Then he raised his sword, pointing it in the monster's direction. In that instant, his eyes changed. A deep crimson light ignited within them, as though something ancient had awakened behind his gaze.
However, the change did not stop there.
A surge of energy erupted from his body, the same oppressive force that had shaken everyone earlier. It spread outward in waves. Although this strange energy emitting from his body was not too much, it still created tide-like waves in the air.
RUMBLE.
The ground trembled.
Dust lifted into the air, small stones quivered, and even the space around him seemed to distort under the pressure. The sheer intensity of that aura made it difficult to breathe, as if the world itself had become unstable.
For a moment, even the worm-like creature halted in place. Its instincts warned it that something dangerous lay ahead. But it resumed, moving toward them even faster than before.
Chen Yu and the others stood frozen. Their eyes were locked onto Li Ming before them, disbelief and awe mixing with lingering fear.
To them, this was Li Ming, the same person who had stood beside them just moments ago. Yet what they were witnessing now felt entirely beyond him.
The figure did not spare them a glance.
His attention remained fixed on the approaching monster.
Blade still pointing toward it.
At once, the crimson energy condensed, gathering along the blade. It wrapped around it like a living force, pulsing with intensity. Threads of red light began to crackle outward, sharp and erratic, like streaks of lightning tearing through the air.
The surroundings reacted violently.
Then he swung the sword, and a wave of crimson light burst forth.
The motion was clean and effortless, yet it carried overwhelming force.
As the blade cut through the air, the gathered energy surged forward, released in a single devastating strike.
It arced through the air in a wide, curved path, forming a sharp 'U' shape as it tore toward the monster. The energy crackled violently, distorting everything in its wake as it advanced with unstoppable momentum.
The crimson energy surged forward, tearing through everything in its path.
The earth split apart as it passed, stones shattered, and the very air seemed to ripple under its force. Its speed was terrifying, far beyond anything they could follow. For a brief instant, it appeared as though the attack had simply vanished and reappeared before the monster.
If not for the trail of destruction carved into the ground, Li Ming might have believed it had teleported.
The massive creature froze in place, its movement halted as if time itself had been severed. Then, without resistance, its body split cleanly into two halves. The cut was so precise, so effortless, that it felt unreal. There was no struggle, no final movement. The life within it had been erased in an instant.
Yet the crimson energy did not stop there.
It continued forward, rising into the sky, leaving behind a fading trail of red light that lingered like a scar before slowly dissolving into nothingness.
Silence fell.
Chen Yu and the others could only stare.
Awe and disbelief filled their eyes as they looked at the two halves of the monster lying apart from each other, motionless and lifeless. Their minds struggled to accept what they had just witnessed.
Then, almost instinctively, their gazes shifted.
They looked at Li Ming.
The terrifying energy that had once surrounded him was gone. The oppressive presence had vanished completely, as if it had never existed.
Li Ming's body collapsed onto the ground.
Li Ming, or rather his soul and the mysterious figure, had both vanished. It seemed that Li Ming had returned to his body, but he was now unconscious. However, the same could not be said for the mysterious figure, who was nowhere to be seen.
They quickly checked on him to see if he was alive. After a while, they felt relieved as they confirmed that he was alive, only unconscious, and would likely remain so for the rest of the day.
Everyone fell silent as they remembered what had just happened.
"W-What was that?" Lingfeng was the first to break the silence.
"I-I don't know," Chen Yu replied, disbelief apparent in his voice.
Lingfeng tried to say something, but no words came out. Without another word, they made their decision.
They would return to the town.
Carefully, they lifted Li Ming and began their journey back, their steps slower than before. The forest, once merely dangerous, now felt unfamiliar, as though something within it had shifted. None of them spoke along the way. Each was lost in their own thoughts, trying and failing to make sense of what they had witnessed.
By the time they reached the edge of the town, the sky had begun to settle into a dull stillness.
A small group of people stood near the gate leading into the forest.
The moment they saw Chen Yu and the others emerge, their expressions changed. Concern spread across their faces almost instantly, and without hesitation, they hurried forward.
"What happened?"
The question came before they even reached them, urgency clear in their voices as their eyes moved quickly over the group, searching for answers.