The Dawn of the New World

"YOU ANIMAL! DO YOU HAVE NO DECENCY?!" this time it was Princess Na'im who spoke up, yelling as loudly as she possibly could.

"Haha, would you show mercy to an animal when you are cold and hungry? No, you just take and take until you are full. What reason do I have to be honorable to creatures like you?" he sneered, "Hmph, enough of this. You will stay silent until the boy comes," with a wave of his hand everyone other than the Chieftess fell to the ground with their faces buried in the mud.

Hao Xuan quietly stepped back into the shadow of the forest and hid behind one of the trees. A deep frown decorated his visage.

*Beep*

"Foreign energies detected five meters NW of current location," Baracus warned.

"I know, it has to be the territory of his law. Everything within that flattened area is under his control."

"Suggestion: Retreat. Too many unknown variables."

"Tsk, I know that already," Hao Xuan waved his hand annoyingly, "Something doesn't feel right, he is way too calm. He personally saw me kill Stasa and still dares to stand there alone, surrounded by enemies on all sides."

"He has already shown the divine artifact so it can't be that. Meaning he has another trick hidden up his leave, one that gives him enough confidence to come here by himself."

*Beep*Beep*

"Taking your current physical condition into account, the chances of a victory are below 10%."

"Mhm, that's more than what I was expecting but...I have to still at least meet with him once. Everything about this is strange, him calling me out, the World Spirit leading me here, him coming alone and putting himself at risk for no reason. There is something going on..."

Hao Xuan couldn't shake off the feeling that this was both a very important moment and a deadly one if he wasn't careful.

'I guess there is only one thing to do then.'

Closing his eyes Hao Xuan focused inwardly, letting his spiritual sense wander toward his brain where a flower pattern began to bloom.

This time Baracus was ready.

*Beep*

A small swarm of nanites attached itself to the root of the flower and the brainstem just as it began to exude the energies.

"Temporal Waypoint Created."

Hao Xuan didn't care enough to ask for a clarification but it was a pretty straightforward guess that Baracus had sent some nanites into the energy center so they could retain some of the information the same as Hao Xuan.

He waited for a few seconds and allowed the temporal energy to spread throughout his body before slowly revealing himself.

The moment he jumped over the water stream and landed on the other side Dai Zhi looked in his direction, despite Hao Xuan concealing all signs of life.

"There you are!" he smiled and actually waved at him as if they were old friends.

Hao Xuan paused for a moment out of hesitation before reminding himself that everything was going to be fine. He jumped a few times to cover the relatively large distance between them and landed amidst the barbarians.

Brimming with enthusiasm, Dai Zhi watched on until Hao Xuan was a little more than 10 meters away. He wasn't planning on closing the distance any further.

"I have been waiting for you for so long, and here you were, right under my nose!"

Dai Zhi couldn't contain his smile.

Hao Xuan could only look at him with a raised eyebrow while keeping up his guard, "I don't remember our last meeting going well enough to warrant such joy. Are you sure you're not confusing me with someone else?"

"That? Oh let bygones be bygones. I didn't really know who you were back then so of course I overreacted a little bit. But all's well that ends well, am I right? Nothing of value was lost."

Hao Xuan's expression turned cold. He could still hear Salome's screams as he was stomped into a meat paste.

"Nothing of value, huh?"

His fist tightened in veiled fury but he kept it inside.

"Speak then. Why did you ask me to come here?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot. It's time to complete the task you were sent here to do," Dai Zhi opened his arms wide, "Come, kill me!"

For a few seconds Hao Xuan was so absolutely dumbstruck that he didn't even react. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts again.

"...What....did you just say?"

"Kill me, right here, straight to the heart. Come on!" he pointed at his chest.

His actions not only left Hao Xuan confused but everyone else as well. They were looking in his direction as if he was mad but for different reasons.

Hao Xuan rubbed his brow upon feeling the headache coming on.

"How did you know I was sent here to kill you?"

His smile widened to the point that Hao Xuan thought his face would rip open.

"I wasn't entirely sure until now but you just confirmed it for me."

😉