Chapter 51: Rage Like Heaven’s Wrath
Chapter 51: Rage Like Heaven’s Wrath
Sun Fei felt both moved and frantic inside.
He swung his great axe in a sweep, splitting the air currents, the cold light flashing as he pushed back the poisonous snake-like thrust spearheaded by the Three-Star Swordsman Lund. Sun Fei roared angrily: “Pierce, in the name of your King, I order you: immediately take my warriors and withdraw back to Shampoo City! Disobey no further. Rest assured, I have a way to escape alone.”
Pierce lowered his head, avoiding Sun Fei’s gaze.
As a soldier of the Royal Guard, he had a thousand reasons to stay and fight alongside his King. It would be acceptable to withdraw only if the King remained invincible as before. But everyone could see that since the emergence of that Three-Star expert among their enemies, Alexander could no longer advance freely. The two were locked in an evenly matched duel, neither gaining an advantage. If the soldiers withdrew now, it would mean abandoning the King in extreme peril. They would rather shed their own blood and die in battle than let the King face such danger.
Evading Sun Fei’s gaze, Pierce and Drogba silently drank water from their canteens. Without waiting for their wounds to fully heal, they suddenly formed a wedge formation, with Pierce at the tip, and launched a fierce charge.
“Your Majesty! The siege ladders and giant stone catapults are destroyed! We’ll hold the rear! Please return to the city!” Pierce shouted as he charged.
Sun Fei saw this and fell silent. He didn’t respond.
He knew that under such circumstances, even with his royal authority, he couldn’t force these iron-willed warriors to return to the city. He shifted his great axe technique. Abandoning all defense, he opted instead for suicidal, attack-for-attack strikes, each blow aiming directly at the vital spots of Lund.
“Acting out of desperation… Ha! Useless! None of you will survive today!” The Three-Star Swordsman Lund laughed heartily. Seeing victory assured, he felt no need to press Sun Fei hard. His plan was simple: keep these armored foes pinned on the Stone Bridge. With sheer numbers, his forces would eventually exhaust them through attrition.
Sun Fei saw through Lund’s plan clearly.
His vision even caught a squad of brightly dressed, black-armored soldiers approaching the bridgehead from the far side. Each carried large quivers and longbows slung at their waists. Despite being over a thousand paces away, the Barbarian’s keen instincts screamed that those archers posed a severe, immense threat.
To make matters worse, a sudden, terrifying sensation washed over Sun Fei. This feeling far surpassed the threat felt from the archers. It was a bone-chilling dread, like a vicious venomous serpent silently slithering closer.
Sun Fei’s gaze swept around like lightning. He quickly located the source of the danger.
A dense, black mist was slowly spreading at the bridgehead. Within its shifting depths, a shadowy figure moved. From afar, powerful and fierce Magic fluctuations pulsed. Having experienced Mage Mode, Sun Fei understood Magic fluctuations deeply. He immediately grasped that the power radiating from afar was far beyond his imagination. Even during his encounter with the chief boss Griswold in the Diablo World, he’d never faced such an intense threat.
“That… is a Mage master… Far stronger than Three-Star level!”
Fear seized Sun Fei’s heart.
He knew true danger was imminent.
Unexpectedly, his enemies hid such a superpower, a “boss-level” figure. The situation had deteriorated rapidly. If that black fog entered the Mage’s maximum effective range — likely three hundred meters — neither he nor his twenty-two armored warriors would have the slightest chance of escape.
Worse, the existence of such a powerhouse completely negated their previous efforts. The threat such a Mage posed to Shampoo City dwarfed the damage potential of the six giant stone catapults by at least twenty times.
“Must find a way… Kill that Mage!” Thoughts raced violently through Sun Fei’s mind.
Given his current strength, fighting against a lone Three-Star Swordsman was already a tremendous struggle. Trying to assassinate a Mage surpassing Three-Star Strength, especially while protected by the Black Armored Army, seemed impossible — harder than scaling the heavens themselves. Locked in combat with Lund, Sun Fei racked his brain frantically. But momentarily, he drew blanks. None of his modes — Barbarian Mode, Paladin Mode, not even Mage Mode — seemed to hold power adequate enough to stand against such a foe.
Within moments, the white-haired Pierce, Drogba, and the others surged to the forefront. Trying to push past Sun Fei to block Lund, they aimed to create an opportunity for him to escape.
“No more delays!”
Sun Fei hardened his heart.
Time was precious to the extreme right now. Any further delay meant certain annihilation for all.
“ROWRRR!”
Sun Fei unleashed a mighty roar, triggering the Barbarian Skill — Howl once more. A wave of fear-infused psychic energy radiated outwards, throwing the advancing black-armored ranks into chaos. Swinging his axe forcefully to force Lund back, Sun Fei suddenly leaped skyward. Gripping the axe handle with both hands, he brought it down in a crushing overhead blow reminiscent of Mount Tai crushing a foe.
This strike possessed overwhelming momentum, like a meteor plunging from the heavens. So fierce was the friction it generated that sparks exploded from the blade, instantly creating a ferocious turbulence in the air.
Cold sweat broke on Lund’s nape. Faced with such terrifying power, he dared not attempt a direct block.
BOOM!
Sun Fei’s axe missed its intended target, instead crashing thunderously onto the Stone Bridge!
Stone shards erupted like shrapnel. The ground-shaking impact deafened ears and horrified all who witnessed it. The entire bridge seemed to tremble violently under the blow. Huge stones beneath fractured and cascaded into the river below like heavy rain, sending towering columns of water erupting skyward wherever they struck!
“Hahaha! Scared, are you? A Three-Star Warrior, yet too cowardly to take a single blow?”
Sun Fei stood tall on the bridge, throwing back his head and laughing scornfully. He pointed his axe menacingly at the Three-Star Swordsman Lund, then positioned himself in full view of the enemy army. He blocked the whole way forward. In that moment, he seemed not like a lone figure but the head of an unstoppable tide, radiating confidence that shook the heavens. Facing such overwhelming, unparalleled pressure, the restless Black Armored Army suddenly felt a profound sense of dread and exhaustion — as if an impassable mountain stood before them.
“Get back!”
Just as abruptly as he stopped laughing, Sun Fei’s expression transformed. His thick arms snapped outward!
Tremendous force surged from his limbs. He shoved Pierce, Drogba, and the others who were rushing to join him BACKWARDS. Against the Barbarian’s terrifying Might, the burly warriors felt like they’d hit an indestructible wall. They stumbled, falling back in disarray.
Then, before anyone could react, Sun Fei leaped skyward again, precisely mirroring his previous maneuver. Channeling every ounce of his strength, he flung himself into a devastatingly mighty, vertical overhead strike!
Under extreme friction, the axe-blade glowed red-hot once more within the air itself. It tore through the atmosphere with scalding fury, cleaving straight towards Lund.
The momentum defied description.
Mid-air, amidst his laughter, Sun Fei bellowed: “Haha! IS THERE ANY BRAVE ENOUGH TO BLOCK MY AXE?!”
None dared step forward.
The Three-Star Swordsman Lund included, the black-armored soldiers scrambled backwards hastily. Nobody among the thousands of the Black Armored Army dared lock blades with such a monster — one who casually shattered their Tower Shield and Dragon Spear Formation. Against this lunatic berserker who fought like a maddened lion, retreat felt like the only option.
Sun Fei, however, showed no intention of stopping.
Again and again he leaped skyward. Again and again, his axe hammered down relentlessly, expending strength without concern, like some enraged primordial beast. His oppressive ferocity grew step by step with every swing. No one dared meet his burning gaze.
BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!!!
“How now? Still not one brave soul?!”
“Hahahaha! Three Thousand Black Armored Soldiers, yet all hide their heads in their pants, eh?!”
“Pah! Lund! What of your ‘Warrior’s Honor’?! DO YOU DARE BLOCK ME?!”
“Is there ANYONE among you who dares fight me?!”
With every earth-shattering strike, Sun Fei shouted his taunt and strode forward one pace.
His lofty, dominating demeanor felt like an emperor surveying all beneath heaven. None dared hold his gaze. Every step Sun Fei took was met by trembling ranks of black-armored soldiers stumbling backwards. They dared not provoke his fury. Even the Three-Star Swordsman Lund felt compelled to retreat step by step under the mounting wave of terrifying, unstoppable force Sun Fei projected. He harbored no doubt: if he blocked any of those blows, protected even by his Battle Qi aura, he’d be split cleanly in two. Fear rooted him too deeply.
Seven to eight seconds only passed.
And in that time, Sun Fei unleashed precisely eight consecutive, full-power axe strikes!
Each blow fell like thunder from the heavens crashing down upon the ancient Stone Bridge. Entire edifice shook like an earthquake. Massive stones cracked and tumbled into the raging river below, crushing many [Bloodthirsty Ferocious River Beasts] greedily feasting on corpses in the shallows. In seconds, the river’s surface turned crimson.
The sheer momentum of eight swings forced the entire black-armored mass backwards a staggering sixteen to seventeen meters!
After the eighth strike landed, Sun Fei paused briefly… only to erupt into even louder laughter immediately!
His enemies shrank back fearfully beneath that chilling sound.
Then Sun Fei, wearing absolute contempt, swept his gaze over them — and rather than advancing further, he suddenly leaped BACKWARDS several paces! Once again he soared skyward — the Barbarian Skill, Leap, activated — rising over six meters high. Channeling his entire body’s might into this final, desperate blow, he swung his axe — not towards the enemy army, but down towards the surface of the Stone Bridge BEHIND him!!
CRACK!
The sturdy shaft of the Barbarian’s Great Axe shattered at last, unable to bear the unleashed fury packed within. Its mournful, black spiral pattern handle snapped clean in two amidst a shower of sparks…
And that colossal power slammed into the stone bridge deck.
A concussive thunderclap filled the world! Instinctively, everyone clamped their hands over their ears! Those black-armored soldiers closest and weaker in cultivation instantly ruptured their eardrums — blood gushed freely from their ears. Several more slumped unconscious, losing balance altogether and tumbling headfirst off the bridge into the river below…
A single axe blow wielding rage like Heaven’s Fury had struck!
So ferocious the sky and earth seemed to change colors.
After the initial shock, many minds, Pierce and the others included, wrestled with a single, jarring question: Why did Sun Fei spin and shatter the bridge?
The dust and stone fragments slowly settled, allowing clearer sight once more.
Sun Fei stood planted on the fractured stone surface, powerful chest heaving heavily as he gasped for air. Clearly, unleashing such effort took its toll on even him. There was exhaustion written in the lines of his frame.
He stood motionless.
Broken axe handle clutched one-handed, he stared, laughing coldly, at the Three-Star Warrior Lund.
For a long moment, the battlefield fell into its own stunned silence…
Even each person’s frantic breathing sounded amplified.
Suddenly…
CRACK!
A faint whisper of sound reached everyone’s ears.
Though as soft as an insect’s hum, it struck their hearts like thunderous drums echoing from the heavens. Panic instantly spread among them. To their horror, they saw a spiderweb of cracks spreading silently beneath Sun Fei’s feet.
In that same second, lightning seemed to flash through many minds. They finally understood Sun Fei’s earlier act—his awe-inspiring nine axe strikes hadn’t aimed to kill enemies, but to secretly shatter the bridge. Unnoticed, the entire structure had become riddled with fractures, poised to collapse.
The stone bridge began to tremble violently.
Crack! Crack! CRACK!
The fissures grew wider and wider.
Huge chunks of stone broke away from below the bridge, roaring as they plunged into the Zuli River a hundred meters down. Jets of water shot skyward like geysers.
“Disaster—! The bridge is breaking apart!”
Seeing this, the Three-Star Swordsman Lund felt terror seize his heart. Even understanding his enemy’s ploy, he could no longer focus on fighting. Channeling his battle energy frantically, he leapt backward. If the bridge fully gave way, even with his Three-Star Warrior strength, falling into the torrent below amidst thousands of snapping jaws of the bloodthirsty violent water beasts meant certain death.
The ranks of Black-Armored Soldiers dissolved into chaos. Men screamed in fear, scrambling backward over one another.
The bridge’s shaking intensified.
Only Sun Fei stood unmoving at its crumbling center.
His mind was ice-cold, rapidly planning his next steps.
Concentrating briefly, he drew a Health Potion and a Stamina Potion from the storage space on his belt. Disguised by the swirls of stone dust and debris, he gulped down the concoctions.
Instantly, his exhaustion vanished. His wounds knit together swiftly.
He returned to peak condition almost instantly—save for the gaping holes in his steel armor and the Great Axe shattered to pieces in his hand. His body bore not a single scar.
The potions from the Diablo World were truly miraculous.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Drogba and Pierce reeled with shock.
To their horror, their King Alexander stood motionless within the collapsing bridge’s central section. Unable to fathom why he hadn’t retreated, they feared he’d exhausted himself utterly. If that bridge fell while he remained, plummeting into the river spelled doom.
“Trouble… Save His Majesty!” the white-haired powerhouse Pierce bellowed, lunging forward recklessly.
The other burly men, eyes burning red, ignored their own bleeding wounds and surged forward desperately.
“All of you, get back! Are you mad?!”
Sole keeper of his calm, the wild-haired giant Drogba sprang into motion. He seized Pierce with startling speed, roaring over the din. “So many men charging back will make the bridge break faster! Find the fastest runner—dash over and carry the King back NOW!”
“I’ll go! I’m fastest!” Pierce yelled, struggling forward again.
“Heh… Not faster than me,” Drogba smirked slyly. Suddenly, he slammed the butt of his axe against Pierce’s skull. The white-haired warrior slumped unconscious. Chuckling as if he’d won some grand prize, Drogba shouted at his stunned comrades while charging onto the crumbling bridge: “Nobody follow! I’m going alone! Haha! Take care of that white-haired fool…”
Drogba bolted like a leopard. As the bridge disintegrated beneath him, his nimbleness defied his massive frame. In moments, he reached Sun Fei. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around the King’s waist, ready to carry him backward.
“What the—Drogba?! Why are you here?!”
Sun Fei snapped out of his deep concentration, startled by the giant bursting through the dust.
“Your Majesty! The bridge—”
Before Sun Fei could respond, the slab beneath them shattered violently. With roaring water and snapping beasts below, they were falling.
“No time!”
Escape was impossible—the path ahead was gone. Sun Fei seized Drogba’s arm. Activating the Barbarian Skill Leap, he stomped hard against the plummeting rock. The force shattered it completely beneath them. Then, gripping Drogba tight, he soared through the air toward safety.
But strangely, he didn’t leap toward Shampoo City on the north bank. Instead… he flew toward the south, where the Black Armored Army waited.
CRASH!
Sun Fei slammed onto still-intact bridge thirty meters away, landing firmly with Drogba.
Gradually, the billowing dust settled.
The tremors faded to stillness.
All witnessed the gap—a sixteen- or seventeen-meter break cleaving the ancient semi-natural bridge at its narrowest point like a sword slash. Below, the Zuli River raged. The chasm was unassailable. For the Black Armored Army, crossing now was impossible. Even Stellar Level experts could only leap it with grappling hooks; ordinary soldiers stood no chance short of growing wings.
Sun Fei and Drogba stood isolated at the gap’s edge.
Behind them yawned seventeen meters of frigid, deadly river.
Before them stood a thousand Black-Armored Soldiers, blades and spears gleaming cold, killing intent thick as choking fog.
For the two, it was a death trap—inescapable. Unless their Shampoo City allies could somehow retrieve them, or they slaughtered this entire army themselves… both impossibilities.
Over at Shampoo City, thousands of hearts plummeted.
Royal Guards and civilians stood pale and silent. The Three-Star Warrior Lampard’s brow furrowed deeply. Beside him, the ethereally beautiful Angela bit her lip until blood seeped unnoticed; tears streamed down her face. Golden-haired child Gemma sobbed silently into her embrace.
Across the Zuli River, the Silver Masked Man exploded with rage.
The shattered bridge had ruined his imminent conquest of Shampoo City. That seventeen-meter gap was an uncrossable moat for his Black Armored Army.
“KILL THEM! KILL THEM BOTH!” he shrieked, finger quivering toward Sun Fei and Drogba at the abyss’s edge. All previous calm and poise vanished as his body trembled uncontrollably. His voice rose to a maddened, undignified screech—no longer the commander, but a frenzy surpassing even a starving beggar’s.
Some of his men stared uncomprehendingly, rubbing their eyes. They’d never seen their leader so unhinged.
On the ruined bridge, Three-Star Swordsman Lund assessed the standoff and felt relief swell.
These two were trapped, doomed. Cut off, unable to flee, even Three- or Four-Star Level experts would drown under the tide of lesser soldiers.
Lund sneered. “Pathetic scum! Your end is now! I will shatter every bone! Carve every strip of meat from your bodies! Make you beg for death’s release!”
He strode slowly forward, grinning cruelly.
Behind him, urged on by shouting overseers, the Black-Armored Soldiers advanced grimly into the cold fog of killing intent. An overwhelming pressure descended.
Few men wouldn’t despair facing such odds.
Yet—
“Haah… We’ll likely die today. Any regrets?” Sun Fei ignored the approaching army. He turned to Drogba with a faint smile. “Afraid?”
“Fighting beside a warrior like King Alexander honors the House of Didier!” declared the wounded giant, gripping his axe. His steel-hard eyes unwavering, he stepped boldly in front of Sun Fei, roaring at their enemies: “HAHA! THIS GRANDFATHER HAS SLAIN HIS FILL TODAY! COWARDLY SCUM! TOUCH MY KING? ONLY OVER DROGBA’S CORPSE!”
That shout was thunder from clear ground.
Even the Three-Star Warrior Lund halted mid-step, unnerved by the roar of this beneath-him warrior. Behind him, soldiers recoiled en masse.
In that moment, determination ignited Sun Fei’s blood.
He’d wrestled with this often: Why fight? He but stumbled into this world; its wars and deaths weren’t truly his. He could flee—survive anywhere with his Diablo World powers. Why risk everything? For Angela—delicate yet ethereally beautiful? For men like loyal Brook, fiery Pierce, and soldiers who believed in him fervently? For Shampoo City’s weak and desperate who worshipped him like a god?
Hah! When did I become so grand?
Sun Fei had mocked his choices, wavered repeatedly.
But now, seeing Drogba stand between him and death, seeing their comrades still struggling near Shampoo City’s gates? Suddenly, there was no doubt. This was simply… the choice a true king made.
He inhaled the blood-tanged air and stepped beside Drogba. A faint smile touched his lips. “Listen well: Once back, tell Brook and Lampard to hold Shampoo City. Whatever happens—NO ONE LEAVES ITS WALLS! Remember: This is Alexander, your King, commanding it. Disobedience betrays the nation!”
“What? Back? But Sire—” Drogba stammered, confused.
In that instant, Sun Fei ripped the giant’s axe from his grasp. Then, seizing Drogba by the waist, he lifted the huge man bodily. He spun once—a ferocious centrifugal force building. With a mighty grunt, he hurled Drogba outward.
Drogba felt nothing. Everything blurred. Screams of shock surrounded him as he flew—a human cannonball across the impossible gap toward his comrades. It was a masterstroke of Barbarian Might—Sun Fei throwing with impossible precision. Drogba crashed hard onto the bridge on the other side, skidding four or five meters, sparks flying as steel armor met stone. He barely felt bruised through his dizziness as men caught him.
“RETREAT NOW! TRUST YOUR KING—I RETURN ALIVE!”
Sun Fei’s command boomed over the river’s roar, reaching Drogba, Pierce, Brook, Lampard, and Angela’s ears. The echo lingered in heaven and earth.
Instantly after shouting, Sun Fei flung Drogba’s axe aside. Then he launched forward—a tornado tearing across the ground—air whistling as he shot headlong toward Lund and the sea of black.
“I’LL KILL YOU! AAAAAAGH!”
Fury consumed Lund. Seeing yet another enemy escape what appeared hopeless? The rage from constantly being outplayed exploded. Fiery battle energy flared blindingly around him, pushed to its limit.
“HAHA! ONE STRIKE! YOUR HEAD FLIES THIS DAY!” Sun Fei goaded fearlessly, rushing forward.
Mid-charge, he suddenly shifted to Mage Mode. A powerful aura of magic surrounded him; heat shimmered the air.
Whoosh!
Streaks of crimson Firebolts shot toward Lund.
Then came crackling arcs—Charged Bolts—surging from Sun Fei’s palms.
Before any impact—Whoosh-CRACKLE!
A vortex of frigid Ice Bolt spun viciously through the heat, trailing frozen mist as it hurtled at Lund.
Without pause, Sun Fei spent his entire magic reserve and snapped back to Barbarian Mode, accelerating.
Golden light flared.
He summoned his Barbarian off-hand into being: the Storm Piercer Short Sword and Soul Emblem Small Round Shield materialized instantly in his hands.
Meanwhile, Lund was reeling. Magical attacks? This enemy was a Sorceress too?! Terror joined rage. But Three-Star prowess prevailed—barely. He dodged the Firebolts. Stumbling into balance, he raised his blade against the Charged Bolts. They burst violently—stinging silver lightning snaking onto him instantly. Numbness spread. He slowed.
Frantically, Lund summoned Fire Element Battle Qi to purge the lightning venom. Before he could retaliate, the Ice Bolt smashed into him.
THUD!
Frost encased his armor. Even Three-Star strength couldn’t break free instantly. Then—a flash of gold. A chilling sensation crossed his neck.
He had the strangest feeling he was flying. His gaze fell downward—he saw his own body far below… the head above its neck mysteriously gone… gushing crimson like some gruesome fountain…
I… was beheaded?
Blackness swallowed that final thought.