Chapter 126: This Is My Turf!
The three women screamed in shock as the burly man suddenly dropped his pants, covering their faces with their hands.
One of the women, slightly older than the other two, stood up and forced a smile. She addressed the beautiful woman standing in the center of the group: "Sister, you''re a woman too. Please, let him spare us. We''ll leave right away." Her eyes were filled with desperation.
The beautiful woman sneered, "Look at yourself. Do you even qualify as a woman? Didn''t you want to leave? Since he''s asking for your service, just serve him well. It''s not like you''ll lose a piece of flesh."
"But... but we''re all unmarried maidens..." the woman stammered.
The burly man burst into laughter. "Maidens, you say? Perfect! I love maidens. Come here, haha!"
"I''ll fight you to the death!!"
The man who had been thrown to the ground and unable to get up suddenly sprang to his feet and lunged at the burly man.
The burly man''s eyes flashed with disdain as he kicked the man in the chest.
The man was sent flying, crashing through two tables before slamming into the wall, leaving a deep dent. He slumped to the ground, motionless.
"Overestimating yourself," the burly man spat.
"Please, let us go," the woman pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
The burly man grew impatient. "Hurry up! If you don''t come over, I''ll take the initiative. Struggle all you want—the more you resist, the more excited I get."
He laughed heartily as he closed in on the three women.
Han Ming shook his head slightly, set down his wine cup, and walked toward the burly man.
Noticing Han Ming''s approach, the burly man quickly pulled up his pants and assumed a fighting stance.
"Kid, this has nothing to do with you. I''m only letting you off because you''re a mage. Don''t think I''m afraid of you. Be careful, or I''ll kill you and leave your body in the wilderness. You won''t even have a chance to call for help."
Despite his words, the burly man''s confidence seemed shaky.
Mages were a unique group. They didn''t belong to any single nation but were governed by the Mage Guilds, which were directly under the jurisdiction of the renowned Floating City. Mages were known for their terrifying power. For instance, two years ago, during the conflict between Fei''er and Han Ming, Huang Ying, a second-tier, fifth-rank wind mage, had severely injured both Han Ming and Li Chengfeng. Despite being a third-tier, fifth-rank fire berserker, Fei''er had been no match for Huang Ying. This demonstrated the overwhelming strength of mages. However, mages weren''t without weaknesses. While their long-range attacks were formidable, they were less effective in close combat.
For these reasons, mages were an insular group. While they might fight among themselves, if an outsider dared to insult a mage without cause, other mages would rally to the victim''s defense, even if they didn''t know each other. Of course, this was under normal circumstances. If someone secretly killed a mage without anyone knowing, that was a different story.
Han Ming smiled faintly and didn''t bother to argue with the burly man. He took a step forward and extended a hand toward him.
The burly man was momentarily stunned by Han Ming''s gesture, then grinned maliciously. Is this guy out of his mind? he thought. Even though you''re a water mage, which is pretty useless, you''re still a second-tier, fifth-rank mage. Dealing with you would be a bit of a hassle. But now you''re trying to fight me hand-to-hand? You''re practically asking for death.
The burly man chuckled darkly and reached out with his thick arm, which was as wide as Han Ming''s thigh, to grab Han Ming''s outstretched arm.
"Gotcha! What are you going to do now?" the burly man sneered as he gripped Han Ming''s arm.
"Oh? Not using your combat aura?" Han Ming raised an eyebrow.
"I don''t need combat aura to deal with you!" the burly man roared, attempting to lift Han Ming off the ground.
Han Ming stood firm, unmoving.
The burly man frowned and pulled harder, but Han Ming remained rooted to the spot.
"My turn," Han Ming said with a smile. He grabbed the burly man''s arm and, with a swift motion, hurled him to the ground. The burly man quickly reacted, covering himself in a thick layer of earthen armor, his eyes wide with disbelief.
BOOM!
A deafening crash echoed as the burly man was slammed into the ground with incredible force. The earthen armor shattered instantly, and a two-meter-deep crater formed in the floor. Several stone tiles were reduced to dust.
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The burly man lay motionless.
"Tsk, tsk. I told you to use your combat aura. With your fourth-tier berserker strength, you might have lasted a bit longer. But you chose not to. Can''t blame me for that," Han Ming said with a grin.
He raised his foot and brought it down hard on the burly man''s groin.
"Stop!" The man who had been standing with his eyes closed suddenly moved, his hand darting toward Han Ming.
Whoosh!
A black shadow appeared between Han Ming and the man with closed eyes, releasing an overwhelming aura.
"A first-tier battle soul!" The man with closed eyes finally opened them, staring intently at the figure in the black cloak.
"You... could it be... the top student of the Rhine Empire''s Martial Academy, Sasoer!"
"Ahhh!!"
As the man spoke, the burly man let out a blood-curdling scream.
Han Ming had already crushed the burly man''s groin, shattering his pelvis. He was now not only crippled but also no longer a man.
"Tsk, tsk. The four rules of survival I mentioned earlier don''t just apply to those brats. They apply to you as well," Han Ming said lightly, wiping his shoe on a table leg.
"Are you really going to meddle in this?" the black-cloaked man asked in a hoarse voice.
"With your eyes closed, you must be the famous Gamori from the Cabu Empire''s Martial God Academy. I''ve heard that you gave up your sight to focus on martial arts, reaching a level where you can perceive everything without opening your eyes. What a small world—who would have thought we''d meet in this little tavern?"
"Take your time chatting," Han Ming said with a chuckle, walking past the two men and approaching the beautiful woman.
"Beautiful lady, if you don''t mind, could you go and attend to that unlucky fellow lying in the corner? Make sure to take his pants off, too," Han Ming said with a friendly smile.
"What did you say?!" The beautiful woman''s chest heaved with anger.
Gamori''s eyes flashed with fury, and he moved toward Han Ming, but the black-cloaked man, Sasoer, blocked him again. The tension between the two men escalated, and a fight seemed imminent.
"Die!" The three men who had remained silent until now, angered by Han Ming''s disrespect toward the beautiful woman, unleashed their combat aura and charged at him.
Han Ming smiled like a benevolent elder, his expression radiant, as if he were a sage about to enlighten the world.
One man threw a punch, another swung a sword, and the third leaped into the air, aiming a kick at Han Ming''s head.
Han Ming''s body swayed gently. His right arm snaked around one man''s arm and grabbed his throat, while his left elbow deflected the kick from the man in mid-air. He then grabbed the man''s thigh and yanked him downward. The swordsman, unable to stop his momentum, accidentally stabbed his companion''s thigh.
Han Ming stepped on the swordsman''s foot, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the room. He then used the two men as battering rams, slamming them into each other.
Crack, crack...
The sound of bones breaking filled the air as Han Ming twisted the three men into a tangled heap. Their joints were dislocated, but Han Ming had mercifully avoided shattering their bones.
With a swift motion, Han Ming tossed the human lump out the door, where it was promptly hit by a speeding carriage and sent flying.
These academy students were no match for Han Ming, who had survived countless life-and-death situations and endured the pursuit of thousands in the wild forests. Their skills were for sparring; Han Ming''s were for survival and killing.
Sasoer and Gamori both turned to look at Han Ming, sensing the murderous aura that briefly emanated from him—a presence that could only come from someone who had walked through hell and emerged alive. Han Ming quickly concealed the aura.
Han Ming clapped his hands together, dusting them off, and smiled. "You''re all guests here, and as your host, I should treat you with courtesy. At the same time, I hope you can control your tempers while you''re in the Monte Empire. If you''re a dragon, coil up; if you''re a tiger, lie low. I showed mercy this time, but next time, it won''t be so simple. Do I make myself clear?"
The beautiful woman, seeing how effortlessly Han Ming had dealt with the three men, realized she was facing a true expert. Gamori was occupied with the freak from the Rhine Empire and couldn''t help her. She had always been pampered and adored, and as a fifth-tier fire mage, her status was exalted. She had never experienced such humiliation.
Beautiful and powerful, she couldn''t bear Han Ming''s disdain, especially his command to attend to the half-dead wretch. The thought was unbearable.
Furious, she summoned her beast spirit, determined to kill Han Ming and vent her rage.
A giant, flaming spider burst forth, instantly reducing the small tavern to ashes.
Han Ming smiled faintly as his demon spirit emerged in a flash of white light. Countless silver threads formed a massive ice net, ensnaring the flaming spider. The intense cold quickly eroded the spider''s flames, leaving large black patches.
The spider let out a painful howl as the demon spirit smirked and tightened the net. The sharp silver threads sliced the spider into pieces, which dissolved into sparks and returned to the beautiful woman''s body.
"A demon spirit!" The two men were visibly shaken.
The beautiful woman, her beast spirit severely damaged and her magic power depleted, collapsed to the ground.
Han Ming smiled gently. "Alright, I''m not a cruel person. I won''t make you attend to that half-dead guy." He turned to the three stunned women. "Take your friend and leave. That guy has some guts, I''ll give him that. He''s a real man, though a bit too impulsive. In the future, don''t risk your lives over pride when you''re outmatched. Understand?"
The three women nodded gratefully, helping their unconscious friend to his feet and hastily fleeing the scene.
In the distance, the sound of marching feet grew louder. A large group of city guards was approaching—someone had reported the commotion.
"Arrest them!" the captain of the guards barked.
Han Ming smiled and produced his banquet invitation, holding it up. To his slight surprise, the two men who had been facing off also pulled out their invitations to the palace banquet.
"We were just fooling around," Han Ming said with a smile.
The guard captain, seeing the invitations, immediately changed his tone. "Ah, just having some fun, I see. Please keep it down, though, or I''ll have a hard time explaining this." He turned to his men. "Withdraw!"
The guards left as quickly as they had come, leaving the onlookers shaking their heads in disbelief.
Seeing that it was getting late, Han Ming turned to Sasoer. "Sasoer, right? Shall we head to the banquet together?"
The black-cloaked man, having witnessed Han Ming''s skills and admiring his actions, nodded in agreement. The two men walked toward the palace, leaving the beautiful woman and her companions behind.
Han Ming had held back. If he had summoned the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor''s beast spirit, a hundreds-of-meters-tall monster appearing in Fila City would have caused an uproar.
All beast and demon spirits, regardless of their age in life, manifested as adults in their spiritual forms. This was why beast cores were categorized by rank, not age.
"You''ll regret this! You''ll definitely regret this!" The beautiful woman''s face was twisted with venomous hatred as she sat on the ground.