The Dawn of the New World

Blood Arts was the name given to all arts, skills, and techniques that were not learned, but inherited through the powerful bloodlines of a select few individuals.

They could be not be learned by others because it required the power of their blood to activate and understand them. There were many such arts that needed specific criteria to be fulfilled first in order to first learn and then use them in battle.

Dai Zhi's Blood Art was one such technique. It allowed him to invoke the power of his noble Vampire bloodline and call forth a Holy Sword from a realm beyond ours.

The Wizard's demented heart beat like crazy as it observed the sword pierce through the night sky and fall upon the valley. Yes, it was merely falling down. Even at his level it was not something he could control so easily.

Numerous thoughts were going the wizard's mind when it heard Dai Zhi's voice again.

"Surrender. I do not want to use this weapon against you, for it will not only render you to ash but everyone below you as well."

Down in the valley, the 80 something captive participants sill tied to the metal platform like sheep were still very much alive and kicking. They were of no threat and were being transported to the roach camp in the first place so the smaller wizard's summoned monsters hadn't touched them at all.

And if Dai Zhi chose to strike, he would not only kill both the wizards, the few remaining roaches and numerous summoned creatures, but also these humans. Not to mention Fulke and Ceni's party that was still underground would be buried alive as well.

The Wizard met Dai Zhi's gaze, the massive vertical slits that held its eyes unblinking and cold.

"Ra'Ku Aila Kumawa Rhasatu!" it spoke slowly, enunciating every word.

It sounded like it was not used to speaking this language and was forcing itself.

Dai Zhi's expression saw no change upon hearing the wizard speak, as if he knew it could speak such a language all along. But his brows furrowed upon understanding what it meant.

"Your code means nothing to me. Your masters are dead and gone, otherwise, they would have come out to help. Don't force my hand wicked thing, I would rather kill all of them myself than let them be tortured by the likes of you!"

"Chose now! Leave with your lives, or die. That is your only option," Dai Zhi finished by bringing his hands down in front of his chest. The thousand-meter long sword followed his movements and came closer to the wizard, now just a few hundred meters away.

The Wizard threw a hateful glance towards Dai Zhi before contacting the smaller wizard on the ground. The smaller wizard didn't show any strange reaction on the outside but with its right hand, it started writing something on the muddy ground inconspicuously.

The words looked completely ordinary until he finished the entire sentence and then they suddenly vanished into the earth.

Several hundred meters in the air, to the left of Dai Zhi the mountainside slowly opened up and a creature slithered out of it.

This thing had three-pronged feet with extremely long nails that dug into the side of the mountain, sticking to it like a spider. Its arms extended outwards for more than 5 meters without any hands at the end, looking very much like tentacles.

Instead, there were small blades and thorns decorating their length throughout.

It made no sound and its pale skin somehow melded together with the black rocks it was standing on, becoming almost invisible.

All this had happened in less than 30 seconds.

Dai Zhi looked at the wizard one last time before yelling, "Choose!"

The larger wizard was startled and suddenly backed up several feet. It raised both its hands and spoke again, "Aku Sharu mawia!"

Dai Zhi nodded with a pleasant smile, "Good choice, throw down your weapons."

The larger Wizard complied and released its grip around the bone staff it had been using as a weapon all this time. But just as the staff had started its descent, Dai Zhi's ear twitched and the 10 swords that were floating around him suddenly all struck at once, impaling the creature that was trying to sneak attack him.

He swiveled his head back around with a wrathful expression, "Death it is then," and slashed with the two swords in his hand vertically.

The giant sword in the sky followed his movements and came crashing down. The space howled as it tore through the air aiming for the flabbergasted wizard when the valley floor beneath them burst apart and a claw shot up into the air.

The claw looked like the hand of some kind of a humanoid beast as it had five digits, but the leathery skin and spikes coming out of the ends made it seem 'otherworldly'.

Shooting a hundred meters into the air the claw suddenly closed, like it had grabbed something.

Dai Zhi's eyes narrowed to slits as he slashed down once again. The giant sword changed its direction and went straight for this several hundred-meter wide hand of some unknown beast, striking hard and deep, cutting it in half.

The valley floor started to crumble and the hole the claw came out of started to widen.

The part of the claw that was cut off convulsed as it was forced open from the inside, revealing a bloody Hao Xuan holding onto his glaive.

Hao Xuan looked up at Dai Zhi who had saved his life, his eyes hazy.

"Run....they're coming!" he said through rough breaths.

*Treeemble*