Midnight.
In the park, a shadowy figure swiftly darted and leapt between branches, the twigs splintering like fragile shells underfoot, sending splinters flying.
Though the noise was alarming, it evoked the lightness and grace of an ape.
This was a grove of red magnolias; even in the dead of winter, the red magnolias had quietly blood. As the shadowy figure moved like a ghost, the trees shook violently, showering countless pink petals down.
If it were dayti, this scene would be undeniably breathtaking.
Unfortunately, it was late at night, and the place was enveloped in darkness, utterly deserted.
Nightlife had beco a mory for everyone.
Once night fell, the streets beca empty, save for the main roads sporadically lit by gas lamps; the rest remained shrouded in darkness.
Soon, the figure ca to an abrupt halt. There was no doubt; it was Chen Shouyi, with his hand resting on his long sword, and his eyes intently fixed on a large pine about a hundred ters away. He shouted softly, "Who, co out!"
There was no response for a long ti.
A small figure swiftly jumped down from a nearby tree, climbed the big tree like a squirrel, then nimbly scampered up Chen Shouyi's pant leg and onto his shoulder, whispering, "Good Giant, there's a bad giant, hiding there?"
What he thought was just an illusion turned out to be soone truly hiding there.
Chen Shouyi felt a chill in his heart. It was already one o'clock in the morning; outside, the temperature froze water in an instant. At this hour, apart from soldiers on duty, no normal person would be out wandering, let alone co to this deserted park.
"Since you won't co out, I'll go over there," Chen Shouyi sneered coldly, saying.
He leapt down from the branches, spanning fourteen or fifteen ters in a stride, taking only a few steps.
Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred. With a twist of light, a tall, strong figure abruptly appeared under the big tree.
Seeing such an unbelievable sight, Chen Shouyi was shocked, involuntarily stopping: "Who exactly are you?"
He wore human clothing, his bald head tattooed with the image of a fierce beast, exuding a sense of formidable bravery and wildness, yet his calm expression bizarrely gave a sense of indifference to life and death and gentleness.
"I... am a servant of my master, the great God of Courage. May my master shelter you, mighty warrior, I an no harm!"
He spoke with difficulty, in a strange accent, and the aning of his words made his identity evident.
The atmosphere thickened instantly. Chen Shouyi slowly drew his sword: "You an no harm, then why co here?"
"It was my master's guidance, mighty warrior, put down your weapon. You face a servant of a god." The tall barbarian remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the sword in his hand.
This barbarian felt different.
Chen Shouyi had encountered many barbarians invading Earth, so confused and wary, so vicious and eager to kill, but this one gave a sense of wisdom and peace.
"You, such a strong warrior, are exactly what my master admires. Soon, the great and rciful God of Courage will descend in person, to save this fallen and filthy world. This world will ultimately be ruled by gods. Offer your faith, and you will gain more."
Listening to these words made Chen Shouyi's heart sink; the truth of the words was hard to discern, making it impossible to tell the real from the fake.
Twenty years ago, gods invaded Earth several tis and suffered disastrous defeats, with even so gods falling.
Now, humanity's mightiest weapon—the nuclear bomb—though still usable, had little impact, but without electricity, satellite navigation, or highly mobile delivery thods, even the most potent weapon is just a giant firecracker, losing its deterrent power entirely.
Since the mutation, humanity's overall strength had diminished by thousands of tis, while, conversely, the gods' power on Earth had partially recovered. Should they invade again...
Thinking of this, he felt as if a boulder weighed on his heart, heavy and oppressive. Chen Shouyi refocused, looking at the barbarian:
"Your god, I naturally cannot contend with, but you will not see it."
There was nothing to say to barbarians; the number that had died at Chen Shouyi's hands was countless, let alone this clearly sinister invader.
The barbarian's expression faltered, still pondering the aning of these words as Chen Shouyi's toes touched the ground, his body shot forward like the wind.
Shell Lady was startled, quickly jumping down and scampering a few steps to hide behind a large tree.
Only thirty ters separated him from the barbarian, and in less than half a second, he was upon him.
The barbarian sensed danger, reacting swiftly, a streak of anger and ferocity on his face, muttering in his heart, "Giant's Power!"
In the next mont, his body swelled like a balloon, his height of nearly 1.9 ters swiftly transforming to a small giant over 2.1 ters tall, muscles knotted like gnarled roots, countless blue-black veins violently bulging like worms.
At the sa ti, a powerful and obscure aura spread.
Seeing the approaching figure, a fan-sized hand, tangled with dense veins, tore through the blurred air, lunging towards Chen Shouyi, his voice booming like a bell: "Foolish unbeliever, seeking death!"
Chen Shouyi had not yet approached when a violent airflow hit him in the face, a massive blue-green hand wrapped in milky white lunging towards him.
Facing the sound barrier-breaking sonic cone cloud, Chen Shouyi's expression shifted, feeling imnse pressure.
What he thought was a re barbarian, easily slain, had turned out to be a great white shark, so powerful.
Perhaps Chen Shouyi had grown overconfident; since consuming divine blood and optimizing his swordsmanship, though not outwardly shown, an intense inner confidence subconsciously erged, seeing himself above all.
His foot moved, slightly shifting his body, and in the next instant, with a boom, the violent wind brushed past, shredding his clothes into myriad tatters.
Clenching his jaw, as he evaded, he silently slashed his sword across the waist.
The barbarian didn't dodge, instead, he withdrew and kicked fiercely at Chen Shouyi's head.
His movents carried great force, every move surpassing the speed of sound, like a descending Giant Spirit God, crushing everything.
Yet Chen Shouyi noticed his seeming unfamiliarity with combat; his actions revealed considerable amateurishness and lack of thod, although he still attacked with sonic booms, demonstrating his trendous physical power.
In terms of strength, Chen Shouyi estimated he had less than half the opponent's power, perhaps even less agile, but in terms of physical coordination, he far surpassed this barbarian.
Dodging in a flash, Chen Shouyi witnessed a red magnolia, as thick as a thigh, getting snapped in half by his opponent's kick, toppling with a crash.
Both figures moved at high speed, creating explosive noises, the ground bursting into shallow pits, frozen soil flying outward like bullets.
However, the opponent, ultimately not a battle-hardened warrior, allowed Chen Shouyi to find an opportunity after a dozen exchanges.
As the barbarian lunged with a punch, he sidestepped, instantly moving to the opponent's side.
Body following the sword, he gripped it reverse, slashing hard along the opponent's waist, tearing with a sound like cutting old leather.
The barbarian roared in pain, before he had ti to react; Chen Shouyi twisted back, his long sword stabbing into his back like lightning, creating a blood-filled hole.
Achieving success with a single sword stroke, Chen Shouyi felt slight relief, quickly preparing to withdraw, but just as he pulled out the sword, he was kicked heavily in the chest by the barbarian, with a cracking sound, countless ribs fractured. Chen Shouyi, like a kite with a broken string, flew over twenty ters, finally landing heavily.
Imdiately he rolled to his feet, standing sword in hand, watching as the barbarian clutched his chest quickly fleeing, vanishing into the darkness in a blink.
Chen Shouyi stood unmoving, suddenly paling, spitting a mouthful of blood, his gaze fixed gravely where the barbarian had disappeared.
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