The Water Rhinoceros King’s Feast

The Water Rhinoceros King, seated upon his stone chair, glanced at the bald captain of the guards. He reached out with a hand large as a cattail leaf fan, grabbed the bound youth beside him, and placed him on his lap. The youth, looking like a mere child on the Water Rhinoceros King’s leg, was utterly helpless and cried out in pain. “Just have them capture them, that’s all! As long as you capture a thousand, that’s enough. Great Water Rhinoceros King, including the two just brought in and the nineteen you’ve already eaten, I’ve already ordered my men to capture five hundred and eighty-three people.”

“Don’t worry.” The Water Rhinoceros King’s voice was still deep and resonant. “I, the Water Rhinoceros King, keep my word. Once I’ve captured a thousand people, I will definitely let you go.”

“Bald one!” The Water Rhinoceros King’s eyes, like brass bells, glared furiously at the bald captain. “Don’t try to scare me with the Ironwood Clan. Every year in this Eastmarsh Swamp, countless disciples from the Ironwood and Ji Clans die. You came to the Eastmarsh Swamp to take risks; if you die, you die for nothing! Even if this pampered young master of the Ironwood Clan is truly of very high status, if I kill all of you, the Ironwood Clan probably won’t find out you’re dead for a very long time, and they’ll never be able to figure out who killed you!”

The Green Armor Guards could only endure it.

The Water Rhinoceros King laughed loudly and casually tossed the youth aside, who tumbled to the ground again.

“Go out again, some of you! Go quickly and capture some more! Capture some commoners for me!” The young master of the Ironwood Clan, lying on the ground, roared angrily.

“But young master,” the bald captain said anxiously, “we’ve almost completely captured all the hunters and fishermen in the Eastmarsh Swamp. Even if there are a few left… they’re just scattered remnants. It’s very hard to scrape together another four hundred or more people.”

The Ironwood Clan young master, lying on the ground, roared ferociously, “Find a tribe! If they resist, kill them all, kill, kill, kill! Just capture everyone else! Can’t a single tribe provide a few hundred people?”

“Massacre a tribe?” The bald captain was stunned.

“What are you afraid of?” the Ironwood Clan young master roared. “If you’re really scared, go to the Ji Clan’s territory! Massacre a tribe in the Ji Clan’s territory! Kill those who resist, capture the rest!”

The bald captain gritted his teeth. “Yes!”

If it were a war between two major powers, or if their master ordered a massacre on a normal day, these brave guards would not hesitate. But now they were to massacre and capture humans for a great demon… This filled the valiant guards with immense shame.

“Hahaha…” The Water Rhinoceros King laughed loudly, his voice like thunder. “Good, good, good! Once I have a full thousand humans, I will definitely let you go.”

“Mmm!”

The Water Rhinoceros King smacked his lips and licked the corner of his mouth with his long tongue. “I just ate one person, and I’m already hungry again so soon! Who should I eat now?” As he spoke, the Water Rhinoceros King began to look around him. Instantly, the faces of the bound people changed, and many had looks of terror in their eyes.

They had already seen this great demon devour a person alive with their own eyes. They were not afraid of death, but to be eaten bite by bite… that was a living hell!

“Oh?” The Water Rhinoceros King’s gaze suddenly fell on Ji Ning in the distance, and his eyes lit up. “Mmm, this young human has delicate skin. He’s clean and looks young. His flesh will definitely taste very tender. Come, quickly, someone bring him to me!” Saliva was already drooling from the corner of his mouth.

“Young master.” Dala Shu looked anxiously at Ji Ning beside him. Beside them stood ten Green Armor Guards watching.

“Hurry up.” One of the Green Armor Guards reached out directly for Ji Ning’s beast-hide clothes.

Ji Ning turned his head to look at the Green Armor Guard. He swung his right hand, the edge of his palm striking the guard’s chest. Boom! A low, heavy sound rang out. The Green Armor Guard was sent flying high into the air! His eyes were wide open, his mouth gaped wide, and his face was bright red. Ptoo! Blood mixed with shattered internal organs sprayed from his mouth. He then fell into the swamp hundreds of meters away, splashing water before sinking without a struggle. He was dead.

“To serve as a great demon’s fangs and claws and harm your own kind… you deserve death.” The voice was icy cold.

Silence.

The over five hundred people bound on the earthen mound, the hundred or more standing Green Armor Guards, and the great demon ‘Water Rhinoceros King’ seated on his chair, all turned to look at the handsome youth.

Killed with a single palm strike? Sent flying dozens of zhang?

“Good!” The great demon, the Water Rhinoceros King, reacted and grew even more delighted. He was, of course, happy to see humans slaughtering each other. He shouted loudly, “Why aren’t you attacking? He killed one of your own! Go! Attack!”

“Kill!” The other Green Armor Guards’ eyes turned red with fury. One after another, they turned into blurs and charged straight at him. This youth had actually killed their comrade! Their comrade’s death by a single palm strike had just been due to a surprise attack. Besides, this youth had probably trained in the Fiendgod Body Refining method and was merely a bit stronger than average.

But in a life-or-death battle, victory depended on honed sword and saber techniques. Even if one’s strength was vastly inferior, a single sword thrust could still pierce through a skull!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! More than twenty Green Armor Guards swarmed in.

Ji Ning casually pushed Dala Shu, who was beside him, sending him flying. Simultaneously, Ji Ning flipped in midair and landed on the ground completely unharmed. Dala Shu, however, watched anxiously as Ji Ning was swarmed by the twenty-plus Green Armor Guards. “Young master, be careful!”

“Be careful!”

“Quick, run!”

“Youngster, run quickly!”

The bound people also shouted in urgency, watching the youth with worry. They all knew how formidable these Green Armor Guards were… these guards were all Nine-Fang Warriors skilled in coordinated combat, the elite soldiers of the Ironwood Clan! Against the siege of over twenty such Green Armor Guards, only a Xiantian lifeform could survive.

Facing the encirclement of over twenty Green Armor Guards, Ji Ning instantly transformed into a breeze, a free and unrestrained wind. As the Green Armor Guards stabbed and slashed with their sabers, spears, and swords, Ji Ning strolled among them as if taking a leisurely walk. Whoosh! He easily wove through the crowd of attacking guards.

Whoosh!

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

A rapid series of crisp slapping sounds rang out. As Ji Ning moved like a ghost through the gaps between the twenty-plus attacking guards, he swung his palm simultaneously. Each slap was delivered with the back of his hand to the guards’ faces. Each of Ji Ning’s slaps carried over ten thousand jin of force, directly sending the guards flying backward. Not a single one could block his palm.

Whoosh!

Ji Ning’s figure stopped and coalesced. The twenty-plus Green Armor Guards lay sprawled on the ground around him, their heads twisted at odd angles, blood seeping from their mouths, noses, and ears.

All of them were dead.

“What?!”

“Heavens, no!”

“This, this…”

Whether it was the hundreds of bound people, the remaining Green Armor Guards of the Ironwood Clan, or even the great demon, all were stunned.

“You, you…” the Ironwood Clan young master, bound to the ground, was frantic with rage.

“We are the Green Armor Guards of the Ironwood Clan!” The faces of the other guards were ugly; they were both angry and afraid to step forward.

Ji Ning said coldly, “Those who willingly become the fangs and claws of a great demon… deserve death.” The Ironwood Clan and the Ji Clan were already mortal enemies, and now these mortal enemies had willingly become the fangs and claws of a great demon!

Swish!

A sharp sword materialized in Ji Ning’s hand. As he moved, a flash of sword-light followed… In the blink of an eye, nine Green Armor Guards collapsed, clutching their throats with gurgling sounds and unwillingly fell, blood spurting from their neck wounds. Both the speed of his footwork and the swiftness of his sword strikes struck terror into the hearts of the other Green Armor Guards.

And earlier, when he hadn’t used a sword, he was already terrifying. Now that a sharp sword had appeared in his hand…

“Run!”

“Let’s go!”

“Water Rhinoceros King, save us!” The Green Armor Guards were completely panicked. Clearly, this handsome youth who had appeared from nowhere intended to slaughter them all.

The Water Rhinoceros King sat to the side, laughing loudly. “I only said I’d let you go when you’d captured a thousand people. I never said I’d save you. Kill! Kill! Kill them all!” The Water Rhinoceros King was just stirring up trouble. To a great demon like him, these were all just humans, all just humans slaughtering each other.

Chii! Chii! Chii!

Blood sprayed through the air. One Green Armor Guard after another fell helplessly. The guards panicked and fled in all directions. They were truly terrified. Their sword and saber techniques were utterly crude and powerless before the youth’s eyes.

“Run!”

“Quick!”

Whoosh! Accompanied by the sound of wind, an incredibly fast Ji Ning materialized into several dozen afterimages. Every Green Armor Guard stumbled and fell to the ground, one after another. Some were pierced through the heart, others had their throats cut. Blood stained the ground. Each guard lay either sprawled out or face down, scattered across the area.

Every single Green Armor Guard was dead!

“Mm?” The Water Rhinoceros King, who had been enjoying the show, suddenly stood up, his expression changing. The speed Ji Ning had unleashed with all his effort at the very end, creating dozens of afterimages, had shocked him too. Earlier, he hadn’t considered this youth an opponent. But now, he began to feel a slight wariness.

“Incredible!”

“So strong!”

“Killed them well!” The bound people were all excited and moved. They hadn’t expected this youth to be so powerful. Would this powerful youth perhaps be strong enough… to kill that terrifying great demon?

Shing! Shing! Shing! Sword-light flashed, and instantly the ropes binding a dozen or so people near Ji Ning were cut.

“Human youth!” The Water Rhinoceros King suddenly transformed into a blur of blackness that shot forward. His enormous fist had condensed a thick layer of ice, and he smashed it directly at Ji Ning. “They are my rations!”

Clang!

The Northsea Sword in Ji Ning’s hand shot out with a swish, stabbing directly into that massive fist.

BOOM!

A sound like the collapse of a great mountain erupted. Ji Ning was sent flying backward for a hundred meters, while the ice layer on the Water Rhinoceros King’s fist exploded with a loud bang. Even half of his arm was blasted apart. This caused a flicker of joy and hope to appear in the eyes of those tribesmen. Had he crippled the great demon’s arm?

“Very good.” The Water Rhinoceros King’s voice rumbled low. “You are worthy of forcing me to reveal my true form.”

In the next instant, the Water Rhinoceros King exploded into a vast cloud of mist, which rapidly condensed into a colossal beast over ten zhang tall. It was a gigantic water rhinoceros, its body covered in a tough, bluish-brown hide, and its length exceeded twenty zhang… It was like a small mountain! The air blasting from its nostrils caused the ground to freeze over with a thick layer of frost. The nearby tribespeople caught in the blast were instantly frozen into ice sculptures. Dala Shu was already rapidly rescuing his own people.

“Quickly, go!” Ji Ning transformed into a streak of light from afar, treading across the water and dashing over in an instant. With a flash of his sword-light, the ropes of several dozen bound people were severed.

“What are you waiting for? Go!” Ji Ning roared angrily. Then he turned his head to stare at the gigantic beast.

The people quickly picked up weapons from the ground to cut the ropes of others. In the span of a breath, the over four hundred survivors began to flee in all directions.

“Flee? I’ll just freeze you all and eat you slowly.” The water rhinoceros’s yellowish eyes swept across his surroundings. Instantly, a deadly chill spread outwards, and the temperature plummeted. Layers of frost spread. Some people quickly became ice sculptures. Only those who ran fast, or those like Dala Shu who had started fleeing early, could survive.

“I am of the Ironwood—” The Ironwood Clan young master was still shrieking, but was cut off mid-sentence as he too became an ice sculpture.

In the blink of an eye, the area within several dozen zhang had become a zone of death.

Only Ji Ning and the Water Rhinoceros King faced each other.

Far away, Dala Shu and the few dozen other survivors felt a lingering fear. A youth beside Dala Shu asked worriedly, “Dala Shu, will that youth survive?”

“He will, he will.” Dala Shu kept saying this, but even he had no confidence. Could that young man of incredible swordsmanship and power defeat the infamous, savage great demon?

“Why aren’t you leaving?!”

Ji Ning’s furious roar came from the distance.

Once a battle began, a distance of a hundred zhang was nothing to him or the Water Rhinoceros King. He had no way to save them while fighting.

“We’re leaving.” Dala Shu gritted his teeth and gave the order, quickly leading his own people away. The people from other tribes had already started fleeing long ago. They were utterly terrified.