Desert of Desolation (1)
"Leon your leaving early." His mother who had woken up hearing him down making something to eat.
"I plan on training and then visiting Pace, I might even stay over so don't worry if I don't come back today."
Sandra nodded, "It has been a while since you two had a sleep over, did you invite him?"
"I did, he's busy tomorrow. So he'll come over
after tomorrow.
Leon's mother nodded and saw that everything was fine so she went up to go back to sleep.
Leon ate and the left his house. It was around dawn, as the sun started to rise.
The day before he fell asleep he had already memorized the rune he needed to draw for the
Because of the merging of the souls his memorization ability was weak at the moment, so was his ability to draw without slaughter qi. He could draw it perfectly normally on paper using a quill. But Leon, having drawn millions of runes, knew that drawing with elemental energy was completely different. Elemental energy would want to break away and the slightest mistake would cause the rune to fail.
Leon arrived to Pace's house. The gate was unlocked when Leon entered he saw Pace rating training as he sat on a stone and cultivated.
Pace opened his eyes and saw Leon, "You came early. Did you have breakfast?"
"I did, I'll get my bag and leave the key on the table. I'll be using your bathroom too."
Leon took the bag with him to a bathroom. He changed his clothes, to the ones he bought. He wore a black shirt, pants and beige sand colored shoes. He hung the two knives and the sword around his waist. Then he wore the nodded cape over everything. The cape covered everything so it was hard to tell what was underneath. Leon then picked up the bag and walked out.
He left then walked of the Clan. Along the way out of the city he bought 5 bottles of water and some food.
"I've prepared enough, a bit too much actually." Leon knew he could have walked out without any thing with the help of his slaughter qi he would be fine. But because of the heavenly lightning he just wanted to make sure he was ready for everything. Since he went back in time he couldn't be dying on his third day back.
Leon stepped out of the shield that protected the city and into the desert. His feet stepped on to the sand and then his body followed out. It felt like walking on fire, his shoes provided no protection. Luckily, the shoes stopped his feet from sinking in.
Other then that he felt his skin heat up, he knew without the coolness effect of the clothes he would be sweating like a waterfall. It was like entering another world.
"I bought these water bottles on the way, but hopefully they'll be enough." Leon thought. He wanted to buy more but if he did he wouldn't be able to carry the bag for long, it would be too heavy.
He looked around and started walking for forwards.
"In my past life I mapped out the whole
Leon was on full alert. The
Leon looked at the clear sky, that had lit up
"I just need to make sure I don't run into a sandstorm."
After a few hours of walking Leon looked back and couldn't see the city anymore. He reached for his bag and took out a water bottle. He opened it and emptied it in one go down his throat.
Feeling refreshed, and felt his body had trained enough. He activated the slaughter qi. His eyes turned red.
He put his hand on the swords hilt and got ready to attack at any moment. Now he was really entering fierce waters.
With the slaughter qi Leon's sense got sharper as well.
"There seems to be a beast a few hundred meters in front, Let's see if it's worth killing."
Leon ran to the place where the beast was, he saw three half a meter tall ants. They had an orange-yellow body that helped them blend in with the sand.
"Three desert ants, have a potential of 1 voidstar, not worth killing." The ants froze into statues seeing Leon. They were scared of the red aura in Leon's eyes to the point their bodies couldn't move. It was after Leon had left that they ran as fast as they could in the other direction.
Leon took out another bottle of water and drank all of it.
He walked around for another few hours and found another beast. It was a small lizard like beast, it blended in with the sand and moved swiftly. It saw Leon's eyes and froze.
"A sand Lizard, it has a potential of two voidstars so this better then the ants before but still to low."
Leon knew that something was wrong. The desert, was filled with strong beasts, there should be giant beasts in the ground under, that loved to attack humans yet he a young defenseless boy had yet to meet one.
"Do they think I'm too weak? So weak that they can't even consider me as prey?" Leon looked at his arms out of he cloak, and saw how they were just bones and had to say that he agreed with the beasts. What use was their to kill him?
"I've been only releasing my Slaughter qi through my eyes, so only beasts that would look at them would be effected by it." This would mean that other beasts wouldn't be able to sense any threat in him until they looked at his eyes.
Leon then roamed for another hour, he had making his way to the home of a beast he had remembered. Along the way the sun had completely risen and it had only gotten hotter. He had started sweating, the three other bottles in his bag had been emptied.
Leon dropped the bag and took out the food, it now held the clothes he had been wearing when he left his house. As Leon ate, he felt the wind pick up. Leon dropped his food grabbed the bag and started running, his shoes making him faster on the sand.
*Woosh*
The wind got stronger. Leon turned back and saw sand hurtling towards him. He knew if he could stuck in the sandstorm he would die without even knowing how. He saw a hole in the ground. The decision was a no brainer. Leon jumped in as the wave of sand passed over the hole.
The hole went deep underground. When Leon landed his whole body lit up with slaughter qi for a second.
Compared to the hole the cave was much bigger. With a height of around ten meters it could fit large beasts in it. Leon saw that he had landed in the middle of the tunnel as their was a way in front of him and one behind him.
"I've entered some beasts home, and it's strong, I'll have to wait for the sandstorm to pass."
Leon sat down and drank the last bottle of water. He kept the bag on the ground and started exploring the cave.
Leon walked with his hand on the swords hilt. He felt something twitch. In a movement he slashed.
*Screeeh*
A black bat like beast had it's head cut off, blood sprayed out as it's body fell to the ground.
"My luck to run into a
Leon said saw a beast appear in front of him. It was a giant yellow scorpion, it was called
yellow pincers to snap at Leon. It's meter tall stinger with a sharp poisonous end and followed the attack.
Leon jumped back and deflected the stinger.
"This Yellow Flame Scorpion is only a 3 voidstar beast."
The scorpion saw Leon, it looked at his eyes and took a few steps back however was still ready for a fight.
Leon knew his slaughter qi wouldn't be enough to intimidate such a beast. His slaughter qi was too restricted.
With the third slash,
Leon ran forward. He saw a large yellow scorpion. The scorpion attacked with its stinger. Leon dodged but his cape had been torn off. He ignored this and cut the stinger off with his sword. He then continued the movement by pivoting off be ball of his foot turn. In this movement the sword cut the head of the scorpion off.
But Leon didn't wait, now his body twisted saw a fire ball growing bigger as it drew closer. He jumped back on to his back on the scorpion's corpse. The fireball whizzed past above him.
With his enhanced senses from the slaughter qi Leon knew it wasn't over. He rolled his body to the side with the sword in hand. A giant brown prying Mantis had struck its left arm into where he was.
It was suprised it missed but continued to pierce at Leon with its right blade like arm.
Leon rolled and used his hand powered up by the slaughter qi to push himself back up with a flip.
In front of him a bear ran and jumped at him. It's fur was orange and it's teeth and claws like razors.
Leon pulled his sword back and activated the
Leon slashed out. A long line red was left on the bear's body. It released blood as the bear missed Leon and crashed behind him. It had been severely injured but it was still alive.
Behind Leon the Mantis had arrived. It's two blade like arms coming to his neck like scissors. Leon dropped his sword and grabbed the two bladed arms with his hands.
His hands were coated in red aura preventing injury. Leon then bent down and ripped the arms out of the Mantis's body. He dropped them, picked up the sword and slashed behind him, cutting the Mantis's head off.
But the beasts continued. Their attack. Another fire ball was sent at him from his right. While the cave wall on his left had another scorpion climb on it piercing at him with its stinger.
Leon jumped and twisted his body, the stinger went behind him while the Fire ball in front. He the did a perfect 'n' type jump over the stinger. As he landed and was going to use his left hand to punch off the ground onto his feet he noticed he had been completely cornered.
From his left another Fire ball was coming. From behind was the bear attacking. Above him the scorpion was launching another attack with its stinger. In front of him another beast was scorpion was attacking with its pincers. He could also feel vibrations from underground, a beast was coming from downwards as well. And finally on his right was the cave wall. In such an awkward position where he was upside down with his left hand touching the ground and right hand holding a sword he was doomed.
Leon stopped holding back. The slaughter qi completely spread around his body, he felt the heavenly lightning grow fiercer trying to attack as hard as it could.
In a flash all the attacks landed, as Leon the bear was
Leon used his arm to push him up. He pulled his body together and twisted backwards with his sword cutting the stinger off the scorpion above. He continued the movement and threw the sword at the fireball blocking it.
Now having twisted his body Leon used his left hand to grab onto the charging bears left shoulder. He used as a pivot to pull him self behind it. With hands on both side of the neck. The slaughter qi left his body. And condensed into a thin red string in front of the bear's neck.
Leon landed elegantly as he pulled the string down and turned his back to the bear.
The bears head fell to the ground with him, while the charging scorpions tail pierced into the bear, whose corpse had also been used as a meat shield.
However the fight wasn't even close to over. From underneath a giant centipede broke out. It ignored all the death beasts as it swivels on the cave wall. Going past Leon's body and turning back to attack Leon head on.
From behind the scorpion through the bears corpse to the side. And continued its attack.
And finally from the left the beast that had been shooting firevalls was ready to attack.
Leon felt the threat and knew this cycle was going to be never ending as more beasts were coming. His eyes turned force as a pulse of red aura shot out of him.
In an instant all beasts stopped and collapsed to the ground. This was one of the most useful uses of slaughter qi. It could be used to stun beasts in fear.
Leon walked to his sword and casually picked it up. He walked to the scorpion and cut its head off. He did the same to the collapsed centipede.
Then Leon wAlked up to the beast that had been shooting fire balls. It was a mainly a cone shell that swirled to a point. It was at this point where the fireballs formed and shot out at high speeds.
Leon didn't bother attacking the shell as he knew it wouldn't do anything. Rather he walked behind it to the wide end. On this end it was open end you could see a squishy beast paralysed. Leon pierced it with his sword and ended his life.
With everything done, Leon took out a soul energy pill he had in his pocket and ate it as he sheathed his sword.
These beasts were probably the strongest in the cave as they reacted the fasted to the screech.
Leon ran through the cave to an opening.
Still underground, the cave led to a large chamber. With walls covered in insect like shell with thousands of legs that wrapped around all over. Leon turned to his side and saw a sleeping centipede head.
It's body was more then 300 meters long Leon guessed in its wrapped up position.
In the middle of the chamber and wrapped body was a small baby scorpion. It had a smooth red body. It was a
The scorpion looked at the blood soaked Leon curiously. It was young didn't know that Leon had broken into its house, he just thought it was a another one of his servants.
Leon took out the two knives at his side. He threw one right next to the
Leon grabbed it and started running for his life. His legs covered in a red aura as he ran. The
The black long centipede awakened. It had long since known that an intruder had entered its base, but it didn't mind. It just needed to protect and raise the young scorpion whilst all it's minions could take care of the rest.
But a second ago it felt the scorpion disappear. It woke up. It looked around and couldn't sense the body heat of the scorpion.
*Woosh*
The centipede chased after Leon.
Leon ran as fast as he could. He knew he had to jump out of the whole on top. The sandstorm wasn't over but now it was better then being killed here. Out there he had a 99% chance of dying but inside it was 100%.
Leon arrived to the whole with the Sandy winds still blowing above. In front of him was a wall of various beasts charging. Behind him was a death machine, the centipede completely blocking the cave with its body.
Leon used the slaughter qi to jump on the wall and push himself up. The centipede opened its large mandible and was ready to eat Leon in the air.
While the beasts on the side sent out various attacks.
Leon holding the scorpion sent out a pulse of slaughter qi. All the beasts around him stopped for a moment. The centipede was barely effected. It continued to move but missed Leon because of the pulse.
Leon used its head as a step and push himself out.
He flew out of the hole into the Sandy winds. They didn't let him touch the floor as they carried him away. He held the young scorpion in his hands as he looked back as he was carried away by the winds.
The ground broke open as the giant centipede broke out into sky. It's body more then a hundred meters tall with its grotesque body covered in millions of moving legs. It's body coiled back as it was ready to attack Leon.
Leon in the wind didn't have control over his body. He was being blown away and was just bait for the centipede now. He tightly held onto the scorpion in his arms and made sure he wouldn't let the wind take it.
He just had a fierce light as he waited for the centipede to attack. He would use the pulse of slaughter qi to make it miss and continue doing that until it stopped chasing.
As mentally readied himself for a long drawn out fight the centipede attacked.
But the moment it moved a little forward two large tentacles came out from behind it and wrapped its body. It then pulled the centipede out and dragged it into the sky disappearing behind the Sandy winds.