The Dawn of the New World

If he wasn't paying such close attention to his surroundings there was no way he would have picked it up. He moved so fast that it looked like teleportation to Hao Xuan even though he knew otherwise.

Xue Meng was as quiet as he possibly could be. Hands clasped behind his back and calmly staring at him without even a hint of hostility, if someone said he was out on a walk in his backyard no one could say otherwise.

Hao Xuan tightened his grip around Grey making him tense up.

'No, it's pointless. With that speed, I can't outrun him even on Grey. He really is-'

While inspecting Xue Meng, Hao Xuan's gaze trailed down his body and fell upon the old saber by his waist. And like many times before, for a moment he was teleported to another place.

The first thing his senses picked up was the smell of burning flesh followed by intense heat.

Hao Xuan looked to his left and saw the remains of a man half kneeling with a sword going through his neck. The sword was on fire and was melting him from the inside out.

"And then there were two," a voice said from somewhere in the air and the fire sword flew up.

But when Hao Xuan followed its direction his eyes widened from shock. There was a literal army floating overhead.

Hundreds, maybe even thousands of them. Iridescent halos of divine light shone around each one but perhaps the most eye-catching thing were the weapons they wielded. Each person held a magnificent sword in their hands that hummed loudly as if to announce its presence to the whole world.

The one who had spoken was a young lady in her early twenties standing at the very front.

Twelve burning swords rotated behind her back in the shape of wings. The fire sword that had killed the man next to Hao Xuan also belonged to her.

She wasn't an otherworldly beauty but there was something about her simple and clean appearance that made one ashamed of themselves. If saints actually existed, surely this girl would be one of them.

Her voice and manner of speaking were loud and clear. She didn't need to hide or shy away from anything, that was the impression one got just by looking at her.

Currently, her brow was furrowed lightly as she peered downwards.

"Why do you continue this pointless battle? You know in the end there will only be one victor. What few friends you had have all yielded to my blade, except for one. Will you even watch him die because of your own greed?" as she said the last sentence she looked directly at Hao Xuan and only then did he realize that she wasn't actually talking to him.

Hao Xuan's head slowly turned to the right, almost mechanically. He saw a figure standing by his side, a mundane saber clutched tightly in his grasp.

It was a man in his late thirties. He wore a simple black robe but there was something about him that made Hao Xuan's heart skip a beat.

It was like looking at a tempest, a thunderstorm taking the shape of a human.

His long hair fluttered wildly in the wind. His poorly maintained beard had drops of blood and bone stuck in its edges. He looked more like a wild animal than anything else.

And he was smiling, grinning from ear to ear.

A loud, almost an evil-sounding guffaw came from his throat as he shouted at the woman.

"We go to far greater lengths to avoid what we fear than to obtain what we desire. You, Sword Empress, are living proof of that. They would not have someone like me in their midst so they send you to do their dirty work. That only proves that I was right all along, things MUST change!"

The Sword Empress shook her head lightly, "No one forced me to come here. It was your own bloodlust that summoned me. You kill without reason or purpose, you are corrupted by that saber!"

"HAHAHA! My purpose is far greater than yours! You who follow 'their' commands like a dog on a leash will never know the freedom that I have tasted. You fear me because I refuse to bow to your masters!"

He then turned towards Hao Xuan and his expression softened greatly along with his voice.

"My friend, my brother. Do you remember what I told you when I asked you to join me all those years ago?"

Hao Xuan nodded, "You will become the next God of War no matter what it takes, or die trying."

He chuckled, "It seems to be the latter. Look, look how much they fear us! To even forcefully birth the 'Sword Child' before its time, they knew this was the only way they could stop our advance."

But then his smile slowly faded, "I cannot turn back, brother. To turn my back on my sworn enemies would mean the end of me. But even if it is only you, I want you to live. Go back to our world and live a long life. Do everything we talked about doing after reaching our goal. I free you of your burden."