The Dawn of the New World

Since the undead kept increasing, the most obvious thing to do was use their numbers against them by forming a small tightly-knit circle. This way only a limited number of the undead could attack them at any point and they wouldn't be overrun.

The guards stood on the outside, standing shoulder to shoulder to create a very basic battle formation with Hao Xuan and Han Rong in the center. Even the two injured guards joined in to provide whatever help they were able to.

Han Rong was still constantly using that golden Qi to replenish the guard's energy and heal any minor injuries that got in the way. He closed his eyes and sat down on the ground with crossed legs.

Hao Xuan could feel an extremely intense orb of energy inside Han Rong's chest.

Compared to Hao Xuan's own Qi that was of all different types with different uses, Han Rong's felt like it was a single entity, something beaming with life.

And it was extremely powerful. It kept increasing in intensity until it looked like Han Rong had become translucent and the golden energy could be seen with the naked eye.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it looked and felt like a mini sun beating within his chest, undulating with an energy so powerful that it could be felt even by non-cultivators.

But it was suppressed. Even though its intensity was more than enough to cover everything within miles, the moment it came out of Han Rong's body it was suppressed by at least 50 folds until the sun turned into a mere flickering candle.

This was due to the suppression of the world spirit.

Soon after Hao Xuan realized that it was neither a technique nor an ability that Han Rong was using to give off such intense energy, but it was his cultivation as a whole. The combination of every type of Qi circulating throughout his meridians could be seen with the naked eye by an outsider.

But perhaps the most shocking part was that just this mere scrap of Qi was enough to slowly heal every single guard nearby. Even Hao Xuan himself was still receiving a majority of that Qi to replenish his physical energy.

Or maybe it would be more fitting to say that his body was forcefully 'stealing' most of that Qi of its own accord. But whatever the case, Hao Xuan was regaining his strength rather quickly.

And for the first time since first arriving in this world, when he looked at Han Rong Hao Xuan felt like he was looking at a true cultivator from those novels he had read back on earth.

Maybe it was just the way he was dressed or perhaps it was the trademarked gold color of his Qi but in Hao Xuan's eyes, Han Rong looked like a powerful Buddhist monk.

Yet even with Han Rong's constant supply of Qi, it wouldn't be long until they were overpowered.

Zou Huan and the minor demon's fight was going to be the main deciding factor in this battle of attrition.

They traded punches with one another with much the same ferocity as hungry beasts. There was nothing elegant about their fight, it was just a competition to see who could take more abuse.

The minor demon had a multitude of abilities at its disposal which it managed to use every now and then but Zou Huan was sticking so close to it that almost all of them were useless.

Since he wasn't able to use any Qi, Zou Huan chose to throw away all caution to the wind and use his bare body to attack and defend.

Using the absolute bare minimum of energy he could muster, Zou Huan covered his arms and upper body and attacked with some kind of martial art that emphasized reaction speed over everything else.

Every attack from the minor demon was dodged by the skin of his teeth at the very last second. There were more than a few times when he was a little too late and ended up gaining new injuries. At first they didn't do much to hinder his rhythm but after accumulating a handful of bone-deep cuts along his legs and abdomen, Zou Huan started to slow down as well.

He went on the defensive, countering every four or five moves instead of the usual one.

Hao Xuan who was watching everything from the fragile safety provided by the constant efforts of the guards that were also on their last legs, couldn't help but admire them.

It was pretty clear that both Zou Huan and Han Rong came from a powerful background and could escape to safety with relatively little effort if they so desired, yet they chose to stay here and help all these men that were little more than cannon fodder even to their own employers.

But these two were helping them even at the cost of their own lives. And it didn't look like they were planning to run off anytime soon.

It was the type of selfless behavior Hao Xuan had not come across that often. Stupid, but commendable.

In the distance, an undead creature that was three times the size of others suddenly popped out of the ground and dragged one of the guards away, injuring three others around him.

"AAH! NO HELP ME PLEASE!" the guard shouted but as soon as he was pulled more than two meters away the surrounding undead jumped at him like locusts and started tearing him to shreds.

The surrounding guards quickly pushed the injured inside and closed the gap but the last line of defense had been breached and they were pushed further back.

His screams of help quickly changed to pleas for relief since the undead still hadn't killed him. They desired living flesh and for that purpose, killing the prey was not in their playbook.

He could be seen struggling from afar, asking his friends to end his life with tears streaming down his bloody face. The mental toll it took on the rest of the guards was, suffice to say, detrimental.

The guard's screams echoed in the surroundings for almost a whole minute before he finally took his last breath, followed by snarling and sniveling of the creatures as they ate what was left of him.

The battle formation was so small now that they could barely swing their weapons without hitting one another, not to mention their will to fight was dropping by the second.

After watching their comrade get killed in such a horrible and painful way, most of them were thinking of taking their own lives.

"At least it would be quick," they thought.

This led to them getting pushed back more and more.

"ZOU HUAN! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT!" Han Rong shouted and ran over to the injured guards to stop their bleeding.

"You will live, I promise! So don't give up, please," he implored emotionally, placing his hands over the most serious wounds.

It wasn't clear whether he was talking to the three injured guards or to the ones still fighting but, it did little either way.

In the face of an impossible situation and an agonizing death, empty words held little value.

"I'm...trying!" Zou Huan responded, pushing the minor demon back.

But he was in no condition to do anything. He couldn't even guarantee his own life at this stage and the others could see that as well.

***

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