n

n

n

nTranslator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

nAt the center of the potato minefield was Jiang He, lying face-down and clutching his head.

nHe subtly looked out with the corner of his eye, and saw that one of the potatoes was expanding rapidly as endless flames surged within. In the next second and with a resounding boom, the potato exploded, followed by a second potato, a third, and a fourth….

nBoom! Boom! Boom!

nThe tremendous explosions echoed one after another beside his ears, the fiery radiance that instantly burst out dyeing the night sky bright red. The violent explosions triggered a chain effect as well, and the deafening rumbles seemed to be never-ending as all fifty potatoes Jiang He buried blew up!

nJiang He quickly closed his eyes.

nThe light…

nWas blinding.

nEven if he had the perfect defense of being prone and clutching his head, he could clearly feel the tremors from the potato blast.

n“These potatoes are as powerful as the strengthened pea bombs…” Jiang He thought, suddenly feeling heartache. He should have just planted around twenty potatoes if he knew the potato landmines had that much yield—was it not a waste planting fifty in a single breath?

nMeanwhile, as the shockwave of the explosion surged across every direction like a tide, the zombies that were lunging towards the potato minefield were directly vaporized. Even the ones further away were caught in the shockwave and left in pieces.

nThe potato beneath Killer Star detonated too, and his corpse was directly blown sky-high.

n“Holy crap…”

nFurther away on top of the horned boar’s back, Pain Star had a bad feeling in the split second she saw Jiang He drop down to the ground. And yet, before she could react, the potato minefield had already blown.

n“Back! Back away right now!” She squealed.

nHence, the horned boar beneath her promptly turned and ran. In fact, her warning was unnecessary—both Heavenly Generals Earthen Diction and Earthen Majesty were already running for their lives as well.

nEarthen Savage also promptly fled!

nHowever, he was merely an Awakened. While his superpower meant he was not much weaker than Earthen Diction and Earthen Majesty, he was far lacking when it came to physique.

nAs such, he could feel the violent heatwave streaming towards his back even before he could get 50 meters away. He promptly clenched his teeth and animated his superpower so that his whole body burst into flames, and in the next instant, the fiery light from the minefield explosion drowned him out.

n***

n“Oh, I’ve really planted too much!”

n“Such a shame! Such a waste!”

n“By the way, I thought I saw Killer Star’s corpse fly. Wonder if it was blown into pieces… well, if it was, I guess I could only visit his cenotaph next year.”

nMeanwhile, the barrage of potato explosions continued echoing beside his ears.

nClutching his head and remaining facedown, Jiang He felt very bored as many thoughts crossed his mind.

nIn the end, it took ten whole seconds for the shockwave to fade!

nWith that, Jiang He promptly leaped up from the ground and looked around. Everything that was within a thousand square meters was now vaporized, and he himself was in the middle of a big crater that the explosion formed.

n“That boar knight hag and those three Sky Demon Cultists who didn’t look too weak were quite far, and definitely would have reacted in time and escaped… could they have really escaped?”

n“That’s not good…” Jiang He exclaimed inwardly.

nCarrying his sword, he sneaked into the darkness of the night.

n***

nAt the same time, three kilometers away.

nBlargh!

nPain Star abruptly vomited a mouthful of fresh blood even as she sat on the horned boar’s back, her face now pale-white.

nBeside her, both the Earthen Diction Heavenly General and the Earthen Majesty Heavenly General were unscathed. Still, their bodies could not really take being pushed to the limit at a moment’s notice, leaving their qi boiling and their blood churning rather unbearably.

nStill, when Earthen Diction saw Pain Star vomit blood, he quickly went to her, asking, “Are you alright, my lady?”

nPain Star opened her mouth, only to vomit another mouthful of blood.

nThe explosion had been too sudden—the horde of corpses which her power had been imbued into was blown into pieces before she could withdraw, injuring her grievously.

nWaving him off, Pain Star said feebly, “It’s fine. It’s just a little recoil.”

nEven as she spoke, she clenched her teeth, her eyes at once flashing with murderous hatred and some degree of fear as she glared at the direction of the explosion.

n“Was it worth it?” She muttered, as if to herself.

n“Huh?”

nBeside her, Earthen Diction appeared puzzled.

nPain Star continued then, “The information we had claimed that Jiang He is only in his twenties, but he already has the power to slay Killer Star. The potential in his future was inestimable, and it’s not impossible for him to reach the realm of the divine. Even so, he…”

nPausing, Pain Star gritted her teeth. “He actually had the guts to take us out with him?”

nIndeed, in Pain Star’s perspective, Jiang He intends to self-destruct and kill them in the process.

nHe certainly could not be blamed for his confidence in that.

nIn fact, Earthen Diction was about to retort, and he couldn’t do so after thinking about it…

nAfter all, the explosion just now was utterly frightening.

nA rank-eight pinnacle martial artist wearing S-grade alloy armor would definitely die if they had been at the center of the explosion, without any chance of survival—let alone a mere rank-six like Jiang He.

nEven rank-nine martial artists whose defenses were lacking would have been blown to death.

nAnd yet…

nHe had a strange feeling.

n‘Why did Jiang He do that?’ The Earthen Diction Heavenly General wondered then. ‘He just had to plant the mines and trigger it when we walked on it. He certainly did not have to show himself…”

n“Why would he drop face down at the center of the explosion?”

nHaving a hundred questions but no answer, Earthen Diction shook his head, and suddenly exclaimed when he remembered something. “Where’s Earthen Savage? Did… Did he die?”

n“He’s not dead.”

nPain Star said confidently. “Earthen Savage is a fire-type Awakened who could completely convert flames into energy for short periods of time. In that state, he would not be seriously injured even if the magnitude of the explosion exceeds his power.”

nThen, her gaze changed and she seethed, “Let’s regroup for a while. After that, we’ll continue our plan to take Lingzhou City!”

n“But…”

nBoth Earthen Diction and Earthen Majesty traded looks and were about to dissuade her when Pain Star coldly said, “Relax, my superpower is special. As long as we could pile up a high-enough body count when we get to Lingzhou City, I could quickly heal and control corpses again, building another army of zombies that don’t fear death… hmmm?”

nShe turned towards the dark night.

nUnder the moonlight, the Earthen Savage Heavenly General was making his way towards them despite having trouble walking.

nHis body was still smoking.

nHis fire-type power did nullify most of the shockwave… but the explosion was still powerful that he was hurt considerably.

nEarthen Majesty, who was on good terms with Earthen Savage was delighted to see him alive, and walked up to him with a smile. “Earth…”

nBe that as it may, his face dropped in the instant he uttered that single word.

nThe tip of a sword had suddenly pierced through Earthen Savage’s chest.

nEarthen Savage’s face stiffened, but even as he tried to turn his head to look behind him with much difficulty, a large palm held his head and firmly shoved—

nCrack.

nEarthen Savage dropped rigidly into the dirt. Even as life escaped his body, he never once saw the face of the youth who killed him.

n“No!”

n“That’s impossible!”

nPain Star looked as if she had seen a ghost, mumbling, “You’re a rank-six! How could you be safe in the center of the explosion?”

nJiang He, brandishing his Dragon-Slaying Saber and laughing coldly. “Everyone, please do not resist, and I just might let you die in one piece.”

nEh?

nJiang He did a double take even as those words left his mouth.

nWasn’t there something with my tone just now? Why did it feel like I’m a demon lord?

nI’m clearly the victim here, alright?

nNonetheless, composing himself, Jiang He bounded forward, Dragon-Slaying Saber in hand and bellowing in rage, “You bunch of psychos really pushed me too far! Why should I give face after you dogs attacked me again and again!?”

n

n