Chapter 194: Dog Food
Wei Chen glanced at Max, who was lying on the floor, exhausted. He then tossed a bottle of healing pills to Dream Butterfly, who caught it midair.
"That’s the healing pills, Yu’er. Feed it to him," Wei Chen said, then shifted his attention toward the barbaric man.
The barbaric man felt a chill from Wei Chen’s gaze. The ominous and threatening feeling he had honed through long years of life and death struggles warned him.
This man was someone he should not have provoked.
Wei Chen took a deep breath to press his anger down. Yes, he was not trying to calm it, only suppress it so it would not interfere with his judgment.
Then, a sentence slipped from his lips.
"I’ll make you into dog food."
The barbaric man wanted to retort, or even shout back with fake bravado like he usually did to save face.
But nothing came out. It was not because he did not want to, but because...
The target of his bravado had vanished and reappeared right in front of him without any warning. No signal, no shout, no burst of anger. He simply stated that line like a fact and appeared before him.
The barbaric man had no choice but to raise his axe to defend against the sudden attack.
Clank!
The underworld bone claw clashed with his axe. Its powerful underworld qi quickly corroded the weapon. Dark marks of decay spread as rust began to replace the once gleaming white axe.
"You coward! This is a sneak attack!" the barbaric man shouted, trying to regain his composure, or at least use Wei Chen’s martial honor against him.
"Heh," Wei Chen sneered. "That’s rich, coming from the one who attacked a harmless woman to gain an upper hand against a dog."
The barbaric man’s anger rose. Even though it was the truth, he did not want others to remind him of this less than honorable act.
But he did not have the chance to voice his anger. Wei Chen’s claw grew, each talon like a massive scythe trying to reap his soul from his body.
If not for the axe shielding him, his soul might have already been torn out.
He could feel it. That claw truly had the power to rip out a person’s soul. It was as if he were fighting against a reaper.
Then something struck him. Words from one of the elders of the ancient clan he once served echoed in his mind.
"There is a reason why the Underworld Palace is called as such. It is because of how their cultivation methods and combat techniques work. If you fight them, you will feel like you are fighting a reaper, a being that mortals should never provoke."
As this memory surfaced, realization dawned on him.
Could it be... this man is from the Underworld Palace? No, that should not be possible.
In that case... no matter what, I must survive.
With that thought, the barbaric man used a forbidden technique. It increased his power output threefold, and his physical strength by more than tenfold.
But it could only last for half an hour.
He pushed Wei Chen away, sacrificing his beloved great axe.
Clank! Crack!
His great axe instantly turned into a pile of rusted dust. But the moment bought by his increased strength and that sacrifice was precious.
If he were arrogant, he might have used this chance to attack Wei Chen. But if that were the case, he would not have survived this long.
Instead, he used this precious opportunity to flee. He blasted through the wall to the outside, heading toward the flying ark surrounding the Thousand Treasure Pavilion.
His men outside noticed him running, but he did not care. His life was more important than his pride.
"Stop him!" the barbaric man shouted. All his nearby men rushed toward Wei Chen.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face. With this, those who witnessed his shameful act would not live to speak of it.
The barbaric man felt proud of his plan, but...
Slash! Splash! Squish!
The sounds of flesh tearing, blades cutting through muscle, and blood splattering echoed behind him.
This time, Wei Chen showed no mercy. He slaughtered them all.
He had purchased many killing licenses whenever they were on sale, precisely for situations like this. Now he burned through them without counting. All the supplies he had gathered from various discounts were used up in one go.
Severed limbs, heads, and mangled bodies were scattered across the deck. Some of it splashed onto the barbaric man’s back, sending a shiver down his spine.
It felt like death itself was breathing down his neck.
But it did not matter. He had already reached his flying ark.
"All of you, stop that man! Someone, start the emergency escape!" he shouted.
Yes, this was not cowardice. It was a tactical retreat. He had to bring this news back to his clan.
But...
Slash!
With one powerful strike, his flying ark was cut in half.
As the shattered ark began to fall toward the sea of forest below, he heard the agonized screams of his men as their lives were taken.
Among them were the slaves he had kept to operate the ark. All of them fell into the forest below.
He wanted to turn back and see what had happened, but his survival instinct overrode his curiosity.
He had to run.
With that thought, he used all his strength to flee without looking back.
But...
"Hey... why the hurry? Won’t you stay a little longer?"
A colossal figure suddenly appeared before him.
It was a spiritual construct, formed entirely from overwhelming underworld qi. Its oppressive presence and hostility toward life crushed all of the barbaric man’s arrogance and false bravado.
Leaving behind only dread and primal fear.
He looked up at the avatar of death. Within its chest stood Wei Chen, looking down at him as if he were nothing more than an ant.
The massive hand of the avatar grabbed the barbaric man’s body while he remained frozen in fear.
"Remember my promise?" Wei Chen asked, not expecting an answer.
The barbaric man could not even scream. His throat and vocal cords had already been pierced and severed by the avatar’s claw.
"Become my dog food."
Like a final judgment, the claw clenched, crushing his muscles and bones while somehow leaving his cultivation intact.
At that moment, the barbaric man hated his own vitality more than ever. It kept him conscious, forcing him to feel every bit of the agony while being unable to cry out. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Wei Chen tossed the broken body onto the deck.
At that moment, Max slowly stepped out of the building. Its body was already eighty percent healed. The wounds had closed, and its intestines had regenerated, though it was still drained of blood and energy.
Its ferocious eyes stared at the barbaric man’s broken body like it was staring at a tonic, or a highly nutritious meal.
Meanwhile, the men from the other two flying arks had regained their senses. They realized they had kicked an iron plate and immediately tried to flee.
Snap!
With a snap of his fingers, a colossal castle appeared in the sky above the invaders’ flying arks. Its dark, spherical structure reminded Wei Chen of a death star.
But to the invaders, it looked like a moon of death.
"Men, capture them."
At Wei Chen’s command, thousands of warriors from within the castle flew out and attacked the invaders.
Wei Chen dismissed the avatar of death and descended to the deck. He patted Max, who was still staring at the barbaric man’s body, its tail spinning like a windmill.
"Bon appétit."
Like a signal, Max immediately lunged at the barbaric man, devouring the nutritious meal.
The crunching sounds of bone and flesh terrified everyone who witnessed it. All of the invading forces heard and saw the scene, and it filled them with fear.
Wei Chen, on the other hand, chose to walk away toward the lounge where he had sealed the barrier, the kind that completely blocked all sight to prevent Dream Butterfly from suffering PTSD from the scene.
He needed to go back and tell her that everything was alright. And also, he needed to check on the survivors and see if there was still enough manpower to operate the flying ark.
Inside the lounge, he saw Dream Butterfly, clearly shaken by the experience. He slowly spent his time consoling her while waiting for his men outside to capture the invaders. He wanted to know which bastard dared to attack his flying ark.
He could already guess that there was something fishy about this situation. This world was nearly the size of his previous world’s solar system, so how did this man manage to pinpoint his flying ark? It was not like he was using the well-documented routes that merchants or public transport usually followed.
He must get to the bottom of all this!