Chapter 108.1: Thank You, Big Bro, for the Rocket

Boom! Boom!

Thunderous sound reverberated like war drums, pounding against the chest. Yellow sand billowed as dust blanketed the skies. Through the swirling haze, faint outlines of monstrous visages emerged. Not just one or two, but tens of thousands of them, charging in unison. The sheer sight was enough to shatter one's courage and steal one's soul.

From behind a dune, Zhao Ju's heart quivered as he gazed at the scene. Though he was nearly five kilometers from the City of No Return, the oppressive roar rattled his spirit. He couldn't imagine how it felt like for Qi Yuan, who sat alone atop those walls.

The man himself stood up. The wind tugged at his sleeves as he brandished the broken sword.

Qi Yuan smirked. "Finally! The monsters are attacking the city!"

In games, demon waves would assault cities all the time. Usually, players would band together to defend it, but no one else was playing this game besides him.

His eyes gleamed as he watched the demon army surge closer. Each was an EXP waiting to be farmed. By wiping them out, he could level up several times in one go.

As the army thundered closer, Qi Yuan leaped from the city wall.

Sharing One Robe!

In an instant, he merged with Little Bride. After all, the larger his body, the more efficiently he could slaughter the enemy.

Now ten feet tall, Qi Yuan stood like a towering, blood-red demon. His scarlet blade gleamed with bloodlust, and he appeared like a war god drenched in gore.

Zhao Ju's eyes widened in awe. "What kind of divine technique is that? That is way too cool!"

Such divine techniques were the mark of a Mythwalker

.

Liu Wentai stared at Qi Yuan's colossal figure. He had seen it once before, yet the sight still shook him to his core. That figure was like a god, or a demon who had descended upon the mortal zone.

"It seems the City of No Return guardian will unleash his divine technique once, and then retreat." Zhao Ju reasoned aloud. "We should be ready to withdraw the moment he does."

The other cultivators nodded, tense and wary. "Understood."

And indeed, Qi Yuan acted just as Zhao Ju predicted. Facing ten thousand demons, he unleashed his opening move, the Heaven-Cleaving Sword—the simplest, most domineering, and most destructive skill he knew.

A massive sword of crimson light crashed down from the sky, its blade carving through the demon army like a burning meteor. The impact raised a storm of heat and sand, splitting the once-unbroken ranks into chaos. That one strike slaughtered nearly a thousand demons.

"So strong!" Zhao Ju gasped. "If I had that kind of power, I'd fight against demon armies every day! One slash a day to drive them mad!"

He turned to leave. After all, though Qi Yuan's attack had dealt great damage to an army of ten thousand, it was little more than a scratch. The true elites among the demons were untouched.

"We should..." Zhao Ju began, but then froze. What he saw next left him utterly dumbfounded.

Instead of retreating after the opening strike, the City of No Return guardian charged straight into the demon army!

"Is he insane?!" Zhao Ju cried. "That's suicide!"

As badass as it seemed, charging into tens of thousands of enemies meant certain death.

"Run, damn it! There's still a chance to break out!" Zhao Ju nearly shouted himself hoarse.

Liu Wentai's chest tightened. He recalled Qi Yuan's cold, sharp expression and thought to himself,

No... he's not the type to act without purpose.

Meanwhile, deep within the demon ranks, the Demon Tamers were laughing.

"The City of No Return guardian is a fool!"

"He dares rush alone into an army of ten thousand? He's begging to die!"

Their leader, Wu Tong, sneered. "As expected of the White Supreme's disciple, he is arrogant to the end. Unfortunately for you, your fate is sealed the moment you meet me."

Then, he shouted, "All Nation Subjugators, attack! Surround and crush him!"

He no longer waited for the city guardian to wear himself down fighting ordinary demons. Crushing him outright with brutal force was the way to go. As long as he had the Supreme's Origin strike, he didn't have to fear the city guardian!

Dozens of Nation Subjugators closed in on Qi Yuan. Powerful demons surged toward him as well. In barely a dozen breaths, more than a hundred demons had surrounded Qi Yuan, cornering him from all sides.

Far off, Zhao Ju watched, his face drained of color. He muttered, "The city guardian is done for..."

Surrounded by so many demons and Nation Subjugators, the city guardian had lost his last chance to flee.

Liu Wentai's chest tightened. He trusted Qi Yuan's strength, but the pressure on him was unimaginable. Without the power of a Supreme, how could he win? A Supreme sat high above the world, they wouldn't show up for such a small city?

He sighed. "Too bad I'm still too weak. If not, I would fight alongside the City of No Return's guardian to the death!"

***

Qi Yuan was a killing god on the battlefield. With his sword alone, bodies fell wherever he set his sight. Now, when he cut down demons, he channeled ten percent of Demonic Origin. His eyes reddened with bloodlust, flickering with greed, fury, pride and other emotions. With every kill, he grew more ravenous..

"Bring me more. Give me more!" he urged, intoxicated by the torrent of XP pouring in.

He fought like a glutton starved for ten thousand years. With a single sweep of his sword, a dozen demons were annihilated. They could neither stop nor harm him. After his experiences in the end zones, the tens of thousands of demons were just EXP fodder for him. He cut through the demon army as if it was a walk in the park.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed as he spotted something a thousand meters away.

"An elite?" he murmured.

Qi Yuan had seen an elderly Nation Subjugator. The old man met his eyes with an inexplicable fear.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

This guardian is weird. I had better stay out of it

, the elder thought, and withdrew slowly. He dared not retreat too openly lest Wu Tong noticed.

As if Qi Yuan would let his prey slip away so easily.

"Die!"

A thousand meters was nothing to him. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and swung his sword. Sword qi tore across several thousand meters. Facing such a strike, the elderly Nation Subjugator was no different from an ordinary demon. A one-hit kill.

During his final moments, the old man's pupils dilated, and regret washed over his face. If only he'd withdrawn sooner. If only he hadn't come.

Wu Tong saw it all and grew frantic. In such a short time, the city guardian had slain a tenth of the demon army! At this rate, even if he took over the City of No Return, his losses would be severe!

He roared, charging at Qi Yuan, "Guardian of the City of No Return! This is your end!"

His subordinates gaped, when had their lord become so reckless? After a brief hesitation, they followed suit, closing in on Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan was annoyed. "This is why I prefer silent NPCs. They die quietly, and I can even voice them in my head. Talkative NPCs like you are the ones I hate the most."

Then, he turned to Wu Tong. "No wonder you were so cocky, you just stepped into the Mythwalker realm."

Qi Yuan regarded Wu Tong with a calm, unfathomable stare. He could kill a mere Mythwalker with one stroke. Even if three thousand came, it'd only prolong the slaughter.

Wu Tong’s eyes widened in surprise. "You really are a Mythwalker."

None of his men knew, but he'd broken into the Mythwalker realm half a year ago. For the city guardian to spot it at a glance proved Wu Tong's strength was indeed at that tier and a seasoned Mythwalker.

"So what if you're a seasoned Mythwalker? Surrounded by my army, only death awaits you!" Wu Tong declared, confident. Indeed, a seasoned Mythwalker surrounded like this still faced death.

Qi Yuan glanced at Wu Tong and flicked his sword. "Since you're going to die anyway, hurry up and offer your neck so I can lop off your head. Life's hard, do a good deed for someone else."

Wu Tong sneered. "You're a Mythwalker, and so am I, do you think I'm afraid of you?"