The Human Emperor
chapter-1405

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Wang Chong’s attacks were fast, accurate, and fierce, each flick of his finger carefully calculated so that his bolts of energy would strike the golden beetles. Pop! Pop! Pop! With three small explosions, the golden beetles were struck, and smoke poured out of their bodies.

Wang Chong continued to fire bolts of Sword Qi, and one beetle, after taking four bolts of Sword Qi, was pierced through and finally died. The other two followed in quick succession, and the stiff carcasses of the three beetles were soon belly-up on the ground, along with splotches of green blood.

After killing the three golden beetles, Wang Chong immediately continued on his way.

……

“Big Bro Zhang, we’re done for!”

At a certain place in this vast formation, a corrosive, poisonous mist drifted through the air. An unaffiliated martial artist stood here, his eyes filled with despair.

Keekee!

In front of him, golden beetles shot through the air, their bodies glowing.

Not far away, several martial artists were screaming in panic as they swatted at these golden beetles. Those who had managed to get this far were all incredibly strong, all of them possessing firm and powerful Stellar Energy.

But even the strongest Stellar Energy was powerless against these golden beetles.

These strange insects were gnawing at their Stellar Energy barriers and even their bodies as if they were leaves, opening up small holes that they would use to burrow into the bodies of the martial artists.

The martial artists were constantly swatting at the golden beetles with all their might, but all they managed to achieve was momentarily knocking them into the air or into the dirt.

Their bodies were as dense as steel. Such heavy blows only caused them to sway a little before they shook their wings and took flight once more.

For these martial artists, this was their worst possible nightmare. Never in their entire lives had they encountered something so terrifying.

Even more terrifying was that seven or eight martial artists had already had their Stellar Energy barriers pierced, the golden beetles burrowing into their bodies and rustling through their skin. These martial artists screamed as they rolled on the ground, even tearing at their skin in the hopes of dragging those golden beetles out of their bodies.

But even though they tore their skin and flesh into a bloody mess, they could not stop the golden beetles from burrowing deeper into their bodies.

That gruesome and bloody scene, particularly the sight of the golden beetles crawling under one’s skin, placed an enormous psychological pressure on all the other martial artists.

Their faces were pale with fear, and they were perhaps even more shocked than those martial artists who now had golden beetles crawling through their bodies.

Every one of them was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

“Everyone, focus! Did you forget what we all agreed? Since we came together, we leave together! Stand up! I won’t let you give up, no matter what!”

A rough and heartrending bellow resounded through the formation. It had come from a middle-aged martial artist with bare arms, his hair in disarray and his clothes and armor in tatters. He wildly flailed the broadsword in his hand, constantly hacking at the golden beetles.

The blade of this broadsword was chipped and cracked, but this middle-aged martial artist refused to give up. His eyes were red as he charged out again and again, blocking the beetles for his comrades.

The golden beetles did not fear Stellar Energy, even fed on it, so even the strongest attacks of this sort had a limited effect. But the attacks from ordinary sabers and swords, while appearing rather weak, actually had more effect.

However, even the most optimistic person could see that the middle-aged martial artist wouldn’t last for long. Once that broadsword was finally broken by the golden beetles, he would end up just like the rest of his comrades.

“Big Bro! Hurry and get out of here! Forget about us! We’re done for! No matter what, you have to live… AAAAH!” A martial artist whose body was now home to a golden beetle hollered, but he only got halfway through his words before they turned into a miserable scream.

The middle-aged martial artist felt like his heart was bleeding, and his teeth were clenched so hard that it seemed like he was trying to grind them into powder.

This group had come for the number one Origin Immortal Art, but now, not only had they failed to obtain anything, their group might end up being completely wiped out.

It was all my fault, all my fault! If not for me, they would have never ended up here! the brawny middle-aged man mentally roared, his heart in excruciating suffering as those golden beetles assailed his comrades.

“If we’re going to die, we’ll die together! If we can’t be brothers in this life, we’ll be brothers in the next!”

As the middle-aged martial artist painfully closed his eyes and prepared to commit suicide, there was a flash of light as another person appeared in this part of the formation.

Sensing that another person had come in, the middle-aged man came to his senses and roared, “Get out of here! It’s dangerous!”

Clang! He slashed his sword at two golden beetles coming at him from the front and one golden beetle that was coming up behind him.

Keekee!

As the middle-aged man pushed back these golden beetles, he heard chirping from very close by. Two golden beetles had somehow gotten underneath his ribs and were about to burrow through.

“It’s over!”

The middle-aged martial artist’s heart went cold, his face going pale and his eyes brimming with despair.

But a moment later, just when the middle-aged martial artist thought that he was dead, there was a sharp whistle. The man opened his eyes and saw that the two golden beetles had been sent reeling back by two bolts of Sword Qi.

“Stand aside! Watch out for these golden beetles!”

Wang Chong came rushing over from several dozen feet away, his fingers flicking out bolts of Sword Qi.

Plush! Plush! Plush! Struck repeatedly by bolts of Sword Qi, the golden beetles began to explode in puffs of smoke and drop to the ground, their six legs facing the sky.

After killing off these golden beetles, Wang Chong immediately shot off in another direction. Numerous milky-white bolts of Sword Qi struck the golden beetles, which chirped and squeaked as, one by one, they dropped to the ground.

The Art of God and Demon Obliteration had been inherited from Great Tang War God Su Zhengchen, and it was currently the only supreme art that Wang Chong could use without risk of triggering his cultivation defect or worsening his injuries. Thus, even though he was still consuming Stellar Energy, killing these golden beetles didn’t have much of an effect on his condition.

In just a few short moments, Wang Chong had killed seven or eight of the beetles.

The middle-aged martial artist was rendered speechless by this sight.

Even when he poured his Stellar Energy into his sword and hacked with all his might at the golden beetles, he had only been able to push them back.

Yet to his surprise, this newcomer was able to shoot down these golden beetles with a few bolts of Sword Qi. This was simply unbelievable.

But Wang Chong was paying little attention to the expression on the middle-aged martial artist’s face. His attention was entirely on the golden beetles. He had only encountered three of them, but there were many more of them here!

These martial artists clearly did not have the strength to cope. With no time to think, Wang Chong grabbed one of the martial artists whose body a golden beetle had burrowed into and swept across his body with a finger, digging out a piece of flesh along with the golden beetle within it.

Swishswishswish! Three bolts of Sword Qi finished off the golden beetle before it could cause any trouble. Wang Chong continued and killed several more of the beetles in this fashion.

As if he had kicked a beehive, the golden beetles turned away from their other targets and lunged at Wang Chong, the air resounding with furious chirping.

“Brother! Forget about us! Run!”

The middle-aged martial artist paled at this sight. Their group of twenty-some had failed to deal with these golden beetles, and now, all of these beetles were targeting a single person. The danger was obvious.

This person had come for their sake, but the middle-aged martial artist had no wish to see something happen to this person just so that they could be saved.

“Brother, there is no need to worry. I’m fine!”

Wang Chong flicked his finger several times, sending one bolt of Sword Qi after another, each one striking a golden beetle. A few seconds later, all the golden beetles had been struck down before they could even get close to Wang Chong, their lifeless bodies dropping to the ground.

“How… how could this be!?”

This time, it wasn’t merely the middle-aged martial artist, but all the other unaffiliated martial artists who witnessed this inconceivable sight, and their eyes bulged open in shock.

But Wang Chong had little time to worry about them. His eyes turned to those martial artists still rolling and screaming on the ground. As he examined those beetles still crawling beneath their skin, he decided to change tactics.

Swish!

Six bolts of Sword Qi flew through the air, drilling into the bodies of those martial artists on the ground.

“Ah! What are you doing?!”

Everyone was alarmed by this sight. Those golden beetles were as tough as steel and could absorb Stellar Energy. Just how sharp would this man’s Sword Qi have to be to pierce through their shells?

Anyone struck by this Sword Qi would suffer gruesome consequences.

Those martial artists who could still move lunged at Wang Chong in an attempt to stop him, but they were far too weak for that.

Swooshswooshswoosh!

But a moment later, they were all left dumbstruck.

Wang Chong’s Sword Qi only pierced the skin of those martial artists on the ground, the remaining Sword Qi shooting off to the side toward those golden beetles crawling beneath. Each beetle was only able to take three blows from Wang Chong’s Sword Qi before dying.

The howls of pain suddenly stopped, and those martial artists panted in relief as they lay sprawled out on the ground, their faces caked in sweat.