Head-on
In the valley, the sound of pickaxes striking the rock walls continued. Pieces of gravel slid down the rock face, mixing with Crimson Rock and piling up on both sides of the mine tunnel. Baskets woven from vines lay crookedly on the ground, many already half-filled with ore.
Su Meng turned to the side and looked directly at Lu Heng, her tone blunt.
"Boss, let's get started. I believe in you, this ore is good stuff."
Lu Heng looked at Su Meng, a mischievous thought suddenly rising in his mind.
"You say I'm a big shot, so do you think I'd be short of these ores?"
Su Meng's expression froze instantly, embarrassment rising within her. She pursed her lips, unable to find a word to say.
Lu Heng glanced at her embarrassed expression and said nothing more. He had been advancing along the way, intending to clear out any alien strongholds he encountered, and this mine was already within his target area. He raised his hand, gripped the Star Blade, and prepared to strike.
Su Meng Lu Heng charge straight down the valley without a word, Su Meng's heart tightened, and she quickly shouted:
"Boss, calm down, let's discuss this further."
Lu Heng neither turned back nor stopped, completely ignoring Su Meng's attempts to dissuade him.
Having observed her closely, he had figured out Su Meng's way of doing things. She was timid and hesitant, always prioritizing avoiding risks. She seemed a bit cowardly, but it was precisely this kind of survivor who knew how to weigh risks and wouldn't recklessly risk her life that allowed her to live a long time in this dangerous Plane.
The Green Demon working in the mine, along with the Goblin supervising the work, soon noticed Lu Heng rushing down the slope.
Their previously numb movements instantly ceased, their eyes fixed on Lu Heng, their emotions rapidly turning frenzied and agitated. In this resource-depleted region, humans were nothing more than bloodstones delivered to their doorstep. Lu Heng was Silver Tier, and the aura of flesh and blood energy emanating from his body was impossible to conceal. This aura drifted into the nostrils of these long-starved alien races, directly triggering the hunger ingrained in their instincts.
Hunger quickly overwhelmed their remaining sanity.
The Green Demon, carrying a basket and digging, stopped swinging his pickaxe, and the Goblin with a whip dropped it. All the other races put down what they were holding, grabbed stone pickaxes, hammers, and rock fragments, and roared as they surged out from all parts of the mine, charging towards Lu Heng in a swarm. The gravel under their feet crunched and rattled continuously.
As Lu Heng faced the swarming alien race, his gaze swept over the faces flushed red with hunger.
A sense of melancholy washed over him. Just how devastated this world had become, with creatures reduced to nothing more than the instinct to devour. Rather than letting them continue to enslave their kind and breed endless calamities here, it would be better to destroy this place sooner rather than later.
Lu Heng gripped the Star Blade tightly, and the battle officially began.
The first to rush forward were two Goblin overseers, each wielding a heavy stone hammer. They swung their arms, bringing the hammer down on Lu Heng's head with a whooshing sound. Lu Heng dodged the blow, his Star Blade flashing across the edge of the hammer. The heavy impact numbed the Goblin' arms. Before they could retract their weapons, the Green Demon behind them pounced, his pickaxe aimed straight for Lu Heng's side.
Lu Heng shifted his feet, dodging the pickaxe's thrusts. His blade flashed, forcing back the alien race before him. A continuous stream of aliens emerged from the mine pits and rock crevices on either side, surrounding him layer upon layer. They had no unified tactics; all their actions stemmed from hunger. Their eyes held no hatred, no anger at the invasion of their territory, only undisguised greed when they saw food.
Lu Heng swung his sword again and again, constantly deflecting the tools thrown at him and slicing through the figures rushing towards him. While fighting, he kept observing the eyes of these alien races. Every face had the same expression, treating the living as food to be devoured.
This scene ignited anger in Lu Heng's heart.
He no longer sought to kill with a single blow, no longer aimed to end the battle quickly. He slightly adjusted the angle of the blade, no longer aiming at the neck and heart, but specifically targeting the tendons of the limbs. He controlled the force of each strike, the sharp blade slicing through the flesh, precisely severing the tendons in the hands or feet. He controlled the force very steadily, merely crippling their ability to move, deliberately leaving them with a breath, not letting them die immediately.
A Green Demon charging ahead had its hamstring severed by the blade, its knee buckling as it crashed heavily onto the gravel-strewn ground. Instinctively, it tried to push itself up and crawl forward, but its limbs were too weak to move, leaving it writhing in the ore, letting out hoarse growls. It could still see the carnage ahead and watch its companions fall one by one.
The Goblin that pounced on him had its wrist tendons severed, and its hand gripping the stone pickaxe suddenly released its grip, the tool crashing onto the rubble. It convulsed in pain, trying to turn and run, but its legs gave way, leaving it paralyzed and helpless as Lu Heng continued his advance.
More alien races rushed forward, only to have their tendons severed one after another, collapsing in various parts of the mine. Some fell beside piles of ore, some were wedged in crevices in the rock walls, and others fell directly into shallow pits left from previous mining operations. The excruciating pain spread through their limbs. They remained conscious, unable to escape or attack, and could only lie there, watching everything unfold before their eyes.
The frenzied hunger that had gripped them was slowly replaced by fear. Their pupils, which had been brimming with appetite, began to contract, and their hoarse roars gradually turned into fragmented, painful groans. They tried to escape, but their limbs were out of control, and they could do nothing but watch the carnage unfold, watching their companions lose their ability to move one by one.
Lu Heng kept moving forward without stopping, the flashing blade never ceasing.
He didn't let any of the alien races that rushed up escape. Every target that pounced into his attack range had its tendons severed with precision, leaving them barely alive so they could witness the mine's demise.
The last Goblin staggered forward, its arm severed by the blade, and fell heavily onto the rubble.
No more alien races continued to charge at him in the mine.
The entire valley fell silent, save for intermittent groans of pain. The ground was littered with Green Demon and Goblin, all alive but unable to stand, lift tools, or even move their bodies with great difficulty. They lay among the cold rubble and Crimson Rock, their gazes fixed on Lu Heng, who stood in the center of the area.
Lu Heng gripped the Star Blade, standing amidst the collapsed alien races, silently observing them.
The valley was now silent, devoid of the crackling sounds of picks and hammers striking rocks. The commotion and frenzy that had previously filled the mine had completely subsided.
Su Meng, who was on the slope, had been watching from a distance, observing everything that happened in the valley from beginning to end. She had originally thought it was just a swift and decisive surprise attack, and she never expected Lu Heng to deal with these alien races in such a way. She clenched her sleeves, stood quietly in place, and dared not make a sound to disturb them.
The wind swept across the sunken valley, swirling up fine rock dust that landed on the wailing aliens scattered across the land. These aliens, who had previously been consumed by thoughts of devouring flesh and blood, were now left with only endless helplessness and despair, trapped in the mine they had created themselves, forced to wait helplessly for their fate.