A morbid swath of red spread across the lands for thousands and thousands of meters.
This marked the first conflict between warriors from both West and East, and the encounter concluded with the utter decimation of the Western contingent.
And because of that, the entire cyberspace churned violently with vigorous effervescence like water poured into a pan of boiling oil.
Images were uploaded to the Internet.
The ferocity of Black Dragon – made famous through the Internet – turned out to be worthless before Chu Xun’s might when the latter easily made short work of him.
However, the death of Black Dragon incensed enough of his fellow Western warriors that many clamored for vengeance, vowing to avenge their fallen comrade.
“Just come if you dare. We’ll see how many heads you’re willing to drop.”
“Brazen of these mangy curs to bark so much when Immortal Chu had slaughtered so many of them. Let them all come so that he can give them a good whipping.”
“So you think you’ll win by colluding with Black Dragon to kill our warriors, Dark Guild? Watch out, Immortal Chu is coming to get you.”
Huaxia warriors hurled gloating taunts and jeers through the cyberspace at their opponents.
Whereas at the Western front, the warriors there burned with anger, screaming for Chu Xun’s blood.
The Holy Temple of the Sun released a statement of their own, insisting that Hoffmann is an anointed heir to the leadership and his death at Chu Xun’s hands is a sacrilege punishable by death.
Stimulated by this, the Dark Guild responded, “We shall have Chu Xun’s head for this offense, on the name of the Dark Guild we so swear!”
That culminated in more responses from other Western factions, each of them expressing their intent to hunt down the Devil.
As it turned out even nations joined in the effort to castigate Chu Xun.
Country M condemned Chu Xun’s actions to be “barbaric” and requested that Chu Xun be extradited to answer for his crimes.
Emboldened by this, even lesser nations joined into what turned out to be an amalgamated effort with Country M as leader and added more fuel into the bonfire. Country Y accused Chu Xun of intruding their borders and killing their warriors, citing even Chu Xun’s massacre of the Golden Wolf Mercenaries more than a decade ago, including the deaths of several border sentries.
That forced the Amiable Old Man to contact Chu Xun, asking him on how he should respond.
To his amazement, Chu Xun told him to say nothing. He only has to watch, said Chu Xun who promised that he would be giving them a huge surprise gift.
With that, the Huaxia government assuaged the international community by saying that “a huge gift” shall be presented in due time.
But just when the international community was wallowing in shock and bewilderment, news came suddenly that the border troops of Country Y – numbering at several hundred – had all been annihilated.
The leaders of the international community almost jumped from their seats when the news reached them and they quickly ordered inquiries of their own to find out what happened.
“Is this what Huaxia meant by ‘a huge gift’?!”
Apparently, Chu Xun did not retreat after his massacre of the Western warriors. Instead, he slipped into Country Y.
“Surely Big Brother is well?” Tang Rou asked again for what could be the hundredth time.
None of the Dragon-slaying League had left since returning.
Yan Wushuang managed a sombre grin, and for the hundredth time, he repeated, “Worry of someone else instead. Not even bullets can penetrate that thick hide of that Big Brother of yours. Add in his devious cunning, there’s no one can ever hope to harm him.”
Hardly annoyed, Tang Rou rather took it as a compliment. “I know. Big Brother’s cunning had got the best of you before and that proves that he’s smarter than you. You’re just jealous.”
“ME?! JEALOUS OF HIM?!” An irate Yan Wushuang bellowed indignantly like a little boy, “Go ask around! What makes you think that I’m jealous with such a moniker of ‘the Devil’ that seems to only invite loath and scorn!?”
“That’s because Big Brother is too powerful and smart, so they wish only to defame him,” said Tang Rou.
Yan Wushuang slapped his own forehead and grimaced, “Gods in Heaven, you’re infected so badly by him; you’re beyond help.”
Tang Rou’s rosy cheeks flared with a scarlet flush, pleased at that. She was indeed enthralled by Chu Xun’s contaminating influence, and a willing one at that.
Meanwhile, dire tidings never seemed to stop piling at Country Y. More and more warriors of renown fell at an unknown stranger’s hand.
It must be Chu Xun, said some.
For he had slipped into Country Y, and no one knew where he was.
Country Y was a little country with only a meagre number of warriors, and with the unstoppable string of killings of renowned warriors there, Country Y could very well deteriorate back to its former strength prior to the advent of the anomalies worldwide.
But that was hardly the end of their woes.
More dismal news came: County Y’s youngest and best swordsman, a Seventh-grade Human King had been killed. He was found impaled with his own sword to the rockface of a cliff.
Next, on the same day, a chief of one of Country Y’s most influential organizations – also a Seventh-grade Human King – was also found dead with his corpse hung right at the front entrance of his stronghold.
The following day, two of County Y’s berthed battleships, both products of County M’s war manufacturing, were attacked and sunk.
On the third day, a lone, unknown stranger had defeated every single security measure and stormed right up to the doors of the High Council of Country Y before stopping suddenly and left mysteriously.
It was said that the Head of State of Country Y was inside, and he was so frightened that he suffered a heart attack.
Fear gripped the nation of Country Y. The killings had left the whole nation of Country Y – the full lock, stock, and barrel of it gripped with such fear that no leader, warrior, nor common man could not help wondering if the Devil might be lurking somewhere, waiting to pounce on them the moment they let down their guard.
There was little doubt that the perpetrator was none other than Chu Xun.
Under heavy guard, the Head of State of Country Y immediately delivered a speech, saying, “With the ongoing anomalies and wild beasts ravaging the lands, it is imperative that we stand together as one nation in such times of infamy. Hold on to each other with love and compassion, help each other to overcome these trials and triumph.”
Lastly, he even ended his speech with a well-known Huaxia proverb: All life is precious.
One might frown upon the inaccurate use of the proverb, but it worked to please many of the Huaxia warriors, for everyone could see that Country Y was admitting defeat.
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No one could well complain against that; woe always befalls upon anyone who dared to offend one with such might, ruthlessness, and always acted alone like the Devil.
In their glee, Huaxia warriors could hardly resist pelting more insults. “Serves you right,” said one comment online, while another more scathing remark said, “This is what you get for being somebody’s lapdog! You should go looking to your master for help now!”
Nevertheless, despite Country Y’s sue for peace, the killings never stopped and more warriors continued dying.
The next to be found dead was the chief of Country Y’s allied front of warriors.
The Head of State of Country Y decided that enough was enough. He gave strict orders for the military to hunt down Chu Xun and kill him using any means necessary, putting all state-of-the-art equipment to the military’s disposal.
But in truth, these were all merely rejects that not even Country M’s own soldiers use. They might be useful against the usual garden-variety warriors, but not Chu Xun.
In the end, the armed forces of Country Y managed to have Chu Xun besieged at the crest of a mountain. They fired with everything they had, blowing the whole mountain to kingdom come while the executive branch of Country Y’s ruling apparatus flinched at the military’s profligate use of ordnances and the expenditure that they had to suffer.
Finally, after a two-hour-long bombardment, they had leveled even the surrounding mountain.
At the same time at Huaxia, warriors there grew worried with trepidation, dreading if Chu Xun failed to weather the relentless assault of Country Y’s military.
The military immediately canvassed what remained of the mountain for him and found only charred scraps of fabric. They sent it back to their laboratory who concluded that they came from Chu Xun’s usual glazed-white attire.
It was good news to all of Country Y.
Even Country M and other Western nations all celebrated the doom of the Devil.
The Holy Temple of the Sun immediately released another statement, saying how the bombardment that had purported claimed Chu Xun’s life had deprived them the chance of dispatching their people to exterminate “such vermin”.
Its rival faction, the Dark Guild too responded, saying what a shame it was that the Devil had to die before their men could get to him, for the Guild already had people in Country Y ready to act.
That turned into a huge chorus of vainglorious remarks and scornful comments from various countries and factions, all of them expressing their spurious remorse of not being able to kill Chu Xun themselves.
Several other chiefs of a few organizations in Country Y then taunted Huaxia warriors, declaring that Chu Xun did not deserve to be called the Devil, and how they should have defeated him first without the military intervening.
Rising to a crescendo, more heads of other armed organizations joined in the fray, echoing in the condemnation of Chu Xun, criticizing him as being weak while grumbling how they too had failed to exact vengeance and justice by killing him themselves.
“Then again, was it true? Was Chu Xun really blasted to bits?”
The entire Huaxia Martial Tao domain fell into silence since news broke out that Chu Xun was dead.
No one in Huaxia could believe that this was the end. Given past experiences, they knew better than to jump into conclusions.
For, still fresh in every Huaxia citizen’s mind was another moniker of Chu Xun’s: the Deceiver.
Many years ago, everyone had done a mistake by taking him as dead after his fierce battle against the Demon King Sect then. Several greedy fools had even scoured the site of the battle after that, hoping to loot something from Chu Xun’s remains, only to be killed by him instead.
Next came the fall of the Heaven Tao Sect. Everyone there could have sworn they saw him collapsing to his death then. Yet he reappeared after more than a decade, larger than life than ever as he slaughtered Human Kings by the score, leaving all who doubted him gaping with disbelief.
For these reasons, no one would easily count Chu Xun out. Watch in silence and observe, thought all those who know him, be they his foes or friends and loved ones.
For history had taught them before to never doubt the Devil. He could be skulking somewhere in the shadows, biding his time to catch his prey unawares.
Yet not everyone could rein in their swelling emotions. Faraway at Qianlong Mountain, Chu Tianhe and Liu Ran were so between sobs and gasps that the latter nearly fainted.
They had been watching the live telecast of Country Y’s military raining down death and steel upon the mountain Chu Xun was trapped on, and all they saw was despair.
Three days passed, and there was still yet no news of Chu Xun.
People began popping out of the cyberspace, claiming to be members of the Broken Souls Cult and how they were eager to hold a celebration for the doom of the Devil.
Eventually, even the Sifang Sword Sect and Tianlong Fort declared it divine providence that the Devil was now dead and all warriors should celebrate this as a blessing.
Yet when the rival nations of Huaxia reveled with jubilee, ill tidings came unbidden so suddenly, nearly causing aneurysm in those who heard them.
In one single night, every single leader, head, and chief of influential organizations in Country Y who had proffered taunts and jeers at Huaxia on the cyberspace were found dead with their heads hanging in a row at the edge of the crenellation of Country Y’s tallest tower.
The Chief of Country Y’s armed forces was also killed during a tryst with his mistress and his head was hung right outside the entrance of the seat of Country Y’s ruling body.
The Head of State of Country Y suffered a stroke so bad that he almost died on the spot when the bad news hit him.
Entire Martial Tao domain of Country Y was so awash with panic and terror that warriors began fleeing the country, while warrior orders and organizations immediately disband to retreat into hiding.
Any warrior with even the slightest iota of renown warned their friends and loved ones to address them by their names as they changed their names hastily.
But the killings never stopped as more warriors fell like flies and the death toll continued mounting.
All over the West, warriors and heads of state were left bewildered.
Even a fool could realize what was going on: the Devil prevailed and he was out for blood.
Meanwhile in Huaxia, everyone roistered with joy.
“Dammit you,” cursed the Chief Official with a smile, “You’ve left us all worried for nothing.”
“Good Heavens Almighty,” smirked Emperor Ao as he released a golden, shiny carp he caught back into the water, “The same old trick again?!”
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Jing Hong smiled quietly to herself with relief. She had been all tensed up since news of Chu Xun in danger came to her, nearly losing control of herself.
At Qianlong Mountain, everyone finally heaved easy sighs at the welcomed news. Chu Tianhe tossed a pill meant for his wife, mollified that his wife would have to take the medicine no more after several days of sobbing.
“You good-for-nothing whelp. I’ll deal with you when you come back.”
“What?! How dare you!” reprimanded his wife fiercely.
Chu Tianhe winced and put on a gentle smile as he went back to coaxing her.