Chapter 90: The Crimson King Mercenary Corps — Annihilated!

A man from the Hall of Rebirth, Marley, has come to greet the Blood King.

With a faint curve at the corner of his mouth, Marley spoke in a calm voice. A massive black ruler rested across his shoulder, his body exuding a faint but terrifying pressure.

High above, the Blood King gripped his great blade, killing intent surging around him as he looked down with grim eyes.

A bad visitor, he thought.

Then he froze at Marley's words.

My men have all been killed, my house reduced to ruin, and this is what you call a friendly visit?

Looking down at the shattered dwelling and the corpses below, rage exploded in his chest.

"You killed my people and destroyed my home! Do you really think the name of the Blood King is something to be mocked?"

Everyone who knew them knew the Third Captain, Blood War, but the Blood King did not know Marley or Marley’s companion at all. He had no idea who the man before him was, and Marley’s intent to kill him came from another, unforgivable reason.

"Whether you came to visit me or not, you die here!"

"High Mystic Rank Technique: Raging Gale Severance!"

With a furious roar, the Blood King drove his battle art to its peak, gripping his great blade with both hands and unleashing a full-force strike through the air at Marley.

In an instant, two razor-sharp blades of wind formed in the air, crossing into a giant X as they shot toward Marley.

The sky was the best battlefield for the strong, free of many concerns; on the ground, however, a single misstep could mean death.

Marley watched the crossing wind-blades bearing down on him and remained motionless, making no move to evade. He suppressed his cultivation to the level of a five-star Battle King. The Blood King was also a five-star Battle King; if Marley used his full strength, the Blood King would die without even surviving a single exchange, and that would be far too dull.

Marley wanted him to die in agony.

Facing the incoming attack, Marley held the Flame Wheel Wave Ruler and said contemptuously, "A trifling trick. Break."

He flicked the ruler forward with a casual motion, but with the weight of the weapon behind it, that seemingly light stroke was anything but insignificant.

As the Flame Wheel Wave Ruler swept out, a fierce blade light split the air, its edges sharp enough to sting.

With a thunderous crash, it surged straight toward the cross-shaped attack. The two blade forces collided violently, unleashing a deafening roar as a tremendous shockwave erupted, blasting or shattering everything below.

Realizing the danger, the Blood King hurriedly raised his defenses to withstand the oncoming force, but the shockwave far exceeded what his body could bear. He was hurled a hundred meters away.

As he flew, he saw that figure still standing steadily in place, his robes merely fluttering in the wind. Everything else remained unchanged.

"How is that possible?"

The Blood King stared in disbelief, muttering to himself. Even he had been blasted a hundred meters back—how could the other man remain unmoved? Even if he had been thrown back a few meters, that would still make sense. But to stand there without shifting at all?

Marley hovered in place, looked ahead, and with a slight curl of his lips vanished from where he was.

The Blood King drove his great blade into the thick rock surface, forcibly stopping himself. Cracks several meters long split across the stone beneath him.

"Hah..."

Using the blade for support, he rose halfway to his knees and looked up toward Marley. The sight before him jolted his heart, for the figure was gone.

"Looking for me? I'm here."

A formless black shadow flashed into existence before the Blood King, taunting him.

Startled, the Blood King hurried to pull the great blade free from the stone, but it was sunk too deep. He only managed to lift it halfway before snarling, then turned back toward Marley.

"Too slow."

Bang!

Marley stepped in and drove a fist forward. It was not an especially powerful punch, but to the one who took it, it was anything but ordinary. The strike landed squarely on the Blood King’s chin.

"Ahhh!"

The Blood King coughed up blood and was sent flying once more. Marley flashed and appeared above him again.

Reincarnation Seal!

Marley spoke as void power gathered in his palm. "Feel the terror of being controlled yourself."

A shadow of memory seemed to pass through Marley’s eyes, and his voice suddenly turned cold.

"No, no!"

The Blood King instinctively raised his arms to defend himself, but this palm was not something he could withstand.

Boom! Boom!

Boom, boom, boom!

A scream echoed farther and farther into the sky.

"Ha!"

The Reincarnation Seal drove the hard rock into a deep, palm-shaped cavity, transforming the stone into an indoor valley. On the other side, the Blood King, grievously wounded, kept spewing blood, his body covered in mangled injuries.

Marley’s hand pressed down on the Blood King’s chest as the two fell together.

"I remember offending no one, so why... why are you killing me?" the Blood King asked weakly from the ground, his expression twisted with pain.

"Ah... hahaha!"

Rather than anger, Marley burst into loud laughter. Inside the broad, enclosed valley, his laughter echoed again and again.

"Innocent? Hah! Hahahaha!"

He laughed, then asked, "You don't remember, do you? I am Marley, a son of the Marley Village! Our fine village was ruined because of you, you bastard. Three years ago you led your mercenary band to seize our home and slaughter so many people. And now you have the gall to say you are innocent? If you are innocent, then tell me—what crime did the dead villagers of Marley Village commit?!"

Marley seized the Blood King by the collar and roared in fury, then drove another palm strike into his chest.

"Ahhh!"

The Blood King spat out another mouthful of blood, his face a mask of agony, his eyes already clouding over.

"But I should thank you. If not for you, I would not be what I am today. I came back to kill you. No—I'm here to wipe out your entire Blood King Mercenary Group. And before I came, your Third Captain, Blood War, was merely the first example. His head is here!"

With a sudden grin, Marley spoke to the Blood King and took from his spatial ring a black-cloth-wrapped bundle, holding it up in his hand.

At the sight of the bundle, the Blood King’s pupils contracted. The shape could only be one thing.

Marley pulled away the black cloth, revealing Blood War’s severed head. His eyes were still wide open, his mouth agape, dying with utter unwillingness.

"War... brother!"

The Blood King looked upon his own younger brother’s head and murmured the words under his breath.

"How is it? What does it feel like to watch your loved ones die? To see the killer of your loved ones standing right before you, yet be unable to kill him—how does that feel? Right now, this is the very feeling I had three years ago."

Marley’s eyes reddened slightly as he thought of those who had grown up with him, all dead now, leaving only Marley. Those innocent people had died simply because of this bastard’s arrival.

With his left hand gathering power, Marley tossed Blood War’s head upward with his right and said in a cold voice, "There is even more pain to come."

Seeing his movement, the Blood King immediately shouted, "No!"

Bang!

Marley brought his palm down. Blood War’s head burst like a firework, flesh and blood scattering across the ground.

"No! Noooo!"

At last the Blood King could not restrain himself. Tears streamed from his eyes as he stretched out a hand, trying to catch Blood War’s head.

Bang!

"Ahhh!"

Marley struck again, and the Blood King was sent flying several meters before crashing into rock and coming to a stop.

The Blood King collapsed to the ground, struggling in agony. "Kill me... please, kill me! I beg you, kill me!"

Better to die than endure such torment.

"No, no. You can't die yet. They should be here soon... why are they so slow?"

Marley spoke to the Blood King, then looked up toward the sky.

In that very moment, a blurred figure arrived at great speed. It was Marley’s companion, carrying another head in his hand—the head of Cloud, the second captain of the Blood King Mercenary Group. His eyes were also wide open, his mouth agape, dead with lingering resentment.

"Marley!"

The woman called out and threw Cloud’s head to Marley.

Marley caught it one-handed.

"Do you know this man well?" he asked the Blood King.

"Second... second brother!"

Already in unbearable pain, the Blood King saw his second younger brother dead as well, his head now in the enemy’s hand. Another surge of blood burst from his mouth.

"I owe everything I have today to you all. To express my thanks, I will let you witness one more beautiful and moving... firework."

As he spoke, Marley paused, then flung the head upward and followed with a casual punch.

"No, no—"

The Blood King was already exhausted and could not even shout properly. He could only shake his head desperately, reaching out as if to seize it, but he could not.

Bang!

Another splendid crimson firework bloomed.

"All right, it's your turn. I’ll send your whole family to join each other."

Gripping the Flame Wheel Wave Ruler, Marley roared, "Flame-Wave Severance!"

Massive red, black, and fiery energies gathered within the ruler as he swept it through the air toward the Blood King’s head.

"See you."

The Blood King closed his eyes and waited for the end.

Thud!

The third firework bloomed.

The Blood King Mercenary Group—destroyed.