"DIE, YOU HEAR ME! JUST DIE!!!"
In the middle of the village field, a group of young men was stomping on someone's body. The man being kicked could only groan in pain, desperately trying to shield his head.
Yet, the bystanders did nothing to stop them, only watching from a distance.
"That boy always gets bullied, besides, he's a complete stranger to our village, an outsider," whispered an old woman to her husband, who was also observing the scene.
"Worthless brats! Just because he's the village chief's son, he thinks he can act like this?!" exclaimed an older man, unable to bear the sight of the group bullying any longer.
"LI GANG!" The man shouted, calling the name of the bully group's leader.
The group immediately stopped beating the victim and turned around, looking at the man who was approaching them, his hands tightly clenched.
"What a nuisance, this old man," Li Gang muttered softly, yet loud enough for his friends to hear.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" The older man asked loudly.
The surrounding people quickly retreated and hid inside their houses, fearful of what was about to happen next.
"Sigh... I said you are a troublesome old man. Understood? Is that clear now??" Li Gang replied casually, causing his friends to laugh.
"Don't be insolent!" The older man responded firmly, pointing a finger directly at Li Gang.
"You dare point a finger at Li Gang? HUH?!" one of Li Gang's friends said angrily, immediately charging forward to attack.
The older man swiftly launched a kick directly to the insolent friend's chin, sending his body airborne before he crashed onto the grass.
"Woah!" Gasps of shock were heard from behind the windows of the houses.
Li Gang was stunned, his eyes wide. He felt humiliated that his friend had been knocked down so easily.
"YOU BASTARD!" Three of Li Gang's other friends shouted in unison, then advanced together.
The older man quickly ducked and evaded. He delivered a seemingly slow punch to the stomach of the second friend. Despite its slowness, the punch was enough to make the friend groan in agony and fall to his knees on the grass.
He didn't stop. After passing the second friend, the older man immediately kicked him hard in the back, sending the friend stumbling forward until he face-planted.
"DIE, YOU USELESS OLD MAN!!" Li Gang's third friend leapt high, attempting to strike the older man with his foot from the air.
But the older man dodged backward. The kick only met empty grass. The older man immediately bent down, grabbed the attacking foot tightly, and pulled it, causing the third friend to fall with a painful thud.
"OUCH!" the friend cried after he fell.
Now, only Li Gang and the fourth friend, who was still lying stiff after the kick to his chin, were left, glaring at the older man with eyes full of rage.
"Why? Scared?" The older man asked in a stern voice, like a teacher scolding his students.
"I'M NOT SCARED! DON'T MOCK ME, OLD MAN!!!" Li Gang lost control, running straight toward the older man with his hand ready to punch.
"Your punch is too straight, young man," the older man said softly, before ducking down once again.
Li Gang's punch only hit the empty air. The older man immediately launched a solid uppercut that nearly sent Li Gang flying backward.
But the older man didn't let him fall. He grabbed Li Gang's shirt tightly, then punched Li Gang's face repeatedly and mercilessly.
The left and right cheeks of Li Gang were slammed with blow after blow. Blood began to stream from his mouth, and he was unable to retaliate.
The older man released his grip on Li Gang's shirt. Li Gang staggered backward, blood dripping onto the grass, his vision blurred, and his breathing heavy and painful.
"Uh..."
"The Village Chief's son is getting beaten up, his father will surely be angry later," the villagers' whispers were heard, but the older man ignored them.
He stepped forward and delivered a final, decisive folding kick directly to Li Gang's face.
Li Gang could not withstand the attack. He collapsed instantly, falling totally stiff onto the grass.
Li Gang's friends immediately backed away, their faces pale and filled with terror toward the older man.
"Wow, Uncle Wu Bo is truly amazing," a calm male voice sounded from behind, followed by slow, measured applause.
Uncle Wu Bo quickly turned around. Upon seeing who was standing there, he immediately bowed in respect without uttering a word.
"LORD RYU, GOOD MORNING!" the older man said loudly.
Ryu simply smiled sweetly, letting the morning sun shine upon his face.
"No need for such formality, Uncle. Please raise your head, hahaha, you're only embarrassing me in front of everyone."
Uncle Wu Bo immediately lifted his head. "Okay, forgive me, hehe."
"Get up, A, are you alright now?" Ryu said, looking at A, who was still sitting weakly on the grass.
A slowly got to his feet. He only looked down, his face full of shame and awkwardness.
"Raise your head," Ryu instructed A.
A slowly lifted his face to look at Ryu. Uncle Wu Bo also looked on. A's face bore bruises and dry blood at the corner of his lips.
Ryu simply let out a heavy sigh, preparing to take two steps towards A.
"Uh, it's alright, I'll treat him inside my house later, Lord Ryu," Uncle Wu Bo quickly intercepted Ryu, offering to treat A's wounds himself.
Ryu took a step back and nodded slowly. He smiled broadly.
"Thank you! I'll treat Uncle Wu Bo and the villagers in this sector to meat later. Sector 7." Ryu delivered the good news.
The villagers instantly rejoiced, hugging their children and kissing their wives and husbands, and Uncle Wu Bo was just as delighted.
"Thank you too, Ryu. You've done so much for Sector 7," Uncle Wu Bo replied with a slightly melancholic voice, recalling old favours.
Ryu only looked at Uncle Wu Bo's face with concern and a smile. "Hehe, after all, I was born in Sector 7... and Uncle Wu Bo took care of me back then..." Ryu responded.
"You four, take this Li Gang to the treatment house near the main entrance of Sector 7." Ryu gave a firm instruction to Li Gang's friends.
"R-Right away!" They quickly got up and supported the unconscious Li Gang towards the treatment house.
A now followed Uncle Wu Bo, heading to his house. Ryu watched from behind until the two of them disappeared from view.
The wind in the field picked up slightly, providing a cool breeze as it touched the skin. Ryu's hair gently fluttered as he closed his eyes, enjoying the serenity of the cool wind and the beautiful field.
He looked up at the blue sky while closing his eyes. "It's really cool... hm?"
But suddenly, he heard something.
Something that made him uneasy... something distant but getting closer... something dangerous mixed with fear... and something that sounded like screaming.
Ryu slowly opened his eyes. He lowered his gaze to look straight ahead, staring towards the mountain forest at the edge of the field.
Ryu drew his sword from his back. The sound of the draw was so loud that the people nearby, including Uncle Wu Bo and A who had just entered the house, looked towards Ryu.
But no one asked any questions. Everyone fell silent and slowly entered their homes, carrying their children. Closing the doors carefully, they understood what Ryu meant if he had already drawn his sword.
Li Gang's friends also hastened their steps, leaving the field area.
Suddenly... from high up in the air, Ryu and a few residents who managed to look up saw an object falling from above.
Ryu tried to focus better, squinting his eyes to see clearly, but the bright sunlight was blinding him.
THUD!
The object fell not far from Ryu. Ryu slowly walked forward to inspect what had just dropped. One by one, the thick grasses were parted and pushed aside by Ryu.
Until he finally found it... it wasn't an object... it was a freshly severed head.
"M-Mother," a grown woman's voice said shakily from behind Ryu.
Ryu quickly looked back. He saw a little girl who was still outside. The little girl's face was smeared with blood from the severed head as it fell through the air. The grown woman was shocked to see her younger sister covered in the victim's blood.
Their mother only covered her mouth from inside the house, watching her small child get hit by the blood. But the mother knew that if she went out and made a sound with the door... they would all be doomed.
Ryu placed a finger to his lips, signaling the little girl not to scream, or... they would come.
"AAAAAA!!!!" The little girl screamed with a sound that was exceptionally loud.
Her older sister immediately rushed forward, scooped her up, and quickly brought her into the house. The scream broke the tension that Ryu was desperately trying to control.
BOOM!!!
The mountain issued a loud, trembling sound. Something was rapidly approaching Sector 7, but the dust was so thick that it concealed its form.
Trees toppled and collapsed as it crashed through them. Every patch of ground it stepped on was crushed, giving off thick dust.
Ryu was completely ready to face the threat. He tightly gripped his sword.
Low-ranked Purifiers from Sector 7 began arriving in Ryu's area to check on the situation and protect the village.
"LORD RYU!" shouted one of the six low-ranked Purifiers.
Ryu, without turning, gave instructions with a professional and firm tone, "TWO OF YOU SECURE THE VILLAGE AREA! TWO REMAIN WITH ME, AND THE REMAINING TWO MUST REPORT THIS INCIDENT TO THE SECTOR 7 HIGHER AUTHORITIES!"
All the Purifiers nodded. Two left, two stayed with Ryu, and two prepared to guard the village area, as per Ryu's command.
"Wait!" Ryu called out to those who were preparing to guard the village area.
They paused for a moment and looked at Ryu.
"Instruct the villagers in this section to get out of their houses... protect them during the journey. Make sure they bring their sharp weapons. Ensure they reach the Sector 7 Third Safety Hall."
Ryu changed the plan, instead of guarding the village area, the main focus was now to protect the villagers until they reached the safe zone.
They nodded and immediately departed.
Ryu was now with two other Purifiers, three people ready for battle.
"EVERYONE! PLEASE EXIT YOUR HOUSES AND PROCEED TO THE THIRD SAFETY HALL IN SECTOR 7! ENSURE YOU BRING SHARP WEAPONS, THIS IS AN ORDER FROM LORD RYU!" the two low-ranked Purifiers tasked with managing the evacuation shouted.
All the villagers began bringing their children, belongings, and most importantly, their sharp weapons out of their homes. The atmosphere became chaotic, with many residents running.
"PLEASE DO NOT PANIC! YOU ARE ALL CARRYING SHARP WEAPONS, SO PLEASE BE CAREFUL!"
Not long after, Ryu looked back towards the village. He searched for A and Uncle Wu Bo's figures. Both of them were also looking back at Ryu from afar.
Uncle Wu Bo raised his hand high and clenched his fist tightly, giving encouragement. Ryu simply nodded, accepting the support. A remained silent, his face etched with deep worry.
"Let's go," said Uncle Wu Bo.
A followed Uncle Wu Bo, rushing along with the other villagers.
BOOM!!!
The sound was getting closer, now right at the edge of the field. They immediately looked up at the sky.
A massive shadowy figure emerged from the thick smoke with a cockroach head and crab claws for hands, rapidly descending towards the ground.
"PREPARE YOURSELVES!!!" Ryu yelled loudly.
The crowd immediately shifted their gaze from the sky to the front, forcing themselves to continue running to escape.
The shadowy cockroach-headed, crab-clawed monster was getting closer to Ryu. The two Purifiers with Ryu charged forward, swords already in hand.
Ryu also followed them, running. Every step brought them closer to the colossal creature.
The three of them leaped high simultaneously, swinging their swords towards the shadow creature with the cockroach head and crab claws...
TO BE CONTINUED....