Chapter 442 – Fire Ax … … … When many Blood Drinking Seals formed atop the blood halberd, if this was combined with the halberd laws, it could form a near perfect offensive and defensive battle system. When the Blood Drinking Seals were concentrated to a certain level, they could even manifest into a tangible Slaughter Domain. When a mentally weak person stepped into this Slaughter Domain, they would be suppressed to the point of collapse. Even someone with a strong will would be affected. As Lin Ming recalled the description of the ‘Great Desolate Halberd Art’, he couldn’t help but sigh. Lei Mubai really did have a great streak of lucky chances. The Blood Extinguishing Demon Thunder, ancient Devil Tome, and Great Desolate Blood Halberd replica all perfectly complemented each other. If he could have practiced the first few layers of the ‘Great Desolate Halberd Art’, he would have had an enormous chance of being able to break into the level of an Emperor powerhouse in the future. Unfortunately, Lei Mubai had encountered Lin Ming along his path… The ancient Devil Tome was originally a fragmented volume of the ‘Great Desolate Halberd Art’ and the Great Desolate Blood Halberd was also a weapon that the Demon Emperor once used. As for the Blood Extinguishing Demon Thunder, that was a top quality Thunder Soul that was able to extract blood essence. Lei Mubai could be said to have been in the perfect place to cultivate. However, no matter what he had accomplished, he had still ended up with his fate. This was the natural brutality and cruel danger that accompanied those that walked the path of martial arts. There were countless geniuses within the Sky Spill Continent that had the qualifying talent to become an Emperor level powerhouse, however in so many years, there were very few that were able to step into the Divine Sea realm. Lin Ming glanced at the time, it was still the middle of night. On the jade slip there was still a red spot and it was also very near; he could take a short trip to solve the problem there while he was at it. ………… Early next morning. A tall man wearing bright red armor strode into the Fire Ax squad’s small courtyard. As this man walked, he exuded a powerful aura, as if all the surrounding fire origin energy was being sucked into him. “Captain!” The big bearded fellow was laughing and chatting with the twins. But as he saw the red armored man walk over, he stood up and greeted him. “Mm.” The red armored mildly nodded. He was the captain of the Fire Ax Squad – Fire Ax. His cultivation was at the middle Xiantian realm, and he was the absolute core of the Fire Ax Squad’s strength. Regardless of whether it was combat experience, leading ability, or individual strength, he was number one in the squad, and he also held an absolute standing in the squad. The other squad members all respected Fire Ax from the heart. As Violet Rain heard the commotion, she also opened the door to her own room. She faintly smiled at the red armored man and said, “Captain, what’s the battle situation like?” “We encountered a small squad let by two middle Xiantian realm martial artists. We killed three peak Houtian martial artists. Besides Cool Foam being injured, we didn’t suffer any other damage.” The red armored man calmly said. “Two middle Xiantian realm martial artists?” Violet Rain was startled. “Haha! Captain is Captain, he can go one against two!” The big bearded fellow laughed. Ten days ago, Fire Ax had picked up a transportation mission. But because the difficulty wasn’t too great, he had only brought half the squad with him and was letting the other half rest. He didn’t expect that he would encounter a squad led by two middle Xiantian realm martial artists. Within South Aurora Island, since there weren’t any Revolving Core martial artists, Xiantian martial artists were the strongest ones. Fire Ax had a cultivation at the middle Xiantian realm, and was also considered quite strong for those within his level; he could be considered a top class master of South Aurora Island. However, it was still troublesome for him to kill martial artists at the same cultivation level. In that battle, he had been able to kill three peak Houtian realm martial artists, but the two middle Xiantian realm martial artists had escaped. Fire Ax pulled out three jade tablets from his spatial ring and casually threw them on the table. These three jade tablets were shot through with bloody lines. “Hehe!” The bearded big fellow eagerly picked up the three jade tablets; these were the tablets given by the Wartime Alliance for recording military exploits. After killing an enemy, it was possible to stain the jade tablet with the enemy’s blood essence before their dantian’s true essence dissipated as a record. One could use this jade tablet to see the enemy’s cultivation. “We got another 300 military exploit points! Haha, what a great harvest, awesome!” “Divine Phoenix Island is offering very good fire-attribute cultivation methods and they even have a top high-grade human-step Flame Essence. Captain, if you can accumulate some more military exploits then you can exchange it for a high-grade human-step Flame Essence. With your strength, even a late Xiantian realm martial artist won’t be your match! When that time comes, we will be the unrivalled squad of South Aurora Island! Haha!” The Fire Ax who rarely smiled revealed a slight grin as he was infected by the bearded big fellow’s enthusiasm. He had long been yearning for a high-grade human-step Flame Essence. “Don’t boast too outrageously, there are some very strong fellows with the South Sea Demon Region. For instance, there is still Blood Bone, Viper, and Nightmare. Even if I manage to absorb a high-grade human-step Flame Essence, I will still be far from their match.” As Fire Ax mentioned these three people, the bearded big fellow’s neck shrank and he didn’t speak any further. Obviously, he dreaded even the mention of these three. For this past half year, the greatest powerhouses of the South Sea Demon Region within South Aurora Island were Blood Bone, Viper, and Nightmare. Within South Aurora Island, they were called the Big Three of the Demon Region. These three were all slaughter-frenzied killing stars. If any squad encountered them, they would probably be annihilated. Fire Ax smiled and said, “Once I absorb a high-grade human-step Flame Essence, the most I’ll be able to handle is a late Xiantian realm martial artist. And that is only defeating them – killing them is another story!” When martial artists fought those at the same level and their strength wasn’t too different, it was easy to defeat the other. However, it was extremely difficult to kill them. If one of them decided to run with all their might, it would be difficult to stop them. “Good, let’s discuss the plan for the operations three days from now. Call in all the members.” …….. The Fire Ax Squad had a total of nine members. The captain was Fire Ax, a middle Xiantian realm martial artist who also served as the core of the squad. There was vice-captain Violet Rain, whose cultivation was at the early Xiantian realm, and who excelled at controlling the power of thunder; her combat power couldn’t be understated. There were the twins Green Tree and Green Forest whose primary ability was to cure wounds. There was the bearded big fellow, who didn’t have any attribute. He fought with a sledgehammer and his cultivation was at the peak Houtian realm… As the eight old members sat around a table, Lin Ming sat at the rearmost position. “Hehe, is this our newly arrived little brother?” Within the eight old members, there was a woman whose cultivation was at a half-step Xiantian. She was quite attractive and petite. But what drew one’s attention was that her hands were white like porcelain, and her nails were sharp and long. Obviously, these two beautiful hands of hers were murder weapons. “I’m called Wild Halberd. Attribute: thunder.” Lin Ming introduced himself in a simple manner. “Wild Halberd? That’s a fun nickname.” The woman was habitually cleaning her nails. She giggled and said, “My name is Enchanting Shadow. My job is an alchemist.” Enchanting Shadow pointed to a shyly smiling youth beside her. “This is Cool Foam. He has outstanding sense and therefore is responsible for scouting and detection.” Lin Ming introduced himself to the several members that he was unfamiliar with, and then individually remembered their names. “Alright, let’s have a look at how the current enemy forces are distributed.” As Fire Ax spoke, he spread a map on the table. On the map there was the locations of South Sea Demon Region martial artists; they were indicated by red circles. “Here, here, and here. These three places are the core of the South Sea Demon Region martial artists’ forces, and is also where the Big Three of the Demon Region, Blood Bone, Viper, and Nightmare gather. We have to make sure that our combat zone avoids them as far as possible. With the strength of those three, if we meet any one off them, it’s possible that even the combined strength of our entire squad won’t be able to resist.” Fire Ax was speaking for Lin Ming, the other members were already aware of this. “Now, within South Aurora Island, there are actually two times the number of Wartime Alliance martial artists than there are South Sea Demon Region martial artists. However, the quality of our forces is inferior. Thus, although there aren’t many South Sea Demon Region martial artists, they are dispersed all over the island and are occupying important true essence stone vein locations. As for us, we have many people, but we have to gather together in fear that we’ll be wiped out.” “Three days from now, the goal of our mission will be… here!” As Fire Ax spoke, he pointed at a spot on the map. As Lin Ming saw the marked locations, his complexion suddenly became awkward. This was the stronghold that he had just visited last night. The leader inside was the pale-looking Demon Region youth, and Lin Ming had already annihilated every single Demon Region martial artist within. Could there be such a coincidence? Fire Ax certainly didn’t know any of this. He continued to say, “Our strength is slightly higher than theirs, and it shouldn’t be a problem to defeat them. The key is, just how many can we kill…” The enemy would flee in separate direction if they notice an incoming squad with seven or eight members. If this happened, they would only be able to kill a few of them. Many Demon Region martial artist squads depended on their strength in order to flagrantly penetrate deep within South Aurora Island and blatantly plunder the true essence stone vein resources. If they couldn’t win they would run. Losing a few late Houtian or peak Houtian martial artists was an acceptable loss. The reason that the Fire Ax Squad chose this stronghold was because this enemy base was far too deep in their territory. When Lin Ming had been deciding where to go, this was also the reason that he went there. Thus, the two of them had decided the same way. “The Demon Region squad captain should be at the middle Xiantian realm. He is a bit weaker than me, but as long as he wishes to escape, no one here can stop him. It’s not realistic to kill him. However, he has an early Xiantian realm martial artist under him. If we take him as our main goal and catch this big fish, we’ll be able to earn 1000 military exploit points!” The Wartime Alliance stated that killing a peak Houtian realm martial artist would earn one 100 military exploit points, and killing a half-step Xiantian would earn 200 military exploit points. Killing a early Xiantian martial artist was 1000 military exploit points. This illustrated just how great the disparity was between a Xiantian martial artist and a Houtian martial artist. On South Aurora Island, killing a Xiantian martial artist wasn’t easy at all. “Hehe, 1000 military exploit points. I can’t wait!” The bearded big fellow was immediately roused and began to crack his knuckles, making ‘ka ka ka’ sounds. Of those that came to the South Sea battlefield, most were those that enjoyed the thrill of battle. Only Lin Ming was completely silent, he was simply speechless. This was going to be a wasted errand, but it wasn’t as if he could open his mouth and tell everyone what he had done last night. It stood to reason that it was impossible for him to know something like this. “Alright, I’ve reported the operation details. If no one has any comments, we will set off three days from now.” As Fire Ax spoke, a flame lit in front of him – it was a sound transmitting talisman. As he heard the message, Fire Ax was stunned. “What’s the matter?” Violet Rain asked, puzzled. Most of the time their captain was very calm, he rarely revealed expressions like this. Fire Ax ruefully smiled and shook his head, “The operation is cancelled!” “What? The mission plan was rejected?” “No… it’s that the Demon Region squad was already annihilated…”