Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Scarlet King looked at Lin Yue with dead eyes, but the corner of his lips rose slightly. Then he raised his hand and placed it on her head.
"Very well. Since you are useful for now… I will place a soul seal on your soul."
He pressed down on her head with force, making her tremble.
She felt as though threads were wrapping around her soul, and powerful restraints were clamping down on everything she knew—
her level,
her memories,
her very existence.
Scarlet King thought mockingly:
(Hah… the soul seal allows me to control the target's soul even from a distance. I can control everything within it to an enormous degree.)
(And also… the Evaporation Technique has evolved to the second level. I will test it…)
Suddenly, Scarlet King felt a massive pressure, like a mountain pressing down on his chest.
The earth shook, and even space itself trembled from the intensity of that pressure.
When he turned—
he saw a dark-skinned man with orange hair and wild, powerful features. A mocking smile hung on his face, while his huge body was wrapped in bear hide around the shoulder.
Scarlet King and Lin Yue whispered at the same time:
"Man Hu."
A heavy laugh came from afar, where Man Hu stood with some members of the gang.
"Hahahaha… what is this?"
"A little rat trying to destroy my gang?"
"What a joke."
Suddenly, Scarlet King's form distorted, as though three copies of him had appeared.
Then he vanished.
Man Hu looked around.
And suddenly—
Scarlet King appeared in front of him with overwhelming speed and threw a punch toward his face.
A wave of energy burst out, violently pushing the gang members backward and tearing the trees into pieces.
But from within the dust—
Man Hu appeared.
There was only a faint redness on his face, while a mad smile curled across his lips.
He moved, then spat blood and a broken tooth into the air before looking at Scarlet King.
"Is that all you have?"
Scarlet King laughed and replied:
"Maybe."
Suddenly, mist appeared beside Man Hu's head, and another mist formed around Scarlet King's second hand.
Scarlet King's second fist emerged from the mist and struck Man Hu's face with all its strength, hurling him through the forest until he crashed into the ground and tore through the camp.
Scarlet King stood in the air and thought:
(The second level of the Evaporation Technique allows me to transfer parts of my body…)
(But that strike did not cause any real damage to Man Hu, even though I used half my strength in it.)
Suddenly, an iron ball attached to a chain shot out from the debris and passed beside Scarlet King.
Then—
it turned back and wrapped around his body.
The chained ball violently dragged Scarlet King toward Man Hu, who raised his fist, ready to deliver a direct punch.
But Scarlet King used the Evaporation Technique.
Mist appeared around him, and he vanished from within the iron chain.
Man Hu thought in shock, his expression changing when he saw Scarlet King disappear.
(Where did he go?!)
At that moment—
mist appeared beneath Man Hu.
Scarlet King emerged from it, his eyes shining with a violet aura, while he ran at high speed and bent beneath Man Hu's huge body, which was nearly three meters tall.
He drew the dagger Ming Hao and swung it across Man Hu's waist.
But—
sparks flew instead of blood.
That made Scarlet King think:
(Damn it… even the dagger could not wound him.)
(I need to use my physical strength and fists instead.)
Scarlet King threw the dagger toward Man Hu's face.
But Man Hu raised his fist and caught it.
Scarlet King moved at full speed and violently pulled the dagger from Man Hu's grip, slicing his palm from top to bottom.
At the same time—
he punched Man Hu hard in the neck, blasting him away.
But he did not fall.
He remained standing.
He straightened his face, then looked at Scarlet King with a devilish laugh, his tone rising as his expression twisted with excitement:
"Haha… this is extremely fun!!"
"Fighting you is more enjoyable than killing the disciples of that ridiculous sect!"
Man Hu moved with such extreme speed that Scarlet King could not even notice it.
Then—
he struck Scarlet King's left waist.
Scarlet King was violently launched away, crashing into a mountain three kilometers away in only four seconds.
During that…
he spat out large amounts of blood.
Man Hu stood with full arrogance and dominance after moving to the place where Scarlet King had crashed.
When the dust cleared—
Scarlet King appeared standing.
His eyes were shining with a destructive dark aura.
But the marks of fingers were clear on his body.
The imprint of Man Hu's strike was visible on his waist, while blood flowed from his mouth.
Scarlet King thought:
(Damn it… he is overwhelmingly strong.)
(It seems he specializes entirely in physical strength.)
Man Hu laughed and spread his arms.
"Hahahaha… you are too weak."
"What do you have now to face me?"
Scarlet King replied:
"What do I have?"
"Very well… I will use all my strength."
Scarlet King began moving at terrifying speed, beyond comparison to light.
He threw punches around Man Hu—
at his neck…
his waist…
his face…
his stomach…
his back…
but there was no clear effect.
However, Man Hu did not notice the mist that had begun appearing high behind him.
Titan King's left arm emerged from the mist.
The sword thrust forward, then fell with crushing force toward Man Hu.
Scarlet King retreated, thinking:
(If I had the Emperor's Dominion Technique…)
(this fight would be leaning far more in my favor than it is now.)