Tempest of the Battlefield

The humans had never gone so far into the Zergs’ territory. They had only seen Zergs on the battlefield as enemies, but what were they like while they were in their home-base?

No one either cared nor asked such a question, since it seemed irrelevant to their problem at hand.

Yin Tianzong, Guan Dongyang, and Xiao Yuyu watched the battle unfold with a great measure of distress. So far, they still don’t know what Wang Tong was trying to achieve. Unless there had been some unexpected development while he was in the city, he would never sidetrack from the task he was supposed to perform.

Encouraged by his minions’ cheers, Linmo attacked with newfound strength and ferocity. He had executed a few martian combat techniques that he had learned over the years perfectly. Thanks to his wings, he was able to perform a few highly demanding moves with ease and grace. His frame was very similar to that of a human, and with the increased power, even a common move used by human soldiers could be a deadly coup de grace when executed by Linmo.

Zing!

Linmo’s bone blade slashed open Wang Tong’s armor. Wang Tong didn’t wear the Einherjar METAL, since he didn’t bring Mr. Wannabe with him; therefore, it couldn’t stand the level twenty-three dark one’s blow at full force.

The small edge Linmo had gained over the human soldier had elated the dark ones on the ground beyond description. They hurrayed—in their own language, if they had such a thing— for the sweet revenge on the human who had murdered so many of their kind.

Linmo was excited as well. His blade danced around Wang Tong, barely catching his target with each strike. Whenever his attack grazed the latter’s METAL suit, the impact sent a flash of sparks down at the onlookers. Some less fortunate Zergs were zapped by the sparks and reduced to a shrivel of charred meat in an instant.

After a while, Wang Tong was confident that he had a pretty good idea of what this dark one was capable of.

At first, Wang Tong registered that the dark one not only possessed the level twenty-three soul energy, but his incredible physique also meant that his strikes could come with more intensity than that of a human warrior of the same level. However, he soon realized that despite the dark one’s unrivaled brute force, he was quite flexible in changing his power according to the situation. This, he wagered, had much to do with the dark ones’ nearly monotonic emotional state.

That being said, Linmo’s audiences were convinced that this human soldier’s doom was near, and their conviction pushed their revelry toward the climax.

The joy and excitement in the audiences could be felt in Linmo’s heart as well. He had cornered his opponent, so that the latter had nowhere to hide from his final attack. Raising his blade high above his head, Linmo was ready to deliver the killing blow. Drunken with the admiration of his servants, he felt that he would be the next dark lord after he had finished this final move.

Kom! Zing!

At that moment, Wang Tong folded his hands, clamping onto the bone blade like a vise.

Linmo could not believe what he saw. The energy crystal on his body shimmered brighter as he tried to wiggle the blade out of Wang Tong’s hand. But, the latter’s hold was iron-strong.

Frustrated, Linmo roared like a lion whose pride was hurt.

He couldn’t come to terms with the reality. Victory had been so close, it was right at his fingertips! Plus, he was sure that this human’s level was much lower than his.

He shouted and howled, but he was unable to move the blade the slightest.

Wang Tong gave Linmo an ugly grin, then yanked his arms up, lifting the blade and Linmo and kicking squarely at the dark one’s groin.

KOM!

If Linmo had balls, they were busted by now.

Suddenly, Wang Tong disappeared and reappeared among the throng of dark ones on the ground. Linmo barraged the ground using his bone shards, without a shred of concern for his servants’ lives.

However, before he could discern if his attack had landed on his target, Wang Tong reappeared in the air, right behind the dark one. He then punched squarely at the unsuspecting dark one’s spine.

Kacha!

The Layered Fist of Tong went through the dark one’s bone and severed it in half. Linmo could no longer feel his legs. Before he realized what had happened, he was dealt another blow from the back.

The Zergs on the ground were stunned by the catastrophe. They heard something drop to the ground, so they looked: those were two bloody bat wings.

As pain shot through Linmo’s body, he howled in agony. The pain was another gift that evolution had bestowed to Zergs, so that they could feel the pain and suffering they had brought to other races.

“Who else wants to try me?” Wang Tong shouted to the dark ones. He held the bloodied upper body of Linmo in one hand and Linmo’s signature broadsword in another, face smeared with the dark one’s green blood. If the Zergs believed in devils, they would think that they were looking at the devil in person.

“Who else?” Wang Tong shouted again and squeezed the neck of Linmo. Linmo howled again, and then he pleaded. “Please… don’t… don’t kill me ” Linmo spoke with his last breath.

He finally tasted fear in his mouth. He didn’t want to die; he wanted to live. He wants to enjoy the things that he enjoyed; he wanted immortality.

“Order them to lay on the ground!” Wang Tong ordered. “Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t let you die. I enjoy watching you suffering much more than killing you.” Wang Tong said plainly.

Wang Tong’s words made Linmo’s body—the upper part at least— shiver. He obeyed Wang Tong uneasily.

The dark ones on the ground were at a loss. The order issued by their half-dead lord sounded wrong, yet irresistible. After a few seconds, almost half of the dark ones had given up their weapon and lay flat on the ground. The other half were still hesitating, but they were wavering.

By then, Guan Dongyang and Xiao Yuyu were already preparing for the ultimate spell. But, after seeing what Wang Tong had done to the Zergs, they were left with only awe in their hearts. They knew that it was time to start the final assault.

As the spell started to gather energy, the frightened dark ones felt the presence of its immense power. Some turned their heels and fled the city, but most of them remained on the ground. Fear had rendered them motionless, and the notion of fighting back was nothing but a fleeting thought.

The fear that Wang Tong had sowed into the hearts of the dark ones was the perfect catalysis for the total corruption of their minds.

The spell was ready, and as fire rained on the stupefied dark ones, they let the flame torch them without moving a muscle. Only a very small group of dark ones thought of escaping, and those who did make out of the fiery hell were met with Yin Tianzong’s deadly attacks.

The soldiers shouted as they formed a wall in front of the casters, they would not let even a single Zerg cross their defense, and neither would they let a single Zerg escape the punishment.

As the flame claimed the Zerg’s lives, Wang Tong darted within the fire to finish off any escaping dark ones. Most dark ones were scared motionless as soon as they saw the body of Linmo still hanging in Wang Tong’s left hand. They didn’t even have a chance to defend for themselves.

Thanks to how densely the dark ones were packed together, the fire spell was extremely efficient. Many dark ones lost their lives before they could utter even a cry.

Amidst the agonizing howls of the dark ones, the courage and battle spirit of the human soldiers soared. They no longer feared the dark ones after seeing them shriveling under fear.

Boer City had a large number of dark ones, and therefore, Wang Tong didn’t design to attack the city directly. However, after the Zergs were crippled by their fear, the clandestine attack turned into a conspicuous slaughter.

When the moon finally rose, except for a few dozen dark ones who managed to escape the city, all Zergs were dead.

Still holding the skull of Linmo, Wang Tong stood under the pale moonlight, looking like a devil rather than a human.

He was the devil who had found the weakness in the dark ones.