand. Those tremors came from Zhang Tian Ta and belonged to the battlefield filled with murder and carnage. As he turned around, red appeared in Su Ming's right eye. Black mist surrounded his body, covering his Divine General Armor in Runes, allowing his defense to reach an incredibly powerful state.
Su Ming's Han Mountain Bell also appeared under his Divine General Armor, albeit only in an indistinct form. With that bell, his defense could increase by another fold! Green light shone by his side. It was the small virescent sword, charging, swirling around him.
As he moved forward, Su Ming ran into a male Shaman. That Shaman wore a sackcloth. His right hand was dark and there was a small red snake biting his hand as if it was injecting poison into his veins. His left arm was not black but swollen. There was a multicolored scorpion climbing his left hand, and it looked as if it also had its fangs buried deep in his skin.
There was an enticing Totem on the young man's face. Su Ming could not see it clearly, but there was a sort of brutality coming from it. Before he rushed at Su Ming, the young man had just killed a Berserker. Once he retrieved the Berserker's head, he rushed towards Su Ming with a vicious sneer.
The two of them closed in on each other in the span of a breath. A flash of green appeared and charged towards the Shaman's head, but the Shaman let out a roar and lifted his right hand. The moment his hand touched the small sword, that person's right arm instantly exploded and turned into a large amount of black liquid that sprayed everywhere.
When the small sword touched the black liquid, instantly, there were sizzling sounds and it started swaying. At the same moment, when the black liquid fell on Su Ming's Divine General Armor, dents appeared on it as if the liquid was corroding it. At the very least, Su Ming's Han Mountain Bell could still block the poisonous liquid from touching him.
The young man's right arm had originally disappeared, but the stump was wiggling around bizarrely as if it was growing into an arm again. The man increased his speed, and in the blink of an eye, he had already closed in on Su Ming. He opened his mouth and spat out a layer of poisonous fog. That poisonous fog turned into a ghost's face before it charged towards Su Ming.
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He took a few steps backwards, and with a cold sneer, he charged forward. He looked as if he was charging straight into the poisonous fog, but in truth, in the short distance he traveled when he took the few steps backward and charged forward again, with his incredible speed, he could stir up a huge gust of wind.
That fog may be strange in a sense that a normal gust of wind couldn't blow it away, but the wind caused by Su Ming's intense speed straight up blew it away. Su Ming then shot through the fog and appeared right behind the young man.
Using the instant his opponent was caught off guard, Su Ming lifted his right hand and pressed his palm on his head. His power in the later stage of the Awakening Realm surged into the young man's body. The swaying small virescent sword also charged through and stabbed the man's throat. At that instant, Su Ming tore the man's head away from his body.
When the young man's headless corpse fell to the ground, Su Ming held his head in a hand with a pale face, but his eyes were freezing cold. His breathing had quickened slightly. All around him were the shouts of people crying out to kill each other. Shrill screams of pain reverberated in the air, never dying down.
Right when Su Ming stopped moving, a flash of yellow light came from behind him. There was a diamond shaped beast bone in that light, and it was incredibly sharp.
Su Ming was still immersed in his first experience of this kind of a battlefield when a bone stabbed into his back, right above his heart. Even if he had the Divine General Armor blocking the attack, Su Ming still staggered a few steps forward. Blood flowed out of his mouth.
He turned around swiftly and stared at the spot where the diamond shaped beast bone came from. Over there, in the crowd where the two armies were slaughtering each other, were two Shamans working together to attack an old Berserker. One of the two was tall, and the other short. Their cries of battle had fused with the sounds around them and could not be heard clearly.
That old man's face was pale and his hair was stained with fresh blood. He was being forced backwards.
That beast bone that had charged towards Su Ming was not actually aimed at him but was sent his way when the old man dodged it.
Right at the top of this battlefield that contained less than 1,000 people was a mass of darkness that hid the color of the sky, and the booming sounds grew increasingly stronger. As the black fog tumbled about, Su Ming could see an Aquatic Dragon occasionally revealing its body and roaring relentlessly.
Fighting against the Aquatic Dragon was a middle-aged man from among the four powerful Berserkers that had stepped out of Sky Mist City previously. The other three people were fighting against three identical Great Shamans in the black fog.
Their level of cultivation had already surpassed that of the Bone Sacrifice Realm and they were all already in the Berserker Soul Realm. However, they were merely Berserkers in the initial stage of the Berserker Soul Realm. The difference in power in each stage of the Berserker Soul Realm was so big that it was similar to the power gap between two Realms.
Su Ming stared at the two Shamans in the crowd and a blood-red light shining with killing intent appeared in his eyes. He took one step forward, and in the span of a breath, he disappeared. Almost the instant he disappeared, a Shaman rammed his fist into the afterimage left behind by Su Ming when he left. That person was momentarily stunned after he threw that punch, but he did not have any chance to think any further.
A Berserker not too far in the distance had chosen to self-destruct. The waves caused by the explosion surged in all directions. When the waves crashed into that Shaman, he was forced backwards and died, shot by an arrow that was flicked off in his direction from somewhere.
Su Ming traveled so quickly that he shot through multiple people fighting against each other and appeared right behind the two Shamans who were fighting against the old Berserker. The faces of the two Shamans were colored by madness. Their coordination was flawless, and there had been more than ten Berserkers who had died in their hands in this massacre.
At that moment, the number of kills they had netted increased by one. The shorter Shaman moved, and passing through the old man's side, he took his head away with him.
With the old man's head in his hand, the shorter Shaman grinned and laughed out loud, but the moment his laughter begun, his companion, who had been smiling with him, suddenly widened his eyes, then rushed towards him, crying out loud.
Right behind the shorter Shaman was Su Ming, taking one step to reach behind his back. His eyes were blood-red, and the moment he appeared, green light flashed and shot through the Shaman's back, right through his heart. The green light took a sharp turn back, then pierced through the center of that Shaman's brows.
That person had extraordinary power, but on the battlefield, while a person's level of cultivation could help them, it would not be able to aid them fully. Luck, resolution, caution, observation, and all the other factors were keys in determining whether a person would be able to survive. None of these could be missing.
Once Su Ming killed the shorter Shaman, a chilling glare grew in his eyes when the deceased's companion charged towards him with a roar.
"He Feng!"
The moment Su Ming opened his mouth, a dark shadow instantly appeared right behind the incoming Shaman. That shadow devoured him like a giant mouth. Su Ming was not bothered by what would happen to the person next. With a single move, he charged in another direction.
"Once you control him, destroy his appearance and the Totem symbolizing his identity as a Shaman. After that, come with me!" Once Su Ming left, his aloof command fell into He Feng's ears.
Chapter 340: First Battle!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the air above Sky Mist City was the battlefield that contained the intense battle between nearly a thousand people. As time passed by and the number of deaths increased, a mangled corpse fell from the sky.
The area of battle should have become increasingly smaller, but that was not the case. Instead, the area became slightly larger, because this was Sky Mist City. The number of Berserkers here was so great that it was simply unimaginable. The battle in the sky was only a minuscule and insignificant part of the entire battlefield.
Besides, the large amount of Shamans dying had made their numbers to be unable to compare to the number of Berserkers here, whose numbers had been increasing incessantly as more warriors joined the fray, since this battle was held right above their turf. That was why even though the number of Shamans was dwindling, the area of this battlefield still increased slightly.
However, the battle in the area was only a tiny portion of this small scale battle. The main event was not held here, but in the black fog high above. At that moment, as booming sounds echoed in the air, four towering statues of the God of Berserkers appeared within the black fog.
The four statues belonged to the four powerful Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm. These statues did not seem to contain physical form and seemed like mere illusions, as if they would scatter away when wind blew against them and were just the products of imagination.
Those in the Berserker Soul Realm could gather up their power to form their own statue of the God of Berserkers. This was the power that caused those in the Berserker Soul Realm to be so powerful that those in the Bone Sacrifice Realm could not hope to compare. In all their minds, only those within the Berserker Soul Realm could hope to kill another in the same Realm.
The battle in the black fog had reached its climax, and the battle between the Berserkers and Shamans underneath the black fog had already almost reached its end as well. The Shamans fell one after another, and the ferocious beasts they summoned, too, died in succession.
Su Ming's robes had already been dyed red. Even if someone could tell that his robes were not originally colored red, they would still be able to sense a sort of bloodthirst and madness coming from them that would make their skins crawl.
It would be especially so if they looked into Su Ming's eyes.
The calmness in his left eye and the blood-red hue in his right eye, the dancing of his no longer black hair in the wind, the green light from his sword surrounding him, and also the bloodied and mangled puppet with the shabby clothes following behind him. All of these things turned him into a strange sight that caught everyone's attention in this small-scale battle.
Because no matter where this person went to and no matter what sort of power the Shaman had, all of them would die horrible deaths. Even if the Shaman was already a Medial Shaman, this person would usually just need to lift his right hand, and the bracelet on his wrist would turn into a swarm of black smoke that would surround the Shaman, and from then, it would be difficult for the Shaman to escape death.
It was a presence that screamed of nigh invulnerability, a murderous aura that was formed after slaughtering too many people. A large amount of souls seemed to have gathered on the blood-soaked robe, causing whimpering cries to echo around Su Ming as he walked.
On that day, many people took note of this person. Besides that nigh invulnerable presence he gave off, they also remembered him because whenever he appeared, he would usually save a life, a life that belonged to a Berserker.
He seemed to be a person used to silence. Su Ming did not roar on the battlefield, neither did he laugh arrogantly. He kept his silence and kept on with his slaughter.
At that moment, Su Ming appeared before a Shaman, and when that Shaman saw him, his expression instantly changed drastically. He quickly retreated, because he had seen Su Ming attack three times, and each time, one of his own would die, and among the three people who died, one of them was even a Medial Shaman who was equivalent to a Berserker in the middle stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm!
Yet that Shaman had only managed to take three steps back when all the hairs on his body stood up. Su Ming appeared right behind him like a ghost, then with one cold slash of his sword, he turned around. When he left, He Feng, who was behind him, laughed darkly and attacked the Shaman.
Su Ming rained down carnage as he walked through the battlefield. He had no idea how many people he had killed. His Divine General Armor had crumbled several times during the battle. Even with the Runes defending him, it still happened regardless.
He could no longer use the smoke to form the Runes when his armor appeared once again. His defense might have weakened, but the murderous aura around him was etched onto all the minds of those within the battlefield, making him seem to have an invisible set of armor on his person.
He had already swallowed down a lot of medicine, which was the sole reason why he could continue fighting, or else it would have been difficult for him to last on this battlefield, where no one fought against another alone.
Fortunately, Su Ming had prepared quite a lot of medicine.
He appeared behind a Shaman and rammed his body hard against his. Once he blew that already heavily injured Shaman into smithereens, Su Ming, who was just about to leave, suddenly stopped moving.
He slowly lifted his head and looked towards a person standing several thousands of feet away in the battlefield.
That person looked to be his thirties and was half naked. His entire body was dyed in blood and exuded a powerful and bold presence. It was a Shaman!
In his hands he held the body of a male Berserker and had his teeth buried deep into his neck as if he was sucking away the man's blood. It flowed down the body and dripped down the Shaman's mouth.
He was staring coldly at Su Ming, then lifted his head from the captured man's neck before tearing off his head from his body. He lifted the head high into the sky, causing the blood dripping down to fall into his own mouth.
Su Ming knew that deceased Berserker. He was Zhang Tian Ta's aloof companion, who also happened to be the first person to welcome Su Ming.
Even when the man died, his eyes were still aloof and indifferent.
Su Ming watched this sight, watched as the Shaman pointed at him with a finger of his left hand, then licked his lips and moved his mouth as if saying something, but his words were drowned out by the sounds of battle all around them. Su Ming could not hear him.
However, he could still tell what the male Shaman wanted to do, because once he threw the head away, he suddenly walked towards him. He was not slow, and as he moved, he charged towards Su Ming while stirring up a huge and violent gust of wind.
As he moved forward, a large amount of shadows manifested behind him. All of those shadows belonged to the Berserkers he'd killed, and one of them… was Zhang Tian Ta's companion.
There were more than twenty of these shadows, and as they surrounded him, they looked as if they were ghosts that were accompanying this person as he charged towards Su Ming.
"Spirit Medium…"
Su Ming's pupils shrank and he charged forward, bringing an even more powerful and violent gust of wind that blew in all directions as he rushed towards the man.
The distance between these two continued diminishing, and after a moment, the instant they crashed into each other, they started fighting. As the man attacked, a large amount of vengeful spirits would charge forward. Some of these vengeful spirits belonged to Berserkers, and some to the Shamans!
Su Ming was not the only one engaged in such a battle. Dozens of similar battles had begun on this battlefield, because all the Shamans that had survived up to this point were all Spirit Mediums!
A Spirit Medium's battle prowess would be largely limited if he or she was placed in a place that did not have a large amount of dead people. However, when they were in a battlefield where a large amount of people had died, then Spirit Mediums would become incredibly powerful.
This was a tactic unique only to Spirit Mediums!
Booming sounds echoed on the battlefield. After a moment, as the people were all engaged in battle against each other, the black fog in the sky was blown open as if someone had just torn it apart, as if a pair of invisible hands had ripped it to shreds. The booming sounds reverberated in the sky, and then the Aquatic Dragon exploded. Letting out a shrill screech, it turned into a large amount of blood mist that carried the three identical old Shamans away and back to the land of the Shamans like a shield made of blood.
Two of the four powerful Berserkers from Sky Mist City were about to chase them down when the middle-aged man by their side lifted his hand and stopped them with a grim look on his face.
"My fellow tribesmen, we cannot give chase… The Shamans' goal might be to enter our land, but they would first need to destroy Sky Mist City and occupy it, or else, even those old monsters belonging to the upper level of authority in the Shaman Tribe would have to hesitate.
"Also, there's something off about this. An End Split Dawn can only cast a Relocation Spell like this once every half a year. Why were there only three End Shamans and one inferior sacred beast..?
"From our plans and calculations along with some of the information we obtained, there is only one pair of End Split Dawns in the Shaman Tribe. They only had a single chance like this. They should have sent much more firepower. We of Sky Mist City made detailed preparations for this, but now, the prey isn't here and we can't use it…" The middle-aged man frowned.
"Are you saying that they're intentionally baiting us to pursue them?" one of the four old monsters in the Berserker Soul Realm, who was a hunchbacked old man, asked in raspy voice.
"About that…"
The middle-aged man was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed drastically. The other three old men beside him also experienced changes in their expressions, because at that moment, on the gigantic battlefield outside Sky Mist City, as the sounds of battle were so great they seemed to have filled heaven and earth, in five different locations in the sky, the same crack that had appeared right in the sky above Sky Mist City just materialized!
But that was not all. Right behind Sky Mist City, in the sky that belonged to the Berserkers, cracks also appeared, and this time, it was not one but two!
These two gigantic cracks, along with the five cracks in the sky belonging to the Shamans started shining brilliantly at the same time!
A dark look instantly appeared on the middle-aged man's face. With one move, he charged towards the area down below.
"I'll leave the cracks in our land to the three of you!"
As the middle-aged man's voice echoed in the air, his body flashed several dozen times among the crowd fighting underneath. Each time his body shone, he would appear beside a Spirit Medium, and no matter what Spell that Spirit Medium casted next, and no matter how strong their mystical ability was, when that middle-aged man appeared, they would die from a jab of his finger right through the center of their brows.
The middle-aged man traveled so quickly that in the blink of an eye, he had already come to right beside Su Ming, yet the moment he appeared, the Shaman that had been fighting against Su Ming coughed out blood and was ripped from limb to limb. This was not due to the middle-aged man but Su Ming, who was putting down his right hand slowly after drawing the one slash for Berserker Obliteration.
Su Ming's face was pale and he breathed raggedly. Only he knew just how dangerous the battle had been.
The middle-aged man gave Su Ming a look, nodded, then vanished. After a moment, when he re-appeared in midair, all the Spirit Mediums in the battlefield had died.
"You, you, and you… the seven of you, follow me. The rest of you, go to the battlefield over there!" The middle-aged man pointed towards the cracks that had appeared in the land of the Berserkers far in the distance.
As he pointed forward, the group of people instantly rushed out, and under the guidance of the three powerful Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm standing in the sky, they charged towards the two cracks.
More people flew out from Sky Mist City and joined them. There were even two old men in white joining them. As they moved forward, the air underneath their feet trembled, and the statue of the God of Berserkers manifested in the form of an illusion behind them. These two people were also Berserkers in the initial stage of the Berserker Soul Realm. The two of them flew into the sky and exchanged greetings with the previous three Berserkers in the form of wrapping their fists in their palms before all of them walked towards the cracks grimly.
Su Ming did not move, because he was among the seven people the middle-aged man had chosen to stay!
The middle-aged man's gaze swept through the seven of them like lightning before stopping at Su Ming.
"The seven of you had the best performance in the battle just now. I've seen all of the others before, but you're rather unfamiliar. What is your name and from which tribe or clan did you come from?"
Chapter 341: Come!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming remained calm before the middle-aged Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm and wrapped his fist in his palm before bowing towards him.
"I am Su Ming from Freezing Sky Clan."
"Freezing Sky Clan?" The middle-aged man gave Su Ming another scrutinizing look. "The chances of the people from Freezing Sky Clan being here aren't high. They're all fighting outside the city in the land of the Shamans," he said languidly, staring at Su Ming.
His slow speech and stare instantly turned into an invisible wave of pressure that fell upon Su Ming's body.
The other six people who were asked to stay and were all standing beside Su Ming were all soaked in blood. However, most of that blood belonged to the Shamans. Among these six people, the eldest was about sixty with flecks of white mixed in black hair, and the youngest was around thirty. Everyone's eyes were burning brightly.
These six people had demonstrated that they were all outstanding fighters during the small-scale battle just now. They had killed an incredible amount of Shamans and were all scattered in different locations of the battlefield, catching the attention of those in their respective areas.
Their blood-soaked appearances were the best proof of just how much they loved fighting.
Among these six people was a woman. She had three scars that looked like a claw mark on her face, making it seem as if her face had been torn apart, which also caused the scars to be even more prominent. She stood at the end of the line with an indifferent look, as if she did not want to get into too much contact with the others.
"I had to leave halfway through because of something. Now I have come back." Su Ming said calmly, looking at the middle-aged man.
The pressure brought by the other's Berserker Soul Realm was incredibly great, but since Su Ming was being honest and hadn't done anything that would make him feel guilty, there was not a hint of emotion in his voice when he gave his reply.
"How many Shamans did you kill?" the middle-aged man asked languidly.
Su Ming did not answer. Instead, he put his right hand into his bosom and brought out a storage bag. Once he did so, he waved his arm to the side, and instantly, dozens of heads flew out from within the bag. They floated in the air, and a gory atmosphere filled the place.
Each of the heads had the expressions of the Shamans before their death.
"Alright, even if you're a deserter from Freezing Sky Clan, you've proved your worth here. From now on, you are one of the Berserkers of Sky Mist City!" The middle-aged man's gaze landed on the head of the only Spirit Medium who had died before he could kill him among the large amount of heads, and he smiled towards Su Ming.
"There are some among the seven of you from Freezing Sky Clan, and some from Western Sea Clan. The rest of you are all warriors of Sky Mist City. Now, I don't care where you came from, the seven of you will become my followers and guards. Come with me and we'll murder our way into the land of the Shamans!"
The middle-aged man swept his gaze across the seven people. When he spoke of Freezing Sky Clan, he had looked towards Su Ming, and when he spoke of Western Sea Clan, he had looked towards the woman whose face was ruined.
"My name is Shan Hua, and I am one of the Great Soul Generals of Freezing Sky Clan. Until I die, follow me!"
As the middle-aged man spoke, the five cracks in the sky above the Sky Mist City located in the land of the Shamans let out huge booming sounds. Dark light shone from within, and it looked as if it was about to open at any moment. It was the same for the two cracks located in the land of the Berserkers. A large amount of Berserkers were closing in on the cracks.
"Come with me!" Shan Hua lifted his head and looked in the direction of the land of the Shamans. With one move, distorted ripples immediately appeared under his feet. He charged towards the spot where he was looking.
Behind him, the seven people including Su Ming flew out almost simultaneously. The seven of them followed behind Shan Hua, and all of them turned into eight long arcs that sliced through the sky and crossed over the majestic Sky Mist City. With Shan Hua right in front, all the invisible barriers within Sky Mist City were lifted beforehand, allowing the crowd to arrive in the sky belonging to the Shamans without stopping once!
The instant they crossed over the majestic Sky Mist City, a gust of bloody wind wafted into their noses, as if the places within and beyond the city were two different worlds. This place belonged to the Shamans, and that bloody wind had turned into an indescribable oppressive feeling that could make people's hearts race uncontrollably while also making their blood boil. It felt that if they did not react in this manner, they would not be able to withstand this oppressive feeling brought onto them.
In the most straightforward manner, the sounds of battle turned into sounds of impact that fell into their ears. Compared to the others, who were already used to this sound, this was the first time Su Ming had joined the battle in the land of the Shamans. The shrill cries, furious roars, and that bloody stench made it difficult for him to calm down.
"This is a game, brother Su."
Shan Hua moved before them while Su Ming and the other six followed behind him.They leaped forward in the face of that oppressive pressure while having to smell that bloody stench in the air. To Su Ming's right was the young man who looked to be in his thirties. That young man's hair was messy, but his eyes were bright. There was even a hint of excitement within them.
"This is a game where we see who is the winner in the end."
The young man licked his lips and smiled at Su Ming.
This was a battlefield that contained more than tens of thousands of people. The sky was filled with a large amount of people and beasts fighting against each other. There were Shamans, Berserkers, and ferocious beasts among them. The eight of them crossing over the land of the Shamans was nothing worthy of attention.
"We'll rush to the third crack. Your first mission is to catch up to me!" Shan Hua's voice came from before them, and he increased his speed. In the span of a breath, he was already 1,000 feet away from them.
Su Ming and the other six charged after him, but when they were less than several thousands of feet into the battlefield, a huge gust of wind instantly came from before them. That wind came from about a hundred ferocious beasts with huge wings. Shamans were standing on their backs.
All of these Shamans had Totems on their faces that exuded a bizarre feeling as if blood was boiling in their veins. These Shamans were mere ants to Shan Hua. He did not even bother dodging. With one charge, he immediately caused dozens of these giant winged ferocious beasts to burst, booming sounds following after him. The Shamans on them were also ripped to shreds.
This lasted only for an instant. The seven could not even see how Shan Hua attacked clearly, they could only see him breaking through without even slowing down, blood raining down around him.
Yet Su Ming and the other six could not do this as easily as Shan Hua did. A small portion of the ferocious beasts might have died, but there were dozens of them left. After splitting apart temporarily, they swiftly flocked together before rushing towards Su Ming and the other six.
"What I need are warriors who will keep following me." Shan Hua did not turn his head back, neither did he stop, but his voice still landed in their ears.
Almost the instant his voice rang in their ears, sounds of battle rose thunderously in the air. The dozens of ferocious beasts charged towards them with roars filled with a murderous aura brimming with arrogance. A dozen of the Shamans standing on them also leaped down, cracking sounds coming from their bodies. They instantly swelled up and their veins popped up, making it seem as if their blood was raging within them.
Red appeared in Su Ming's right eye. Almost the moment the Shamans and those ferocious beasts came to stop them, he took a step and charged forward at a speed so fast it would be difficult to describe. In an instant, he had already disappeared from his original spot, and when he reappeared, he was already 2,000 feet away.
When he appeared once again, blood flowed out of Su Ming's mouth. There were five Shamans in the invisible path he had just dashed through. At that moment, their bodies exploded into smithereens.
Their death was caused by Su Ming ramming his body into them under that high speed, while he himself was protected by his defenses!
Su Ming did not stop. When he appeared, he charged once again towards Shan Hua, who was rushing into the distance. Almost at the same moment he used that high speed to catch up to Shan Hua, only three of the six behind him used other methods to break free from being surrounded and attacked by that group of Shamans. Once they broke free, they chased after Shan Hua behind Su Ming.
Yet before they could even take ten breaths, when Shan Hua once again broke free of the group of Shamans flanking him, another one of their group of four did not manage to break free from the Shamans and chase after Shan Hua.
At that moment, only Su Ming, the woman whose face was ruined, and another middle-aged man who looked rather plain when he was among them remained behind Shan Hua.
Their breathing had become ragged as they charged forward. Clearly, following him in this manner was not an easy task for them.
By that time, Shan Hua had already rushed into the center of the battlefield. Not too far from him was the third crack. Currently, that crack was expanding nonstop and a large amount of shadows could be seen flashing within. There were faint and muffled roars as well.
If there had been no obstacles between them and the crack, Su Ming and the rest would have arrived much sooner, but that was not the reality of the situation. Four ferocious creatures about 1,000 feet in size were charging rapidly towards them from the direction of the crack.
A glint appeared in Shan Hua's eyes. With one step, he disappeared from in front of one of these creatures, and when he reappeared, he was already behind it. That ferocious beast froze for a moment, and then its body started rapidly withering away. The Shaman standing on it was also taken aback for a moment before his eyes lost their lively spark and he fell to the ground.
Su Ming's pupils shrank. On the way here, he had seen Shan Hua attack several times, but each time, he would use a method that made it hard for Su Ming to discern clearly what he did. Besides the word 'bizarre', it would be difficult to find any other word to describe what he saw.
With one flash, Shan Hua became increasingly closer to the crack. As for Su Ming and the other two behind him, they would have to face the other three ferocious beasts that were 1,000 feet tall, along with the Shamans standing on them.
A determined look appeared in Su Ming's eyes. The moment he closed in on the incoming ferocious beast, He Feng, who had already discarded the puppet's body and had turned into a dark shadow once again, rushed out before him. At the same time, Su Ming lifted his right hand and casted Berserker Obliteration. His speed reached its peak, and the bracelet on his right wrist turned into a bundle of black smoke that charged in the direction before him.
Roaring sounds filled the sky, and after a moment, when Su Ming went past the ferocious beast, he coughed out a huge mouthful of blood. His chestplate shattered. There was a black wooden spike that was blocked by Han Mountain Bell, but the tremors coming from that wooden spike were still enough to injure Su Ming.
Half of the creature's body had crumbled. Blood spattered into the air. There was a shadow at its wound that was absorbing its blood madly while also trying to expand itself to envelop the creature within, but since the beast was too big, it was difficult for that shadow to do so.
Chapter 342: Deception!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Shaman standing on the ferocious beast had already leaped into the air, but there was shock on his face. A woman's figure formed by black smoke had gathered before him and was twirling around him. The moment that smoke turned into a vortex, the Shaman casted a Spell and immediately disappeared, as if he had just run away.
The woman formed by the black smoke did not chase after him but simply fell backwards and changed back into the bracelet on Su Ming's wrist.
Su Ming did not bother about He Feng, but instead took a step forward and charged towards Shan Hua. At that moment, Shan Hua was standing underneath the crack with his head lifted to look at the continuously expanding giant crack. His face was grim, and he looked as if he was waiting for something.
Su Ming charged towards him, and after a moment, he arrived behind Shan Hua. He, too, stopped underneath the crack, and his ragged breathing only calmed down after a long moment went by.
Just as Su Ming was calming his breathing, wind whistled by his ears, and the Western Sea Clan woman ,whose face was ruined, charged towards them swiftly. Once she stopped, she coughed out a large amount of blood. There were many wounds on her body, and her abdomen was a bloody mess, but she remained cold and aloof. As she stood there, she lowered her head and brought out some medicinal salve to spread over her wounds.
"Only the two of you came? Then so be it, you two will be my guards. Earn me the time it takes to burn an incense stick," Shan Hua suddenly said and turned around to cast a glance at Su Ming and the woman before sitting down in midair. He even closed his eyes.
A light crease appeared between the woman's brows, but she said nothing. She simply surveyed her surroundings cautiously.
Su Ming was occupied by his own thoughts. He had no time to think about what the woman did to arrive behind him, because when he lifted his head to look at the flashing crack in the sky before turning to look into the distance, his pupils shrank.
There were powerful Berserkers like Shan Hua underneath the five cracks in the land of the Shamans. They would either be staring at them or meditating underneath, completely ignoring the battles going on around them. They looked as if they were waiting for something.
Some of them also had guards like Su Ming around them, but there were also some who were alone.
There were still a large amount of Shamans in the sky. The battles and slaughter on the ground continued without stopping. The people from both sides had already descended into a state of frenzy. There were also a continuous number of Berserkers who were rushing out from Sky Mist City to join the fray.
As time passed by and the five cracks in the sky belonging to the Shamans grew larger while looking as if they were about to rip open at any moment, roars could be heard coming from behind. It was as if there were millions of Shamans and an endless number of ferocious beasts waiting inside the crack. The moment the crack opened up, they would all rush out.
'No one's coming here…'
Su Ming frowned. He just noticed this. Ever since Shan Hua came here along with Su Ming and the woman, no Shaman got close to them. Most of them only circled around the area, as if they could not see the three of them.
This was not the only place where a sight like this occurred. The same thing was happening underneath all the five cracks.
'Could it be…'
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. Suddenly, a piercing whistle came from Sky Mist City. That whistle sounded like something piercing through the air. The entire Sky Mist City looked as if it was trembling. The instant Su Ming turned his head around to look, he saw nine pillars that looked like crystals crawling out from within Sky Mist City and stretching out towards the sky.
The pillars were about several hundreds of feet in breadth. Once they shot out of the ground in Sky Mist City, they immediately started shining with a strong light. When they did so, the sun in the sky looked as if it had become duller because of them. Soon after, the lights from the nine huge crystal pillars started spreading, and once they fused together, a light beam that stole Su Ming's breath shot towards one of the cracks!
The light beam was about 1,000 feet in breadth, and it shot out of Sky Mist City so quickly that Su Ming felt his skin crawl. It looked like a long arc that pierced through the sky, and it was so loud that he could only hear roars in his ears, which eventually became so loud that they turned into static!
Almost in an instant, the first crack that was about several tens of thousands of feet away from Sky Mist City was pierced through by the light beam.
The entire sky seemed to have turned into a sea of fire filled with waves that started spreading rapidly in all directions. The first crack shuddered viciously and turned into numerous shards that scattered away. The shards were very thin and looked like mirrors.
That was clearly not a crack, but a fake one that was created by the Shamans with some unknown method. It looked real and must have also felt real, but in truth, it was fake!
'Of the five cracks, the first one is fake. The Shamans' goal is to weaken Sky Mist City's power, such as… forcing them to use this unbelievably powerful light beam!'
Su Ming sucked in a sharp breath and looked at the shattered fake between Sky Mist City and the first light beam. There was a tear in the air over there now, and wherever the light beam went to, all the living things that tried to stop it were destroyed.
Even a Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm would find it difficult to survive under this power!
'Sky Mist City…'
Su Ming stared at the majestic city and understood why that city could defend the Land of South Morning, preventing the Shamans from setting even one foot into their land. That city was not just shrouded in mystery, it also contained a strength that could stun the Shamans.
While Su Ming was still in shock due to the light beam, suddenly, the nine gigantic crystal pillars from Sky Mist City shone once again and the second light beam shot out.
The world seemed to tremble and a tear appeared in the air. The second light beam sliced through the air and stirred up a loud bang that spread throughout the entire battlefield, causing all the people to lift their heads and look at it, unable to help themselves. At that moment, the light beam crashed into the second crack.
It trembled and shattered into the thin shards again. The second crack… was also fake.
Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the third crack above him. The crack was expanding rapidly and the light within was flashing even more frequently. It was as if the people within were waiting anxiously, like they could not wait to rush out.
At that moment, the nine crystal pillars from Sky Mist City shone once again. The third light beam charged out with a force that shook the world once more. It did not ram into the third crack where Su Ming was, but instead fell onto the fourth crack, causing it to turn into countless shards.
This time, Su Ming could clearly feel that the light beam's strength had dwindled slightly, as if it did not have enough power.
The killings on the battlefield clearly stopped for a moment when the light beam charged out for the third time. Looks of shock and terror appeared on all the Shamans' faces, but in contrast, while most of the Berserkers were also shocked, they also felt their blood boiling as if they had been pumped full of life force.
Suddenly, the fourth light beam charged out from Sky Mist City. This light beam was clearly much weaker than before and was not as shocking as the previous ones. The fifth crack also shattered into pieces the instant the light beam rammed into it, yet even so, if the crack had been real, there was a high chance that the light beam would not have been able to destroy it completely.
Su Ming lifted his head swiftly and stared at the crack above his head. Almost the moment he did so, the powerful Berserkers around who had been staying underneath those fake cracks charged towards them. Clearly, they also believed that this crack was the real deal!
In an instant, the nine crystal pillars from Sky Mist City seemed to have gathered their last charge and fired the fifth light beam. That light beam seemed like the last radiance of the setting sun. It might seem incredibly grand, but anyone with eyes could see that this was the light beam's last ounce of strength.
As the light beam charged forth, it brought with it a piercing glare that shot above Su Ming before it fell on the third crack. At that moment, Shan Hua opened his eyes.
But what happened next stunned Su Ming, because the instant the light beam rammed into the third crack, it also turned into a large amount of thin shards that disappeared into thin air.
"They're all fake… The Shamans' goal is to weaken the strength of Sky Mist City's crystal pillars… because this power is a threat to the End Shamans…" Su Ming mumbled.
At that moment, a long string of laughter echoed from the world in the distance. Distortions formed in the sky belonging to the Shamans 100,000 feet away and three people walked out.
Their bodies could not be seen clearly, but when they walked out, an incredible pressure filled the entire battlefield with a loud rumble. The three people took one step forward and charged into the fray. At the same time, the two 100,000 feet sacred beasts that had previously remained in a set area, not getting closer to the battlefield, let out loud roars before charging towards Sky Mist City.
It was as if the power that prevented them from getting closer was gone.
The two Shamans who were clearly powerful warriors standing on top of the 100,000 feet sacred beasts curled their lips in cold sneers.
The advantage seemed to have fallen into the Shamans' side. The powerful light beam that terrified them was temporarily gone, causing the three Shamans who walked out to dash forward at an incredible speed. The two 100,000 feet sacred beasts behind them also closed in easily, like how a hot knife cuts through butter.
Yet things did not end the way they wanted. Almost the moment these three people appeared and charged forward with the two 100,000 feet sacred beasts rushed following suit and entered an area 100,000 feet away from Sky Mist City, suddenly, the nine crystal pillars that had already became duller shone with a piercing bright light. The strength of that glare was even stronger that the first light beam Su Ming had seen.
With one flash of light, the entire world instantly darkened. The sun's light could not hope to compare with the nine crystal pillars. It was as if at that moment, the crystal pillars had absorbed all the light from the world around them, and then, two light beams that shocked Su Ming to the core shot out!
Both of these light beams were several thousands of feet in breadth. They whistled through the air with a shocking screech, causing the air to instantly shatter. In the blink of an eye, Su Ming saw something unforgettable.
He saw the two light beams crashing into the two 100,000 feet sacred beasts that were already only 100,000 feet away from Sky Mist City. They did not even have time to dodge. When the light beams crashed into them, the two sacred beasts along with the powerful Shamans standing on them were instantly eviscerated by the power contained within them.
Deafening, shrill cries came from the two sacred beasts, and their bodies instantly exploded…
The entire battlefield instantly fell into dead silence.
The three powerful Shamans who had walked out and were leading the charge froze in their footsteps, as if they were stunned into silence, frozen in place.
"We also know how to set up a hoax." At that moment, Shan Hua stood up by Su Ming's side.
Right then, an old voice shot out with a mighty power from within Sky Mist City moment. "All warriors, hear me! Rush at the Shamans and push them back until they're 30,000 feet away!"
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The beating of war drums roared in the air from all around, causing all the Berserkers on the battlefield to instantly go mad.
"Kill them!"
Chapter 343: Night Plate!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As the two 10,000 feet sacred beasts died horrible deaths and the three powerful Shamans who walked out froze in their footsteps, all the Berserkers in the land of the Shamans beyond Sky Mist City began their assault while the sounds of the war drums filling the air.
At the same time, light surrounded the nine gigantic crystal pillars in Sky Mist City and the entire Sky Mist City trembled once again. It was followed soon after by a gigantic stone monument that was 100,000 feet tall and 10,000 feet wide shooting out from the ground. Its height surpassed the nine crystal pillars. It stood erect in Sky Mist City, and an ancient feeling spread out when the stone monument appeared.
There were names carved onto the stone monument, and stated right behind those names were the person's tribe or clan. This stone monument was the achievement monument that recorded all the kills of the Berserkers in the Land of South Morning!
As it appeared, the sounds of battle from the Berserkers on the battlefield became even louder. The ranks on the achievement monument would not constantly change. Berserkers would have to return to the city with their proof after the battle, then recorders would count the points and insert them into the board.
All those whose names would be recorded on the stone monument would turn into the center of attention of all the Berserkers. It was a glory that belonged to the Berserkers, a glory that belonged to the person, his tribe, and his clan.
That stone monument only showed the top three hundred warriors. Those who were not in the top would not be placed!
Right then, the person at first place was someone named He Luo. This person was not from Freezing Sky, neither was he from Western Sea. He came instead from a tribe called Luoshui. He had already racked up nearly 3,000 achievement points under his name.
The accumulation of battle achievement points was not an increase of one point every single time a person killed another Shaman. Instead, the achievement points were distributed based on the status of the Shaman they killed and the Shaman's level of cultivation. Once a specialist from Sky Mist City calculated the points, they would gain their achievements.
Those within the top ten already had nearly 2,000 achievement points under their belts. The difference in points between them was not great. As for those who were after the top eighty, they all had less than 1,000 points under their name, but even the one placed last had about several hundreds of points.
This was clearly an accumulation of points after the few battles that must have happened previously. It was only natural that the earlier someone joined a battle, the more points he would gather. Su Ming came to Sky Mist City late and did not report his battle achievements, that was why his name could not be found in the ranks.
The moment the stone monument appeared, the three powerful Shamans who walked out became grim where they stood in midair.
They were not End Shamans, merely Latter Shamans, but they were all considered outstanding among the other Latter Shamans. Their level of cultivation was equivalent to those in the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm. The power of the three identical Shamans who had walked out of the crack in the land of the Berserkers previously could not hope to compare to them. Those three identical Shamans were also not End Shamans but people who had just become Latter Shamans.
As a dark look settled on the trio's faces, the few powerful Berserkers who had been under the cracks rushed over. But that was not all. From one of their sides, Frozen Ice Sky was letting out a threatening and freezing air. The tip of the sword moved and pointed at the three people.
At the same time, on the other side, the gigantic mirror from Western Sea Clan shone brilliantly, as if it was also channelling the power of a mystical ability.
Half of the eighteen giant statues under Sky Mist City had also come to life and were taking large, rumbling steps in the battlefield.
"By the orders of the Great Patriarch, even our third attack on the city was just a test, but the goal was different from the previous two times. This time, we were testing whether we could widen the cracks made by the End Split Dawns, and we were also using this to deplete the power of Sky Mist City's Divine Crystal Beam…
"By the looks of it, the Berserkers have clearly seen through the Great Patriarch's plans, but they still haven't sent out any Berserkers in the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, just some of those in the initial stage…
"They are here to fight the three of us. Did Sky Mist City send them here to gauge the strength of the Shamans over the past few years through the three of us..? That ancient mirror from Western Sea Clan is detestable indeed. With it around, all the divine abilities we cast will be recorded and the Berserkers will use it to gain information!
"As for Freezing Sky Clan's Frozen Ice Sky… Well, the sword shouldn't be using its full power when it's dealing with the three of us."
"Hmph, the Berserkers are really good at casting baits. They did it previously too. By the looks of it, they're thinking of using the three of us as bait to lure out our End Shamans…"
The three powerful Shamans looked at each other, and two of them took a step forward. Ripples formed in the air under their feet and muffled booms spread out. Green fog instantly appeared around them. The fog spread out abruptly and flowed in all directions. In an instant, it had already covered the entire area.
Soon after, the final one of the trio sat down cross-legged and lifted his hands before bringing them downwards to press against the ground through the air. Ripples started spreading on the ground and shrill roars rang out. A large amount of blood from the deceased spilled forth abruptly.
Almost the instant these three people activated their divine abilities, the four powerful Berserkers who were charging forth from underneath the disappeared cracks rushed into the fog. Muffled booms continuously rang inside. The giant mirror from Western Sea Clan tilted, as it continued shining, causing the surface of the mirror to be turned right at the fog.
Once Freezing Sky Clan's Frozen Ice Sky pointed its tip at the fog, a white glare appeared at the sword's hilt and swam through the weapon's entire body before gathering at the tip, and then, it fired out a sword beam!
The moment that sword beam appeared, the world turned freezing cold. That beam of light seemed to possess intelligence and charged straight into the fog. Once it went in, it started fighting against the three Shamans with the four powerful Berserkers.
The battle on the ground resumed once again under the green fog.
Over at Su Ming's side, a glint appeared in Shan Hua's eyes and he turned around to cast a look at Su Ming and the woman with the ruined appearance before nodding at them. Then with a single move, he charged towards the fog in the sky.
"The two of you have passed my test. I will grant both of you the title of Sky Mist's Night Warrior!" The moment Shan Hua left, his voice appeared and fell into Su Ming and the woman's ears. Two black plates flew out from him towards the two of them.
Su Ming lifted his right hand and caught that plate. It looked really ordinary and was colored entirely black. It was so black that it looked like a dark night that had no stars shining in the sky.
'Seven people followed him, but five died…'
Su Ming sighed and looked at the plate in his hands. He did not feel much about this, neither did he know the meaning behind it.
He had originally wanted to be a bystander and witness this battle between the Shamans and the Berserkers. Even if he was going to join in, he would fight for his own cause. Now, even though this was just his first battle, he already had a feeling that it would not be easy to do what he had originally had in mind. Perhaps there would be many times where he would have to do things in spite of his own will.
"I suggest that you hang that plate on your waist where it will stand out." As Su Ming was sighing, the Western Sea Clan woman's voice reached his ears. The woman was looking at Su Ming indifferently, and she had already hung her plate on an a tie on her robes.
"This is Sky Mist City's battle plate. They are divided into four levels - Sun, Moon, Star, and Night. If you have the Night Plate, then it means you now belong to Sky Mist City, and with it, even your clan won't be allowed to interfere with your actions or punish you for it. Everything about you belongs to Sky Mist City, and before the battle ends, only Sky Mist City can give you commands," the woman stated coldly.
"There are plenty of people in this battlefield who want to obtain one of Sky Mist City's battle plates but cannot get it because the battle plates can only be given by Sky Mist City's Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm. We did not do much, but we still obtained this because senior Shan had seen all that we had done previously.
"But there are plenty of others who had done a whole lot more than us and still died or did not obtain this battle plate because no one noticed them. Are you still not satisfied with it?" The woman no longer looking at Su Ming, choosing to charge into the battlefield ahead instead.
Su Ming fell silent and looked at the plate in his hands. In the end, he did not choose to hang in on himself, but instead put it away into his bosom. He turned around and charged into the endless battlefield on the land of the Shamans in a direction opposite to the one chosen by the woman earlier.
Every inch of this place was filled with battles. The Shamans and Berserkers were fighting each other and would not stop until they died. The roars and screams of pain criss-crossed with the sounds of flesh being torn and bodies exploding, turning into a buzzing noise in Su Ming's ears. Besides the powerful warriors fighting within the fog in the sky, all the other people on the battlefield were insignificant. They were only a small part in this war.
Su Ming did not know how long this battle was going to last. He could only rush out and start killing all the Shamans he could see.
This was a completely different feeling compared to the battle in Sky Mist City. Compared to this battlefield, the battle over there was way too small. Over here, Su Ming could not see the end. All he could see were his fellow Berserkers and the endless army of Shamans.
Kill them! His only choice was to kill them! Su Ming held the small virescent sword in his right hand, and as he charged forward, he brought about blood and carnage around him.
Kill them! He must kill them! As he waved his arm, black smoke surrounded his body, and if anyone that could pose as a threat to Su Ming appeared, it would automatically fly out and turn into the woman. She would form behind that Shaman, and then, she would either kill them or force them away.
To survive, to continue living so that he could let his own insignificant self on the battlefield see another sunset, he would need to kill. If he did not kill, then he could only die. This warzone was like a powerful force of will imposed upon them, one that they could not oppose, and under that will, they must kill, or they would die!
Unless one pretended to be a corpse by covering his face with blood. If they did that, then perhaps they could use another way to survive. As Su Ming moved forward, he saw some people using this method to survive. Some of them were Shamans, and some of them Berserkers.
However, this was not a good plan because collecting heads was necessary for everyone to gather war achievement points… If they had a complete body, there was almost certainly always someone who would conveniently behead them.
"Kill!!"
Su Ming's eyes were bloodshot and his entire body was soaked in blood. With a roar, all his Qi started circulating in him. With a punch, he blasted a Shaman's chest open. The bell in his body rang and blocked the counter his enemy threw at him before he died, but Su Ming still coughed out blood. However, even as blood spilled from his lips, he still ran forth at full speed towards another person.
Chapter 344: Zi Che!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Fatigue. Su Ming had no idea how much time had passed, because the green fog was still covering the sky. That fog was tumbling about in the air and booming sounds could still be heard coming from inside it.
The sounds of battle around Su Ming had fused together with pained screams and all sorts of other sounds, turning into a note that it felt would never change. As it rang in the air, everything repeated itself, and repeated, and repeated.
It was as if Su Ming's insignificant self was repeating only one action in the battlefield - kill, kill, and kill again. Gradually, that fatigue grew deeper, and his mind started to fall into a daze.
And distractedness would usually end with the person getting into a life and death situation. If they died, then they would fall into eternal slumber, but if they lived, then they would receive a boost of adrenaline that would grant them a temporary burst of energy. However, that energy was the result of drawing out the strength of whatever remained of their life force… After that temporary burst of energy, the person would sink once again, this time into an even deeper state of fatigue and absentmindedness.
How many people would be able to escape from death brought on by their own lack of concentration? Perhaps they could do it once, maybe twice, but three times? Four? An infinite amount of times..? This wasn't a battle where people were just surrounded by Shamans, they were waging war against themselves as well.
The killings continued without stopping. Blood continued collecting on the ground. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the land of the Shamans beyond Sky Mist City was filled with rivers of blood. The splashing of crimson droplets on them were like numerous pairs of aloof eyes cruelly watching everything that was unfolding before them.
He Feng had already returned to Su Ming's side. He did not do this by himself. Instead, when Su Ming let out a sharp shout, he stirred up the Wings of the Moon, who could sense him, thus forcing He Feng to return to his side.
When he returned to Su Ming's side, he was occupying the gigantic ferocious beast's body from before. However, there was only half of that creature remaining. Strangely enough, it was still alive.
The battle continued. Su Ming had no idea just how many Shamans he had killed and did not know how many wounds he had sustained, neither did he know just how many times his Divine General Armor had crumbled. In fact, even Han Mountain Bell had been forced back into his body numerous times after blocking many divine abilities, and his body was now injured.
It was especially so for his chest. There was a hole there that was almost fatal, nearly piercing through him. That wound came to be when a long spear sliced through the air and struck Su Ming the moment the woman of black smoke his eldest senior brother had given him flew out and blocked another attack aimed at him.
This was a battlefield. There were too many uncontrollable factors here, too many enemies. This was not a duel where one person would face a single opponent by himself…
As the war continued, Su Ming moved through the battlefield. He had no idea where he was. He had simply seen a familiar head flying into the sky when a Shaman beheaded the person. He did not know his name, but he had seen that person before. He was a disciple from Freezing Sky Clan.
That head fell right before Su Ming. The person's face held a hint of confusion, but also a hint of release, as if he could finally close his eyes and rest in the midst of all his fatigue.
Su Ming looked at that head and lifted his right hand swiftly to push behind him. Booming sounds and whistles came. The sounds belonged to a Shaman behind that was suddenly sent tumbling backwards, and that whistle was from Su Ming's small virescent sword chasing the Shaman down and piercing through him.
Su Ming unclenched his left hand and ashes fell from his palm into the air; that was what remained of a stone coin.
He had already swallowed a large amount of medicine, which was the only reason why he could continue fighting. He had also spent a large amount of stone coins, allowing himself to constantly spread his divine sense around the area, which largely increased his chances of survival while also allowing his small virescent sword to stay sharp.
In this battlefield, all divine abilities paled in comparison to the swiftness and ease brought by cleanly executed kills. Su Ming would occasionally travel quickly, and sometimes slowly. When he attacked, his killing intent would spill forth. If he killed his enemy, all was well, but he also gradually learned not to linger around in a fight. If he did not manage to kill, he would immediately retreat and head off in another direction.
"Su Ming!"
As he continued in his slaughter listlessly, cutting down another Shaman, his face turned pale and a wound so deep it revealed his bone appeared on his thigh. At that moment, a strange voice called out to him.
When he turned around, Su Ming's mind was still in a slight daze, but even though his head was muddled, he still spread his divine sense on a natural instinct to protect himself. He saw a man who had just beheaded a Shaman watching him. Su Ming had seen him before. He was a disciple of Freezing Sky Clan.
That man's eyes were also bloodshot and he was exhausted. He gave a nod at Su Ming before quickly leaving the place.
"This feels like a dream…"
Su Ming turned around. He continued moving forward, continued killing, continued sinking into deeper exhaustion. The sounds of battle ringing by his ears seemed to have become eternal, continuously echoing in the air.
He saw Shamans with different types of ferocious beasts. He also saw some people wearing masks. Those people were the same as Su Ming. They were shooting through the battlefield, and wherever they went, it would rain blood.
All the Shamans who wore masks exuded an incredibly powerful murderous aura. A normal Berserker could not hope to match up to them. In his daze, Su Ming saw some Berserkers who could fight against these masked Shamans. They also wore masks.
However, the masks these Berserkers wore were black and were completely different from the white masks the Shamans wore.
Su Ming continued with his slaughter as he moved forward in a daze. The nearly fatal wound on his chest was left behind by a long spear thrown by a masked Shaman. There was a cross shaped crack on the person's mask. Once he threw the long spear out, he cast a cold look at Su Ming from the distance, then turned around and left.
Su Ming saw all of these things, but he was in a state of absentmindedness brought on by exhaustion. With the sounds of battle echoing in his ears indistinctly, Su Ming took a step forward and appeared before a Shaman in his early adulthood.
This was a Shaman who still looked rather young and had face covered in blood. He let out a loud roar and charged forward. When Su Ming walked by his side, he took the Shaman's head. Blood spewed out from the body, and he dashed forward a few steps more before falling down.
Su Ming walked past him numbly and arrived beside another Shaman. When he walked by him, the man's head was already in his grasp, but the moment his head was removed from his body, he chose to self-destruct. The booming and the force created by the explosion caused blood to flow down Su Ming's lips, but he did not stop. He simply continued onward.
He walked, and continued walking. After shattering and regrouping multiple times, Su Ming's Divine General Armor seemed to have also been affected by his fatigue. Its speed when it recovered started slowing down. Han Mountain Bell also started ringing after being attacked by all the scattered divine abilities that were not aimed at him.
He Feng was also gone, separated from him by the crowd. His current body, which was that of a Shaman Beast, would also cause misunderstandings among the Berserkers who had already fought till they were in a frenzy. Su Ming already had no idea where he had gone to.
If this continued, while Su Ming might be able to survive, there was a higher chance that he would walk straight into his death in his absentminded state.
This lasted till Su Ming saw a very familiar face standing in a crowd that was being flanked by dozens of Shamans far in the distance.
That face was stained with blood and filled with resolution as he continued fighting madly.
This person's appearance made Su Ming snap out of his daze for a brief moment. He just saw with his own eyes a Shaman, who was fighting against the familiar person, coughing out a mouthful of black blood at the cost of his own life while heavily injured.
Clearly, that blood contained a destructive power that would certainly penetrate through the familiar person's face and skull if the blood touched him!
Su Ming's pupils shrank. His entire being seemed to have woken up from a dream at that moment, and he swiftly recovered from his daze.
The sounds of battle by his ears immediately became clear as day from its previous indistinct state, and the world before him turned unclouded and complete from its previous muddled state.
"Zi Che…" Su Ming mumbled.
He did not hesitate. The moment he woke up, he took a huge step forward. With that one step, the sounds of battle by his ears disappeared, replaced by a piercing sound of him blasting through the air. With a speed so quick it was difficult to describe, he swiftly charged forward.
Before the Shaman's blood fell on Zi Che's face, Su Ming had already cut through several thousands of feet and appeared right before him. The violent gust of wind that stirred up because of him almost instantly blew away the black blood. As for the heavily injured Shaman, he did not even have time to check what had happened before he felt a force, like a city wall, crashing onto him. He tumbled backwards and his body shattered due to the powerful gust of wind.
"Uncle Master!" Zi Che's voice appeared in Su Ming's ears.
He staggered, but continued fighting. After activating that extreme speed so many times, Su Ming's body had reached its limit and he sunk into deep exhaustion once more. Yet he continued moving and activated that extreme speed again so that he could attack swiftly.
With Su Ming's help, the person who was flanked by the dozens of Shamans started fighting back viciously, and as he fought, he continued retreating. After a moment, when most of the Shamans surrounding them were either dead or wounded, they broke free of the encirclement.
Up to this point, Su Ming had already coughed out blood multiple times. When he staggered, Zi Che caught him.
The rest of the Berserkers were also covered in injuries. In the midst of their fatigue, they quickly surrounded Zi Che and Su Ming to protect them inside. Then, keeping a cautious eye on their surroundings, they retreated backwards.
Zi Che's voice sounded far away in Su Ming's ears. He looked at the worried Zi Che and closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them, then he gave him a nod.
"Zi Che, he's your uncle master?"
"He's so quick. That gust he stirred up when he used that speed was as powerful as a divine ability!"
"Zi Che, what's your uncle master's name?!"
The Berserkers who were protecting Zi Che and Su Ming in their circle asked many questions while retreating.
"I'm Su Ming."
Su Ming took in a deep breath and no longer required Zi Che to support him. He brought out some medicine, and once he swallowed it, he started retreating with the dozen or so other Berserkers.
"We don't even know whether we'll be able to survive through this battle, so let's not bother about status anymore. Brother Su, you seem a little out of sorts. Did you join this battle as a lone Shaman Hunter?"
The dozen Berserkers were very coordinated when they retreated. The group surrounding Su Ming remained entirely focused. As they withdrew, they fought against the Shamans who closed in on them. Moments later, they would quickly change places with their companions in the inner circle so that they could rest.
Chapter 345: Shaman Hunt!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Oh well, don't go searching for your own team now. Come with us. If you go alone on this gigantic battlefield, you might fall into a continuous state of absentmindedness."
A middle-aged man, who was also soaked in blood, spoke to Su Ming while panting harshly after he withdrew from the outer circle. This person had extraordinary power and was already in the Bone Sacrifice Realm.
"Uncle master, he's Yan Bo, the leader of our team," Zi Che quickly explained beside him. Once he saw Su Ming, he naturally reverted to how he acted before and started following behind Su Ming while surveying his surroundings cautiously.
"You have extraordinary power and your speed is choking. How about this? Rest in there first. We will continue changing our shifts, and once you've recovered slightly, you can join us!" the middle-aged man quickly said, and once he finished speaking, he exchanged places with the eighth person in the outer layer of the circle once again, causing the small team of around a dozen Berserkers to continue fighting even as they continued retreating.
Su Ming took in a deep breath. He was no longer in a daze. Now that he thought about it, everything that had happened before was like a dream. From the middle-aged man's words and how the team's members changed their spots with each other, Su Ming understood the reason for his continuous state of absentmindedness from before.
"I'm already rested."
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. When the eighth person in the outer layer of the circle moved back and another batch took their place once again, he took a step forward to stand in the outer layer.
'This isn't a single person's battle…���
When Su Ming stood at the outer layer of the team, he came to understand the reason for him descending into that state. Fatigue was a cause for it, the repeated killings were also a cause for it, but most importantly, it was because he did not have his own team. He had been continuously fighting alone on the battlefield.
Even a person with incredible willpower would break down sooner or later if this continued. Unless he was a person who had been baptised and refined by battles like these, then even if that person was just a Berserker in the Awakening Realm, he would be highly valued by those in the Bone Sacrifice Realm. If he was someone in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, then he would be highly valued by those in the Berserker Soul Realm.
Because this person… was a true warrior!
Only these kind of people could surpass their limits during these sort of battles and increase their power. At the same time, they could also bring out their strongest strength. Their great willpower would not shatter in the face of the sky and earth being destroyed, would not crumble no matter how dangerous the situation was for them.
Developing a person like this was perhaps… what the Shamans and Berserkers sought!
'My will is still not strong enough…'
Su Ming's eyes sparkled. He took a deep breath of the unique air in the battlefield and was no longer caught in a daze. Instead, he started fighting against the Shamans closing in on them as he stood in the outer layer of the small team.
This time, he was not fighting alone. He had Zi Che by his side. He had companions who had protected him when he was tired just now.
Once he started paying closer attention, Su Ming saw numerous small teams like these all over the battlefield. While there seemed to be quite a number of Shamans fighting on their own, Su Ming could also gradually see teams like theirs among the Shamans.
The warriors fighting on their own were usually people who had incredibly powerful will and were using this opportunity to train themselves.
Su Ming finally understood!
'A battlefield trains a person's willpower. Willpower is invisible, but it could change a person into a powerful warrior. This is a path for a person to become a powerful warrior!' Understanding appeared in Su Ming's eyes. As he attacked, green light shone, and the Shaman closing in on him immediately chose to retreat.
'I have too few divine abilities… and I'm using all my enchanted treasures wrong!' Calmness appeared in Su Ming's left eye once again, creating a large contrast with the crazed red glint in his right eye once again.
Without any hesitation, he lifted his left hand and slammed it against his chest. Immediately, Han Mountain Bell manifested in the form of an illusion in front of him and chimed, floating in midair. As the bell chimes spread, Su Ming formed some seals with his right hand before he pointed at the bell.
Han Mountain Bell instantly grew in size and slammed on the ground before them.
The ground gave a vicious shudder, and when Su Ming lifted Han Mountain Bell, there were only mangled pieces of flesh on the ground.
'Defence might be important, but my attacks have to be sharp as well! If I only have strong defences, then I definitely won't have that unbreakable will that can only be formed after going through life and death situations!'
Su Ming's thoughts raced like lightning in his head. He spread his arms out and a large amount of lightning started swimming abruptly in his body before turning into four balls of lightning around him. Those balls appeared out of thin air, causing the place where he stood to brighten up with lightning and the air to be filled by thunderous rumbles for a moment.
The four balls of lightning let out a loud whistle and spread swiftly, falling among the incoming Shamans. Rumbling sounds echoed in the air.
'I was wrong. Even if this is war, it is still a great chance for me to hone my skills!'
Su Ming slapped his right hand on the storage bag in his bosom and brought out a beast skin. Once he spread it out, he coughed out a mouthful of blood on it, and immediately, that beast skin disappeared in a red flash, which was followed soon after by a red meadow appearing under Su Ming's feet.
The instant the meadow appeared, it started absorbing the blood on the ground at a maddening speed, and it followed Su Ming as he moved. It was a terrifying sight to behold as it absorbed the blood on the ground and started expanding. It grew swiftly, and Su Ming could feel the cool wisps of air seeping into his body from his feet, as he stood on the meadow, become faster. Once they entered him, his fatigue lessened slightly.
The meadow could only be used by him. It was completely useless to the other Berserkers by his side. Once Su Ming noticed this, he immediately controlled the meadow's expansion so that it only stayed under his feet. He did not allow it to spread out.
The pounding of Han Mountain Bell while it let out those thunderous chimes, the continuous explosions of the balls of lightning, and the whistling of his virescent sword allowed Su Ming's team to retreat at a shocking speed, and at the same time, most of the Shamans would retreat as their team went by.
If those things were alone, perhaps the slightly more powerful Shamans would not all choose to retreat, but as Han Mountain Bell continued pounding and hammering them, a piercing screech came from within the bell. Su Ming's eyes sparkled. He formed some seals with his fingers and pointed at the bell. A black light shot out from Han Mountain Bell and the area around Su Ming's team turned into a desolate land.
Even more shocking was the fact that after the black light passed, the Shaman Beasts who got closer to them started crying out as if they did not dare get any closer. They started retreating without any care for the consequences, as if there was something in the area that terrified them.
Zi Che still reacted normally, but the members of the team beside him, including Yan Bo, who was the leader and a Berserker in the initial stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm, sucked in a sharp breath. They would occasionally look at Su Ming oddly.
"Brother Su, I now understand why you chose to fight alone in the battlefield… Even if you're not a Shaman Hunter, you're well on your way to becoming one of them." Yan Bo wrapped his fist in his palm in a salute to Su Ming, and all the people's gazes as they looked at Su Ming turned respectful.
Zi Che immediately started softly explaining what was going on to Su Ming beside him.
There was a small number of people in the battle between the Berserkers and Shamans who were not in the Berserker Soul Realm, but whose divine abilities had clearly surpassed the power they should have in their Realm, and they fought as if they were invulnerable.
These sort of people were known as Hunters! If they were Berserkers, they would be known as Shaman Hunters, and if they were Shamans, they would be known as Berserker Hunters! They would not choose to hide their identity in battle, because they needed the experience brought on by these fights. That was why they chose to wear masks.
The Berserkers' masks were black, and the Shamans' masks were white!
Receiving one of these masks meant that a person had been acknowledged to become a Hunter! Getting a mask was a great achievement, and it was also the only way for a non-Hunter to become a Hunter!
If a person killed a Hunter of the Shaman Tribe, took his mask, then handed it over to Sky Mist City, then that person could become a Hunter! It was rare that anyone would be able to con a mask or themselves, because once someone became a Hunter and wore that mask, then they would have to face even more death and destruction. If they conned themselves into this position, then it would be far too easy for someone else to take their lives.
Su Ming listened to Zi Che's explanations and nodded his head. He already had his guesses about this previously. These sort of people were definitely those with extraordinary willpower.
Su Ming knew that he was not one of them, because his willpower was not strong enough, and fatal absentmindedness along with mental fatigue had appeared within him when he was fighting alone just now.
"Brother Su, with your help, how about we stop retreating? We'll go forward and try to gain more credit. Of course, you can get a third of the credit. We'll then divide the rest." Yan Bo licked his lips. A brutal glint appeared in his eyes as he looked at the Shamans and whispered to Su Ming softly.
"Alright!" Su Ming fell into a moment of pensive silence before he nodded his head.
Once he made his decision, the other members of the team agreed to it. They immediately stopped retreating and changed their formation into that of an arrow under Yan Bo's command. With Su Ming in the lead and Zi Che and Yan Bo on his sides, the other people followed behind them and charged out.
As they charged forward, the small virescent sword circled them while Han Mountain Bell's chimes reverberated in the air. Wherever the team with the arrow shaped formation went, they stirred a storm of blood, and this continued until they reached a battle off in a distance.
Time trickled by slowly. The small team with Su Ming in the lead slaughtered Shamans at an incredible speed, but similarly, many of their own died. By then, there were only nine of them remaining.
However, the achievements they gained were plentiful.
At that moment, the sky was darkening. The booming sounds from the fog became more frequent. Su Ming suddenly stopped moving forward, and the moment he stopped, the other eight people behind him also stopped.
In the crowd in the distance was a male Shaman wearing a white mask. He was dressed in black and was looking towards them coldly. There was a cross shaped crack on his mask...
This person was different from the other Shamans. He was one of the Berserker Hunters moving alone, and only those with incredibly strong willpower would dare to do so.
Almost the instant he looked towards Su Ming's team, which had caught the attention of the Shamans around them, a fighting spirit lit up in Su Ming's eyes.
"Yan Bo, change your location. Zi Che, work with him. The two of you, lead the team and wait here for a while." As Su Ming spoke, he rushed forward, took a leap into the sky, and charged towards the Berserker Hunter who was fighting alone.
"Berserker Hunter! He's wearing a mask! That's a Berserker Hunter!" Yan Bo's pupils shrank when he looked in the direction Su Ming had went to and saw the masked Shaman.
"If he wins against that person and takes his mask, Zi Che, your uncle master will become a Hunter…" Yan Bo's breathing quickened and anticipation rose in his eyes.