Chapter 169: I Am… the King of Champoo

Sun Fei sighed, unsure whether he felt anger or self-blame.

He gently patted the young boy’s head and slowly stood up.

Looking at that youthful yet determined face, Sun Fei felt a pang of sadness inside. Luka’s every word had struck like a heavy slap, brutal and unforgiving on Sun Fei’s cheeks. Just moments before, Sun Fei had secretly prided himself that his reign as king was going pretty well… But who could have known that so many of his ‘subjects’ were suffering abuse in enemy territory, trapped between survival and death, desperately waiting for the ‘great new king’ to rescue them.

In that instant, cold sweat broke out uncontrollably over him. Sun Fei realized how utterly he had failed as a king. Luka’s words had stirred the deepest, most tender part of Sun Fei’s heart.

“Hey! Who are you people? Stay out of this, if you know what’s good for you! Vermin from Champoo deserve to die… Hand over that Champoo brat! Today, Lord Robbie is showing mercy. I won’t bother you; leave while you can…” The small-time officer’s tone softened. He’d finally noticed that these people all seemed strong—not easy targets. A few Blackrock soldiers next to him, spotting the distant glint of weapons among a large troop, realized these seven definitely had backup. They nudged him subtly from behind.

“Sirs, please go! Don’t worry about me! These demons are terrifying. They really kill people…” Young Luka’s clear eyes filled with panic, tears clinging to their corners. Even ignoring his own safety, he urgently urged Sun Fei and the others to leave him behind: “Get away quickly! His Majesty the King of Champoo will avenge us!”

“Luka, you are a warrior! A true warrior!”

Sun Fei smiled calmly and stepped protectively in front of the boy. His broad back shielded Luka like a towering mountain. Then, Sun Fei’s gaze swept over Lampard, Drogba, Oleg, and the others—their faces twisted in fury, their eyes burning with impatience. He gave them a slight nod and spat out an icy, resolute command:

“Kill!”

That one word marked the immediate arrival of the God of Death.

It was like opening Pandora’s Box; demons shrieked forth, and disaster instantly descended upon Blackrock Fortress.

The first to strike was Frank Lampard. He was the strongest among the six masters.

A blinding white light suddenly flared from his tightly clenched fist. A compressed ball of electricity burst free like a dazzling firework. Everyone felt their vision burn and their eyes flinch shut against the intense glare. Then, they all heard a rapid sequence of sickening cracks—fists smashing through weapons, armor, and bones!

Lightning Fist!

Fast as lightning, quick as light—far beyond any ordinary person’s reaction.

Only Sun Fei witnessed Lampard’s fist movements and speed clearly. In that single explosive moment, the former strongest warrior of Champoo easily threw over a hundred punches. The power behind each blow equaled the full-force strike of an early Four-Star Level expert.

This was the horror of [Lightning Fist]. Unbelievably swift and overwhelmingly strong!

Among the others, Peter Cech, ranking third in strength, barely perceived vague blurs. Prison Warden Oleg, the Heng-Ha Twin Generals, and the blond youth Torres couldn’t even trace the slightest movement. Sun Fei, through insights gained from his [Assassin Mode] combat energy flow, had developed unprecedented combat techniques—each Qi Channel possessing mysterious power. The characteristic of Lightning Fist’s Qi Channels was speed and strength, infused with terrifying electric currents that numbed nerves and slowed opponents.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Amid a chorus of dense thuds, forty soldiers instantly burst into bloody sprays, exploding mid-air. These ordinary soldiers had been struck countless times by Lampard’s fists in a split second. Terrible punching force penetrated their bodies. All bones and flesh were completely pulverized. The slightest shift caused them to explode into a shower of gore—a bizarre and horrifying scene.

The Heng-Ha Twin Generals and Prison Warden Oleg had barely dashed forward half a step when all enemies were dead. They exchanged resigned looks. Once Lampard struck, there was no chance for them to even ‘scoop up scraps’.

Peering out from behind Sun Fei, the skinny boy, Luka Modric, stared blankly at the scene. Forty demon-like monsters were really dead?

He could hardly believe his eyes.

“Everyone to the plaza! Form defensive ranks!” Sun Fei shouted. Suddenly, he scooped up the stunned boy. With a flicker of his body, he soared upward, becoming a barely visible blur. By the time his voice reached the others, he and the skinny boy had already vanished from sight. Obeying the order, the six masters instantly withdrew into the main troop. They led the entire group to a small plaza. One hundred Urban Management personnel and a squad called the Saints encircled the supply wagons and cargo. Their shields formed a layered wall of iron, as everyone remained hyper-alert.

“Take me to him. Take me to that Uncle Zola.”

Sun Fei’s calm voice, simmering with boundless fury, rang in Luka Modric’s ears. The boy gaped in astonishment. Scenery flashed past like lightning, the wind generated by their speed blocked just inches away by some invisible protective field. Luka felt like he was flying—something he never imagined possible. Sun Fei’s immense strength shocked him. Only after the question snapped him back did he flail and point in a direction.

“Who dares trespass below?” Blackrock soldiers spotted the figures leaping overhead and yelled their challenges.

Sun Fei completely ignored them. Shooting toward the direction Luka had indicated, he moved with electrifying speed.

“This fortress is restricted! Halt!”

“Turn back! Or we fire arrows!”

Seeing the intruders remain unresponsive, the Blackrock troops turned pale. An officer barked an order. Instantly, arrows poured up like torrential rain, shrieks tearing toward Sun Fei and Luka!

“Dare?!” Sun Fei’s eyes flashed like lightning. Rage welled inside him. Switching to [Barbarian Mode], he unleashed several punches mid-air. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Deafening booms followed as air near them exploded under the force of those terrifying fists—each strike easily over a hundred thousand pounds! The resulting pressure wave struck like an air cannon. The stone walls below shattered like paper. Soldiers screamed as they plummeted…

Witnessing this, the Blackrock soldiers froze in horror. This level of power was beyond their imagination. Their weapons trembled in their hands. No one dared fire another arrow, terrified of provoking the god-like figure soaring above them—one punch could pulp them entirely.

WOOOO! WOOOOOO!

Battle horns blared madly throughout the fort. Every Blackrock soldier’s face drained of color. That hornblasts signalled only one thing: enemy forces had breached the city! Prepare for street fighting! Everyone grabbed their weapons and donned armor, steeling themselves for a last stand.

Elsewhere, in a fortified, hidden cavern room carved high into the mountain face beside Blackrock Fortress, the towering, golden-bearded and haired King of Blackrock sat drinking with a mysterious figure. They seemed to be arguing when the horns drowned everything out. Snapping to his feet, the King rushed to the cavern entrance and looked down—just as Sun Fei’s aerial barrage annihilated over ten blockhouses and battlements.

SMASH!

The king’s wine cup shattered. His entire body shook violently from fury. “This insolence! King of Champoo!!!” he bellowed.

……

Ten breaths later.

Guided by the thin boy Modric, Sun Fei arrived at a sheer cliff face at the rear of Blackrock Fortress.

On three sides, cliffs soared over a hundred meters. At their base lay a man-made pit, easily a hundred meters wide. A stench of decay rose thick and rank. Inside the pit, piled into grim hillocks, lay tens of thousands of corpses.

Most bodies were fresh—barely several days dead. Covered in hideous wounds, blood still staining their forms, every corpse was painfully thin, skin stretched tight over bone. At the pile’s base, bodies older by ten or fifteen days lay. Though autumn chill had settled, decay had set in horribly—faces unrecognizable masses, yellowed decay-fluid oozing everywhere. White maggots crawled in filthy patches across everything, churning in a repulsive frenzy. It was pure hell on earth!

“There! That’s Uncle Zola! Hurry! Save him!” The boy screamed, pointing frantically at a dried-up husk atop the grisly mound.

Sun Fei switched to [Druid Mode]. He gestured. Out of nothingness, a Giant-winged Crow materialized. It shrieked, dove low over the Pit, snatched the skeletal ‘husk,’ and deposited it atop the cliff. Seizing Modric, Sun Fei leapt upward. Tapping off the cliff face several times as he ascended, he reached the summit almost instantly.

Wind blew here, thinning the nauseating miasma.

Sun Fei carefully examined the pale-haired elder named Zola. Barely clinging to life, his heartbeat weak and pulse almost undetectable. Both leg bones shattered cruelly below the knees. His tongue cut out. One eye gouged out. One hand severed. The old man’s condition was catastrophic. Starvation made it clear he wouldn’t last long.

“Sir, save him! Please! Save him! Please! Sob…” Modric wept, tears pouring out. Sobbing, he collapsed crying onto the old man.

“Ugh… hurts so bad…? Is that little Luka? Hush now, child… Champoo men don’t cry.”

Perhaps a final burst of consciousness before death, old man Zola miraculously regained his senses. A faint, strangely serene smile touched his face. His remaining good eye opened, looking at the weeping boy draped over him. A withered hand rose weakly to stroke Modric’s tears. Anger and peace warred in his gaze as he mumbled incoherently through his half-tongue: “Good boy… remember… Uncle’s words… live strong. Live until… the day… the Holy King of Champoo brings his army… arrives. Tell His Majesty… everything… all the suffering… tell the King… so… so he avenges… the hatred… the dead people of Champoo!”

“Uncle Zola! I found help! You’ll be alright! You’ll be alright!” Wrung dry with tears, the thin boy turned and knelt pleadingly before Sun Fei. “Sir! Sir! Please save Uncle Zola!”

Sun Fei switched to [Paladin Mode]. Immediately, a ring of golden light surrounded the old man and infused his body.

Soothing golden light emanated from Zola. Some wounds began sealing slowly. But the injuries were too severe. Missing limbs. Body functions crashing due to severe starvation. The Paladin skill [Prayer] couldn’t help such damage. Pausing thoughtfully, Sun Fei summoned a bottle from his [Belt Space]: [Complete Recovery Potion]. Pouring half on Zola’s wounds, he carefully let the other half trickle down the man’s throat.

Miracles unfolded.

Visibly, wounds closed at incredible speed. Within mere blinks of an eye: the severed wrist sprouted wriggling flesh buds and bony stumps; the gouged eye reformed from nothing; shattered leg bones knitted instantly… In just a few breaths, the potent [Complete Recovery Potion]—peak-level replenishment even within the [World of Diablo]—did its amazing work. Saving a powerless elder was trivial for such magic.

A cold mountain breeze blew.

Old man Zola came fully to his senses.

He stared bewildered at his own suddenly intact hands. He touched his restored eye, his regenerated legs. He could scarcely believe it. How? Moments ago, he’d been dying… But a man of hard-won experience, he saw Luka nearby, stunned speechless. Memories of sensations felt while near-comatose returned fleetingly. Then his healthy, clear eyes fixed on the imposing, heroic young man beside him. Understanding dawned instantly.

This noble young man had done this. Brought him back from death!

A Divine Miracle! Utterly incredible!

“Thank you, kind sir, for this life-given twice! Who… are you? Your name? The people of Champoo will gratefully remember your kindness forever…” The old man quickly dropped to his knees to kowtow.

“Please, stand quickly, grandfather. Your King… I am…” Sun Fei’s face flickered with shame. For a moment he struggled to meet the old man’s burning gaze. Then, quietly, he answered: “I am Alexander. I am the new King of Champoo.”