The Winged Blitz

Ling Xian suspended helplessly in midair. Chained by an invisible force and unable to move, he watched waves of murderous spells speed towards him from all sides.

"BREAK!"

Ling Xian sealed his eyes shut, summoning with all his might what remained of his powers. A mysterious spark began to form around his monochrome pupils. Hope against hope his iron will could carry him through and break the spells of the Lion.

Perhaps sensing that death was near, Ling Xian’s body finally responded to his desperate plea. A translucent aura of magnificent shades burst out of his pores, encircling his body to create a protective cocoon, from which a pair of splendid wings slowly emerged.

A slow rumble turned into a violent force that blasted off the invisible chains that imprisoned Ling Xian and set him free.

"Hooooommmmmmm!"

In the same instant, a wave of deafening roars hit the air.

It was the sound of the powerful spells hitting Ling Xian’s dangling body. The force awakened Heaven and Earth, mountains and valleys, and every living creature.

"Ha, ha! If this doesn’t kill the human, it would no doubt render him useless!" The Emerald Eyed Snow Lion let out a heavy sigh of relief, accompanied by a vengeful excitement. He had avenged his companions, but more importantly, he had emerged from this battle alive."

The feeling was shared by the rest of the beasts still alive. They were terrified of this human. However, now, the bloodstained sword and the deathly silvery glow no longer spelled their deaths.

They were also the lucky ones who got to witness the demise of the human killing machine.

Roooaarrr! Roooaarrr!

The seven lucky survivors of the battle celebrated their victory with a long, hideous growl.

Sadly, the celebration did not last. An icy voice pierced through the air like lightning and thunder. "Look how happy you are! My sincere apologies, you’re about to be disappointed."

The beasts froze, suddenly returning to the traumatized state that plagued them for one too many days. Their gazes were lured by a giant moving object descending from the dark sky.

A pair of magnificent wings plunged towards earth. The spells released by the army had evidently hit and bounced off these powerful wings. Ling Xian was unscathed.

The Winged Blitz!

This was the second transformational gift of the Eyes of Execution. This ability propels one through the heavens in the blink of an eye to the utmost corners of the Cosmos and plunges him down the deepest layers of the earth. Equipped with this gift, there are no places one cannot penetrate. Legend has it, the speed of these powerful wings could rival that of the prehistoric, legendarily fearsome creature known as the Kun Hawk.

Who was the Kun Hawk?

The fastest of all ancient creatures, the Kun Hawk could travel over a million miles with a gentle flap of its wings. It was known during its day as the Kun Hawk of the Nine Heavens.

Such comparison with the legendary Hawk puts the Winged Blitz in a league of its own.

The Emerald Eyed Snow Lion watched the Winged Blitz with terror seeping through its eyes. "What is this? He broke my spell? Impossible! This is Impossible!"

"If this invisible chain were unleashed by the powers of the Setting of Heaven and Earth, then perhaps I would be afraid, albeit slightly. However, one unleashed by an Emerald Eyed Snow Lion could never hurt me."

Mirroring the arrival of a divine being, Ling Xian descended slowly in front of a petrified crowd of defeated beasts.

His gaze fell onto the Lion and its horrified army.

"Damned human, he’s too strong for me. Even though my powers have been halved, it’s still strong enough to imprison a beast of the eighth realm. He managed to break the spell this quickly, that’s dark magic." The Emerald Eyed Snow Lion swallowed hard. Its only wish now was to run away as fast as it could and never turn around to face this killer.

But Ling Xian was not going to let him escape a second time.

"That last battle, that was merely a warmup," Ling Xian sneered. Flapping his magnificent wings, bolts of lightening came raining down from the dark sky.

"Come forward to meet your death!"

Aided by his great wings, Ling Xian caught up to the Lion in a moment’s time. Redirecting all his powers towards his right foot and targeting directly above the Lion’s head, he stomped with a deadly aim.

Speed is power.

The lightning speed of the Winged Blitz accentuated Ling Xian’s power unreservedly. This doubling of great powers came plummeting down towards the hapless Lion.

If hit, the Lion’s head would erupt in a volcanic explosion of blood and brain, there was no other outcome.

"Oh no!"

The Lion was immobilized by fear. In the corner of its good eye, the beast could do nothing but watch the giant foot inch closer towards its head. Trembling, the lion’s mind went blank except for four words.

"This is my end."

Accepting its fate, the Lion let out one last roar, directing all his powers into his right eye and unleashed a flash of emerald light in the direction of Ling Xian’s descending foot. Their powers collided.

In desperation, the Lion knew its only hope for survival rested in its most powerful spell. If anything, this could delay its imminent death.

"I was hit by this light last time, and it suspended me in midair. However, since you’re now using this spell against me head on, I may as well break it."

Determined to claim victory, Ling Xian expanded his wings which unleashed a wave of sharpened blades. The emerald light clashed with the blades and vanished in a pile of dust.

This was another power of the Winged Blitz. Aside from its incredible speed which protects an individual in his flight from danger, the Winged Blitz could also launch a lethal counterattack which could break wind and air.

The meek spell of the Emerald Eyed Snow Lion was thus easily broken.

"I’m a goner." Seeing its most prominent spell being so easily deflected, the Lion knew his time had come. The beast lifted its head to face the sky, let out a cry of despair, and greeted death with open arms.

Ling Xian did not show a single sign of hesitation. Without looking away from the Lion’s desperate gaze, Ling Xian stomped down onto the beast’s head.

"Hommmmmmmmmm!"

A deafening scream filled the universe. A mix of blood and brain parts exploded into the air.

The Emerald Eyed Snow Lion was dead. It had no chance.

"Dead, our leader’s dead! This killer is inhuman!"

"A little stomp, just like that! We have no chance against him. Everyone, flee!"

The remaining six beasts were paralyzed by what they had just witnessed. Their will to fight evaporated in an instant. Still trembling, the group turned around and ran for their lives.

They arrived with such determination. Now, they were scattering away with tails tucked in between their legs.

"Oh, now you wish to run. Don’t you think it’s a bit late?" Ling Xian muttered, catching up to and surprising the Steel-Armored Rhino in its tracks. The magnificent wings appeared in the reflection of the Rhino’s despairing gaze, expanding to a terrifying reach. Hundreds of deadly blades simultaneously rained down on the helpless Rhino, penetrating every single piece of the beast’s protective armor.

"Checkmate!"

The screeching sound of metal and steel colliding sent a terrifying wave of sparks across the fleeing army.

The Steel-Armored Rhino, despite possessing a near-impenetrable layer of steel, was no match for the Winged Blitz. Before the smoke cleared, the Rhino’s head had fallen off.

Seeing the death of another beast of the ninth realm, the army had lost all its will to fight. The remaining beasts scattered even faster from this violent murderer.

What followed was an episode of merciless slaughter.

The speed of the fleeing beasts was no match for the Winged Blitz. Ling Xian caught onto his next victim with ease and casually chopped its flesh into a million pieces, then, effortlessly, marched onto his next target.

The four lucky beasts still alive simultaneously realized that fleeing spelled ultimate death. Together, the comrades halted their sprint, turned around to form a solid wall, and waited for the final battle to the death.

"What, you’ve decided not to keep running?" Ling Xian observed, floating casually higher into the air, flapping his wings in the wind and looking down on these four pitiful opponents. This scene had an air of calmness to it – the calm before the storm.

"Human, don’t celebrate too early. The Bare Winged Crane will avenge us!" A black tiger bellowed.

"A lousy bird. I’m done reasoning with you. Who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong, you know full well," Ling Xian responded with a look of indifference and continued, "Now, come meet your end!"

Ling Xian attacked, his wings flapping behind him expelling a blizzard of bright pale feathers.

In an instant, waves of howling wind sounded off, a sea of dark clouds consumed the sky.

Soft feathers erected on the surface of the gargantuan wings and morphed into piercing blades. The blades adjusted their aim in the direction of the surviving beasts and fired.

Feathers crisscrossed and collided with metal, gold, and flesh. There was no escape.

The four beasts unleashed their very own lifesaving spells. The black tiger lifted its paws and scratched indiscriminately through the air, desperately deflecting every last blade.

"Shuuuaaaaaa!"

Killer feathers, sharper than the sharpest of blades, capable of slicing through metal, steel, stone, and gold, and plucked off the wings of a mythical weapon which makes an appearance every one hundred and twenty thousand years. What chance do these poor creatures have?

Only moments later, the disheveled and unrecognizable corpses of the surviving beasts laid bare under a million white feathers.

Fear and regret filled their last moments on earth, but unfortunately, they could not live to tell their tales.

The entire army of beasts that launched the attack on Ling Xian had all been slaughtered.

"Ahhhhh…"

Ling Xian let out a sigh of relief, descending slowly back onto solid ground. While eyeing the mangled corpses of his enemies, he suddenly felt a presence creeping up from behind. "Who’s there, come into the light!"

"Don’t, don’t kill me," a soft, trembling voice responded in the darkness. A snow-white bunny hopped out from behind Ling Xian.

The bunny was no bigger than the size of Ling Xian’s palm. Pearly white from the tips of its ears to the end of its tail. The tiny creature’s ruby eyes were wide open and on the verge of tears. It eyed Ling Xian with a terrified and pathetic, misty gaze.

Ling Xian turned around and met the bunny’s gaze in amusement. "Are you one of the beasts sent to kill me?