Chapter 2222: Trimmed Numbers
What ensued next shocked all those who had come to witness it.
A Martial Master who had only been in the Master Realm for less than four years was ordinarily supposed to still be in their newbie phase, where they would be rehashing their Martial Art.
After all, it wasn't easy to remake one's Martial Art to become synergetic with the newly discovered Martial Mind.
Yet, when they witnessed the Dawnbringer keep up with many Martial Masters, it became evidently clear that he had already moved past this newbie phase. Not only had he moved past it, but it was as though he had been operating with a Martial Art that was synergized with thought for a long time.
He didn't have as many active techniques as the average Martial Master, but the power of his Martial Mind and the synergy between it and his techniques were overwhelming.
Furthermore, each of his few techniques was incredibly potent. The worst technique in his arsenal was still grade-nine.
While some of his most powerful techniques...
BOOOM!!!
A devastating Yin-Yang Spear struck his opponent with a horrifying, destructive impact. The sheer power of the technique was so overwhelming that it cracked the man's ribs, breaking through them. The impact warped his Martial Body, crumpling it and forming an indentation on the other side.
THUD
The Masters surrounding Rui froze as they watched their colleague's corpse fall to the ground.
A single blow.
That was all it took.
Rui's powerful gaze swept across the battlefield as he eyed the dozen Martial Masters who stared at him with a single emotion.
Fear.
"What's the matter?" Rui raised an eyebrow. "After all..."
His eyes sharpened.
"You came to kill me, did you not?"
They gulped as they broke into a cold sweat.
They were starting to realize that he wasn't such an easy opponent.
The reason that they had targeted Rui was because of the horrifyingly powerful forbidden technique that he had demonstrated in the Panamic Martial Federation.
Yet, not a single person had told them that he was this strong even without it!
"Damn Nindo Clan..." one of them muttered, gritting their teeth. "They should have told us he was such a monster."
Rui's power level had been relatively unknown for many years.
The last time he had demonstrated his nominal power publicly was in his duel against the Gatekeeper seven years ago when he was still only a Martial Senior. Furthermore, he had still used a forbidden technique even in that battle. Thus, he was commonly thought to be even weaker.
After that, he spent the next three years in the Kandrian Empire surrounded by bodyguards who wouldn't let him suffer any real damage. Furthermore, even after he mysteriously broke through in the Kandrian Empire around the time his father recovered, he had only spent more time in training.
So, how strong could he really be as a Martial Master?
Well, today, they learned the answer to that question.
They learned the answer firsthand.
He was stronger than they could ever even begin to have imagined.
"If you're not coming to kill me, then..." His voice grew perilous. "I'll be the one coming to kill you."
His words sent shivers down their spines.
At that moment, they had a premonition.
If they didn't kill him that day, then and there, he would go on to become their worst nightmare someday.
"A-ATTTAAACKK!" the strongest of the lot of them bellowed. "He's just one Martial Artist! Charge at him together! He cannot possibly fight on all fronts!"
The Sekigaharan Martial Masters steeled their determination with grave expressions as they surged toward the man with the goal of killing him all at once.
"KILL HIM!!!"
Yet, the gesture only brought a smile to his face as he deactivated the Yin-Yang Spear, instead preparing a defensive position with hands ready for interception.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
Many fists, wind blasts, sound attacks, and body charges collided with him all at once.
BOOOOOM!!!
Their eyes widened as he abstained from dodging like he normally did, instead appearing to choose to withstand all their attacks. The sheer power they were able to output collectively
gave them hope.
Hope that he would succumb.
After all, their combined impacts against him were surely too much for any Martial Master to handle, particularly one who wasn't even a defensive-oriented Martial Master.
"Niflheim."
They felt chills crawling across their skin.
Not just figurative chills.
Literal chills.
For the realm of frost and cold had descended upon heaven and earth.
"Thanks for all the extra juice." Rui grinned as he channeled all the power he absorbed from their attacks into a super-charged Niflheim domain.
WHOOOSH!!!
In an instant, the world was frozen asunder.
Heaven and earth chilled over as the sheer might of the domain that Rui created froze
everything within its depths.
The atmosphere began condensing as dew drops of liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen began
forming on all surfaces.
Including his hapless victims.
"AARARGHHH!!!"
"COLD! TOO COLD!!!"
"MY SKIN!"
In the first second, the domain inflicted frostbite upon them.
In the ensuing moments, ice developed on their skin as the water content in their epithelial
system began freezing.
"We need to get out of here before it's too late."
"Ah..." Rui murmured as they shot towards the boundary of the domain. "...I'm afraid that it
was too late the moment you chose to wage the war."
His eyes flared with power as he momentarily activated Hypertrophic Surge at full power, supercharging the domain even more.
Just in time to freeze the water in their blood.
THUD
They spontaneously died.
Rui dispelled the domain as he examined the frozen corpses.
"I guess nothing beats the Yggdrasil System when it comes to dealing with multiple
opponents."
His words spread chills across the entire battlefield.
Literally, as the Niflheim domain began to dispel.
Both the Sekigaharan and the Kandrian Masters found themselves gazing at the monster that
Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria was.
"I trimmed the enemy's numbers," Rui smirked. "Now we can have an even war."