I Hate Systems

Pat-Pata-Pta!

Muzzle flashes flickeringly brightened the desolate forest background, followed by thunderous sounds that accompanied them, raising bloodthirsty howls of pain led by a torrent of rain shower, of blood.

"Take cover!" An old man with a flailing long goatee shouted as he leaped high and fled to the safety behind a thick tree trunk, watching crimson splatters of doom collide onto the other side, causing the tree trunk to shake violently.

"Destroy the demonic weapons." He grunted in anger to avoid giving in to his growing fear, watching one of his underlings get into the open when his body was shredded into bits.

"Sect Leader, we can't even get close to them." His direct disciple said in horror, tears streaming down his face as he hollered, "Even senior brother died. We're the only ones left alive."

"So, it has come to this." The old man addressed as the Sect Leader sighed in defeat, staring at his disciple to mutter softly, "Go, at least you must survive. I'll hold them back."

"The way of Murim must be preserved."

"M-Master…" The disciple's tears flooded in response, "I'll die with you…"

"Don't be an idiot!" The Sect Leader glared in anger as he threw a plaque, "All our Sect's secrets are written in the scroll kept within that plaque. It's written on the skin of a thousand-year horned serpent and hence, preserved for the countless centuries our sect stood tall. Now, I leave everything to you…"

"As the 99th Spirit Sword Sect Master."

"I'll avenge everyone, Master. Please believe in me." The Disciple wiped his tears as he resolved himself, crouching as he congealed all his Qi into his foot before blasting off deeper into the thicket of trees.

"Target fleeing using the Cloud Manoeuvring Steps. Aim!" A man peeking through a sensor said, trailing the muzzle of his automatic rifle in the direction of the fleeing disciple, "Shoot…"

Bang!

A boulder flew his way before he pressed the trigger, squashing him flat underneath.

"You damn demons! I'll kill everyone if it's the last thing I do." The Sect Leader roared as he faced his palm outward and pushed forth with all his strength, unleashing a Qi Wave that sent everything in his surroundings flying radially outward.

Spirit Sword Art—Dragon Overturning the Seas!

The wave buried a group of attackers underneath the flying rubble and soil, their fates unknown. The wave created a crater with a radius of twenty metres, a shocking feat.

Standing a hundred metres away from the crater, having observed everything from the start was a youth in his late twenties, sporting a well-cropped head, akin to a military cut. He was donned from head to toe in a soldier uniform similar to those from the special services.

His uniform was fully futuristic as he tweaked the visor, scanning the thermal reading of the crater to mutter coldly, "That old man is still alive. Impressive."

He then snapped his finger, commanding the subordinate standing nearby, "Bomb him once. He'll come to his senses after that."

"These primitive creatures are pretty dumb."

"Yes, sir!" The subordinate saluted in response before aiming his RPG at the centre of the crater to launch the payload.

"W-What?" The Sect Leader stared in alarm at the faint whistling sound that crept towards him within a second. He hurriedly riled up the last reserves of his Qi and unleashed his strongest defence.

Spirit Sword Art—Dragon Net Covering the Heavens!

Boom!

There was a resounding explosion that brightened up the forest for a couple of seconds, the flash so strong it caused the animals to flee in fear.

"What in the Demon Lord is that?" The disciple stopped atop a tree and screamed in despair, "What is that? Seriously! Why is this happening to us?"

Of course, there was none to reply him as the intense light died out in a matter of seconds. His surroundings became dark once again as the disciple gritted his teeth and continued to run away, the last he saw was the tower representing the Spirit Sword Sect going up in flames.

Cough!

"Oh, you're still alive. That's pretty impressive of you. As expected of the man touted to be the strongest under the heavens." The leader of the attackers walked through the torched forest ground and stood before the figure of a bleeding old man, "Well, in the end, you could only defend against a single explosion."

"A century of training, and that is all to your name. Pah!" He spat out in disdain and looked down on the Sect Leader from above, pointing a pistol to his face, "Any last words?"

"W-What is your motive?" The Sect Leader gasped, now appearing to have aged tremendously in the last few seconds. With all his Qi depleted, his lifeforce was consumed to defend against the RPG. Despite that, he lost function in his legs and had a shattered right arm.

"Haha, now that you're at the end of your wits, you finally have the patience to ask me that? How funny…" The leader of the attackers laughed as his tone turned cold, "I was once a martial arts enthusiast. I hoped to join one of the Sects and train. But,"

He snorted casually, "They said I didn't have a Qi Centre which was necessary to accumulate Qi. Meaning, I couldn't even embark on the path of a martial artist. Back then, I was in despair. It is kind of ridiculous now that I think about it. I mean, martial arts aren't even that great."

"A bullet to the head and many decades of training down the drain."

"Is this revenge?" The Sect Leader glared, helpless as he lacked the strength to even move his limbs.

"Well…" The leader of the attackers tilted his head before kicking the Sect Leader. He placed his boot on the opponent's head and said, "The era of Murim is over. This will be a new age of technology and I'll be at the centre of the world's prosperity."

"So, antiques from the Murim World can now become one with history. There's no future for you anymore." Saying so, he pressed the trigger, killing the Sect Leader. "That was pretty anticlimactic."

"Sir Rass!" One of the subordinates said after a salute, "We've wiped out everyone from the Spirit Sword Sect, down to the servants and horses. What's the next plan?"

"That building…" The leader, Rass said, pointing at the main building of the Spirit Sword Sect, "And that, and that too…Well, everything in the Spirit Sword Sect…"

"Torch them!" He said coldly, "Not even a hint of records regarding martial arts must remain."