Amaya was about to say something when her words suddenly caught in her throat. Almost instantly after Nero's last sentence, the bushes in front of them started to rustle and six average-looking men walked out with a sinister smile on their face; they were undoubtedly martial artists. Of these martial artists, four of them were at the Qi essence gathering Realm while the other two were at the Foundation Establishment Realm; precisely the first stage.
These martial artists were shabbily dressed and each of them had a weapon in their hands. From the way these people moved and hid, Nero could estimate that they knew their way around the forest. And since they all had a sinister smile on their faces, it could only mean that they were….
"Bandits…" Nero thought in his heart.
"We have been moving for weeks without any rest. Only eating dry rations, bland meat, and drinking water. We haven't even seen the outside world for a long time much less been with a woman. Now, the heavens have blessed us with a beautiful lady such as yourself! Come, my pretty lady, submit yourself to us and we won't kill you, you'll only help us ease our tension."
Saying this was a plump martial artist at the Qi essence gathering Realm. He had layers of fat on his chin and sweat dripping down from them. Every time he moved, the fat seemed to sway in the same direction causing the sweat to splatter around him… nauseating. The other martial artists joined in the plump martial artists' jeer, laughing sinisterly and licking their lips like they wanted to swallow Amaya whole.
In truth, Amaya was a beautiful lady with flowing long hair and sparkly brown eyes. Her figure took the shape of an hourglass with proportional features and a height slightly above that of an average woman her age. She can only be called a beauty that can bring the fall of kingdoms. Although she wasn't looking her best at the moment, the outlines of these qualities were still visible.
Amaya on her end grit her teeth in anger, her palm folded into knuckles and her eyes blazed with deep fury.
"What is it? Do you want to fight us? I know you're at the Divine Sea Realm but your foundation is unstable and you seem to be injured. If you dare to go against us then you can only have yourself to blame. Just be a good girl and follow us." The plump martial artist spoke disdainfully. He knew that even though Amaya's cultivation was unstable, it was still more than enough to deal with him, hence the plan to join hands and subdue her.
Amaya grit her teeth even more, that someone close by could hear the sound. Since when has a dignified Princess like her been made fun of like this?
Every one of those martial artists had a lascivious look on their faces except the two Foundation Establishment Realm martial artists. They only stood at their positions with their hands holding unto their weapons.
"Master, give the order and we shall carry it out. We'll kill the bastard and take the lady. You can have her first, but if you eat the meat please leave the soup for us." The plump martial artist spoke courteously with a lustful smile.
The 'Master' being referred to was a young man about two heads shorter than Nero. An average male was about 6 -7 feet tall, but Nero was a figure a few inches more than 8 feet tall!
The young man called Master didn't reply immediately, instead, his eyes were surprisingly fixed on Amaya's chest.
Feeling the young man's cold gaze on her chest, Amaya unconsciously took a few steps back. Although he was only at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm, she could still tell that he wasn't one of the weak ones. The other Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm martial artist was a middle-aged man about the same height as the Master. Seeing Amaya draw back in fear, these two Foundation Establishment Realm martial artists finally revealed a lascivious grin as they licked their lips like lions who are about to eat their prey.
The Master coldly smiled and said, "You lot kill the bastard, while we take care of the lady."
Hearing the cold words of this martial artist, Amaya's heart started to pound rapidly. She drew back a few more steps before she remembered something important she had forgotten… she had Nero!
Their first meeting was when Nero came to destroy the Black Dragon squad of which he succeeded. After that, the two made a mutual deal that Nero would lead her safely back home and in return, he would be greatly rewarded.
All this while, Nero hadn't made any move yet, all he did was stand and stare with his hands behind his back. Looking at the towering figure beside her, Amaya stopped moving back, her face revealing a relieved smile.
Seeing her smile, the martial artists were somewhat confused. They all shifted they gaze to Nero. But before they could, an enormous pressure came crashing down on them.
Boom!
The ground cracked apart as every one of those martial artists was forced to lay face flat on the ground. They all spat mouthfuls of blood and the weaker ones had gruesome wounds. Their bones cracked apart and jutted out through their skin. Two of the Qi essence gathering Realm martial artists died immediately while the rest were left in a pitiful state.
"It's funny how people arrogantly walk into their deaths. Do you think everyone is like those weaklings you've met before? You might have plundered other people, but today you made a mistake, a mistake you won't live to regret." Nero's icy cold voice echoed out.
From the time those martial artists appeared till now, he had restrained his aura making it look like he was weak.
Everyone had their eyes widened. How could they have miscalculated? Nero had been the one to sense them when they were hiding, but in the long run, they got distracted by Amaya's looks and cultivation thinking she was the strongest of the pair. They had already considered Nero as meat on a chopping block. However, it seemed like that little mistake was going to cost them a lot more than they could imagine.