the Poisonous Miasma Clouds (Part 2)

Chapter 28: Under the Poisonous Miasma Clouds

"How dare you! Who are you to destroy the gate of my family?" A guard quickly emerged, shouting at Ye Han. Ye Han glanced at the newcomer, noting he was only a fifth-tier fighter, and smiled faintly.

With a burst of energy from his feet, Ye Han propelled himself toward the guard, his short sword gleaming as it was drawn.

Contact with the guard was made swiftly, and the stronger forces within the estate were drawing nearer. Ye Han acted without hesitation; with every sword stroke, someone fell.

"A madman, how insolent!" A formidable ninth-tier aura pressed down, immobilizing Ye Han. A figure rushed toward him rapidly, closing the distance to less than ten zhang. Red fighting energy quickly coalesced in his hand and hurtled toward Ye Han with scorching heat.

Ye Han merely smiled, vanishing suddenly. "Boom!" The very spot where he had stood moments before erupted in an explosion, sending debris flying, and the powerful force dissipated in all directions.

"Futile, isn't it?" Ye Han reappeared not far behind, quietly observing the ninth-tier individual, who was Kai's father, Kaelen, the current head of the Patrickly family.

"Who are you, and why do you destroy the Patrickly family's gate?" Kaelen demanded, anger radiating from him in waves of red energy.

"I am here for revenge," Ye Han stated deeply, slowly removing his black hat to reveal his face.

"Ha! We have been looking for you. To think you would deliver yourself to us," Kaelen was initially surprised but then delighted. By then, other eighth and ninth-tier individuals had also appeared, all looking at Ye Han with glee.

"Do you think you can kill me?" Ye Han asked disdainfully.

"Arrogant fool! We've known for a while that Helian Jing Lei was merely putting on a show with you, but did you really think a mere fifth-tier like you could escape today?" Kaelen declared, as two eighth-tier magicians hurriedly advanced. However, to their surprise, the magicians began to move in circles around the same spot.

"What are you doing?" Kaelen bellowed, but the two eighth-tier magicians in front of him showed no response. Kaelen's anger turned back to Ye Han.

"Ha! Weren't you going to kill me? Come on then!" Ye Han taunted loudly, laughing heartily.

Kaelen gave the magicians a furious glance before advancing towards Ye Han himself, but he too began to circle the same spot.

The other nine eighth-tier and six ninth-tier powerhouses quickly sensed something was amiss. Oswald's red fighting energy instantly gathered and shot towards Ye Han, but then something even stranger happened – the energy dissipated into thin air just a zhang away.

"Boom!" Amidst the shock of the onlookers, a thunderous explosion erupted from the center of the Patrickly estate. Flames soared to the sky, and agonizing screams echoed as everyone's complexion changed, recognizing the energy signature as Oswald's.

"Ha ha ha!" Ye Han's laughter rang clear for all to hear.

"What have you done?" Oswald asked loudly, utterly astounded.

"I used what you all have been trying to take from me," Ye Han replied enigmatically.

"This..." Oswald was speechless, stunned by such a heaven-defying method, which drove the others from shock to greed.

"There's not much time left. It's time to send you on your way," Ye Han said as Oswald's attack had caused a slight tremor in the foundation of the array. The strength of a ninth-tier was truly formidable.

After some time, the humidity in the air increased significantly, and Ye Han began to activate the Poisonous Miasma Clouds.

"Roar!" A beast-like roar erupted from Ye Han's mouth as all eyes turned to him. His body began to transform – first, two huge purple wings unfurled, and then the rest of his body followed suit. In moments, Ye Han's zombie form was fully revealed, and he slowly ascended into the air.

"Didn't you all want to seize my cultivation technique? Today, I'll let you witness its power," Ye Han declared from above to those below.

"Poisonous Miasma Clouds, arise!" With a shout, Ye Han flapped his wings powerfully, dispersing clouds of black gas into the air which drifted away on the strong winds he generated.

"Buzz, buzz," a thousand zombie beasts suddenly emerged. "Ha ha, enjoy the feast I've brought you," Ye Han laughed from the air.

The corpse poison mixed rapidly with the moisture in the air, spreading a deadly gas throughout the formation. In no time, all those below the seventh-tier within the Patrickly family were paralyzed on the ground, powerless as their bodies rapidly decayed amidst the horrific

 screams that instantly filled the air.

"What exactly have you done?" With Kaelen and the two eighth-tier magicians as a cautionary tale, the remaining powerhouses dared not move, only watching Ye Han in fury.

The thousand zombie beasts, with their acute senses, swarmed over the bodies invaded by the poison, voraciously consuming them. The people watched helplessly as they were devoured by the Poison Bees, and in moments, hundreds of Patrickly members were reduced to blackened skeletons.

The remaining powerhouses, who had used their fighting energy to protect themselves from the poison, could only resist for so long. One by one, the eighth-tier fighters began to falter and fall, overwhelmed by the relentless assault of the bees. As for Kaelen, the ninth-tier powerhouse, and the two eighth-tier fighters, they were trapped by the formation, unaware of the chaos outside until the poison invaded their bodies.

"Everyone attack together, I refuse to believe we can't break this thing," Oswald bellowed in rage after witnessing his son's inexplicable death. He called to the remaining six ninth-tier powerhouses and summoned a longsword into his hands.

A three-inch long red sword light flashed, directionless and without a target, furiously striking the void. Ye Han, watching from afar, was alarmed. Under the full onslaught of the ninth-tier powerhouses, his formation would not hold for long. Once broken, the poison gas would spread throughout Kelter City.

Though Ye Han was indifferent to the death toll, his mother was still there. If the poison spread, everyone below the ninth-tier would die shortly.

"Boom!" Oswald's mighty strike caused the formation to tremble violently. Another explosion rocked the Patrickly estate, causing widespread destruction and loosening the formation's foundation.

This could not continue. Oswald's attacks were so fierce that if the six joined in, the formation would quickly break.

Ye Han spread his wings, a longsword appearing in his hand, his body aglow with a grey light. He moved swiftly, his sword emitting a faint sound as it cut through the air towards the six, merely aiming to disrupt them.

"Clang!" Sword met sword. Ye Han fearlessly confronted Oswald head-on, successfully blocking his second attack, but the clash sent a surge of blood through his body, and a dark red stream of blood spurted from his mouth. His arm, shaken by the force, nearly lost grip of the sword.

"Truly a ninth-tier powerhouse," Ye Han muttered to himself. Just then, the other powerhouses launched their attacks. In an instant, several parts of the Patrickly estate were obliterated. Ye Han's formation began to show signs of damage.

"Sword Dragon Soaring!" Stabilizing the turmoil within, Ye Han channeled all his power into a loud cry. His sword, like a soaring dragon, cut fiercely towards the six with a sword light stretching five zhang long.