Chapter 55: The War King

Idiot! Don’t you know who stands before you? That man is the “King”!

“Ahh! Of course I know!” Zhang Wen turned his head and smiled brightly at Linoah.

“Hmph!” The King snorted furiously, suddenly slamming his arm downward, causing the massive blade in his hand to erupt once again with golden light.

Feeling the immense pressure coming from the arm, Zhang Wen gritted his teeth hard, fully activating the Spring Water Technique within his body. Where the sword and massive blade met, a sharp metallic screeching sound abruptly erupted. Then, the two surging streams of battle energy collided violently, unleashing a tremendous gust of wind.

Under the terrifying impact of the King’s battle energy, the ground beneath Zhang Wen’s feet shattered just as雷缪’s had before. Losing his footing, Zhang Wen quickly grabbed Linoah and the two slid backward several steps.

Seeing Zhang Wen endure his strike seemingly unharmed, the King couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in surprise. Based on his estimation of Zhang Wen’s strength, the opponent absolutely should not have been able to withstand this move!

“Boy, what’s your name!” The King swung his massive blade and demanded of Zhang Wen.

“Before asking someone else’s name, shouldn’t you first introduce yourself?” Zhang Wen gently placed Linoah back on the ground and lightly countered with a smile.

“Haha! Hahahaha! Good question! For thirty years, you’re the first person daring to ask my name.” The King threw his head back in laughter, then suddenly raised his massive blade high, pointing it straight at the sky. “I am the King! The King has no name!”

“Oh? Since names are merely labels, does the King not need any unnecessary labels?” Zhang Wen raised the corner of his mouth, shrugging lightly. “What you said is quite interesting. Alright then! Since you’ve given your title, of course I must respond. I am Zhang Wen.”

“Zhang Wen? So it’s you. Mithril Hunter Andrei Stein.”

“Correct.”

“Hmph! I also know a little about your relationship with that kid Krasu.” The King smiled arrogantly and continued, “The martial arts you practice are quite interesting. Earlier, I thought I could take your life with one slash, but I didn’t expect to miss. Considering you withstood one of my strikes, I’ll give you a chance. Let go of the Soul Dancer, and you may leave!”

“Let her go? That seems impossible.” Zhang Wen smiled helplessly and shook his head at the King.

“Oh?” The King slightly furrowed his brow, raising his massive blade horizontally, once again unleashing a mountain-like pressure onto Zhang Wen. “The Soul Dancer should be your enemy, not your ally. I don’t understand why you would risk your life for her?”

“Hehe! What you said is indeed correct. She and I have always been rivals. Our feud remains unresolved to this day.” Feeling the piercing murderous intent emanating from the King, Zhang Wen slowly raised his sword with a smile. “However, although I wish she would die instantly, she’s also the woman I love! Therefore, even if she truly must die, it must be by my hands alone. If anyone else tries to harm her, even if it costs me my life, I cannot agree!”

“Haha! Excellent! Truly excellent! If one cannot even protect his own woman, what face does he have to call himself a man?” The King laughed heartily again, seemingly greatly approving of Zhang Wen. However, after a burst of laughter, the King’s tone suddenly shifted, and his voice changed dramatically.

“However, fools who dare offend me for a woman, I’ve killed countless of. I wonder how many strikes of mine you can withstand?” The King coldly stared at Zhang Wen, raising his massive blade vertically toward the sky once again.

Golden battle energy once again surrounded the King and his blade. In the blink of an eye, the King had risen to an altitude of dozens of meters. Then, accompanied by a massive golden arc like lightning, he roared straight toward Zhang Wen.

From their previous confrontation between the King and Lei Miu, Zhang Wen clearly understood that if he couldn’t muster the determination to fight for his life against the King, he probably wouldn’t even be able to withstand a single strike.

Therefore, as the King ascended into the air, Zhang Wen also fully activated the Spring Water Technique within his body. All the battle energy stored in his meridians and body was completely mobilized to the maximum.

In this all-out effort, Zhang Wen could clearly feel that his Spring Water battle energy had actually advanced even further than his peak condition when he first entered the Sandra Forest! The battle energy within his body surged like a rushing river, seemingly endless no matter how much he consumed!

Feeling the exhilaration of the surging battle energy within, Zhang Wen didn’t forget to raise his sword and suddenly exert force.

Snap! With a crisp sound, battle energy resembling blue lightning suddenly burst from Zhang Wen’s body.

This lightning-like battle energy wrapped around Zhang Wen’s body and the sword in his hand, causing him to slowly rise, then suddenly accelerate fearlessly upward to meet the King rising into the air!

The King accelerated faster and faster as he dove from the sky, while Zhang Wen rising from the ground also continuously increased his speed. Finally, the two seemed to transform into two dragons, crashing violently into each other!

Boom!

A deafening roar like mountains collapsing and earth shaking exploded in mid-air.

However, the struggle between the blue dragon and the golden dragon lasted only a moment. The golden light in the air completely overwhelmed the blue. In the instant their attacks connected, Zhang Wen immediately felt the real gap between himself and the King. The seemingly endless battle energy he had felt earlier was completely consumed in just a few seconds by the King’s violent battle energy! And after completely defeating Zhang Wen’s battle energy, the King’s energy continued to pour into Zhang Wen’s body like a tide.

Zhang Wen fell straight from the sky like a broken kite, covered in blood, landing beside Linoah. However, in the moment before landing, Zhang Wen gritted his teeth and quickly flipped over, desperately using his legs to brace against the ground.

Although Zhang Wen’s body had almost no strength left, he still concentrated all remaining battle energy into the sword in his hand.

In fact, when Zhang Wen first rushed into the sky to confront the King’s attack head-on, he hadn’t intended to block the attack with that single strike. His true purpose was precisely to reduce the King’s downward speed from the air through the first all-out block!

When the King’s momentum entered the range Zhang Wen had anticipated… Zhang Wen leapt forcefully again, rushing toward the descending King for the second time, his sword slashing out rapidly, clinging like a leech to the King’s massive blade!

Yin Jian Jue (Lead Sword Technique)!

Zhang Wen finally unleashed his ultimate secret technique. Although Zhang Wen’s battle energy was nearly depleted, this quintessence of five thousand years of Chinese civilization allowed his sword to unleash incredible power.

“Hmm?” The King, who had originally regarded Zhang Wen’s second迎击 as despicable, couldn’t help but let out a nasal sound filled with surprise and shock. At the very moment Zhang Wen’s sword made contact with his blade, for the first time in his life, the King realized that his weapon had lost control!

The King could clearly feel that Zhang Wen’s battle energy was nearly exhausted, with less than a fifth of his own strength. Yet, Zhang Wen’s force was precisely applied at the position most difficult for the King to control, forcing the King to swing his massive blade according to Zhang Wen’s will.

“Hmph!” This time, the King was truly angry. He coldly snorted, once again sending his entire body’s strength surging through the massive blade into Zhang Wen.

“Hehe!” Feeling certain he definitely couldn’t withstand this new onslaught from the King, Zhang Wen simply stopped resisting the energy rushing toward him. He laughed twice, pouring his last ounce of strength into redirecting the King’s massive blade aside once again.

Puh! Struck by the golden light, Zhang Wen immediately spat out a large mouthful of blood, crashing down from the sky again. This time, Zhang Wen no longer had the strength to flip and land steadily. He crashed heavily onto the ground, his sword flying from his hand.

The King also landed back on the ground almost simultaneously with Zhang Wen. Unlike Zhang Wen who fell, the King still stood firmly in place as before upon landing. However, the massive blade in the King’s hand did not cut down both Zhang Wen and Linoah as he had intended, but instead only carved a several-meter-deep crater more than ten meters away from the two.

Glancing at the crater he had created on the ground, the King quickly turned his gaze—filled with either anger or surprise—toward the blood-soaked Zhang Wen. Meanwhile, Lemuel, who had been standing not far away, watching the battle between the King and Zhang Wen with a cold expression, suddenly had his eyes gleam with madness and excitement.

“Boy, you’re very good! Many in this world have survived two of my strikes, but you’re the first who has made me miscalculate twice in succession!” The King tightly gripped his massive blade, speaking in a low voice as he strode toward Zhang Wen and Linoah.

“Heh! Then I’m truly honored.” At this point, Zhang Wen no longer had the strength to even stand up. He could only turn over, lying on his back as he replied.

“If you’re willing to leave, I can still give you this opportunity.”

“Is that so? Thank you very much! But it’s unnecessary.” After taking a few deep breaths with effort, Zhang Wen once again unsteadily stood up.

“Zhang Wen, you leave!” Linoah suddenly shouted with tears streaming down her face, pouring all her strength into the cry.

“Alright!” Zhang Wen smiled weakly as he turned his head back toward Linoah, waving his hand feebly. “I told you, this is a man’s pride and perseverance. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Very well! Since you’ve made your decision, I shall grant your wish.” The King spoke with a touch of regret, raising his massive blade slowly over his head for the third time as he faced Zhang Wen.

However, the King’s movement stopped halfway. Then, the King’s expression suddenly turned icy. He withdrew the blade halfway raised, slowly turning his body to face the direction originally behind him.

“Hmm… Although I’m very unwilling to fight the ‘King,’ there’s no help for it. Sigh! Who asked me to have orders to fulfill? It wouldn’t matter much if that smiling tiger died. But if I let two big fish from the Guild slip through my fingers, that nagging squad leader will surely nag me until my ears grow calluses when I return.”

As a slightly frivolous voice rang out, Murra, the captain of the Empire Eagle Guard’s Fourth Squad, dressed in standard battle gear with silver hair, stepped forward. He appeared before everyone with a smile on his face, helplessly shrugging his shoulders at the King.

“Is that so?” The King’s voice became increasingly low. He closed his eyes, but suddenly pointed his massive blade toward another direction to the right of the silver-haired man.

“Then, is your intention the same as his?”

“Unfortunately, it is indeed so. I can ignore others, but I owe Zhang Wen a favor. I cannot allow you to take his life at will.” A solemn and low male voice sounded, then appearing before everyone was none other than the pride of the Casares Arena—the legendary warrior Iron Mask.

“Very well! Very well! Very well!” After hearing Iron Mask’s firm declaration, the King was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, repeating “very well” three times. “For ten years I’ve been sitting in my throne in contemplation, and now no one in the world still holds me in awe.” The King said calmly, suddenly opening his eyes.

At the moment the King opened his eyes, a pressure like a mountain, overwhelming and vast, surged toward Murra and Iron Mask. Moreover, this was absolutely not the kind of psychological pressure Zhang Wen had felt earlier—it was real, pure pressure created by battle energy! Murra and Iron Mask instinctively bent their bodies slightly, fixing their gaze on the King’s figure like they were facing a great enemy. Then they discovered, to their shock, that at some unknown moment, the King’s eyes had turned into brilliant golden pupils.

“I am the King! Those who defy me—die!”

As the final word “die,” filled with iron-blooded ruthlessness, left the King’s mouth, his body was already completely enveloped in golden battle energy. Moreover, a massive whirlwind was born from the battle energy swirling around the King’s body, rising straight into the sky.

In the next instant, the King had already transformed into a heavenly dragon riding wind and lightning, roaring furiously without fear, charging toward the two daredevils challenging his dignity—the two high-level experts.

Facing the King’s violent assault, both Murra and Iron Mask dared not be careless. The two also raised their battle energy to the maximum as the King launched his attack. Red and green battle energy separately covered Murra and Iron Mask’s bodies, and with a roar, they transformed into two meteors, rushing toward the flying heavenly dragon together.

Crack! At the moment Murra and Iron Mask’s swords struck the King’s massive blade, the two immediately felt an immense, irresistible force surge through their weapons.

“How could there be such terrifying strength in this world?” Murra and Iron Mask, two mighty high-level experts, couldn’t help but feel astonished disbelief in their hearts when facing the King.

However, the King’s overwhelming strength only further ignited Murra’s and Iron Mask’s fighting spirit. Almost simultaneously, the two poured all their strength into resisting the King. The wind raged furiously across the space within several thousand meters around them. For a time, the three forces reached a temporary balance.

Yet, Murra and Iron Mask’s efforts only allowed them to hold out for a moment longer! As Murra and Iron Mask poured all their strength into resisting wave after wave of the King’s surging battle energy, a faint, arrogant冷笑 surfaced on the King’s face.

“Hmph!” The King suddenly snorted again, abruptly retracting his massive blade.

With the balance broken by the King himself, Murra and Iron Mask’s battle energy immediately became uncontrollable, rushing toward the King. Facing the two blades wrapped in terrifying battle energy, the King, however, remained fearless. After retracting the blade, he immediately turned his body sideways, then swung the massive blade in a half-circle around his body before striking out fiercely.

Clang!

The King’s massive blade struck Iron Mask’s weapon without any flourish. Without Murra’s assistance, Iron Mask was utterly unable to withstand the King’s battle energy, which was terrifying to the extreme.

With just one strike, Iron Mask spat out a large mouthful of blood and fell back to the ground like a cannonball. This was a direct confrontation, and with one strike, the outcome was decided.

As the King sent Iron Mask flying, Murra’s attack was almost at the King’s chest. The King’s massive blade had already been swung outward in the attack on Iron Mask, clearly unable to be retracted in time to block Murra’s strike.

However, just as Murra’s sword was about to pierce the King’s body, the King suddenly smiled coldly. From the King’s right hand gripping the massive blade, another golden arc appeared. With the arc’s appearance, the hilt of the King’s blade suddenly extended several inches! With a slight inward twist of his wrist, the extended hilt precisely blocked between Murra’s sword blade and the King’s body!

Boom! A dull sound of battle energy colliding erupted. The powerful counterforce generated at the point where the blade met the hilt sent Murra hurtling backward several meters, unable to halt his own momentum. The violent airflow also kicked up the mud and sand already弥漫ing the surroundings, completely obscuring Murra’s vision.

“Tsk!” Knowing his attack hadn’t done much damage to the King, Murra spat bitterly, preparing to rush forward again to launch another round of attacks while the King was still unsteady. However, just as Murra’s thought arose and his body hadn’t even begun to move, he widened his eyes in disbelief. He saw a dazzling golden light instantly pierce through the dust in front of him, relentlessly slashing toward his body!

“How is this possible?” In the emergency, Murra could only summon all his battle energy to desperately meet the blinding golden light.

Boom! Blades clashed. Just like Iron Mask, Murra was also sent crashing from the sky, spitting blood and landing heavily on the ground after being struck by the King’s massive blade.

The next moment, the King also landed from the sky, his tall figure standing like a towering pillar.

“Heh… Smiling tiger, this time we’re in real trouble. I knew the King was strong, but I never expected him to be such a monstrous freak!” Murra managed to stand up with a bitter smile, blood at the corner of his mouth, speaking to Lei Miu who was not far away.

But Lei Miu acted as if he hadn’t heard, not even glancing at Murra. From the moment the King fought Murra and Iron Mask, Lei Miu’s gaze had never left the King’s face. If someone could put their ear close to Lei Miu, they could hear him murmuring in an extremely soft voice.

“What a pity… Such a pity…” Lei Miu’s eyes gleamed with an almost fanatical light, his mouth unconsciously curling upward, slightly twitching with excitement.

On the other side, Iron Mask also slowly stood up, expressionless, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Zhang Wen, who was barely managing to stand in front of Linoah.

“Fools who overestimate themselves! Your lives, I shall take.” The King’s gaze arrogantly swept over the four finally standing in the crater, suddenly swinging his massive blade, golden arcs once again wrapping around his body, soaring into the sky.

“Heh! Even if we wanted to run away now, we probably couldn’t. What an old man with monstrous strength. I wonder among us, who will be the first倒霉鬼to die?” Murra also muttered helplessly to himself, his gaze fixed on the King, gradually revealing a疯狂and excited light quite similar to Lei Miu’s.

Alright, let’s refine this translation while maintaining its essence and making it fluent in English:

“Heh! Even if we wanted to escape now, we probably couldn’t. What incredible strength that old man possesses. I wonder who among us will be the first unfortunate soul to die?” Murra muttered helplessly to himself, his eyes locked on the King, gradually revealing a wild and excited gleam quite similar to Lei Miu’s.

On the other side, Zhang Wen also smiled easily. Iron Mask beside him still wore that steady and determined expression.

However, whether it was Murra, Zhang Wen, or Iron Mask, all of them in their hearts clearly understood. Their strength had already been completely exhausted in the previous battles. Even if all four of them fought together against the King’s next strike, there was absolutely no possibility of withstanding it.

The massive blade was gradually raised over the King’s head. But just as the golden arcs surrounding the King reached their brightest intensity, Zhang Wen suddenly felt a faint ripple of neng energy coming from deep within the jungle. Not long after Zhang Wen sensed this neng energy, Lei Miu and the others obviously also felt the neng master hidden in the forest.

“Who’s coming to meet their death this time?” Murra smiled nervously, glancing at the others, finding they also had the same puzzled expressions.

What made Murra feel even stranger was that the King across from him, upon sensing this faint energy, also showed a trace of confusion on his face, as if he had detected something from this weak energy. Then, the King seemed to be having a quiet conversation with someone, softly muttering a few inaudible words.

Then, the King furrowed his brows tightly and let out a cold snort. The dazzling golden light surrounding the King gradually faded away with his cold snort. The King slowly lowered the massive blade that had been raised above his head and launched it into the air. The blade immediately vanished, as if it had been sheathed into an invisible scabbard.

Finally, the King swept a cold gaze over Zhang Wen and the others one last time and then silently turned and left. Even Agate, whom he had originally left on the ground, the King didn’t even glance at again.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Wen and the others couldn’t help exchanging glances.

Everyone in the crater was puzzled. Just now, the King had firmly decided to take their lives, but why had he suddenly shown mercy and let them go?

Zhang Wen and the others could vaguely guess that this must be related to the mysterious energy that had emerged from the forest at the last moment. However, including Linoah, who knew the King best, no one could fathom who could possibly possess such great power as to make the enraged King change his mind.

And the telekinetic energy that had come from the forest also vanished without a trace the moment the King turned to leave. Even Lei Miu and the others tried their hardest to sense it, but still couldn’t detect any sign of the telekinetic master’s presence. That person was as if they had emerged from nowhere, then disappeared into thin air, leaving absolutely no trace behind.

“Ahh! Well! Anyway, at least we survived the King’s grasp.” Unable to find any trace of the Nen Master, Zhang Wen remained quite open-minded. With the pressure from the King now gone, the breath he had been holding to keep himself upright quickly dissipated. Feeling aches throughout his entire body, Zhang Wen simply allowed himself to fall backward, lying flat on the ground in the shape of a “big” character.