Chapter 16: Annihilation
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
The Snow Ape fell in two halves with a single slash of the blade, a sight that sent a shiver up the spines of Shao Cheng Feng and Feng Yian. Instinctively, they took a step back, their minds wrestling with doubt. Could their leader truly stand against this youth, who wielded such power?
Fu En Tao’s expression darkened, but his grip on his long knife remained firm. He saw his chance when Qin Ming sidestepped to avoid the falling halves of the Snow Ape, leaving himself open. Seizing the moment, Fu En Tao swung his long knife with a roar, cutting through the bitter wind and swirling snow, aiming straight for the boy’s waist.
But Qin Ming seemed to know exactly what was coming. His left hand moved almost on its own, swinging his spear behind him to block the incoming attack. His back now to Fu En Tao, Qin Ming used the force of the slash against the iron shaft of his spear to launch himself forward with a powerful leap.
A regular man wouldn’t have attempted such a move; the sheer impact would have shattered their bones or left them spitting blood. But not Qin Ming. He landed as easily as a cat.
The big patrolman saw him coming and his heart pounded in fear. Qin Ming descended upon him like a creature from the wild mountains—untamed and unstoppable. The patrolman swung his knife wildly, hoping to catch the boy off guard and hold him back. But in an instant, his confidence crumbled. The boy’s strength was unreal.
Two quick, powerful blows tore at his hands. The soft flesh between his fingers ripped apart, blood gushing out and staining the hilt of his knife. His weapon fell from his hands.
In the flickering red light of the Flame Spring, Qin Ming’s next slash cut through the patrolman’s neck like a knife through butter, sending his head flying. The man’s body crumpled into the snow with a dull thud.
Qin Ming spun around just in time to block Fu En Tao’s next strike with his spear. His eyes, now filled with a cold fury, locked onto Feng Yian and Shao Cheng Feng. Panic settled into their bones. Despite their experience and ruthlessness, they realized this boy was a different breed. Without so much as a word, he had cut down their comrade, and fear began to creep into their hearts, chilling them to the core.
Even Fu En Tao felt the weight of a shadow settling over him. This youth—twice reborn—was relentless; every thrust and slash sent shockwaves up his arms, numbing his muscles. For a fleeting moment, he considered bolting into the dark, forbidding forest. But turning his back could mean certain death.
Qin Ming’s voice was calm, almost conversational, “There were seven of you up here, waiting for me to hunt you down. I’ve already taken four. That leaves just the three of you.”
Fu En Tao stiffened at the boy’s words, his expression turning icy. Qin Ming was counting the Golden Mastiff, the Snow Ape, and their five men as one—all equated with mere beasts?
Shao Cheng Feng and Feng Yian tightened their grips on their weapons. On any other day, if someone had spoken to them like this, they would have laughed and thought him a fool begging for death. But they could see now that Qin Ming was taunting them. He sensed they were on the edge, close to fleeing. And if they ran, he might not be able to catch the twice-reborn Fu En Tao.
Just as Qin Ming expected, Fu En Tao’s pride was stung by the insult. In this harsh wilderness, no seasoned patrol leader would accept such humiliation without a fight.
Fu En Tao had been waiting for his chance, biding his time, holding back, preparing for the perfect moment to advance. He was nearly at the threshold.
“Is this really Qin Ming from Twin Trees Village?” Fu En Tao asked the two men behind him.
Earlier, while discussing the dangers of the Blood Bamboo Grove, Feng Yian and Shao Cheng Feng had mentioned the boy, planning to use him with his golden roots to scout the path and then dispose of him.
“Yes, that’s him,” confirmed the bearded Feng Yian with a nod.
Fu En Tao’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Very well. When this is over, we’ll go back and wipe out Twin Trees Village—leave none alive, man, woman, or child. During a mountain-clearing operation, if a ‘named beast’ were to come out from the deep mountains and destroy a village, it’d just be seen as an unfortunate event.”
A wicked smile twisted his lips, a dangerous glint of bloodlust flaring in his eyes as he raised his long knife.
But Qin Ming didn’t rise to anger. He wanted to keep them angry, to fan the flames within them, making sure they wouldn’t try to flee.
So he spoke again, his tone like a teacher reprimanding errant students, “Have I said anything untrue? Scarlet Dawn City pays you well, and the villagers even respect you, giving up some of their fields so you can plant Black Moon. And what do you do in return? You take everything, leave them with nothing, even planning to drain the Flame Spring dry without caring how many will starve next year. You murder innocent villagers to scare the rest. To you, human lives mean less than a deer’s, far less than your precious Golden Mastiff. Do you even have a heart? Am I wrong to compare you to vicious dogs and Snow Apes? No, you’re worse. Think of the old patrol leader who passed away and those few honest patrolmen who still remain. You don’t deserve to stand among them.”
His words were measured and calm, yet each one cut deep, like a dagger’s edge.
Fu En Tao’s knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on his knife, veins bulging on his arms. He didn’t speak, only moved forward with deadly intent.
Feng Yian and Shao Cheng Feng, too, felt their tempers flare. This boy, whose words were so steady, had gotten under their skin. They couldn’t wait to silence him.
Qin Ming was ready. He attacked first, wielding his heavy iron spear in one hand as if it were a light stick. The spearhead shot forward, slicing through the falling snow. Fu En Tao barely managed to tilt his head aside, and the spearhead drove into a pine tree behind him. With a slight flick, Qin Ming snapped the trunk in two.
The moment the tree fell, his knife was slashing out.
The sound of clashing steel filled the air. Trees fell, the ground trembled, and where the blades met, destruction followed.
They fought close to the Flame Spring, where a wooden hut exploded into splinters from the force of their strikes.
Fu En Tao, standing nearly two meters tall and as broad as a mountain, was panting heavily. His curly hair steamed in the cold air. His arms felt like lead from the constant blows, while his opponent remained unyielding and fierce.
His speed was his saving grace. He realized that while Qin Ming’s strength was overwhelming, his speed wasn’t. Fu En Tao decided to play to that weakness, waiting for the right moment.
When Qin Ming thrust his spear and swung his knife, Feng Yian and Shao Cheng Feng saw their chance. They charged in with all their might.
“Clang!”
A sharp clash rang out as Qin Ming deflected Shao Cheng Feng’s spear with his knife, then quickly turned the blade to parry Feng Yian’s attack.
Now, Fu En Tao, like a tiger or wolf in human form, grew even fiercer. His eyes blazed with rage, and he gripped his long knife with both hands, slashing down with all his might.
He noticed that when Qin Ming blocked with his spear in one hand, he seemed to be struggling, his strength diminished.
“Give it all you’ve got! Kill him!” Fu En Tao bellowed.
Qin Ming fended off the two attackers with his knife, his left hand’s spear pinned down by Fu En Tao’s powerful strikes, his position precarious.
In several close calls, he risked injury, driving his spear forward even as Fu En Tao’s knife came slashing down, forcing his opponent to retreat.
Fu En Tao sneered. When it came to being ruthless, who feared death more? He lunged, aiming his knife to split the boy in half, even if it cost him a leg.
At the same moment, Feng Yian and Shao Cheng Feng moved in, cutting off Qin Ming’s escape routes. Their blades rose, and Qin Ming had to use his chopping knife to fend off their combined assault.
With no way to retreat, Qin Ming pushed forward. There was no time to raise his spear, so he thrust it with all his might, driving it through Fu En Tao’s thigh.
Fu En Tao’s face contorted in pain, but he remained defiant. He’d lost a leg, but his knife would still cleave the boy in two.
Qin Ming, still holding off the other two with his knife, released his spear and raised his left arm to block the incoming blade.
Fu En Tao sneered, thinking the boy would lose an arm as well.
Feng Yian and Shao Cheng Feng grinned. They knew their leader’s power well; his strike would cut through anything.
But then, there was a sharp clang, and the grating sound of metal on metal. Things didn’t go as they expected.
Qin Ming’s sleeve tore, revealing layers of armor underneath—the very armor worn by patrolmen. And he wore more than one layer.
Though the armor wasn’t as fine as Fu En Tao’s, the three layers were enough to block the slash.
In fact, Qin Ming might have worn the armor of the fourth patrolman he had killed at the mountain’s base, but he found it too cumbersome.
Fu En Tao landed heavily, stumbling backward from the force of the rebound. Blood poured from his wounded thigh, and he could barely stay on his feet.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Feng Yian turned and bolted. He knew that their fate was sealed—if he didn’t run now, he’d be joining his fallen comrades.
Shao Cheng Feng, too, quickly realized the boy’s earlier show of weakness had been nothing but a trick. Panic gripped him, and he also turned to flee.
But Qin Ming wasn’t about to let them escape. He snatched up an iron spear from the ground, took a running leap, and hurled it with every ounce of his strength. At such a close range, it was impossible to miss. The spear flew straight and true, whistling through the air before impaling Feng Yian’s back, pinning him to the snowy ground.
“Aaah!” Feng Yian’s scream tore through the night as he writhed in the snow, trapped, unable to free himself from the spear’s grip.
Without wasting a heartbeat, Qin Ming turned his focus to Shao Cheng Feng. Compared to Fu En Tao’s speed, catching up to Shao Cheng Feng was much easier.
Shao Cheng Feng, sensing death closing in like a creeping shadow, decided he wouldn’t go down without a fight. He spun around, his iron spear slicing through the air in a last, desperate attempt to fend off Qin Ming. But it was hopeless. With one powerful swing, Qin Ming’s knife severed Shao Cheng Feng’s right arm. The limb dropped to the snow, his weapon clattering away.
Before the man could even register the pain, Qin Ming snatched up the fallen spear and drove it straight through Shao Cheng Feng’s chest, pinning him to the blood-stained snow.
Standing amidst the chaos and carnage, Qin Ming took a deep, steadying breath. His eyes were cold, calculating, his voice calm and almost conversational. “If you’d all stayed and fought instead of trying to run, I could’ve finished this much faster. But I had to be careful. If even one of you managed to escape, my whole plan would’ve gone to waste.”
“You…” Fu En Tao’s voice trembled with fury. He propped himself up with his long knife, his face flushed with anger, his breathing ragged. He was so mad he could almost spit blood. He thought the boy was just being cocky.
“Fighting you guys while always having to watch my back was pretty tough,” Qin Ming reflected with a wry grin. “But hey, I’ve only just awakened, so it’s fair, right?”
“What?!” Fu En Tao’s eyes went wide with shock, his heart hammering in his chest. The words cut deeper than any blade. Could it be true? Was it possible this boy had only just undergone his awakening? The idea was terrifying—almost too much to accept.
“You mean to say… you haven’t gone through a second awakening?” Feng Yian, though gravely injured, coughed up blood and managed a bitter, ironic laugh. The truth hit him like a ton of bricks: they were up against a prodigy, a monstrous talent unlike any they’d encountered before.