Massacre

As though it were contagious, one man silently watching Huo Hai became an entire crowd staring at him as he slowly emerged. The clearing, noisy just moments before, fell quiet.

Even as Huo Hai slowly emerged from the woods, his figure growing clearer until he stepped out of the trees entirely, the mercenaries still failed to react. "That man, he... how did he come out of there? Didn't nobody go in?" Suddenly, someone realized that none of their mercenaries had entered the woods for over a month.

"Boy, who are you? Did you see anything in there?" Suddenly, a burly man stepped forward, raised his great axe, and pointed it at Huo Hai as he demanded an answer. His words sent the clearing into an uproar again.

Huo Hai said coolly, "I don't like people pointing weapons at me." With that, he casually kicked a branch into the air and swept his right hand forward, launching it almost instantly. He used the Blood-Shaking Thorn he had just learned.

The branch struck the burly man squarely in the chest, easily piercing his leather armor. Then a mysterious vibration spread through his body. With his heart so close to the impact, his blood boiled. Unable to draw another breath, the man collapsed, and the clearing fell silent again. No one had expected this man to attack the moment he emerged.

Huo Hai slowly lowered his hood, revealing a face familiar to the mercenaries. "Gentlemen, weren't you looking for me? You must have had a hard time waiting so long." He seemed utterly oblivious to what he had just done.

In truth, Huo Hai's hands were already trembling, not from fear, but from the surging killing aura that threatened to rob him of control. His killing aura and fury had fused together. He