The Dawn of the New World



Blue and white sparks ignited in the palm of Hao Xuan's hand. At the same time, he quickly suppressed the Lycan Bloodline to activate the second gaze of [Umbra] and completely eliminate his presence.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be able to hide Grey or Princess Ceni but they were so weak compared to the Skeletal Lord that it probably wouldn't even notice them until it was too late.

Grey cut straight through the bone storm but since Hao Xuan's defensive shield was not there to protect him, many of the smaller and sharper bone shards dug into his skin and were lodged in the flesh.

The Skeletal Lord wasn't even fully formed yet and a mere passive ability of a creature of its level was enough to do so much damage to him but Grey did not stop or even slow down. Instead, he picked up speed and followed Hao Xuan's direction down to a T, charging straight at the Skeletal Lord even though he didn't know it just yet.

Because Hao Xuan's vision was back to normal he couldn't see through the bone storm anymore but his mind was like a steel trap and he could remember every minute detail.

After replaying every possible scenario in his head he could even predict, to a great degree, what was going to happen next. He had so much trust in his 'calculations' that Hao Xuan didn't even need to see it.

He closed his eyes and focused on holding all the Chaos Energy at bay while charging it up even more.

Seconds later Grey broke through the eye of the bone storm and appeared just 20 meters away from the Skeletal Lord.

Both the Skeletal Lord and the three-legged crow turned to face the new enemy but upon sensing the energies of the attackers they had no idea what to do. They were too weak to do anything but still, they charged right at them.

Only the three-legged crow recognized Grey which confused it even more.

Grey ran straight into the feet of the Skeletal Lord and it responded by trying to kick him away in some kind of a comical scene. And when the Skeletal Lord's leg swept towards him Hao Xuan suddenly revealed himself.

He was holding a ball of blue lightning which he threw in its direction. Upon contact, the little orb of chaos lighting exploded into a thousand smaller worms that bore into the Skeletal Lord's bones and exploded upon reaching its joints.

It immediately fell to its knees and the three-legged crow used that opportunity to turn into a ray of searing yellow light that pierced straight through its skull.

Normally that would have been enough to leave it mortally wounded but because of its unique nature the Skeletal Lord would easily survive given enough time.

"COME!" Hao Xuan yelled for the crow and it flew straight towards him, landing on his shoulder just before Grey passed through to the other side of the bone storm.

Hao Xuan rotated his hand to create a quick defensive barrier to protect them while Grey picked up even more speed, tearing through the icy lake without a care in the world.

The three-legged crow turned into a mass of formless pitch-black energy which in turn began taking a human shape. Two arms wrapped around Hao Xuan's chest before the figure even solidified as it hugged him from the back.

"Master...you're alive!" a relieved voice whispered into his ears.

Hao Xuan nodded without having to look back because he knew exactly who that was.

"Glad to 'see' another familiar face, Claudia. Are you hurt?" (CH 1032 and 1045)

"I am perfect now that you are here..." She hugged him so tightly that Hao Xuan was having trouble breathing but he did not stop her.

He could put up with her 'misdirected' affection because he needed her for the next few steps.

Just as Hao Xuan had said Grey ran out of the bone storm by following the rock wall and exited the ravine soon after.

He passed on some directions whenever needed but apart from that it was a relatively easy journey back to the ruins. In less than an hour they were back at the hidden space that the World Spirit had created for them.

Hao Xuan carried Princess Ceni all the way to Henrik's tent under the poisonous gazes of the native while they cursed him out in not-so-hushed whispers.

Jin Wang was already waiting for them here.

"You made it! Looks like both the princess and the little witch are fine," he said looking at Claudia.

She bowed to him as a show of respect which surprised Jin Wang quite a bit.

But when Hao Xuan placed Princess Ceni down Henrik's voice sounded within his head.

'My niece...is she...?'

Hao Xuan turned to face the drooling mess of a man that could not even walk on his own anymore and gave him the bad news.

"No she- I couldn't save her. It's my fault."