The Sacred Ruins
chapter-55

Even the other not-so-sensitive mutants could sense the approach of danger as they all looked in one direction . The tremble of the earth started from a mountain in the distance .

When one’s body mutated after metamorphism, his sense would become much more sensitive as well . It was only a matter of how much of an improvement it could be .

The depths of the Mountain of White Snake suddenly came to a standstill, with everyone waiting attentively for what would happen next .

People could smell the dreary smell of blood . It was vague, but it felt real . The smell originated from a mountain in the distance . It was not the smell of a human being; it was that of a beast .

"Keep up your guard . There is a beast coming!" a man from the crowd warned the others .

Mutations that occurred to human had always been the focus of the public’s interest, so naturally, there should also be beasts that had mutated . However, rarely had people ever seen such report on the beasts .

No-one could pinpoint how many mutated beasts were there in the wilderness, since most of them were hibernating in their caves . They lived in the blind zone of human’s radar; so much that their existence had almost been forgotten .

Seldom had anyone seen a mutated beast in their lives!

"Clonk!"

There was a cracking sound suddenly resounding from one of the protruding hills . There were a few rocks falling off the hill’s cragged body, exposing a gaping fissure at the hill’s cut section .

Then, there sounded another earth-shattering noise . The wall of the hill was torn apart . Accompanied by the sound of a boom, many rocks and boulders started plummeting to the earth below . Many ancient trees which stood in the way of the rolling boulders were mercilessly crushed into piles of pulverized woods .

A column of misty smoke fumed up from the site of the landslide . Then, the skull of a head pierced through the fissure . It had a single horn on it as well .

It was a beast indeed . Its size was enormous, and its body was densely packed with bronze-colored scales . The beast looked savage and ferocious .

"What monster is this?"

The appearance of the beast stirred up a sizeable commotion amongst the crowd . Everyone hastily retreated a few steps back . The beast reeked of a rancid smell . When it opened its mouth, it spewed out smoke and fire . The jetting flames and the misty smoke also had an overpowering smell of sulphur that reduced everything it touched into charred ashes .

Boom!

The monster finally showed itself . It had a body made fully of bronze . Its body gleamed with a cold luster typical of a metallic surface .

At the same time, it also reeked with an overpowering fishy smell . It was the smell of stained blood after years of hunting for its prey .

It had a height of at least thirteen meters and a shape of a crocodile . Dense scales formed a gloomy layer over its body . There was a horn on its head, and it was this very horn that allowed the beast to break loose of the mountain’s constraints .

Thus, it could be seen how much of a brute force this beast could deliver . Its horns were firm and solid, and surely, the strength of its body was utterly off the chart!

"It’s not a crocodile . It’s a pangolin!" someone from the crowd whispered .

This man’s words made people realize that indeed the beast looked like one of those pesky lizards, but its formidable stature made itself look like nothing of its comrades . The beast was a testimony to the degree of improvement of one’s constitution after mutation .

The beast’s eyes were rather cold . It darted a glance across the crowd of mutants . The beast did not seem panic-stricken by the immensity of the crowd in front of it . Clearly, the beast knew no fear . It raised its terrifying head up high .

People started noticing the gaping hole behind the proud beast itself . It had a sizeable diameter and the smothering look of a black hole that could only be found in the depths of the astronomical space . No-one knew how deep it was or where it would lead to .

"The beast dissevered to be called a pangolin . It had really lived up to its reputation!" Someone sighed with deep feeling .

People started flinching away from this monstrosity of a lizard . They were reluctant to come near to the beast . It gave them an oppressive feeling that made them fear from within their heart . For the others, the sheer size of the beast made them feel uneasy .

As the beast moved, the expression on people’s faces started to shift dramatically!

It wavered its bulky and powerful claws as it walked forth, but every time as the beast landed its claws, the boulders and the trees to its vicinity were all pulverized and crushed . There was nothing to stop the beast’s progression .

Clonk!

People watched as the beast crushed a giant boulder that weighed at least a thousand jin . Everything that was placed in its way existed in name only .

Its goal was simple and obvious . The beast was heading for the tree that bore the fruit . Its eyes were glistening with determination as well as biting coldness as the beast itself walked with big strides .

"No! We need to stop him!" someone from the crowd cried out .

Thousands of mutants were gathering here, all harboring the same impure intent . No-one had yet to make a reckless move, so why would they allow an unexpected beast that only appeared just now to snatch the fruit for which they had all been longing? Of course, they would not!

"Pong, Pong, Pong…"

At this very moment, the machine guns started firing . There were some trigger-happy soldiers from Deity . Although the guns were trained at the beast and the bullets were seemingly piercing through that suit of armor of the beast, the sudden firing of the guns still startled a few mutants .

What if the fire had been aimed at them? Would they have had the time to react? Would they be able to withstand the sheer firepower that the guns delivered?

"Clonk, clonk, clonk…"

Bullets rained on the beast’s cragged armor . Sparkles of fire splattered as the pounding bullets landed on the beast’s scaled skin, but to everyone’s astonishment, the raining bullets were to no avail . It sounded as if the bullets had been shot at an iron wall, both piercing and clunky .

In fact, the beast’s armor seemed firmed than any iron walls made by men . The raining bullets did not even make a scratch on the beast’s body . This beast was utterly bulletproof .

Being immune to the damage of bullets was something that all the mutants longed for so much that they even dreamed about it; however, this power happened to take effect on a beast .

"Roar!"

The beast raged and roared; it had been exacerbated . It sprung into the air at a speed beyond anyone’s wildest imagination . The beast moved like a bronze lightning through the air .

"Ah…"

The soldiers who were firing the high-caliber machine guns were completely panic-stricken . They shrieked and cried, but none of them could escape from the beast’s deathly clutches .

The scene suddenly became rather gory . The beast clamped its clutches together, crushing everyone into a sheer mixture of blood and flesh . The unearthly cries of those soldiers abruptly stopped .

The beast’s bitingly cold eyes swept the crowd, then it marched on towards its target . The senseless killing was as if its way of displaying its prowess . The violent measure it took in killing those poor soldiers served as an effective deterrent for the rest of the crowd .

How could it move so fast?

Its leap into the air was fast as a strike of lightning .

The speed was unmatched to the size of its body . None of its movement was clumsy or awkward . The beast was agile, vicious, and precise . Every blow it delivered killed!

"Kill the beast!"

Someone from Deity made the order . His tone was bitingly cold . A beast had actually costed him a group of crack troops and a batch of high-caliber weapons . This loss sent the commander into a fury .

"Boom!"

At one of the hilltops, there was a soldier carrying a rocket launcher . The deadly rocket was fired at the beast . The fire shot up long tongues out of the rocket launcher with an ear-splitting thrumming sound!

Accompanied by a low-pitched rumble, the rocket hit the target!

"Go to hell!" the man who fired the rocket yelled at the hilltop . He was waiting for the damage to take effect .

The place at which the beast stood was suddenly enveloped in smoke and dust . The beast staggered and tottered, then it rolled back and fell .

Seemingly, the rocket had inflicted some damage to the skin of the beast . There was a portion of its gigantic body dripping with blood . There were a few scales shedding off from the beast’s flesh, but the beast seemed to have no sprains or fractures done to its body . Its legs and arms still functioned at their full strength .

The beast rolled on the ground, then suddenly, it sprung to its feet . Its eyes were glistening with hatred . It raised its head and cried a sad and shrill cry . Then, its eyes turned crimson red .

Boom!

Its movement was still fast and furious . It jostled and elbowed its way across the valley where the mutants had crowded . The scene was no longer just some senseless killing . It was a macabre massacre .

The beast changed its target from the armed soldiers to any mutants it ran into . The result of the fight was still overwhelmingly superior to the beast’s side . The beast’s giant body did not hinder it from fulfilling the potential of its speed . It still travelled at lightning speed and with great agility . Each leap and skip it made could cover a respectable distance . Everywhere it went, blood and gore ensued .

"Ah…"

Many mutants cried out unearthly cries . They were no match for the beast; it was utterly unstoppable .

There was a mutant whose body suddenly buffed up . He turned into an ancient tree whose trunk was covered with old barks . There were also many gnarled and contorted branches that were both thick and large protruding out of the trunk, forming a sizeable crown .

This was a rather mystical power .

He grew to a height measureable to the beast . The humanoid tree had its branches piercing to the ground . Boom! They crushed the boulders and cracked the earth . It proved its might just by a single strike .

However, he was still unable to pierce through the beast’s scaled armor .

The beast leaped into the air, stretching its claws forward . Clonk! The beast tore the arm-like branches off the trunk . Blood spewed out from the wound, turning the scene all the more macabre and gory .

Puff!

The beast then opened its bloody mouth, snapping the big tree in half right across the middle .

"Ah!"

The mutant gave a blood-curdling scream . The man watched as his entrails poured out from his abdominal cavity before he finally rolled back his eyes in terror and breathed his last breath .

"What is that?"

"Oh, god! There is another beast coming!"

People saw another beast crawling out of the gaping hole . It was another pangolin . This one had a similar body to the first one . Clearly, these two were a couple with one being the male and the other being a female .

The second beast had an even fiercer movement . It walked with gusto as it billowed by the side of the other beast . It devastated an extensive area of the forest, then it rushed to the top of the hill . The beast slaughtered every single soldier with utter cruelty .

Then, the second beast looked up to the heaven and cried an unearthly cry . The sound was utterly abominable . It forced many mutants who were busy fighting the first beast to cover their ears . The sound had a terrifying piercing power .

Pong!

At the next second, it leaped off from the hilltop and thumped on the ground . There were another ten mutants instantly crushed into a gory mixture of blood and gore on the spot .

The two beasts had impenetrable armors . They were not afraid of the potent firepower, and their strength was also unparalleled . Their speed was sheer madness . The two then converged into one, then darted towards the fruit-bearing tree for which they had been longing .

Roar!

The beast was like a bronze strike of lightning . It rapidly progressed forward . At the beat of a heart, miles of road were left behind it . There were almost eighty mutants standing in its way, but every one of them was mercilessly crushed into nothingness .

The others who had the fortune to stay alive helplessly watched as the beasts rapidly approached the fruit-bearing tree . The fruit itself had the size of an adult’s fist, glittering with a purple luster . The aroma it exuded was both delicate and sweetly scented .

The crowd was astounded . Was the fruit going to be the gain of that beast?

So many mutants had risked their lives for the fruit, and now they could only watch the fruit to be snatched by some beasts cropping up out of the blue, but there was nothing they could do . The beast was truly a bloodthirsty savage .

There were almost eighty mutants, and almost all of them had formidable powers of their own . Their effort to stop the beast was commendable, but their death was cruel and heart-rending to watch . No-one had been left single remains that still had a distinguishable feature of a human being .

How powerful the beast was? No-one could evaluate .

"Get lost!"

Just as depression started crippling the mental states of the discouraged crowd, a man arrived at the scene in the form of a bolt of silver lightning . The light was dazzling and brilliant, and it lit up the whole sky with a lustrous shine .

His voice was not pitched high, but it sounded piercing . It frightened the beast greatly .

"Silver Wing!"

Many people could not hold back the urge to cry out the name of their hero . Everyone became high-spirited and full of vigor .

It was a young man with a body that was both tall and vigorous . His body exuded a brilliant silver radiance, like a deity shining brightly overhead in the sky .

The radiance that emanated from the man’s body was holy and pure . The silver halo shaped like a full moon cradled the man in the middle .

"Roar!"

On the ground, the beast groaned and roared, then it leaped off the earth into the air . Its formidable body pierced through the clouds above, and it stretched forward its cutting claws and opened its bloody mouth . The beast threw itself at the man who was still hovering over the sky .

In the blink of an eye, the beast, like a bronze bolt of lightning, pierced through the sky . The crowd of onlookers on the ground cried out in alarm .

Puff!

However, the man turned into an evasive bolt of lightning as well . He then vanished into the void escaping the beast’s large fierce-looking jaws .

At the same time, the man also started launching a fierce attack . The wings that had been fluttering at his back spread open, bursting into a full blossom of lustrous radiance . The brilliance of his wings lit up the sky!

Then, he dove down at the beast, landing his first strike at the beast’s waist and its abdomen!

The blazing silver radiance suddenly exploded to a supernova . It blinded the entire crowd that was attentively watching on the ground . It looked like the rise of another sun, but this sun was oddly a silver one . It had all the dazzling brilliance of its real counterpart, but it shone even brighter .

Puff!

Blood that spurted out from the beast’s traumatized body flew in all directions . The sky started raining a bloody storm!

The beast cried out a sad and shriek cry . It snapped in half before plummeting from the sky .

It was this very moment when everyone on the ground had come to a standstill, in awe of the sight of the defeat of the beast, bathing in the rain of hot blood that scorched their skin .

People were all astounded!

The beast that could not be harmed by even the deadliest weapon had now met its maker . It was snapped in half right across its waist then dropped out of the sky!

Some people had clearly seen the process that led to the beast’s death . The young man dove down, but the wings at his back suddenly augmented in size and in brightness . It looked like an axe or a cutting blade . It drove through the beast’s waist and cut it to a pulp .

This astounding scene had astonished everyone who was present .

The young man stood in mid-air .

He had a head of silver hair, and the hair loosely hung at about his waist . He was quite a handsome lad too . The silver bud of light in his eyes burst into full blossom . He had a frosty temperament, but this made him stand all the more above the crowd . The pair of silver wings fluttered at his back while his body glistened with radiance . He was the perfect embodiment of a celestial deity .

This man had exceptional talent and a look that set him apart from all the others .

"Silver Wing!"

Moments of silence soon escalated to a clamor of his name . The mutants on the ground bowed to his very existence . He was their saviour and their dragon-slaying hero .

"He well deserves to be ranked at the top of the pyramid . His power is insane! Well . . . there is no other words I can use to describe it!" Someone from the crowd gasped in admiration .

Especially for a few female mutants, the presence of Silver Wing was enough to make them scream . They could not hold back from calling out his name in excitement .

Even the "goddess of the nation", Ding Sitong, was gazing at Silver Wing while in a trance . Her beautiful eyes were glistening with love and envy .

"Ding Sitong! My goddess! Look here! I’m here!" Zhou Quan had no sense of shame . Just as the utter disorder prevailed after the battle had only just now concluded, Zhou Quan stood at the same hilltop and started hurling shameless words at the lover in his dream, Ding Sitong .

As a mutant, she had a sharp hearing .

She heard a man’s desperate cry . She turned around to look for the source of the clamorous shouting . At last, she saw a trio of three "ox-head men" at the hilltop . She was immediately astounded at the sight, but then she hid her face in her hands and started chuckling . She smiled such a dazzling smile .

Ding Sitong’s reaction made Zhou Quan hot with emotion . He leaped and yelled in excitement .

Yellow Ox was rather discontented with Zhou Quan’s flirtatious manner . The calf was sent to such a fury that it almost kicked him off the cliff .

Chu Feng, on the other hand, was unaware of all the drama around him . He was pausing at a muse, roughly evaluating the power of Silver Wing in his mind .

It was a terrifying blow indeed; the force of his wings snapped the beast in half . It was not just an average eccentric monster, but rather a walking tank whose formidable armor could not be left with a scratch mark by the rockets! However, it was easily lacerated in half with a clean cut! "How cutting were those wings?" Chu Feng posed the question .