Dakon lay face-down on the forest floor, his breathing steady and completely still, but keeping his eyes on the forest
Around him, Old Yun, Elder Tai, Elder Tao, Long Zhelan, and the members of the Shu Clan groaned helplessly, their bodies locked by paralysis. No matter how fiercely they circulated their spiritual energy, the poison remained unyielding
' This poison… ' Dakon thought calmly ' Is strong enough to restrain Half-Step Spiritual Lords '
Then four presences emerged from the forest shadows
They moved without urgency, their steps slow and steady. All four wore identical black robes and masks, hoods pulled low. They were the ones who had been tracking them before
" It's done " The leading figure said coldly " Call them back "
*WHISTLE* One of them whistles, and from above, six gray crows descended in silence, landing on their shoulders. Their blue eyes glowed faintly, and a nearly imperceptible white aura shimmered around their bodies
Old Yun's eyes widened despite his paralysis ' Meridian-Severing Crows… six of them?! '
Elder Tai felt a chill run through his core ' It's for them that we are in this state… '
Dakon frowned faintly ' Those are very rare and toxic beasts… yet they managed to tame six of them. Who are these guys? '
Despite the powerful poison of the Meridian-Severing Crows, Dakon wasn't affected in the slightest thanks to his experience with stronger poisons on the island ' Their venom won't work on me. But the others… ' Dakon's gaze sharpened ' Then there's no choice, I have to deal with them myself '
The four black-clothed men got closer " Number One " One of them said " There are new faces. We should eliminate them as well "
" Do it quickly " Number One replied " Numbers Two, Three, and Four deal with the Elders fast; they will recover first; we will return immediately after. The young master's trophy cannot be delayed "
At that moment, Dakon's muscles tensed. Number Three drew a long black sword and stepped toward him. Seeing this, Long Zhelan screamed internally ' They're here because of me, I have to stop them…! '
Elder Tao gritted his teeth, veins bulging as he forced spiritual energy through his meridians ' Damn...! cleanse…! move…! '
Number One stopped before Long Zhelan and tilted his head " I've always wondered what you looked like beneath that veil "
Then with a swift motion, he pulled it away, and her face was revealed, pale, flawless, unreal. Her golden eyes bore vertical slits, radiant and inhumanly beautiful. Even Number One gasped " Now I understand… no wonder the young master is so obsessed with you "
Long Zhelan glared at him with murderous intent flashing through her eyes, but before Number One could move to do anything else to her
" ARGH!! " He heard a scream, so he turned sharply at the source and saw that Number Three was impaled
A blue sword pierced cleanly through his abdomen, erupting from his back. His right arm lay severed on the ground, blood spraying violently
Dakon stood in front of him, grabbing one of his two blue swords in his right hand
The black-robed men froze. and thought the same thing ' He moved through the poison?! ' Dakon twisted the blade and ripped it free, and Number Three collapsed, lifeless
In the same instant, Dakon raised his left hand pinting his index finger at one of them, and *ZOOM* A thin yellow light flashed, and *BANG* Number Two dropped face-first into the dirt, a marble-sized hole drilled cleanly through the back of his skull
" What the—?! " Number One roared, and the two young men from the Shu Clan stared in horror ' What was that…?! ' ' It was just a flash of light, and he died… '
Dakon points his index finger at another robed man and " NUMBER FOUR, DODGE! " Number One shouted and *ZOOM* Number Four barely twisted aside, avoiding the lethal shot, but *PIERCE* " AGH! " Dakon's Death Beam pierced his left shoulder
Number One didn't hesitate after that. He took a pair of black daggers from his spatial ring and threw them forward while Number Four and the ground whistled sharply, making the Making Meridian-Severing Crows in the sky launch forward toward Dakon
Dakon's eyes narrowed, and he kicked Number Three's corpse forward, and *PIERCE* *PIERCE* Daggers buried themselves into dead flesh, then he pointed his left index finger at the incoming crows and *ZOOM* *ZOOM*In a few seconds, all of them exploded in the sky before they got closer
' What Kind of technique is that...? It looks so simple, yet it's undeniably strong... ' Old Yun thought with amazement, his worry for Dakon's situation had eased slightly after seeing him
' I kinda grasp this technique already ' Dakon thought as Number One yelled " Bastard! " Then he lunges forward, taking another pair of black daggers from his spatial ring, and his body begins to emit a green, weird aura that causes the grass on his path to melt
" The... Nether... Devouring Aura " Said elder Tao with difficulty as he grits his teeth, trying to accelerate the cleansing process in his body
" Hold... on... " Long Zhelan whispered as she pressed a small jewel on a ring on her right hand *CRACK* the jewel breaks and explodes, releasing a thin, almost unperceptible aura that dissipates in seconds, then her eyes land on Dakon, and she thinks ' Just hold on a bit... '
Dakon clashed with his sword against the Number 1 daggers. The man's presence was oppressive, not because of raw power alone, but because of the aura he carried, thick, malignant, and rotten
The misty aura expanded outward in a silent wave, and Dakon felt it immediately
His breathing grew heavy. His limbs stiffened as if invisible needles were piercing his muscles. A burning numbness crawled up his arms and into his chest. His vision blurred for a fraction of a second as he felt his eyes burn, making him close them tightly
' This poison... is stronger ' Dakon thought with gritted teeth, then " Venom-Severing Palm! " and *PAM* The strike landed squarely against Dakon's chest. Poisonous ki exploded outward, sending Dakon skidding backward, boots carving trenches into the soil. He coughed, dark blood splattering the ground, and his skin began to turn black in some parts of his body
At the edge of the clearing, Old Yun's eyes widened ' He's being pushed back… that poison is no joke '
Elder Tai's expression darkened. ' That aura… It's a perfected poison art. Even a Half-Step Spiritual Lord would struggle... Quick, quick! ' he keep clensing his body, and finally he could move his hands
Number Four appeared behind Dakon in a blur, with a dagger coated in viscous black poison stabbing his back, while Number One lunged from the front, his entire arm transformed into a swirling mass of venomous aura
For a moment, everyone thought it was over as they saw Number 1 palm approach Dakon's face, but then *PAM* Dakon catches his wrist midway and headbutts Number 1 in the face
As he stumbles back, Dakon kicks number 4 behind him in the stomach, sending him flying a few meters back. He then removed the dagger from his back and tossed it to the side, and as everyone shared the same looks of disbelief when Dakon's body began to go back to normal, the black marks banished, and his red eyes returned to normal
" What—?! " Number One yelled with disbelief as Dakon turned around with a blue ki sphere in his left hand *ZOOM* *BOOM* He shoots his Spirit Cannon at Number 4, who couldn't even react to see the incoming attack that obliterated him
Dakon turns to see Number One with a serious expression " The poison's impressive, but it is useless now "
Then *SWOOSH* Dakon rushes against Number One, who raised his guard in panic and *PUM* Dakon kicks his guard, pushing away as he thinks in anger ' Impossible! How is someone at his level immune to the Nether Devouring Aura! '
Then he stretched his right arm to the said and roared as a poisonous aura surged violently " Ten Thousand Poisons Lance! " All of his poisonous aura converged into a single massive spear of condensed toxin that he launched straight at Dakon
Dakon raised one hand retreats his arms as a purple aura covered his body, then pushed his palms forward *BOOOOM* " HA—! " Dakon's Galick Gun exploded forward, swallowing the lance and then Number One entirely. The forest trembled as trees disintegrated into dust, the ground collapsing into a molten trench
When the light faded, only a charred silhouette remained before crumbling into ash
Moments later, Dakon exhaled slowly, his aura receding
He turned away without another glance, already moving toward the paralyzed group. The battle was over, and neither of them couldn't believe what they saw. Not only did Dakon surpass multiple opponents of his level, but he was immune to a poison that could give serious trouble to Elder Tao and Elder Tai, even though they, who had fought against that technique, needed to take serious caution against it
Dakon stores his sword on his spatial ring ' I need to practice sword arts again, I'm still not comfortable using them ' After that, Dakon takes a Senzu Bean from his inventory and eats it, making his injuries disappear
Dakon looks at the still paralyzed group, most of them had rolled away thanks to his last attack, so they were spread out ' I should probably move them in case more of them come '