The Dawn of the New World

Zeng Yu was covered in blood. Mostly his own.

He had started the process of breaking through to the profound realm but was stopping it on purpose, which took a massive toll on his body. His skin cracked open as the blood drained from his face. But that did little to stop his advance.

Instead, it pushed him further into madness.

Incoherent mumbling could be heard coming from him every now and then.

"Shield.....not..break...not bend...for I am...." repeating the Red Legion oath like a mantra, a prayer that powered his advance.

His ears twitched again and his eyes contracted as he quickly stepped sideways. The same black spear-like object cut through the air, barely missing his chest before quickly retracting.

*Cough*

He threw up a mouthful of blood. That sudden movement shifted several of his organs.

*Cough*Cough*

He raised his sword once again, mumbling with vacant eyes, "For...I am...Red Legion."

*Bzzzt*

The Rift stabilized.

Yin Da turned around and looked at it, his face turning brighter.

"He-HEY, IT'S UP! THE RIFT!" he shouted loudly.

But no one even reacted. There were about 25 people left alive. If any of them moved away from their positions, the defensive formation would collapse.

Zeng Wu looked over at Yin Da, "Go! Go through!"

He then looked at the handful of people still left in Hyson's group, "You too, go!"

"But-" Hyson looked at the monsters and then at the rift. If they left, these guys would die within seconds.

"NOW! Ma and Shi Clan, go through as well!"

But no one moved. Not Yin Da, not Shi Chun.

Zeng Wu's brow shot up in anger, "THAT'S AN ORDER! The Red Legion will hold back the formation, go!"

Including Jin Wang, Zeng Yu, and Zeng Wu, there were only about 11 people from the Red Legion left alive.

"Go! It's our job! We are soldiers, dying on the battlefield is the most we can ask for. Leave now!"

The Red Legion soldiers had wide grins on their faces listening to Zeng Wu. All of them were smiling like crazy, like it was the happiest day of their lives.

"Hahaha, it has been a pleasure!" one of the men said as he kicked Jin Wang, sending him flying into the rift.

"What the fu-" Jin Wang was barely standing up so that one kick was enough to sap away all his strength. He looked at the Red Legion guys that fought with him for the last few weeks, 'You b*stards.'

Another one looked at Shi Chun in mock anger, "This is our battlefield now, how dare you try to steal our spotlight!?"

"Hahaha," other soldiers laughed at him.

Shi Chun looked at them. He remembered each of their faces.

"Thank you," he bowed. Nothing else needed to be said.

He turned towards his men. "Let's go, quickly bring princess Ma Yu, she needs immediate help!"

"Yes sir," only after he gave the order did the people moved.

A couple of guards picked up the make-shift stretcher and walked towards the rift. But before they could step through,

*CRAAAACK*

The black gate vibrated and a humanoid figure stepped out.

It was covered from top to bottom in a black carapace like that of a beetle. In its hand was the spear-like object. It kept moving around like it was alive.

*WOOSH*

A pressure descended on the entire valley.

The figure raised his hand and the pressure quadrupled. Everyone besides Zeng Yu and Zeng Wu fell down to their knees, including the undead.

"..." Hou Chin moved her head with some effort and looked up at it.

The figure had no orifices on its face. It was a completely smooth exterior.

It looked at the humans and tilted its head sideways,

"Krefuk Ikeuf Heurtf."

Complete silence. No one knew what it was talking about. It waited for a couple of seconds and when there was no response, shook its head.

It stepped forward and started floating higher and higher into the air. 1 meter, 5 meters, 20 meters.

Zeng Yu's bloodied eyes widened as a lighting bolt descended from the heavens and hit him square in the chest, leaving a burned hole in its wake.

The figure shook its hand and a black throne made of hundreds of bones appeared, floating in the air alongside him. He sat down and looked down at the humans.

He didn't have a mouth so they couldn't tell, but it was quite obvious it was looking at them with a derisive smile.

It lightly waved its hand.

The pressure vanished while the defensive formation completely collapsed. A black barrier appeared around the rift, surrounding it completely. No one could leave anymore.

It leaned back, looking at them expectedly. Like it was saying, "Put on a good show for me."

The undead got up as well and snarled at the humans, preparing to attack again.

Zeng Yu coughed again, throwing up a large amount of blood. Using his sword as a crutch, he stood up with some effort.

"Up....get...and fight. Do not....give in," he wanted to shout but it was barely audible.

Zeng Wu's eyes went red as he readied himself to face the upcoming wave along with the other soldiers.

"Looks like time's up huh," he mumbled to himself.

Shi Chun looked up at the figure sitting on the floating throne with such deep resentment that it felt it. It looked at him, and he could tell it was laughing at him.

He looked down at the sleeping Ma Yu and caressed her face before looking away resolutely.

"Get ready, we will fight till the end!" he ordered his men.

Every one of them took out their weapons once again. Probably for the last time.

They formed a straight line, facing the undead horde.

Behind them was the figure on the throne, in the front was the unending horde of monsters.

*GROWL*

A massive creature of over 15 meters in length growled and leaped forward. The others followed behind it.

Hou Chin's legs were shaking, but she was a little relieved. 'At least it will be all over soon'.

She closed her eyes and raised the sword in front of her. This was it. The creatures would come and it would be the end.

The first creature arrived. Time slowed to a crawl as everyone felt their powers increase. A sudden influx of energy and Qi. Their blood thrummed and faces turned red. Whereas a massive pressure fell on the undead, making them freeze mid-stride.

From the other end of the valley, a bellow full of anger resounded.

"ASSAULT OF THE MAD GOD!"

*BOOOOOM*

Thunder fell and the entire valley shook.

The figure on the throne sat up straight but didn't make a move.

Zeng Wu's face changed to one of astonishment

They all stretched their necks and looked behind the gigantic undead in front of them.

From the other end of the valley, a mass of noises came as creatures could be seen getting flung up into the air.

*RUMBLE*

In less than 10 seconds they could finally see the source of all the noise.

It was a beast, a huge beast covered in white lightning. Atop the beast sat a lone figure. In its right hand, a massive weapon that had arcs of lightning erupting from it. In his left hand, a large cylindrical object.

There were about eight of these cylindrical object attached to the beast as well.

Lightning flashed wherever the beast went while the undead could do nothing against it. The figure swung his weapon left and right, sending bolts of lightning flying into the horde.

It went through them like a hot knife through butter, leaving limbs scattered in its path.

The figure in the sky finally seemed to have had enough as he waved his hand. The pressure from the undead vanished and they could move again.

The giant 15-meter tall creature quickly turned around and punched, but the result wasn't as expected.

The beast covered in lightning nimbly sidestepped and jumped on top of it, digging its teeth deep into its neck.

*Crunch*

It pulled, ripping out the undead creature's entire spine. But it didn't stop there.

The person sitting above it threw the cylindrical object from his left hand in the ground, right in front of the humans.

The person swung his massive weapon several more times, destroying every undead within 50 meters like they were made from clay.

The beast then moved in a circle and went around the rift, leaving a total of nine cylindrical objects behind it.

The lightning surrounding the beast slowly disappeared, showing the true face of the person sitting above it.

"I leave for a few weeks, and you guys end up like this?"

The voice sounded familiar but only four people recognized it.

"?!"

Hao Xuan jumped off of Bai and landed on the ground. He clicked a small button in his hand as he walked towards the group.

*CRACKLE*

A ring made of pure lightning erupted around the rift, cutting it off from the outside world. The nine cylindrical objects were the source of it. They were releasing massive amounts of electricity that created a barrier between the undead and the humans.

"C-Captain Deimos..." Shi Chun muttered looking at Hao Xuan's mask.

"Yo, you look tired, relax, let me handle the rest," Hao Xuan winked. He waved his hand and several bottles appeared in his hand.

He threw them towards the people before walking up to Ma Yu.

Shi Chun clenched his fist looking at him walk up to her, but didn't stop him.

Hao Xuan checked Ma Yu's pulse and heaved a sigh of relief. He then walked up to Zeng Yu who was bleeding profusely.

"You hang in there old man, it's not your time yet," he grinned while putting a small glass bottle in his hand, "Here, drink this."

Everyone was stupified into speechlessness. How was their captain back from death?!

Zeng Wu opened his mouth to say something but threw up blood instead.

Hao Xuan looked over, "Relax dude. Heal yourself first," he looked at the faces of everyone present.

"Did that bast- Jin Wang, did he..?"

It was Shi Chun this time that answered him, "No, he already went through the rift."

Hao Xuan sighed again. "Good good, you guys rest, we'll go back once I open this barrier."

He smiled and turned towards the figure in the sky that was silently staring at them.

"And who the f*ck might you be?" Hao Xuan's eyes squinted as he looked at it.