Chapter 268: Chapter 218: Leave None Alive as a Warning to Others (2)

That would be when they were at their weakest. If an enemy found them then, they would be killed with ease.

That’s why they had to maintain a low profile.

Only someone like Yi Beidou, who cared nothing for the next life and sought only power in the present, would dare to act with such unrestrained flamboyance.

"This young upstart is too vicious. It seems we’ll have to make some trade-offs and take a few risks."

The spectacled youth said thoughtfully.

「Meanwhile, in the sky.」

The four Saints aboard the helicopter received a request from command to continue helping them pinpoint Yi Beidou’s location.

All four of them had grim expressions.

’Pinpoint his location? That guy’s power is unfathomable. He looks determined to kill every last one of us. For all we know, he could be lurking right below, just waiting for our helicopter to land.’

’We can’t stay in the sky forever.’

"This won’t work. The Japanese military probably can’t kill him. We have to make a decision, and fast!"

"We can’t stay in the country. We should take this chance to get out of the country and lie low for a while."

"Turn around now! Head for the airport! Arrange for a private jet to take off immediately. We’re leaving the country!"

"..."

These men were all cunning old foxes. They talked a big game about righteousness, but when it came down to it, who could so easily throw away a lifetime of Cultivation?

Especially not to die so easily at Yi Beidou’s hands—a death with no dignity, nothing glorious or grand. It would be utterly mismatched with their status and Cultivation.

After all, they knew the exact details of how Ishikawa Yu and Nakamura Masao had died at the hands of Yi Beidou.

Thus, instead of pursuing Yi Beidou as command had requested, the helicopters turned and headed for the airport.

Moving through the city, Yi Beidou’s figure flickered through alleyways and between building floors, his pace not particularly fast.

Traveling across rooftops would have been the fastest way, but the risk of exposure was too high.

His Demon Flame could warp magnetic fields, blocking both sight and perception, but it wasn’t true invisibility. At a distance, where it couldn’t affect an observer’s mind, it amounted to little more than "Optical Camouflage."

Therefore, he was bound to leave tracks and make noise wherever he went. With who-knew-how-many drones monitoring every inch of the sky, his position could be exposed far too easily.

It wasn’t that he feared being surrounded again. In truth, the Japanese military had already lost its best chance and could no longer hope to encircle him.

He was simply concerned that exposing his position would alert Japan’s military command, causing his targets to scatter to the winds.

These guys were far too weak. If they scattered and hid among the regular soldiers, it would genuinely interfere with his senses and create a significant obstacle.

The best option was to catch them by surprise and wipe them all out in one go.

「About half an hour later.」

A manor house came into Yi Beidou’s view. He was perched on the branch of a tree in a landscaped median, gazing at the estate from afar.

This was the target’s location, and it was clearly heavily fortified.

The grounds were patrolled by fully armed soldiers with live ammunition. There were even structures resembling pillboxes, and numerous armored weapons were visible.

However, a defense of this level meant nothing to Yi Beidou.

Perhaps they never imagined he would find them here.

Yi Beidou had never considered these people his opponents.

He had come here for one reason only: a slaughter.

Now, the hunt began.

「Meanwhile, inside the manor.」

"Is there still no sign of Yi Beidou?"

Mr. Tengsen frowned. He had just heard that the four veteran Saints had taken a plane and fled the country, and the news made him furious.

’Cowards! Useless trash!’

’It’s because these people from the Martial Arts Realm are so pathetic that things have gotten this bad.’

"We’ve completely lost track of him," the military representative said in a low voice. "It’s possible he’s already slipped past the cordon without a sound. Mr. Tengsen, we may need to make a decision."

Mr. Tengsen took a deep breath and was about to order a retreat.

Suddenly...

BANG BANG BANG!!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

...a cacophony of gunfire and explosions erupted from outside, mixed with the shouts and screams of soldiers.

WOO WOO WOO!!

The alarms inside the room instantly began to shriek. The sudden commotion made the hair of the various high-ranking Japanese officials in the command room stand on end, and they all shot up from their seats.

"What’s going on?! What’s happening?!" the military commander demanded. Even the usually calm Mr. Tengsen’s expression changed as a terrible premonition bloomed in his heart.

"Everyone, we’re under attack! The attacker is a single individual... it’s probably... Yi Beidou, who broke through the defensive line!!"

"There’s no time, sirs! The guards can’t stop that monster! Everyone, get out through the hidden door, now!"

The doors to the conference room burst open, and a fully armed officer staggered in, panting, his face a mask of terror.

’That man... he’s a monster. His speed is off the charts. His short-range bursts might even exceed 150 kilometers per hour, and he can still dodge and weave at that speed.’

’His body is so tough he can take direct fire from submachine guns and light machine guns. Only heavy machine guns pose any real threat.’

’But if he snatches an Anti-Riot Shield or just uses a body for cover, he can charge right through even heavy machine gun fire.’

’And if any of our soldiers get near him—no, they don’t even have to get close! Just getting within twenty meters is enough. A single look from him can make a normal soldier’s mind break. Only the elite guard, the ones with Cultivation of their own and equipped with magnetic field dampeners, have any chance of stopping him.’

At the officer’s words, the faces of everyone in the conference room changed dramatically. They all scrambled to get out of the room and escape through the hidden door. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Just then.

"BANZAI!!"

A series of shouts echoed from outside, followed by a deafening explosion that shook the entire building. Plaster rained down from the walls as the blast temporarily deafened everyone, their minds ringing.

Thick smoke billowed in from the direction of the building’s main entrance. They all knew what had happened.

It was a suicide attack by the elite guard.

They were all Death Warriors, rigorously trained. When they could no longer complete their mission of protecting their leaders, they would become human bombs and attempt to take the enemy down with them.

It was one of their tactics for dealing with Saint Experts.

And yet, a crimson light suddenly tore through the billowing smoke. A tall figure, wreathed in Blood Fire, stepped through the shattered doorway.

Yi Beidou was covered in the smoke of gunpowder, his skin crisscrossed with bloody gashes. Even his pants were shredded by the blast, revealing the solid muscle of his legs.

But the wounds from the explosion did nothing to diminish his colossal, world-despising aura. At the mere sight of him, these high-ranking Japanese officials, men long accustomed to power, felt their legs tremble so violently they nearly collapsed.

No one had the mental space to wonder how Yi Beidou had found them. A powerful survival instinct had surged to the forefront of their minds.

It was the most basic of animal instincts.

"Spare us!" a Japanese military representative pleaded cautiously. "We can negotiate anything. You’ll gain nothing by killing us."

However...

SWOOSH!!

...Yi Beidou’s form seemed to teleport. He was now standing before the military representative, one finger pressed against the man’s brow.

The next moment...

SPLAT!!

The man’s entire head exploded, showering those nearby in a warm, viscous spray.

"If you live, those who come after will think I am weak and can be trifled with. That will cause me a great deal of trouble as I travel the world in the future."

"So, none of you are leaving here alive," Yi Beidou said calmly, his voice cutting through the terror that held them all paralyzed. "This is my warning to all who would come after."

’He planned to roam the world, to test the might of all under heaven. He had no desire to face overwhelming military power in every new land he visited.’

’He would slaughter everyone in this command center simply to make one thing clear to the leaders of other nations: if you come after me, be prepared to die.’

’To men like these, wealth was just a number. The lives of their people were just a number. The only thing that could make them hesitate was the threat to their own survival.’

Crimson bloomed across the room.