Chapter 72.3: Hand of DeathâEnvoys of the Death God!
A golden radiance immediately shone from Huo Yuhaoâs eyes as the combined force of both his Purple Demon Eyes and Spiritual Shock soul skill burst forth.
The body of the bandit Huo Yuhao had targeted shook fiercely. However, the scene that followed completely shocked him: the banditâs head exploded like a watermelon. Bright red blood, white brain fluids, and other strangely-colored things flew in all directions, which instantly frightened the bandits around him and made them disperse. Theyâd yet to understand how their companion had died.
Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded. He hadnât expected his Spiritual Shock to be so powerful. When he saw the headless corpse fall to the ground, he immediately threw up. That person had been alive just a moment ago!
He wasnât the only one to throw up; the nearby Xiao Xiao also puked. Sheâd been holding it back since theyâd first entered the cave, but after this last scene, she couldnât bear it anymore.
At that moment, a sharp voice echoed forth from the depths of the cave, âWho dares to oppose the Envoy of the Death God? All of you will die and become corpses under my control.â
The bandits werenât relieved when they heard his voice. Rather, they all began to tremble and quickly retreated.
âBe careful!â Huo Yuhao roared as soon as heâd finished throwing up. Thanks to his Spiritual Detection, heâd discovered that the corpses on the ground had begun to swell at an astonishing speed; theyâd also become faintly red in color.
âBoom, boom, boomâ¦â Terrifying explosions began to echo throughout the entire cave. Flesh and blood was scattered all over the cave following each explosion.
The seven members of the preparatory team had just arrived, and since all of them were within the range of Huo Yuhaoâs Spiritual Detection, they were able to react quickly. All of them ran towards the corpse-free areas of the cave as quickly as they could in order to avoid the explosions.
However, the seven disciples of the inner courtyardâwho happened to be in the midst of the corpse-ridden battlefieldâwerenât so lucky. They found themselves at the center of the explosions!
Luckily, they were able to quickly erect some defenses since theyâd heard Huo Yuhaoâs warning. However⦠the power wrought by the detonating corpses was just too much. Bones, muscles, and even blood vessels had become weapons because of the explosions. The stronger the corpse had been when it was alive, the stronger the explosion it caused. The corpse of the Soul King that Dai Yueheng had killed caused a particularly earth-shaking explosion when it detonated.
These explosions continued for about ten seconds or so before they stopped. The Shrek Guardians hadnât thought that theyâd find themselves in this sort of situation. How could they have expected a group of bandits led by a Soul King to have such a powerful skill? Furthermore, the power of this ability was incredibly high. Its power had far exceeded their imagination, and was the main reason that they took such a big hit.
The old man with messy hair that was sitting outside of the cave drinking alcohol was surprised when he heard the sound of explosions. He immediately turned into a streak of light as he shot into the cave.
Elder Xuan had been following their group since the beginning. Heâd checked the auras of the people in the cave as soon as heâd arrived and determined that the strongest one was only a Soul King. Though there was more than one Soul King present, he didnât give it too much thought. These bandits didnât really seem to have a chance against the elite disciples of Shrek Academy. Furthermore, someone as experienced as Wang Yan was in charge of the mission. As such, heâd decided to stay outside and drink alcohol. After all, nobody liked the foul stench of blood.
Even he hadnât expected such a sudden change in their situation. The power from the explosion just now had exceeded that of a Soul King or Soul Emperor.
âGaga, gagaga⦠Did you all like the exploding corpses from this envoy? Even if you all were stronger, youâd still die when faced by my consecutive corpse explosions. Furthermore, even if you were survive the explosions, youâd die from the poison!â
The entire cave was now permeated with a thick smell of blood. Moreover, everyone felt like they were wet due to the thick layer of blood covering their bodies. Every single previously dead bandits had had their corpse exploded.
The explosions hadnât distinguished between friend and foe. As such, they didnât only strike the students of the Shrek Academy; even the bandits that were still alive had been hit by the explosions. Despite this, the bandits had been somewhat prepared. Some of them had been able to quickly hide in depressions in the ground to dodge the explosions.
However, the scariest thing was actually the liquid alongside the explosion; it had the same powerful corrosive properties as a strong acid. The âchi chiâ sound of things being corroded echoed throughout the entire cave. Besides the corpses exploding, the hidden soul master had even made them release a deadly poison. It was an extremely vile and cruel tactic.
Everyone had done their best to protect themselves the moment theyâd heard Huo Yuhaoâs warning. However, considering the fact that they all had different martial souls, their defensive capabilities were all different from one another.
Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were sent flying from the explosion, and they both spat out some blood. Despite their injuries however, their soul skillsâ protected them from being contaminated by the poisonous blood. Ma Xiaotao landed in a place that not too far off from Huo Yuhaoâs position.
Ling Luochenâs entire body was protected by a layer of ice, but she was still sent flying regardless. However, considering that sheâd been in the rear, and that sheâd managed to raise her defenses in time, she didnât end up in a bad state. She spat out some blood like Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng had, but she didnât receive any external injuries.
On the other hand, Chen Zifeng wasnât as lucky as them. He was also an assault system battle soul master, and considering the number of soul rings he had, he exceeded both Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng in pure offensive power. However, how was he supposed to protect his entire body with just his Soulchasing Sword? He could only rely on his soul power and protective armor to withstand the explosion.
Once the explosions had finished, he was lying sprawled on his side. His right leg had disappeared, and heâd begun to scream pitifully due to the corrosion of the deadly poison and loss of his limb.
However, he wasnât the only one that had been severely injured. Gong Yangmo wasnât much stronger than him; even if he was the ultimate auxiliary-type soul master, he definitely wasnât specialized in defense! Moreover, the corpses had exploded without much warning at all. Despite Ling Luochenâs assistance, his chest, abdomen, and legs had all been badly mangled. Smoke was still rising from his wounds, and heâd lost consciousness.
Yao Haoxuan had met a tragic fate. As his build was the biggest, heâd had to face the brunt of the explosions. Half of his body had simply disappearedâhe obviously hadnât been able to survive the explosion.
Xi Xi had it slightly better off. Her thunder and lightning had protected her body, while thanks to her fast speed, only her back had been struck. However, sheâd still suffered severe wounds and was lying on the ground in agony.
Regardless of the intensity of their injures, the seven disciples of the inner courtyard had all suffered heavy injuries, while one of them had even died. Even though theyâd originally held the advantage, they were now in an extremely pitiful state.
All of this had happened too quickly; the disciples of the outer courtyard didnât suffer any damage since they were on the periphery, but they were still shaken by the outcome.
âBastard!â A hoarse voice suddenly echoed, causing the entire cave to tremble. An intense white light immediately covered every corner of the cave, afterwich all of the deadly corrosive poison disappeared.
The form of a slovenly old man immediately became visible. Elder Xuan raised his right hand, then made a grabbing motion towards the depths of the cave. A terrifying attractive force erupted from his palm, causing a figure to rapidly fly towards him from the interior of the cave.
The word âangerâ wasnât enough to describe Elder Xuanâs current state of mind. His students had been injured to this extent, despite being under his supervision. Furthermore, the ones that had received harm were members of the current Shrekâs Seven Monsters! They were supposed to represent the academy at the Elite Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament in a few days, yet now, one of them had died, and the others were all severely injured!
The form that was yanked towards Elder Xuan was shrouded in a black robe. He had a slender build, and his facial features were hidden. Only the radiance of five soul rings, three of which yellow and two of which purple, were visible. This person really was just a Soul King, yet heâd created such a terrifying tragedy!
He let out a terrified scream as soon as he was yanked away by Elder Xuan. He tried his best to struggle free, but how could he struggle against someone as powerful as Elder Xuan? He could only watch helplessly as he was pulled closer and closer to Elder Xuan.
At that moment, the remaining half of Yao Haoxuanâs body suddenly began to swell.
âElder Xuan, be careful!â Huo Yuhao called out in alarm.
Elder Xuanâs perception wasnât weak, and his students were much more important than this evil soul master! The academy had already suffered such a huge loss; how could he let more people be injured?
He raised both of his hands, and a ball of white light immediately enveloped Yao Haoxuanâs corpse. At the same time, he flicked his finger, which caused the Soul King to feel as if heâd been struck by a huge hammer. However, something strange happened. All five of his soul rings simultaneously shone and he changed into a wisp of smoke. However, he didnât run away. Instead, he pounced towards Huo Yuhao.
His speed was so fast that Huo Yuhao couldnât react even with his Spiritual Detection active. Afterwards he felt the world spin, then heard Elder Xuanâs angry yell. There wasnât anything under his feet; they instantly sank through the ground.
A powerful explosion echoed through the cave. Yao Haoxuanâs body exploded, and even his skeleton was vaporized. The explosion was contained by Elder Xuan, but it was because of this that he arrived a moment too late to save Huo Yuhao; his hands only grabbed a newly-created slab of stone. Huo Yuhao and the evil soul master had disappeared without a trace.
âBastard!â Elder Xuan angrily howled. He was now thoroughly enraged. He immediately punched the ground, instantly pulverizing the newly-created slab of stone to. However, he didnât dare to use too much soul power out of fear that heâd harm Huo Yuhao, who might have been below it. As this happened, a series of explosions echoed from the corridor beneath them, causing it collapse. A crafty person always had several ways out of a predicament. That person was, without a doubt, the leader of the group of bandits known as the Hand of Death.