Mountain Ogre Loses Control

During the Warring States era, all four seasons were consumed by war.

After leaving the coast, Mingye witnessed conflicts between humans and struggles among demons throughout his journey.

There were even brazen mounted bandits who tried to ambush and kill him. Mingye was always generous in such situations-he sent them straight to the next life.

"Quick, don't let him escape!"

"Catch him!"

"He dared kill members of our Earth Dragon Clan! He's not getting out of this alive!"

Mingye strolled leisurely through Mountain Forest, while cries of pursuit and slaughter rang in his ears.

Whoosh!

A small golden figure suddenly darted out of the bushes beside him. It was tiny, its aura faint, and a slight scent of blood reached Mingye's nose.

"A monkey?"

Mingye stopped. The small golden figure was indeed a golden monkey, badly wounded. Unable to take another step, he collapsed at Mingye's feet.

"You little runt, there's nowhere left to run!"

"Hey, brat, you're with that little runt, aren't you? You've got some nerve, stealing our Earth Dragon Clan's treasure!"

Dozens of figures suddenly surrounded them. Their leader was hideous, with a mouthful of vicious, pointed teeth and ferocious eyes. He had already taken Mingye for the little monkey's accomplice!

Mingye's expression remained indifferent as his icy gaze swept over the surrounding Earth Dragon Clan members. They called themselves earth dragons, but their true forms were nothing more than lizards.

"Everyone, attack! Kill him!"

Startled by Mingye's cold gaze, the earth dragon leader felt anger rise within him. With a furious roar, he ordered his clansmen to kill both Mingye and the little monkey.

Dozens of lizards reverted to their true forms, their bodies swelling abruptly until they loomed over the area and blocked out the sunlight.

The ground shook violently beneath their feet, then split apart, riddled with dense, web-like cracks.

Waves of air churned wildly as dozens of earth dragons swarmed forward. Though Mingye was their only opponent, they attacked with all their strength.

They had sensed that Mingye was no ordinary foe. Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit, and they dared not be careless.

The surrounding air was violently drawn in and churned up. As the dozens of earth dragons attacked, surging Demon Power erupted like a chain of volcanoes!

Scorching energy pierced the turbulent air and shot straight toward Mingye.

"Talk about trouble out of nowhere..."

Mingye sighed inwardly. In this age of warring states, conflicts between demons were exceptionally fierce, turning into bloody battles in an instant.

But even as the thought crossed his mind, he moved. Demon Power surged within him, and a purple screen of light rose around his body.

Every blast of energy struck the purple screen, yet none could break through the barrier.

"S-so powerful!"

The little monkey lying on the ground stared, shaken to his core. He knew how strong these earth dragons were, yet the figure before him had blocked the attacks of dozens of them with such ease!

And he had made it look utterly effortless!

"How is that possible!?"

"A barrier!?"

"This brat..."

The Earth Dragon Clan members' expressions shifted. This fellow's aura was so young-he could not possibly be over a hundred years old-yet he possessed such strength.

So their earlier impression had been right. His strength...

"There's nothing impossible about it. You can die now!"

The moment Mingye finished speaking, he vanished from where he stood. Like a pitch-black shadow, he flashed before the dozens of earth dragons, then returned to his original position.

"So fast..."

"You..."

"Argh..."

The dozens of earth dragons stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Their enormous heads parted from their massive bodies and hit the ground like tumbling boulders, crashing down in clouds of dust.

"So strong!"

The little monkey was stunned once again. Those dozens of earth dragons had been dealt with in an instant. This was what a truly powerful being looked like.

Mingye shook his head slightly. Those earth dragons were not particularly strong. Their bodies were merely a little bigger.

His strength changed almost daily. How could a pack of lizards possibly stand in his way?

"Please let me follow you!"

The little monkey at his feet struggled to kneel before Mingye. His eyes shone with respect for Mingye and a yearning to follow someone powerful.

"What treasure did you steal from the Earth Dragon Clan?"

Mingye spoke calmly. This little monkey's aura was weak, yet he had managed to steal the Earth Dragon Clan's treasure. That was somewhat impressive.

"A precious jewel! It's the Earth Dragon Clan's Healing Gem. Even a severed arm can regrow through its healing power, without affecting your strength at all!"

The little monkey took a golden jewel from inside his clothing. It radiated potent life energy, and he held it out in both hands, seemingly offering it to Mingye.

"I don't need it."

Mingye saw through the jewel's power at a glance. It was indeed a jewel that healed injuries, but unfortunately, it would be of little use to him.

After all, the only demons in this world who could still injure him were the Greater Yokai who ruled over their own territories.

Thus, the jewel's power truly held no appeal for him.

Still, there was nothing particularly remarkable about a treasure belonging to the Earth Dragon Clan.

Mingye shook his head and walked away. Judging by the time, the Evil Sword should be ready by now.

The little monkey looked dejected. He had never imagined that the treasure he had risked his life to steal would hold so little appeal for Mingye.

But he refused to give up. Absorbing the jewel's power to heal his injuries, he followed after him.

At the sword-forging pool in the mountains behind the Dark Forest.

"The Evil Sword is finally complete!"

Hairinbō wiped the sweat from his face. After seven days, he had finally completed the task Lord Mingye had entrusted to him.

"But this Evil Energy... hss!"

The moment Hairinbō tried to approach, the Evil Sword's Evil Energy struck his soul. His expression changed. This Evil Energy was so powerful that even he, the swordsmith, could barely get close.

Mountain Ogre sat nearby, his eyes wary. He, too, could sense the dense, powerful Evil Energy emanating from the Evil Sword.

And the longer he stared at the Evil Sword, the more his mind began to cloud.

"Heh heh heh, take hold of me! I can make you the strongest! Come!"

"Come closer..."

"Take hold of me!"

"Don't you want the greatest power of all..."

"Come..."

It was as though countless demonic voices swirled through Mountain Ogre's mind, tempting him and stirring his emotions until he could barely control himself.

"What am I going to do? Lord Mingye hasn't returned yet. The Evil Energy on this Evil Sword is far too dense. I'm afraid it'll draw the nearby demons here..."

Hairinbō was worried. Even he could barely resist the Evil Sword's power. He feared that before Lord Mingye returned, other demons would trample his little workshop to pieces.

Meanwhile, Mountain Ogre had risen and was walking toward the Evil Sword, one step at a time. Influenced by the Evil Energy, he could no longer control his own body.

"Hmm? Mountain Ogre, what are you doing? Don't get too close to the Evil Sword! You can't withstand that power!"

Only then did Hairinbō notice Mountain Ogre's movements, and he hurriedly called out.

But Mountain Ogre could not hear Hairinbō at all. His mind held nothing but the demonic voices born of the Evil Sword's Evil Energy.

"Damn it, the power of this Evil Sword has taken control of him!"