Nero held the axe shaft with one hand and held the sword with the other. He looked at the cracks that appeared on the ground where he stood and sighed Inwardly.
"My strength indeed has greatly reduced."
Saying this, Nero increased his grip on the sword. The sword was already stabbed into the brawny man's right chest. Nero gripped the sword and slashed upwards to his shoulder, cutting apart the scapula and clavicle.
Blood sprayed out like a fountain. The brawny man grimaced from the pain, but couldn't do anything about it. He lost all feeling to the axe in his hand and let go. Nero took hold of the axe and kicked the brawny man in his chest, sending him flying backward till he crashed into a wall.
At this point, they were reduced to five. They were stunned to the point that they couldn't move. Beads of sweat turned into streams that trickled down their body. Bolivar and the brawny man were stronger than the rest of them and they were defeated instantly with no form of resistance whatsoever. And now… it was their turn!
Nero shifted his gaze to the remaining five. His face remained indifferent but his eyes were filled with contempt; it was like he disdained their very existence.
"Who's next?" He asked, his voice echoed throughout the cave.
Who's next?
Who's next?
Who could possibly be next?
The remaining five martial artists had a bad premonition of what was about to happen next, so they slowly took steps backward; they turned tails to run. Without wasting a second more, they circulated their Qi to the maximum and charged towards the passageway.
"You want to run? Don't dream of it." Nero's icy cold voice surged forth with violent killing intent.
A violent Qi erupted from Nero! Using him as the epicenter, it surged outward like a tsunami that could sweep away everything in sight. An unknown pressure suddenly fell on the five martial artists restricting them to a place.
Ahhhhh!
Gut-wrenching cries rang out as the pressure forced them down to their knees. Blood dripped from the seven orifices of their face, while some had their bones jutting out from their skin. In the midst of all this, Nero remained indifferent as he took slow steps towards the group of five. The five martial artists were shaken up from their grief when they heard Nero's slow steps.
Following the sound of his footsteps were the howling of a sword and the 'clang' of metal, as he dragged the axe closely behind him. With a sword firmly gripped in one hand, a big axe on the other, and a pair of green eyes that glistened in this semi-lit cave, Nero looked like a death god sent to harvest souls and wreak havoc.
"You! …what do you want to do!?" A female martial artist among the five angrily shouted.
"Me? …I'm only doing what you could have done to me." Nero replied indifferently.
At the fall of his voice, Nero's figure blurred and disappeared.
Shwine…
Following Nero's disappearance, the sound of a sword cutting against something was next. With a 'peng' sound, the head of the female martial artist rolled to the floor. Nero stood behind her corpse as blood recklessly sprayed from her headless body in all directions. Some of the blood splattered on Nero's face, but he casually wiped it off and moved unto the next martial artist.
A couple of seconds later, four martial artists were headless. The only one remaining was the one who had taken Nero's five petal blazing flower; this one Nero saved for last.
"You're so good at running away, why don't you do it now?" Nero mocked.
He then suddenly asked coldly, "Where is my flower?" His voice filled with raging killing intent.
"The master has it! Please don't kill me!" The martial artist replied fearfully. His body quivered as streams of sweat trickled down his body.
"Where is he?"
"At… the center of the mountain." The martial artist stammered.
"I see… so he's the one I've been sensing all this while."
Ever since Nero unleashed his aura the first time, Saburo did the same. It was a way of letting the intruder know that a strong expert resides here. This was all done to stop Nero from advancing any further. However, Nero didn't intend to stop… at least till he gets his flower back.
If that martial artist was still with his flower, then Nero would not think of advancing any further; besides, this was enemy territory. Now that Nero heard from this man that the one who had the most outstanding aura in this mountain cave was the master and also the one with his flower, he burned with fighting spirit.
Based on the power hidden behind that aura, Nero could discern that this 'Master' was no small deal. He was surprisingly looking forward to testing his strength on this person. Ever since Nero arrived in this world, this aura can be considered the strongest he felt, man and beast alike.
"Your friends have left you all alone, but don't worry, I'll send you to them very shortly."
With a cold grin, Nero took a step forward and disappeared. This scene left the martial artist lost for words. Without having the time to panic, the martial artist felt a slight pain in his throat, followed by the cold feeling of metal. A sword pierced his throat sticking out through the other side!
Blood poured from his mouth as he fell to his knees… dead. Nero had long appeared behind the martial artist taking casual and carefree steps towards the strong aura he felt; it was like he wasn't in any danger or at least at the risk of getting injured.
One had to know that even Nero wasn't sure of the outcome if he was to confront this expert. If he wasn't able to win, running away wouldn't be difficult. Running could only be considered an option if and only if the worst-case scenario happens; if he was forced back to the point where he couldn't do anything.
After many twists and turns, Nero arrived at a passageway, and as usual, it was dark. But the walls were somewhat different. Here, the stone walls were black and the feel of it was much harder than that of a normal stone and a cold Qi emanated from them. Nero gently caressed the stone wall as he slowly made his way through this dark passageway.