The two Peak Foundation Establishment commanders stood there, cold sweat pouring down, mixing with the dust on their faces. Their initial arrogance had completely vanished, replaced by a fear that came from the depths of their souls.
They had been in many battles, had seen Golden Core experts of the human race. But no one, not a single one, could slaughter a team of Foundation Establishment cultivators so easily and coldly as the person before them. He didn't seem like a warrior, but more like a monster in human skin.
"What... what do you want?" one of them stammered, his voice trembling. He was Kasa, the large one who had ordered the attack earlier.
"I've already said," Lam Minh replied, his voice still even, without a trace of emotion. "Take me to your den."
"Why should we do that?" the other, a more slender one named Roka, tried to maintain his last shred of composure. "You might as well kill us now."
He knew that if he led the enemy to their den, it would be a betrayal to the clan, a fate worse than death.
Lam Minh looked at him and chuckled softly. "Oh? Got some backbone, do you? But do you really think I don't have ways to make you talk?"
He didn't say much more. He just pointed a finger at Roka.
An invisible wisp of Dragon Qi, carrying a hint of a dragon's might, shot out. It didn't attack, but gently enveloped Roka's soul.
Instantly, Roka felt as if ten thousand ants were crawling inside his soul. An indescribable feeling of pain, itchiness, and discomfort. He couldn't scream, couldn't move. He could only stand there, his eyes wide, his body convulsing, experiencing a horrific mental torture.
"Stop... stop it..." Kasa watched the scene in terror and quickly cried out. "We... we'll lead the way! Please spare him!"
Lam Minh withdrew his finger. Roka immediately collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath like a dying fish out of water, his eyes filled with absolute terror as he looked at Lam Minh. He would rather die than experience that feeling again.
"A wise decision," Lam Minh said. "Let's go. Don't try any tricks. My spiritual sense has already locked onto you."
Left with no other choice, Kasa and Roka had to dejectedly lead the way. They climbed onto two surviving desert lizards and headed towards the center of the desert.
Lam Minh didn't ride a lizard. He just walked behind them, not too fast, not too slow, maintaining a safe distance. He showed no hurry, like a tourist leisurely sightseeing.
That calmness only made the two Madakaros more fearful.
They crossed a vast expanse of desert. The deeper they went, the hotter and drier the air became. Occasionally, they would pass the giant skeletons of some long-dead creatures, half-buried under the red sand.
Lam Minh said nothing, but his spiritual sense was fully extended, scanning every meter of land. He discovered that beneath this desert, there was a very complex energy network. It seemed the Bloodsand clan had set up many defensive formations and traps.
But with two guides, those traps were rendered useless. Kasa and Roka followed a very strange, winding path, but it was completely safe, avoiding all dangerous points.
After several hours of travel, they arrived before a giant rock cliff, standing tall in the middle of the desert.
"This... this is the entrance," Kasa said, his voice still trembling.
Lam Minh looked up. The cliff face looked completely normal, with no door or passage. But he could sense a very strong illusionary barrier covering the place.
"Open it," he ordered.
Kasa and Roka looked at each other, then took out a red stone command tablet. They both channeled their spiritual energy into it. The tablet lit up, shooting a beam of red light at the cliff face.
The cliff in front of them suddenly rippled, then slowly faded, revealing a huge, dark, and deep cave. From within, a wave of hot air and the smell of sulfur wafted out.
As soon as the cave entrance opened, dozens of Foundation Establishment Madakaros guarding inside saw Kasa and Roka and were about to greet them.
But when they saw Lam Minh standing behind them, they were all stunned, then immediately switched to a combat stance.
"INTRUDER!" one of them roared, and the alarm bells inside the cave rang out piercingly.
Lam Minh looked at his two guides. "Your job is done."
With that, he waved his hand. Two beams of sword qi shot out, finishing them off quickly. He didn't have a habit of leaving witnesses.
He looked into the dark cave, where countless black shadows were rushing out. He could sense hundreds of Foundation Establishment auras, and even a few powerful Golden Core auras deep within.
He had come to the right place. The den of the entire Bloodsand clan.
He did not retreat. He just tightened his grip on the God-Slayer, a cold smile on his lips.
"Alright," he murmured. "The main course is about to begin."
One man, one sword, he stepped into the tiger's den.
...
The alarm bells echoed throughout the massive underground cave system, urgent and piercing. From every nook and cranny, from every side passage, countless Bloodsand warriors rushed out, weapons in hand, eyes fierce, heading towards the cave entrance.
They saw an unbelievable sight. The two patrol commanders, Kasa and Roka, were dead. And standing at the entrance was only a single figure. A human.
Surprise was quickly replaced by rage and contempt.
"Just one human? What does he think this place is?"
"Kill him! Tear him to pieces!"
The leading Foundation Establishment Madakaros, without a shred of hesitation, roared and charged towards Lam Minh like a flood.
Lam Minh stood still, his expression emotionless. He watched the incoming flood of enemies and just shook his head slightly.
"A swarm of ants."
He did not retreat, but actively stepped forward. Each of his steps was slow, yet as steady as a mountain.
When the first group of Madakaros was just a few meters away, he slowly raised his God-Slayer.
He didn't use any complex sword techniques. He just swung a horizontal slash.
A very ordinary slash.
But when swung by a Golden Core expert, it carried destructive power.
A crescent-shaped, turquoise light, more than twenty meters long, shot out from the blade, sweeping across the entire cave entrance.
SWOOOSH...
There was no loud explosion. Only a sharp, gruesome sound, as if space itself had just been cut in two.
All the Madakaros charging at the front, from Initial-Stage to Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, froze in an instant.
Then, their upper torsos slowly slid off their lower halves.
Black blood gushed out like springs, and internal organs spilled out.
Just one move. More than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators had been sliced in half.
The entire cave suddenly fell silent.
Those charging from behind stopped in terror, their feet feeling as if they were nailed to the ground. They stared at the scene before them, unable to believe their eyes.
Lam Minh leisurely walked through the sea of blood and corpses, the God-Slayer in his hand still gleaming, not a single drop of blood on it.
"Anyone else?" he asked, his calm voice echoing in the cave, yet it made hundreds of Bloodsand warriors tremble.
Fear began to spread. They were warriors; they were not afraid of death. But they were afraid of a meaningless death, afraid of an enemy so strong they were impossible to resist.
"Don't be afraid! He's alone! All of you, charge!" a Madakaros who seemed to be a commander tried to shout to rally them.
But no one dared to move.
Lam Minh sneered. "If you won't come, then I'll come to you."
He vanished again.
He appeared in the middle of the crowd.
And a true massacre began.
He moved like a phantom, the God-Slayer in his hand transformed into the reaper's scythe.
He flashed through a group, a spinning vortex of sword qi, and five or six heads flew into the air.
He faced a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator and, using only three moves, broke his weapon and pierced his heart.
He didn't just use his sword. Occasionally, he would throw a punch carrying Dragon Qi, smashing a foe into paste.
He was no longer a human. He was a perfect killing machine. He was unleashing all his pent-up rage, his suppressed anger, on those who had committed atrocities.
Tragic screams, the clash of weapons, the sound of breaking bones, all mingled together, creating a symphony of destruction.
The vast cave had now turned into a slaughterhouse.
From deep within the base, three powerful Golden Core auras were finally alerted.
"WHO DARES CAUSE TROUBLE IN THE BLOODSAND CLAN?"
A roar full of authority echoed.
Three figures, one old and two younger, flew out from a large passage. Leading them was an old man with white hair and a beard, but his eyes were as red as blood. His aura had reached the Mid-Stage of the Golden Core realm. This was the patriarch of the Bloodsand clan.
The two following him were two elders, their cultivation also at the Initial-Stage of the Golden Core realm.
When they flew out, they were stunned by the scene before them.
The entire main hall of the base had turned into a sea of blood. Hundreds of elite Foundation Establishment warriors of the clan lay scattered on the ground.
And standing in the middle of that sea of blood was only a single figure.
Lam Minh slowly turned his head, looking at the three newcomers. He flicked his sword lightly, letting the last drop of blood fall.
He smirked, a cold smile on his lips.
"Finally, the big fish have decided to come out of their hole, have they?"