Chapter 393 - 391: You Call This Magic Power?

Chapter 393: Chapter 391: You Call This Magic Power?

The Silent Knight Order’s power generation techniques were vastly different from those of the Celestial Travel Association. Theirs were simple and brutal, best for achieving the fastest possible acceleration in a short time.

The force exerted on the ground was strongest at the exact moment of bursting into motion and during the subsequent acceleration.

Given the ruined state of San Francisco City, Baru no longer needed to hold back the force of his steps.

Every step he took blasted a large crater into the ground. With each stride, his form blurred, his shadow appearing to stretch out long behind him.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

He took a dozen steps in under two seconds, blasting a dozen large craters in his wake. The distance between each step grew progressively larger. While the damage to the ground eventually lessened, Baru’s body had become like a high-speed freight train of pure force, generating a massive slipstream behind him.

This wasn’t as noticeable when he moved in a straight line. But whenever he had to make a slight change in direction or avoid a small obstacle, Baru’s high agility, combined with his extreme speed, created the eerie illusion of his body briefly splitting into two shadows.

In the entire Association, only two individuals could reach this level of speed and agility. One was Baru; the other was the Monkey King, who stood guard over the natural wilds.

Baru wasn’t unleashing his powerful, oppressive aura, nor did he intend to conceal his movements. The sheer ferocity radiating from him was enough to make most Demons give him a wide berth.

The monsters, which seemed so fearless in the eyes of human Soldiers and civilians, felt an instinctual terror the moment they saw Baru in motion.

And he had no intention of cleaning up the trash. He ignored any that dodged him, but anything that dared to block his path was utterly pulverized.

BOOM—

A bizarre, house-sized red worm, coiled up on the street, had no time to react. It felt a sudden, immense weight, followed by the sensation of being torn apart.

SPLAT—

It looked like a high-speed camera shot of an apple being obliterated by a bullet, only far more extreme. The worm was ripped to shreds, its bodily fluids splashing in all directions. The resulting shockwave was so powerful it even pierced through some of the smaller Demons nearby.

It hadn’t intended to block his path and court death. By the time it noticed Baru, it was already too late to react; it could only watch as death came for it.

Baru didn’t even blink. When Blaise and his team fought, they ended up covered in blood, but not a single drop stained Baru’s body.

Ruined buildings flashed past him, one after another. His Perception detected no living humans, so the only thing that made Baru deviate from his path was the discovery of Magic Creatures.

A beetle-like creature was unable to react before Baru was upon it, stomping it to death from above.

Unfortunately, aside from that one, Baru didn’t encounter any other Magic Creatures within his Perception range. His time was limited, so he couldn’t afford to wander aimlessly. He continued straight toward his two main objectives.

In less than ten minutes, he had charged from the outermost defensive line to the area near the contact point in the city center.

As he came to a halt, the slipstream behind him kicked up a raging cloud of dust that churned for a moment before slowly settling.

The ground was littered with withered Demon Vines, demonic Thorns, and various other Magical Plants. This was clearly the original location of the Secret Realm.

While buildings in other parts of the city were at least somewhat intact, here they were completely collapsed. Every structure in the vicinity looked like it had been blown apart.

All the landscaping and greenery had been uprooted, most of it withered and dead. The dust stirred by the wind cast a bleak, desolate pall over the area.

Even the sunlight seemed dim here.

At the former site of the Secret Realm, the destruction was even more absolute. Craters and fissures riddled the ground, accompanied by blast marks and deep impact scars—testament to the fierce battle the Secret Realm Guardians had fought here.

But there were still no bodies. And, of course, no Magic Steel Weapons had been left behind.

The roars of the Demons on the outskirts seemed cut off from this area, making it feel both vast and unnervingly silent.

Ignoring the obviously unnatural situation, Baru walked with an expressionless face, as if taking a leisurely stroll, to the base of a withered Demon Vine. There, he found a small pool of blood and a Platinum Ring.

He picked it up and could clearly see the English words engraved on it: "Together for a lifetime."

He recognized the lingering aura on it. It belonged to a member of the Knight Order. As the Order’s Master, Baru could name every single member, even those who hadn’t yet qualified for the reserves.

After carefully stowing the ring, he scanned the area but found no other personal belongings.

"Since I can’t cross over to your side, I presume those of you who’ve come here can’t go back, can you?"

Baru’s voice wasn’t loud, as if he were merely talking to himself, but his eyes darted to a spot not far from his feet. A withered Demon Vine, one that had originally belonged to the Association, lay there.

SCREEECH—

A piercing shriek, loud enough to rupture a normal person’s eardrums, suddenly erupted. To Baru’s eyes, the sound waves were so intense they seemed to vibrate the very air in visible layers.

The area around the vine blurred as black mist billowed out. A massive, phantom-like maw, wreathed in thick black fog, shot toward him.

Simultaneously, identical sharp maws shrouded in black fog erupted from the ground beneath him, from behind him, and even from the sky above.

In an instant, a dense cage of spikes materialized, trapping Baru completely at its center.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Baru, the target of the assault, seemed completely unaware. He stood frozen in place, unable to move before the attacks converged on him from all directions.

The black fog surged with the assault, endlessly manifesting more sharp maws filled with a foul, viscous liquid.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

The impacts came in a rapid, dense barrage. It didn’t sound like flesh being pierced, but more like strikes against a muted old leather drum.

The assault lasted for two or three seconds, the number of strikes impossible to count. Even after the attacks ceased, the black fog continued to shroud the ten-square-meter area where Baru stood, refusing to disperse.

WHOOSH... WHOOSH... WHOOSH...

The sound was like a giant bellows pumping a few times. With just a few waves of his right palm, Baru generated enough pressure to blow the unsightly fog away.

"Hehehehe... HAHAHAHAHA... Is that it?"

His massive frame began to ripple as every muscle bulged. He spoke with a savage grin.

"This is the best you can do? Hehehehe... And you have the nerve to call this Magic Power?"

K-KRAK! K-KRAK!

He twisted his neck from side to side, his muscles and bones letting out a sharp crack like the twang of a high-tension spring.

Baru didn’t spare a glance for the creature by the withered vine, nor for the other Demons that had now appeared within his Perception, even though they were all Magic Creatures.

For just a moment, a part of his body blurred.

BOOOOM—

The entire area trembled as if the very mountains were shaking. With Baru’s body as the epicenter, a massive crater several stories deep instantly caved in. Countless fissures spiderwebbed out from it in the blink of an eye.

Without any warning, Baru had raised his fist and smashed it violently into the ground.

His fist didn’t rebound on contact. Instead, he continued to pour power into the blow, his entire arm breaking through the fragile layers of concrete and earth, piercing downward like a massive spike.

A wet SQUELCH and a long HISSS were followed by a bizarrely fresh fragrance and the continuous sound of ripping muscle.

"Did you really think I wouldn’t know you were hiding underground? Get the hell up here and die!"

RUMBLE—

The ground in a thousand-meter radius exploded upward.

Black liquid erupted like a geyser, spraying high into the sky. A translucent, glossy carapace, dragging tons of flesh and blood with it, was ripped from the ground and sent flying.

A patch of ground measuring over a thousand square meters had been pulverized by Baru’s strike, and now it was ripped open as the carapace, dozens of meters wide, was heaved into the air.

A miasma of dust and black fluid filled the air.

"UUUGHHHOOOO..." A bloodcurdling shriek finally tore through the air. Amid the gloom and chaos, it only served to frame Baru—radiating intense heat and terrifying power—as a veritable Purgatory Demon King.

BAM!

The massive Demon had just lifted its head when Baru stomped it right back into the ground. The entire section connecting its head to its torso shattered and exploded, spewing even more black liquid everywhere.

And in that same instant, Baru vanished.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Each time his shadow reappeared, it was accompanied by the crack of displaced air. A dense barrage of impacts echoed from all directions within seconds.

Those Demons that Baru hadn’t even deigned to look at before—be they giant insectoid beasts or bizarre Magic Creatures, phantoms from the Shadow Realm or illusory constructs that warped Perception—were all obliterated in that moment, with no chance to even react.

Footsteps drew near. Although the Demon that had been stomped into the ground was desperately trying to gather its Magic Power, it couldn’t move. A light kick from Baru scattered its coalescing energy.

"You look bizarre, but it seems your vital nerve cluster is still in your neck."

Gray Magic Power swirled over the black insect’s horribly mangled body as it tried to contain the damage.

"Gongluo Duo... Ning Mo?"

The words, spoken in the Magic Language, were clearly tinged with fear.

"Sorry, I don’t understand you. But I’ll take you to someone who does."

With a light stomp, he plunged the black insect’s consciousness into darkness.

Baru had controlled his strike perfectly. Magic Creatures, especially a powerful Magic Controller like this black insect, possessed incredibly tenacious Life Force. They were difficult to kill without a truly fatal blow.

He clenched his fist, letting out a sharp crack. Baru seemed to have a new appreciation for his own strength.

’Hmm, this took less time than I expected. Might as well clean this place up a bit while I’m here. I’ll slaughter as many as I can...’

Magic Creatures had already appeared in San Francisco City, including powerful beings like that black insectoid monster. The fact that it was helpless against Baru didn’t mean it was weak. In reality, only a dozen or so Magic Controllers in the entire Dawn Association could have contended with it; the newly promoted members would have been in grave danger.

Even so, the ’world contact’ phenomenon was still intensifying. There was no telling what would come next. Baru’s time was limited; all he could do was kill as many as he could.