The Suppression
A thunderous roar rumbled from behind the village. The short man's hammer halted abruptly in midair, terror spreading across his face as a chill rose involuntarily from the depths of his heart. His hand gripped the hammer tightly, yet he no longer dared bring it down.
Rook's expression also shifted slightly. He had never imagined that such a powerful expert would be present in this village. Judging from this aura, its owner's strength was on par with his own. After all, he had already reached the War Emperor Peak of the sixth level! It seemed they were in trouble today.
At that thought, Rook glared fiercely at the short man beside him, making the man shudder.
Amid a rapidly surging current of air, an old man with snow-white hair and beard appeared between the two sides. The newcomer was none other than Sage Xili. At the time, he had been teaching his grandson, Wright, in the rear mountains.
Wright had been cultivating in the rear mountains recently. With such a precious Berserk Bloodline, Xili naturally had to personally guide him with care. It had to be said that Wright's talent was exceptional. He had already stepped halfway into the realm of a fifth-level Battle Sect, and given enough time, reaching the realm of a fifth-level warrior would surely pose no problem.
Xili was extremely satisfied with Wright's progress. Yet suddenly, violent energy fluctuations had erupted here. After investigating, he discovered that a group of formidable men in black had somehow broken into the village and even injured people. Rage had immediately blazed within him, and he hurried over.
"Who are you? How did you break into our village, and why did you injure our people? This is utterly outrageous! Hmph!" Xili said furiously, casting a cold glance at the short man. The man immediately shuddered, his throat bobbing several times as he slowly edged behind Rook.
But suddenly, a fierce burst of force shot toward him like lightning. The short man wanted to dodge, but it was already too late. He could only watch helplessly.
Just as despair seized the short man, a cold snort came from the side. In the next instant, that force scattered apart. It turned out that Rook had intervened in time to save him. Otherwise, the short man would probably have suffered severe injuries even if he survived. After all, an intentional strike from a War Emperor expert was not something a fifth-level Battle Sect could withstand, let alone someone caught completely off guard.
"Hmph! How shameless of a dignified War Emperor expert to launch a sneak attack on a fifth-level Battle Sect!" Rook said coldly as he stared at Xili.
Hearing this, Xili turned his gaze toward Rook. He had not expected there to be a War Emperor-level expert among this group. He had failed to notice earlier because they were both at the same level and he could not immediately discern the other's strength. Besides, Xili had been consumed by rage at the time and had not paid attention to Rook.
"Hmph! Is it not shameful for you to rely on your strength to injure people whenever you please?" Xili said sharply.
"You broke into our village and injured our people at will. If you do not give us an explanation..." Xili let out a cold snort.
Rook's expression immediately turned cold. He said darkly, "What a bold tone. What kind of explanation do you want from us?"
It had to be said that Rook was an arrogant man. However, he truly had the ability to be arrogant. At only thirty-five, he had reached the War Emperor Peak, and his talent was exceedingly rare. Moreover, the force he belonged to was tremendously powerful.
But he had clearly chosen the wrong place. He naturally assumed that having one War Emperor-level expert like Xili was already impressive, while everyone else here was not worth worrying about. Most of the villagers were ordinary people, and the rest were below the fourth rank, with only a handful having reached the fourth rank.
Such strength was utterly insignificant before their group. He only needed to defeat that old man. In his eyes, that should not be difficult. He had complete confidence in his own strength.
"Hmph! Young man! Do not become so arrogant merely because you reached the War Emperor level at a young age. This world is still vast!" Xili said coldly.
People on this continent generally lived for more than a hundred and twenty years, so at thirty-five, Rook was indeed still young.
After hearing Xili's words, a murderous glint immediately flashed across Rook's face. What he hated most in his life were those old fools who flaunted their age and seniority. He had suffered no shortage of their arrogance within the organization.
"Old fool, stop flaunting your age before me. You think these people of yours are enough? Hmph. Once I deal with you, we will see what you have to say!" Rook said darkly.
He then charged toward Xili, carrying his coldly gleaming giant hammer. The powerful aura made everyone nearby stagger and struggle to remain standing.
Seeing this, a serious expression also appeared on Xili's face. No matter what, Rook's strength could not be underestimated.
Xili swiftly brushed his right hand across the index finger of his left hand. A flash of light passed, and a huge dark-gold hammer appeared in his hand.
The entire hammer looked simple and unadorned, yet it gave off a sense of immense weight. When Rook saw the battle hammer in Xili's hand, his pupils suddenly contracted. Although he could not identify its grade at a glance, the intense sense of danger emanating from it was enough to determine that its grade was certainly not low.
At this, Rook's expression turned solemn. But thinking was one thing—he still had to fight. The two battle hammers collided, and a tremendous boom rang out. Even the ground trembled violently several times. The people nearby scattered far away, afraid of being caught in the aftermath.
The two figures were involuntarily forced apart, each retreating five steps. Both wore solemn expressions.
Xili was even more shocked. The battle hammer in his hand had been left behind by an ancestor from years ago, and its grade was comparable to Lord Grade. Combined with his own War Emperor Peak strength, he had always believed that below the Emperor Rank, so long as his opponent's weapon was not of a higher grade, the opponent could never be his match.
Yet Rook was clearly on par with him in strength, while his weapon was obviously nothing more than an ordinary Emperor Grade battle hammer. How could it have met his own head-on and ended in a draw? Could it be that I really am getting old?
At that thought, Xili involuntarily stroked his mottled beard and muttered inwardly.
At that moment, Rook secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If he had not used the secret technique bestowed upon him by his lord in time, he might well have suffered in that exchange. At the same time, he was shaken by the power of the battle hammer in Xili's hand. Now, he could finally confirm that the dark-gold battle hammer Xili wielded was definitely Lord Grade.
A Lord Grade weapon! It was something used by an Emperor-level expert! At this thought, burning fervor surged through Rook's heart. His eyes filled with greed as he stared fixedly at the battle hammer in Xili's hand, wishing he could snatch it away in a single move.
But just then, a strange figure carrying a small figure suddenly appeared there like a ghost.
One of them was a six- or seven-year-old child. Although the fluctuations of battle aura from his body showed that he was only at the third level, Rook still felt that this child was no ordinary person. Beside him stood an old man over sixty, his body upright and motionless. His deep eyes revealed confusion and worry. Although not the slightest fluctuation of battle aura came from his body, an intense sense of danger nevertheless surged from the depths of Rook's heart.
In the next instant, he seemed to realize something. His pupils constricted, and a chill rose from the depths of his heart. A word emerged with difficulty from his mouth:
"Emperor-level!"