Chapter 29: Sister?

With a swift, practiced movement, Yun Ho leaped to the side, avoiding the thrust by mere inches, with the spear shooting past where his head had been, the air hissing from the sheer speed of the strike. 

The woman had anticipated this, though, and with a sharp twist of her wrist, she changed her thrust into a sideways slash aimed to decapitate him. But Yun Ho, in an almost comical display of agility, let himself fall sideways to the ground, narrowly evading the spear once again.

The spearwoman's eyes widened in surprise as Yun Ho crashed heavily onto the road, his large body making a resounding thud. Sensing an opportunity, she quickly rotated her spear, stabbing it down at his thick legs, aiming to pin him to the ground.

But just as the spear was about to pierce him, Yun Ho rolled to the side with unexpected speed, narrowly escaping the attack. Instead of using this roll to regain his footing, Yun Ho continued to roll away down the street, his large body tucking in as he moved.

"Hahaha!" He let out a loud, boisterous laugh, as he rolled, "Catch me if you can!" His voice echoed down the street, leaving the two Grandmasters momentarily stunned, their faces a mix of confusion and disbelief.

They exchanged bewildered glances, utterly flabbergasted by the sight of this large man rolling away like a boulder.

Doesn't this elder have any shame?!

The spearwoman's expression hardened. She wasn't about to let him escape. With a determined grunt, she leaned forward, the ground beneath her cracking as she launched herself forward in pursuit.

Her body blurred with speed, closing the distance between them in an instant, and as she caught up to the rolling Yun Ho, she thrust her spear downward with all her might. But just as the spear was about to make contact, thick vines shot out from the ground behind her, wrapping around her arm and halting her strike. 

"!!!"

Suddenly, Yun Ho rolled to his feet and in one swift motion, he cocked back his left arm, and delivered a punch that connected squarely with her face. The impact was devastating, stars flashing before her eyes as her nose shattered under the force. The punch sent her flying backward, only for the vines to catch her midair. It warped around her legs, binding them together, then coiled around her arms, pinning them to her torso while holding her upright, her face exposed. 

Yun Ho dashed forward, his speed belying his massive frame, and without giving her a moment to recover, he cocked his hand back and delivered a powerful right hook. The blow connected with her jaw, sending a sickening crunch through the air. 

A left hook followed, then another right, Yun Ho's fists flying like bullets as they pounded her face with relentless force. Each strike sent shockwaves through her body, the vines snapping under the backward pressure until, with a final uppercut, she was thrown into the air, blood trailing behind her in a gruesome arc.

Her spear, which she had held onto until the last moment, faded away as she crashed to the ground, landing flat on her back with a thud. Her breathing was ragged, labored, her face a grotesque mask of broken bones and torn flesh. Her jaw hung by threads of muscle, her eyes swollen shut, her features barely recognizable beneath the swelling and blood. Using the last of her strength, she rolled onto her stomach, her battered body trembling with effort. 

She turned her head, blood pooling in her mouth, to look at her brother who stood nearby, his eyes cold and distant as they stared down at her. Beside him stood the elder's daughter, her eyes red, blood dripping from the corners as she watched. 

 The spearwoman tried to speak, to ask why he did what he did, but her voice was lost in the blood choking her throat. She couldn't muster the strength to form words as her brother, expressionless, clapped his hands together. More vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around her legs and lifting her into the air. The vines continued to grow, lifting her higher and higher until she was suspended more than 15 meters above the ground. 

 Then, with a swift, brutal motion, the vines slammed her down face-first into the earth. The sound of her neck snapping was loud, sharp, and final, reverberating through the clearing. The impact left her body limp, lifeless, blood pooling beneath her shattered skull. For a moment, the man stood there, frozen, his eyes locked on his sister's broken form.

And then, Wong Yazhu let out a deep breath, her eyes fading back to normal. "Almost passed out." She uttered.

Though her spiritual sea was stronger than his, making the man suddenly see Yun Ho instead of his sister was extremely difficult. She had to use all her spiritual power to instantly change his perception, and holding that illusion took more than 95% of her power in her millennium ring.

Now out of the illusion, the reality of what the vine man had done began to sink in, his mind reeling as he tried to comprehend the horror before him. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat sending waves of nausea and disbelief through his body. His hands trembled, the blood draining from his face as he realized that he had just killed his own sister.

"Brutal." Yun Ho uttered, staring at the man as his breathing quickened, his eyes darting around in a frantic, disoriented panic.

The man clutched his head, his thoughts spiraling out of control, unable to reconcile the image of his sister's lifeless body with the fact that he was the one who had killed her. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face as his mind shattered under the weight of his guilt. All the strength, all the resolve he had moments ago, vanished, leaving behind a broken man whose world had just crumbled in the most horrific way imaginable.

"I take back what I said." His voice was low as he looked at the girl, who looked at the crying man with pity. "That eye is terrifying."

"Yeah, it is." She used her shirt to clean the blood from her face. "Why don't you put him out of his misery."

"No…" Yun Ho didn't. "I want you to try something." He smiled, his fat filled face morphing into a horrifying visage. "His mind is broken, so wouldn't it be easier to put him under an illusion?"

"I guess." Wong Yazhu shrugged.

He walked up to the man, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his face. He was unresponsive, still staring into space, his mind still trying to comprehend what he had done.

"I want you to put him under an illusion." He turned the man, making him stare up at Wong Yazhu, though his eyes didn't see her. "Make him see you as his sister."

"???" She stared at Yun Ho.

He is mad!

"CHAAAA!" The elder roared as her body descended like a comet, her right fist cocked and aimed directly at the Drake's head. The beast, however, had razor-sharp instincts, and with a powerful leap, it managed to jump back just in time, leaving the elder to crash down into the earth. 

Her fist slammed into the ground with a deafening boom, cratering the earth beneath her, sending chunks of stone and debris flying into the air. In the blink of an eye, she was back on her feet, but the Drake was already upon her once more. Its jaws opened wide, like massive scissors, ready to tear her apart.

Grunting, the elder rolled to the side, barely evading the lethal snap of the Drake's maw, which closed with a sound like a sonic boom. As she regained her footing, the Drake brought its right forepaw down, aiming to crush her under its immense weight. The earth trembled as the paw hit the ground, but the elder rolled once more, dodging with mere inches to spare.

The Drake, undeterred, swung its massive tail in a wide arc, aiming to knock her off her feet. However, she leapt just in time, the air whistling as the tail whooshed past her, feeling the rush of air beneath her. Her feet touched the ground again, and she charged forward, delivering a powerful punch to the Drake's ribs. The impact was devastating, a sickening crunch as her fist connected, cracking the creature's tough scales.

The Drake roared, a sound filled with both pain and fury, its blue eyes narrowing as it rose up on its hind legs. Now towering at a height of four meters, the beast glared down at the elder, its massive form casting a shadow over her. 

In less than a single frame of motion, the Drake slammed both of its forelegs into the ground with the full force of its 10,000 kg body weight. The earth beneath it shattered, spiderweb cracks radiating outward in all directions, stretching over a thirty-five-meter radius with a sound like thunder, echoing for miles.

The force of the impact caused an explosive airburst that obliterated the surrounding forest. Trees within an 80-meter radius were uprooted and splintered, their trunks snapping like twigs. Chunks of earth, some as large as buildings, were thrown into the air as the ground heaved, the scene resembling an earthquake. 

The elder, having been launched into the air by the shockwave, managed to land on a massive chunk of earth still being thrown outward. Her feet found purchase on a rock the size of a car, her eyes unable to find the drake due to thick dust that now clouded the area.

But the Drake could see her just fine.

A sudden purple glint pierced through the haze and. Then, without warning, a beam of pure, concentrated lightning shot toward her, crackling with a high-pitched scream, rings of sonic booms followed its path as it tore through the air. Reacting instinctively, the elder leaped from the rock just as the beam of lightning pierced through it, turning the chunk of earth into molten slag in an instant.

The lightning beam tracked her as she darted from one airborne chunk of debris to another, the beam carving a trail of destruction in its wake. Every rock, tree trunk, and boulder it touched was boiled and scorched beyond recognition. 

The elder moved like a blur, her form barely visible and then, she grabbed a chunk of earth twice her size, her fingers digging into its surface. With a grunt, she hurled it at the Drake like a cannonball.

The rock flew through the air with the force and acceleration of a bullet, and the Drake, unable to dodge in time, growled as the projectile struck its back. The beam of lightning ceased, and for a moment, there was a pause.

But that moment was fleeting. 

A chunk of earth in front of the elder exploded, and the Drake was upon her again, its massive paw crashing toward her, too fast and unexpected for her to dodge. The paw slammed into her side like a sledgehammer hitting stone, cracking her ribs upon impact. The force sent her careening through a tree trunk and multiple chunks of debris before she crashed into another large chunk of earth, sliding back several meters before coming to a halt.

The Drake wasted no time as it jumped from a massive boulder, shooting forward and landing on the same chunk of earth as the elder. Without pausing, it dashed forward, slashing at her with its forelegs, its razor sharp claw threatening to slash her into pieces. 

However, the elder backflipped out of the way, dodging the first strike by a hair. Another slash followed, and she dodged again with another acrobatic flip. This continued, with each strike pushing her further to the edge of the boulder.

Finally reaching the edge, she leaped off, landing gracefully on a nearby tree trunk. But the Drake was relentless. Its maw opened, and with a high-pitched whistle, another beam of lightning shot toward her. She leaped again, the beam flashing past her as she landed on yet another tree trunk with her body crouched low, muscles bulging on her legs.

With a burst, she launched herself toward the Drake, the tree trunk exploding from the force released from her feet as her form, a shot towards her target. Rings of compressed air followed her as her knee slammed into the side of the Drake's head, shattering its scales and exposing the blue skin beneath. The force sent the beast's head snapping to the side, its lightning beam trailing off course.

The drake recovered instantly, its head snapping back to face the elder. Its eyes gleamed with malevolence as it unleashed another beam of lightning, the air crackling with electric energy. The elder grunted, her form blurring as she dodged, disappearing into the swirling debris that filled the sky. She darted between the now falling rubble, her eyes locking onto a large tree trunk hurtling through the air.

With a swift motion, she grabbed it, hurling it with tremendous force at the drake. The trunk flew through the air like a missile, smashing into the drake's side with a dull thud, staggering the beast slightly, but it quickly regained its balance, growling in annoyance.

Not wasting a second, the elder grabbed a chunk of earth, throwing it with equal force. The debris collided with the drake once more, but this time, she didn't stop. Like a machine, she leapt from the air, moving from one piece of falling debris to another, using her raw strength and speed to throw everything she could at the creature. Chunks of earth, tree trunks, rocks—whatever her hands found became a weapon. At a rate of more than fifteen throws each second, she bombarded the drake relentlessly.

The drake, unable to move under the weight of the constant barrage, soon found itself trapped beneath a mountain of debris. Its massive form was buried under the sheer volume of rocks, trees, and shattered earth, the force of the weight driving it down with a bone-rattling boom. The remnants of the battle rained down from the sky, the last pieces of debris clattering to the ground.

From above, the elder descended rapidly, her yellow and white spirit rings glowing as she cocked back her fist. She plummeted toward the mound of rubble like a meteor, aiming to deliver a finishing blow. But then, in that moment, a high-pitched scream tore through the air—the scream of a thousand cicadas.

'!!!' She had thought it didn't have enough soul power for this skill, but she was wrong!

Before she could react, an omnidirectional wave of electricity exploded from beneath the debris with blinding speed, disintegrating the rubble and sending it flying in all directions. The elder was the first to be hit, the electric shock paralyzing her midair, her body jolting violently as the surge ran through her muscles.

Stunned, she had no chance to evade the debris that followed. Rocks, chunks of earth, and shattered trees slammed into her, the sheer force of the impacts sending her spiraling backward through the air. She managed to regain control of her body just in time, only for a thick shadow to appear above her.

"Ah…" was all she could think before the drake's massive tail slammed down with the weight of a mountain, striking her like a sledgehammer. 

The tail crashed into her with a deafening boom, sending shockwaves rippling through the earth. Her body was driven into the ground with brutal force, smashing into the earth back-first. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and her vision blurred as pain seared through her body.

She lay at the center of a deep crater, several of her ribs cracked, her muscles torn and throbbing with agony. She could feel the bones in her arms and legs straining under the pressure. The ground beneath her was shattered, the earth forming a spiderweb of cracks from the force of her fall.

The drake landed heavily beside her, its forelegs crashing into the ground on either side of her like towering pillars. Now trapped between its colossal limbs, the elder was utterly helpless. Her vision flickered as she stared up, barely able to move, her strength fading as the drake's jaws opened wide above her, revealing its glowing purple throat, radiating with energy.

And then with a flash, it turned into a small lizard, landing on her face. 

The time duration of the third martial skill, Lightning Drake Transformation, has ended.

'...'

They both stared at each other, and then the woman, with all her might, reached up and grabbed the lizard. "He!" With a grunt, she squeezed, completely crushing the lizard.

"GAH!" Yun Ho fell on one knee, black and red blood pooling from his mouth. 'My Drake lost!?' 

Yun Ho's scream echoed through the street as pain wracked his body. Each injury the Lightning Drake had sustained now transferred to him. His ribs on the left side shattered with a sharp crack, as if hit by an invisible hammer. His breath caught in his throat as blood bubbled up, spilling from his mouth. 

Then came another blow—something unseen smashed into his jaw, and he felt the horrific sensation of his lower jaw separating entirely from the upper, dropping grotesquely to the ground. Agonizing waves of pain cascaded over him, leaving him unable to move, his body continuing to absorb the damage his Drake had taken in battle.

He was dying.

Meanwhile, back in the desolate wasteland where the battle had taken place, the Spirit Elder finally managed to stand. Her body was broken, her bloodied eyes straining to see through the dust still settling around her, with the last remnants of debris clattering against the surrounding ground. 

She couldn't see much, but she didn't need to. The Drake's spirit had returned to Yun Ho, and all she had to do now was follow the path she had memorized. She would find the fat bastard and kill him.

She moved forward, her legs trembling beneath her weight, every step a struggle as she passed the remains of the battlefield. Giant chunks of earth jutted out from the ground like jagged teeth, trees uprooted and lying across the ground, some with their roots exposed to the air as their crowns were buried in the soil. 

The scene was a twisted vision of destruction, debris littering the landscape, with splintered tree trunks and crushed rocks scattered everywhere. Dead animals lay crushed beneath the weight of the falling rubble—evidence of the havoc that had been unleashed.

Finally, the Spirit Elder emerged from the dust cloud and into the forest that bore the scars of the Drake's earlier stomp. The trees were snapped in half, their trunks splintered, and the ground was littered with fallen branches. She moved forward, passing through the remains of the carnage until she reached the road.

The scene was quiet. 

Debris had landed on the road, but it wasn't as chaotic here. She looked to her left—nothing. Then, turning to her right, she saw him. Yun Ho lay on the ground, his body battered and broken, practically on the brink of death. A smirk curled on her bloodied lips as she stumbled toward him.

"F-fucker…" she rasped, her voice cracked and hoarse. 

Every word hurts.

Her body was spent, her martial soul transformation finally ending. Her soul power had dwindled to a mere fraction, and her rings were nearly depleted. But it didn't matter now. All she had to do was finish him. She stumbled toward him, watching as Yun Ho tried to push himself onto all fours, only for his injuries to force him back to the ground with a pained groan.

Standing over him, staring down at his broken form, the Spirit Elder grinned. She clenched her fist, summoning the last remnants of her soul power. A white ring briefly flared to life beneath her, and with all the strength she could muster, she aimed her fist at his head, preparing to end it all.

But just as her fist descended, a vine shot from the ground, wrapping around Yun Ho's body and yanking him away. Her punch slammed into the earth, shattering it with explosive force. Rage flooded her as she turned toward the source of the vine.

It was the man just a few meters away—the Grandmaster she had trained since he was a mere Spirit Scholar. He knelt on the ground while cradling the girl she recognized as the fat man's daughter in his arms. His expression was dark, his eyes filled with enmity, as though she were the enemy.

"You almost killed my sister," he growled, his voice shaking with fury. A yellow ring rose from below his feet, glowing brightly before disappearing above his head.

The Spirit Elder's blood froze. 

Sister? That's not his sister!

Without hesitation, he thrust his hands toward her, his palms open as more vines erupted from the earth. They moved with terrifying speed, wrapping around her broken body like a cocoon. She was too weak to resist. Her strength had left her, her soul power drained. She couldn't move.

With a cold sneer, the Grandmaster clenched his fist, and the surrounding vines tightened in response, crushing her with relentless force. The pressure built rapidly, and the Spirit Elder's body convulsed under the strain.

The vines constricted further, crushing her bones and stealing the breath from her lungs as darkness claimed her vision. 

'Ah, damn.' 

One foolish decision due to greed ended her life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Author's Note~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, I kind of like the elder woman, I don't know why. I don't want her to die...

Plot armor might save her ass.