Chapter 544: Punishment
Having said that, Dugu Feng immediately brought out a giant sword made of flames. After a violent jerk of his hand, a blaze of flames began to coil around the blade before an inferno ignited on it. A halo of light burst from the sword. It brought forth such a dazzling glow that the surrounding shadows were completely obliterated.
“Impossible, that’s the essence of fire!”
“It’s the essence of fire, he’s an Earth Saint Master!”
“Everyone run away! He’s an Earth Saint Master!”
At this display of strength, the smarter members of the Defiance Mercenaries quickly became pale in the face. The spurt of courage that had welled up in them earlier had instantly vanished just as quickly it came. Without any more courage to fight, they began to retreat in terror.
A gleam of light flashed in Dugu Feng’s eyes as he twirled his giant sword in a violent motion. The light from the fire on his sword filled the sky. He then quickly brought forth another burst of flames, but this time he directed them down the streets with lightning speed.
“Bang!”
The street was washed with a plume of smoke, and the marble substance on them had crumbled as easily as tofu. A fissure about a third of a meter deep appeared in the street as a surge of Saint Force filled the area; forcing the entire street to tremble as if it was experiencing an earthquake.
Feeling the explosive might that came from a casual swing of Dugu Feng’s sword, every member of the Defiance Mercenaries felt miserable beyond belief. At this moment, practically every person could only think about how terrifying an Earth Saint Master was.
Calmly recollecting his sword, Dugu Feng stared emotionlessly at the Defiance Mercenaries. “Whoever crosses this line, consider your life forfeit!” He spat.
The entire group of mercenaries was practically quaking with fear, for the fissure was barely in front of their feet. Everyone could only look at the line as if it represented death itself. Not a single person dared to cross it.
On the other side, the one-armed man could only stare at the red-robed Dugu Feng in shock. He had been thrown into silence by the scene in front of him. The man could hardly believe that the captain of the Flame Mercenaries was capable of commanding an Earth Saint Master to do his bidding.
In the small city that was Wake City, Great Saint Masters were already considered the epitome of strength. In the entire city, there would only be twenty of them at most. Earth Saint Masters would hardly find any worth by heading to such a small city in this area. In the case that one did arrive, then they would indisputably be the strongest expert around. In the scope of the entire city, none would be a match for them.
Now that the Flame Mercenaries had an Earth Saint Master leveled expert, just who in Wake City would dare go against them?
The Flame Mercenaries were astonished by Dugu Feng’s strength as well, but soon their expressions were quickly filled with joy and their bodies began to shake with trepidation. If someone as strong as an Earth Saint Master listened to their captain, then wouldn’t that mean that this person was one of their own?
Jian Chen tossed the bottle he had forcibly taken from the one-armed man’s hand over to Kai Er, “Hurry up and take the antidote!”
“Yes, captain!” Kai Er enthusiastically responded. Twisting off the stopper to the bottle, they each poured a drop of the liquid into their mouths before they passed the bottle on.
There had been plenty of antidote within the bottle for everyone to have some. Even better, more than half of the bottle remained, contradicting the words that the One-armed Warrior had said earlier about there being a limited supply.
After administering the antidote, every poisoned mercenary soon felt the color return to their faces. Soon enough, the poison was flushed from their systems, and was no longer a threat to their lives.
Jian Chen leaped off his magical beast mount and walked up to Kai Er. “It seems that my return was in time to save your lives. A lot must have happened in these last two years. Why don’t I see Duo Kang, Seth, and Weiss? Where have they gone?”
A grieved look appeared on Kai Er’s face, “Captain, it was all because of our inabilities. The strong mercenary group you left us with is now reduced to these several dozen members. A year ago, Duo Kang, Seth, and Weiss came across an accident that marked their eternal departure from us. From the seven of us, only four remain.”
Jian Chen could only sigh with regret at that. Those seven men had been the strongest men he had managed to bring under his control. At the same time, they served as the pillar of the Flame Mercenaries, so he had felt exceptional concern for the seven.
Suddenly, the whistling sound of air could be heard. The one-armed man took the opportunity to escape while Jian Chen reminisced with the Flame Mercenaries. With a sudden leap, he tried to bound over the rooftops in an attempt to get away.
Jian Chen’s eyes narrowed in irritation, but he did not turn his body or head around. Instead, he pointed a finger behind him. A flash of Sword Qi came flying from his finger and flew through the air with unbelievable speed before coming into contact with the right arm of the One-armed Warrior.
“Ah!” The one-armed man let out a miserable shout. The only arm he had was bisected. It flopped to the floor while a stream of blood came flying out from his arm like a bloody rainstorm.
The One-armed Warrior fell from the sky to the ground in a sorry state of pain. He only had one arm to begin with, and that was the reason why he was known as the One-armed Warrior. For his remaining arm to be gone now, he was nothing more than a handicapped man.
Every single member of the Defiance Mercenaries felt horrified to see their leader crippled. One by one, they looked at Jian Chen with fearful eyes. The One-armed Warrior was the strongest within their Defiance Mercenaries. His defeat was an extreme blow to the Defiance Mercenaries as a whole.
Kai Er and the other three were once more floored by Jian Chen’s strength since he had easily cut off and crippled the man’s remaining arm. Their faces soon became ecstatic. If the Flame Mercenaries follow a strong figure such as Jian Chen as their captain, then their success would be immeasurable.
“The peerless miracle that our captain has given us has opened my eyes to the world.” Mo Tian couldn’t help but emotionally remake. His eyes were brimming with tears as he spoke; seeing Jian Chen’s strength seemed to have given Mo Tian a glimpse of the glorious tomorrow of the Flame Mercenaries. Having such a strong captain lead the mercenaries would make it extremely hard for the group not to grow.
Jian Chen smiled and looked at the four and sixty members of the Flame Mercenaries with admiration. “You’ve done well as the pride of the Flame Mercenaries. In the future, I, Jian Chen, will waste no effort to help you grow.” After experiencing such hardships, the remaining members of the Flame Mercenaries were without a doubt worth Jian Chen’s respect and his investment to make them strong.
So, Jian Chen felt determined to not even bother training anyone else.
Jian Chen’s words made Kai Er and the others extremely happy, “Many thanks to the captain for your guidance.”
The previous members of the Flame Mercenaries who chose to live all felt regret appear on their faces. Seeing that there was no way to escape, they could only look back with gloomy and fearful expressions as members of the Defiance Mercenaries. Then looking back to the captain of the Flame Mercenaries, who had suddenly returned, the ones who chose life over death had immediately felt ashamed.
Earlier, they had chosen to live by leaving the Flame Mercenaries after being backed into a corner by the Defiance Mercenaries. They had previously thought they wouldn’t need to fear for their lives, but who would have known that the situation would have taken such a drastic turnabout. The tides of victory that the Defiance Mercenaries had once held suddenly changed when the captain of the Flame Mercenaries reappeared to toss them into a hole. Whether they could leave or not would depend on the mood of the Flame Mercenaries. Therefore, the Flame Mercenaries who betrayed them felt incomparably embarrassed and ashamed by their actions to the point where they could hardly look into the eyes of the brothers they had once fought shoulder to shoulder with.
Jian Chen’s eyes hovered over the group where the Defiance Mercenaries stood, but the Flame Mercenaries who had chosen to leave could only hang their heads in shame, unable to look at Jian Chen.
“I will leave judgement of the Defiance Mercenaries to you. Whether they die or live, it is up to you to decide.” Jian Chen spoke calmly without looking at the ex-members of the Flame Mercenaries.
“The One-armed Warrior and his Defiance Mercenaries must be disposed of. Their hands are stained with the blood of our brothers. How could I not take revenge for my fallen brothers?” Mo Tian’s teeth gnashed against each other as he spoke with a murderous fire in his eyes.
Hearing that, the Great Saint Masters of the Defiance Mercenaries grew startled. Giving each other a look, they immediately leaped to the sky. They leapt into every direction possible in order to escape.
They had killed many of the Flame Mercenaries before, so they knew that to stay behind was to await death without hope. As things were, they may as well try their best to escape for a chance at life.
Ming Dong mockingly laughed, “If I let you escape right under my nose, I’d have no face to hand over to my brothers.” With that, Ming Dong and Dugu Feng immediately lashed out with their arms. They shot out several blades of Sword Qi that bisected all of the Great Saint Masters in half. Blood and body parts came raining down from the sky with their deaths.
Watching the strongest members of their group be easily killed by the individuals of the opposing side, the rest of the Defiance Mercenaries had gone ghostly white in terror of Dugu Feng and Ming Dong.
“Please spare us, captain Jian Chen! A thousand pardons! We will leave the Defiance Mercenaries for the Flame Mercenaries and work like oxen if need be! Please forgive us this once! I still have a wife and child to take care of back home!”
“Please forgive us, captain Jian Chen…”
Everyone from the Defiance Mercenaries knew where all the power lay now. Some of the ones unwilling to die began to kneel on the ground and kowtow repeatedly in desperation.
Qingfeng walked up to them step by step, “Our Flame Mercenaries will not kill every last one of you, but we won’t just let you off so easily. Hand over your Space Belts and you may leave.”
“We’ll do it, we’ll do it…”
Qingfeng’s words were like the song of a gospel to the ears of the Defiance Mercenaries. As if they were granted amnesty, not a single one of them hesitated to relinquish their Space Belts. They obediently handed them over. Two Earth Saint Masters appearing caused their hearts to feel an unbelievable amount of pressure.
Just then, one of the members who previously chose to leave the Flame Mercenaries to live walked up to Qingfeng, “Boss, would it be possible for me to rejoin the Flame Mercenaries? You know that I have family at home unlike the rest of my carefree brothers. I can’t die, and there was no other choice.”
Qingfeng was quiet and turned to look at Jian Chen.
Jian Chen thought for a moment before waving his hand, “You may leave. As thanks for your service for once being a member of the Flame Mercenaries you need not hand over you things, just leave.”
The Defiance Mercenaries had all given their Space Belts before being able to leave from this place in peace. True to their words, the Flame Mercenaries did not kill everyone without reason. However, the traitors that had poisoned them were tied up.