Zoran fled away as fast as he could. But even with the Miasma fins and his proficient swimming techniques, his speed was still lower than the acceleration of march by the Miasma Panthers. At this rate, he would soon be caught by the army.
Marching was not the right term for their movements as the soldiers used their immense Miasma body to explode with speed faster than a horse. They were hell-bent on catching the unknown invader.
He had no other choice. Zoran hadn't practiced this technique yet, but this was no time to hesitate.
Zoran's legs glowed a bright white light, reminiscent of the technique Zoran used to exterminate most Miasma Beasts with just one punch.
The Tyrannical Miasma Strike gave Zoran a dangerously strong attack that damaged even his own body. If he didn't have the Miasma and the mythical pure Yi energy revolving in his core, even his body would collapse from the tremendous amount of energy condensed at his fist.
What would happen if he applied it to his legs?
Most techniques prevented this kind of transference mainly because there were a lot of complications that could unexpectedly emerge.
This was especially true in the case of complicated Yi circles or magic circuits. But even Physique type techniques were no exception to this.
This was because a technique used for the hand cannot be applied to different parts of the body simply because of their difference in body structure.
One cannot simply use their hands to feed themselves or use their feet to breathe.
That was the rule cultivators followed because that was what the creator of the technique intended.
But the Tyrannical Miasma Strike was an artskill Zoran invented. He could do whatever he wanted simply because he deemed it possible. Of course, this was only made true because of Zoran's immense knowledge of cultivation and the human body. He improvised where and when to supply Yi energy applicable to the legs.
Zoran's feet glowed with a bright white light as he bent his knees. His muscles, hamstrings and calves, bulged with tension as he filled his soles with explosive energy.
The first company of 100 Miasma Beasts came running to Zoran at full speed. They opened their jaws as they were mere moments away from catching this intruder.
But Zoran simply looked back at them and released all the energy in his legs.
An explosion of black and white hit the first line of Miasma Panthers directly in their chests, disintegrating a few of them completely and sending everything back like a furious storm.
Zoran bursted away from the scene at dizzyingly fast speeds. He looked like a jet propulsion engine coming out of orbit. But instead of hot flames, Miasma came bursting out of his soles with the same intensity.
This speed was enough for him to disappear into the midst of Miasma despite the whole army of Miasma Beasts just mere inches away from him.
Zoran didn't look back and kept his speed up for at least a few hours.
Although this technique required a great deal of energy, the Miasma around him kept it sustained for the whole journey. After all, his main propulsion was the Miasma.
Once he was sure he was safe, Zoran meditated and consumed the four other cultivation beads to recover his strength.
He meditated in place and thought of his next strategy.
There was one thing he found out about the den of Miasma Beasts: they had an enormous amount of workforce that could be deployed at a moment's notice.
He thought he could infiltrate their lair, but that would be suicide. If thousands of thousands of soldiers were deployed without a single hesitation, then how many more could there be inside?
He even underestimated their network of information gathering. The moment he killed those five soldiers, the army was immediately dispatched without delay.
This either meant that there was an observation unit somewhere inside the structure with instantaneous connection with their troops,
Or there could be an entity inside with territorial observation who sensed his existence and decided he was a threat.
He didn't know which one would be worse.
But either way, it was a good thing that Zoran lured the army out of their hideout.
Zoran carefully navigated his way back to the direction of the nest, making sure that there were no traces of his movement on the Miasma fluid around him.
His whole body seemingly blended into the darkness of the Miasma with ease. Nothing could see him. Even the mythical pure Yi energy radiating from his body was suppressed and blocked by the Miasma.
However he had to travel very slowly. It took him five days just to see the mega-structure of their den.
Even after all this time, the army was still stationed around the sphere, like rings on a planet. They stood still and prevented anyone from coming in and out.
His presence seemed to have invoked martial law amongst the Miasma Beasts.
But there were still some troops and companies who journeyed beyond the safety of their nest to try and find Zoran. They searched high and wide for the fear-stricken prey that ran away from them.
They marched with pride, even hissing and growling at other troops from other companies, as if they didn't want them to steal their prized game.
If other companies marched too close, a fight would break out between them. It was a spectacle to behold with 200 beasts pouncing amongst each other with a rabid craze.
Zoran didn't know how they distinguished friend from foe, but upon further investigation, there was no friend or foe, just winners and losers.
In the all-out war between companies there was no semblance of camaraderie. Anyone could fight anyone.
Even if they were from the same company, if they so much as bump against each other, then they would fight.
And after everything was over, the winners wore their new scars in a new company made out of those who achieved victory like themselves.
The losers retreated amongst themselves and licked their wounds while the winners advanced in search for more glory.
These new companies made out of winners were more prideful after their victory. They separated themselves from the pack and journeyed by themselves, not letting anyone near them.
This made it easier for Zoran. He followed the isolated company and waited for them to completely disappear from the sight of other Miasma Beasts.
Their confidence had no bounds, especially after their victory. They had a troop of about a hundred comrades whose strength was already tested from battle. How could they lose?
But they didn't know that Zoran was marching right behind them with the darkness of Miasma shrouding his existence.
The troops at the front of the line marched with excitement, but then, they saw a bright white light flash behind them. This was the first time they saw their shadows.
Then it was followed by a sharp squeal only creatures at the doorstep of death could shout.
When they looked back, they saw two of their comrades burst into liquid Miasma as if their proud defenses were all for naught.
But by the time they could react, the culprit of this assassination had already disappeared into the darkness of Miasma as if he had never existed.
This was only the start of Zoran's hunt for more Miasma cultivation beads.