131: The Death Artist's Declaration of War

Watching the tide of enemies surging toward them, the battalion commander's mind flashed with images of zombies from movies and TV shows.

But these guys before him were a hundred, a thousand times more troublesome than any zombie on screen!

Because zombies in movies didn't know how to use Spells!

"Retreat!"

Seeing soldiers getting wounded, the battalion commander barked out the order.

However,

an unexpected scene unfolded.

The moment the soldiers formed hand seals to cast the Flight Technique, those "zombies" seemed to see through their intentions,

and simultaneously launched long-range Spell attacks!

Spell lights interlaced, completely interrupting the casting of the Flight Technique.

Several more soldiers were wounded again in the bombardment of Spells.

The others quickly cast Healing Spells to provide cover.

At this point,

the battalion commander was certain—someone was behind the scenes commanding this group of "zombies"!

A harsher reality slammed into the commander's heart as the intensity of the enemy's Spells became apparent:

The vast majority of these troublesome monsters were at the Divine Breath Realm, and the lowest among them was at the Peak of the Qi Sea Realm!

He made a decisive decision,

sending an emergency distress signal to the nearest Huaxia army and synchronously transmitting the surrounding battlefield footage back via his Smart Terminal.

Suddenly!

A soldier was targeted by several precise Wind Blade Spells!

Blood sprayed like a waterfall, and his head was instantly severed from his body!

Even more horrifying, a wounded "zombie" actually used the Object Manipulation Art to seize the headless corpse, greedily sucking the blood that had not yet cooled!

A hair-raising scene occurred—the wounds all over that "zombie's" body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The battalion commander and several nearby soldiers witnessed this, and all were filled with extreme horror.

"Brothers, break through!" the battalion commander roared hoarsely.

He had to face a cold fact:

Facing two thousand disciplined "zombies" who intended to wear them down to death, out of these two hundred-plus soldiers, how many would ultimately survive?

"Yo! Aren't these the famous Huaxia Cultivators?"

A cold, mocking voice suddenly rang out over the city.

A Man in Black wearing a hood stood in mid-air, the Spiritual Qi aura emanating from him completely different from the "zombies" below; he was clearly a normal Cultivator!

"Who are you? What are you?!" The battalion commander's eyes bulged with anger.

The Smart Terminal on his wrist turned slightly, its built-in miniature spherical camera quietly locking onto the Man in Black in the air.

"Heh, what am I?" The Man in Black let out a mocking laugh. "Naturally, I am Huaxia's enemy! Surprised? Unexpected?"

His gaze locked onto the commander's watch like a venomous snake: "I know you're watching! Our war has only just begun!

Huaxia thinks it can unify Earth? Utterly ridiculous! Keep dreaming your pipe dreams!

Next, my master will give you one 'surprise' after another!"

Before his voice could fade, the Man in Black waved his hands.

The battalion commander and all surviving Huaxia Cultivators felt as if the surrounding air was instantly sucked away!

The Flight Technique became completely useless, and more fatally, the oxygen they relied on for survival was stripped away!

Ultimately,

on the screens of the distant temporary command center,

all Smart Terminal signals representing this group of Huaxia Cultivators went dark at the same time!

When the support troops rushed to the battlefield,

what met their eyes was only a city of ruins, turned into broken walls and debris after the fierce battle.

On the ground, not a single intact corpse could be found, whether friend or foe.

There were only scattered, tattered combat uniforms, destroyed individual equipment, and large patches of dark red blood that had soaked into the scorched earth and not yet dried.

However,

soon, they discovered huge characters written in blood in the middle of the road.

The soldiers who saw the content instantly had bloodshot eyes, their hearts burning with rage, and they immediately transmitted the image back to the Huaxia Strategic Command Center.

Over two hundred Divine Breath Realm Huaxia Cultivators... not even their bones remained!

This was Huaxia's most painful defeat

encountered to date!

The writing left by the enemy was indeed written with the blood of the sacrificed soldiers.

The script used was not English, French, or Spanish... but clear, eye-piercing Chinese!

It was an "Artistic Manifesto" filled with arrogance, provocation, and war fanaticism!

...At the same time,

deep within a massive underground catacomb that had been redecorated to be magnificent.

Leon elegantly swirled the bright red liquid in his glass.

"Zhang Sheng, oh Zhang Sheng! You want unification? You want order?"

A cruel smile curled at the corners of his mouth:

"In thousands of years, when has humanity ever stopped warring? War is the ladder of progress!

Only through eternal war can humanity grow in the tempering of death!

Next, please enjoy to your heart's content... the war rhapsody I dedicate to the whole world!"

That "Artistic Manifesto" left on the battlefield was precisely his handiwork.

Thousands of miles away,

Zhang Sheng, who was refining Spiritual Qi within a Secret Realm, soon received this bloody challenge.

"Respected Your Excellency Zhang Sheng, the 'New God' of Earth, the Architect of Order:

Please allow me, a mere speck of dust beneath your grand blueprint, to offer you my most sincere... congratulations?

No, perhaps calling it an invitation to an appreciation is more fitting.

Under your push, Huaxia wishes to forcibly unify this troubled planet with power—what a perfect silence!

By then, everything will surely be uniform and lifeless, like a meticulously decorated mausoleum.

Alas!

Do you know that this act smooths over differences and extinguishes the most original flame of life—the sacred fire named 'Resistance' and 'Chaos'!

You call this 'Order',

while I call it the 'Death of Art'!

Have you ever bent down to listen to the groans of the earth beneath your iron hooves?

Have you ever smelled the sweet gunpowder and blood in the air that dissipates because of you?

That is the most primitive and magnificent symphony of life! Yet you view it as filth, attempting to bury it with cold order!

What a pity!

Therefore, please forgive my small transgression.

I cannot sit by and watch you turn this world into a boring cage.

And so,

I have picked up my brush—my loyal warriors!

I have chosen my paint—the hot blood and bones of life!

I have selected my canvas—the Earth you seek to imprison with order!

Next,

in the corners beyond your gaze, in the weakest gaps of the chains of order, my masterpiece will continuously be performed.

Chaos is freedom! Destruction is creation!

Your Excellency Zhang Sheng, you stand high above. So, please look down!

Look at these 'restless' ants beneath your order!

See how they struggle in despair, explode in fear, and sing loudly in destruction!

This is what I understand to be the most moving praise in the Universe!

My brush will not stop, my paint will never run dry, and my canvas will spread to every corner you cherish.

I look forward to your 'appreciation'!

And look forward even more... to your angry response!

I shall wait here for your arrival.

—Your humble Death Artist, Leon."

Zhang Sheng's gaze swept over every provocative word.

"Truly a madman..." A cold light flashed in his eyes.

"It seems these rats in the gutter finally can't hold back anymore."

Aside from this arrogant declaration, what concerned him more were those bizarre "zombies" in the report.

What they displayed... seemed to be a weird ability to manipulate corpses and drain their vitality.